Sabba Keynejad‘s remarkable journey from an isolated English village to founding a $40 million SaaS powerhouse stands as one of the most inspiring entrepreneurial stories of our digital age. Growing up in what he vividly describes as “the middle of nowhere, with more sheep than people,” Sabba developed an early and profound fascination with technology that would ultimately shape his professional destiny. With severely limited resources in his rural environment, he became a self-taught design expert by experimenting with pirated software versions, demonstrating the kind of resourcefulness and determination that would later become the hallmark of his entrepreneurial approach.
“I didn’t have access to the opportunities or connections that kids in major cities took for granted,” Sabba reflects with noticeable emotion. “The internet quite literally became my university, my professional network, and my window into the vast world of technology and business possibilities that existed beyond our village borders.”
VEED (Website) : https://www.veed.io/
VEED (X) : @veedstudio
Sabba Keynejad (LinkedIn) : @sabbakeynejad
The Corporate Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything
After dutifully completing his design degree, Sabba’s brief and ill-fated foray into the corporate world lasted exactly one painfully long week. “I walked into that sterile office environment on Monday morning and by Wednesday lunchtime I already knew with absolute certainty that the traditional career path wasn’t for me,” he confesses with a wry smile. The pivotal moment of clarity came from an unlikely source – a discarded free newspaper article about Candy Crush’s staggering revenue figures that someone had left on the train.
“That casual mention of £1 million per day in revenue completely rewired my brain,” Sabba explains, his voice still tinged with wonder. “It wasn’t just that the number was impressive – it was the realization that apps could be serious, legitimate businesses, not just trivial games people played during their bathroom breaks. That moment planted the seed that maybe, just maybe, I could create something meaningful too.”
The Formative Years: One Thousand Days of Grit and Grind
The Fateful Meeting With His Future Co-Founder
In the summer of 2016, at a particularly low point in his entrepreneurial journey, Sabba connected with Tim through an international online hackathon. Their early dynamic established the foundation for what would become an extraordinarily productive partnership:
Complementary skill sets – Sabba brought design sensibility and product vision while Tim contributed deep technical expertise in engineering
Shared risk tolerance – Both possessed an almost irrational willingness to bet everything on their shared vision
Unshakable commitment – They developed a mutual promise to see projects through to completion, no matter the obstacles
Spartan mentality – An aligned willingness to live on minimal resources while pouring everything into their venture
The Lean Years (2016-2018): Startup Survival Mode
For nearly three grueling years, the duo operated in what Sabba now refers to as “startup survival mode,” a period marked by extreme frugality and relentless effort:
Living Conditions:
Shared a single coworking space membership (passing one physical keycard between them like a baton)
Lived in the cheapest possible accommodations, often in less-than-ideal shared housing situations
Developed an intricate knowledge of supermarket discount schedules to survive on marked-down meals after 8pm
Work Routine:
5:30am wakeups without exception, even on weekends and holidays
14-hour workdays broken only by quick meals and occasional gym sessions
Nights spent voraciously consuming online courses to fill knowledge gaps
Weekends dedicated entirely to customer outreach and product testing
Financial Reality:
Combined personal savings never exceeded £20,000 at any point
Absolutely zero outside funding or angel investment
Kept monthly burn rate under an almost impossibly low £1,500
Regular “money runs” where they’d sell personal electronics, furniture, and other valuables for operating cash
The Birth of VEED: Solving a Universal Pain Point Through Personal Experience
The initial concept for VEED emerged organically from Sabba’s own professional frustrations with existing video editing solutions:
“As a designer working in digital media, I constantly needed to edit videos but found professional tools like Premiere Pro needlessly complex and intimidating,” he explains. “The consumer alternatives were either too simplistic or required annoying downloads and installations. I became convinced there had to be a better way – a middle ground that offered real functionality without the steep learning curve.”
Version 1.0 (2018): The Minimum Viable Product
Browser-based convenience – No downloads or installations required
Three core features carefully chosen based on most common use cases:
Intuitive timeline trimming
Drag-and-drop text overlays
Basic but effective visual filters
Built entirely by Sabba and Tim working in marathon coding sessions
Initial hosting costs kept to an absolute minimum at just $79/month
Office Eviction Crisis
Unexpectedly lost their shared workspace with just two weeks notice
Forced to work from public parks and library study rooms
Conducted customer support sessions using coffee shop WiFi
Team Walkout Disaster
Both interns quit simultaneously without warning
Left with half-finished code and no documentation
Set product development back by at least three critical months
Financial Rock Bottom
Personal bank accounts completely emptied
Forced to sell cryptocurrency holdings at significant loss
Regularly skipped meals to afford basic server costs
Social Isolation Toll
Couldn’t afford even modest social outings with friends
Watched peers progress in conventional careers while they struggled
Faced increasing skepticism from family about life choices
The Growth Breakthrough: An Obsessive Focus on SEO
In early 2020, with the company’s survival hanging by a thread, Sabba made the strategic decision to go all-in on search engine optimization:
The Implementation Process:
Conducted exhaustive keyword research to identify 527 video-related search terms
Built meticulously optimized landing pages for each individual term
Created supporting YouTube tutorials demonstrating each specific feature
Implemented rigorous analytics tracking including:
Precise click-through rates from search results
Page-specific bounce rates
Detailed conversion paths for each visitor segment
The Dramatic Results:
Month 1: +2,000 targeted visitors
Month 3: +15,000 visitors with improving engagement metrics
Month 6: +80,000 visitors and emerging brand recognition
Month 9: Reached 30,000 active users with organic growth accelerating
The Y Combinator Saga: Rejection as Rocket Fuel
Application Context:
Third attempt at Y Combinator application
30,000 monthly active users
$8,000 in monthly recurring revenue
18 months of relentless bootstrapping
The Pivotal Rejection:
YC’s pointed feedback – “We don’t understand why you haven’t charged your users” – sparked immediate action:
Weekend Payment Sprint:
Designed and built complete subscription system in 72 nonstop hours
Onboarded first 20 paying customers through personal outreach
Generated $1,200 in immediate revenue validating the model
The Hail Mary Follow-Up:
Sent personal email to YC partners with detailed metrics update
Included testimonials from new paying customers
Received second rejection within hours
The Silver Lining:
Realization they didn’t actually need YC’s validation
Intensified focus on sustainable growth
Revenue grew an astonishing 400% in following quarter
The Growth Flywheel (2021-Present): From Survival to Scale
Key Revenue Milestones:
January 2021: $1M annual recurring revenue
May 2021: $2M ARR showing accelerating adoption
July 2021: $3M ARR with improving unit economics
December 2021: $6M ARR and first profitable quarter
December 2022: $18M ARR through product expansion
Current Status: $40M+ ARR with continued strong growth
Sustainable Growth Drivers:
Product-Led Growth Engine
Freemium model with strategic feature gating
Built-in viral sharing mechanics
Subtle but effective watermarking strategy
Content Marketing Machine
800+ SEO-optimized articles with regular updates
300+ detailed tutorial videos across platforms
Daily social content establishing thought leadership
Strategic Talent Acquisition
First 10 employees all passionate product users
Focus on practical skills over fancy credentials
Equity-heavy compensation aligning long-term interests
The Modern VEED Technology Stack
Core Technical Architecture:
Frontend: React framework with WebAssembly for performance
Backend: Node.js on AWS Lambda for scalability
Video Processing: Custom FFmpeg integration with GPU instances
Database: MongoDB Atlas for flexible data needs
Essential SaaS Tools:
Analytics: PostHog ($1,200/month for granular insights)
Customer Support: Crisp ($350/month for omnichannel help)
Infrastructure: AWS ($18,000/month for global reach)
Email Infrastructure: SendGrid ($900/month for reliable delivery)
Leadership Philosophy: Hard-Won Lessons From the Trenches
Team Building Principles:
“Hire people who already use and love your product – they’ll understand it intuitively”
“Equity alignment creates better long-term incentives than salaries alone”
“Small, focused teams move faster and innovate better than bloated departments”
Product Development Insights:
“Solve your own problems first – if it frustrates you, it likely frustrates others too”
“Browser-based solutions beat native apps for accessibility and ease of use”
“Simple, intuitive interfaces consistently outperform complex, powerful ones”
Mental Frameworks for Resilience:
“Expect and prepare for at least ten rejections for every meaningful yes”
“Revenue growth solves most other startup problems organically”
“Constraints force creativity – abundance often leads to complacency”
The Road Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities
Current Scaling Challenges:
Maintaining culture and communication at 150+ employees
Building enterprise sales capabilities for larger clients
Strategic integration of AI features without losing product focus
Future Vision and Expansion:
Creating an all-in-one video operating system
Developing real-time collaboration features for teams
Building vertical-specific solutions for key industries
Final Advice for Aspiring Founders
Start Immediately Without Perfect Conditions
“Don’t wait for funding, permission, or the ‘right time.’ We started with less than nothing – just a shared keycard and determination.”Embrace the Necessary Grind
“Those three brutal years of struggle built the resilience we needed for later challenges. The hard times are your competitive advantage.”Maintain Ruthless Focus
“Master one growth channel completely before even considering others. Our SEO focus saved us and became our foundation.”Learn and Build in Public
“Share your authentic journey – it attracts the right customers and talent while keeping you accountable.”Remember to Enjoy the Process
“It’s stressful and all-consuming, but there’s genuinely nothing more rewarding than building something people love and depend on.”
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