The SaaS Revolution Show, hosted by Alex Theuma, brings you insights and tactics from the greatest SaaS minds in Europe and across the world. Revolutionary founders, executives, and investors openly share wisdom on attracting and keeping customers, growing companies in unlikely places, scaling globally, successfully reaching the SaaS high skies, and never giving up. The SaaS Revolution Show is brought to you by SaaStock, Europe’s only B2B SaaS conference, which takes place in Dublin, Ireland.
This episode comes to you live from SaaStock USA. Fresh off the Founderpath Center Stage, Savneet Singh joined Alex Theuma to discuss how he took PAR from having just weeks of cash left to the billion dollar public company it is today. Tune in to hear Savneet's candid take on what it really takes to lead under pressure and scale with purpose, including: - Stepping into the CEO role with only a few weeks of runway. - The urgent actions taken to avoid bankruptcy—including a ~20% workforce cut in 10 days. - Why transparency and accountability set the foundation for PAR's cultural turnaround. - The shift from “feel-good” values to bold principles like Speed, Ownership, and Winning. - How AI is being operationalised at PAR—with a sharp focus on efficiency and product experience. - The real sacrifices of being a SaaS CEO and why you need to be “all in” if you want to be the best. Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show, Alex Theuma sits down with Marcus Ryu - Co-founder of Guidewire and now a Partner at Battery Ventures - for an honest conversation about the highs, lows, and hard lessons of building and backing SaaS companies. Marcus shares how he went from pursuing a career in academia to leading a billion-dollar business, what it felt like to face years of rejection, and why he believes true founders don't chase easy wins — they lean into hard problems. He also talks candidly about the realities of being a CEO, the shift into venture capital, and whether AI is truly as transformative as it's hyped to be.Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:
Host Alex Theuma is joined by Neha Sampat, Founder and CEO of Contentstack. In the episode, Neha shares: - Her journey as a serial entrepreneur - From New Kids on the Block fan club to Founder and CEO of Contentstack. - The Contentstack story: Scaling to 600 employees and raising $169M - The difference between being a bootstrapped vs VC funded founder - Life as a female entrepreneur: Giving back to the community, supporting women in tech, and the ERA framework - Key lessons from scaling Contentstack - Growing with Fortune 1000 customers: Why a human approach is key for technology adoption. Guest links: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nehasampat/ Website - https://www.contentstack.com/ Kara Lawson talk mentioned: https://youtu.be/oDzfZOfNki4 Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:
This week, we're running it back to one of our most popular episodes from 2023. Host Alex Theuma is joined by Mike Tessler, Managing Partner at True North Advisory and founding CEO at BroadSoft. Mike shares: - The BroadSoft journey: from its founding in 1998 , to going public on Nasdaq in 2010, and being acquired by Cisco in 2018 for +$1.8B - The process behind the decision to sell BroadSoft to Cisco - Three key lessons from scaling the business to +$500M ARR - How to build a realistic execution plan and hold teams accountable - Why senior leaders have to act as ambassadors as a company grows - BroadSoft's secret to success with go-to-market partners - The biggest partner technology challenge the industry is facing - How he handled feelings of loneliness when at the top Guest links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltessler1/ Website: https://www.truenorthadvisory.us/ Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:
Rahul Vohra (Founder and CEO at Superhuman) joins SaaStock's Alex Theuma to discuss how Superhuman stayed ahead of the generative AI wave, how they're shaping the future of productivity with autonomous email agents, and why great products that delights users — not flashy marketing — are the key to viral growth. Rahul also opens up about the loneliness of being a CEO, his meditation practices, and the game design principles behind Superhuman's success. Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:
Matt Mullenweg on scaling Automattic to $500M ARR. In this episode of The SaaS Revolution Show, host Alex Theuma sits down with Matt Mullenweg, Co-founder of WordPress and Founder and CEO of Automattic — the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, Beeper, and more. Matt shares the mindset, strategies, and lessons that helped him build one of the most impactful open-source businesses in the world — now generating over $500M in ARR, including: - The mindset and mission behind Automattic. - How AI is reshaping the WordPress ecosystem. - Key lessons from scaling to $500M ARR. - What his ‘ideal' work week looks like. - How he stays motivated as CEO. Guest links: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattm/ Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:
This week, we're running it back to one of our most popular episodes. Recorded live at SaaStock USA 2023, host Alex Theuma is joined by Jason Cohen, Founder of WP Engine. In the episode, Jason reflects on his multi-decade journey as a serial entrepreneur, and shares his lessons from building and scaling WP Engine into a SaaS giant, including: - His journey as a serial entrepreneur. - The science behind why your startup really is like your baby. - Founding WP Engine, the world's largest managed Wordpress platform - From bootstrapped to venture backed, the decision to raise money. - Why most founders shouldn't raise money—and how to know if you're one of them. - How to build a practical strategy that involves the whole team. - How to know your own strengths and why he replaced himself as CEO. Guest links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen/ WP Engine: https://wpengine.com/Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:
Host Alex Theuma is joined by Max Greenwald, Co-founder and CEO at Warmly. During the chat, Max shares candid learnings about his journey as a Co-founder and CEO and insights into how he's scaling Warmly. Tune in to hear: - How Max went from Google PM to building a high-growth SaaS startup. - The pivots that shaped Warmly's product-market fit (and what it meant for fundraising). - His approach to blitzscaling Warmly into a future billion-dollar company.
Host Alex Theuma is joined by Go Nimbly CEO (and SaaStock USA Speaker) Jen Igartua for this episode packed with practical advice on making your GTM processes more efficient, including: - Why GTM efficiency is now critical for SaaS growth. - How AI and automation are transforming sales workflows. - The biggest mistakes SaaS companies make with their tech stack. - The tools that top RevOps leaders are using to drive revenue. - Why high-touch, relationship-driven selling is making a comeback. - What's next for Go Nimbly, including the upcoming RevFest event. Guest links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-igartua Website: https://gonimbly.com/ RevFest: https://revfest.gonimbly.com/ Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:
Host Alex Theuma is joined by Sendspark Co-founder and CEO (and SaaStock USA speaker) Bethany Stachenfeld. In this 30 minute episode, Beth shares: - Her journey from Marketer to SaaS founder and CEO. - The Sendspark founding story and journey so far. - How Sendspark approaches differentiation. - Advice for founders differentiating their product at scale. - How to stay relevant in a fast-moving product space. And more! Guest links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethany-stachenfeld/ https://www.sendspark.com/ Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
Host Alex Theuma is joined by Larry Kim, Founder and CEO at Customers.ai."With the benefit of hindsight, it could have been done with even less than $18M. I think what happens is when you raise money, it allows you to make bets that you might not have otherwise made had you been operating on the edge of a knife."In this 35 minute episode, Larry shares:– How he transformed a consulting business into a $55M ARR SaaS company.– The content marketing strategy that generated 50,000 leads per month.– Lessons from his $150M exit to Gannett (USA Today's parent company).– Why traditional inbound marketing is no longer effective in 2025.– How his new company, Customers.ai, is reshaping digital marketing and lead generation.– His learnings on bootstrapping vs. raising venture capital.Follow Larry Kim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrykim/ Website: Customers.ai Hear more from Larry Kim at SaaStock USA – He'll be speaking on the Founderpath Center stage sharing more on the WordStream journey and how to know when to sell. Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
Book referenced: Designing Your Organization by Jay Galbraith and Amy Kates Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
One of our most listened to episodes, we're bringing back Keji Mustapha, CMO at Partech, who shares how the best founders scale themselves as their companies scale. "If more founders did that, they would probably enjoy what they were doing more. I mean, you quit your job and set out on this journey to build this incredible utopia that you see because you're excited about it. And then if you don't actually get to be excited about it because it begins to drain you, then it's all for nothing. And I think it's a shame. I think you should enjoy the journey while you're on it. And you can only do that if you set boundaries and make time for other things." Keji shares: • The importance of self-awareness and humility (that means knowing when you're not the best person for a task, and admitting it) • Her mantra for hiring great talent - emphasising that leaving a position unfilled is preferable to hiring the wrong person who creates problems for the team • At what stage a founder should get a virtual or executive assistant to help with workload • Why setting boundaries is absolutely essential for founders • Why leaning into imposter syndrome helps founders be better and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Nathan Latka, CEO and Chief Investment Officer at Founderpath (and the powerhouse behind SaaSOpen!), as he shares the truth about AI in SaaS ...and why it counters Microsoft's CEOs prediction. "I would get emails from real sales reps all the time that were terribly written and they'd go right to spam. I'd also get emails from CEOs that were really well written and I would click them or I'd reply and I engage. Nothing changes. All that changes now is that people with less resources can maybe get an outbound campaign going faster. But if you don't structure it in a way that captures the recipient's attention and gets them to reply like it's just useless, you're just spraying and praying. You're just paying for ChatGPT and credits that you know got you no value. So this is why the biggest in demand job towers here is going to be prompt marketing." Nathan shares: • His counter to Satya Nadella: how AI is transforming SaaS pricing to usage-based models ...not killing the industry! • While many SaaS companies are rushing to add AI labels to their marketing, the real opportunity lies in using AI to reduce friction points and help users reach value faster • Why ChatGPT and AI tools have replaced review sites as the go-to for software recommendations • The key to appearing in AI tool recommendations (and why it isn't about gaming the system) • The rise of "prompt marketing" - how to stand out in a world of AI-generated content • How domain ratings and SEO fundamentals will remain a crucial part for AI tool visibility and rankings and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Aviv Canaani, CRO at Datarails, who shares how he helped move the company from 90% outbound to 90% inbound. "One of our best performing ads is something actually I saw, usually it comes from the team, but I saw this TikTok ad for I think it was a B2C company. Something like, someone asked a lady a question and whatever they ask she says 'yup'. 'Oh, does it do this?' 'Yup'. 'Does it do this?' 'Yup'. So I sent it to the team. I'm like, let's try to do something like that for Datarails. It's been our one of our best performing ads on TikTok. So I think it's really understanding, you know, the channel you're focused on and you have to create the fun, engaging videos that align with what works in the channel, but with our own spin of marketing, our own software." Aviv shares: • Diversification and reducing dependency on any single ad channel • TikTok success in B2B; from user-generated content to understanding the algorithm • Reducing attribution confusion: the simple switch the DataRails team made to categorise and analyse data • How they've scaled their marketing budget in direct proportion to AE hiring: their data-driven system that predicts meeting generation based on marketing spend • His transition from VP Marketing to CRO and his biggest learning managing sales teams • Combat rising ad costs: why creating platform-specific content rather than using a one-size-fits-all strategy is key and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
One of our most listened to episodes, we're bringing back Mark Roberge, Co-Founder at Stage 2 Capital, who shares his sales acceleration formula 2.0 with our SaaStock Founder Members. Mark dives deep into the Sales Acceleration formula followed by his previous company Hubspot. He also answers the questions posted by our SaaStock Founder Membership community. Interested in becoming a member? Apply to SaaStock Founder Membership to supercharge your growth: https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
One of our most listened to episodes, we're bringing back Chris Walker, CEO at Passetto (previously Founder and CEO of Refine Labs, a progressive demand generation agency that challenges the status quo in B2B marketing). Before launching Refine Labs, Chris led marketing at two B2B firms where he built the foundation of his unique perspective on demand generation. Now, at Passetto, a Growth Advisory Firm for SaaS CEOs Scaling from $10MM - $100MM+, Chris helps CEOs and CFOs get instant GTM clarity. Chris joined our host Alex on an exclusive founder members only workshop as part of our SaaStock Founder Membership (SFM), to share how you can grow your business and improve your demand generation strategies. Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
Live from the SaaStock USA 2024 Scale Stage, Ashley Kramer, GitLab's Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, sits down with AJ Eckstein, Founder & Creator at Creator Match and Fast Company. Together, they explore the imminent shift in how companies measure AI's impact on efficiency, questioning whether the productivity gains truly justify the risks and costs associated with AI adoption. Ashley argues that forward-thinking companies must move beyond traditional output metrics and focus on those that reflect real business value—such as enhanced software quality, faster time-to-market, consistent delivery, and, most importantly, improved customer satisfaction.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Steve Oriola, CEO at Unbounce, who shares the leadership lessons he's learnt from navigating a SaaS M&A and the transformation AI has had on business. "We also survey base of employees and those values are landing pretty well. That's an important part of it, is that people understand how everyone works and how everyone should be working and how we should be making decisions. And we correct ourselves all the time on that." Steve shares: • How he's steering the marketing tech ship through choppy waters - from perfecting landing pages to building an AI-powered platform that actually tells you which customers are worth chasing • The behind-the-scenes of marrying two companies' cultures; complete with leadership team matchmaking and values that actually stuck • Why he's betting big on AI being more than just a buzzword • The secret sauce to staying sane as a CEO, including cold plunges, fitness regimes, and the art of not bringing work drama home (even when your spouse is in the industry) • How he's tackling his biggest CEO headache with everything from Berlin Q&As to leadership pow-wows and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Kevin Hu, Co-Founder & CEO at Metaplane, who shares how they navigated Metaplane's journey from pivot to Series A and beyond. "Most of us come from tens of thousands of years of subsistence farmers and we're one of the first generations that has the opportunity to build something that can have a large impact with software and capitals leveraged. And when it comes to the CEO job, one can hope that the problems never stop. When the problems stop, I think that's when growth stops. The best case scenario is when the problems are new problems all the time and it doesn't feel like Groundhog Day." Kevin shares: • The reasons that drove Metaplane to pivot (twice!) • The importance of attracting strong leaders and building a repeatable sales process as a company grows • His approach to decision-making and prioritisation; from the way he collects information to committing to decisions • Why being upfront about expectations and offering upside potential is crucial to recruiting top talent • Metaplane's unique onboarding process where new hires "ship something" on day one • Overcoming market headwinds through a product-led approach and land-and-expand strategy and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Abakar Saidov, CEO at Beamery, who shares his success story from Wall Street-er to tech unicorn. "A lot of entrepreneurs actually start businesses out of necessity. And necessity comes from two parts, either you have to do it because you have no other option, or you feel like you have to do it because you want the idea to exist so much. And usually I feel like if those are not your two reasons, one is like you can't imagine a world without this idea or you just have no choice. You're probably not going to make it through the the grind." Abakar shares: • On a mission to create equal access to work opportunities: The founding story of Beamery • Why customer experience is a key differentiator (and one of the reasons they've achieved such high NPS scores for implementations in an industry where low scores are common) • The top two qualities investors look for in founders • How evolving founder perspectives and motivations have shaped the company's growth • What he does to maintain energy after 10+ years as CEO • Why his ongoing process of growth and development is centred around Andy Grove's concept of the Competence Frontier and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Taylor Hersom, Founder & CEO at Eden Data, who shares insights into their global scaling journey during the pandemic. "Your reputation is everything as you're growing fast and trying to make it to your next round. And when you have multiple competitors in a space, you don't want your customer or prospect googling your name and seeing something like a data breach." Taylor shares: • His approach to growing the business; from focusing on partnerships and referrals to differentiating through branding and content marketing • Key security concerns for founders, including reputational damage and the need for certifications like SOC 2 to close deals • How he capitalised on the increased focus on cybersecurity during the pandemic as more businesses moved operations online • How they identified an underserved niche and tailored their offerings and messaging to serve them effectively • The one thing their team does to drive inbound leads and more!Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Preston "PK" Keller, Founder at Emergent3, who shares how he overcame an industry Goliath trying to kill his SaaS business. "When you've hit rock bottom and you're, like, going through hell, you cannot control all the environmental factors around you, but you can control how you react to it. And I read this book, The Gap in the Game, and it basically says, like, focus on the good things right now. That book got me through the darkest times. We also, you know, my wife was also pregnant with our third child and that third child had some serious health defects. She spent months in the NICU and this was during the lawsuit, during the rewrite, it was like there was so much going on in my life and I was like, I'm still so lucky. It forced you to just focus on like, hey, you can't control this environment and things that happen to you, but you can control how you react. And I focused on just, like, I just wanted to make someone else smile that day. " PK shares: • Overworked and under-appreciated: the decision PK took that started it all.. • The first six months of E3: incredible sales, disbelief in the success they were experiencing, and then.. • The moment the sheriff knocked on his door serving him a summons - his previous employer, the 'Big Bad Wolf', was suing PK personally and his new company, E3, all for starting a business that was competing in the same market • Hitting a grand slam: The moment the judge called an instant ruling in their patent infringement case • Reflecting on the toll it took when he got to the point where everything he had, he could've lost in an instant • How this situation taught him that the relationships in his life are the most important thing and more. Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Tony Jamous, Founder & CEO at Oyster HR, who shares how building Oyster HR as a mission driven company helped them scale to SaaS unicorn-dome. "It enabled me to also be detached from the outcome. So no matter what happens, we miss a quarter or somebody quits, then you're not reactive to that. Instead, you remain always centred on your goals, on your values, on your principles and more in an acceptance mode. This journey of building businesses, it's, it's highs and lows. So how can you remain yourself in a mode of clarity, stability, no matter the highs and the lows?" Tony shares: • Hyper growth in the early days during Covid: From achieving product market fit without having a full platform to going from zero to a billion in market cap in two years • Maintaining a mission driven culture: Why instilling meaning and importance to the work employees do you is the backbone of a successful mission driven organisation • Reducing headcount costs doesn't necessarily mean laying people off - it should be a strategic shift rather than a financial exercise • How he reprogrammed his nervous system to become a better leader and be less reactive • Behaviour is an equation that has two variables: who the people are and the environment they're in ( ...and the influence leaders have on them) and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Raluca Ragab, Head of UK & DACH at Eurazeo, who shares how to succeed as a growth company. "If you think of all the companies that had to raise a seed or series A in 2022, when it was hard, in 2023, when it was super hard, and even in 2024, anybody who's been successful to do that and is now graduating, right? So Maybe they were 1 million company in 2022 and they're 5 million in 2023 and they're now kind of becoming a growth stage company. Those companies, they were so scrutinised, they found it so hard to get funded that actually they have much stronger unit economics, they have great stories and they know how to deliver growth without having a bloated cost structure. So I do think that there's a second wave now of these companies that had to go through this kind of much harder time funding in their earlier stage and they never got to being efficient, that they just kind of got the basics and the fundamentals right and they're going to scale off a much more reasonable set of unit economics and cost structure." Raluca shares: • Being a visionary founder versus a 'good process' person • What it takes to build a successful growth stage company and get the right investment • Track records and unit economics: The metrics Raluca and her team prioritise • Europe's lack of global winners and business champions compared to in the US • How AI is lowering barriers to entry for software development to quasi zero and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Marton Medveczky, Associate Partner at Flashpoint Venture Capital, who shares what exactly makes a founder investable in 2025. "There is always a huge difference between talking to the founder and then doing your own desktop research versus talking to a customer. So if you can do that, that's basically the best way to understand what people value about the product. And it also will help you to draw further conclusions about where to look or, like, what is actually the real paper that it solves. And oftentimes it's actually not what the founders think it is, right? Which is very funny, I think. And that's why customer calls are sort of like a super vital component for us to invest." Marton shares: • The key characteristics he looks for in a founder before investing • Nailing value propositions and pain points: the one thing founders *need* to be doing • What the next 12 months look like and if fewer companies are moving into venture • How his initial VC journey started versus what it looks like now • Winning the market and becoming a category leader: what can SaaS companies do to succeed? • Why net revenue retention is the most important metric and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Palash Soni, Co-Founder & CEO at Goldcast, who shares his journey scaling the business to north of $10M in revenue. "We realised that the market is probably in bigger companies because that's where we are getting the pull from, and so our first actual like big customer was this company called Drift in Boston, which very popular Martech company. And that gave us the aha moment that okay, this is where the fit is. And so the moment Drift signed which was in end of Jan. 2021, at that time we were probably like $30, $40k in ARR. And when Drift signed then that started the chain sort of like the messaging and everything came together. Then we got to $1 million in three months." Palash shares: • Having an entrepreneurial itch from a young age; from buying sweets in bulk and selling them at a markup in his school days to renting out a video game console for a cent per hour • Why he believes marketing mediums evolve every 10 years, and how that was an asset to Goldcast • The risk they faced becoming a multi-product company and how he managed internal pushback • Entering the zeitgeist of B2B Marketers • The three key levers getting to $10M in revenue; including investing heavily in post-sales customer success • Why classic outbound doesn't work and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Philippe Botteri, partner at Accel, who shares the 2024 Accel Europe: AI Eating Software. "Just look at the past couple of years, there's been $56 billion invested in AI companies and two thirds of that has gone into the top six companies of each region of the US and Europe, and also two thirds of that money has gone into foundation models. So what we're seeing is AI is really driving the growth and very concentrated in a very small number of companies both in the US and Europe." Philippe shares: • Capitalising on AI to drive growth • Increasing investment outside of foundational models • Why 2025 is going to be the year of the agentic revolution • Growth vs profitability: what's driving the momentum for software companies • The Game of AI Thrones - will it be a winner takes all market? and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined live from the SaaStock Studio at SaaStock Europe 2024 by Amos Haggiag, Co-Founder & CEO at Optibus, who shares his biggest learnings from building Optibus to a global unicorn. "We sell a mission critical product. When a customer chooses Optibus, if Optibus doesn't work, the public transportation stops working - busses don't arrive on time or don't arrive at all, passengers get the wrong information, like, it's a disaster. So the risk is so high that in order to anyone to choose Optibus, it's not enough to just bring like a really good product, you need to also convince [them] that you're not introducing risk, that you know how to work in complexity, you know how to work in different regions, it's very local. And because of that, at some point, we decided to change the organisation into more focus on the local region kind of management." Amos shares: • Optibus' funding journey to a $100M Series D funding round and a $1.3B valuation • The moment they realised they had surpassed $1M ARR (and why he didn't think they had product market fit at the time!) • Scaling their sales team to accommodate for their global customer base • From localised to centralised- the painful process of restructuring • Challenges with delegating tough decisions as CEO • The importance of having a long term focus and more!Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined live from the SaaStock Studio at SaaStock Europe 2024 by Muhammad Younas, Founder & CEO at vFairs and Winner of the SaaStock Awards "Founder & CEO of the Year: People's Choice", as he shares his key lessons bootstrapping the business to profitability and $30M ARR. "More than half of our business comes from word of mouth from our existing set of customer base. We are a strong believer that the best sales team is your existing customer base. So we go above and beyond. Even though we are in technology business, we typically say internally that we feel that we are in hospitality business. We want to be so close to the customer, give them that seven star experience that they go and spread that around." Muhammad shares: • Achieving profitability from day one • His number one piece of feedback for founders • Their go-to-market model and how they attract customers • Investing in talent above all else • The true definition of business: building long-term value for customers, employees, vendors, and the owner themselves and more!Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by SaaStock Europe 2024 speaker Angeley Mullins, Chief Commercial Officer at Resourcify, who shares Founder versus Company Brand. "A lot of founders don't actually understand what marketing is. You have performance marketers and content marketers and brand marketers. You have channel marketers, partner marketers, etc. So really identifying what your go to market strategy is, identifying who your ICP is, and these are just the fundamentals, and then what resonates to your ICP, and you have to identify that first and then back into the type of marketing that you want or need that will resonate." Angeley shares: • Can a company be founder-led and also do product-led branding • Where pre-Series B companies often struggle most when it comes to storytelling • Why step one for founders is taking an index on the things that A) you're passionate about and B) that you're good at • Where authenticity meets communication and what's most important at what stage of the growth cycle • Short term clickbait content versus long term strategic initiatives and long term customer loyalty • What early stage companies can do to build a strong brand • The secret sauce for founders wanting to 'make it' in Times Square and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner at Theory Ventures and SaaStock Europe 2024 speaker, who shares how AI is changing the future of SaaS. "AI will be a key part of the product. I would characterise the last two years as adding AI features on top of existing platforms, and I think we're starting to see humans adjust, and when humans adjust, the workflows will change, and when the workflows change, there'll be an opportunity to un-see the big systems of record." Tomasz shares: • What makes a founder investable, from Einstein's compounding interest to selling a market • Where we'll see greater and greater efficiency gains businesses at scale • Why upcoming workflows changes lend to unseating the biggest systems of record • The future of AI and how it'll change SaaS architecture and positioning • The significant pressure that horizontal SaaS is facing, and what companies like Salesforce, Glean and Klarna are doing as a result • How to ensure that the AI brought into your SaaS gives you an edge and is not just commoditisation and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Job van der Voort, Co-Founder & CEO at Remote, who shares their hypergrowth journey and how they scaled Remote to hundreds of millions in ARR. "I would always say this is a great problem to have. If you grow really, really fast and it's a luxury problem, and if you just embrace it like that, then everything becomes much easier. Just embrace it in the most honest possible way, which is that, wow, we get so much interest that we have to solve these really difficult problems right now. It's for sake of, you know, our success, or at least the direction of success. To me, that was never difficult. What is difficult is how it affects the rest of your life." Job shares: • From $0 to $1M ARR in six months, and $1M ARR to hundreds of millions in three years: the operational and human problems Remote faced during rapid growth • His attitude towards increased responsibility and fighting fires - 'it's a great luxury to have problems to solve' • Why too many people get distracted by 'building for the sake of building' and deprioritise talking to customers and actively marketing the product • How to stay clear-headed during a period of hypergrowth • 'The sun will shine tomorrow', how he stays motivated when times get tough and more!Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Casber Wang, Partner at Sapphire Ventures, who shares the issues with AI startups and cash burn. "Let's just say we intentionally freeze the progress of technology. There's no ChatGPT five, there's no GPT six. It's only what we have today; GPT four and some of the other, call it 3.5. I believe the next five years we can just build applications on those existing technologies without underlying technological progress. So that's how much progress we made from the starting point. So to me it's less so 'why haven't we seen much progress yet', it's just all the systems take a little bit more time, right? People get used to a new thing and that just takes more time than folks had expected, just given how much attention there is around this topic." Casber shares: - What he's looking for in companies that Sapphire invests in - Why he favours founders who constantly think about talent valuation; from tracking talent to their talent bench - Why building a great software standalone is rarely enough - you need to be backwardly compatible with all the other tools on the stack and nail distribution - The watershed moment in AI and why its garnered so much attention from founders and media - Why specific fields like engineering are seeing a more accentuated economic impact from AI - The five or six prime investment areas where investors spend a lot of time making real bets on and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by SaaStock Europe 2024 speaker Eoin Hinchy, Co-Founder & CEO at Tines, who shares how he went from AI skeptic to advocate and how it informed Tines' roadmap. "I can't tell you how many times over the years I've made a better decision as it relates to a certain part of the business because I've had to do it firsthand myself. At some stage I knew what the problem was and I knew how hard it was or I was able to appreciate the challenges that these kind of new hires were experiencing because I had done it firsthand. So I think founders should almost do like every job for like a little bit just to get that experience." Eoin shares: - How they got tier one investors for Tines' Series A and Series B rounds, totalling ~$115 million - Why, at one point or another, all founders *should* wear every hat - AI meets snake oil: why the early days put him off - The two biggest things stopping AI from being transformative - How as CEO he maintains the energy to constantly want to grow and learn and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by SaaStock Founder Member Dee Coakley, Co-Founder & CEO at Boundless, who shares her journey achieving growth through challenging times. "There's a founder called Ian Nolan, CEO of a company called Bright Flag. And I remember going for a coffee with him and I remember it so clearly. We were at about 400k or I was focused on getting to a million. And then he said, slow down, slow down. Where are you at today? What's happening today? He was asking me how frequently we were closing a new logo and he said, look, you're closing. Maybe it was one customer a week at the time. He said, your problem isn't getting to 2 million ARR. The problem you have to solve now is how do you close two customers a week? Just focus on that. And I love the simplicity of that and I apply it to so many things right now. Don't run before you can walk. Just figure out that next little step." Dee shares: - Building fanbases: from artist management in the music industry to founding a SaaS company - Why investing in content was (and is) the cornerstone of their go to market strategy - Why you should never ask more than three people for advice about one problem - Eat, sleep and breathe spreadsheet numbers - on repeat - Focus, luck, and long term betting: learning to walk before you run and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Mikita Mikado, Co-Founder & CEO at Unicorn SaaS PandaDoc, who shares his lessons in scaling past $100M ARR. "It takes a lot of patience to run a business at scale. I'm not sure I have it, I feel like I need to build a lot of it. And this tendency of, like, getting something done instead of having conversations around the topic so that people get an insight or bring their perspective on, like, how something needs to be done. It's a really tough transition and I still struggle with it." Mikita shares: - Getting to $1M ARR and the tedious work that went into building a functioning customer flywheel - From hiring generalists to specialising teammates - How PandaDoc's tenure-defying CROs helped make the company what it is today - The important transition to optionality (and why he struggles with it) - A sneak peek into his SaaStock Europe 2024 speaking session and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Dan Uyemura, gym turned SaaS enthusiast and Founder & CEO at PushPress, who shares his story building PushPress to $13M ARR. "Everybody has tried being the CEO, I think it just stuck with me. And probably I'm the most natural fit to be the CEO that we need at PushPress, because even though I consider myself mostly an introvert and somebody who wants to just sit in my room by myself and do what I have to do, being a CEO - the CEO that PushPress needed was an outfacing, stand on a soapbox and talk to the world CEO - and of the three founders, I'm actually the probably the most equipped to do that." Dan shares: - His lifelong entrepreneurial journey from paper routes and lemonade stands to founder & CEO - The one thing that landed them their first investor - Loans, free money, and speakeasy fitness during Covid - Building a high trust quotient with clients - Creating leverage in a company and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by serial founder Patrick Barnes, co-founder & CEO at AMP, who shares his lessons from the first time to make the second time easier. "One of the things we did when we first started the company was actually acquire a small SaaS company, or really more of a product, just with our own money. The reason we acquired it is it had 2,000 customers and having angry customers is a beautiful thing. Anybody listening to this who has customers that wouldn't get angry if the product went down, like should just shut the company down and work on something else. Like you want people calling you up, telling you it needs to do more things, saying, "hey, this bad thing happened, this is terrible". It was a great way for us to get this injection of the customer voice, of the urgency into the company and sort of skip those first, say, six or nine months." Patrick shares: - How (and why) to adapt leadership style when managing a larger team - Getting to eight figures in ARR within 24 months - Why starting with the customer and working backwards is key - Why there needs to be just *one* CEO - How to get faster at recognising mistakes as a leader and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Justas Malinauskas, Co-Founder & CEO Whatagraph, who shares his three key growth lessons in getting Whatagraph past $5M ARR. "I get it. There's a lot of trend about bootstrapping in VC, and my point of view is if you can bootstrap and still maintain high growth and your business is feasible for that, that's great, do that. And I think if you can deploy more money and grow the business in a year instead of three years, so you should do that. So that's why these funds are there, just to speed up the growth. If the money doesn't speed up your growth, then for sure, why get it?" Justas shares: - His generational advantage towards tech - Whatagraph's founding story, including their north-star focus on the end user - Why retesting marketing channels is crucial to company growth - How to combine strengths and weaknesses of your product to make the customer successful - The benefits of joining founder peer groups; from unbiased advice to genuine connection building - The compounding interest of consistency and discipline and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show, we're back at the SaaStock Growth Stage for an insightful panel discussion between David Appel (Head of SaaS & Software Vertical at Sage Intacct), Kathrin Koedderitz (Sr Sales Director at Globalization Partners), Ferran Puig (Director of Partnerships & Business Development at Capchase), and Zack Lipton (Sr Revenue Enablement Manager - EMEA at Salesloft). "When we started Salesloft in EMEA, we had one sales rep that was stellar. Everyone would just watch his calls. They all knew – watch his calls. And he got really good by watching one of the reps in the US. And it's just, you know, very informal, institutional knowledge but the point I'm trying to make here is, if you can identify that then you can coach that behaviour into people. You can tell people who the top performers are, you can make your top performers more vocal so that other people know where to find that content," Zack Lipton, Senior Revenue Enablement Manager at Salesloft The session was packed full of actionable takeaways to revitalise your sales team, including: - How and why to focus on innovation - OKRs and how to track and adapt long term goals - How to combat lengthening sales cycles - How you can coach and develop your sales reps to learn from top performers - And more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show, we're live from the SaaStock USA Scale Stage with Klaviyo President Steve Rowland. "No matter where you live, there's this nice radius that you travel and you run all your errands in. I like to go into the local coffee shop or maybe you've got a favourite wine store or maybe a clothing store or a technology store. It's always such a cool feeling when they go, hey, Steve, it's great to see you. We want to be known and we want to be understood, and we want to feel connected to the places we visit physically. That's really hard to do in a digital world because our radius is not 10 miles or 10 kilometres. It's infinite. I buy my deodorant from an Australian company. Is that weird? But they know me. So we have that connection that we want to have as individuals and humans. And so how do you create that in a digital world? That's what we enable," Steve Rowland, President at Klaviyo In discussion with Creator Match Founder AJ Eckstein, Steve shares practical tips drawn from his 25 years of experience in tech and SaaS. You'll learn: - Valuable insights from Klaviyo's journey to IPO - How to generate a durable growth business - What it takes to build a globally differentiated go-to-market functionCheck out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show, we're live from the SaaStock USA Scale stage where CEO Coach Mark MacLeod shares strategic insights and practical habits for sustainable success. "In January 2021, I attended a retreat on the theme of self mastery with my guru and yoga teacher. As part of that, she had us write our eulogy. So I had to write about my life as if it was in the past and write about how people would describe me. What impact did I have? What values did I live by? How did I touch their lives? What did I stand for? I don't really believe in legacy because there's 8 billion people. I don't actually matter. But you know, how did people remember me until they forget me? There's nothing like looking in your life through the rear view mirror from the point of view of your death to clarify how you should live and the choices you should make today." In the episode, Mark shares: - His journey as a leader and how that experience led him to become a coach. - The aspects of CEO life and hustle culture that lead to burnout and chronic stress. - His reflections on his time as CFO at Freshworks and how jobs can be all encompassing. - Why leading with intention should be your North Star and how to do it. - How to take the intention you have as a CEO and apply it to other aspects of your life.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Eoin Bara, CEO of Tipple, who shares how Tipple won five billion dollar customers in its first year of operation. "There's a lot of SaaS companies that do one thing, and I think there is a trend in the market towards consolidation. So if you look at, like, employer records and HRIS systems benefits tools, right, I think there's going to be consolidation of those into one tool. You know, we look at Revolut now doing expenses, you know, you look at offering other products, that's going to be the thing. It's 1. finding the thing that's going to be the killer feature that brings the customers in the cutting through the noise of marketing and like getting to your target customer, then it's going to market getting scale." Eoin shares: - His journey from being a UX designer working with the likes of Goldman Sachs, Vodafone, like Aer Lingus, to 'starting a side hustle' now known as Tipple - How fond memories of his childhood in Tullamore influenced an expression in booze - How building infrastructure for the alcohol industry led to winning the RFP and getting their first billion-dollar customer - The aftermath of winning the SaaStock 2023 Pitch Competition; "inbound from VC's just went nuts" - Their strategy for winning customers; including market education and balancing inbound & outbound and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show, we're live from the SaaStock USA scale stage where Jake Dunlap (CEO, Skaled) and Kevin "KD" Dorsey (Sales Leadership Accelerator & Consultant) go head to head in their session on 'The Great Debate: What You Need to Know about AI in Sales'. Ready for a debate? KD and Jake share what you NEED to know when it comes to AI and sales. The future of sales is human powered by AI, and these two renowned sales experts will arm and argue the knowledge and skills you need to thrive in this ever-evolving era. Through the lens of friendship, leadership and sales enablement, these two will debate it out together. Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by David Politis, Founder and Executive Chairman at BetterCloud. "If you think about the journey of a company in the various stages of a business, we were getting to a scale where it made sense to find a partner who has a track record of taking companies to that next level, organically and inorganically, just to be really transparent. They have multiple ways of getting businesses to that next level, and we wanted to find a partner who could do that with us." In the episode, David shares: - How entrepreneurial spirit runs in the family - His journey to founding BetterCloud - BetterCloud's journey to $100M ARR - The decision to acquire G2's G2 Track product - How the role of a CEO changes as you scale - The top three things from the Startup Founder Survival Guide - And more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Tim Schumacher, co-founder of saas.group, as he shares his insights on exiting your SaaS business. "The one thing that's moved the needle every time is being open about certain problems which appear in one business and solving them myself, in a way, and that usually made a good business. And those were always been than the ones where I was just looking at some general trend I didn't really understand, those were my failures." Tim shares: - Growing his first business: from three friends in a garage to 300 people (before then selling to United Internet!) - His beginnings in angel investing and what constitutes a fundable founder - A saas.group snapshot: 20 companies acquired ranging between $1-$10M ARR - The key steps involved with acquisitions (and why soul searching is #1) - His advice to founders considering an acquisition... and why it's important to remember valuation is just one factor! and more.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
Live from the SaaStock USA 2024 Scale Stage, Kyle Lacy (CMO, Jellyfish) tells marketing leaders the five ways to not get fired. "I believe marketing should have a seat at the table for all four of these to force alignment, because you are the hub and spoke of the go to market model - in my opinion. So that's why it's important that you at least help own, or at least help report, on these things." The average tenure of a marketing and sales leader at a high-growth startup is short, and it's short for a reason. How do you build staying power at any company as a marketing leader? It's important to build specific strategies to gain a seat at the proverbial table. Join Kyle as he walks you through the five ways to position yourself as a marketing leader, from revenue alignment to owning a pipeline/revenue number.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined live at SaaStock USA 2024 by Ashley Grech, CRO at Xero, as she shares the five key moments to drive revenue growth & customer retention. While we're all familiar with sales cycles and customer life cycles, when you take a deeply customer-centric view, there are a few moments that really matter in revenue and retention, and it behooves you as a leader to think through how you handle each of them in order to turn them into force multipliers for your funnel and customer relationship. These moments include: First impressions, Conversion, Establishment, Growth (cross-sell and upsell), and When something goes wrong. Tune in to hear GTM expert Ashley Grech, CRO at Xero, discuss.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
A company is essentially two things: a group of people and a collection of decisions. How those people make these decisions is the art of running a business (37signals). We make decisions every single day, it's what often dictates the direction of a business. Some decisions work out and some don't. Some are quick to make and some tough to call. You'll never be able to consider every single piece of data, analysis or consequence when making a decision - sometimes a decision has to be made from the gut. Legendary founder, Jason Fried is joined by SaaStock's CEO, Alex Theuma, to share his decision making philosophy and answer some of the biggest questions founders face today.Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders
In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Aytekin Tank, CEO of Jotform, as he shares how he bootstrapped a unicorn SaaS with teams of no more than six people. "One interesting number I can give is, like, we always had this 50% revenue growth rate and we still have that. That's very interesting. Actually, if we didn't develop the enterprise version, we would actually lose that - we would probably drop down to like 30%. But then the enterprise came to help, and we still have that 50% growth rate today." Aytekin shares: - The one thing he did pre-Jotform that meant he had a much smoother ride in becoming an entrepreneur - Why he's a big believer of free products, and how that goodwill leads to paying customers - How being a company of small cross functional teams has kept a positive company culture - The makeup of each team and how they cultivate innovation, productivity, and creativity - The building blocks of success, where technical skills meet business skills and more!Check out the other ways SaaStock is serving SaaS founders