Lessons from Big Tech & Startups: Simon Tam on Building Saturation

Simon Tam, Co-founder & CTO of Saturation.io, joins Jens Jacob to talk startups, storytelling, and the cost of great work. With 20+ years in tech at Microsoft, Yahoo, and Splunk, Simon reveals what it takes to scale teams, survive partnerships in startup, and build conviction around an idea. His latest startup, Saturation.io - a platform revolutionizing film production expense management, made Top 10 status in Ahrefs' Trending SaaS Startups for 2025. In this conversation, you’ll learn: Why the last 20% is what separates good from great How to navigate co-founder conflict without killing the company Lessons from Microsoft, Yahoo, and a startup exit to Yahoo Why conviction matters more than money in early-stage startups How AI, storytelling, and craft shape the future of filmmaking tech Connect with Simon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-tam-7a993213/ Produced With Podcast Listen / Subscribe to The Show https://linktr.ee/producedwith Connect on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/producedwith/ Try Saturation free for 14 days: https://saturation.io/join?ref=producedwith&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social⁠ 00:00 - Introducing Simon Tam, CTO of Saturation 05:10 - How Maya Won an Oscar the Year Simon Joined 12:30 - Building Products at Microsoft, Yahoo & Splunk 20:45 - Scaling Teams from 5 to 100 Without Losing Retention 28:00 - Startup Exit to Yahoo: Lessons from the Journey 36:25 - Why Every Great Product Comes From Tiny Decisions 44:10 - Founding Saturation.io to Compete with Movie Magic 53:20 - Building Culture: Risk, Hiring & Startup Challenges 01:00:10 - Simon’s Leadership Style: Empowering Independent Thinkers 01:10:40 - Storytelling Meets Engineering: SaaS for Filmmakers 01:16:00 - The Age of AI: What It Means for Business 01:25:00 - Advice for Startup Builders Whether you're a producer, line producer, or production accountant, Saturation.io can transform your budgeting workflow. Saturation is a collaborative budgeting and production management platform designed to streamline workflows and enhance collaboration within the entertainment industry. 🎬 🎉 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saturation.io/ 🎉 Follow on X: https://twitter.com/saturation_io 🎉 Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saturation 🎉 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saturation.io #ProducedWith