If you’re building a SaaS product or running a service-based business and wondering whether it’s time to scale, you’ll want to hear Brett Farmiloe‘s story.
On a recent episode of SaaS That App: Building B2B Web Applications, Brett joined hosts Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards to share how a bootstrapped journey that started with a freezer full of Hot Pockets evolved into Featured, a fast-growing SaaS platform that’s reshaping PR for over 50,000 users.
From RV Roadtrips to Reporting Platforms
Brett’s story doesn’t start with software; it starts with an RV. Long before Featured, Brett and a few friends crisscrossed America in an RV for a project called Pursue the Passion, interviewing people about how they found meaning in their careers.
To fund the trip, they hustled hard for sponsorships, eventually landing a bizarre but memorable deal: an unlimited supply of Hot Pockets. They lived off them for a month, literally breakfast, lunch, and dinner, until one of Brett’s friends started showing signs of sodium overload.
That early experience planted the seed for what would become Featured: a deep realization that people crave meaningful ways to share what they’ve learned in life and work.
From Services to Software
After the RV days, Brett worked for the corporate sponsor that funded the trip, took a stab at a mobile app (which failed), and even helped Hugh Jackman launch Laughing Man Coffee before eventually founding his own digital marketing agency named Markitors.
The agency served over 500 small businesses across ten years. And through it, Brett discovered a recurring pain point: businesses had knowledge, but no cost-effective way to get it seen. His solution? Help clients answer expert questions that would be featured in media publications, a strategy that massively boosted their SEO.
When Brett noticed that the platform supporting those efforts was outpacing the agency’s growth, he knew it was time to evolve. He took the plunge and turned the service into Featured, a freemium SaaS platform connecting experts with publishers.
Marketplace Mechanics
Brett quickly discovered that launching a SaaS marketplace isn’t for the faint of heart.
Featured functions as a two-sided marketplace. On one side: experts, PR professionals, and marketers who want exposure.
On the other: publishers and journalists who need credible sources. But marketplaces are fragile ecosystems. One side outpacing the other can break the whole model.
To stabilize supply and demand, Brett took bold actions: Featured began publishing its own content, operating over 300 niche websites across topics like semiconductors and logistics. Why? Because real publications in these niches were scarce. By becoming a publisher itself, Featured could smooth demand and fine-tune the platform experience using its own tools.
Even more game-changing was Brett’s recent acquisition and relaunch of HARO (Help A Reporter Out), a beloved PR tool that connects journalists with expert sources.
Magic Moments, AI, and “Manual First” Design
What powers Featured’s success isn’t just smart strategy; it’s values, vision, and relentless iteration.
The team’s internal North Star metric is what they call “Magic Moments,” the exact point when someone’s insights are featured in a publication like Fast Company or Inc. “That’s when people freak out,” Brett said. And that’s what they obsessively track.
To hit those moments at scale, Featured combines human insight with AI. The platform uses AI to analyze expert answers, match them to new questions, and even recommend where unused answers could be repurposed. This powers their newest feature, Pitch Plus, which gives a second life to great responses that didn’t make it into a first-round article. But Brett’s core product philosophy? Manual first, automated second.
Inside the Stack
Featured runs on a modern stack, including Next.js, TypeScript, and Vercel, and Brett praises how tools like Vercel’s v0 have empowered non-technical team members to contribute directly to product development. In his words, “Everyone’s now an entry-level engineer.”
This tight feedback loop, where users suggest a feature in the morning and it goes live by the afternoon, has helped Featured stay nimble and focused. It’s also a testament to Brett’s people-first leadership. He openly credits his team for the platform’s success, emphasizing trust and clear communication above all else.
Lessons for SaaS Founders
Brett didn’t sugarcoat the startup journey. When asked what advice he’d give aspiring SaaS founders, he laughed and said “Don’t do it.”
He was half-serious. SaaS is hard, full of sleepless nights, personal sacrifices, and constantly evolving problems. If you’re only in it for the money, Brett warns, you’re likely in for disappointment. But if you’re genuinely obsessed with the problem and committed to serving a real community? Then you’ve got a shot.
Final Thoughts
AI might be changing everything, but it hasn’t replaced wisdom. The success of Featured proves that even in a world of algorithms and automation, people still crave real stories, expert insight, and genuine connections. Brett’s story is a reminder that great products are built not just from code but from conviction, curiosity, and a few too many Hot Pockets.
Brett’s Background
Brett is the Founder and CEO of Featured, a pioneering platform that connects experts with publishing opportunities and has facilitated over one million expert answers. With a background in accounting and digital marketing, Brett transformed his experience running a successful SEO agency serving 500+ small businesses into an innovative SaaS solution. He previously founded Markitors and Pursue The Passion, led digital marketing initiatives for Laughing Man Coffee (later acquired by Keurig), and recently acquired and revived the renowned HARO (Help A Reporter Out) platform.
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