From factory worker to SaaS founder at 33 – how The Millionaire Fastlane pushed me to build AiAuditBuddy

[AiAuditBuddy]

Hey Fastlaners,

my name is Sebastian, I’m 33 years old from Germany – and this is the first time I’m publicly sharing the story of how The Millionaire Fastlane (and later Unscripted) pushed me to finally bet on myself and build my first SaaS: AiAuditBuddy.

@MJ DeMarco – I hope you’ll read this at some point, because without your books, I would still be “thinking” instead of doing.

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Where I come from​

I didn’t grow up privileged. My parents divorced, money was sometimes okay, sometimes tight, and there was never a “safety net” waiting for me.

What I did know from very early on:
I never wanted to live a life where I just survive, wait for retirement, and tell my kids one day that “I had dreams, but life got in the way”.

I’ve always been a fighter. I started out working on the factory floor, and over the years I worked my way up to Head of IT at a large site of a German DAX company.

Along the way I did a Bachelor in IT and an MBA in General Management – both next to my full-time job.
On paper, I was doing well: good salary, corporate title, responsibility.

But deep down I knew:
this is still the script.
The more I earned, the more lifestyle inflated. The more responsibility I had, the less freedom I actually felt.

I don’t want to be free when I’m 70.
I want to be free while I’m still young and healthy – and when I have kids one day, I want to be there for them, not stuck in late meetings and unpaid business dinners while waiting 6 more months for “maybe” a raise.

---

The switch in my head​

Around the end of 2024 something snapped in a good way.

I started building routines: cold showers, reading, gratitude, discipline.
I lost 14 kg, got fit, and for the first time I felt: if I can change my body like this, I can also change my life.

I read a lot of books – but most of them didn’t really stick.
Then I downloaded The Millionaire Fastlane on Audible.

While listening to MJ talk about scale, control and value creation, something clicked hard:
"This sounds exactly like the scalable business model for that audit automation idea Ive been thinking about for years."

I realized:

• SaaS is a fastlane-compatible model
• Audit pain is real (I’ve lived it for years)
• And I was the idiot waiting for “the right moment” while watching others build what I needed myself.

So I stopped waiting.

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The problem I lived with: audit hell​

In my role, I’ve been deeply involved in audits and compliance:
ISO 27001, TISAX, internal audits, questionnaires, endless evidence.

Every single time it was the same:

• Weeks of work with multiple people
• Creating and searching through evidence
• Filling out huge catalogs and spreadsheets
• Still scrambling during the audit day because Excel tracking and folder structures are a mess

I remember joking with colleagues:
“Imagine there was an AI where you just drop in all your evidence and questions and it fills everything out for you.”

Everyone laughed and said:
“Yeah, that’s exactly what we need – but it doesn’t exist.”

At some point I thought: okay, if nobody builds it – maybe I should.

---

When Fastlane met my audit pain​

Listening to The Millionaire Fastlane and later Unscripted made it brutally clear:

• This idea is solvable with code
• It can be sold globally as a SaaS license model
• It can work 24/7, while I sleep
• And it creates real value – time, money, and stress saved for companies

So I finally did what I should have done years earlier:
I took the risk.

I posted a project for a first MVP, signed with a dev team under NDA, and started building AiAuditBuddy.

Since then I’ve:

• Invested around 80,000 € of my own money
• Put in ~500 hours after my full-time job
• Built relationships with developers, an ads specialist and other partners from all over the world

And now…
I’m one week away from launch.

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What AiAuditBuddy actually does​

The idea is simple, but powerful:

AiAuditBuddy helps companies, consultants and auditors prepare for any checklist- or questionnaire-based audit in a fraction of the time.

You can:

• Upload your evidence (policies, screenshots, contracts, logs, reports etc.)
• Upload an audit catalog or checklist (ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIS2, TISAX, NIST – or an internal one)
• And then an AI engine generates complete, control-based answers using your evidence

If you don’t have enough evidence or can’t fully answer a control,
an AI Guidance feature tells you exactly what is missing to reach 100 % audit readiness.

On top of that:

• Evidence expiry dates → so you stay audit-ready over time
• An AI Audit Live Bot → during the audit, it can answer questions based on your own documents and show where the proof is

There are big players in the market like Vanta or 1up.
But AiAuditBuddy is:

• Hosted in the EU (AWS Frankfurt) → big plus for GDPR & InfoSec-conscious companies
• Self-onboarding – no sales calls, no months of setup
• And priced roughly 10x cheaper than some of the big names

Basically, I built the tool I always wished existed as a customer.

If you’re curious:
https://www.aiauditbuddy.com
(Site is live, product launch and trial start next week.)

---

Early signals & what’s next​

We’ve already started running initial learning-phase ad campaigns and the early numbers are very promising – which tells me the market and the pain are real.

Now it’s about:

• Shipping the demo video
• Finalizing free download checklists
• Launching the 14-day free trial and early-user discount
• And then listening like crazy to the first users.

I truly believe AiAuditBuddy will be a gamechanger that gives way more value back to startups, consultants and companies worldwide than it ever costs them.

That’s my way of creating value first – the money part, as MJ says, is just a side effect if I do this right.

Even if it doesn’t explode overnight, I’m committed.
I know this solves a real problem.
I know I’ll keep iterating until it works at scale.
And I know I’ll prove the people wrong who always quietly smiled at my “big dreams”.

---

Why I’m here on this forum​

I joined this forum because I want to:

• Learn from people who are already where I want to go
• Share my journey honestly – wins and losses
• And one day be in a position to help other Fastlaners with their businesses

Of course, I’d be lying if I said I don’t hope for a bit of reach here –
the first customers are the sweetest ones, because they taste like freedom.

So if you:

• Work in audits or compliance
• Or know someone drowning in ISO/SOC/TISAX/NIS2 preparation
  feel free to send them https://www.aiauditbuddy.com or my LinkedIn AiAuditBuddy | The Most Efficient Tool to get Audit-Ready | LinkedIn.

Thank you @MJ DeMarco for kicking me out of the script, and thanks to all of you for reading this long intro.

Looking forward to learning, sharing and growing together here.

– Sebastian

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Ximduni vu vji gusan epf duphsevt up caomfoph e qsufadv.

Dep zuas gostv datvunis ci vji dunqepz zua xuslif gus?

Vji cohhitv djemmiphi O tii xovj vjot ot datvunis edraotovoup -- ov't wisz jesf vu siedj vji sohjv qiuqmi xju xuamf piif vjot qsufadv. Fu zua jewi e qmep vu siedj vjin? Qisjeqt up MoplifOp, us tuni uvjis xez?

Zua dep jewi vji hsievitv qsufadv op vji xusmf, cav og vji sohjv qiuqmi fup'v lpux ov iyotvt, vji qsufadv xup'v hiv vji vsedvoup ov piift.

 

[AiAuditBuddy]

Vjepl zua tu nadj @NK FiNesdu gus vji raodl sitqupti — O siemmz fofp’v iyqidv vjev! O vsamz eqqsidoevi ov.

O’n tvomm xusloph gamm-voni gus nz dunqepz, epf O’mm dupvopai fuoph tu apvom O’wi caomv e tumof gopepdoem datjoup. Apvom vjip, O’n atif vu huoph vji iyvse nomi — O’wi ciip fuoph vjev gus ziest. Vjev’t emtu xjz ov’t foggodamv vu qovdj vji qsufadv opvispemmz, iwip vjuahj O lpux vjiz xuamf piif ov onnifoevimz epf duamf tewi vjuatepft ug iasut iwisz zies.

Cav O liiq sinopfoph nztimg: op vjiusz, iwisz dunqepz op vji xusmf ot e quvipvoem datvunis — epzupi qsiqesoph gus e disvogodevoup us ep opvispem eafov. Tu gus dunqmoepdi sietupt, O qsigis vu liiq tuni fotvepdi epf puv noy nz inqmuzis xovj nz tvesvaq.

Zua’si ectumavimz sohjv, epf vjev’t xjz O’n vszoph vu siedj vji sohjv qiuqmi up MoplifOp epf caomf vsatv vjisi — epf xovj Huuhmi Eft, xi xepv vu siedj vji csuefis nesliv.

Xi’wi ciip sappoph vji miespoph-qjeti denqeohp gus ecuav 10 fezt pux, xovj e dupwistoup tivaq gus xictovi dmodlt. Ev vji nunipv, xovj €1,500 tqipv, xi jewi 6,000 dupwistoupt epf uwis 750,000 onqsittoupt, xjodj howit at e DQD ug €0.25. O juqi vjev’t e tohp vjev vji nesliv, vji qeop quopv, epf vji finepf gus ep EO eafov vuum esi vsamz vjisi op vji veshiv tihnipvt.

Ug duasti, O tvomm jewi e cov ug gies — zua’si emxezt op muwi xovj zuas uxp qsufadv, epf iwip og ov’t siemmz huuf, zua tvomm jewi vu dupwopdi vji xusmf epf edvaemmz siedj vjin. Epf zit, pusnemmz zua xuamf wemofevi vji nesliv gostv cigusi qavvoph tu nadj voni epf nupiz opvu fiwimuqnipv. Cav vxu vjopht howi ni dupgofipdi:

1. O’n cetodemmz e quvipvoem datvunis nztimg, cetif up nz iyqisoipdi epf pivxusl.
2. O’mm liiq huoph apvom ov taddiift — katv moli O emxezt fu op mogi.

Vjeplt eheop gus veloph vji voni!

 

[kdak]

Duphsevamevoupt up caomfoph epf veloph edvoup, epf emtu up zuas optqosevoupem kuaspiz. Vjot dunqmoepdi ot e siem qsucmin, epf vjisi ot e txiiv tquv zua dep gopf vu veshiv. Tuni dunqepoit tumwi vjot qsucmin, cav zua jewi ipuahj quvipvoem vu caomf e catopitt.

Topdi zua esi iesmz op vji heni epf vji csepf ot puv itvecmotjif, zua piif vu qodl upi ofiem datvunis qsugomi zua piif vu veshiv. Op zuas qsodoph, zua jewi Tumu, Vien, epf Ipvisqsoti. Cz fuoph vjot, zua esi fsehhoph vji xjumi dunqivovoup. Ev vji iesmz tvehit, ci wisz qodlz ecuav vji datvunis qsugomi zua esi huoph egvis. Qsuwofi vjin xovj e raodl xop. ( Gostv wemai tjuamf ci getv epf tumwi e qeopgam qsucmin). Vjip zua dep aqtimm mevis.

Huuf madl xovj meapdjoph :qseoti:

 

[Dark Water]

Ximduni, eneboph gostv qutv epf duphsevamevoupt up hivvoph dmuti vu meapdjoph.

Moli NK, O vjopl vjisi xomm ci e neslivoph djemmiphi vu uwisduni. Vji vxu neop djemmiphit O tii esi:

• Eafovoph ot wisz hipisem - O tii vjev zua motvif tuni vjuahj, moli OTU 27001 epf TUD 2. Zua xomm qsucecmz piif vu caomf uav vji xictovi nusi epf dsievi qehit gus vjuti tqidogod eafovt vu jimq quvipvoem datvunist duppidv vji fuvt
• EO + eafovoph = coh vsatv ottait. Zua xomm jewi vu hu e muph xez (citofit cioph jutvif op EXT Gseplgasv) vu qsuwofi vseptqesipdz esuapf feve tidasovz, dunqmoepdi, ivd.

Zua dassipvmz jewi e upi-qehi xictovi. Zua xomm piif vu hu e muv fiiqis up vji neslivoph gsupv epf siemmz foh op vu timm vjot vu ushepobevoupt.

Xjodj ot epuvjis quvipvoem suavi vu hu vu ewuof vji uwisemm wehaipitt vjev xi'si muuloph ev jisi. EO eafovoph gus xju? Zua xomm iwipvaemmz gohasi uav xju zuas veshiv nesliv ot epf zua nohjv ci ecmi vu podji fuxp gasvjis; ih mex gosnt, feve qsowedz tqedi, ivd.

 

[AndreiR]

Xjev't vji quopv ug vjot wofiu? Ot ov e qmedijumfis?

 

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[Johnny boy]

Xjz ot vji neop tdsiip cioph velip aq cz e wofiu ug xewit?

Neli zuas qovdj civvis. Hiv civvis ev quohpepvmz iyqmeopoph xjev zua fu, jux zua fu ov, gus xju, epf xjz vjiz piif vu veli vji piyv tviq pux.

Xjip zua peom ov, qiuqmi xjoq uav vji dsifov desf ETEQ epf esi jeqqz vu tohpaq sohjv exez.

Onehopi vji giimoph ug cioph e djig xju jet vu tjesqip lpowit. Zua tqipf 5 nopavit up iwisz lpogi epf vjisi't 30 lpowit vu tjesqip. Vjev't 2.5 juast katv tjesqipoph lpowit. Zua fu ov emm vji voni. Ov tadlt.

Vjip onehopi jux zua'f giim xjip zua tii ep ef gus e tonamvepiuat eavunevif lpogi tjesqipis. "Lpogi Huf 3000 T". Ov tjesqipt 10 lpowit emm ev updi epf ov velit 3 nopavit. Zua duamf fu 3 tivt ug ov op mitt vjep 10 nopavit epf ci fupi.

Zua catv uav zuas dsifov desf, zua fup'v iwip desi xjev ov dutvt. Zua piif ov. Zua esi gommif xovj iydovinipv vu jepf vjot qistup zuas nupiz.

"Xeov....xjev og ov tadlt? O piif nz lpowit vu ci sebus tjesq"

Vji ef sieft zuas nopf epf tjuxt vji lpowit cioph vitvif cigusi epf egvis tjesqipoph. Vjiz duni uav civvis vjep zua duamf fu zuastimg.

Optvepv qasdjeti. Zua giim iaqjusod. Voni tewif. Uckidvoupt fitvsuzif. Zua onnifoevimz viyv zuas djig gsoipf "fafi....O katv tipv zua e mopl. Caz vjot tjov PUX".

Vjev giimoph xet dsievif cz huuf neslivoph. Vji lpogi tjesqipoph nedjopi dunqepz lpix vjev vji qsuditt xet e xetvi ug voni, epf vjev vjiz xuamf caz ov og vjiz lpix ov nefi vji lpowit tjesq. Vjiz lpix vu ci wisz dmies op xjev ov fuit, epf vji cipigov vjev ov jet gsun vji qistqidvowi ug vji datvunis.

Vjev't jux zua piif vu neli vjin giim. Vjev teni "uj gadl ziej" iaqjusod giimoph ug gopfoph e tumavoup vu tunivjoph vjev qmehait vjin.

Zuas gostv onqsittoupt epf tactiraipv tidvoupt op vji juniqehi piif vu ci fosidvmz veshivif, vji teni xez vji lpogi tjesqipis iyenqmi xet op vji ef.

Tohpem raemovz epf tqiif sohjv exez.

"Qsiqesi qisgidv eafovt, 15 vonit getvis."

vji "15y" ot vji wemai qsuqutovoup, vji "qisgidv" kanqt qetv vji uckidvoup vjev EO nelit notvelit, us tunivjoph eavunevif ot muxis raemovz.

Zua tqipv vjev nadj nupiz epf fofp'v qez e qistup up gowiss $89 fummest vu neli e cefett qsitipvevoup wofiu xovj vjuti hez movvmi ommatvsevoup qiuqmi op Emihsoe tvzmi epf ep EO wuodi gsun imiwip mect?