In this week’s DevReady Podcast, host Andrew Romeo, CEO & Co-Founder, Aerion Technologies, sits down with David Werdiger, Executive Coach with Asian Leadership International Executive Coaching, author, entrepreneur, and adviser to SMEs on intergenerational wealth transition, governance, and strategy. David shares lessons from growing up in a family business to building scalable tech, the power of founder-led sales, and how governance turns ventures into valuable, transferable assets. Themes include moving from “owning a job” to owning a business, advisory boards and CEO autonomy, values-driven decision-making, and David’s Time Purpose Map for balancing work and life.
David’s journey begins in his family’s textile business, shaped by a strong provider ethic and community leadership. Strong in maths and computing, he validated himself outside the family by becoming a quant analyst in stockbroking before pivoting into software. During mid-90s telco deregulation he built a telecommunications billing system, shifted to owning the IP, and pioneered a revenue-share leasing model, an early SaaSThe term SaaS stands for Software as a Service. SaaS is an evolution of an application that runs on the... approach that delivered recurring revenue and better customer fit. Listening to cash-constrained start-ups informed flexible pricing and roadmap decisions, and a later partnership path led to a telco that reverse listed on the ASX.
Andrew and David explore why founder-led sales often outperform hiring a BDM, particularly for complex products. Acting as owner-seller let David make real-time decisions, architect solutions on the spot, and avoid script-driven mis-selling, while acknowledging the productive tension between sales and dev. Influenced by Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Gerber’s E-Myth, he reframed success around systems and clarity of purpose, anchored by the pivotal question, “What is the business for?” Without that clarity, founders risk burnout through overstretch, juggling ventures, boards, and family, rather than building a scalable enterprise.
Facing growing pains, a failed partnership, and clashes with a general manager, David chose to step back properly by establishing an advisory board, elevating the GM to CEO, and setting clear delegations and boundaries. “Don’t buy a dog and bark yourself” became the operating principle. Monthly board rhythms matured the firm into a “grown-up” business that now consumes roughly 10% of his time, enabling space for health, study, and a Masters of Entrepreneurship & Innovation (Swinburne). From this phase emerged the Time Purpose Map (a 2×2 of active/passive and for-profit/non-profit) and a commitment to contribute time, talent, and treasure, not just capital.
Today, David coaches multigenerational families on values, mission, purpose, governance, and building a rigorous family charter. As an external facilitator he helps shift conversations from the “kitchen table” to a disciplined, respectful forum with a clear code of conduct so every voice is heard and conflict is handled constructively. He notes repeating patterns, including money as a proxy for power, the primacy of relationships and time as true wealth, and the importance of setting values-based red lines by asking, “What would we not do?” The episode closes with a practical takeaway for founders and leaders alike, namely to align personal and business goals, because if you do not know where you want to go, any road will do.
Key Topics
- Family business roots and move to stockbroking as a quant analyst
- Pivot to entrepreneurship in the mid-1990s telco deregulation
- Building a telecom billing system and owning the IP
- Early SaaSThe term SaaS stands for Software as a Service. SaaS is an evolution of an application that runs on the... model with revenue share and recurring revenue
- Founder led sales over hiring a BDM for complex tech
- Scaling through operations leadership, governance, and non-profit board experience
- Defining what the business is for and avoiding founder burnout
- Advisory board setup, CEO autonomy, and clear delegation
- Time Purpose Map, values-based decision making, and intergenerational wealth transition with family charter facilitation
Important Time Stamps
- Legacy, Leadership & Wealth Transition: Early Lessons from David Werdiger (0:07 – 5:29)
- From Owning a Job to Owning IP: David Werdiger’s SaaSThe term SaaS stands for Software as a Service. SaaS is an evolution of an application that runs on the... Pivot (5:30 – 11:20)
- Founder-Led Sales > BDM: Why Owners Should Be the Rainmakers (11:21 – 14:34)
- What’s Your Business For? Income, Exit or Legacy (14:35 – 19:00)
- “Don’t Buy a Dog and Bark Yourself”: Founder Delegation That Scales (19:01 – 26:26)
- When to Say No: Firing Customers and Protecting Your Team (26:27 – 36:12)
- What’s the Business For? A Founder’s Guide to Purpose & Governance (36:13 – 44:07)
Useful Links
Asian Leadership International Executive Coaching | LinkedIn
Transition by David Werdiger | Amazon
