Podcasts about b2b saas

EPISODE SUMMARYEvery successful megacorporation that has ever existed was once small. We've all heard of the stories of a software startup founder that started their business in their parent's garage, or created it while still in college. And so with the right process and mindset, know that your company can be just as successful.Dataedo Director of Customer Operations Chase Summers shares his experience in helping Dataedo grow from a side project to the profitable company that it currently is. He also talks about his transition from sales rep to a director with Host and B2B SaaS Sales Coach Matt Wolach. Watch and get ready to welcome growth for both yourself and your company!PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCEPodcast: Scale your SaaS with Matt WolachEpisode: Episode No. 256, "From Side Project to Millions in Revenue - with Chase Summers"Host: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS sales coach, Entrepreneur, and InvestorGuest: Chase Summers, Director of Customer Operations at DataedoTOP TIPS FROM THE EPISODESolicit and Implement Customer FeedbackIdentify the Market GapDon't Take Yourself So SeriouslyProvide Autonomy But Do Not NeglectBe Comfortable with Being UncomfortableBe More Interested Than InterestingEPISODE HIGHLIGHTSFewer Variables Equals Faster Customer DecisionMore Failure Equals Clearer VisionA Leader's Response to Failure MattersTOP QUOTESChase Summers[14:33] "My whole mantra with management is autonomy without neglect."[15:12] "You can be an empathetic person but still be a really good leader. And so that's something that I've worked on is leading the people and giving them feedback at the same time, and being empathetic but also challenging."[21:55] "Just learn to be interested and stop thinking that you're interesting because chances are you're not."Matt Wolach[16:54] "You just don't do as well when you're under stress. And so I love the idea of just, breathe, take a step back. Don't take yourself seriously because it can really help you perform better."LEARN MORETo learn more about Chase Summers and Dataedo, visit: https://dataedo.com/You can also find Chase Summers on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasesummers/For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/Get even more tips by following Matt elsewhere: Sales Tips LinkedIn Twitter Instagram

Not enough people are saying this, but we need to stop making decisions based on other people's perceptions and assumptions. When it comes to creating success as an entrepreneur, the risk of following other people's paths to success is that you reach the top of your ladder and realize it's leaning against the wrong wall. You're not living the vision you thought you were going to be living.  The entire topic can feel confusing and a lot of creatives might stall or self-sabotage when they hit the wall. That's why I'm talking to serial entrepreneur, husband, father, and athlete Dan Martell who's lived this, learned from it and coached thousands on it.  Dan is an award-winning entrepreneur, angel investor, thought leader, and highly sought-after coach in the SaaS industry. In under ten years, he's founded, scaled, and successfully exited three tech companies. In 2012 he was named Canada's top angel investor. He's a strong believer in entrepreneurs, creative pursuits, and helping people to create a life of unlimited creation that they don't have to retire from. Dan Martell founded SaaS Academy and grew it to be one of the largest coaching companies in the world. He created the company to help entrepreneurs scale and grow their B2B SaaS beyond what they thought was imaginable (beyond the hurdles he's experienced himself). In today's episode, Dan joins me in a candid discussion about his experience from a small town to Silicon Valley and beyond, finding fulfillment as an entrepreneur, and lessons from his new book Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire. This is his definitive guide to help us get over the common obstacle that stops us from scaling and growing in business.   Show Highlights: Fulfillment isn't found by doing things the way someone else tells you to Skipping to the end, doing the thing that gets us there Being an entrepreneur is about creating a life of creation that we don't have to retire from The Buyback Formula he Buyback Lifestyle: The benefits of applying the same concepts we apply in business to how we show up at home, with our partners, and with our kids

This week our host, Brandi Starr, is joined by Christopher Roche, CEO at Catalyst Consulting.    Chris Roche is the Founder and CEO of Catalyst Consulting, a full-service revenue and pipeline growth focused marketing agency. Catalyst specializes in partnering with B2B SAAS companies on both strategy and execution of demand generation.   In this week's episode of Revenue Rehab, Brandi and Chris discuss the pros, cons, and everything in-between when it comes to Personal Brand Building on LinkedIn: Option or Requirement + Tips for How.   Links: Get in touch with Christopher Roche on: LinkedIn TikTok Catalyst Consulting Subscribe, listen, and rate/review Revenue Rehab Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts , Amazon Music, or iHeart Radio and find more episodes on our website RevenueRehab.live

Bethan Vincent is an experienced marketer who has worked with a variety of firms in B2B SaaS and B2B Services and has now started marketing agency Open Velocity. Bethan believes in good competitor analysis and how we might get ahead of our competition by going out and finding out what's going on. We spoke about the joys of fractional marketing leadership, and some of the ways to get competitive analysis done. A message from this episode's sponsor - Skiplevel This episode is sponsored by Skiplevel. Do you struggle with communicating with dev teams and understanding technical terminology and concepts? On episode 98, I hosted Irene Yu, founder of Skiplevel, an on-demand training program that helps professionals and teams become more technical in just 5 weeks... All without learning to code. Learn the knowledge and skills you need to better communicate with devs and become more confident in your day-to-day role with the Skiplevel program. You can use referral code OKIP to support this podcast! Episode highlights: 1. Competitor Analysis is a simple concept, but doing it is hard Your competitors are out there and, in many cases, there'll be interesting stuff on their websites but you need to use a variety of techniques to really get to the bottom of what they're doing. 2. You need to know your own target market & positioning before evaluating others It may be Marketing 101, but it's important to understand the space you're playing in, the audience you're going after & who your direct & indirect competitors are before doing competitor research 3. It's important to have a hypothesis you want to test for your competitors There are many tools and approaches you can use, but you need to know what question you're trying to answer. Just finding interesting "stuff" is... interesting, but maybe not particularly useful. 4. Just because a competitor is doing something doesn't mean they're being rational Be aware of what competitors are up to, but blindly copying them is not a good strategy. You need to be in charge of your own destiny, be a leader and do things others can't replicate. 5. Product management should be considered a subset of marketing

Ryan is joined by Jamie Shanks, the founder and CEO of Pipeline Signals, a sales enablement platform. In his time, Jamie has trained over 250k sales and marketing people on social selling and he talks to Ryan about this as well as the unique ways he found to bootstrap his own business and build a marketing machine at a very low cost, delving deep into how to create a cost-efficient team and what it really takes to make it happen. He also gives his thoughts on the future of sales enablement tech in the next 3-5 years! KEY TAKEAWAYS Bootstrapped founders living within their means that are scaling towards profitability this year Pipeline identifies customers on the move, sales intelligence that is routed into a company's CRM to track engagement. They then allow sellers to turn these into leads. Pipeline utilises teams offshore, to allow them to cut costs but still have high-quality talent. They see this as the future of growth and great operating leverage. Anything that can be recreated easily, via a standard operating procedure is a perfect candidate for an offshore team to handle. controlling their own destiny is one of the key focuses for Pipeline: where they have happy customers, provide great service and have great net retention so they create revenue. Sales intelligence comes in a variety of contexts, from product usage to job changes. Pipeline are finding data sets that the customer can't find themselves, to give them unique prospects and opportunities. Net-retention revenue is now the gold standard and the human experience in sales matters, slowly big tech is starting to take notice of this. BEST MOMENTS “It's training an implementation as well as the automated process” “Controlling our own destiny is most important” “Social selling outperforms cold calling” “Technology companies in the boom times didn't have to look at their CEX process and their enablement process with great scrutiny as customers had the money” “We're investing heavily on the enablement side so that in the future of acquisitions companies will say I NEED to have people hand-holding our customers” Do You Want The Closing Secrets That Helped Close Over $125 Million in New Business for Free?"  Grab them HERE: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss 312-848-7443 ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jamestshanks_signals-pipelinedevelopment-pipelinecreation-activity-6987812140699041792-RCEQ/?originalSubdomain=ie ABOUT THE SHOW How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business or an empire? How do you scale to an exit without losing your freedom?Join the host Ryan Staley every Monday and Wednesday for conversations with the brightest and best Founders, CEO and Entrepreneurs to crack the code on repeatable revenue growth, leadership, lifestyle freedom and mindset.This show has featured Startup and Billion Dollar Founders, Best Selling Authors, and the World's Top Sales and Marketing Experts like Terry Jones (Founder of Travelocity and Chairman of Kayak), Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of Micro Acquire), Harpal Sambhi (Founder of Magical with a previous exit to Linkedin) and many more. This is where Scaling and Sales are made simple in 25 minutes or less.Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecretsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With more than 20 years of executive experience, Lisa Joy Rosner is an expert at developing metrics-driven marketing solutions for public and start-up companies. In her current role as the Senior Vice President of Brand and Digital Marketing at Oracle, she passionately advocates for customers, teams, and revolutionary ideas. Throughout her senior marketing career, Lisa Joy's teams have included customer, sports, and industry marketing, as well as brand experience design and global advertising in B2B SaaS, MarTech, AutoTech, IoT, Security, Big Data Analytics, and E-Commerce. On today's episode of Destination CMO, Lisa shares her thoughts on how important it is to have a flexible career plan for yourself, and that her business and career philosophy is centered on resilience. On the podcast she tells us “you can always change the path you're on.” Stream new podcast episodes at https://destinationcmo.com/Follow Lisa Joy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisajoyrosner/Follow Vincent on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vphamvan/Join the Destination CMO community on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/destination-cmo/ 

EPISODE SUMMARYHaving more than 900 million users worldwide, LinkedIn has evolved into a powerful marketing tool. Any software business or brand can improve its sales and marketing efforts by building a great LinkedIn page or profile and establishing a professional network through high-quality content.                                                                     President of Vision Board Media, Donna Serdula, explains how LinkedIn can grow your brand. She also discussed the S-O-A-R methodology with Host and B2B SaaS Sales Coach Matt Wolach, which can help skyrocket your traction. Read more to find out!PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCE Podcast: Scale Your SaaSEpisode: Episode No. 255, “How to Win More Customers Using LinkedIn - with Donna Serdula”Host: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS sales coach, Entrepreneur, and InvestorGuest: Donna Serdula, President of Vision Board MediaTOP TIPS FROM THIS EPISODEStrategizeOptimizeAmplifyRelateEPISODE HIGHLIGHTSUse LinkedIn as a Networking ToolPerfect Your Profile TOP QUOTESDonna Serdula [03:04] “LinkedIn isn't just a resume. This is your brand. This is your professional manifesto. This is how you can control how others perceive you.”[16:08] “I think with the strategy that's working well, with LinkedIn, it has that strong profile, really making sure that you're telling your story.”[21:40] “So take that time, craft that brand.” Matt Wolach[14:50] “There's a formula and I love that there's kind of a plan you can put together and just block it out on your calendar.” LEARN MORE To learn more about Donna Serdula and Vision Board, visit https://www.linkedin-makeover.com/about-vision-board-media/.You can also find Donna Serdula on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todonna/.For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/.Get even more tips by following Matt elsewhere: Sales Tips LinkedIn Twitter Instagram

You're in the trenches. The good news is, others have been there before you and lived to tell the tale! Today's podcast was recorded live at our First Friday event War Stories with Legends. Jared Fuller interviews legends of B2B SaaS, Peter Caputa and Jill Rowley. Peter Caputa built HubSpot's agency program before executive alignment was ever established and Jill Rowley won one of the most important deals in Eloqua's history by partnering!Kick-back and hear how they did it.

My special guest in today's episode of If Not Now Wen is Alex Bass. Alex is a founder and investor who is obsessed with product, automation, and integration. Over a decade ago, Alex Bass founded Efficient App with the goal of helping teams find and integrate their perfect software stack. From seeing first-hand the time savings these tools resulted in, he knew he wanted to get involved on a deeper level. What started as a healthy obsession in product feedback, evolved into a budding career in angel investing. In July 2021, his first investment was put into Motion. Over the 12 months that followed, an additional 18 startups were added to his portfolio, all with a primary focus in efficiency B2B SaaS. Alex is passionate about creating relationships, and he creates impact through a desire to help and provide support. Alex has a transparency and authenticity that is so refreshing. He is such an inspiration, and I know you will love this episode as much as I do. We talk about:

► A full walkthrough of how to win with B2B SaaS SEO! ✔ This guide is useful for any B2B company (even if you're not offering SaaS). Sam walks through the full SEO process from planning and research through to link building. ⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹ ✔ Never miss an episode + get free marketing tips + guides + bonus resources to your inbox every Monday - http://businessgrowth.email/ Please check out our sponsors... ⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹ Ahrefs — All-in-one SEO toolset. Improve your website's SEO performance and get more traffic from search. Free for website owners - https://ahrefs.com/webmaster-tools ⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹ Web Choice - We Build Custom Websites & SEO Strategies That Generate Leads & Sales - https://www.webdesignchoice.co.uk/ ⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹⇹

Are your CSMs operating with a single point of contact? Damien Howley, CCO of Whip Around shares how having a Strategic, Tactical, and Operational focus in your customer relationships not only prevents that single point of failure when a main contact leaves, it strengthens your customer knowledge in a way that cannot be done with a single relationship. Learn what this looks like in real life, and how to effectively ensure your CSMs are utilizing this process well. Connect with Damien here ----- Gain Grow Retain exists to connect people, knowledge, and ideas to advance the state of customer success. We're on a mission to connect B2B SaaS customer success leaders so that we can learn from one another. Check out more at GainGrowRetain.com! Or follow our GGR LinkedIn page. GGR was co-founded by Jeff Breunsbach and Jay Nathan - be sure to follow for customer success content.

On today's show, Ryan talks to Matt Swalley, Co-Founder & CBO of Omneky. A company that is doing amazing things by leveraging generative AI for marketing. Matt went from being a fortune 10, chief of staff to a first-time founder and leading a company that finished in the top 20 out of 1000 at TechCrunch Disrupt.  He and Ryan discuss the AI of the future - where it's heading, what's changing, and how they started preparing for this big boom in 2018.  KEY TAKEAWAYS - Omneky is north of $10m+ on AR and uses a mix of partnerships and direct sales. The aim is $100m per annum and to be publicly traded within a few years. Omneky is an artificial intelligence-powered marketing platform that uses real-time performance data and traditional analytics to discover what with an ad is working. Using data analytics, generative AI, and other elements all kinds of social media channels and ads can be optimised in a way that enables firms to follow their customers and generate more leads and revenue. Leveraging AI enables you to catch everyone's eye despite people´s increasingly shorter attention spans. You can pull data from multiple channels, uncover what works, then automatically create highly relevant content in numerous iterations. Enabling you to be everywhere and appeal to many different types of customers. You still need humans to come up with extra ideas, check the output, eliminate bias, tweak the designs, and develop the AI. Omneky has its own development team. BEST MOMENTS  “For direct sales – a combination of outbound emails and retargeting with digital ads.” “It was really fate and networking that bought me here.” “There´s different leverages you can pull with digital advertising and insights you can pull from that data.” “The beautiful part of this is that there´s still a place for humans in every element of this.” “Today, it´s (AI) really on fire.  “Things are moving on, people get on or get blown away.” Do You Want The Closing Secrets That Helped Close Over $125 Million in New Business for Free?"  Grab them HERE: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss 312-848-7443 ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES Website - https://www.omneky.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-swalley-59249533/ ABOUT THE SHOW How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business, or an empire? How do you scale to an exit without losing your freedom?Join the host Ryan Staley every Monday and Wednesday for conversations with the brightest and best Founders, CEOs, and Entrepreneurs to crack the code on repeatable revenue growth, leadership, lifestyle freedom, and mindset.This show has featured Startup and Billion Dollar Founders, Best Selling Authors, and the World's Top Sales and Marketing Experts like Terry Jones (Founder of Travelocity and Chairman of Kayak), Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of Micro Acquire), Harpal Sambhi (Founder of Magical with a previous exit to LinkedIn) and many more. This is where Scaling and Sales are made simple in 25 minutes or less.Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecretsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Karessa Parish, Growth Marketing Manager at ClassTag joins Jeff to talk about the connection between scaled CS and marketing. Here are some of the key takeaways: Look for ways to automate things that you do over and over Evaluate your content to align with customer self-service needs CSMs should be facilitators rather than information keepers Give a space for customers to talk to each other Examples of scaled ways to grab your customer's attention Connect with Karessa here ----- Gain Grow Retain exists to connect people, knowledge, and ideas to advance the state of customer success. We're on a mission to connect B2B SaaS customer success leaders so that we can learn from one another. Check out more at GainGrowRetain.com! Or follow our GGR LinkedIn page. GGR was co-founded by Jeff Breunsbach and Jay Nathan - be sure to follow for customer success content.

In a special episode for Simblified, we turn the spotlight on Sidin Vadukut. Join us as the OG funny man of the internet who can turn travails of south Indian men into pails of fun, the consultant who makes you exultant, the foreign correspondent with a stunning frontend, the most charismatic numismatics expert, tells us about how his many careers have panned out, the choices he made, the role of luck and more. Add one part news, one part bad jokes, one part Wikipedia research, one part cult references from spending too much time on the internet, one part Wodehouse quotes, and one part quality puns, and you get Simblified.A weekly podcast to help you appear smarter, to an audience that knows no less! Your four hosts - Chuck, Naren, Srikeit, and Tony attempt to deconstruct topics with humor (conditions apply). Fans of the show have described it as "fun conversations with relatable folks", "irreverent humor", "the funniest thing to come out of Malad West" and "if I give you a good review will you please let me go".Started in 2016 as a creative outlet, Simblified now has over 200 episodes, including some live ones, and some with guests who are much smarter than the hosts. Welcome to the world of Simblified!You can contact the hosts on:Chuck: twitter.com/chuck_gopal / instagram.com/chuckofalltradesNaren: twitter.com/shenoyn / instagram.com/shenoynvTony: twitter.com/notytony / instagram.com/notytonySrikeit: twitter.com/srikeitSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

QBRs are a topic of conversation almost any place that CS professionals gather. That is because they are a vital tool in helping customers understand how your product aligns with their business goals. The problem is these meetings have become another task, and one that many customers are skipping. So how do you move from the old way to a new, more engaging way of talking to customers? Make it more about them instead of you Share metrics and slides ahead of time - bonus points for recording a video companion! Share info about what stakeholders will be interested in specific information Open actual call with a chance for the customer to get clarification, but spend the majority of the time asking open-ended questions Identify scheduled meetings that you can join and share Create a 1-page document with post-meeting action items What are some ways you are shifting into a new QBR framework? ----- Gain Grow Retain exists to connect people, knowledge, and ideas to advance the state of customer success. We're on a mission to connect B2B SaaS customer success leaders so that we can learn from one another. Check out more at GainGrowRetain.com! Or follow our GGR LinkedIn page. GGR was co-founded by Jeff Breunsbach and Jay Nathan - be sure to follow for customer success content.

Lead generation is usually great for acquiring many contacts, but it also favors quantity over quality. Demand generation, on the other hand, focuses on attracting relevant people based on what they need to solve at a given time. It favors quality over quantity and has a greater impact on revenue. Put simply, companies focusing solely on lead generation may be missing out BIG TIME

Steve Cody is the founder and CEO of Bunking which is a marketplace for shared living and travel.  He also has another business called Marketplace Studio, which is a software development boutique firm focused on marketplace creation. He started in business as a teen with just $1,200. Then went on to create 17 more companies in just 30 years. Businesses that have generated over $750 million in sales. KEY TAKEAWAYS  Bunking launched in beta mode about 3 months ago and is pre-revenue. They are running 4 go to market tests to uncover the niche that has the lowest customer acquisition cost, with the highest network effect. Bunking connects like-minded people to get together to use shared living and travel to have adventures they could not otherwise afford. Bunking is focused on the travel retreats sector, followed by remote work and roommate living. Collaborative living is becoming a huge thing, especially themed homes. E.g., YouTubers or tech workers living together learning and bouncing off each other. The impact of network effects is huge. Bunking enables individuals e.g., retreat owners to tap into this far more. Be prepared to think out of the box and pivot. Bunking did not turn out to work much like the way the team first thought it would. When you have a business idea, ask what do you want to get out of it? E.g., more free time or something else. Answering that question impacts how you make it a reality. Leverage your data from the start. Think about what you need to know about your customers to improve how you serve them. BEST MOMENTS  “We´re building supply and getting user feedback.” “Post CoVid there's a lot more people with their own schedules and more mobility” “You have to start with the premise that you're going to find a way to make it happen” “Bunking is almost like a dating platform, because we're connecting like-minded people to do joint bookings.” Do You Want The Closing Secrets That Helped Close Over $125 Million in New Business for Free?"  Grab them HERE: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss 312-848-7443 ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES Bunking Website - https://bunking.com/ Steve Cody´s Website – https://www.stevencody.com/ Steve Cody LinkedIn - https://ca.linkedin.com/in/stevemcody ABOUT THE SHOW How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business, or an empire? How do you scale to an exit without losing your freedom?Join the host Ryan Staley every Monday and Wednesday for conversations with the brightest and best Founders, CEO and Entrepreneurs to crack the code on repeatable revenue growth, leadership, lifestyle freedom and mindset.This show has featured Startup and Billion Dollar Founders, Best Selling Authors, and the World's Top Sales and Marketing Experts like Terry Jones (Founder of Travelocity and Chairman of Kayak), Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of Micro Acquire), Harpal Sambhi (Founder of Magical with a previous exit to Linkedin) and many more. This is where Scaling and Sales are made simple in 25 minutes or less.Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecretsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EPISODE SUMMARYThe software industry is highly competitive, with numerous companies offering similar products and services. Despite a company's confidence in its superiority, the challenge lies in differentiating itself from the competition in the eyes of the market. In this week's episode of Scale Your Saas with host and B2B SaaS sales coach Matt Wolach, Ton Dobbe, the author of "The Remarkable Effect" and Chief Inspiration Officer and Founder at Value Inspiration, offers guidance on how to stand out and gain more wins by effectively positioning oneself against the competition.PODCAST-AT-A-GLANCEPodcast: Scale Your SaaSEpisode: Episode No. 254, “How to Differentiate from the Competition - with Ton Dobbe”Host: Matt Wolach, a B2B SaaS Sales Coach, Entrepreneur, and InvestorGuest: Ton Dobbe, the author of "The Remarkable Effect"TOP TIPS FROM THIS EPISODEHire a Coach or Get a MentorDon't Try to Please EveryoneDifferentiation is KeyEPISODE HIGHLIGHTSBuild a Lasting ImpressionAlways Strive to Innovate. TOP QUOTESTon Dobbe[04:12] “You realize that this one thing bubbles up every time again, it's like, okay, traction is there. But it's not predictable; something is wrong. And once you get it predictable, and you can get this flywheel going now, things start moving the right way.”[09:02] “Create something valuable and desirable, and the combination of the two is really important. Because something valuable is, of course, that's the Holy Grail.”[15:58] “Focus on the essence. What words like focus come up? But more importantly, is that I really drill down into, what is the real problem we're trying to solve here.” Matt Wolach [06:17] “It's hard sometimes when you're in the moment to see it. That's why I think having a coach for people to work with you is so great.”[11:35] “Much better to make sure that you differentiate, make sure you separate, and they identify you as someone who this is an organization slash person slash tool product that can help us and get us to where we're going to, and the others will not.”LEARN MORETo learn more about Ton Dobbe and Value Inspiration, visit: https://valueinspiration.com/.You can also find Ton Dobbe on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tondobbe.For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software companies achieve maximum growth, visit https://mattwolach.com/.Get even more tips by following Matt elsewhere: Sales Tips LinkedIn Twitter Instagram

In this episode of The B2B Content Show, host Jeremy Shere interviews Jennifer Durishin, Head of Marketing at Prodigal, a B2B SaaS startup, about her experience hiring for a content marketing manager. Highlights:Tips for dealing with the avalanche of applications that will come your wayWhy writing tops Jennifer's list of qualificationsWhat Jennifer looks for in a writerLearn more about ProdigalConnect with Jennifer on LinkedInThe B2B Content Show is produced by Connversa, a podcast production agency helping B2B brands connecting with prospects, grow brand awareness, and create better content. Learn more at connversa.com.

On this week's episode of Inside Outside Innovation, we sit down with Maisha Leek, Managing Director of Forum Venture Studios. Maisha has had an amazing career in corporate innovation, company building and venture capital, and we talk about the new Venture studio model and some of the things that she's seeing in the world of venture. Let's get started.Inside Outside Innovation is podcast to help new innovators navigate what's next. Each week we'll give you a front row seat into what it takes to learn, grow, and thrive in today's world of accelerating change and uncertainty. Join us as we explore, engage and experiment with the best and the brightest, innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneering businesses. It's time to get started. Interview Transcription with Maisha Leek, Managing Director of Forum Venture StudiosBrian Ardinger: Welcome to another episode of Inside Outside Innovation. I'm your host, Brian Ardinger, and as always, we have another amazing guest. Today we have Maisha Leek. She's the managing director of Forum Venture Studios. Welcome to the show, Maisha. Maisha Leek: Thank you Brian. I'm excited to be here.Brian Ardinger: I'm excited to have you because you've spent a lot of time in all the different cross sections of innovation. So corporate innovation, company building, venture capital. Can you tell us about your path and journey in this innovation space? Maisha Leek: Sure. I'd love to say it was all brilliantly planned. There's a lot of trial error, error, error, error, and then trial again. I actually got into this world in the interesting route. I was for a long time in Washington DC. I was a policymaker and a fundraiser. And in DC we had oversight of most of the science and innovation agencies. So, everything from NASA to Noah to National Science Foundation, which is about the $54 billion proposition, which is a lot of responsibility. And we work with your tax dollars, placing the best bets we could to jumpstart the economy or to just position the United States to be competitive. And so that turned in everything from investing in commercial space flight. You see that now with SpaceX and Virgin Galactic and other companies. Those aren't the only ones. And investing in the advancement of batteries, which leads to all of the electric vehicles that we have now and, and sort of their ability to compete with their combustible counter parts.I knew I was far from all the action that everybody was in, in Silicon Valley and wanted to get closer to it, but by happenstance, met the founder of United Masters. Which was a music and tech company. And did not know what I was doing, except that I was an operator. I knew how to build out teams and build out a company and spent my time doing that. And we had the right as Silicon Valley goes investors. So had Ben Horowitz on our board. And David Drummond on our board. And was really active in managing those relationships. And when I was thinking about what to do next after spent some time at that startup, I had an executive coach and friends, they were like, you got to get into venture.And I'm like, that sounds really boring. And their suggestion I think is really apt for folks who are thinking about it. They suggested I would be good in the space because I had experience to do this on Capitol Hill, operating across a range of subject matters. And knowing to be sort of a generalist that can go deep in certain areas and analyze information and make quick judgements.My first experience was at Adventure Studio at Human Ventures. And that really influenced what I decided to do after that. And most of my time in the venture space, outside of being an angel investor or participating SPVs has really been in the venture studio space. I love it because of the close connection you can have with the founder and the founding team. It's not sort of like write a check. I'll call you once a month kind of thing. We're in it with them. But it also leans into the place where I'm strong. Which is I'm a really great operator and being able to do that with founders and helping them not make the same mistakes I've made in other companies that I've built or independent of that, also gives me great joy.So, I've done four Venture Studios - Nike Valiant Labs, Human Ventures, New Lab, which are across the series of categories. New Lab is Frontier Technology. Nike is really best to describe with CPG. Human Ventures, which is in large part direct to consumer. And Forum, which is B2B SaaS. And they all have their challenges. But again, I love the model. I'm an evangelist for the model. Brian Ardinger: Let's talk about that model. You know, people who've followed the show and that have heard more and more about Venture Studios, and if you've been in the space, you're hearing different flavors of what Venture Studios are. So can you talk about what is a venture studio from your definition and what were the differences between the different ones that you've started and where you're at currently with Forum. Maisha Leek: The term studio, when it's combined with venture, actually originates from Hollywood, which I did not know. Essentially, like the idea that the studio from ideation to putting it into theaters would be responsible for the build. Like they collaborate with some folks, but they wanted to sort of own the vertical of the product that went out to market. And Venture Studios do just that in a venture context. We are building small businesses as fast as possible.You do different things depending on the category, and there are few ways the model sort of shows up. On one extreme, they're starting with just the idea and there's no founder. On the other extreme, you've built out a business and you're hiring in a CEO. Most of the venture studios I've worked with sort of lean to the front end where we really are interested in and get really excited about the founder. And really help them determine what to build.And that's really a question of what the problem is that they want to solve. It's not really starting with a solution. And then we take them through a process to de-risk it, diligence it, figure out who the real customers are. What needs to be true for the MVP, and then bring it out to market. Most venture studios do that.I think that where we get variation is the degree to which the idea is evolved before the team that's going to live with the problem goes out into the world. I think that's where folks tend to have differing points of view about what's most important. And a lot of it's logical. Venture Studios exist because we have a better risk profile than a founder doing it on their own.I can get into why that is, but you can imagine it's just our expertise. And depending on the Venture Studio and their point of view about what they have to offer in terms of the early ideation, you have some organizations or groups who really want to use every insight that they have and stand up a company. And others who believe that the founder who's taking the risk should do most of that work. That's how folks are making those choices from what I've seen. Brian Ardinger: Yeah, that seems to be some of the key differentiation. It's how much additional resources perhaps are put towards it. So, some venture studios are very much hands-on. They have a team of developers that the founder can work with to build out, you know, early-stage prototypes and things along those lines. All the way to, obviously capital's involved.But it, it's interesting to see even the last three or four years, how that model has evolved. You know, some of the earlier venture models, you know, High Alpha out of Indianapolis or Highland Beta Toronto, they're looking at different models. You've got Nobody's Studios out in New York and the Philippines. And then you've got, obviously some of these, what were more traditional startup accelerator programs, whether it's Techstars or others that are, are looking at kind of a venture model where again, it seems to be how do we find the early founder with some magic sauce. And then put the magic sauce together to create companies together. Rather than looking for a company out there, which would be more, I guess, a traditional venture model in general.Maisha Leek: It's interesting. I love how you put that last point. The debate, I think, amongst people who are in the venture studio space is like, well, what matters more, the idea or the founder. I think that the way they're setting up venture studios is really an answer to that individual group's point of view on that question. I personally believe that the founder is the one thing you cannot de-risk. Human beings are human. And you know, you can pivot a company, you can pivot a strategy, you can change who is sitting where. But when it comes to the founder, you really wanna have conviction before you build. And I think a ton of folks are seeing that as the whole game. In large part, because early-stage investors are only looking at the team, right? So, it stands to reason that where venture studios can really play the game super, super well is making sure they've got that really, really tight, and then getting into the idea and the problem space from there.Brian Ardinger: And that makes perfect sense. You know, at the earliest stages, most ideas are crap, and they have to be worked through. And so the uncertainty itself, you're looking for somebody who can work through that uncertainty and adapt to the changing things that they learn along the way. Maisha Leek: A hundred percent. And somebody also who has a game plan for themself, which I find doesn't come up as much. But you know, I was talking to a founder this morning that was having a rough day, early on a Monday. And essentially, am I making the right choice for my life? How do I do that? Having a plan for all of those rough moments, it's like one of the most important things an investor or even a studio or a founder can put together before they even dig into the idea, because it's your right. The way a business shows up today. Fifteen years from now, it's going to be completely different. And really having a game plan for how to address the uncertainty, the significant amount of volatility that you'll face and keep your head is probably some of the most important details about being a founder that I don't think get enough of your time.Brian Ardinger: So obviously a founder's a core component to creating any new company. What are some of the ways that you both source founders and what do you look for. Maisha Leek: This is the best question. It's also the hardest. There are a range of approaches. I think that over time you start to build a network of founders that trust and know you.And when you say that you're standing up the studio and that you want to build, they tend to refer people that they're really excited about. Just starting from scratch. I mean, you really do want to spend time doing what we're doing right now. Demonstrating your capabilities in conversations and writing. Really posting a ton. Trying to draw people in.Being a judge at competitions. Talking to your network of other investors. There are a ton of folks that are further down the line and they meet founders who are too early for them to consider for their deals. I've talked to my entire network about getting folks to refer those folks to us. And then also not being afraid to look in places that you don't suspect. And so at the studios that I've worked with, we always have a complete open door. We do not require a warm intro for you to engage us. That's intentional. You're a needle in a haystack. I don't want to have the door closed. And when I have talked to every and anyone about the studio model, about what we can offer, about how to think about joining us.From a profile perspective, there's what I'm looking for and then there's like where those people are. I have the same challenge any startup has. Who is your customer? Right? I went to the first one. There are about like three types of people, right, that are very stages of availability. There are folks that are experienced founders who seek out venture studios because they've had to do it alone before. And they know that doing it alone is not worth it. it's not efficient. They want to move quickly, understand if there's real meat to their idea, and dig into that fast. They tend to come to venture studios actively, actively always talking to founders despite how deep they are into their build. It's just going to be top of mind for them. There's a ton of people who don't see themselves as founders but have all the experience. These are my favorite to cajole and to taking the risk. They tend to be a human, we used to call them the person behind the person, right? These are folks that have COO roles or Head of Biz ops or revenue, or chief of staff roles. They spent a significant amount of time learning how to build a business by being the number one, number two, or the sidekick to the person that's doing it.They've got to learn the category really well. They have a ton of insights, and they might be thinking, well, my next role is to sort of be the number two. Invariably though, based on that experience, they have strong points of view about what's missing from the market. They just had to do it. And they have all the experience of an experience founder, and I'd like to almost always pull those people in and have them think about what it might look like if they were in a leadership chair.Brian Ardinger: In that particular environment, are founders coming to you with an idea or a series of ideas that they want to explore? Or are they coming to you saying, hey, what do you know out there? What are you seeing from an opportunity perspective? And I'll sift through that and pick one that might resonate with me. Or what's that, I guess, spectrum of coming in with an idea versus coming in with a blank slate.Maisha Leek: it's a mix of both. The last like profile of somebody who might come to us as like an entrepreneur, someone who's been inside a big company, and they're always the first task with standing up the new thing. And so, you're hearing the mechanics like that folks have internalized. To your point about ideas, it depends on the studio, right? But I've seen folks come in with a strong point of view. I know exactly what I want to build. I know exactly the problem I want to address. Sometimes that's exciting. Sometimes that's problematic. Our process in the early days is designed to tear your idea apart. And so, if you're wedded to it, it can be a bit challenging.And then folks that don't have an idea, I've spent time with a number of business designers helping them think through the problem that they're really excited about and pulling out the thread that might be the one that we want to dig into. The trick of all of that in terms of founders is like, you should have a strong point of view about a problem space. You don't have to have the idea fully formed. So, you should know I'm fired up about logistics. I've spent 10 years as like the head of business development here and I really want to pull this apart. I have less experience than that, but I have actively been tinkering. Because I think that this problem that I've experienced is really a challenge. Those are the best people. They're ready to go. They've got a chip on their shoulder and something that they want to address. And Venture studios a really great place for them. Brian Ardinger: Yeah. I often talk to founders and that, and like you want to find those founders that want to spend time with that problem and or customer segment because not necessarily having a solution around it, but you know, they know they're going to be spending 5, 7, 10 years of their lives. You want to get up every day focused on that and really digging into it versus, I'm just chasing the next greatest trend because it sounds like the next thing to do. Maisha Leek: Fastest way to burn yourself out or to get frustrated really quickly. Because we're talking about years and years of your life. You got to love the problem or the customer.Brian Ardinger: You mentioned on the corporate entrepreneur side of things, and have you seen different flavors of this Venture Studio model being deployed, I guess within a company versus externally Forum Ventures? Maisha Leek: I have, yeah. I have a ton of friends that are leading innovation teams inside big companies, and they frequently connect up with Venture Studios primarily because we can help them move faster. Internally for the corporates, what can be an amazing opportunity can also be your challenge. The innovate team, is a great opportunity to build against the problems either facing the business internally, like so you're building for inefficiencies within the business, and you want to build tools, services, platforms, whatever.And then some who are only thinking externally around mark, market cap or market share. It's like, all right, we are really tight with these customers. We want to expand to these others. Let's build out small brands that can go help us expand our reach, essentially. And the challenge for folks inside a highly matrixed organization that are building a studio or building an innovation team is really like who amongst your colleagues can actually play in that sandbox?It's not always what you think. They are of the generals. The guys and gals who've been around the company forever. They know where all the bodies are buried. The new sandbox has switched on. They're like, great. I want to jump in there and play. They're the deal maker inside the company. Not always. They're great, right? But not always the profile, the founder you want to look for. You're really looking for folks that really are ambitious about standing up something new. Are great storytellers inside the company but aren't wedded to company culture in a way that will slow them down. There are a ton of tricks for leaders of innovation teams that are internal on how to draw those people in and protect yourself from the rest. That's a story for another time. Brian Ardinger: The other topic I want to dig into, obviously venture studios require money or capital and, and they differ than a traditional, I guess, fund investment and that. Can you talk about the Venture Studio model from the investor side. And why that particular path versus, I guess, a traditional fund. And what's different and, and what's good or bad about the different approaches?Maisha Leek: Like I've heard people describe it a few ways. Some LPs describe it as like investing into an index fund. When you get a batch of companies at a cheaper rate. That's fine. Feels a little off brand. I think that for investors in large part, the value is that you get a de-risk asset faster and equity in that de-risk asset cheaper than you would finding a company on your own.And so, I find that LP is into venture studios have been brought along on that narrative journey. They can see the numbers. I mean, Venture Studios at this point have so much track record. I mean, we're perhaps like maybe 20 years in in terms of Venture Studios being around. Don't quote me on that. And essentially the track record, you know, suggests right that companies that come out of venture studios have like a 30% higher success rate than the ones that are stood up on their own.They return to fund faster, they have a 72% chance of raising their subsequent rounds C day and CB that, you know, all of the conditions are really right to make it something that's super, attractive as an investment. And investors into studios I think are, are dialed into that. And more and more now that more and more venture students are coming online across a series of categories.Brian Ardinger: Talk a little bit about how you see the Venture Studio, the life cycle of a company. So, if it's one thing, if you build it yourself and you go out and raise venture capital, you're building all your teams yourself, you're scaling it. Where in the Venture Studio model, obviously kickstart it and stand it up, does the company itself, when does it go on its own or does it continue with the studio or talk about those inflection points. Maisha Leek: Yeah, I think it's a, that's actually a strategic question for the studio, and also a good opportunity to provide advice to founders that might be listening in. Essentially, the best studios in my experience, have a time boxed plan for your journey. Doesn't have to be rigid. There's less likelihood of success when it's a sort of a meandering X metric that we'll move you through. I mean, really strong venture studios have a plan for after your company is built, the MVP, the number of people that you need on your team, how we're going to prepare you to go into the market to raise money, the number of customers we want you to have, and then move you through.Your question was about like what's the long tail of support? Really great Studios show up in the way that great funds would. Once you're a portfolio company, our interests are aligned with yours. We are a hundred percent dialed into your success. If you need something. Phone home kind of approach. And I think that having the staffing or the plan for that is really helpful for a founder to hear when they're evaluating venture studios that they might engage with.Right after I have my set of customers, after I've done my raise, what is our relationship going to be is the right question to ask there. But I've seen a range of folks on how they navigate that. Sometimes it's ad hoc, the GP is the only person interacting and sometimes it's, there's a real plan with a platform team that folks are tapping into as they're on their growth journey.Brian Ardinger: What are you excited about? Are the particular trends or the particular things that you're really digging into in 2023 and beyond? Maisha Leek: Yeah. I am personally super excited about logistics and transportation. I think that personally that it's an exciting moment for a few reasons. One, the technology allows us to do this more efficiently than we ever had. The migratory patterns that we saw post covid are pretty fascinating. We once had Class A, class B, class C cities. It's sort of turned that entire dynamic on its head. It's sending people your way, Brian. Brian Ardinger: Exactly. Maisha Leek: Yeah, and I love that. I don't know what that means, but I love it. I'm very excited about it. From a macro perspective, you know. I'm a millennial, right? So, this is like, I guess the fourth or fifth global crisis that I've lived through. What's really exciting about that, to the degree that can be exciting, is I think that folks are in a very salt of the earth, meat and potatoes way, rethinking their relationship with work and their responsibility for their own careers and lives.And I think it's going to lead not surprisingly to a surge of people starting their own businesses because they want to be, they want to take ownership right for their futures. And I'm really excited about that. I also think that the conversations that younger generations, gen Z, for example, are having around work, will lead to hopefully the resurgence of labor unions.I think that there is a period of time where we sort of walked away from that because you know, the worker and the employer were really at a better eye to eye level sense. I think that we're seeing a lot of the convulsions out of the tech sector teach us that that's not the case. And we do need a fair arbiter to make that work.I come from a long line of union workers. And so, in the venture world, I'm excited that venture studios are no longer taboo. I was mentioning earlier when I first told people I worked at Venture Studios, they were like, oh, it's not a fund. And now all, every day I hear somebody talking about getting into the space. I think that's great. I think Venture Studios will be the really strong gateway to capture those other three trends that I mentioned. You know, people are reconsidering their relationship with work, their expectations of what good company stewardship have changed, and just our needs from an infrastructure perspective have shifted because our behavior and venture studios are going to be best suited to dig into those problems and questions for us. So that's what I'm really excited about. We'll see, I'll watch this back in five years and see if I was right about anything. For More InformationBrian Ardinger: I'm excited about it because anybody who can help move ideas faster into the ether and create value along that way, that's what we're all about. So, I'm excited to hear your journey in the future. And in the interim, if people want to find out more about yourself or about Forum Ventures, what's the best way to do that? Maisha Leek: I am hyperactive on LinkedIn and getting more and more active every day. Definitely DM me. Definitely reach out. I'm also an angel investor. I'm standing up a syndicate in the next little bit here. I'm really, really, really obsessed with small businesses and founders. I mean, my family has come from five generations of entrepreneurs. It's really game changing work, and I'd love to be a part of that. So hit me up there. Brian Ardinger: Excellent. Well, Maisha, thank you again for being on Inside Outside Innovation. Looking forward to continuing the conversation and best of luck. Maisha Leek: Thank you, Brian.Brian Ardinger: That's it for another episode of Inside Outside Innovation. If you want to learn more about our team, our content, our services, check out InsideOutside.io or follow us on Twitter @theIOpodcast or @Ardinger. Until next time, go out and innovate.FREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER & TOOLSGet the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HEREYou can also search every Inside Outside Innovation Podcast by Topic and Company.  For more innovations resources, check out IO's Innovation Article Database, Innovation Tools Database, Innovation Book Database, and Innovation Video Database.  

Going above and beyond for your customers seems like a no-brainer, but is it really? Data shows that performing 'Hail Mary's' for your customer doesn't have any greater impact than simply meeting their needs. Matt Dixon shares some tips on what you should be focusing on, and the good news is it is relatively inexpensive in terms of money, time, and resources. We need to move our customers from signature to value as quickly and efficiently as possible. Allowing your CS team to focus on making the customer journey as painless as possible results in a bigger impact on customers and your bottom line. Connect with Matt here ----- Gain Grow Retain exists to connect people, knowledge, and ideas to advance the state of customer success. We're on a mission to connect B2B SaaS customer success leaders so that we can learn from one another. Check out more at GainGrowRetain.com! Or follow our GGR LinkedIn page. GGR was co-founded by Jeff Breunsbach and Jay Nathan - be sure to follow for customer success content.

Alex Quilici is the CEO and founder of YouMail. Before that, he co-founded and sold Quack to AOL for over $200 million. To grow YouMail Alex pivoted multiple times, going from B2B to B2C, before creating a unique dual approach business model which has enabled the company to gain traction and grow at a phenomenal rate. You are not going to want to miss this episode. In it, Alex talks about grit, perseverance, and what it takes to be successful in a startup. KEY TAKEAWAYS -  Using a two-company approach has enabled YouMail to help businesses to stop making bad calls, while at the same time equipping consumers to effectively block spam callers.  YouMail has fully leveraged its knowledge of how spam/robocalls are made and used it to create multiple revenue streams. Doing this by providing solutions for consumers, carriers, and those firms that have imposters making calls pretending to be them. When things are not working out, don't be afraid to pivot. Start by leveraging what you already know to identify and solve a different problem within the industry or marketplace that you have been working in. Recognise what skills you don't have and hire to fill that skill gap. Free yourself up to leverage what you know and what you do well. Imagine the world differently to create your vision. For example, Quack came out of Alex wanting to be able to do anything he could do on his PC while he was out and do so from his brick phone. Once he had that vision he went out and made it happen.  With a big vision, you may fail to completely achieve it, but the process of working to fulfil it will generate amazing innovations. To get your big vision done everyone needs to be singing from the same hymn sheet and understand their role in delivering it.  BEST MOMENTS  “Be open to being told you are wrong” “Ask if everything went as I wanted, what would it look like?” “For YouMail, we asked what it would look like if we were wildly successful. The answer was we would want there to never be another call somebody doesn't want.” “With a vision, you should be able to tell people it at a cocktail party” Do You Want The Closing Secrets That Helped Close Over $125 Million in New Business for Free?"  Grab them HERE: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss 312-848-7443 ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES YouMail website - https://www.youmail.com/ YouMail apps - https://www.youmail.com/home/apps Who Not How - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Not-How-Accelerating-Teamwork/dp/B08KYLJ29H/ Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Buy-Back-Your-Time-Unstuck/dp/059342297X/ ABOUT THE SHOW How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business, or an empire? How do you scale to an exit without losing your freedom?Join the host Ryan Staley every Monday and Wednesday for conversations with the brightest and best Founders, CEOs, and Entrepreneurs to crack the code on repeatable revenue growth, leadership, lifestyle freedom, and mindset.This show has featured Startup and Billion Dollar Founders, Best Selling Authors, and the World's Top Sales and Marketing Experts like Terry Jones (Founder of Travelocity and Chairman of Kayak), Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of Micro Acquire), Harpal Sambhi (Founder of Magical with a previous exit to Linkedin) and many more. This is where Scaling and Sales are made simple in 25 minutes or less.Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecretsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introduction: Welcome to Five & Thrive: a weekly podcast highlighting the Southeast's most interesting news, entrepreneurs, and information of the week, all under 5 minutes.  My name is Jon Birdsong and I'm with Atlanta Ventures.  Event of the Week: Mark your calendars for March 22nd, Christy Brown of Dr. Noze Best is being interviewed at the next Atlanta Healthcare Entrepreneurship MeetUp. Dr. Noze Best is an infant nasal suction device that's portable, easy to clean, and designed with hospital-grade suction. This interview will cover several intricacies of healthcare including go-to-market, manufacturing, unit economics, and their origin story.        Raise of the Week:  Cycle Labs out of Raleigh, NC raised $6.5M this week from Jurassic Capital. Cycle Labs  provides a continuous test automation software platform to large enterprises worldwide. Co-founded by CEO, Josh Owen, Cycle Labs has 30 employees and now has some more dry powder to put to use.  Also, AdPipe out of Athens, Georgia raised $3M dollars led by Atlanta Ventures with participation from Tom Noonan. AdPipe repurposes, repackages, and reposts content from your existing library of videos and makes them shorter and crisper with attractive copy so clicks are 3-4x of traditional, static marketing collateral. Congrats to Andrew and Sam!  Several funds are in the process of closing or just closed a new round. Starting first with Cofounder's Capital out of Raleigh, NC. It was announced this week that they closed their 3rd fund of $50M. Cofounders Capital was started by David Gardiner and they invest in the earliest of early opportunities mainly in the RDU area. Congrats on their raise and more fuel for the ecosystem.  Keeping it in the funds category, TTV Capital closed their most recent fund of $250M. Led by Gardiner Gerrard. This Atlanta Stalwart has raised over a cumulative $700M and invests in B2B SaaS, cyber-security, and fintech. Local investments include GreenLight and Cardlytics.      News of the Week: Fast Company came out this week with several lists including a few that we have highlighted before on the podcast. The first category is the Top 10 Innovative Companies with under 10 people and on that list is Franklin Junction. Franklin Junction matches food brands with underutilized kitchen space, making them a host kitchen – which is different from a ghost kitchen. Now a name brand food can be cooked in a kitchen with a completely different name and easily picked up and delivered to your doorstep…even if there is not a traditional restaurant location available.  The next list from Fast Company is the Top 10 Innovative Companies in Wellness and number two on the list is Reframe out of Atlanta. Reframe provides cognitive behavioral therapy on demand, offers a personalized daily alcohol reduction program, craving management tools,  community support groups and coaching.  Beta Product of the Week: Jordan and Scott Arogeti started a new company that helps people grieve around a death. Mi Alma (“my soul”) in Spanish offers resources necessary to not only aid in the initial grieving and times of need, but also creates a space where memories can live on in an active and meaningful way. Features include: community-wide collection of pictures, stories, and memories of the deceased with a “support registry” that makes it easy for anyone that's inclined to give money, meals, or time. If you're grieving over a lost family or friend, check out Mi Alma.  Blog Post of the  Week: The Godfather of SaaS is putting out superb content and the one worth highlighting today is his 5 Learnings from TradeDesk which offers self-service SaaS for Adtech. Here are three: first, the company was founded in 2009 and has been profitable since 2013. Just this past quarter it was announced they had a 42% adjusted EBITDA margin on 1.6B in revenue for the fiscal year. Second, they've been able to keep their sales and marketing spend at about 19%, which is half of what most fast growing companies spend on go-to-market. Lastly, they grew fast but not insanely fast. After hitting $100M in ARR, they grew anywhere from 28-76% a year, each one of them being profitable. Today they are over $2B in ARR, profitable, and in today's markets that efficiency is rewarded through a $28B market cap. We put the post in the show notes.  Annnnd that is five minutes! Links discussed: 

Today we have another episode of Better Done Than Perfect. Listen in as we talk to Chris Mele, the managing partner at Software Pricing Partners. You'll learn what happens behind-the-scenes of enterprise pricing, what value-based selling really is, the problem with pricing tiers, and more.Please head over to the episode page for the detailed recap and key takeaways.Show notesSoftware Pricing PartnersThe three worst B2B SaaS pricing errors – and how to avoid themThanks for listening! If you found the episode useful, please spread the word about this new show on Twitter mentioning @userlist, or leave us a review on iTunes.SponsorThis show is brought to you by Userlist — an email automation platform for SaaS companies. Onboard, engage, and nurture your customers, as well as marketing leads. To follow the best practices, download our free printable email planning worksheets at userlist.com/worksheets.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here.Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

It seems intuitive: you increase retention by delighting your customers. However, data exposes the fact that something that takes a lot of effort and often the increased expense doesn't bring the results you are looking for in terms of loyalty, retention, or even advocacy. Instead, strong value and ROI come when companies look for ways to reduce the effort our customer have to expend to be our customers. Jay takes a look at how teams can work to make reductions in efforts that equip our customers for success by making our companies easier to do business with. ----- Gain Grow Retain exists to connect people, knowledge, and ideas to advance the state of customer success. We're on a mission to connect B2B SaaS customer success leaders so that we can learn from one another. Check out more at GainGrowRetain.com! Or follow our GGR LinkedIn page. GGR was co-founded by Jeff Breunsbach and Jay Nathan - be sure to follow for customer success content.

Leslie has been in startups and B2B SaaS for over a decade. She was the VP of Member Success and the first executive hire for Pavilion (formerly Revenue Collective), a global membership community focused on go-to-market executives. She built the playbook that created amazing evangelists out of current members and was instrumental in growing the community from 2K - 10K members in just under two years. Leslie is passionate about the value of connection and evangelism in business. She founded Chief Evangelist Consulting to bring the power of Evangelist-Led Growth and community to everyone in the SaaS startup world. You can find out more about Leslie and join her course in the links below: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-greenwood/ Evangelist-Led Growth Course - https://maven.com/leslie-greenwood/evangelist-led-growth Website: https://thechiefevangelist.com If you're enjoying Entrepreneur's Enigma, please give us a review on the podcast directory of your choice. We're on all of them and these reviews really help others find the show. GoodPods: https://gmwd.us/goodpods iTunes: https://gmwd.us/itunes Podchaser: https://gmwd.us/podchaser Also, if you're getting value from the show and want to buy me a coffee, go to the show notes to get the link to get me a coffee to keep me awake, while I work on bringing you more great episodes to your ears. →  https://gmwd.us/buy-me-a-coffee Follow Seth Online: Seth | Digital Marketer (@s3th.me) • Instagram: Instagram.com/s3th.me Seth Goldstein | LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/sethmgoldstein Seth on Mastodon: https://masto.ai/@phillycodehound MarketingJunto.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Revenue Insights Podcast, host Lee Bierton speaks with Eddie Reynolds, CEO of Union Square Consulting, a consulting firm for B2B SaaS startups. They have a free-flowing discussion about focusing on revenue efficiency and plugging leaks in the sales funnel and revenue processes. Eddie shares his insights on how you can proactively spot leaks and simple ways to fix them. He also discusses how to drive more revenue from analyzing your sales process to spot where revenue is coming from. He also shares how to feed those insights back into the sales process to increase revenue through higher conversion without adding more at the top of the funnel.

Planning in 2020 continues to be chalked full of uncertainty based on the current macroeconomic reality. Assuch, being a finance leader in 2023 is even more challenging, and unpredictable -  but developing an operating plan and budget is an important and critical component of the CFO's job.First, is being "hyper-realistic" is the theme of the year, especially on top-line revenue. Understanding revenue drivers like pipeline generation and conversion is critical to informing the 23' budget and operating plan. Factoring in longer sales cycles closed lost - no decision and buyer hesitancy is part of the art in building the 23' plan.Second is being "hyper-responsible" in managing costs. Third is "running multiple scenarios" highlighting the goal of profitable growth, which should always be in style, but even more imperative in 2023. Though Net Income is always interesting, in the B2B SaaS industry revenue growth is still a key driver, while EBITDA and Free Cash Flow are key indicators of profitable growth.Fourth is "obsessing on the leading indicators" impacting revenue trends.How have the relationships between CFOs and CROs changed heading into 2023? Dan highlighted he is lucky as both his head of revenue and head of customer success are metrics focused, and they collaborate closely on planning and forecasting - using over 80 metrics to continuously monitor their progress toward their operating plan.Next, we discussed the challenges of forecasting - especially in today's uncertain environment. Dan shared that hitting a +/- 5% accuracy is probably best in class, while Planful targets 3% - 5% forecast accuracy. Then we discussed the "triangulation methodology" which evolved into using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. However, Dan started by ensuring front-line sales professionals need to see forecast accuracy as a priority. Dan shared a few tips to improve forecast accuracy. First, sales managers should provide a weekly forecast update as they are the closest to the pipeline, Second, Finance should be monitoring pipeline generation and conversion rates to continuously update the forecast. Third, using AI to capture the signals that impact opportunity conversion rates to provide an automated forecast to be combined with the first and second manual forecast management processes.What are the top 3-5 performance metrics that Dan is focusing on in 2023? Dan highlighted ARR growth is still a top metric. However, Dan focused on "leading indicators" including outbound pipeline development trends - including the pipeline from SDRs. Other leading indicators Dan tracks include outbound connect rates, conversation rates, opportunity conversion rates, and sales team acceptance rates. Start by looking for "trends" which can serve as very important pipeline trend insights. Next, looking at the opportunity funnel conversion rates in concert with analyzing conversational intelligence insights is very helpful to understanding "early signals" impacting revenue growth.A strong financial operations capability starts with instrumenting the infrastructure that can quickly surface leading and lagging indicators to inform decision-making. Dan highlighted the importance of technology to compress time from activity to insights to a decision. Being buttoned up on the CRM infrastructure and data are table stakes to fully leverage automated planning, forecasting and reporting.At what stage of company evolution should a SaaS company start the "instrumentation and automation" journey for planning, forecasting, and metrics reporting. "Complexity" of business operations is a critical factor to determine when to begin the automation journey.  If you are considering how to increase your planning and forecasting accuracy, the conversation with Dan is very insightful and full of great ideas

Christian Kletzl is the founder and CEO of UserGems, which runs an AI-driven prospecting solution that enables companies to drive effective growth and prevent churn by keeping track of job changes for key contacts and accounts. Enabling them to create a bigger pipeline and faster sales cycles. He was also a leader in Google´s product group and has held important positions at McKinsey and Microsoft. Christian talks about the experience of starting out using Y Combinator funding and pivoting multiple times. Including how he managed while nearly running out of money several times over 5 years, before breaking through and experiencing 10x growth. Using the data, he has built up across a large sample size he dives deep into how the current market conditions are impacting the way decision-makers buy.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Sales and marketing have to be highly orchestrated to be effective. Pipeline anxiety is an issue that can be avoided. UserGems was bootstrapped before becoming funded. In the episode, Christian explains why he did it like this. It is possible to develop product and business ideas fast. Put together a regular timeline then ask yourself what can I do to launch in just 2 days? Doing this forces you to innovate, think about crazy options, and greatly accelerate the idea to launch timeframe. Work efficiently, so you can avoid having to seek further funding. When a buyer/decision maker leaves a company, you need to know where they go, so you can sell to them there. As well as know who is replacing them, so you don´t lose a customer. In the current market, retaining customers is rightly seen by business owners as vital. AI enables you to identify who the stakeholders are, as well as what type of contact/conversation you need to have with each one, and when. The future of sales and marketing tech will be more about orchestrating the individual actions of who is who and reaching out to them in the right order, at the right time, and in the right way. BEST MOMENTS “Instead of looking at how you could double over the next year, ask what you would need to do to multiply yourself x10” “Just because a customer is asking for it, doesn´t mean they will pay for it.” “It's about reaching out to the very same people with the very same message at the same time across all the channels you can.” “Over the past 3 or 4 months all of our conversations are focused on actual churn prevention.”   Do You Want The Closing Secrets That Helped Close Over $125 Million in New Business for Free?"  Grab them HERE: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss 312-848-7443 ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES UserGems website - https://www.usergems.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiankletzl Email – christian@usergems.com ABOUT THE SHOW How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business, or an empire? How do you scale to an exit without losing your freedom? Join the host Ryan Staley every Monday and Wednesday for conversations with the brightest and best Founders, CEOs, and Entrepreneurs to crack the code on repeatable revenue growth, leadership, lifestyle freedom, and mindset. This show has featured Startup and Billion Dollar Founders, Best Selling Authors, and the World's Top Sales and Marketing Experts like Terry Jones (Founder of Travelocity and Chairman of Kayak), Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of Micro Acquire), Harpal Sambhi (Founder of Magical with a previous exit to Linkedin) and many more. This is where Scaling and Sales are made simple in 25 minutes or less.Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecretsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Logan Maley is someone who really likes what she does. She believes she found her niche. She loves being in-house in tech because she gets to do all of the things she enjoys doing and that she think she's good at; strategy, advisory work, negotiating, making an impact, being creative, working and collaborating with a variety of people who have diverse skill sets and strengths. What really makes her job--and her life--fulfilling, however, is connecting with people. Logan likes to say that she's a serious professional who doesn't take herself too seriously. The second attorney in at Procore, she's seen the company scale from a private company with sub-500 employees, US only, to a NYSE-listed global company with over 3,000 employees and growing. She helped the company prepare for its IPO in every way (twice actually, thanks pandemic). Logan loves the journey of scaling a company and continues to enjoy each new phase of maturity. She has worn many hats and supported just about every practice area possible. She is currently supporting legal and compliance for their new ventures in FinTech, broadening her experience out of B2B SaaS. Aside from being a lawyer/tech exec, Logan is a mom of two awesome little humans, a spouse to one awesome very tall gentleman, a lover and player of music, and the one always hosting the parties. Molly Graham, a seasoned tech-exec, wrote an amazing piece about scaling a tech company in which she said "if you personally want to grow as fast as your company, you have to give away your job every couple months." Logan Maley has taken this approach to heart and will talk about how a "team of generalists" in a high-growth tech company can help legal teams meet each phase of maturity and help legal leaders keep not-yet-GC-level employees on board and engaged long past IPO or other late-stages of growth.

Maarten Verwaest is the founder and CEO of Limecraft, which takes technology, automation and AI to help media companies manage their workflows and include clients such as Associated Press. Not only has Maarten founded 3 SaaS companies, but he has also facilitated 2 successful exits and in this episode talks about how he initially created capital for a $ 3 million MVP as well as shares the knowledge that saved him from closing down; instead adding 10% growth month on month!   KEY TAKEAWAYS Initially, Limecrafts primary go-to-market strategy for growing revenue was trade shows due to the high trust base and network-heavy industry of media. But since their surge in demand in 2020, they have started to focus on content marketing in-house. Limecraft gives companies the gift of time, they automate repetitive work allowing companies to focus on the true creative elements. If you eliminate repetitive tasks and focus on high-value ones, you also increase your ability to scale and grow. Focusing on the retention of existing customers and referrals is one of the ways Limecraft has been able to grow at the rate they have. It took a lot of trial and error for Limecraft to get to the successful pricing model they have built today. They learnt the most from their early clients and their thoughts around what pricing fit and worked for them. Limecraft got its competitive advantage by listening to the difficulties and pain points their industry and clients were struggling with and addressing them. When it came to scaling, they knew exactly what to do and what they needed to focus on solving. Creatives and the creative industry don't generally care about the ins and outs of technology, they just simply want it to work for them, so this is what Limecraft focus on. Mainstream AI is not currently well adapted for video content. Maarten feels like it's his duty to make people understand and recognise this. BEST MOMENTS  “We automate repetitive work” “Our net revenue retention is 25% without having to do any additional sales” “If you're developing a SaaS company you need to filter out the good early adopters, they will challenge you, they will help you figure out what pricing works” “Creative people don't give a shit about technology, they just want it to work” “90% of the text it recognises is plan bullsh*t it's nothing to do with the video” Do You Want The Closing Secrets That Helped Close Over $125 Million in New Business for Free?"  Grab them HERE: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss 312-848-7443 ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.linkedin.com/in/maartenverwaest/?originalSubdomain=be ABOUT THE SHOW How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business or an empire? How do you scale to an exit without losing your freedom?Join the host Ryan Staley every Monday and Wednesday for conversations with the brightest and best Founders, CEO and Entrepreneurs to crack the code on repeatable revenue growth, leadership, lifestyle freedom and mindset.This show has featured Startup and Billion Dollar Founders, Best Selling Authors, and the World's Top Sales and Marketing Experts like Terry Jones (Founder of Travelocity and Chairman of Kayak), Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of Micro Acquire), Harpal Sambhi (Founder of Magical with a previous exit to Linkedin) and many more. This is where Scaling and Sales are made simple in 25 minutes or less.Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecretsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jay is joined by Christina Lock, Founder and CEO of Catch Talent. We talked about trends in the labor market and what she's seeing across the tech companies her team works with. Here are the questions we went over: What are the trends you see in both the job market and the labor market? How are employers responding to shifts in the labor market? What roles are most in demand right now from your perspective? How have the requirements changed over the past several quarters? There is a downward trend in candidate experience in tech, even when labor is in peak demand. Candidates being “ghosted,” lengthy and indeterminant processes, excessive assignments, etc. Why is this happening? How can hiring managers make the best decisions possible while streamlining these processes? If you've recently been let go, what are the top two or three things you can do to make yourself the most marketable? ----- Gain Grow Retain exists to connect people, knowledge, and ideas to advance the state of customer success. We're on a mission to connect B2B SaaS customer success leaders so that we can learn from one another. Check out more at GainGrowRetain.com! Or follow our GGR LinkedIn page. GGR was co-founded by Jeff Breunsbach and Jay Nathan - be sure to follow for customer success content.

There's a trend with B2B SaaS companies: the desire to become media companies. Why is this a trend? And how can these companies actually operate as a media company? In this episode of Recorded Content, Justin Brown explores the ins and outs of this topic, including the challenges and opportunities involved.Let's face it: advertising can be expensive, and not everyone has the funds to experiment and build up a customer base that way. So that's where content creation comes in to the picture. But, as Justin points out, it takes more than a few blog posts to establish yourself as a media company.

We need our CSM's to become more "strategic". (What that really means, no one will ever know) BUT, here's an easy way to *start*... Coaching your CSMs to get better at asking open-ended questions AND listening. Open-ended questions often begin with words such as "Why" and "How." Or they can use phrases such as "Tell me about..."

10 years ago Ding left a comment on a youtube video of mine. Little did we know... we would meet again in SaaS with newfound skills and common goals of starting our own creative agencies. Ding Zheng, founder of SalesRap.io and EventShark.io took his skills as a hip-hop artist, the art of freestyling, and content creation and embarked on uncharted waters - helping B2B SaaS companies stand out and book more deals with rap. To this date, SalesRap.io has made him well over 6 figures! His newest venture in the event space is also a culmination of all the skills he's perfected as one of the biggest disrupters in B2B and he's coming to a city near you. I'm honored to call this guy a friend and business partner. Get ready for one of the most interesting Lowly SDR interviews yet!If you enjoyed the show, make sure to rate and leave a review. Really helps us out and lets us know you're enjoying the content. Make sure to follow and subscribe so you get notified when new episodes go live!Learn more about Ding Zheng and his businesses below. Make sure to go show him some love!https://www.linkedin.com/in/dingzheng25/https://www.salesrap.io/EventSharkSupport the show

Ryan is joined by Adam Baker, ex salesforce employee who has founded, scaled and exited two SaaS companies as CEO. Adam chats to Ryan about his 20+ years of experience in software development, the problems and challenges currently being faced by founders and how he and his team are changing the landscape of enterprise sales with his newest solution Dealpad.io KEY TAKEAWAYS Dealpad.io are very intentional about whom they speak to, whom they want to sell to, ensuring they only work with their ideal buyers whom they know they can make successful. It means their marketing budget is relatively low. Linkedin is one of the main platforms that Dealpad.io use to reach its customers, directly engaging with them, learning and helping them with their specific pain points and needs. From his own experience of being a buyer, Adam recognised the challenges his ideal customer would be facing and tested solutions with this in mind when creating Dealpad.io Buyers in enterprise sales are becoming more sophisticated, nailing their own processes, making sellers vulnerable and in turn giving them less control. Dealpad.io gives the capability to see what your buyers and sales teams need and how they can be helped. Optimism isn't enough to close deals, so much time is wasted on focusing on advocates within a team that actually don't have the authority to make decisions. Regardless of the economic situation we are facing right now, software is needed more than ever to create efficiency and close as many deals as possible. Adam believes that a founder's belief in solving problems, timing and product market fit are the three key elements to building a successful company. BEST MOMENTS  “We're very intentional about who we want to sell to, who we want to work with” “We do most of our marketing on LinkedIn because it's where our customers are, it's mostly intentional outreach” “I've been the buyer, so I know the pains we're solving” “All of this data helps the sales individual understand is their buyer content, do we have everybody in the process we need and where do we need to lean in and help them through their journey” “That's all founders have to believe, that we're solving a problem” Do You Want The Closing Secrets That Helped Close Over $125 Million in New Business for Free?"  Grab them HERE: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss 312-848-7443 ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlbaker/?originalSubdomain=uk ABOUT THE SHOW How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business or an empire? How do you scale to an exit without losing your freedom?Join the host Ryan Staley every Monday and Wednesday for conversations with the brightest and best Founders, CEO and Entrepreneurs to crack the code on repeatable revenue growth, leadership, lifestyle freedom and mindset.This show has featured Startup and Billion Dollar Founders, Best Selling Authors, and the World's Top Sales and Marketing Experts like Terry Jones (Founder of Travelocity and Chairman of Kayak), Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of Micro Acquire), Harpal Sambhi (Founder of Magical with a previous exit to Linkedin) and many more. This is where Scaling and Sales are made simple in 25 minutes or less.Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecretsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, Stacey Epstein, CMO at Freshworks shares key lessons from the hyper-growth journey of the first India-founded B2B SaaS company to go public in the US – going from a 6-member, $1 million start-up to a 4,000+ member, $300 million scale-up leading up to IPO.    Customer-focused businesses foster a company culture dedicated to improving customer satisfaction and relationships, and that singular focus has made all the difference for Freshworks.   Specifically, Stacey covers:   - How Freshworks migrated from India to the US. - How to run a global organization at scale and maintain consistency across the board. - The process for deciding what product is built next. - How founders should approach their first marketing hire. - Advice for women who are early on in their career with CEO aspirations.   This episode is moderated by Arjun Chopra, Partner at Floodgate.   Learn more at https://tractionconf.io   Learn more about Freshworks at https://www.freshworks.com/   #product #marketing #startup #scale #growth   This episode is brought to you by:   In a digital world, customers demand more, especially from support. Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. This enables customer service teams to scale without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Welcome to a whole new way to support your customers. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visit https://Intercom.com/traction    Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don't get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI    Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca    Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com   

Marcel Petitpas is the CEO & Co-Founder of Parakeeto, a company dedicated to helping agencies measure and improve their profitability by streamlining their operations and reporting systems, a problem he discovered while running his own agency back in his early 20's. He's also the fractional COO at Gold Front, an award-winning creative agency in San Francisco working with brands like Uber, Slack, Keap and more. As well as the head strategic coach at SaaS Academy by Dan Martell, the #1 coaching program for B2B SaaS businesses in the world. In his work as a speaker, podcast host and consultant, specialising in Agency Profitability Optimisation, he's helped hundreds of agencies around the world measure the right metrics and improve their operations and profitability. When he's not helping agencies make more money, he's probably watching “The Office” or “Parks and Rec” on a never-ending loop and eating breakfast foods for every meal of the day.  What will be discussed on today's show:  How agencies should measure their performance Key metrics to track Targets to aim for & industry benchmarks Exactly what formulas to use to calculate them Example metrics: Financials (Revenue, AGI, Gross Profit, Net Profit, Overhead Spending) Utilisation Rates Average Billable Rates Labour Efficiency Ratio What is Marcel Working on Right Now: The Agency Profit Toolkit - https://parakeeto.com/toolkit/  How to get hold of Marcel:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getparakeeto/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcel-petitpas-20059588/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Parakeeto Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/agencyprofitability  Website: http://www.parakeeto.com/  To find out more about Fearless Business:  Join our amazing community of Coaches, Consultants and Freelancers on Facebook: >> https://facebook.com/groups/ChargeMore  And check out the Fearless Business website: >> https://fearless.biz and https://www.robinwaite.com  

Today's guest is Kim Walsh. She heads up Sales, Partnerships, and Customer Success over at Apollo.io. As an early member of HubSpot and her continued journey through sales and growth, she's learned valuable lessons in the world of B2B SaaS. In our interview with her and Patrick Campbell recorded at SaaStr in 2022, Kim discusses a number of topics that will make you a better operator like hiring tips, effective product-led growth, and much more.High Level OverviewPut the customer first, as it should be the core of all go-to-market activities, from sales to onboarding and customer successConsider sponsoring international talent for an H1B visa, as it can be a great way to bring in diverse talent early on.Figure out the percentage of revenue that comes from the three buckets of self-serve, sales assist, and rep-driven business.Monitor the self-serve metrics, such as weekly and daily active users, and percentage of people hitting the Aha Moment.Make sure that the self-serve bucket is growing faster than all other buckets in order to ensure success.Product-Led Growth: The Kim Walsh MethodProduct-Led Growth (PLG) is a go-to-market strategy used by many software businesses to acquire, engage, and retain customers. This strategy involves focusing on customer experience and product usage as the primary driver of growth and success. Implementing a PLG strategy requires an understanding of customer needs, a comprehensive understanding of the product, and an understanding of how to create a customer-centric approach to marketing.Understand Your Customer Needs: The first step in implementing a PLG strategy is to understand the needs of your customers. It is essential to have an understanding of the customer's journey, what they need, and what they expect from your product. This will enable you to create a product and customer experience that meets their needs.Know Your Product: Having a comprehensive understanding of your product is essential for effective PLG. This includes understanding the features and benefits of the product, the user interface, and how it can be used to solve customer problems.Focus on Customer Experience: PLG is all about creating a customer-centric approach to marketing. This means focusing on customer experience, rather than just pushing products. It involves understanding customer needs, creating an engaging product, and delivering an excellent customer experience.Utilize Data and Analytics: Data and analytics are essential for understanding customer behavior and product usage. Utilizing data and analytics will enable you to gain insights into customer behavior and usage, which can be used to optimize your product and customer experience.Invest in Self-Serve: Self-serve is a key component of PLG. Investing in self-serve tools, such as chatbots and Al, will enable customers to find answers to their questions quickly and easily. This will enable customers to have a more positive experience with your product.By understanding customer needs, knowing your product, focusing on customer experience, utilizing data and analytics, and investing in self-serve, you can effectively implement a product-led growth strategy. This strategy can help you acquire, engage, and retain customers, leading to long-term success.Further LearningsYou can learn more from Kim Walsh on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.This is a Paddle Studios production—dedicated to helping you build better SaaS

How do you define demand generation?Kaylee Edmonson answers this question and many, many more on today's episode. Kaylee is VP of Revenue, R&D, at Refine Labs, the demand strategy and research firm focused on growth-stage B2B SaaS companies.Daniel and Kaylee discuss how to create demand through brand storytelling, the correct demand/creation split, and why being the numbers person is great for building a marketing strategy.You'll also hear why Daniel believes data is a compass but intuition is the driving force for experienced marketers and the marketing hill Kaylee would die on.And thanks to our episode sponsor, Retention. What do brands like Warby Parker, Dr. Squatch, Vital Proteins, and Blendjet all have in common? Retention.com is their highest performing ROAS channel by far. Visit Retention.com to book a demo today.Follow Kaylee:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylee-edmondson/Follow Daniel on Twitter: twitter.com/Dmurr68LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/daniel-murray-marketing Sign up to The Marketing Millennials newsletter: workweek.com/brand/the-marketing-millennialsDaniel is a Workweek friend, working to produce amazing podcasts. Find out more, visit: www.workweek.comTimestamps:00:00 Intro01:14 When Marketing Feels Off03:34 Creating Demand Through Brand Storytelling06:18 The Demand/Creation Split10:17 How To Push Back Against Adding Forms15:18 Data As A Compass, Intuition From Experience18:44 The Marketing Hill I'd Die On23:06 The Feedback Loop Is Real28:36 A Firm Base Of Analytics And Understanding30:45 Connect With Kaylee

How does writing a 400-page novel lead to founding a SaaS Spend Management company? It was the start of David Campbell's journey which including breaking into B2B technology sales where he saw the challenges companies of all sizes have with buying technology.What is the definition of "SaaS Spend Management" according to David? David defines it as "spend management for the most important asset category in business today and tomorrow". Most companies are becoming software companies, and thus why SaaS spend management will become the top spend in most companies.Where investors focused primarily on revenue growth over the last few years, today the focus is now on efficiency and profitability, and as such "procurement and efficiency is the new Sales". A hot take, but a comment that is intentionally provocative to move the pendulum closing to an equal balance of revenue growth and profitability.Over the past 12 months, Tropic has grown over 3x, due to the outsized demand for "efficiency levels" beginning in 2022 and continuing into 2023. One of the trends David has seen, is that company CEOs and CFOs were so focused on revenue growth, that they were comfortable with outsourcing SaaS procurement management to a third party.There are three components to a successful SaaS Spend Management deployment:1. Identify SaaS products in use today and optimize current spend2. Deploy an infrastructure and process to increase visibility and control 3. Ensure the process uses automation to make the SaaS procurement process easier not more difficult for employeesMaking the process of buying a SaaS tool needs to continue to be decentralized and easy, but powered by a process and infrastructure that also centralizes control and visibility into the SaaS purchase and usage analytics.When should a company implement a SaaS Spend Management program? David suggests 100 employees is a good place to start. By implementing a solution early, the culture of a structured SaaS procurement process is much easier to scale as companies hit 500 and 1000 employees. Attempting to introduce a formal SaaS Spend Management below 50 employees is most likely to meet significant resistance..In today's evolving world, software is often either the number two or number three expense category after compensation and benefits. For companies in this category, introducing a SaaS spend program prior to a full fledge "procurement function" can provide early financial wins without needed to invest in a larger purchasing infrastructure and organization.SaaS spend management does often include a "managed buying service" and technology to automate SaaS purchasing while simulatenousy increasing ease of purchasing and control the on-going expense and risk of SaaS sprawl.Procurement Paradise is the primary goal of Tropic.ai and is a unique approach to gaining company wide adoption of a process targetted at providing greater control of the SaaS spend, while empowering every employee to purchase sofware that increased their job productivity within the approved framework and process of a well defined SaaS Spend Management program.If you are responsible or interested in controlling SaaS spend in your company, or a B2B SaaS sales professionals looking to sell into companies with a formal SaaS Spending Management program in place - this conversation with David Campbell provdies a good lens into procurement paradise.

Today we are joined by Michael Tuso of Callypso as he brings his experience from sales and account management to share practices that customer success leaders can use: Building account maps can help you identify the right people Sets the stage for consistent account practices Finding ways to build maps at scale and community-driven techniques ----- Gain Grow Retain exists to connect people, knowledge, and ideas to advance the state of customer success. We're on a mission to connect B2B SaaS customer success leaders so that we can learn from one another. Check out more at GainGrowRetain.com! Or follow our GGR LinkedIn page. GGR was co-founded by Jeff Breunsbach and Jay Nathan - be sure to follow for customer success content.

Scott McCrady is the founder of SolCyber a security platform that aims to simplify businesses security needs. Scott previously held senior positions at both EDS and IBM and joins Ryan to talk about how he got to this stage in his journey, his plans for the future as well as sharing his killer framework for creating a solution with perfect product market fit. KEY TAKEAWAYS SolCyber has been doubling its revenue each quarter and looks to continue this growth trajectory next year too. 1/3 of SolCybers rev comes from inbound, 1/3 from outbound and a 1/3 and 1/3 via the channel. The mix of these three has helped with sustainable growth. Scott's aim was to build a product that would make a mid-market company's life so much easier that they wouldn't be able to say no to buying it. Market timing can mean more than people give it credit for. As a founder there can sometimes be luck involved in your success, especially when it comes to getting funding. BEST MOMENTS  “We're really providing a sophisticated level of security and the midmarket likes getting access to that” “A lot of it depends on the timing of the market, funding today is very different to 12 months ago” “As a founder som times you get lucky sometimes you don't” Do You Want The Closing Secrets That Helped Close Over $125 Million in New Business for Free?"  Grab them HERE: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss 312-848-7443 ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottmccrady/ ABOUT THE SHOW How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business or an empire? How do you scale to an exit without losing your freedom?Join the host Ryan Staley every Monday and Wednesday for conversations with the brightest and best Founders, CEO and Entrepreneurs to crack the code on repeatable revenue growth, leadership, lifestyle freedom and mindset.This show has featured Startup and Billion Dollar Founders, Best Selling Authors, and the World's Top Sales and Marketing Experts like Terry Jones (Founder of Travelocity and Chairman of Kayak), Andrew Gazdecki (Founder of Micro Acquire), Harpal Sambhi (Founder of Magical with a previous exit to Linkedin) and many more. This is where Scaling and Sales are made simple in 25 minutes or less.Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecretsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former investment banker (@ SCB) turned CorpDev (@ RedMart - acq) turned founder & CEO (@ Eatsy) and VP, Growth & Ops (@ CoinMarketCap - acq). Shaun most recently led Spartan Labs, a $100M Web3 venture-building studio. He is excited about solving growth and strategy challenges while building high-performing teams. He has operated through almost every stage: from founding, seed, series A all the way through acquisition - from idea to tens of millions in revenue. Furthermore, Shaun is an angel investor and advisor, focused on Web3, NFT, blockchain gaming, crypto, defi, marketplaces, fintech and B2B SaaS. Follow him for more regular updates on his journey in Web3: Twitter: https://twitter.com/shaunhengcj Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunheng/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/geeksofthevalley/support

Dan Balcauski was a program leader for Northwestern University, where he also went to school seven years prior. He is the founder and Chief Pricing Officer of Product Tranquility, a company that helps high volume B2B SaaS CEOs define pricing and packaging for new and existing products. In this episode, Dan talks about pricing and packaging and how he applies its principles in helping B2B SaaS companies.   Why you have to check out today's podcast: Learn about the similarities and differences of pricing model and pricing metrics Discover the fundamental principles of how to decide which features to put on which packages Understand why there is no such thing as absolute and optimal pricing  “You don't really have a choice of whether you will have a pricing conversation with your customer. The only decision you get to make is when you're going to have that conversation. So I recommend having it as soon as possible.”  – Dan Balcauski   Topics Covered: 01:13 – How Dan got the title “Chief Pricing Officer” 02:04 – The work that Product Tranquility does 02:16 – Dan's thoughts on packaging 04:31 – How Dan defines pricing metrics and pricing model 10:24 – How Dan decides which features go to which packages 16:50 – Dan's thoughts on good, better, best packaging 18:51 – How to decide if a specific feature shall go to good, better, or best packages 21:21 – How you should name your packages if you want to call them other than “good, better, and best” packages 23:24 – Dan's favorite thing to share people about pricing and packaging 26:08 – Do product managers use the word “value” the same way that pricing people do? 28:27 – Dan's pricing advice 29:58 – Connect with Dan Balcauski   Key Takeaways: “When it comes to, especially SaaS pricing, most executives think that what you charge determines your success. In fact, who and how you charge determines your success. And the packaging is a huge element of how you charge. It really helps tell and align your value story so your sales and go-to market teams can really get your message across of the differentiated value that you bring.” – Dan Balcauski “In general, the principle by which I look at this through, is that your bundles, offer configurations, and packages, in Mark's terms, should align to a particular customer segment.” – Dan Balcauski “If we understand at a deep level what our customer segments need, what their constraints are, what they value, then we can make that decision much easier for them, which increases our sales velocity, reduces our customer acquisition costs, et cetera.” – Dan Balcauski “If we don't understand the customer we're going after, the problems they have, the outcomes they want, the constraints that they face upfront, the rest of the conversation gets very muddled.” – Dan Balcauski “There's the right price for the right moment in time for your stage of company, for the life cycle of your industry, for your competitive environment. But you're going to learn, you're going to get better.” – Dan Balcauski   Connect with Dan Balcauski: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/balcauski/ Website: https://www.producttranquility.com/   Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mailto:mark@impactpricing.com  

Joining me today is someone with multiple exits on his record. I thought his story was success, success, success but turns out that there was one big setback in there that knocked it all out and put him in the hole for a million dollars. He came out of it with his latest business, which he recently sold for just shy of $70 millions. Travis Steffen is the founder of multiple companies including GrowFlow, a B2B SaaS serving licensed cannabis businesses. Travis Steffen is the founder of GrowFlow, a B2B SaaS serving licensed cannabis businesses. Sponsored byOrigami – If you’ve heard about DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and you want to find out how to set one up for yourself, go to JoinOrigami.com. Even if you’re just interested in how these things work and want to learn more, the Origami blog is a great place to start. Lemon.io – Why squander time and money on developers who aren't perfect for your startup? Let Lemon match you with engineers that can transform your vision into reality — diabolically fast. Go to Lemon.io/mixergy for a 15% discount on your first 4 weeks with one of their devs. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

The product demo, often known as the sales demo, is the most important component of a B2B SaaS company's sales process. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show a prospective buyer the worth of your product. Product demonstrations are essential components of any software sales process. Poorly executed demos have a major impact on closing rates. They can, however, be quite effective if done correctly. Essentially, the demo can make the difference between closing a contract and losing a prospect. A solid demo shows your prospects how your product actually addresses their problems and allows them to be more successful at work. In this episode, we have Robin Singhvi, the CEO of SmartCue. SmartCue enables teams to create personalized, contextual product demo libraries for prospect demos, as well as visualize real-time data to boost sales. SmartCue eliminates the need for prolonged deployment and training; teams may get SmartCue up and running in as little as one day. The risks are modest, and SmartCue enables teams to work with agility, enhancing the sales process's efficiency and effectiveness. In today's episode, Robin will discuss product demos and how to increase sales with individualized effective demos. Resources Get Smart Cue (official site) Robin Singhvii on LinkedIn Robert Singhvi on Twitter

Make your champion the hero of the story when dealing with their finance partners. Here are 3 ways you can do that: 1) Help prepare them around how to defend the ROI of your product - remember to think about inputs and variables to the model. Think like a lawyer - you have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. 2) Beyond ROI, help them understand the downside of not using your tool. Think in terms of cost (particularly labor) and lost efficiency - the story/narrative is important here. 3) Make sure to highlight beyond your product, the other benefits that they would be missing - access to community/peers, industry expertise, integration/data that flows to other systems. Make it about the ecosystem, not your product. Numbers. Story. Ecosystem. You have to be solid on all three fronts. My guess is you have 1/3 today - if you can nail 3/3 it helps you going into your renewals this year. What else can you do to prepare your champion for the CFO conversation? ----- Gain Grow Retain exists to connect people, knowledge, and ideas to advance the state of customer success. We're on a mission to connect B2B SaaS customer success leaders so that we can learn from one another. Check out more at GainGrowRetain.com! Or follow our GGR LinkedIn page. GGR was co-founded by Jeff Breunsbach and Jay Nathan - be sure to follow for customer success content.

Farzad Rashidi, the former head of marketing at Visme is now the co-founder and lead innovator at Respona, The link-building outreach platform built for B2B SaaS and agencies to increase organic traffic from Google.CHAPTERS[00:00:00] Intro.[00:02:01] Stripping URL to domain with RegX.[00:03:45] Getting into marketing.[00:07:24] Using SEO to make Visme mainstream.[00:11:58] SEO strategy that generated a ton of traffic.[00:25:09] Getting first customers for Respona.[00:29:34] Reason behind Respona's four use cases campaign.[00:32:12] Farzad's Vision for Respona.[00:34:41] Wrong presumption at Respona.[00:38:49] Listening to The SaaS Club Podcast.[00:40:47] Perks of listening to podcasts.[00:42:11] Alternative route.[00:43:12] Farzad devoted little attention to this factor.[00:44:44] Farzad's fun side.Check out Vasa.Website: vastaffing.agencyBook a call now:vastaffing.agency/book-a-callConnect with Farzad.Twitter: twitter.com/The_FarzadLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/farzadrashidi/Check out Respona. Website: respona.comBlog: respona.com/blogLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/responaTwitter: twitter.com/ResponaAppCheck out Visme.Website: visme.coEbook: visme.co/marketing-strategyLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/visme Twitter: twitter.com/vismeapp Resources Mentioned in The Episode:Atomic Habit (Book) : jamesclear.com/atomic-habitsSaas Club (Podcast): saasclub.ioMy First Million (Podcast): mfmpod.comNathan Latka (Podcast): spotify.com/show/0Pzsw5FqTSwyDRGJ5TGEpV Help The Louis and Kyle Show:If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or leave a review!Leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1504333834Drop us an email: LouisandKyleShow@gmail.com Subscribe on YouTubeFollow The Show on Social Media:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisKyleShow  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/louiskyleshow/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/65567567/ Connect with Louis and Kyle:  Read Louis' Newsletter: https://louisshulman.substack.com/    Louis' Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisShulman    Kyle's Twitter: https://twitter.com/_kylebishop    Louis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisshulman/    Kyle's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-bishop-7b790050/