Inside Freemius: Building Connections, Not Just Software – with Vova Feldman, Founder of Freemius

In this episode, Vova Feldman, founder of Freemius, dives into his story about scaling a side project into a successful SaaS platform supporting indie software creators. Vova shares how Freemius evolved from an MVP to a WordPress-centric monetization engine, eventually expanding into broader software markets. He discuss how community-building, product strategy, and a focus on small dev teams help Freemius stand out in a competitive landscape dominated by Stripe and Paddle.

About Vova Feldman:

Vova Feldman is a developer-turned-entrepreneur with a deep background in distributed systems, AI, and startup growth. A Technion graduate and former captain in Israel’s elite intelligence unit, he’s founded multiple tech ventures, including Senexx (acquired by Gartner). Today, he’s the founder and CEO of Freemius, a SaaS platform helping software developers monetize and scale their products.

Here is what we cover:

● Startup Origins: Launched post-exit as a weekend MVP; became a SaaS platform within a year.
● WordPress Focus: Chosen for rapid growth and low monetization maturity; built a reusable SDK.
● Monetization Platform: Acts as a Merchant of Record; includes licensing, billing, and user lifecycle tools.
● Target Market: Built for solo devs and small teams; simplifies monetization so they can focus on building.
● Community-Led Growth: 1,700+ member Slack group; user input directly shapes product development.
● Strategic Branding: Builds long-term relationships through content, events, and founder support.
● Founder Evolution: Vova moved from coding to focus on product, ops, and team-building.
● Competing with Giants: Offers deeper software-specific tools and agile execution against larger players.
● Content-Driven Marketing: Scaled without a sales team via educational content and community engagement.