# Brian de Haaff

> Brian de Haaff is the co-founder and CEO of Aha!, the world's #1 product development software, which he built past $100 million in annual recurring revenue without taking a dollar of venture capital. Fully remote and profitable from the start, Aha! now serves more than a million product builders. A three-time software CEO, de Haaff is the author of Lovability and the originator of ideas like the Minimum Lovable Product and The Responsive Method. He writes prolifically for an audience of hundreds of thousands, arguing that great companies chase value, not valuation.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Aha!
- **Organizations:** Aha!, Paglo, Citrix
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies (with honors), University of California, Berkeley, M.S., Marketing, Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Built Aha! to over $100 million in annual recurring revenue with no venture capital, debt, or outside investment, Grew Aha! to serve more than one million product builders worldwide, Author of Lovability, a best-selling business book

## Career timeline

- **1990s-2000s** — Held product, marketing, and M&A leadership roles at Concentric Network, RouteScience, Netli, and Network Chemistry.
- **2000s** — Co-founded and served as CEO of Paglo, a search engine for IT, later acquired by Citrix.
- **2011** — Joined Citrix as VP of Product Line, leading GoToAssist and driving the Beetil acquisition.
- **2013** — Co-founded Aha! with Dr. Chris Waters as a bootstrapped, remote, profitable software company.
- **2017** — Published Lovability: How to Build a Business That People Love and Be Happy Doing It.
- **2022** — Aha! surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, entirely self-funded.
- **2024** — Aha! reported more than one million product builders using its suite.
- **2025** — Named Gold Stevie Award Thought Leader of the Year in Business Products; moderated roundtables on AI's impact on product management.

## Achievements

- Built Aha! to over $100 million in annual recurring revenue with no venture capital, debt, or outside investment
- Grew Aha! to serve more than one million product builders worldwide
- Author of Lovability, a best-selling business book
- Originated the concepts of Minimum Lovable Product, Complete Product Experience, and The Responsive Method
- Founder or early employee at five companies acquired by public corporations
- Aha! ranked #143 on the Inc. 5000 and #50 on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500
- Gold Stevie Award, Thought Leader of the Year in Business Products (2025)
- Writes The Startup Adventure newsletter followed by hundreds of thousands on LinkedIn

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Argued that AI is ushering in an 'era of role consolidation' for product managers.
- **2025** — Received the Gold Stevie Award as Thought Leader of the Year in Business Products and moderated product-leader roundtables on AI.

## Links

- Website: https://www.aha.io
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bdehaaff/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/bdehaaff
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aha_io
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aha.Product.Roadmap.Software/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brian-haaff
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-01