In the second episode in our three part series titled: Focus. Build. Win, I sit down with James Derby, EVP of Merchant Facing Product at Payroc, to unpack how a core product strategy transformed scattered tools into a focused growth engine for partners and merchants. Instead of mastering dozens of third‑party options, the team picked a few products to go deep on, built vertical features that matter, and tightened the feedback loop from sales floor to roadmap.
James walks through Roc Terminal+ for broad processing needs, Roc Giving for nonprofits, and Roc Services for field service teams, including a new scheduling component aimed at competing upmarket. The thread tying it all together is software-led sales: lead with the operational win and let payments follow. That shift brings faster deployments, better support, and real economics for ISOs and agents, with an 8–11% margin lift on new core placements and lower attrition as support improves. Owning the gateway and settlement stack gives Payroc the control to integrate acquisitions, standardize security, and ship features at speed without vendor drag.
We also get into the commercialization playbook: building a business case with sales input, targeting underserved MCCs, choosing build vs. white label, and running disciplined pilots before GA. Post‑launch, James emphasizes data, not vibes – tracking adoption, revenue, support quality, and direct merchant feedback to keep product-market fit tight. Looking forward, tap to pay continues to rise, standalone terminals slowly recede, and consolidation among large processors creates room for agile teams that ship vertical SaaS with integrated payments.
If you care about turning product focus into partner success, this conversation delivers practical detail you can use.If you’ve ever tried to pivot a payments company from vendor sprawl to a product-led core, you know the hardest part isn’t the code – it’s the conviction. Greg Myers sits down with Payroc CEO Jim Oberman in the first episode in our three-part series titled Focus. Build. Win. to trace the inflection point that moved the company from relying on third parties to building and owning the core stack merchants now expect. We dig into the strategy behind choosing focus over FOMO, why omni and embedded experiences changed the rules, and how a disciplined product roadmap turned into a growth engine for partners and merchants alike.
Jim opens the playbook on capital allocation and scale: a two-pronged approach that combined careful acquisitions of mature distribution with targeted technology buys to accelerate the roadmap and extend globally. We talk about integrating WorldNet and BlueSnap, rebranding decisively, and the operating principle that all new business must board on the core platform. The result is a clear throughline from M&A to product to outcomes, including core-platform growth near 37% year over year while legacy assets provide the cash to fund tomorrow.
Execution is where it gets real. Jim shares how Payroc built a weekly cross-functional steering committee to avoid politics, return every debate to customer impact, and keep teams from chasing shiny objects. We explore the shift to vertical focus – unattended payments like vending, laundry, car wash, parking, and kiosks – where contactless demand is compounding. Data sits at the center, with a unified lake that reconciles to financials, enabling honest prioritization and faster, clearer decisions.
We close with lessons learned and what’s next: helping founder teams let go without losing their spark, centralizing support even if it’s expensive, and keeping a “never again” list to avoid unwinnable arenas. The next chapter is about sales execution and taking global capabilities to mid-market clients that are ready to expand.
