Inform

Michael Ozalparti spent five years building Sabazo, a professional services and custom software company serving global hospitality firms with employee development tools. The business grew to "upwards of 40%" growth rate and generated just under $1M in ARR through project-based work and licensing. But Michael saw a ceiling: the services model was high-touch, low-leverage, and ultimately not scalable. He realized that the real opportunity wasn't in building one-off custom solutions—it was in productizing what his team had learned from working directly with 20 large enterprise clients across the hospitality space.

Instead of abandoning Sabazo, Michael made a bold decision: use the cash flow from the agency to fund a new SaaS product called Inform. He bootstrapped the venture with $200,000 saved from Sabazo's revenues—no outside capital. The team split into two: 10 people remained on Sabazo (which would continue generating revenue and insights), while 5 people moved to Inform. The product launched in beta in 2018, positioning itself as an all-in-one LMS for hospitality teams. The key differentiator wasn't just the software—it was bundled content. Michael identified a critical gap: most LMS platforms fail because they lack engaging content. Inform would solve both problems by providing pre-built, professionally produced video and text courses alongside the platform itself.

Michael's dual-company strategy was counterintuitive but strategic. Rather than going all-in on Inform and burning cash, he kept Sabazo alive as a cash engine and customer research lab. The 20 enterprise clients at Sabazo became the proof-of-concept for Inform's value proposition. This approach allowed him to bootstrap responsibly while gathering real-world intelligence about what hospitality teams actually needed to train employees effectively. The pricing model was straightforward: three tiers, two paid, targeting SMEs in hospitality with a freemium entry point.

As of the interview in 2018, Inform was pre-revenue—still in beta, with pricing set to launch by year-end. Michael was clear about the long-term vision: transition fully into the product space over the next five years while maintaining Sabazo client relationships through their contract terms. This wasn't about running two businesses forever; it was about using cash flow and customer knowledge from the legacy business to fund and validate the future one. Michael's philosophy: "You can never buy resourcefulness. What we've achieved in five years working with these customers face to face is a tremendous amount of experience in the space."