SaaS Origin Stories

In this special episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil brings you the season finale of the season. Dan Martell, Mark Stouse, Dani Grant, Brandon Metcalf, Ajay Goel, Geoff Roberts, Chris Frantz, Rand Fishkin, Jason Radisson, and Rex Kurzius share their experiences and insights on various topics in the startup world. They discuss their journeys as founders, the challenges they faced, and the strategies they used to build successful companies. They also touch on topics such as fundraising, product development, marketing strategies, and the importance of understanding the needs of your target audience. They provide valuable insights and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.Guests at a Glance:Dan Martell on LinkedInMark Stouse on LinkedInDani Grant on LinkedInBrandon Metcalf on LinkedInAjay Goel on LinkedInGeoff Roberts on LinkedInChris Frantz on LinkedInRand Fishkin on LinkedInJason Radisson on LinkedInRex Kurzius on LinkedInLinks from the episode:SaaS AcademyBuy Back Your TimeProofMisbehavior of MarketsJam.devPlaceThe Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzGMassOutsetaLoopsSparkToroRappi99 Uber TechnologiesAsset PandaLinks to full episodes:Building A Multimillion Dollar SaaS Company From Scratch with Dan Martell of SaaS Academy5 Things They Didn't Teach You About Leading a SaaS Business with Mark Stouse of ProofThe SaaS Product Market Fit Toolkit with Dani Grant of Jam.dev5 Things Every SaaS Founder Should Know About Navigating The World Of Startups with Brandon Metcalf of PlaceHow To Shoestring Your SaaS with Ajay Goel of GMassWhat SaaS Companies Need To Know About Content Marketing with Geoff Roberts of OutsetaHow to Refine your SaaS Product with Chris Frantz of LoopsThe End of VC with Rand Fishkin of SparkToroExploring the SaaS Impact of AI & ChatGPT with Jason Radisson from MovoHow This SaaS Founder Fixed an Outdated Business Model with Rex Kurzius of Asset PandaTopics we cover:[01:23] - From Coding to Reading: Dan Martell's Journey of Self-Driven Education[05:37] - Mark Stouse discusses the Origin, Development, and Unique Funding Approach of Proof Analytics[09:59] - Dani Grant's Insights: Transition from VC to Founder and Navigating Fundraising[14:40] - Brandon Metcalf's Journey: From Staffing to SaaS Funding and Mastering Salesforce[19:47] - Ajay Goel on Building GMass, and Navigating Operational Costs and Monetization[24:22] - Geoff Roberts on the Journey of Outseta: Part-time Beginnings, Bootstrapping Over VC Funding, and Leveraging Unique Marketing Strategies[29:50] - Chris Frantz discusses the Art of Software Craftsmanship, Early Fundraising, and Building Loops from Scratch to Simplicity[34:35] - Independent Pathways and Rigorous Research: Rand Fishkin's Journey to Build SparkToro[41:11] - Jason Radisson's Insights: Building a Tech-Enabled Business from Ground Up[47:40] - Identifying and Solving Market Problems: Rex Kurzius on Asset Management Evolution

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Jane Portman, Co-Founder of Userlist, an email marketing platform built with B2B Saas in mind. Together, they discuss Jane's history of creating successful products and how they led to what Userlist is today, the experience of joining an accelerator program as an SaaS founder, and why expansion revenue is the goldmine of SaaS.Guest at a Glance:Name: Jane PortmanAbout Jane: Jane Portman, Co-Founder of Userlist, an email marketing platform built with B2B Saas in mind. A UI/UX consultant, specializing in web application design, Jane also runs the UI Breakfast Podcast. Jane on LinkedInUserlist on LinkedInUserlist WebsiteUI Breakfast WebsiteLinks from the episode:Jane on LinkedInUserlist on LinkedInUserlist WebsiteTopics we cover:[00:07] - The Problem that Userlist Solves and How Jane Discovered It[01:26] - Jane's History of Trial and Error in Creating Successful Products[06:41] - Making the Decision to Join an Accelerator[09:54] - Business Growth after Joining an Accelerator[13:35] - Finding Your First Customers[19:38] - Dealing with Surprising Customer and Non-Customer Feedback [24:25] - Learning the Limit of Resources[26:04] - Expansion Revenue as the Goldmine of SaaS[27:44] - Tiered vs. Metered Pricing Models[31:54] - The Problem with Pricing Too Low[33:02] - A Look into the Current and Future Picture of Userlist

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Artem Koren, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Sembly AI, an SaaS platform that uses proprietary AI algorithms to transcribe and analyze meetings. Together, they discuss making smart decisions in the early stages of a startup, as well as how to recover from blunders, insights into building out an AI engine, and how Artem found and filled a gap in the technology market.Guest at a Glance:Name: Artem KorenAbout Artem: Artem Koren, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Sembly AI, an SaaS platform that uses proprietary AI algorithms to transcribe and analyze meetings, making them a more effective experience for teams. Previously he was the Senior Vice President at UMT Consulting, which was acquired by EY Advisory in 2015, and the Co-Founder of Neusana.Artem on LinkedInSembly AI on LinkedInSembly AI WebsiteLinks from the episode:Artem on LinkedInArtem on TwitterArtem's article on the Major Pitfalls of Generative AIArtem's WebsiteArtem's book UntetheredSembly AI on LinkedInSembly AI WebsiteSembly AI BlogSembly AI on Twitter Topics we cover:[00:14] - Artem's Journey from Consulting to Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer[03:48] - Sembly AI as a Problem Solver[08:39] - Insights into Building Out an AI Engine[20:58] - The Importance of Focussing on Individual User Experiences when Approaching Big Organizations[27:54] - Finding and Filling a Gap in the Technology Market[34:23] - Dealing with ‘Hype' when Building a New Product[37:39] - Making Smart Decisions in the Early Days of a Startup[45:52] - How to Deal with Early Mistakes and a Lack of Predictability[51:46] - Why You Should Approach Customers Earlier Rather Than Later

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Jason Radisson, CEO of Movo, a platform that helps businesses build, run, and upskill their workforces. On top of that, he is also an Investor & Growth Advisor at Rappi! Together, they delve into Jason's history as a serial entrepreneur, how Movo acquired online giant Amazon as a client, and why bootstrapping can be both a risky and effective method of funding a startup. They also discuss whether entry-level jobs will be automated away by the likes of ChatGPT and AI.So make sure you stick around for this one; you don't want to miss out!!Guest at a Glance:Name: Jason RadissonAbout Jason: Jason Radisson, CEO of Movo, a platform that helps businesses build, run, and upskill their workforces! On top of that, he is also an Investor & Growth Advisor at Rappi! Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer at 99-Taxis, General Manager at Uber Technologies, and Founder and CEO of Echtzeit GmbH.Jason on LinkedInMovo's LinkedInMovo's WebsiteLinks from the episode:Jason on LinkedInMovo's LinkedInMovo's WebsiteRappi99 Uber TechnologiesTopics we cover:[00:20] - Jason's History as a Serial Founder and Entrepreneur[04:44] - What Distinguishes a Massive Online Marketplace?[07:03] - How Movo Acquired Amazon as a Customer[11:10] - Bootstrapping: A Risky But Effective Method of Fundraising[20:20] - Helping the Bigger Corporations Onboard Your Systems[24:10] - Most Founders Just Want to Help People Get Ahead[34:01] - Will Entry-Level White Collar Jobs be Automated Away?

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Daniel Bakh, CEO of Fullview, a platform that enables SaaS companies to deliver delightful support that is fast, personable, and scalable. He is also the Host of the Collective Hindsight podcast where accomplished founders and investors share their stories, and was previously the Growth Manager at Contractbook and a Product Evangelist at TwentyThree.Join them as they delve into how Daniel turned his frustration in a customer-facing SaaS role into an entirely new business, why going full-time with Fullview straight away was a very risky but worthwhile move, and why your SaaS product needs a hook for your investors. They also discuss why listening to your customers' problems is one of the most important things you can do as a founder.Guest at a Glance:Name: Daniel BakhAbout Daniel: Daniel Bakh is the CEO of Fullview, a platform that enables SaaS companies to deliver delightful support that is fast, personable, and scalable. He is also the Host of the Collective Hindsight podcast where accomplished founders and investors share their stories, and was previously the Growth Manager at Contractbook and a Product Evangelist at TwentyThree.Daniel on LinkedInFullview on LinkedInFullview's WebsiteTopics we cover:How Fullview saves time for B2B SaaS companiesGoing fulltime from day one and the fundraising processJumping straight into the company: brave or stupid?Pitching the idea to investorsSometimes all you need is a powerpointFiguring out your North StarWhy you should meet with every user of your productVisualizing the design of a feature before actually making itListen to the customers, but focus on their problemsAnd more!

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Rex Kurzius, Founder of Asset Panda,a powerful cloud-based asset relationship management platform that helps you keep track of your devices and create interdependencies between them. He is also the Founder of LRK Partners, Timberhorn, and Resulte Universal. He was also the President of Virtual Village.Together, they get into how Rex's serial entrepreneurship journey played out and whether or not first time founders should even start with SaaS, how he found (and solved) a problem within the SaaS market, why you should always mindmap your idea, and why retaining your customers means you have to keep making your product better.Guest at a Glance:Name: Rex KurziusAbout Rex: Rex Kurzius is the Founder of Asset Panda, a powerful cloud-based asset relationship management platform that helps you keep track of your devices and create interdependencies between them. He is also the Founder of LRK Partners, Timberhorn, and Resulte Universal. He was also the President of Virtual Village.Rex on LinkedInAsset Panda on LinkedInAsset Panda's WebsiteTopics we cover:How Asset Panda helps companies understand their equipmentShould you wait before building a SaaS company?The Age of EntrepreneurshipSolving the problems of an outdated business modelMindmap your ideas for a businessFinding the gaps in the marketContent marketing: the most effective way to marketRetaining your customers means making the product betterAnd more!Key Takeaways:The Arc of a Serial EntrepreneurWhen Rex was just twenty-three years old, Rex built and sold his first company called ‘Resulte Universal,' an IT services business. It grew to be worth about thirty million dollars! But he didn't start off with a SaaS product, instead, he built his way up and got used to what it was like building more traditional companies. SaaS is a very complex and intimidating market, so starting off in that industry may be, whilst brave, very risky.“My background is, I did build several other types of companies before I got into SaaS, and those experiences really helped me with it. And you're right, SaaS can be quite a bit more complex, and the runway to build these SaaS companies needs to be quite a bit longer.”Looking for a Problem to Solve: Do it Yourself!When Rex was building one of his service businesses, he continually ran into the problem of lost equipment. Despite using one of the most widely used accounting systems in the world, it seemed to be a problem that a lot of others were having. When he looked into it, he found that this was a common issue a lot of people were having and that the real problem lay within the business model. So what did he do? He took it upon himself to fix it, and thus, Asset Panda was born.“I had built up several service businesses and as I was building one of them I ran into a problem, and the problem was lost equipment. And we were using one of the most ubiquitous accounting systems in the world with Quickbooks, and it had a fixed asset ledger and that's where we were supposed to track our fixed assets, but we continually lost equipment.”Mindmap Your IdeasWhen starting your business, before really committing to an idea, write it all down, whether that be through a mindmap or notes, get it all down on paper and try to make connections to things in the industry. Eventually, you will figure out where the gap in the market lies, and your idea for your business will come to the forefront, all the pieces falling into place.“In any business, if you stick at something long enough and you're gritty enough, you'll eventually overturn questions and get some answers.”

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Alex Levin, Co-Founder and CEO of Regal.io, an outbound phone and SMS sales solution built to drive more conversations with customers and encourage growth. He is also currently a Partner at Blue Trail Partners. Previously, he was the SVP of Growth at Handy HQ and the Director of Global Sales & Marketing at Titan Steel Corporation.They delve into what it was like moving from B2C and into B2B SaaS, why raising money from outsiders may actually be a bad idea, why timing can make or break your business, and why you should not let it get to you just because things will go wrong.Guest at a Glance:Name: Alex LevinAbout Dan: Alex Levin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Regal.io, an outbound phone and SMS sales solution built to drive more conversations with customers and encourage growth. He is also currently a Partner at Blue Trail Partners. Previously he was the SVP of Growth at Handy HQ and the Director of Global Sales & Marketing at Titan Steel Corporation.Alex on LinkedInRegal.io on LinkedInRegal.io's WebsiteTopics we cover:Moving from B2C to B2B SaaSBringing the human being back into businesses through SaaSFinding a team to build your SaaS productRaising money from outsiders: good or bad?Why timing can make or break your businessYour friends are not great customersWait until you find something that people are asking you forSometimes it's not the wrong product, it might be the wrong customerNot everything will go right, but don't let it put you offIt's all about the day-to-day execution And more!Key Takeaways:From B2C to B2B SaaSAlex talks all about how he originally worked in B2C, but when he was introduced to B2B SaaS, he realized that the business model is way better and encourages more revenue growth. He says that he and his business partner enjoyed creating startups and found that, when his original B2C company grew, they didn't enjoy it as much. Eventually, he decided he wanted to become a founder, and they got quite lucky with the transition.“Our whole career really had been B2C companies, we never really worked B2B. Eventually we had this idea for a B2B business and I wish ten years ago someone had tapped me on the shoulder and said ‘Forget B2C businesses, there's this thing called B2B SaaS that's the greatest business model ever,' so I'm glad we made the switch.”Finding a Team to Build Your SaaS ProductAlex and his Co-Founder weren't programmers; they were product managers, so it was up to them to find engineers who could build their product. This meant they needed to know what they lacked and what customers actually wanted. By the time they were hiring, they knew exactly what it was they wanted and what they needed to build. “We weren't the ones that were going to build the product . What we found was it was our opportunity to really go and understand what we needed to build, what customers actually wanted to buy, so by the time we were hiring engineers it was very clear what we were going to build.”Raising Money From Outsiders: Good or Bad?One thing that gets overlooked when raising money for your business is this: once you've raised money from outsiders, it may breed some stagnation. You may find yourself stuck, or realizing that your business isn't all what you thought it would be. This puts you in a rather tricky position, because you have to do something with that money. So, before raising money from others, make sure you're absolutely certain your business idea is what you want.“What people forget is, the second you raise money from outsiders, you're stuck. People think of raising money as a good thing, but it's not, because once you've raised that money you're stuck for a couple of years trying to get that thing to work. It's much better at the beginning to spend less money and use your own funds if you can, figure out if you're convinced.”Your Friends Are Not Good CustomersWhether you like it or not, your friends are not good early customers, because they will feel like they have to be nice to you, especially if you give them a product for free. Rather, you should aim to give your product to people who are more inclined to be honest with you. Alex argues that friends of friends are better, because you're kind of connected to them but you don't really know them.“Your friends are probably not great early customers. The reason is that they want to be nice to you, especially if you don't make them pay for it, then they're not going to tell you the truth that it's terrible or something.”

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Andrew Butt, Founder and CEO of Enable, a software development company that helps manufacturers, distributors, and retailers take control of their rebate programs and turn them into an engine for growth. Prior to this, he was the Co-Founder & Managing Director of the E-Commerce Division at DCS Group (UK) Ltd, and the Co-Founder and Director at Enable Infomatrix.Together, they get into what it's like going from eighty to five hundred employees and how you cope with that as a CEO, when to stop being a remote SaaS business and move to an office, the difficulties of having such a strong niche, and the differences between fundraising in the UK and the US.Guest at a Glance:Name: Andrew ButtAbout Dan: Andrew Butt is the Founder and CEO of Enable, a software development company that helps manufacturers, distributors, and retailers take control of their rebate programs and turn them into an engine for growth. Prior to this, he was the Co-Founder & Managing Director of the E-Commerce Division at DCS Group (UK) Ltd and the Co-Founder and Director at Enable Infomatrix.Andrew on LinkedInEnable on LinkedInEnable's WebsiteTopics we cover:How Enable helps financial professionals, buyers, and sellersCustomer expectations are at an all-time highMerging different skills to solve supply chain problemsBeing profitable from day oneWord of mouth and networking in order to attain customersWhen is it time to stop being completely remote?Having a unique edge as a businessRaising forty million dollars in the first yearHow to spend fundraised money wisely and deploy it effectivelyThe difference between being a CEO of 80 employees and having 500Key Takeaways:A Brilliant Combination of SkillsAndrew and his Co-Founder both had a set of different skills that really complimented each other; Andrew was focused on the tech side while also having an interest in business, and his Co-Founder had an immense knowledge in supply chains, manufacturing, and how customers work. After noticing a technical disconnect between all three of those, they created Enable in order to make the supply chain processes easier! “So [my Co-Founder] was a supply chain expert and understood distribution and also business, and then I was really the technical programming guy and I was building applications, building software, web applications in the early days. And I also had a real passion for business as well.”Being Profitable From Day One!In the UK, the typical approach when building a SaaS business is by starting small and then growing organically. Instead of straight up looking for an angel investor like so many other businesses, they chose to go the traditional, gradual route of funding the business. Once they started to build a product rather than just provide services, they started using the money they got from previous work as the funding source.“Initially we were already providing services. We started the company together really as a service provider, and we were building custom software for companies and they were obviously paying us to do that. So, we were kind of profitable from virtually day one, which is a typical approach in the UK: start very small and grow organically.”Searching for a US InvestorEnable's goal when they moved to the US was to find an investor that understood what they were about—someone who had a deep understanding of their particular niche. Unfortunately, they learned that a lot of people they pitched to didn't really understand their product. Eventually, they found someone and managed to raise forty million dollars in the first year, allowing them to build a team in the US and grow organically.“It really took some visionary investors to see what we had and see through some of those strange kind of aspects and to realize this was a really good thing to invest in.”From 80 to 500 EmployeesWhen Enable made the move from the UK to the US, their team started to grow exponentially and soon went from 80 employees all the way to 500! The transitional period of this proved to be quite the challenge for Andrew. As time went on, they, fortunately, got used to it; it became much easier to manage and they quickly were able to figure out how to delegate tasks.

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Steve Benson, CEO of Badger Maps, a San Francisco based software company that enables field sales teams to manage their territory by combining Google Maps, data from their CRM, route optimization, schedule planning, and lead generation.Steve is also the Founder and CEO of Badger Sales University, the Host of the ‘Outside Sales' podcast, the President of Sales Hall of Fame, a LinkedIn Learning Instructor at LinkedIn, and a Field Sales Efficiency Expert at Sales Experts Channel. They take a deep dive into the financial implications of starting a SaaS business and what to look for when searching for investors. They also delve into how to do research for your product, how to put the odds in your favor as a business, and what kind of game you want to play as a founder.Guest at a Glance:Name: Steve BensonAbout Steve: Steve Benson is the CEO of Badger Maps, a San Francisco based software company that enables field sales teams to manage their territory by combining Google Maps, data from their CRM, route optimization, schedule planning, and lead generation.Steve is also the Founder and CEO of Badger Sales University, the Host of the ‘Outside Sales' podcast, the President of Sales Hall of Fame, a LinkedIn Learning Instructor at LinkedIn, and a Field Sales Efficiency Expert at Sales Experts Channel. Steve on LinkedInBadger Maps on LinkedInBadger Map's WebsiteTopics we cover:The purpose of Badger MapsWhy field salespeople's results are trackedGet to know your user baseThe process of SaaS product fundingShould you use debt?Putting the odds in your favorWhat investors are looking for in a successful SaaS productShould you sell when your company grows larger?What game do you want to play as a founder?Key Takeaways:Get to Know Your User BaseBadger maps was designed to make salespeople's lives easier by planning their routes and figuring out the best ways to get somewhere in the most efficient way possible. Steve achieved this by speaking with multiple salespeople, figuring out what they needed and what the most common issues in their jobs were. By doing this, he wasn't just trying to find out if his product was a good fit for the market, but was also creating his first generation of customers. You can find them on LinkedIn and ask specific questions without sounding salesy, and once they understand who you are and what you're doing, you can start to ask if they'd be interested.“I spoke with hundreds of people who were either the end user of the product,  the manager of the end user of the product, the trainer, VP of sales - I spoke to a ton of them. That's a really important thing to do I think, because you're not just figuring out if this is a good fit for the market, but that becomes your lead generation for your first deals.”Funding the BusinessSteve was very lucky in the beginning of his career - he used to work at Google and had saved up quite a bit of money, so he had that side of the company sorted! But he needed to find three employees: an engineer, a product/general technologist, and a general business strategist. At first, he was paying only for those three but not himself, and after three years he eventually managed to get there. Starting a business is a risky game, but it worked out.“Most people aren't sophisticated enough to understand the risk of these things. If you were to ask someone what's riskier: investing in a bank that's in the news for being shaky or this startup. They're probably going to say the bank because they're in the news for being risky. It's like, no no, the startup is way riskier.”Be Careful About Getting Into DebtA lot of startups will take out loans from bigger companies, and although Steve did this, he recommends that most people don't, because at the end of the day you still have to pay it back. If your company doesn't go the way you thought it would, then you'll find yourself in a lot of trouble. He's been quite clever about dipping in and out of debt, he's made sure that he's been earning enough to justify it and going to places that really understand SaaS. You can't just go to the bank and ask for a loan as they won't fully understand it.“When you're a startup, a lot of the debt products you can get are very expensive, and expensive debt products are very risky. Because the problem with debt is you have to pay it back and you've gotta pay it back on time or literally you lose your company.”What Game Do You Want to Play as a Founder?There are a lot of problems you could fix with the help of SaaS due to the abundance and acceleration of technology in the twenty-first century, but you have to ask yourself the following questions: what game are you going to play? How are you going to look for investors and make sure your business stays healthy, alive and well, and profitable? Some investors may want you to go in a different direction than what you planned, so you need to think about who you're investing from and how much control you get over your business.

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Dan Fernandez, Co-Founder of SoStocked, the first and only customizable inventory management and forecasting software built for Amazon sellers by Amazon sellers. Not only that, but he is also the Co-Founder of Tomoson, a Board Member at Birdies4Brains, and is the lead consultant at WebBizIdeas.com!They delve into how poker helped Dan become the entrepreneur he is today, how to manage the hiccups and struggles that come with running a business, and why the people you work with can make a massive difference to your business' success. He also explains what the ‘three legged stool' analogy is in business and why it's so beneficial.Guest at a Glance:Name: Dan FernandezAbout Dan: Dan Fernandez is the Co-Founder of SoStocked, the first and only customizable inventory management and forecasting software built for Amazon sellers by Amazon sellers. Not only that, but he is also the Co-Founder of Tomoson, a Board Member at Birdies4Brains, and is the lead consultant at WebBizIdeas.com!Dan on LinkedInSoStocked on LinkedInSoStocked's WebsiteTopics we cover:The journey of a serial entrepreneur in SaaSHow poker helps you be a better business personStomaching the ebbs and flows of being an entrepreneurThe three legs of the business stoolDeveloping the architecture of your SaaS businessLearning to manage the hiccups and the development burnDon't take on everything yourselfSurrounding yourself with people who can correct your shortcomingsKey Takeaways:Can Poker Help You Become a Better Business Person?Before Dan even started SoStocked he would play poker with his friends and feature in tournaments; when starting a business, it will always require some gambling, but he isn't suggesting that's all there is to business. Rather, it allowed him to learn how to stomach the unknown and face problems with confidence. He also argues that, if you really believe in something, you have to sometimes gamble on yourself - it's all about risk, and the best entrepreneurs are risk takers. “I think as an entrepreneur, you have to have the stomach for the unknown. You need to be able to know when to gamble. That's not to say that being an entrepreneur you're gambling all the time, but you're taking the gamble on yourself. You are that pit in your stomach.”Finding the Third Leg of the StoolEvery successful SaaS product has to have the three legs of the stool: a subject expert, an operations person, and a marketing professional. Without those, you'll find yourself in a tricky situation. And this isn't exclusive to just SaaS brands, it's actually something that anyone in any business can learn from - those three legs will hold your business up and keep you balanced; the last thing you want is for it all to fall apart.“Every SaaS product that I've had success with, I've had those three legs of the stool. What brought the odds in our favor was finding that subject expert that could truly articulate the hole in the market and then had passion enough to do social media, to go to conferences etc.”How Long Can You Sustain the Development Burn?Your business will require a lot of sustainability in how much development you can burn. You need to be able to balance as much as you can without fully burning out or exhausting yourself and your expenses. Dan points out that every SaaS product he's been a part of has never stayed on budget, and that if you can plan for the hiccups, then you can move on and you'll prove yourself.“In SaaS, business, or whatever, if you can plan for the hiccup and it happens, then it doesn't faze you. It's very rare in SaaS that you're breaking even; sometimes it's a year or eighteen months of burning cash…but you're seeing results and users sticking. The metrics can tell you that it's working, it's just that you're waiting for that lag in the bank account to catch up.”Don't Do Everything YourselfDan says that most people burn themselves out when they try to take on all three legs of the stool. Trying to take on more than one intense role is almost a form of self-abuse and it will lead to blowing up in your face. You need to know your faults as well as what you're good at; fill your business with people who can close the gaps of your weaknesses and compliment them - this is the best way to make sure everyone in your organization is an asset.“SaaS is complex. Where I see a lot of people get burned out and overwhelmed is when they try to do all three legs of the stool themselves. I enjoyed having partners that I could laugh and cry with - that is the way I worked.”

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Indus Khaitan, CEO of Quolom, the best way to buy SaaS through the use of a simple card. Prior to this, he was the Chief of Growth at Chargebee, an Advisor at Sequoia Capital, the Senior Director of Product Management at Oracle, and the Co-Founder of Bitzer Mobile.They discuss how Indus found the problem points of SaaS and marketing products, how to handle feedback rejection as a startup (as well as why timing is so important), and the best way to find new customers in different communities. They also take a deep dive into how difficult it can be to start an entirely new product with no one to compare against.He is a very experienced individual and we're lucky to have him as a guest.Guest at a Glance:Name: Indust KhaitanAbout Indus: Indus Khaitan is the CEO of Quolom, the best way to buy SaaS through the use of a simple card. Prior to this, he was the Chief of Growth at Chargebee, an Advisor at Sequoia Capital, the Senior Director of Product Management at Oracle, and the Co-Founder of Bitzer Mobile. One of his past colleagues, Melanie Fortman, said: “Indus has been a great coach, mentor and inspiration to me at Chargebee. He challenges me to be creative, think out of the box, and continually learn.”Indus on LinkedInQuolom on LinkedInQuolom's WebsiteTopics we cover:The straightforwardness of QuolomPicking out the problem points of industry dataFinding those first few customersTaking on feedback and handling rejectionDiscovering new methods of outreachAligning yourself with the customer's problemsWhat to do when your product is almost too uniqueBalancing the investor's and the customer's needsKey Takeaways:The Abuse of Sales and Marketing ToolsWhen starting Quolom, Indus was looking out for the problem points that plagued content and marketing tools. He noticed that businesses were using up to five products to do one job; he didn't want to cancel these products out, he wanted to make sure the customers were happy with the product and that he could provide the best service for them. Such an overabundance of clashing products meant that they were being abused, and he wanted to mitigate that.“Our job was to figure out how you, as a customer, can be the happiest user of the product, rather than having five overlapping tools and then canceling them properly at the end of the year.”Searching LinkedIn for Customers and Handling RejectionIndus didn't have any CFO connections on LinkedIn when he first started Quolom, something which he thought would be a massive problem. However, through his own contacts he was given recommendations and immediately started connecting and building his network. All of them gave him the same feedback: the product was good, just not something that they'd use right now. This, naturally, got Indus down a little. But after a few days, he went back to the drawing board and made it what it is today!“So, the first version of the product only focused on tracking the usage [...] But what the tool does is, you have to be in the flow of money. How much money are we spending on products, and then tell me what to do.”Search for Customers in New PlacesThere are more places than LinkedIn to find B2B and SaaS customers (despite what others might have you believe). If you scour the internet for communities on places like Twitter and Reddit, you'll be able to find an abundance of new customers. These people might not even be customers, they might just help to inform you on how to alter your business. This can be extremely valuable for you to grow. “We also looked at people who were complaining about software waste and software usage on either forums on Reddit, LinkedIn, or Twitter, and then we started doing an outreach. We also started looking at companies who were using some of these bigger tools.”The Challenges of Starting a New CategoryBeing innovative and disruptive in an industry with a new category is an incredible thing - in fact, it's encouraged. But there is a slight problem that you will face in your unique journey: the lack of competitors. On the surface, that sounds like a dream, right? Competitors can also be seen as a jumping off point, as someone to copy or imitate and figure out how to improve upon what they're not doing so well at. With Quolom being so unique, this proved quite the issue for Indus.“If you're building something which is brand new in a brand new category, that's a struggle. There is no competitor to go after; nobody can tell you ‘hey, go look at that competitor and copy them'. For us, SaaS spend management or procurement, it was an absolutely brand new category and we didn't have anybody to look up to and say ‘oh, I want to be a better version of that'.”

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Scott Hurff, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Churnkey, a SaaS product that fixes every type of churn for you, supercharges all aspects of customer retention, and optimizes your company's growth. They explore Scott's journey to founding and growing Churnkey, the differences between running a B2B versus a B2C SaaS company, and what every SaaS founder should do to scale a successful business.Guest at a Glance:Name: Scott HurffAbout Scott: Scott Hurff is a product maker, designer, and writer. He is the Founder and Chief Product Officer at Churnkey, a SaaS product that fixes every type of churn for you, supercharges all aspects of customer retention, and optimizes your company's growth. Before Churnkey, Scott was the Founding Designer and Head of Design at Casa, Director Of Product Design at Philosophie Group (now InfoBeans), and Product Manager and Lead Designer at Tinder.He wrote Designing Products People Love, a book that highlights how product designers work at places like Twitter, Product Hunt, Facebook, and more. He is a keen writer who works on science fiction stories and is a member of the Sudowriters' writing group. In 2019, Scott graduated from the Taos Toolbox workshop.Scott on LinkedInScott's WebsiteChurnkey on LinkedInChurnkey's WebsiteTopics we cover:How does Churnkey handles retention for you?What can SaaS founders do to reduce their churn?The difference between running a B2B versus a B2C SaaS companyInsights for SaaS founders to succeedKey Takeaways:Cracking the Customer Churn CodeReducing customer churn is a top priority for every company, particularly in the SaaS industry. To tackle this issue, start by identifying the customers who haven't paid for two months but are assumed to be interested in continuing their subscription. This step alone can reduce churn by twenty to forty percent.Additionally, launch a well-designed survey at the point of cancellation to understand why customers are leaving. It's crucial to ensure that the survey is discreet, thoughtful, and crafted to elicit valuable feedback.To further decrease churn, consider implementing a cancel flow and regularly review as a team why customers are leaving on both the product and customer success sides. Make this an ongoing part of your routine and iterate as necessary to keep improving.“De-stigmatize the notion that that data can't be helpful because it's biased, and I think you'll make some great gains.”B2B Versus B2CWhen running a B2B company, you develop a more personalized relationship with your customers compared to B2C, where the focus is on scaling. B2B companies concentrate on resolving specific problems at a more human level. Additionally, B2B SaaS companies typically have smaller and more proficient teams, while B2C companies tend to have a more pronounced separation and specialization of various functions as they grow. However, some B2B founders make the mistake of adopting B2C practices that they believe would work similarly. This is not always the case. If you run a B2B company, your priority should be finding ways to connect with your customers as efficiently as possible.“You have to go through the process and figure out what not to do. Take the wins and then go in and build something of your own and build it your own way.”Wisdom for SaaS FoundersBe open to fundraising and showcasing your product. You won't know if it works if you don't try. Without trying, you won't know if it's effective and capable of scaling. Avoid assuming that your efforts are not good enough. Instead, consider it a motivation to drive you and your company forward. Going through the process can help in identifying your values, abilities, and limitations.“We didn't know if this was gonna work at scale. It's working now. And maybe there's that part of us that we don't want to be told that what we're doing is not good enough.”

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Daniel Fayle, Co-Founder of Chekkit, an all-in-one customer interaction software helping companies get more reviews, more social proof, message your website leads, and more! Prior to this, he was a Small Business Advisor at Scotiabank and was an Intern Analyst at Roynat Capital. One of his previous clients says he has “outstanding customer service skills,” and that it is “always a pleasure working with him and his team.”They discuss how Chekkit succeeded despite Daniel's lack of experience in tech; why a good business pitch is so vitally important; how reviews can be super polarizing; and how a small business can begin to expand globally. They also delve into why coming into an industry a little later can actually be a benefit more than a hindrance! Guest at a Glance:Name: Daniel FayleAbout Daniel: Daniel Fayle is the Co-Founder of Chekkit, an all-in-one customer interaction software helping companies get more reviews, more social proof, message your website leads and more! Prior to this, he was a Small Business Advisor at Scotiabank and was an Intern Analyst at Roynat Capital. One of his previous clients says he has “outstanding customer service skills,” and that it is “always a pleasure working with him and his team.”Daniel on LinkedInChekkit on LinkedInChekkit's WebsiteTopics we cover:How Chekkit solves customer service problemsThe emergence of the Chekkit ideaNo background in tech? No worries!The importance of a good pitchThe polarizing nature of audience reviewsHow to find your customersGlobally expanding your brandThink through your business plan!Key Takeaways:No Background in Tech? That's Okay!Daniel talks about how, when they first started Chekkit, he didn't have much experience, if any, in tech, and neither did his co-founder! In fact, he started off in finance of all industries. They decided to make an app for fun, one that could look at the analytics of restaurants and bars, but it wasn't until a little later on that they decided to build on that idea and create Chekkit. Later, they pitched the idea to investors, and the rest is history. It just goes to show, you don't always need a background in tech to create something great. Whilst it can certainly help, if you just believe in your product enough and are dedicated to making it work, you can make it happen.“I have a finance background. I was a commercial banker - no background in tech, no education, no knowledge. Nothing! I was working up north at the time [...] I met one of my co-founder and he had no background, education or network in tech and software, and we were just extremely poor. We basically said ‘why don't we just create an app for fun.'” The Importance of a Good PitchWhen they first started Chekkit, they went door to door at different restaurants and bars, pitching their business idea to them. Their pitch was so good and useful for the customer reviewing aspect of businesses, they even managed to get a dental practice as a client, something which Daniel was surprised by. Afterall, he thought that hospitality businesses would make up all of their business, so finding out that there's a need for Chekkit's services in other industries was a pleasant revelation.“I knew a friend that had a dental clinic and, us being new to the space and not really knowing, I didn't really think of reviews as a big thing for other [industries], I just thought about restaurants and hospitality. But I pitched it to my friend and he was like ‘yeah, reviews are huge for us', so that definitely caught us by surprise.”The Polarization of ReviewsWhen trying to attain organic reviews for a business, they can be extremely polarizing. Most of the time, people will only leave reviews if they've had a negative experience; it has to be a really good experience for someone to go out of their way for a positive one. That's where Chekkit comes in: it's their job to encourage people who may not have had a five-star worthy experience, but still had a decent time, to leave reviews for businesses to get the recognition they deserve. “Reviews are super polarizing if they're just purely organic. Like, if a lot of people have a really bad experience, they're going to leave you one star, and there's gonna be a lot of people that have a really good experience that leave you a five star. But you're missing that inbetween where a lot of people are still having good experiences, they just don't think to review.”The Global Expansion of ChekkitWhen expanding their business outside of Canada, they found that the US and Australia were more in tune with the technologies available to them and recognised the problem in the customer service market. This made it a lot easier for them to get business and clients. However, if it wasn't for their beginnings in the tougher environment of Canada, they'd probably have found it a lot harder. There was one slight issue they had to iron out, though - due to the higher understanding of customer service issues around the world, it meant that there was far more competition. But this only drove them further to succeed, opening up more opportunities to learn from others! Sometimes, it's best to come to a market later and help solve the same problem, but in a better way.“Sometimes it pays dividends not to be the frontrunner in your space. There's a lot of examples out there.”

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Derek Osgood, Founder and CEO of Ignition, a collaborative hub to help launch teams dynamically plan, execute, and measure GTM processes. Derek is also a Fellow at On Deck, and was previously the Director of Product Marketing at Rippling and the Product Manager at Playstation.They delve into the fundraising process that Ignition went through, when to commit to an idea you have, the thought that goes into choosing to co-found a company, and why you should try to get feedback from customers outside of your network. They also explore just how many times you have to scrap and remake your product until it is absolutely perfect.Guest at a Glance:Name: Arsen Stepanyan About Derek: In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Derek Osgood, Founder and CEO of Ignition, a collaborative hub to help launch teams dynamically plan, execute, and measure GTM processes. He is also a Fellow at On Deck, and was previously the Director of Product Marketing at Rippling and the Product Manager at Playstation.A previous colleague described him as “the kind of manager who inspires you to come to work in the morning, and his creativity and energy flows to the rest of the team. He provided the vision and prioritization needed to do my best work, and the space and knowledge to learn and grow, and most importantly, I always felt empowered and supported by him.”Derek on LinkedInIgnition on LinkedInIgnitions's WebsiteTopics we cover:The multiple problems that Ignition solvesThe bigger you get, the harder it getsThe fundraising process for IgnitionHow to know when to commit to an ideaDeciding to co-found a company with someoneScrapping ideas until you get the right oneThe evolutionary process of building a SaaS productFind customers outside of your networkWhy you should focus on refinement before anything elseKey Takeaways:Taking Matters into Your Own Hands Sometimes, after you've been using tools created by someone else and it still isn't working, you may need to take matters into your own hands. Derek explains that, after having so many founders ask him what the best strategy when launching a product, and knowing that there was such bad or little information out there, he decided to prioritize the process and templates that he already made and built Ignition.“I've launched hundreds of things. Every single time that I've had to build this process, I've had to hack it together with a bunch of tools that are not really built around the workflow that exists. It was never very efficient or effective, despite my best efforts to communicate.” Discovering Surprise Investors!Before even landing on the idea for Ignition, Derek quit his job to pursue starting a company, which meant he was able to go full time but lacked the money to fund his company. But investors will come when you least expect it; when Derek first created Ignition, they only had a few customers, but they were so impressed with the hub that they offered to invest in it. It was only then that they were able to start the real fundraising process, and the rest is history!“We built a prototype and went and put it in front of a few customers who we had never met. A couple of them were excited enough to say ‘we'll definitely buy this' and also a couple of them offered to invest because they were so excited about the vision. That turned into us going out and kicking off an actual fundraising process.”How to Know When to Commit to the IdeaYou have to know when to commit to your business ideas. There's absolutely no point in marrying one before you're one hundred percent sure it's the right choice. But how do you know when it's the right choice? Well, it's all about trial, error, and validation among those you put the product in front of. Oftentimes, you'll know when you've struck gold, but it's important to remember to stay level-headed and not get caught up in the excitement. Try to look at your business from an objective point of view.“We weren't fully like, ‘lets go make anything and whatever sticks, sticks'. We were a little married to the idea, but we said we weren't fully committing to this thing until we've fully validated it. This isn't just personal pain, this is also pain that other people are feeling.”The Value of a Stranger's VoiceIn order to get the best feedback for your work, always try to test out the product with people outside of your network - this is far more important than you might think. When we show our work to the people we know, people who we've already developed relationships with, they are more inclined to tell us they like our work in hopes it'll make us happy. Whilst this is a very nice thing to do, we need criticism and pointers from an objective point of view in order to grow and develop.Strangers are honest with us. Derek himself says that, if he showed his work to people in his network, they'd likely be ‘too gentle' and want to protect his feelings too much. 

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Arsen Stepanyan, Co-Founder and CEO of Orders.co, an online ordering suite which allows restaurants to offer food on every platform, or just the ones they prefer. Arsen is also a Board Member at BuildUp Bootcamp and is the Principal Chief Executive Officer at Aspire Vape Company. He claims he is “dedicated to offering solutions to the restaurant industry to streamline the ordering process and increase revenue”.They discuss the interesting story behind the origin of Orders.co, why listening to your audience is more important than anything else, and the advantages of going door to door in your sales approach. They also talk about why every member of your team is integral to success and why you should follow your own pace.Guest at a Glance:Name: Arsen Stepanyan About Arsen: Arsen Stepanyan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Orders.co, an online ordering suite which allows restaurants to offer food on every platform, or just the ones they prefer. Arsen is also a Board Member at BuildUp Bootcamp and is the Principal Chief Executive Officer at Aspire Vape Company. He claims he is “dedicated to offering solutions to the restaurant industry to streamline the ordering process and increase revenue”Arsen on LinkedInOrders.co on LinkedInOrders.co's WebsiteTopics we cover:Where the idea for Orders.co came fromThe importance of audience feedbackThe difficulties of running multiple companiesDealing with SaaS roadblocksDon't jump ahead of yourselfAdvantages of going door to door salesTry not to limit yourself!Every team member is integral to the success of a companyKey Takeaways:Product Quality and Audience Feedback In any industry, no matter what your product or service is, you need to make sure you listen to your audience. You obviously rely on them to keep the business afloat, so you need to do everything in your power to make improvements and changes whenever and wherever they suggest it. This is something Arsen made sure to do when creating Orders.co, and as a result he was able to get more customers through referrals.“When the customer is ordering a product, get the customer experience on the floor. When they receive the product, [ask them] what did they think about the product quality, and then ask if they're happy enough to refer others.” Don't Do Too Much, Stay Humble and Take it SlowArsen explains that, when they first started the company, they were visiting about 30-40 expos per year, trying to get their name out there in the SaaS world. If there's one thing he learned from this experience, it's that you should not spend loads of money or go too big before you're ready. Instead, you should take it slow and grow naturally in your own time. There's no point in bragging about being the best if you're not at all ready; go small and meet with your customers and listen to them!“Don't go too big; don't spend too much money; don't show that you are the best brand. It's just about going small, and just meet with your customers. Meet with the people. Listen to them. Tell them you are here next to them, and if they have any concerns or they're not happy, you are always here to talk with them.”Going Door to DoorOne thing that gets overlooked in the SaaS world is physically going to businesses and talking with them about your product or service. It's a very traditional plan of action, one that can't be replicated through any sort of technology. Arsen admits that, although he's aware not all of his customers will stay with them for a year especially when the product wasn't that perfect to begin with, going door to door and speaking with customers made a huge impact to Order.co.“We're not trying to do it for free, the customer has to pay something. The very first customer was a friend, but after that we were just doing sales; traditional door to door sales, just meeting with the customers and spending time with them.”Every Team Member Is IntegralArsen recalls a time when one of his team members fell ill with COVID and was stuck in the hospital for two weeks. During that time, there was a problem that only the sick member could fix, but of course there was no way to get him to help. As a result, they had to wait for him to recover before they could do anything, causing the platform to suffer, losing about half of their customers. It was difficult and no doubt exhausting, but they understood why the customers left – they were small and it was too big of an inconvenience.But from great adversity comes great lessons. Arsen realizes now just how integral every team member is to the company since there will always be things you can't fix yourself.

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Richard White, CEO of Fathom, a free Zoom app that records, transcribes, and highlights the key moments from your Zoom calls so you can focus on the conversation instead of taking notes. He is also the Founder and was the CEO of UserVoice; currently, however, he is Chairman of the Board at the same company.One of his previous colleagues, Jim Wright, has praised him for his approach to problem solving, “Rich is one of those developers who can see the whole picture and find a real world solution, not just a fix for a particular technical issue.”They discuss how the conception of SaaS products are usually due to finding roadblocks in technology, what it's like searching for investors, the amount of effort it takes to keep an audience's attention, and how Fathom became a Zoom native app and if they have any plans to expand outside of it.Guest at a Glance:Name: Richard WhiteAbout Jon: Richard White is the CEO of Fathom, a free Zoom app that records, transcribes, and highlights the key moments from your Zoom calls so you can focus on the conversation instead of taking notes. He is also the Founder and was the CEO of UserVoice; currently, however, he is Chairman of the Board at the same company.Richard on LinkedInFathom on LinkedInFathom's WebsiteTopics we cover:Why Fathom came at the perfect timeUnderstanding exactly what users wantSearching far-and-wide for investorsBuilding a solid SaaS team and product When are you ready to launch your product?Trying to keep the audience's attentionThe high standards of making something easy and memorableHow Fathom became a Zoom native appPlans to expand outside of ZoomKey Takeaways:The Difference Between Hearing and Listening to Your CustomersFathom was created for people like Richard, who have a lot of meetings on Zoom, yet struggle to take notes at the same time. Ever since the pandemic, people have been faced with this issue, and after researching into the user experience, Richard came up with the idea for Fathom, an app which takes important notes from zoom meetings so you don't have to.Understanding what users want and need is a skill; it's something you have to train yourself to look out for. Pay attention to how your customers are speaking, how they're asking questions, what specific words are they using? It's only because of this ability that Fathom was able to exist in the first place.Searching Far-and-Wide for InvestorsSince its conception, Fathom has managed to raise about six million dollars in investments; a million of that money is from the users themselves. It started off by asking friends and family and putting on events, but they also wanted to try to reach people with connections to Zoom, considering it was the platform they were focused on. If they could find people there to invest, then they could not only raise money, but they could build solid and professional relationships. They also did a WeFunder campaign which allowed users to donate and invest.“I've found that, when you get people putting their own skin in the game - angels and our users - you just get a very different kind of relationship and engagement.”Houston, We're Ready for Takeoff…You have to make sure that before you launch your SaaS product, everything is ready. Richard explains, although they had a rough version of Fathom ready within the first few months, it took about a year before they could confidently release it into the world. In fact, a lot of the time, even when your product is in the early stages of its existence, warts and all, it's easy to see what it could evolve into, and if you can envision that end goal, then you can easily tolerate some of the bugs at the beginning.“If you can create something that solves a problem you have, and make sure there's a big market for that problem, it's such a hack. I had such high conviction for the product at an early stage because it's like, I'm willing to tolerate some of the bugs at the beginning, we just needed to polish it up.”Keeping the Audience's AttentionWhen creating anything - not just a SaaS platform - that involves grabbing an audience's attention, you need to be able to keep them interested for at least the first five minutes, otherwise your product just won't work or take off. Once you've lost a customer's attention and focus, it's exceedingly hard to get it back, so make sure your product performs the best it possibly can when showcasing it. Try to take a step back from your work and be honest with yourself about it, be subjective - ask yourself what you need to alter, what needs to go and what needs to be added. This way, you're more likely to keep the audience engaged and interested.“You learn a lot of things about how hard it is to get people's attention. We  actually started off as a desktop app, then a zoom app, but we moved back to being a desktop app because we saw that in the zoom app, people would start a meeting and then they'd have to remember to turn on Fathom [...] It's  very easy to be forgotten, especially when you're trying to change people's habits and behaviors.”

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Jon Darbyshire, CEO of SmartSuite, a platform that helps coordinate workflow across all levels of an organization to ensure that team members have the information they need to accomplish their best work. Previously, he was the Executive Chairman at The Archer Foundation. He is also the Founder and the previous CEO of Archer Integrated Risk Management.They dive head first into how long it can take to build a SaaS product, why SmartSuite chose to have no paid marketing, why you need to keep a transparent and trusting relationship with your customers, and the importance of building a community within a SaaS business. Jon also talks about his unique and fortunate journey into building SmartSuite, delving into why it needed to be perfect before even announcing it.Guest at a Glance:Name: Jon DarbyshireAbout Jon: Jon Darbyshire is the CEO of SmartSuite, a platform that helps coordinate workflow across all levels of an organization to ensure that team members have the information they need to accomplish their best work. Previously, he was the Executive Chairman at The Archer Foundation. He is also the Founder and the previous CEO of Archer Integrated Risk Management.A previous colleague at Archer described him as “Visionary, disciplined, focused, family, mentor. These are terms that come to mind when I reflect on my time working for Jon at Archer.”Jon on LinkedInSmartSuite on LinkedInSmartSuite's WebsiteTopics we cover:How SmartSuite helps businesses run their workloadThe long, drawn-out time frame of building a SaaS productWhy SmartSuite chose to have no paid marketingBuilding a SaaS community The importance of transparency with your customersManaging workloadThe democratic process for SmartSuite featuresTaking accountability for bad decisionsKey Takeaways:Rome Wasn't Built in a Day Any sort of product or service, especially in SaaS, will take an incredibly long time to build and polish. Jon acknowledges this, claiming that SmartSuite took about two years to complete, even with the help of a hundred different developers. But don't let this long, drawn-out time frame discourage you from your craft. Afterall, Rome wasn't built in a day; in fact, most disruptive and revolutionary creations weren't.“We did something that was quite unique: we hired about a hundred developers, and we spent the next two years building the core platform before we made any announcements about what the company would do [...] I was in a unique position in that I had the funding personally to be able to build the company without needing to raise any capital.” The Power of Just a Few LinkedIn PostsWhen Jon first released SmartSuite into the world, he chose not to do any sort of paid marketing. Instead, he opted to make just a few LinkedIn posts to get people talking. As they gained traction and a few customers came in, they were able to engage with them more and find out what worked for them. Now, much larger companies are coming in, proving that you don't always need to rely on paid marketing for the success of your platform.That being said, Jon admits that they will indulge in paid marketing and invest in  a marketing team eventually, but right now they have no use for it.“We kinda went into a beta programme, but we didn't announce that. The only thing we did was we turned on our website. We have no paid marketing—even to this point—we just made some announcements on LinkedIn. And our first customer came in, a single user in the Northeast, and that's how it all started.”Community: A Core Part of the SaaS DNAA core part of SaaS DNA is community. Jon talks about how, at SmartSuite, this is definitely put into consideration. With so many people working to make a product great, it's important that there is a sense of community where employees feel as though they can share ideas with each other without being judged. This doesn't just apply to employees, as they also have a ‘User Group Chairman': a customer that speaks on behalf of other customers. It's extremely good practice to make sure you listen to your customers just as much as you would your team; they are the ones who use your product, you need to make sure you know what they think.“We feel that is our number one feature as a company. We provide a great product with a lot of features, but people love the community aspect of getting to know each other, sharing their successes and sometimes failures, what's working and what's not, and just building relationships. That's a core part of what we're trying to do.”The Importance of Transparency with Your CustomersA lot of the time, businesses don't tend to communicate with their customers about what they're working on and the roadmap of the product. And sometimes, even when a customer reaches out with a problem, they might not get a response until the next day, or even a couple of days later. It's incredibly important to Jon and the SmartSuite team that they communicate transparently with their user-base so that they're always kept in the loop which is a surefire way to keep up customer loyalty and trust.“It makes it more fun, too. They're getting to know our customers and interacting with them in a way that makes it more personal, so they don't just know them as customers, they get to know them as people. And that's helping build the culture of our company.”Be Prepared for the WorkloadWhen you're first getting started with your SaaS platform, it's easy to forget just how much work you will one day have to manage, should your company blow up. Jon talks about how his team, having already been worn out from just how much time and effort they were putting into the product, were shocked when they realized how many customers they were suddenly attracting, transitioning from five thousand customers to a hundred thousand!Because of this, they had to make sure they were prepared for more workload and stay at the top of their game. And overtime, they dealt with it and have a good grip on the situation.

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Kaumana Rindlisbacher, Co-Founder and COO of Pickle, a platform designed to help companies of any size understand their customer conversations and strengthen their relationship by transcribing audio into text. He is also a member of the Revenue Collective, RevGenius, and Modern Sales Pros. Prior to this, he was an Enterprise Account Executive at EasyPost.They discuss Kaumana's atypical journey into becoming a founder, how COVID influenced the creation and popularity of Pickle, why he quit his job in order to pursue his vision, and the importance of having a distraction free space. Not only that, but they also delve into why having a sales-driven business model works so well for them.Guest at a Glance:Name: Kaumana RindlisbacherKaumana Rindlisbacher is the Co-Founder and COO of Pickle, a platform designed to help companies of any size understand their customer conversations and strengthen their relationship by transcribing audio into text. He is also a member of the Revenue Collective, RevGenius, and Modern Sales Pros. Prior to this, he was an Enterprise Account Executive at EasyPost.A previous colleague of his, Carlos Diamond, said about him, “Kaumana is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. He comes in early and stays late. Not only is he working hard to reach his goals, but he also goes out of his way to help others too. Kaumana is the type of worker you want on your team no matter what project you are a part of. He will learn what is required of him and find success whatever it takes”Kaumana on LinkedInKaumana on TwitterPickle on LinkedInPickle's WebsiteTopics we cover:How Pickle utilises artificial intelligence for high quality transcriptionsKaumana's atypical journey into becoming a founderCOVID's influence over the creation of PickleQuitting their jobs and funding the businessDiversifying your content and marketingThe importance of having a good sales teamPickle's ambiguous product market fitKey Takeaways:From Salesperson to Founder: Kaumana's aTypical JourneyKaumana says it's not all that common to see salespeople become business founders, especially in SaaS. It's for that reason that Kaumana's journey was an atypical one, especially considering his dense background in sales. But this gave him a unique perspective as a founder, enabling him not to fall into traps his peers do. “A lot of people think that if you build it, they will come, especially first time founders,” he says. “They focus heavily on product, and they think ‘if we just focus on product, the rest will take care of itself. That's not the case. You have to be able to sell”“This Call Will be Monitored for Quality and Training Purposes”We've all heard those words spoken into our ears the minute you call a business or a call center. But how much of those calls are actually monitored and reviewed? According to Kaumana, even the biggest corporations only review about two percent of their customer phone calls. This is how Pickle came to be, and because of the pandemic and the uprising of Zoom calls, they were able to really focus in on and transcribe different conversations, making a name for themselves and really coming into their own.The Fundraising Process: All in or NothingKaumana says that Pickle wasn't something they just did as a side project. In fact, they were so determined and enthusiastic about the idea that they quit their jobs to pursue it and rented an office space. However, this isn't to say that you should do the exact same thing. After all, it is a very risky move to pull off, and if it wasn't for how lucky they were with the fundraising, it could have gone very wrong. But luckily, it didn't! Their passion for the project and their willingness to learn elevated them to heights beyond what they could have imagined. If you have a project that you're passionate about, or a business idea you're certain will work, you should follow through with it! You never know what could happen!The Importance of a Distraction-Free SpaceThere is something unique about working in an office compared to working from home; we are social creatures, and being able to see and talk to people in the flesh can make a huge difference in our outlook. While it may seem like SaaS companies don't need to meet in person, you'd be surprised just how much of a difference it can make to your morale.While remote working has revolutionized the way we work, Kaumana points out just how important it was for him and his co-founder to have a distraction-free place to work while building their company. As they both had infant children at the time, they needed to be able to meet up and work in order for the business to be successful.A Sales-Driven SaaS Business ModelThe secret to building a successful sales-driven business model is actually quite simple: content. Produce lots of good, diversified content with a focus on SEO and creativity. Think about all the different routes you could take in terms of marketing: blog posts, podcasts, LinkedIn posts, website SEO - there's so many tools at your disposal, just waiting to be used!“A lot of our buyers are on LinkedIn, so he's posting on LinkedIn everyday, doing a blogpost every week. We're releasing a podcast every week - forty episodes at this point. So we're generating content, working on SEO, driving people to us on LinkedIn, driving people to the website.”

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil is joined by Ran Aroussi, Founder of Tradologics, a cloud based platform which helps traders, investors, and firms across the world develop, test, run, and scale their programmatic trading strategies. Previously, he was a special project manager at Panda Trading Systems, and Founder of Tuki Media and Tuki Apps. They dive headfirst into the luck involved with funding your SaaS platform; just how long it takes to finish your product; the process of finding users; and why they call their customers ‘Prosumers'. They also touch on how the Ukrainian conflict has affected their job, as well as making sure you'll have the right tools for the job.Guest at a Glance:Name: Ran AroussiAbout Ran: Ran Aroussi is the Founder of Tradologics, a cloud based platform which helps traders, investors, and firms across the world develop, test, run, and scale their programmatic trading strategies. Previously, he was a special project manager at Panda Trading Systems, and Founder of Tuki Media and Tuki Apps.When asked about Ran, one of his colleagues said, ‘If talent and creativity is what you are looking for then Ran is THE man for it. Always with a smile, Ran is a true professional in his field!'Ran on LinkedInRan on TwitterTradologics on LinkedInTradologic's WebsiteTopics we cover:How Tradology removes the problematic barriers in tradingWhy they call their clientele the ‘prosumers'Ran's journey to where he is nowThe peaks and troughs of funding your SaaS platformHow the Ukrainian conflict has affected their businessThe length of time it took to get the first version of Tradology finishedThe process in finding your usersWill your work ever be truly over?Make sure you have the right tools for the jobKey Takeaways:How Tradology Removes the Problematic Barriers in TradingRan says that Tradology is solving a ‘myriad' of problems in trading, removing most of the frivolous, technical barriers that stand in the way of people who are trying to generate a solid trading strategy in stock or crypto. But who is the target audience for this? Well, Ran explains that they made the choice to refer to their customers as ‘prosumers', an in-between market of the smaller professional traders (fund managers and investment advisors) and some of the most prestigious retail traders (people who trade for a living with their own money). With such an innovative platform, Tradologics is bound to expand their audience and reach more traders across the globe.Funding Your SaaS PlatformFunding anything, whether it be your SaaS platform, a business startup, or even something like an independent movie - it can take time, effort, and a lot (really, a lot) of convincing. But don't let that put you off! If your idea and platform is innovative and brilliant, if you are passionate enough about it, then you will find someone who will invest. Ran explains that, before Tradologics, he had no experience in trying to raise money for a project. It was only through some stroke of pure luck that he managed to grab the attention of and hit it off with the first investor he contacted. He acknowledges, though, that this really isn't the norm, and that it was a very good start. It wasn't until the second round of seeking investors when reality hit and it began to take much more time.“In the beginning, they invest in the idea. Later they invest in the team or the product - whatever it is. And then, as you progress, it starts to get more difficult [...] It either becomes a massive success, or a bust.”The Unfathomable Impact of the Russo-Ukrainian War on BusinessRan has a fair few colleagues in Ukraine, and the war has, just as it has for a lot of people, affected the way business is done. Fifty percent of the time, daily meetings are constantly shifted to different times, and all too often they have no electricity or an internet connection. He recalls a time when during one meeting, a colleague was surrounded by candlelight with poor internet quality.It's safe to say that we all have the utmost admiration for those continuing to work and making a living through the Ukrainian conflict, and we wish them well.“They're amazing, they truly are. It's been a tricky road,” says Ran, wholeheartedly. The Length of Time it Takes to Get a Product DoneThe first version of Tradologics came into fruition after about six months, but Ran claims that the finished product took them around a year and a half. But remember, just because something is functional and working, it doesn't mean that it's the final ever version. No matter what you create in SaaS, no matter how talented a programmer you are, there will always be something to change and tweak further down the line. You will, most likely, never be finished, and given all the possible delays and interruptions that will occlude your process, there is no telling how long it will truly take. Therefore, it's important to have dedication, perseverance, and passion for what you're doing, otherwise you will fall victim to giving up.The Process of Finding Your UsersRan admits that he was very fortunate when finding his ‘prosumers'. It was thanks to his blog (which he also admits he hasn't updated in a while) that people saw what his idea was and signed up to a waiting list. He asked people to fill out surveys and answer questions so that they could make Tradalogics the best it could be. Now, they have about 20,000 people on the waiting-list, an impressive number for a business with no advertising!

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Niclas Lilja, CEO of Yoonium, joins host Phil Alves to discuss a wide range of topics, from keeping your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) simple to early growth strategies and scaling outwards from a narrow customer profile.Niclas Lilja is the Founder and CEO of Younium, an automation subscription management SaaS. He has over seventeen years of experience in product development, management, and marketing.Guest at a Glance:Name: Niclas LiljaWhat he Does: Niclas Lilja is the Founder and CEO of Younium. He has led production and marketing teams in his previous roles. Younium is a six-year-old startup founded in Stockholm, Sweden. Niclas Lilja on LinkedInYounium on LinkedInNiclas's Book Recommendation Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap While Others Don't by Jim CollinsTopics we cover:Birthing a SaasKeeping a Tight Control on MVP ScopeEarly Growth StrategiesCatering to a Niche and Scaling OutwardsHighlights:The Birth of an Idea and Validating itNiclas shares how the idea of automating subscription management stems from one of his tasks in a previous role where, among other things, he was responsible for managing the subscription portfolio of the company. It was a tedious, time-consuming, and frustrating manual process. The desire to automate subscription management was the birth of his startup idea. Niclas shared his idea with his peers in other companies and discovered that the desire was universal.“Using your peers in other companies as a sounding board is the initial first-hand research”.  Keep Your MVP Light on Design and EngineeringWhen designing the MVP, keep a tunnel vision of your first three customers' needs; don't think of serving 10,000 customers. Above all, you need to make sure that the product works. The way to do this is to keep a tight rein on design and engineering complexities and focus on the product's core solution. “We went for a basic and pragmatic first version; we went with something we knew while avoiding new things initially”.Early Growth StrategiesNiclas started promoting the initial version at B2B industry meetups. The approach helped get in front of potential clients and build a contact network. It was also valuable for getting feedback in real-time. Attending meetups ran parallel to hard cold-calling to identify new leads. “In the beginning, you don't need 100 meetings. You only need to catch a few relevant prospects in a friendly environment”.  Go Vertical Before Branching out HorizontallyNiclas feels it was smart to identify a target niche in the B2B space and develop a product for it. He followed the same logic in his GTM strategy. The product evolved with vertical growth in the niche before broadening the scope of the ideal customer profile. The ensuing growth was more stable without the constant effort of trying to be everything to everyone.“If we hadn't been hard about a granular definition of our ICP, we might not have been here today”. 

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil is joined by Carl Carell, Co-Founder of GetAccept, a digital sales room empowering revenue teams to increase their win rates by engaging and understanding buyers. Previously, Carl was also the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adsensus Denmark Aps, and was a Sales Manager AtlasTM SRL.They have an insightful discussion about just how educated buyers are now compared to years ago; why you need to be careful about who you choose to run a business with; the importance of learning through failure; and the impact of having a healthy working culture. They also get into why, as a startup, you need to be able to execute your ideas quickly, but also why you shouldn't overwork yourself.Guest at a Glance:Name: Carl CarellAbout Ran: Carl Carell is the Co-Founder of GetAccept, a digital sales room empowering revenue teams to increase their win rates by engaging and understanding buyers. Previously, Carl was also the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adsensus Denmark Aps, and was a Sales Manager AtlasTM SRL.One of his colleagues, Kevin Montano, had this to say about him: “It is rare to possess as much charisma and emotional intelligence as Carl. I was lucky enough to learn from him during my time with the company he founded, GetAccept.”Carl on LinkedInCarl on TwitterGetAccept on LinkedInGetAccept's WebsiteTopics we cover:How GetAccept helps create fantastic opportunities for businessesCarl's advice for choosing business partnersThe hardships of building a SaaS businessLearning curves in starting a businessThe importance of retaining a healthy business cultureMake sure you execute your ideasThe process of funding your businessHealth is wealth - don't overwork yourself!Key Takeaways:Buyers Are Significantly More Educated Nowadays Being a sales rep in this day-and-age can be a tricky business. Afterall, with so much accessibility to a wide range of information (and also misinformation) on the internet, customers are far more educated on certain topics and, as a result, are more weary when it comes to listening to sales reps. Carl explains that, at GetAccept, they want to create a better experience for both sales reps and buyers, making it smoother and having a much clearer understanding of each other. “So, how do we create a journey that is not just helping sales reps sell better, but also helping buyers have a better experience and understand that vendor in a better way? That's what got GetAccept to be where we are today. That is essentially the problem that we think about; I fall asleep thinking about our product and I wake up [still] thinking about it, every single day.”Be Careful Who You Choose to Start Your Business WithCarl's business background has certainly been a rich and busy one, but one piece of advice he has for anyone looking to start a business, whether that be in SaaS or another respectful industry, is that you shouldn't just start a business with anyone. Just because someone is a good friend, it doesn't mean they'll be a good business partner. It's an easy mistake to make, one filled with so much excitement and enthusiasm for a business idea that it can be hard to remember the importance of how well you and your partner will mesh and work together in the long run. “We started a business in college [...] That was an interesting journey, it taught me a lot about how you should think around your business. You should just start a business with whoever's around, you should really think about the co-founders you choose and what their ambitions are.”To Get to Where You Want, You Have to Try and FailSaaS is notoriously difficult to build a business in, and just like many of host Phil's guests, Carl has started multiple businesses before hitting the jackpot with GetAccept. There's a danger with the way the media shows off many entrepreneurs in recent times, portraying them as figures who can do no wrong and are unquestioned geniuses, but Carl warns us not to listen to them that much, as almost every entrepreneur he knows has had to try and fail before making something great. It's the dream of many SaaS entrepreneurs to move to Silicon Valley and smash it out of the park, but it's important to remember: it won't always be that easy.The Importance of Culture in BusinessCarl acknowledges that, when he first started in SaaS, there was a certain toxicity to the culture - tight deadlines, short tempers, inflated egos - but now, it has calmed down a lot. It's so vitally important that your business creates a culture that people want to be a part of; culture is what makes people want to come back to the office and work with others, it creates a sense of belonging that is absolutely needed for any one in any sort of environment. “If you hire really fantastic people and have that as a strategy, you also have to have a strategy to retain that talent and to keep them happy.”How Quickly You Can Execute Your Ideas as a Startup is VitalWhen you first create your business, meeting deadlines and executing your ideas is paramount, because you still have to prove yourself. This can lead to long hours and hard work which will require a strong work ethic, resilience, and determination. It's important, then, to try and stay optimistic, and keep in mind that Rome wasn't built in a day.Eventually, all of your hard work will pay off, it's just a matter of time.

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Brendon Metcalf, CEO of Place, joins host Phil Alves to discuss a wide range of topics ranging from funding strategies, creating a product-market fit, and how to run a SaaS startup when 80% of your business comes from one client. Brandon Metcalf is an accomplished entrepreneur with a strong track record in building and leading successful companies. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Brandon also hosts the popular Cash & Burn podcast. As the CEO of Place, a financial analytics stack for Salesforce, he leads the company's growth strategies. Guest at a Glance:Name: Brendon MetcalfWhat he Does: Brendon Metcalf is a repeat founder and CEO of Place, a Salesforce stack focused on managing sales-to-cash workflows. With his expertise in the software industry, particularly in the realm of Salesforce, he has a wealth of experience in creating, scaling, and managing global businesses.  Brandon on LinkedInPlace on LinkedInBrendon's Book Recommendation The Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzTopics we cover:The quality of your leadership team makes a difference when seeking fundingLessons from repeat foundingThe first customer and early growth strategiesLeveraging outbound learnings to sharpen the product-market fitStrategies when 80% of the revenue pipeline is one customerHighlights:Quality of Leadership Counts When Seeking FundingA good leadership team inspires confidence for investors who are looking for answers to three questions: Does the idea solve a real-world problem? What is the size of the potential market? Do you inspire confidence? A high-quality leadership team with successful exits behind them inspires confidence and opens the doors to funding more easily.  “Three things count when it comes to seeking funding from investors, who do you know, how do you connect with investors, and what is the confidence you deliver”.Lessons from Repeat FoundingBrandon founded Place after a successful exit from his previous startup. He shares some insights and learnings that helped him in founding Place. The biggest lesson he learned from his previous startup was the ability to separate work and personal life and ensure that he devotes sufficient time to his personal relationships. Brandon says he starts early, around five-thirty in the morning, but you won't find him working after 6 PM on a weekday. “I ensure that I get downtime with family and friends after six o'clock every day”.The First Customer and Early Growth StrategiesBrandon explains how they lucked out as their first customer was the company the sales head was working for previously. Early growth came through inbound and outbound marketing to companies in the B2B SaaS space who were also clients of Salesforce. The company closed the loop on customer feedback to tweak the product and accelerate conversions.“We actively sought feedback to identify specific use case issues faced by the core of daily users of Salesforce”. Sharpening the Product Market Fit with Feedback From Outbound MarketingBrandon shares how, initially, the efforts from outbound marketing were subpar. Users who opted for the free trial were not converting after the trial period. The Nos far outnumbered the Yeses. To resolve this, the sales team contacted every lead that did not convert to identify why they chose not to subscribe to the service. Based on the feedback, the company identified additional functionalities that the customers were seeking. These were then added to the product for a better product-market fit.  “We felt something had shifted; that was a better product-market fit”.Strategies When 80% of Your Business Comes From One clientWhen the bulk of your business comes from one client, the best practice is to split your workflow and teams into two parts. One team across the workflow focuses on the large client to give them customized and personalized service. Then there is a second team to handle the other customers. Having a single team for the two customer personas runs the risk of the smaller clients getting average service since the internal resources across verticals will be focused on the large client. “One of our customers is a twenty-four billion dollar client who uses 30,000 licenses globally; putting together the other customers account for 3,000 licenses. We had to have two teams”. 

In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Geoff Roberts, Co-Founder of Outseta, the only all-in-one platform that integrates subscription billing, email marketing, support, CRM, and reporting tools which reduces costs, maintenance, and helps SaaS startups get off the ground faster. He is also the founder of SaaS Growth Strategy, and was previously the Vice President of Marketing at Roambi.They discuss just how ruthless prioritization within your company can be, the revolutionary, problem solving methodology of Outseta, why you don't need to know everything about SaaS in order to be successful, and the importance of sharing your entrepreneurial journey.Guest at a Glance:Name: Geoff RobertsAbout Geoff: Geoff is the Co-Founder of Outseta, the only all-in-one platform that integrates subscription billing, email marketing, CRM and more which reduces costs and maintenance. It was designed to help SaaS startups get off the ground faster. He is also the founder of SaaS Growth Strategy and was previously the Vice President of Marketing at Roambi.Geoff on LinkedInGeoff's TwitterOutseta on LinkedInOutseta's WebsiteTopics we cover:The problem-solving methodology of OutsetaWhy you know need to know absolutely everything about SaaSThe helpfulness of sharing your entrepreneurial journeyHow ruthless prioritisation within a business can beThe difficulty of having to face the hard truths about your businessWhen your product isn't quite as good as you think it is yetKey Takeaways:The Problem-Solving Methodology of OutsetaIt is said that, in order to build a successful business, you need to create something which either solves a problem/fulfils a need or entertains an audience. In creating Outseta, Geoff was able to solve a hefty amount of business' problems.All SaaS or membership businesses need the same fundamental technological tools: a billing system, a CRM for prospecting customer data, and marketing tools to communicate with customers. Outseta is the only company bringing all of these tools together under one platform. Geoff compares it to the way Shopify works for e-commerce, and just like a lot of the world's best ideas, Outseta was born out of personal experience and agitation towards the complexities of building a company which needed all of these tools. You Don't Need to Know Everything About SaaS to be SuccessfulDespite developing such an ingenious SaaS platform, Geoff reveals that he didn't create Outseta due to any real attachment to SaaS, rather it was out of his love for startups and their evolution. He is also responsible for almost everything at Outseta apart from developing the tools themselves: sales, support, marketing, and internal operations. But how? He claims that his writing degree was probably one of the most beneficial things to happen to him. And yet, despite not having any inherent connection to the SaaS industry, he has been able to make waves and offer a revolutionary, groundbreaking platform for any startup who needs it!Share Your Entrepreneurial Journey into SaaSGeoff recommends that, when starting your SaaS business, share your entrepreneurial journey with the world. It can be incredibly beneficial to show off to everyone how much you've grown. This can develop a sense of trust between yourself and potential new clients and customers. Not only that, but it is naturally interesting to see how a business grows over time. It's like watching evolution in real time.“This is not something I expected going in, but a huge part of our customer acquisition strategy is simply sharing our own entrepreneurial journey. I know that a lot of other founders do that; we're certainly not the first company to do so, but I think it actually worked for us as an acquisition strategy because we sell our product to other founders. Just by sharing our own journey, founders tend to be interested in that kind of stuff.”The Ruthlessness of Prioritization With the sheer quantity of tools that Outseta uses, they had to figure out which aspects to prioritize amidst its creation. In order to do this, they had to look at what it was that all subscription and membership SaaS services use and where they would focus their energies.When beginning your startup, you will have to ruthlessly prioritize your work. Some ideas simply won't make the cut or, at the very least, won't get as much attention as others. But this is okay, just make sure you are prioritizing the right things.Once a Developer, Always a DeveloperGeoff acknowledges that for the first few years of Outseta's existence, they were trying to sell to too much of a niche audience. Instead of trying to sell to business founders, they were selling to founders who were also developers. So, when the time came to pitch to them, they would often just make the tools themselves. This isn't logical, but it is rational, and both parties involved know this; once you're a developer, you can't shed that programmed, coded skin.Know who you're pitching to—a niche audience is good, vital even, but if it's too niche then you may run into some problems.“The hard truth was we were trying to change the predominant behavior of developers. I would have a lot of conversations with developers where I would say ‘It's not the best use of your time to spend all of this time integrating these tools. Why don't you focus your time on building your product rather than building all these tools.' And they would nod and say, ‘That makes a completely logical sense,' and then they would go and build it anyway. It's just what they're accustomed to, even if it didn't make the most logical sense.”Sometimes, the Product Just Isn't Good Enough YetYou could have the best ever idea for a product, but you need to be able to acknowledge that you won't always get it to perfection right away. It'll take time, and there may even be moments when you think it's over, but it doesn't mean it is. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is face the hard truth and think about the way you can improve and be better in order to grow.

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Amit Mishra, Founder and CEO of iMocha, joins host Phil Alves. iMocha (formerly Interview Mocha) is the world's largest skills assessment solution API platform, helping organizations build winning teams and empowering them to thoroughly assess employees as well as candidates.Amit is the Founder and CEO of iMocha and was previously the Director of Business Development at Ecotech IT Solutions. He is also the Founder and the former CEO of Radix Business Models. He shares how he came up with the idea for iMocha, why you should offer as much value as possible to your customers, and why you should utilize time at the beginning of your business. He also delves into the necessity of connecting with your customers face-to-face, even if you're just a SaaS business.Guest at a Glance:Name: Amit MishraWhat he does: Amit is the Founder and CEO of iMocha, the world's largest skills assessment solution API platform. He has also been the Director of Business Development at Ecotech IT Solution. He is the Founder and the former CEO of Radix Business Models.Amit on LinkedIniMocha on LinkedInTopics we cover:The origins of iMochaWhy you should go with the customers who bring the most valueThe struggles of trying to focus on too many SaaS problemsConnect with your customers face-to-faceDon't waste time simply waiting for funding for your SaaS startupHighlights:How and Why iMocha came to beOne of the biggest problems Amit found when hiring and interviewing people for his own company was the lack of interview skills and charisma. Because of this, he decided to come up (while drinking a mocha in a coffee shop) with the idea of building a SaaS company that would help entry-level candidates give the best interviews they possibly can."We were having a mocha coffee in a local coffee shop in India, so we decided to call it Interview Mocha (iMocha). Once we dug deeper into it, we realized it's not just an interview problem, but it's a problem with skills. When we onboarded customers, we realized skills were the biggest problem we needed to solve.'Go with the Customers Who Bring the Most ValueAmit explains that, when getting customers for their service, they tried to make sure they were providing them the best value and were offering the best they could. This involved boosting SEO and making sure the best channels were being utilized for it! It's important to look into who your customers are and figure out why some are sticking around and why some are leaving. This is a great way to figure out your weaknesses and strengths.Connect With Your CustomersEven if you have a SaaS business which rarely interacts with customers, go the extra mile and connect with them anyway! As great as SaaS channels are, customers will always warm up to a business faster if they speak with an actual person; nothing beats the human touch, and your customers will greatly appreciate the gesture!‘We thought that SaaS was a mechanism where you create something, you create a website and people will come and put their credit card in, and you do not talk to them. The good thing that we did was, we started not only to sell but once a customer became a customer, we connected with them on Zoom or Skype calls, asking them about their problems and how we were helping them. The output and insights that we got were phenomenal.'Don't Waste Time, and Take Risks!Amit admits that, during the pandemic, he realized that a mistake he made at the beginning of iMocha was taking too much time to raise money. It is advisable, then, that when you start your business, don't waste time missing out on opportunities, especially if they require a certain level of risk. Be relentless and take risks! You never know what the future holds, so it's best to be prepared for anything!

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Mark Stouse, Chairman and CEO of Proof, joins host Phil Alves. Proof offers an analytic tool used by sales, revenue, and analytics teams. The company is a five-year-old SaaS startup with a revenue pipeline of over four and a half million.Mark is a former CCO and CMO at multi-billion dollar enterprises like Honeywell and HP. He shares his perspective of an older founder and walks us through his journey from a unique funding concept to market fit, positioning, and pricing. Along the way, he shares his insights on leadership traits. Guest at a Glance:Name: Mark StouseWhat he does: Mark is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Proof, a SaaS company that offers an analytic tool used by sales, revenue, and analytics teams. He has been a CCO and CMO at multi-billion dollar enterprises like Honeywell and HP.Mark on LinkedInProof on LinkedInMark's Book Recommendation Misbehavior of MarketsTopics we cover:Things they don't teach you about leadershipA unique funding modelYou have way less than a one percent chance of founding a unicornA unique way of attracting customersKnow these facts before embarking on your startup journeyHighlights:Everything They Don't Teach, but You Should Know About LeadershipIt all starts with a shift in mindset. Trying to be indispensable at work is akin to slavery. They'll never promote you if you're indispensable, and you'll be stuck in a box. Leaders build teams that are collectively smarter than the leader, and sooner or later, the leader becomes dispensable—time to move on to bigger challenges. You need to be a leader before becoming a founder.“As a leader, it's my job to ask the best questions and not be the smartest person in the room”. Discovering Family Office Funding for a SaaS StartupMark made a conscious decision to avoid venture funding as VC expectations and benchmarks distort the nurturing phase of startups. Mark instead tapped into family office funding, a network of privately held companies that do wealth and asset management for high net-worth individuals. The family office is a tightly knit community, and the companies in a given niche talk to each other. Hence, if you can get one of them on board and have a successful proof of concept, the other family offices will knock on your door.  “We went with family offices that were in the software space and tied up funding rounds linked to performance gateways”.Set Realistic Goals; You're not Founding a Unicorn.Mark cautions founders, especially young founders, from setting unrealistic goals for their startups. Goals and performance gateways need to be realistic because no matter how unique and revolutionary your idea is, it's a brutal market out there. Also, there's a high chance that someone bigger than you and who has been around for longer is doing the same thing, maybe in just a slightly different way. “It's great if you build a unicorn and sell it for a billion dollars, just know that the real-world chances of that happening are way less than one percent”.A Unique Strategy for Building Trust and Attracting CustomersAt Proof, Mark uses conventional digital tools like ABM to achieve the marketing goal of converting leads into sales. However, much of his time to date is still devoted to posting on LinkedIn. He follows relevant conversations and offers free tips and advice. This helps build trust among his audience, and he counts on the audience to spread the word and create awareness. It also makes the audience more likely to convert when Mark recommends Proof as a solution. Mark is also a fan of the marketing mix modelling.“I participate below a relevant post and offer help to people; I'm like a free consultant. It helps build trust with the audience”.  One Person' Hindsight Is Another's ForesightKnow that being an entrepreneur will teach you things you can't learn anywhere else. Get ready to devote almost every waking moment to building and thinking about your SaaS. Get prepared to fail in front of an audience and know how to handle those situations. Be ready to pivot if your proof of concept proves that there are no takers for your exact idea but there is a crying need for something slightly different. Another must-have is the ability to talk in your audience's language. If you're qualifying your SaaS product in technical terms to a CMO, you will not make the sale. Instead, qualify your product in impact on marketing goals.   “We talk about product-market fit, but the real challenge is to qualify and sell your product in a language your audience understands”.

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Dan Martell, Founder, and CEO of SaaS Academy, joins host Phil Alves. SaaS Academy is the number one coaching program for SaaS founders. Dan has over twenty-two years of experience in the SaaS space as a serial entrepreneur with three successful seven-figure exits. Dan shares his insights on critical but rarely mentioned skills that SaaS founders need in their toolkits before building their SaaS. He also unpacks the playbook for implementing successful exits and how each exit paves the way for your next and bigger venture. Dan is also the author of the best-selling guide for entrepreneurs, Buy Back Your Time. Guest at a Glance:Name: Dan MartellWhat He Does: Dan mentors SaaS founders at his company, SaaS Academy. He equips founders with the foresight to capture demand for the best product-market fit and implement successful exit strategies. Dan on LinkedInSaaS Academy WebsiteDan's Book Buy Back Your TimeTopics we cover:Upscale your knowledge base by readingLearn to insert yourself in customer conversationsExit strategy 101, every exit is a doorway to a new ventureThe first ‘oh shoot' momentKey Takeaways:Expand Your Horizons by Reading BooksEvery SaaS startup has two sides: a technical and a business side. Most SaaS founders come from a technical background and have the first one covered. The technical side is essential for the design and proofing stage, but once your SaaS hits the market, your success pivots around your business skills. Every SaaS founder needs technical skills and business nous in their toolkit.Books like Purple Cow by Seth Godin and Start With Why by Simon Sinek are must-reads. Reading books like Atomic Habits and The Power of Positive Thinking is essential to building your core strengths. Make it a habit to read at least ten pages a day.“Books are so powerful, and that's how I learn the things that I know today to run my business”. Timing Your Customer Conversations Delivers Product-Market FitDan shares a story about a salesperson for an office supplies company who, for fifteen years, consistently outperformed his peers by a wide margin. His modus operandi was simple; he would wait outside the competitor's warehouse and follow the delivery trucks as they made their monthly deliveries. He noted the delivery addresses, and next month, a week before the competitor's delivery, he would contact the company and offer his office supplies. Learn to insert yourself in customer conversations when your customer is problem-aware. You can have the coolest software, but if you pitch it to a customer who is unaware of the problem, you're not going to make a sale. If your sales cycles are consistently at sixteen to twenty-four months, chances are you're talking to customers who don't have a problem. Timing your customer conversations is critical for creating product-market fit. “The moment our target clients realized they had a problem, we became the most obvious and responsive solution”. Every Exit Builds Your Net Worth and Opens Doors for a New VentureLet's address two universal truths. Most successful startup founders have an endless chain of ideas. And all profitable startups will eventually hit an inflection point and come up against someone larger who has been doing it for longer. Don't let your passion blind you; learn to cash in if you get a good offer. The ability to let go and exit, and knowing when to do it, is a critical skill in your toolkit. Every successful exit teaches you valuable lessons on the technical and business side, and investors love entrepreneurs with proven exits. On all three fronts, a successful exit eases your segue to your next venture.A seven-figure exit when you own 80 percent of your company puts more money in your pocket than an eight-figure exit down the line when you only own five percent of the company. With every exit, maintain the discipline to invest half of what you get while keeping the other half as your seed capital for the next venture.“In the valley, if you're a founder with a successful exit behind you, investors will move their calendars around to meet with you”. The First ‘Oh Shoot' Moment – Be Open to Pivoting Post LaunchDan's first ‘oh shoot' moment came with his third startup, Clarity.fm. The SaaS solution pivoted around monetizing the time spent by an influencer while talking to followers seeking advice. The app used Facebook connect to reach the follower, and the call was placed through an 800 number, and the follower was billed via Stripe at the end of the call.The unique concept generated much interest among the investors, and Dan was able to tie up just under two million dollars in thirty days. The problem arose at the proof of concept stage, where it was discovered that the followers wanted to talk to the influencer but were unwilling to pay for their time. This is when Dan pivoted on the target audience and started focusing on investors who would pay high dollars for advice on their planned investments.“We pivoted out of my passion area and targeted investors who were willing to pay four to five thousand dollars for an hour with someone who could provide insights on their planned investments”.

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil speaks with Chris Frantz, Co-Founder and CEO of Loops, a company that helps SaaS businesses send beautiful email newsletters and one-off campaigns in a simple, easy-to-use interface. Before this, he was a founder at Snazzy AI (now Unbounce) and the Director of Digital Strategy at Curiosity Stream.They discuss the importance of taste and curation in a SaaS business model; why simplicity is key for the user's experience; the difference between platforms and tools; and why you should have fun with what you do before venturing into something big and serious. He also discusses why his creative marketing strategy has been so successful.Guest at a Glance:Name: Chris FrantzAbout Chris: Chris is the Co-Founder and CEO of Loops, a company that helps SaaS businesses send beautiful email newsletters and one-off campaigns in a simple, easy-to-use interface. He believes simplicity is key to the user's experience.Chris on LinkedInChris' WebsiteLoops on LinkedInTopics we cover:The efficiency of LoopsThe importance of polish, taste, and curationSimplicity for the user is the keyThe difference between platforms and toolsThink creatively with your MarketingHave fun building and programming firstCan publicly sharing your process help?Key Takeaways:The Efficiency of Loops and Why Simplicity is KeyOften, it can be difficult to send a bulk of email newsletters and campaigns to a variety of different people, but thanks to Loops, that has been made way easier. Chris drew from his own experiences using slow and antiquated software to come up with a solution.When starting Loops, he knew he wanted it to be as simple as possible. It only takes five clicks to send a marketing email from them, whereas their competitor, Mailchimp, takes twenty-two clicks. Keep it simple; customers respond to simplicity positively and will undoubtedly come back!Importance of Polish, Taste, and Curation When building a business, one of the most important aspects is making sure the brand matches your standards of taste and curation - it has to be in line with what you care about. If you get stuck working on something you don't have any enthusiasm for, you may end up with a messy, unfinished product, or worse, your mental health will suffer.Difference Between Platforms and Tools A later-stage SaaS company often describes itself as a platform, whereas an earlier-stage company describes itself as a tool. When a company transitions from one to the other, it can spin up other product categories and expand itself. The trick is not to jump the shark too quickly and go at a steady pace.“At a later stage SaaS company, they call it a platform; in an earlier stage company, they call it a tool. When a company becomes a platform after becoming a tool, it basically means they can spin up other product categories”.Think Creatively with Your Marketing According to Chris, Loops have no plans to start any traditional marketing techniques yet. Instead, they've been staying creative with their marketing: making boxes of cereal for first users and letting startups display their messages on billboards. This is the reason they stand out amongst the others; they're creative.Chris explains how plenty of people are happy to share their building process online with others, and this is a huge part of why they were so successful. Chris, however, points out that he didn't feel comfortable doing this and would rather remain private. It's perfectly okay for others to do this, it doesn't mean you won't be successful. We all have our different methods.

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Ajay Goel, Founder of GMass, joins host Phil Alves. Ajay, a twenty-four-year veteran in the SaaS space and a serial entrepreneur, shares his insights on building and scaling a SaaS business in the outbound email space.His seven-year-old company was founded on an investment of $10,000 and has been scaled on internal accruals without investor participation. Ajay shares his insights on how low-cost and high-impact business strategies enable GMass to compete with majors like MailChimp in the email outreach space.Guest at a Glance:Name: Ajay GoelWhat He Does: Ajay is the Founder of GMass, a SaaS stack in the email outreach space.Connect With Ajay on LinkedInConnect With Ajay on TwitterTopics we cover:Ignore the media hype; most SaaS startups are bootstrappedMinimize expenses during the development stageLaunch on established platforms to minimize marketing expenseOutbound marketing to scale your startupGet the pricing right the first timeKey Takeaways:Ignore Media Hype on Big-Ticket Funding Startups with big-ticket funding are outliers and not the norm; ignore the media hype surrounding these startups. Most sustainable SaaS companies have been bootstrapped to different degrees. These companies fly under the radar and don't get highlighted. Funding is cyclical.In a growth environment, the focus is on spending for growth. In an economic downturn stage, like our current environment, the emphasis is on profitability, with money selectively chasing profitable companies. “Basically, bootstrapped and organically grown companies are not sexy enough to make the headlines”Keep Your Startup Costs LowThe bulk of pre-launch spending is on product development. Hence, it is essential for the founders to be able to code, develop, and test the proof of concept (POC) product with minimal expenses for outsourced coding. Once your POC is validated, don't get tempted to throw money at marketing; instead, focus on low-cost, high-yield launch strategies. “ It wasn't a big concern to generate enough money to cover expenses because my expenses were super low”Leverage Established Platforms Like Google and Apple StoreAnother way to keep initial marketing costs low is to offer your product as a plug-in that works with established platforms like Chrome. Leverage the platform traffic to build your sales. A word of caution here – platforms have strict approval processes to weed out spammers and malware, but for the benefits you get, it's worth the effort. Once you establish a revenue stream, you can then migrate to your website. The downside of staying exclusive to platforms is that the platform can shut you down at any time, which is an unacceptable risk. “So now I was getting referrals from just visibility on the Chrome store”Outbound Marketing is Alive and KickingAjay shares his insights on the value of outbound marketing for scaling a startup. He used virtual assistants to scrape reviews of his competitors on the Chrome store to make a mailing list for his outreach. He then pitched his product and USP to this audience and acquired conversions.Email is still a viable sales channel in the SaaS space. While many old-school marketers have moved away from email, lots of success stories are built around outbound cold emails. The key to cold email campaigns is to avoid using your business domain to prevent it from getting blacklisted. “Six months into my launch, I started to dig into the cat-and-mouse game of avoiding spam filters and preventing the domain from getting blacklisted”Get Your Pricing Right The First TimeMost founders are conservative when it comes to pricing their products. They will price their products at a third or one-fourth of what the market leaders are charging to try and go after volumes. This approach needs to be corrected. Not only are you leaving money on the table, but you're also sowing seeds of doubt in the customer's mind; the customer thinks they'll get what they pay for.Make sure you read up on different pricing strategies and identify the one that works best for your business. “I read everything online on pricing and spoke to a couple of pricing consultants. There are companies that specialize in pricing consulting for SaaS companies. Speak to them”

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Spencer Barclay, Founder and CEO of Savology,  joins host Phil Alves to share a founder's insight on the roadmap for building a successful SaaS business. Spencer's insights are best practices across different business phases, from ideation and funding to market validation of the MVP and how to scale. He also offers insights on hiring the right people and some pitfalls to avoid while recruiting talent.Guest at a Glance:Name: Spencer BarclayWhat He Does: Spencer is the founder of Savology, a SaaS startup providing financial planning and financial wellness solutions to consumers through a B2B gateway of employers and financial consultants.Connect with Spencer on LinkedInTopics we cover:Limiting your scope with a stair-step approachInvest in discovery and proof of conceptFocus on monetizing with a minimum viable productTalent acquisition is keyThree tips to keep front and center on your SaaS journeyKey Takeaways:Limit the Initial Project Scope to Delivering a Minimum Viable ProductYour initial focus should hinge on delivering an MVP and getting market validation. Don't set out with the objective of building the final product; instead, build the project scope step-by-step, just like you'd climb a stairway. This ensures that you'll minimize the initial investment and monetize your product faster. Funding becomes simpler for a market-validated product. If your product is gaining traction, but the growth could be faster with a different product, give due thought to an exit. Put some money in your pocket to start again and become what investors love, a successful serial entrepreneur. “There are some people that are successful going straight for the big scope, but I think it decreases the probability of success while adding a lot of risk along the way”.Invest in Discovery and Proof of ConceptSpend time in discovery to identify the problem you're looking to resolve and the solution the customers are looking for. Invest time and resources in conducting market research, interviews, and focus group studies. Be ready to pivot if the core issue and solution desired by the customer varies from your initial scope. The next step is to validate your discovery with a proof of concept, which should precede your MVP launch. This is critical for tech and SaaS startups. Through all this, stay flexible and ready for change. Fall in love with the problem and not the solution. The solution is what the customers want. “I wouldn't have succeeded with the MVP if I hadn't done the proof of concept. We would have wound up building the wrong product”. The Real Learning Starts Once you Launch Your MVPGetting the product in the hands of your customers is when real learning starts. The feedback you get helps you to tweak and modify your product for higher adoption. Feedback is also an opportunity to evaluate your business model and see if any changes are required. This is also the time to look at a pre-seed round of funding. Keep your pitch deck updated with every new learning, so you're ready to engage with your investors. “The big pivot was to move from a D2C to B2B space. We needed to change our GTM strategy on the fly and pivot to a B2B strategy”. Hire Talent that Can Grow with Your BusinessDon't hire talent based on personality; instead, hire based on skills that will help fill your company's need gap. Instead of hiring a VP of marketing outright, hire a senior marketing manager with the skills to fill your gap today and the talent to grow into the VP role in a couple of years. Don't be tempted into hiring overqualified talent. Chances are you'll lose them in a couple of months once they find another role at double or more of what you can pay. “We know that we need to get the right people on the ship. Know that it's very difficult to find the right people, but every time you get it right, it accelerates the growth of the company”. One Person's Hindsight is Another's ForesightSpencer shares his top three hindsight learnings while setting up and scaling his SaaS business. First, be ready to pivot. Statistics prove that agile startups that pivot once or twice in the early stages are more likely to succeed. Pivot based on your learnings. Lesson two is to monetize as soon as possible. Validate your proof of concept and start monetizing your MVP while you continue to build your product. Find the distribution channels that get your product to your audience most efficiently.Number three is don't get caught up in the SaaS hype. Stop blindly following successful entrepreneurs. Know that for every successful startup, there are 1,000 that didn't make it. Instead, keep your head down, focus on your business needs, and work accordingly. Don't quit or give up.“It's the founders who don't quit who make successful products”.

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Janna Bastow, CEO and Co-Founder of ProdPad, joins host Phil Alves. She shares how the idea for ProdPad had its roots in her frustrations from her product management days and how her bootstrapped startup provides workflow solutions for product teams and operations.  She shares her insights on five strategies that led to ProdPads success and gives her must-dos for all startups. She also advises on how to bootstrap your idea, develop a product market fit, and market positioning, and ramp the revenue pipeline. Guest at a Glance:Name: Janna BastowWhat She Does: Janna is the Co-Founder and CEO of ProdPad, a prioritization, and workflow solution for project management teams. Connect with Janna on LinkedIn Topics we cover:Factors to consider when bootstrappingFinding a good product market fitThe Now, Next, Later framework for painless and efficient prioritizationHow to position your product in the marketRamping your revenue streamKey Takeaways:Tick These Boxes Before Deciding to Bootstrap Janna has successfully bootstrapped her start-up by ticking the yes box on several critical points. First, your savings should cover your monthly expenses for at least 6-9 months before you quit your job. Next, always keep a secondary revenue stream going. Even after leaving your job, utilize your skillset and make time to do consulting gigs to maintain a parallel revenue stream.Make a timeline for go-to-market and a budget for expenses. It helps if the co-founders can cover the development tasks between them so that external and paid help is not required.“I counted up and calculated that if I quit my job and kept spending as I did, I had nine months cash in the bank”.Finding a Good Product Market FitHow do you ensure the ideal product-market fit? By solving a core and endemic problem faced by your audience. Identifying this problem is the crux of the discovery process. The real problem may differ from what you first think, so you need feedback from plenty of potential customers. However, there's a twist here. Customer feedback often pivots around the symptom and not the malaise, so to get to the real problem, you have to continuously ask the five ‘why' questions until you get to the core.“I would have saved myself a lot of heartache if I had spent more time in discovery than I did”. The Now, Next, Later Prioritization of TasksAny project manager will tell you that their biggest challenge is the rigidity of workflow timelines. No matter how well designed, real-world events always affect timelines, impacting on-time delivery. The Now, Next, and Later prioritizes tasks based on a broad timeline, providing much-needed flexibility at the task level. “Don't penalize yourself by having a timeline roadmap when you can have a flexible one”.How to Create a Winning Position in the MarketThe SaaS market is highly competitive, and whatever your idea, chances are someone bigger than you has been doing it for longer. How do you create a niche for yourself in this market? One way is not competing head-to-head and instead following a complementary positioning strategy. All legacy stacks like Jira, Atlassian, and Confluence have unique blindspots that create pain areas for project managers. Janna positioned ProdPad to work with these legacy systems while covering the blind spots giving ProdPad a winning and complementary positioning. “We never set out to replace Jira; we just wanted to sit really well alongside of it”.Focus on Ramping Your Revenue Pipeline After Implementing GTMOnce you've launched your product, you need to focus on building revenue for your startup. Most acquisition strategies hinge around offering a free trial and then converting a percentage of the leads to customers. So the two things you need to do is to ramp the number of leads and the conversion percentage. Janna shares how to iterate onboarding to achieve both goals. The other must-do is tracking the retention percentage and amplifying it.“We kept reiterating the onboarding process to get higher conversions, and we never lost sight of the retention number”.

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories Phil Alves is joined by Dan MacGregor, Co-Founder at Nexxiot, a successful startup in the SaaS platform space. He shares his insights on evolving simple tracking hardware to analytics and value-based SaaS platform. Dan also touches on the vertical vs. horizontal approach and how a product with bundled value is easier to market than a simple unbundled product.  Guest at a Glance:Name: Dan MacGregorWhat he does: Dan is the Co-Founder at Nexxiot, a SaaS platform aimed at enabling easier, safer, and cleaner transportation of goods across the global supply chain. Its hardware, software, and analytic stacks improve in-transit transparency and efficiency.Connect with Dan: LinkedInTopics we cover:Vertical vs. horizontal approach for SaaS startupsThe funding journeyBundled vs. unbundled productsWhy B2B selling is easier than selling to a B2C audienceKey Takeaways:Saas Startups Should Focus on Vertical Growth Before Migrating to HorizontalTime and money are scarce resources for startups; hence it makes sense for startups to focus their GTM strategy on companies that fall in the same business vertical. These companies will have similar needs and problems that your product will solve. By going horizontal you will waste time and money upgrading your product to solve what could be a completely different set of problems.You can never have enough cash to go horizontal first because there will always be someone else who's actually building that domain knowledge into their vertical. Funding Gets Easier as Your Investors Start Believing in Your ProductWhile Nexxiot has attracted over $170 million in funding to date, its funding journey started like that of most SaaS startups. The initial seed capital was $100,000, followed by rounds of one, five, and ten million dollars. One of the company's Co-Founders is a fund manager for a large investment fund, and as he started to visualize the product's potential, the funding got easier.   As he became more convinced and more interested in the potential of the product, the interest grew, which brought in more funds.Bundle Your Product With Value for Easier SalesThe minimal viable product at Nexxiot is a hardware device used to track shipment containers. Selling the product as a stand-alone device was challenging because the freight business is price sensitive, and the shipping lines didn't see the value-add of the product. Hence, to sell the product, the company had to build a software platform around it.The platform provides real-time data on the location of each container, the time it takes to load and unload it, and if there is any chance of damage to the goods contained in the container. This enabled the shipping lines to extend guarantees on delivery and quality to the final customer, and sales jumped. The product is not the hardware, the hardware is just an enabler. The product is the digital or data-driven services that you can create from the platform side. It's Easier to Acquire and Service One Large Customer Than a Million Small OnesA startup needs its first customer to drive its cash flow and demonstrate market validation for its investors. It's easier to acquire and service one large customer in the B2B space to start the cash flow and provide valuable feedback to tweak your product for future sales. In the B2C space, you'll need to acquire and service 10,000 customers to get the cash flow up and running and demonstrate market validation.I think everything is a little easier in the B2B space; hence, it's the audience startups should target. You need fewer customers to start; you only need one big one instead of a million small ones.

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil Alves is joined by Dani Grant, CEO, and Co-Founder at Jam.dev. This successful SaaS startup offers developers and project managers a fast and reliable debugging solution. Dani shares her insights on the different ingredients that make up a successful startup, including funding, attaining product market fit, and working with small and agile teams. Along the way, she also busts some commonly-held startup myths.Guest at a Glance:Name: Dani GrantWhat she does: Dani is the CEO and Co-Founder at Jam.dev, a SaaS startup that offers a fast and reliable debugging solution. Connect with Dani: LinkedInTopics we cover:Don't start without concept validation Investor meetings: how to ace themIs product market fit enough on your mind?Myth Busting - #1 -  Go-to-market speed is criticalMyth Busting - #2  - Ship fast; just get it in front of the customerKey Takeaways:Worry About Concept Validation Before Thinking About Market ValidationThe concept of fast and reliable debugging software was born out of Dani's struggles while working as a project manager at Cloudflare, where project delays due to endless communications cycles on bugs and fixes were endemic. So the concept of Jam.dev was to deliver software that would speed up the debugging process. To validate the concept, she connected with over 50 project managers across various industries to understand if the problem was universal. Validating your idea is the first brick of your SaaS startup and a nifty talking point when in front of investors.  We interviewed over 50 project managers across different industries to check if this was an issue they faced as well.Be Who Your Investors are Looking For - Helpful Tips for Investor MeetsDani spent two years at a VC listening to pitches, and she offers her insights on the typical investor's playbook. The investor's appetite is minimal, so how and what you pitch is critical. Don't focus on the investment you need; instead, focus on making the meeting a great experience for the investor. One that they will remember for a while and hence remember your proposal. Face-to-face meetings are better than Zoom meetings. Keep your answers short and engaging, don't jump into micro details. Offer a top view and then move on to offer further details. Make your meetings memorable. When answering questions, give a high-level overview first and then offer to go into details. You're now letting the VC steer the conversation.Achieving Product Market Fit and BeyondThe amount of mind space you devote to thinking about product market fit depends on the evolution stage of your startup. It should be front and center leading up to the launch and a couple of quarters down the line, and the retention rate is a good indicator of fit level. As the retention rate stabilizes, start thinking about how to tweak your product to improve the fit, customer feedback is vital at this stage. Once you achieve the desired PMF, other business priorities will occupy your mind, and you will think less about PMF.  We moved from living and breathing PMF to not thinking about it, and we probably achieved our product market fit somewhere in between. Myth Busting - Go to Market Speed is Critical - Don't Reiterate the PrototypeOnce you have your prototype, don't think of it as the Holy Grail, which doesn't need fixing. Spending a few weeks revisiting your prototype and making required changes and upgrades can save you valuable time that you would spend on improving the framework post-launch. Pre-launch delays are less costly than post-launch ones. Spending a few weeks or even a month reiterating your prototype allows you to set a solid foundation and move faster one or two years down the line.Myth Busting - It Will Never Be 100% Right, so Ship Fast is Better Than Ship RightThe conventional logic says to get the product in front of the customer as fast as possible. But shipping a buggy product that is still a work in progress is a recipe for disaster. Dani gives the example of her startup, where they iterated the base software for 18 months before taking it to the market. At every iteration, they would use it as a customer to check if the software did everything it promised.  In a SaaS environment, people rely on software to do their daily tasks, which must work every time. 

Episode Summary:In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil Alves is joined by Bogdan Maksak, CEO of DigitalGenius, a successful startup in the SaaS space. He shares his insights on the critical aspects of the startup journey, including achieving a good product-market fit and funding strategies and common pitfalls.Guest at a Glance:Name: Bogdan MaksakWhat he does: CEO at  DigitalGenius, an AI platform focused on providing customer service solutions to e-Commerce companies. Connect with Bogdan: LinkedinTopics we cover: A two-point playbook for achieving product market fit Funding your business, how, when, and pitfalls to avoidTwo metrics to measure and track PMFThree takeaways for building your SaaS startupKey TakeawaysYou Won't Get to First Base Without a Good Product Market FitA good PMF is the oxygen for SaaS startups that delivers sales, conversions, and retention. Product market fit has two dimensions; product and market. The product benefits need to align with customer pain areas and on the market front, especially in the early stages, target customers who are losing sleep over the problem your product will solve. As you scale and work with larger customers with more unique needs, the product will need tweaking to realign with evolving customer needs. During this phase, the product team needs to stay in touch with the customer to understand the root cause of their problems and tweak the product to resolve these issues. In retrospect, we had lost focus. We were chasing too many companies with disparate needs instead of focusing on those who were losing sleep over the problem we could solve.A SaaS Funding PlaybookAngel investors and venture capitalists are two familiar funding sources for SaaS startups. To amplify your success rate, ensure that you get a referral. Start building your network at least six months before actively seeking funding by connecting with entrepreneurs who have gone down the funding route.Have a market-validated PMF in place before you seek funding; else, it's easy to blow up millions of funding in scaling your marketing, sales, and revenue teams, only to discover you don't have sales traction due to a less-than-ideal product market fit. In this business, you don't get second chances.It's very hard to get in front of an investor if you don't have someone introduce you to them. So if you can, try and build a network for it.Tracking and Measuring Your PMF ScoreThe customer conversion journey starts with offering a limited period free trial of your product. Bogdan recommends not gating any features in the trial and offering a reasonable trial period of 6-8 weeks. The free trial should come with no strings attached, and there should be transparency on the purchase price post-trial. Once the customer has used the product, the two metrics to measure your PMF are trial conversion and annual retention. A trial conversion north of 80% and an annual retention rate of over 85% are critical milestones of an excellent product market fit. We had over 95% trial conversions in our first year and a 130% net dollar retention rate in our second year. And we were like, yeah, it's working.

In this special episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Phil Alves brings you the Best Moments in SaaS from four big players in the SaaS space, Rand Fishkin, Co-founder of SparkToro; Sujan Patel, Co-founder of Mailshake; Alfonso de la Nuez, Co-founder and CVO at UserZoom, and Bryan Clayton, CEO and Co-founder of GreenPal. Guests at a Glance:Rand Fishkin is the Co-founder and CEO of SparkToro, a SaaS company providing audience research for its clients. Rand is also the former CEO and Founder of Moz and the author of Lost and Founder. He shares practical advice on how to build a sustainable and profitable business without tapping venture capitalists. Sujan Patel is the Co-founder and CEO of Mailshake, and he shares his experience and mistakes while building and scaling Mailshake and how to identify product market fit. Sujan is also a data-driven content marketer, Managing Director at Ramp Ventures, and a part-time Board Member of the Entrepreneurs'​ Organization. Alfonso de la Nuez, the Co-founder and CVO of UserZoom, shares his insights on delivering the best-in-class user experience that helps amplify your net retention rate. He is also the author of the bestseller The Digital Experience Company. Winning in the Digital Economy with Experience Insights.  Bryan Clayton, CEO and Co-founder of GreenPal, joins the conversation to discuss how him and his co-founder turned a household errand into an incredibly successful SaaS business... while both working full-time.Key Takeaways:In this episode, we discuss the following:Audience research will be a game-changer in the next 10 yearsCustomer retention starts on day oneThe 80/20 rule for founders, i.e. be pretty good at everythingHow to create an excellent product-market fitRand Fishkin - Leading Through Sources of InfluenceMost customers won't care about your product in its early phases, though they will utilize a crappy product if it solves a problem they have. This conundrum persists because businesses benefit hugely from audience research since it clarifies which issues they should concentrate on or address first. Rand discusses the value of audience research, why you should know your audience thoroughly, and how audience research fits into a marketing strategy.The best way to influence the market is through audience research, which is SparkToro's bread and butter. It depends on knowing and spending time in the places where your target audience already hangs out, so you can understand and relate to them directly.We are laser-focused on building a unique product that solves the audience research problem and not diversifying into other areas - Rand FishkinSujan Patel - Finding the Right CustomerThe first 250 customers of Mailshake were from pre-launch marketing but needed help finding the product market fit. The product had a retention and activation problem, and people weren't using it successfully. Sujan was trying to solve these problems by talking with every new customer. Eventually, more salespeople started using it, so Sujan and his team decided to focus on them, rebrand, and improve their functionalities.Figure out how to remove noise first. But first, look at how to identify the noise. And again, you found a new customer. But who is the right customer? - Sujan PatelAlfonso de la Nuez - What Makes a Great User Experience?Retention is the holy grail for a SaaS business. You have to build a phenomenal onboarding and day-to-day user experience. Great UX design understands what the end user is looking for and exceeds expectations. When you deliver a great user experience, your customer will become your best salesperson and marketer.You only have one chance to provide a great first experience - Alfonso de la NuezBrian Clayton - Applying the 80/20 Rule to SaaSWhen you start a SaaS company, you need to be good enough at everything. That includes coding, product design, basic accounting, data science, and copywriting. Apply the 80/20 rule and invest your time to learn and get good enough at every skill. Then, hire somebody to do it.As a founder, you have to be 80/20 and good at about 30 different things - Brian ClaytonFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

All founders dream that their business will skyrocket and succeed from the very beginning, but the reality is that most will fail. However, this isn't a reason to give up. When you bounce back and start again, the story can repeat itself unless you learn the lessons of your failure. That was exactly the case for Jose Cayasso of Slidebean, who shares his insights and learnings from re-starting a SaaS business after failing the first time..In this episode, we discuss:The right moment to start a businessSolving problems for other SaaS entrepreneursWhy SaaS founders should focus on what they are good atHow to develop an effective customer acquisition strategyThe Right Moment to Start a BusinessBefore Slidebean, Jose left college and founded a startup that failed, which was when he started Slidebean. However, Jose believes that starting another company immediately after you fail is a bad idea because you focus on generating revenue quickly rather than following your business interests. For him, the best time to start a new business is once you're an expert in an industry and discover a problem or opportunity. Then you can work on your company from a position of comfort rather than risking everything you have.I think the best companies get started when you have a job and discover something in the market that you have unique insight and expertise to solve. But you can do that from a position you can question this concept, whether it's a good or a bad idea - Jose CayassoLet Your First Product Do Its JobThe original version of Slidebean was simple, yet it served its purpose well. That's a great strategy for building the first version of your product, in that it solves a specific problem for your customers. After that, you can develop it, add new features, and customize it for your clients.The original product was so simple, and I loved it. We came up with the concept that you could only build a slide with one piece of content and make a simple but beautiful presentation - Jose CayassoRunning an Effective Customer Acquisition StrategyIn a market where you have to compete with Prezi and PowerPoint, Slidebean started acquiring customers through organic reach, which proved ineffective. That forced the team to rethink the pricing and conversion funnels and opt for paid direct marketing acquisition channels, which feeds you customers quickly to test with and adjust your strategy.Any startup, any SaaS company, especially B2B, should first focus on getting profitable unit economics via paid marketing. It's an equation of running ads, understanding how much those ads cost, and understanding the revenue that those ads generated or the conversions that those ads generated are enough to pay for the cost of the service, the software, and the cost of acquiring those customers - Jose CayassoFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

What makes great SaaS companies thrive? Every business has its own story.  But there's one thing they all share, and that is a passionate founder who wants to solve a problem or cover a need. That is the case for Ben Dowling of IPinfo, who shares his company journey with the audience.In this episode, we discuss:How can IP data help your business?Building a business where you love to work Bootstrapping versus fundingAn effective hiring strategyHow to approach sales in SaaSHow Can IP Data Help You?IP data has plenty of uses, from website personalization to customizing website language, and currency and in cybersecurity, attacks on your network. Effectively, IP data also helps you gather more information and make more cost-effective decisions, deliver a better customer experience, and improve business advertising.We focus as a company on making sure our data's great and then leaving how customers want to use it to them. And there are a bunch of different use cases that it's useful for - Ben DowlingTake Your TimeSo many entrepreneurs try to move too quickly when building their businesses. Instead, try growing your company little by little, to the point where it makes enough money to support you. That allows you to create an enduring business where you love to work and don't need to rely on investors and instead can keep bootstrapping that company.I wanted to create something that I wanted to work on, a company where I wanted to work, the environment that I wanted to work in, and I was in no rush to see how big we can make it in a couple of years - Ben DowlingBootstrapping Versus FundingRaising money gives you a bunch of resources you can use. Funding can also be critical in some industries where you have well-funded competitors. However, bootstrapping allows you to grow your business slowly, experiment with different opportunities, and explore the problem you're trying to solve.The nice thing with going at the pace that we're going at, which is quick for a bootstrap business, is that you get to identify opportunities as you go along. You incrementally build out what you're working on, and you have more time to explore the problem - Ben DowlingFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

Every business has its golden formula for growth that works for them. But one SaaS platform might push things further by growing your brand awareness and referrals through word of mouth. That is Referral Rock, and today, its Founder and CEO, Josh Ho, shares in detail its origin story.In this episode, we discuss:How to make word-of-mouth referrals a part of your business growth strategyB2B versus B2C SaaS productsWinning strategies to build your team and scale your SaaS businessB2B Versus B2C SaaS ProductsThough B2B SaaS products are more complex, it's easier to sell and scale as you need fewer customers willing to spend more for a great product. For B2C, you need thousands of customers, and even if the market seems larger, it is much more difficult to sustain and develop from scaling and building infrastructure perspectives. But B2C seems more appealing to first-time entrepreneurs as they often want to deliver some value to the masses.I think people default to B2C because many are consumers first, and they want their friends and family to think it's cool. On the B2B side, you can find a small number of people, give them a huge value metric, and they don't really blink an eye at spending hundreds of dollars on software - Josh HoTake Notes of This Hiring StrategyBuilding and scaling a SaaS business implies strategically hiring the right people for specific positions. For Josh, that means learning enough first about a role and then hiring a mid-level specialist whom he can train to take on management responsibilities and build a team. And that person will also make the playbook, put it into an operation manual, learn it themselves, and then train other people.I modeled in my head as I would nail the job, and then I would scale up by finding other people and training them behind me - Josh HoLearn This Before Starting Your CompanyWhen you start being successful as an entrepreneur, you might feel mature enough to take on new challenges or that you're better than you are. But when you get to a new level, you might realize that you were not mature enough and there is still a lot you should learn. Be aware of this and constantly look for areas to improve before taking on new commitments.There was a lot more meat down in level two versus me trying to jump to level three or jump to level four - Josh HoFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

You found a problem and came up with an idea of how to solve it. All you have to do now is make it a reality. To do that you need a great plan to launch your business, get money, find your product-market fit, and so on. And one of the best ways to do that is by taking examples from successful SaaS founders, like John Stojka, the Co-Founder of Sertifi.In this episode, we discuss:Bootstrapping versus raising capitalHorizontal versus vertical marketsHow to find your vertical marketFinalizing Business FasterSertifi provides an agreement platform that brings contracts and payments together. Historically, people would send the contract, get it signed, and then request the payment. The platform combines those things into one process and builds a workflow around that. The idea for Sertifi came to John and Nick when they noticed that the contracts were getting lost and the contract execution component was time-consuming.We thought that the most important thing was to make sure that the contract signing and the payment processes were easy - John StojkaBootstrapping Versus Funding a SaaS BusinessIf you raise too much money too quickly, the risk of you not having a great outcome can be higher, and there is also time pressure that comes from the investors. When investors give you money, they expect you to either become a huge success or die. When bootstrapping, you move at your own pace, and the chances of your business growing are much higher. But, if you don't invest enough, and you don't get the capital that you need, you could miss the market too, and someone else will fill the gap.If you can get product market fit and some acceleration, I think you're pretty likely to get a base hit or a double, maybe even a triple. But if you're gonna raise a lot of capital, you will be gunning for that Grand Slam - John StojkaFinding Your VerticalIf you build a product and choose a vertical market, you can expand to other verticals. Besides, in a vertical market, it may be an easier customer solution. A horizontal market is more challenging and competitive and requires more money to succeed. The challenge is to find your vertical. The best way to do that is by asking the following questions: Has this market adopted any tool like this yet? Is there a standard CRM or a place of integration I can integrate into? Is there a need for this product?You pick a small pond, and you dominate it. We had this product that could solve various problems for many different people. But we didn't start getting success until about 2015 when we verticalized the solution for a specific vertical - John StojkaFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

Every SaaS product aims to solve one specific problem its founder encountered. But some products become all-round solutions to multiple problems in their category or niche. In the world of events, that is Accelevents. Today, its Founder and CEO, Jonathan Kazarian, shares his SaaS journey.In this episode, we discuss:How events impact your B2B marketing strategyGrowing numbers during an economic crisisHow to set up your SaaS product for endless growthInvesting more in customer experience rather than marketingHow Can Events Impact Your B2B Marketing Strategy?Delivering a better customer experience starts by gathering and analyzing data. Traditional marketing techniques for capturing that first-party data limit marketers in the level of information they can get. But events offer you the possibility of getting multiple touchpoints with your customers. People are more likely to share their data and help marketers leverage their efforts.Technology needs to be there to make life easier for event organizers - Jonathan KazarianFrom Zero to Hero and BeyondThough managing events is stressful, it can help companies bring in more data, customers, and revenue. However, during the pandemic crisis, many layoffs occurred, and companies were firing people responsible for organizing events. For Accelevents, the pandemic meant both the moment the business hit bottom rock, as it went down to zero in revenue and the beginning of constant growth. Jonathan and his team have been focusing on helping their clients and making them realize why events are significant for their businesses.In the world of events, you spend three months building this experience that culminates in three hours. You don't have even ten minutes to wait for a response - Jonathan KazarianA Golden SaaS StrategyIn terms of sales, for some brands, the final step is selling their products. For Accelevents, this is only an intermediate process. The company invests heavily in customer experience and focuses on helping their customers learn their platform and constantly engage to get their feedback and improve. So we made the decision that we want to invest in customer experience, and we won't invest in any mechanism of growth that will lead to a decrease in customer experience - Jonathan KazarianFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

Creative content is the top ingredient when it comes to marketing. Things like podcasting could bring tons of value to your customers and business. But the challenge is to measure that value and show it in numbers. And Lindsay Tjepkema encountered the same problem. So she decided to build Casted. Today, she joins the SaaS Origin Stories podcast to share her journey in detail.In this episode, we discuss:What does amplified marketing mean?How can you understand if you are the right founder for a specific SaaS product?Why should you first develop and launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?How does a strong network help you grow your customer base?Risk or RegretMany ideas remain theories because most people are too scared to act and see the outcomes. The uncertainty is too great. But one way to think about opportunities is to imagine if you will be more frustrated and disappointed if you do it and fail or if you never do it. If it's the second one, you should give it a shot. Otherwise, the regret of never trying could become unbearable.I already knew it was a good idea. And I couldn't bear the thought of somebody else doing it instead of me seeing this company come to life and see what it does, whether it was successful or a failure - Lindsay TjepkemaAre You the Right Founder?Starting a SaaS product and business is not a walk in the park. It is one of the most challenging and demanding activities someone could do. You must have strong incentives and a passion for the problem you are trying to solve and the product you build. Also, you should be a real industry expert who knows the market inside out and understands the customers well. Moreover, you must have a clear vision of what your solution looks like and how you can develop it.I am weirdly passionate about this problem we're solving, the company we're building, and this solution we've created - Lindsay TjepkemaLess is MoreVince Lombardi said: "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence." That applies to everything, including your SaaS product. When you first build and want to get it on the market, start with the bare minimum of capabilities. If things go well, develop your product, add features step-by-step, and focus on delivering value for your customers.We just quickly asked a bunch of questions to get to the root of what is the fastest thing we could build that would add the most value people would pay for. And how can we have a solid roadmap from there to keep people excited about what's coming next? - Lindsay TjepkemaBuild a Strong NetworkYour first ten customers are also the first investors you have to buy into your vision. If you succeed with that, the next phase is reaching one hundred customers by building a network and talking to people about your product. Keep in mind that your product should help them solve a problem or cover a need. So don't just try to sell to them. Listen to them, understand if you can help them, and treat them as human beings and individuals rather than customers.Customers come to my network, their networks, and then their networks. Be bullish and bold enough to ask for more conversations and introductions. I think you have to be approachable, and if you say that you're not gonna try to sell something, don't lie. Don't try to sell something - Lindsay TjepkemaFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

Most B2B SaaS founders start their businesses with the desire to solve some problems. Great products come from those who have experienced these problems themselves. And many opportunities arise from unexpected places or situations. That is how Vishal Sunak and his business partner, Chris Combs, came up with the idea of LinkSquares, an AI-powered contract management platform for legal teams. Their experience should become a playbook for SaaS entrepreneurs, and Vishal shares every step of their journey.In this episode, we discuss:How does AI make an impact in the SaaS space?Why should you do proper market research before building your SaaS product?How to choose the right technologyHow to market your SaaS productResearch Before BuildingBuilding a SaaS product might be exciting, especially if you're a builder. But many start creating their products too quickly. Then they are afraid to show the product to anybody because they don't know if they are creating something people want. Before building the product, ensure you're solving a problem multiple people face and would like to use your solution.We will not build the software until we talk to 100 general counsels and ensure we make the customer discovery, which is important in understanding the problem we're solving - Vishal SunakDon't Overthink the TechnologyWhen you start a SaaS company, you have to decide if it will be product-led, technology-led, or sales-led. If you decide on the product-led, find the technology that will allow you to focus on the product and not on the technology. One mistake many founders make is that they want to build their product and look for the most complex technology. Instead, use a stack framework platform that allows you to launch your product to market, like Ruby on Rails.I didn't want to pick any weird MEAN or LAMP stack, like a flash-in-the-pan technology in which only sixteen people on earth are experts. But how do we make it easy to hire people who know how to code in Rails, React front ends, and PostgreSQL back ends, like standard stuff? Not get obsessed with technology - Vishal SunakMake it Look Expensive.Your product should look and feel modern so that customers would pay the full price. Deliver that modern experience by getting a top UX designer to make your product look great, investing in your branding, delivering trendy features, and thinking about high-level usability.Make it look expensive, so your sales team can sell it at a decent price. If it looks like a 1990s Toyota Corolla with rust on the bumper, it will get priced like a 1990 Toyota Corolla with rust on the bumper. If it looks like a Rolls Royce phantom, that's the answer - Vishal SunakFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

The demand for a killer digital experience is higher than ever. But when launching a new product, you don't have the luxury of time to see if you've made the right choices regarding its design. You must know what your customers want for from the very beginning. Fortunately, one piece of software allows you to get accurate user insights and create digital experiences people will adore: UserZoom. Today, one of its Co-founders and CVO, Alfonso de la Nuez, joins us to discuss:Alfonso's experiences that other entrepreneurs should add to their playbookHow UserZoom helps you deliver a best-in-class digital experienceWhat makes a great user experienceGetting User Insights for a Better Digital ExperienceUserZoom is a SaaS platform that helps businesses understand their end users by testing and measuring their behavior and the quality of experience with digital products. Thus, it gives you a better chance to create a great digital experience that will impact your business results positively.Fall in love with the problem before you launch your business - Alfonso de la NuezWhat Makes a Great User Experience?Retention is everything for a SaaS business. When you look at it in today's world, the end users purchase the software. So you have to build a phenomenal onboarding experience. A great UX design understands clearly what the end user looks for and even exceeds expectations by providing them guidance, convenience, and ease of use. When you deliver a great user experience, your customer will become your best salesperson and marketer.You only have one chance to provide a great first experience - Alfonso de la NuezThe Difference Between a VC and Private EquityPrivate equity typically likes to own a majority, put together their operating experience and capital, and grow with profitable companies. VCs tend to like minority investments and high, faster growth and a little more risk. VCs are not that active now, while private equity tends to be very active - Alfonso de la NuezFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player!

One of the most difficult challenges in building a SaaS product is understanding your user and putting yourself in their shoes. But when you are at the same time the user and the developer, the final result might become a hit.Let's see what that looks like in real life. For that, we invited Emily González-Cebrián Lombán, Co-founder and CEO of Froged, to share her story behind building a SaaS product that helps other SaaS subscription businesses succeed.In this episode, we discuss:How does Froged help SaaS businesses solve conversion and churn problems?How can SaaS businesses manage churn?Why should you constantly look for feedback as you develop your SaaS product?What does human power technology mean?A Problem-Solver for Subscription-Based SaaS BusinessesFroged is a SaaS product that focuses on customer success and support. The platform solves two main problems. One is converting users from free trials to paying customers, and the second is reducing the churn rate.The economy, in general, has been transformed into a subscription economy. So we are driving super fast towards this subscription economy where all businesses become platforms where they deliver subscriptions - Emily González-Cebrián LombánLaunching, Testing, and Getting FeedbackWhen launching the MVP, Emily and her team wanted to test and receive honest feedback from the market on every functionality they were developing. One way to do that is to launch your product in AppSumo, which can also help you find the product market fit.Whenever you create something like your baby and your own self. And you have to make sure that you don't attach yourself to that idea or to that project so that you're able to receive feedback - Emily González-Cebrián LombánManaging the ChurnChurn is one of the metrics that show how long your business can last. A subscription-based business grows by attracting new clients but also helping the clients you already have grow with you. A high churn rate indicates that you are losing money fast and not delivering what the market expects from you.You don't need to fight against churn, but to work proactively not to have it - Emily González-Cebrián LombánPowering PeoplePeople are the most valuable asset you have in your SaaS company. As your business develops, people realize things that allow them to have the lifestyle they want and be surrounded by the desired environment. Address these areas to maintain a positive culture and work environment people will love being a part of. We always say that we are a human power technology - Emily González-Cebrián LombánFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

You don't have any technical background, and you have no idea where or how to start building your SaaS product. But there is a problem you want to solve. Should you take on the challenge or leave it for someone else to deal with?This is the exact problem Robin Eissler, the Founder and CEO of BoosterHub faced. When Robin began her SaaS journey, she knew nothing about what developing software products involved. In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Robin shares what you need to start building your SaaS product when you have no experience, how to find the right people and mentors to help you, and how to drive a product-led growth strategy that will boost your sales.In this episode, we discuss:How does BoosterHub enhance booster clubsWhat is a booster clubBuilding a SaaS product with zero experienceHow to transition from sales-led to product-led growthBoosting the Nonprofit SpaceBoosterHub provides infrastructure for nonprofit organizations, specifically high school booster clubs, for their athletic and fine arts programs. It also enables volunteers to jump into the organization and have a ready-made set of tools that help them communicate, manage volunteers and fundraise.BoosterHub popped into my head like Hey, we need to use one tool to do all of this. And I was at a time in my life when it was time to start a new venture. So we decided to jump in and do it - Robin EisslerBuilding a SaaS Product With Zero ExperienceBefore starting BoosterHub, Robin worked in aviation and was also the Founder and President of Sky Hope Network. She says that running a new business is all about duplicating and adapting the systems and processes of the previous one. If you didn't have to deal with SaaS before, like Robin, a great idea is to find a mentor that will guide you. Also, spend some time learning basic SaaS principles and tools to get started.Running a business is really all about systems and processes and then duplicating those systems and processes - Robin EisslerFrom Sales-Led to Product-Led GrowthThe first BoosterHub customers were beta testers. The team adopted a classic SAS marketing strategy of building the funnel, prospecting, looking for contact information, working through the process of nurturing those leads, and selling them. In the beginning, you can start too with a sales-led approach, where you try to find the right people and present your product. As the product develops, you can take on a product-led approach.We're definitely trying to move to as much product-led as we can. I think the nature of our business will always remain some percentage of sales led just because of how booster clubs operate and the relationship model there - Robin EisslerFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player!

Building great products starts with a strong desire to solve a problem you have encountered in your own experience. But there is more to it than that; you have to think about what makes it different, the value it brings to people, your brand's messaging, and much more.Matthew Barnett knows what it takes to build SaaS products that thrive. Matthew is the Founder and Papa Bear of Bonjoro, and today, he shares what SaaS founders need to do to develop products that people will love and help them grow successful businesses.In this episode, we discuss:Why are industry experts more likely to build successful startups?Biggest fears and challenges startup founders experienceHow can you drive customer loyalty?How should founders approach brand building?The Right Founder for the Right ProductIndustry experts are more likely to succeed when building a business. They are the ones who experience and understand industry problems, thus developing products that solve them is much easier.I think a lot of the most successful startups you see come from people who have a problem in a specific industry - Matt BarnettPrioritize Your Growth StrategyFrom day one, think about your specific growth mechanism, which depends on your company. Every business is different. Some are sales-driven, marketing-led, or ads-led. What works for one company doesn't mean it will work for you. I think it's extremely important…you have a mechanism that can do that - Matt BarnettHow Can You Drive Customer Loyalty?When people mention loyalty, they think about loyalty cards, discounts, and other benefits. However, loyalty is the ability to increase the lifetime value of your customers and generate advocacy, which leads to net new customers.If you nail loyalty, you increase the lifetime value of every customer. So every customer spends more and stays longer, and then you increase that by basing your customers as its growth channel - Matt BarnettYour Brand is More Than the LogoMany founders don't understand what a brand represents. Most just think about the logo and stop there. Besides visual elements, a brand is also how you talk to customers, what you stand for, your views, values, and people.A brand is basically like the external facing piece of your culture - Matt BarnettFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player!

Companies use various SaaS products to manage and grow their businesses. But how do they keep track of these software applications? Cristina Vila Vives found that most either use spreadsheets ineffectively or do not manage them at all.Are there other alternatives? Passionate about bringing a solution, Cristina presents you with the Cledara platform, designed to improve SaaS stack management.In this episode, we discuss:Using Cledara to make better business decisionsFundraising tips that will help you succeedWhy should you first launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to marketWhat should SaaS founders focus on when building a productHow to Nail Your Next FundraisingUnderstand what you want to build in the future and your product vision. Have a clear roadmap on what you want to do with the capital. Prepare well for every investor meeting and explain how you will achieve that vision.I remember that for every half-hour investor meeting, I would spend three hours preparing for all the possible questions they may ask - Cristina Vila VivesUse the Capital WiseAfter raising your first capital, think of launching the MVP to market. Find the right people to help you build the product and talk to potential customers to understand how they would like it to work. If you lack some business skills, bring a co-founder who can complement your weaknesses, someone strong in the go-to-market and business partnership operations. Then hire the first team members.Make sure that on that first version, you are building something people actually want - Cristina Vila VivesPeople Want Your Product...Help Them Realize ThatFinding the right product-market fit is a matter of building a SaaS product that helps your customers solve their problems. Your job is to understand them, develop your product according to their feedback, and help them realize the potential of your solution. You need these people who believe in your vision and are willing to dedicate their time to help you shape your ideas.When I started, I knew that it was just a matter of educating the market and building a product that would truly help companies when companies were ready to recognize that they had that problem - Cristina Vila VivesFor more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player!

How do you think collaboration can take place smoothly such that the creatives don't get bogged down in meetings or do things counterproductive to their skills because clients are tough to access and provide extremely poor feedback? Discover the innovative strategy used by a marketer and a creative to resolve this issue.Today we have Cody Miles, Founder at Ashore and Creative Director at Brandcave. Join us as we look back on his journey from idea to a ground-breaking company that offers thousands of creatives an environment to work out an effective way to connect with their clients. Cody Miles is an Austin, TX-based entrepreneur and UX designer. After years of struggling to collaborate with his clients, Cody founded Ashore, an online proofing software for high-velocity creatives. Today, Cody utilizes his background to run both Ashore and his digital marketing agency, Brandcave.In this episode, we discuss:The two main problems of creative peopleDealing with non-creative peopleWhat made Cody become an SaaS entrepreneurDealing with employee attrition as a founder of a creative agency

The best SaaS businesses starts with trying to solve a problem for a specific customer persona. Though your product might be good, it might not fit the the ideal customer persona right. So what can you do about it?Listen to this episode of course…Starting a SaaS is hard.Starting a SaaS is harder when both co-founders have full-time jobs.Bryan Clayton, CEO and Co-founder of GreenPal, joins the conversation to discuss how they turned a household errand into an incredibly successful SaaS business... whilst two of the co-founders were working full-time.In this episode, we discuss:How GreenPal got their first customers by handing out flyersWhy software is never completeTreating your SaaS like a brick houseBuilding versus outsourcingProject versus task level thinking

The best SaaS businesses starts with trying to solve a problem for a specific customer persona. Though your product might be good, it might not fit the the ideal customer persona right. So what can you do about it?Listen to this episode of course…Sujan Patel, Co-Founder of Mailshake, joins the conversation to discuss his experience and mistakes building and growing Mailshake and how to identify product market fit.Sujan is a data-driven content marketer and entrepreneur. He is also the Managing Director at Ramp Ventures, a part-time Board Member of the Entrepreneurs'​ Organization, and the GM and Co-Founder of Web Profits.In this episode, we discuss:How to find the right customerBuilding and growing MailshakeHow Mailshake helps sales reps?How Sujan learns from his mistakes

How do you feel about the “succeed on a massive scale or die trying” model? Other unconventional routes to building businesses, including independent funding, crowdfunding, and bootstrapping, are now better alternatives. If you've ever thought about building a profitable company instead of raising cash, stay put… this episode is for you.Today we are joined by Rand Fishkin, co-founder and CEO of SparkToro, former CEO and Founder of Moz, and Author of Lost and Founder. He shares practical advice on how to build a non-venture backed company that is long-term profitable using the lessons he has learned from his experience as the founder of several companies.In this episode, we discuss:How Rand raised funds for SparkToro (HINT: no VC was involved)How SparkToro is different from MozWhat to prioritize for long-term business survivalThe role of audience research for sustainable growthInstructions on how to rate and review SaaS Origin Stories on Apple Podcasts can be found here.

Behind every great SaaS company is an even greater story. More specifically, there is a great origin story.Salesforce. Slack. Shopify …All started with an idea, some code, and a lot of grit, determination and focus. Welcome to Saas Origin Stories.We host authentic conversations with founders as they share how they started their SaaS. We'll cover painful challenges, early wins, and actionable takeaways. You'll hear first-hand the dos and don'ts of building and growing a SaaS as well as inspirational stories to fuel you on your own SaaS journey.