Linear #157: *Special EOY Edition*
One vSaaS breakdown. One biz story. One 'how to'. In your inbox once a week.
The 2025 Newsletter Index
First off, thank you all for reading Linear.
I only do this because of you all.
The emails I get, the folks I meet with, those I’ve invested in because of this, it’s just absolutely extraordinary.
I fought the battle of building a vertical SaaS from zero to exit over eleven years. Everyone here is doing the same thing — fighting their battle — as a founder, operator, investor.
This IS NOT EASY and we’re all here to help each other…
With this spirit in mind, I thought I’d do an end-of-year comprehensive guide on everything we covered this year — 52 issues, 25+ founder deep dives, and the playbooks that defined vertical software in 2025.
🎯 Major Themes of 2025
Looking across all 50+ issues, certain themes emerged repeatedly. These are the trends, strategies, and movements that defined vertical software this year — the topics our community engaged with most.
🎓 Most Valuable Insights
If you only read a few quotes from this entire year of content, make it these. These insights came up repeatedly in our conversations with founders and operators:
“Start with Gen AI as the wedge (like Abridge), then expand to co-pilots and automation. Don’t start with W-2 replacement—it’s like starting with ERP.”
On Vertical AI
“51% of their appeal was brand, 49% was product. These guys use pen and paper. Build a half-decent product, answer the phone, and become really good friends with them.”
On Community
“Most vertical SaaS exits happen at 4-6x ARR via PE. Make sure that outcome is life-changing for you before you raise your next round.”
On Exits
“If you haven’t had your aha moment with AI, you are behind the ball. This stuff is CRAZY powerful and makes EVERYONE more productive.”
On AI Adoption
“Transactional revenue got valued at 2x multiple because it wasn’t recurring. Then the PE fund remarketed it as recurring revenue at 8x. Know the game your buyers are playing.”
On Embedded Finance
👨💼 Founders & Executives Featured
One of the things that makes Linear unique is our access to the operators actually building in this space. In 2025, we published 25+ in-depth founder interviews — long-form conversations that dig into the real tactics, not just the highlight reels.
Here’s who we featured, organized by what they’ve accomplished:
🏢 Verticals & Industries Covered
One of our core missions is to shine a light on the incredible companies being built in niche markets. In 2025, we covered 20+ distinct verticals, from healthcare to home services, golf courses to grocery stores.
Here’s the complete breakdown of industries and the standout companies we featured:
📚 Top Playbooks & Frameworks
We don’t just write about trends — we publish step-by-step implementation guides with real examples, metrics, and tactical advice you can use today. Here are the frameworks that resonated most in 2025:
#1. The Vertical AI Implementation Stack
Linear Newsletter #132, #143, #148
💡 Key Insight: Start with Gen AI (easiest, fastest growth, no integration). Don’t start with W-2 replacement.
→Level 1: Generative AI Products (The Wedge)
→Level 2: AI Co-Pilots (Decision Support)
→Level 3: Complete Workflow Automation
→Level 4: Complete AI W-2 Replacement
Real Example: Abridge started as ChatGPT for medical data → expanded to co-pilots → raised $110M+
#2. Todd Saunders’ Community-Led Growth Playbook
Linear Newsletter #151.5
💡 Key Insight: 51% brand appeal, 49% product. Build community before product.
→Follow the Retention Data (90% logo retention, 105% NRR)
→Hire 2 full-time video producers
→Build a Facebook group of 4,000 retailers
→FloorCon: Tim Tebow, Andrew Yang, Joe Gibbs (not carpet samples)
Real Example: $10M ad tech → $30M+ vertical SaaS → exit to Cyncly
#3. The Zapier AI Adoption Framework
Linear Newsletter #132
💡 Key Insight: 89% team AI adoption in 2 years with the right approach.
→Week 1: Leadership ‘Code Red’ — AI is non-negotiable
→Month 1: Company-wide AI Hackathon
→Quarter 1: Compliance frameworks, pilot departments
→Ongoing: AI metrics in performance reviews
Real Example: AI fluency added to performance reviews
#4. Valsoft’s M&A Machine Playbook
Linear Newsletter #154.5
💡 Key Insight: Most vertical SaaS exits happen at 4-6x ARR via PE.
→Focus on bootstrapped, profitable companies
→Operate as portfolio, not traditional PE
→Transactional revenue valued at 2x initially
→PE re-markets at 8x as ‘recurring’
Real Example: 130+ acquisitions, $700M+ in ~10 years
#5. AI Agent Launch Playbook
Linear Newsletter #143
💡 Key Insight: Start stupidly simple. Use Zapier/Make.com before building custom.
→Identify: High-frequency, low-complexity, 20+ hrs/week tasks
→Clean your data first (you’ll be horrified)
→Deploy to 3-5 friendly customers
→Avoid chatbots — customers want work done
Real Example: 25% → 50% → 90% accuracy over 4 weeks
🎯 The Bottom Line
Linear Newsletter in 2025 became the definitive knowledge base and most popular newsletter and community on the internet for vertical SaaS and vertical AI builders.
“The playbook you need was probably published in 2025.”
...we published something that can help.
I highly encourage those of you who haven’t yet to check out VerticalSaaSGroup.com
There is literally thousands of pages of content - videos, blogs, etc - all at your fingerprints and completely free.
Let’s keep building the Vertical AI and Vertical Software community together. If you have a friend building/operating/investing in the category do us a favor and tell a friend about the newsletter or forward to a colleague.
Happy Holidays y’all!!
Have a product or service that would be great for our audience of vertical SaaS founders/operators/investors? Reply to this email or shoot us a note at ls@lukesophinos.com