Podcasts about b2b saas

Learn the small shift that makes referrals repeatable. Check out our new video training. --What happens when years of planting seeds finally meets the right market moment?Alexis Trammel is Chief Growth Officer at Stratabeat, a B2B SaaS organic growth agency. She recently transitioned from account management into a biz dev role.  But the real story is how timing and preparation collided. For years, Stratabeat was doing the unglamorous work: niching down, building LinkedIn presence, publishing original research, speaking at conferences, nurturing relationships. Then GEO (generative engine optimization) hit right as AI anxiety peaked, and suddenly the leads started flooding in. This conversation explores what it looks like when the groundwork you've been laying finally pays off, and why most agencies aren't ready when their moment arrives.What You'll Leave With:Why lead flow needs to exist before you hire a salesperson—not the other way aroundHow years of niching down positioned them to catch the GEO waveThe compounding value of original research, LinkedIn presence, and conference visibilityWhy internal sales hires often outperform external ones when the foundation is thereHow to keep planting seeds even when you're not sure which one will sproutThe seasonality reality and why "when it rains, it pours" cuts both waysTimestamps:[00:00] Introduction to Alexis Trammel and Stratabeat[02:36] The long road of niching down and eliminating services[03:19] When AI panic created unexpected demand for GEO[05:16] Original research as a lead gen and credibility play[07:46] Coming back from maternity leave to a sales opportunity[10:00] Why the lead flow has to come before the sales hire[11:47] Wearing both the sales and marketing hats[14:10] Planning for seasonality when you're riding a wave[16:41] LinkedIn as long-term brand building, not cold outreach[22:04] GEO converting better than almost everything except referrals[30:12] The relationship groundwork that makes referrals possibleMentioned Resources / Links:Stratabeat - B2B SaaS organic growth agencyNever Eat Alone by Keith FerrazziAlexis Trammell on LinkedInTom Shapiro on LinkedIn

325 | Lashay Lewis helps B2B SaaS companies create profit driven content strategies. We talk about why a B2B content strategy should be built from the bottom of the funnel up, why she interviews sales teams to understand "life before using the product" and why she interviews customer success teams to understand "life after using the product" and how that influences content strategy, how writing influences buyers, the power of a strong company POV, training in-house writers and freelancers in a way that scales, where podcasting fits in a B2B content strategy, why search volume can be misleading, and thoughts on how content marketers can use AI. Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive. AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.Visit exitfive.com/retreat to apply for Exit Five's first-ever, in-person Marketing Leadership Retreat, March 18–20, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Join 100 CMOs and VPs of Marketing from companies like like Zoom, Snowflake, Manychat, Bitly, G2, HP, and more for two days of thinking bigger around a trusted group of peers in marketing. ***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

In this episode, Alex Theuma and Mark Walker, CEO of Nue, discuss how AI is accelerating the pace of change in SaaS and the knock-on effect this is having on pricing and monetisation. Mark explains how Nue has become a critical part of the infrastructure powering many of the world's fastest-growing AI-native and scaled SaaS companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Jasper. Drawing on learnings from these companies, he unpacks how usage-based models, committed spend contracts, and rapid product experimentation are replacing traditional SaaS playbooks. Alex and Mark also reflect on life as an entrepreneur, scaling teams, managing stress, and the need to embrace constant change. - Why AI has disrupted product development cycles and changed how SaaS companies create value. - How faster product iteration is forcing new pricing and monetisation models. - The rise of committed spend, consumption-based contracts and experimentation at scale. - Why you should build revenue systems for the company you want to become, not the one you are today. - How AI-native startups and scaled SaaS companies are converging on the same challenges. - Why speed across product, systems and execution is now the ultimate competitive advantage.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

Chasing unqualified leads is costing you time, money, and momentum. Want better clients—not just more of them?In this episode of The Business Ownership Podcast I interviewed Mark Osborne. Mark is the  Fractional Revenue Leader for Professional Services & B2B SaaS at Modern Revenue Strategies. Recognized by AdAge Magazine as one of the world's Top 25 “Marketing Technology Trailblazers” in 2017 and a #1 Best-Selling Selling Author on B2B Marketing and Sales, Mark Osborne brings decades of experience creating Revenue Growth Systems for B2B SaaS, Tech, and Boutique Professional Services Firms. Mark has delivered tens of millions of dollars in revenue for his clients, often doubling revenues in 90 days through his focus on building Systems that emphasize strategic approaches to growth. He is founder of Modern Revenue Strategies offering a "10X ROI B2B Growth Guarantee" and a Free Diagnostic Tool to identify your fastest path to growth.Stop marketing to everyone. Start winning the right customers. Learn how to find your most profitable customers.Check this out!Show Links:Modern Revenue Startegies: https://modernrevenuestrategies.com/diagnostic/Mark Osborne on LinkedIn:  Mark Osborne, MBA, CEPA® | LinkedInBook a call with Michelle: https://go.appointmentcore.com/book/IcFD4cGJoin our Facebook group for business owners to get help or help other business owners!The Business Ownership Group - Secrets to Scaling: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessownershipsecretstoscalingLooking to scale your business? Get free gifts here to help you on your way: https://www.awarenessstrategies.com/

For years, we've heard about AI transforming software development. But what if that same level of agentic, AI-driven collaboration could be applied not just to writing code, but to writing your entire go-to-market playbook? Agility requires that your go-to-market teams operate at the speed of insight, not at the speed of manual data entry and fragmented workflows. This means empowering them with tools that don't just provide data, but automate action based on strategic intent. Today, we're going to talk about the concept of an 'agentic' go-to-market platform, where AI doesn't just assist, but actively collaborates with sales and marketing teams to automate entire workflows, from strategy to execution. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome, Marcio Arnecke, Chief Marketing Officer at Apollo.io. About Marcio Arnecke As Apollo.io's Chief Marketing Officer, Marcio Arnecke brings a visionary approach to scaling high-growth B2B SaaS marketing in the AI-driven sales landscape. With over two decades of experience driving revenue acceleration across global markets, he has consistently transformed early-stage technology companies into market-defining brands. Hisexpertise in AI-powered go-to-market strategies uniquely positions him to accelerate Apollo's mission of empowering sales teams through intelligent data and automation. Previously, he played a pivotal role in scaling marketing functions at SaaS giants like Intercom and Zendesk, where he drove remarkable growth from $40M to $1.7B, culminating in a successful IPO that raised $100 million in 2014. Leveraging his comprehensive background in demand generation, product marketing, and strategic storytelling, Marcio is focused on positioning Apollo as the go-to AI sales platform for SMB and mid-market teams. His approach combines data-driven insights with targeted narrative strategies, translating Apollo's technological capabilities into practical business value. Drawing from his global experience across Silicon Valley and international markets, Marcio aims to expand Apollo's brand and demonstrate how AI can meaningfully improve sales engagement for growing businesses. Marcio holds advanced degrees from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and Golden Gate University, complemented by a BS in Business Administration from Universidade Feevale in Brazil. Marcio Arnecke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcioarnecke/ Resources Apollo.io: https://www.apollo.io Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code AGILE at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/agile  The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Drive your customers to new horizons at the premier retail event of the year for Retail and Brand marketers. Learn more at CRMC 2026, June 1-3. https://www.thecrmc.com/ Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://ratethispodcast.com/agile Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Young Entrepreneur John Magnor Shares B2B, SAAS and AI-Driven Business Success Strategies Youtube.com/@johnpmag About the Guest(s): John Magnor is a successful 24-year-old entrepreneur, primarily focused on building and scaling B2B companies, including software and service providers. With a career that began at 16, he has devoted himself over the past years to expand businesses through developing robust sales teams and streamlining marketing systems. John is the founder of Magner Equity Partners, aiming to create a portfolio of businesses scalable enough to be sold to private equity. His entrepreneurial journey is motivated by a passion for the business game and the art of marketing and sales. Episode Summary: In this riveting episode of The Chris Voss Show, host Chris Voss engages with John Magnor, a young yet remarkably proficient entrepreneur who has made significant impacts in the B2B industry. Broadcasting from Buenos Aires, John shares his journey from a 16-year-old eager to break norms to becoming a key player in software and service-associated entrepreneurship. This episode shines a light on John’s unique approach to scaling B2B companies, underlining the importance of sales and marketing in business growth. John Magnor narrates his story, highlighting foundational motivations stemming from personal needs and family influence. The discussion flows into the importance of learning sales and marketing, with Chris echoing the sentiment, noting their pivotal role in any business venture. The conversation naturally gravitates towards the future trajectory of businesses, exploring the intricacies of AI technology in revolutionizing traditional market landscapes. With an impressive track record and insightful perspectives, John discusses his investment strategies and shares an exclusive look into his upcoming project, Nova, an AI-driven sales trainer and role player. Key Takeaways: John Magnor started his entrepreneurial journey at a young age, driven by the desire to deviate from the norm and make a mark in the B2B scene by leveraging his skills in sales and marketing. Magnor Equity Partners focuses on helping businesses scale by refining their sales processes and marketing systems, aiming to add them to John's expanding portfolio. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a crucial element in modern business strategies, offering unparalleled opportunities for growth and efficiency. The interplay between AI, sales, and marketing can drastically improve training and operational efficiency, as evidenced by the introduction of Nova, an innovative AI sales training platform. Chris Voss and John stress the importance of a solid business foundation, emphasizing the benefits of starting young and evolving with market changes. Notable Quotes: “Once you learn sales, you can work anywhere. Sales is an invaluable skill.” – John Magnor “AI is here to stay; companies not utilizing it are left in the dust.” – John Magnor “Business is the best sport…you can do this until you kick the grave.” – John Magnor “Build a foundation in your youth. It creates an amazing arc for the rest of your life.” – Chris Voss “Knowing sales and marketing is crucial. They are the building blocks of successful business ventures.” – John Magnor

Deepak Sindwani is Managing Partner at Wavecrest Growth Partners, an active growth equity firm backing bootstrapped and lightly funded SaaS founders. They work with practical founders who've built profitable businesses to $5–$20M ARR and want help growing without VC pressure or losing control. Wavecrest invests in vertical SaaS companies growing 30–60% annually, typically profitable or breakeven. They help founders scale sales, pricing, analytics, and leadership teams while staying capital efficient. Investments are usually $10–$30M total, with founders often taking some liquidity while continuing to lead. Even with the excitement around AI-first companies from VCs, Deepak sees efficient growth equity in practical vertical SaaS as a great investment and a big opportunity for founders. AI is helping serious practical founders, not making them irrelevant. Key Takeaways Capital Efficiency Matters — Wavecrest only backs profitable or breakeven SaaS companies that already respect the business model fundamentals. Founder Liquidity Helps — Taking some money off the table reduces stress and helps founders make better long-term decisions. Vertical SaaS Wins — Deep industry knowledge and data create defensibility AI-first competitors struggle to replicate. AI Is Additive — Software plus AI and data creates more value than AI replacing SaaS systems of record. No One-Size Playbook — Growth equity works best when strategies are customized, not forced by rigid PE-style playbooks. Quote from Deepak Sindwani, Managing Partner at Wavecrest Growth Partners "We don't think B2B SaaS is dead. It may create great headlines to say, AI eats software. We think software plus AI is the right approach. Software, AI plus data. So they're harvesting and creating that data moat that is going to help make them defensible. "Then, using the AI tools, why not use the AI tools to provide more automation for customers? That's what we really think AI does: increase the ability to automate the use of their product and to get value.  "Every company that we're involved with has some AI initiative. How am I changing how I run my business? How am I changing marketing and sales and finance and customer success using AI? Every company is doing something in every function in terms of new tools and tests." Links Deepak Sindwani on LinkedIn Wavecrest Growth on LinkedIn Wavecrest Growth Partners website Podcast Sponsor – Lighter Capital This podcast is sponsored by Lighter Capital. In the last 15 years, Lighter Capital has helped over 600 software and SaaS founders secure simple, non-dilutive financing to grow a little faster—without giving up any precious equity or board seats to investors.  Simple debt funding from Lighter Capital can range from $50K to $10 million, with straightforward terms, no personal guarantees or covenants, and up to a 4-year payback period. Go to LighterCapital.com to apply and get a quick pre-qualification. Then talk with their experienced team to create a practical funding plan to achieve your goals.  The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

#323 | Anthony Pierri from Fletch PMM joins Dave to talk about what actually matters in B2B positioning and messaging. They break down how to think about value props, why buyers don't care about your features, and what makes a homepage instantly click. Anthony shares lessons on positioning from working with hundreds of early-stage B2B SaaS companies and explains how to connect real customer problems to clear outcomes. Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Get a free, personalized 45-minute AI workshop to help you identify the best AI use cases for your marketing team and map out where agents can save you time at optimizely.com/exitfive. AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.Visit exitfive.com/retreat to apply for Exit Five's first-ever, in-person Marketing Leadership Retreat, March 18–20, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Join 100 CMOs and VPs of Marketing from companies like like Zoom, Snowflake, Manychat, Bitly, G2, HP, and more for two days of thinking bigger around a trusted group of peers in marketing. ***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

SaaS Revolution Show with Alex Theuma and Andrew Zhyvolovych, CEO and Founder of Precoro. Together, they unpack a 10-year journey of building a B2B SaaS business to nearly $10M in ARR. Andrew shares how his early career in car sales, finance, and Groupon shaped his mindset as a founder, and how those lessons helped him build Precoro through disciplined execution, customer-funded growth, and a strong “sports team” culture. You'll learn: - How Precoro grew from idea to nearly $10M ARR - Why revenue is the best form of market validation - How to build and motivate a high-performance team - What AI really means for B2B SaaS today - Why cold calling is making a comeback - How Andrew plans to scale to $100M ARR This episode is packed with practical insights for SaaS founders, operators, and anyone building a serious B2B business.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

For more thoughts, clips, and updates, follow Avetis Antaplyan on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/avetisantaplyanIn this episode of The Tech Leader's Playbook, Avetis Antaplyan sits down with Kurt Uhlir, seasoned CMO, operator, and advisor to private equity-backed growth companies, for a no-BS breakdown of what modern marketing and real leadership look like at scale.Kurt challenges the mainstream playbook with sharp insight into why most CMOs aren't actually marketers, how obsession with attribution is damaging businesses, and why the real differentiator is trust, not clicks. From dismantling the myth of PPC-fueled growth to showing how brands win by building long-term category authority, Kurt shares hard-won lessons from the trenches of B2B SaaS and services.You'll hear how he thinks about short-term vs long-term growth horizons, why servant leadership isn't soft, and what companies miss when they separate marketing from customer success. This is a masterclass for any founder, CMO, or growth leader who wants to scale responsibly, attract vs. chase customers, and build teams that actually own outcomes.If you've ever felt like traditional marketing advice didn't match the reality of scaling a company, this one's for you.TakeawaysMost CMOs are actually salespeople afraid of making cold calls, not strategic marketers.Companies lose 70% of deals by not being one of the top 3 trusted brands in the buyer's mind.Short-term tactics (PPC, partnerships) drive revenue from 2–12 months, but trust drives revenue from 12–36+ months.Modern marketing must focus on contribution to outcomes, not just attribution metrics.Search Everywhere Optimization (not just SEO) is now essential, across YouTube, app stores, LLMs, and social.AI is a force multiplier for small teams, if used correctly to repurpose and amplify valuable content.Great marketing starts by mining product usage data, support tickets, and customer success conversations, not keyword tools.Servant leadership isn't about being soft, it's about owning outcomes and developing people.The best leaders are also great followers, especially when serving a strong brand-driven CEO.The cost of authoritative leadership is silent disengagement and missed opportunities for feedback.If every team member can't explain how their role connects to company outcomes, leadership has failed.The most honest marketing feedback comes from calling customers who canceled, and listening without selling.Chapters00:00 Intro & Kurt's Opening Shot at Modern Marketing02:00 Attribution vs. Contribution05:00 The 70% Rule: Brand Trust and B2B Decision-Making08:00 Should You Aim to Be a Top 3 Brand?10:00 The Three Horizons of Marketing ROI13:00 Search Everywhere Optimization and the New SEO Reality16:30 AI + Content Workflows: From Reels to Repurposing18:30 Content Strategy Starts with Customer Support Data20:00 Servant Leadership vs. Authoritative Leadership24:00 Following When It Matters: The Power of Deference26:00 Communication at Scale: Berkman Assessments and Team Alignment28:00 The Silent Cost of Authoritative Leadership30:00 Attribution Is Easy, But Contribution Builds Companies34:00 Why Marketing Should Own Customer Success Insights36:30 Managing Expectation Risk in Sales vs. Service38:30 Creating a Single View of the Customer40:00 Amplifying Referrals Without Getting in the Way42:00 The Ground Truth Lives With Canceled Customers43:30 Atomic Habits, Sticker Charts, and Showing Up44:30 The Billboard Test for Great Leadership Kurt Uhlir's Social Media Link:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtuhlir/Kurt Uhlir's Website Link:https://kurtuhlir.com/Resources and Links:⁠https://www.hireclout.com⁠⁠https://www.podcast.hireclout.com⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hirefasthireright

In this episode, Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, CEO & Founder at Product School, interviews Anique Drumright, General Manager and VP of Product at Rippling, the workforce management platform valued at $16.8 billion with over $570 million in ARR.Anique is a product veteran who has shaped high-growth teams at Uber, TripActions, and Loom. Now at Rippling, she helps lead a workforce of over 4,000 employees, including 100 former founders, to maintain the speed and ownership typically lost at scale. In this conversation, Anique breaks down how Rippling successfully operates as a compound startup and why product leaders must evolve into General Managers.What you'll learn:How to pivot from managing a backlog to owning a P&L as a GM.The Compound Startup framework for consolidating enterprise categories.How to build high-performing teams by hiring for "founder-level" curiosity.Strategies for proving ROI to enterprise customers to drive platform adoption.Key takeaways:Go and See: Why leaders must personally investigate customer issues to set the bar for quality.Singular Obsession: How to organize teams to maintain focus and velocity as you scale.Automating ROI: How Rippling uses product efficiency to justify headcount reduction for clients.Credits:Host: Carlos Gonzalez de VillaumbrosiaGuest: Anique DrumrightSocial Links: Follow our Podcast on Tik Tok here Follow Product School on LinkedIn here Join Product School's free events here Find out more about Product School here

What does it really take to acquire 26 SaaS businesses—and keep them growing? In this episode, Jaryd Krause sits down with SaaS M&A professional Guillaume Lussato for a behind-the-scenes look at how successful software acquisitions actually happen. Guillaume breaks down his unconventional path from software sales at a cybersecurity company to sourcing and closing deals at Constellation Software, one of the most disciplined acquirers in the SaaS world. Guillaume reveals why the best SaaS acquisitions aren’t rushed deals but relationships built over years. He shares how patience, credibility, and consistent founder outreach led to his first acquisition at SaaS Group—a low-profile digital calendar tool called DacBoard—and why targeting under-the-radar SaaS companies can unlock outsized opportunities. The conversation dives deep into today’s hyper-competitive M&A environment, including how to stand out when every founder is being pitched. Guillaume unpacks the red flags most buyers miss, from risky customer concentration to weak net dollar retention, and explains SaaS Group’s clear acquisition framework—capital-efficient, product-led growth businesses with strong fundamentals. The episode wraps with a powerful discussion on how to balance organic growth with acquisitions, avoid overextension, and make smarter strategic decisions when scaling a portfolio of software companies. If you’re serious about SaaS acquisitions, this episode is a must-watch. Click through and watch the full video to learn exactly how Guillaume evaluates, sources, and scales SaaS businesses. Episode Highlights 02:52 Transition from Sales to M&A Origination 05:52 The Art of Deal Sourcing 09:04 Evaluating Founders and Their Businesses 11:47 Understanding Acquisition Criteria 15:10 Growth Strategies: M&A vs. Organic Growth 18:00 Identifying Red Flags in Due Diligence 21:06 Navigating Operational Complexity 23:57 AI Risks and Opportunities in Software 27:06 Balancing Capital Allocation and Diversification Key Takeaways ➥ You need to build relationships, build trust, build credibility. ➥ It can take a really long time to acquire a business. ➥ We try to identify red flags as early as possible. ➥ We don't manage our portfolio through spreadsheets; we're not finance people. ➥ Should we buy it? Why? For how much? About Guillaume Lussato Guillaume Lussato is a senior business development and M&A professional at saas.group, where he helps identify, acquire and scale profitable B2B SaaS companies. He hosts discussions on SaaS M&A, growth, and founder transitions and frequently speaks at industry events about how to grow without VC and what makes SaaS acquisitions succeed or fail. Guillaume focuses on sourcing deals, operational playbooks for scaling post-acquisition, and practical insights that matter to anyone buying online businesses to replace income, scale a portfolio, or prepare for exits. Connect with Guillaume Lussato ➥ https://www.linkedin.com/in/guillaumelussato/ Resource Links ➥ Connect with Jaryd here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarydkrause➥ Buying Online Businesses Website - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com ➥ Download the Due Diligence Framework - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/freeresources/➥ Sell your business to us here - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/sell-your-business/ ➥ Google Ads Service - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/ads-services/ Buy & Sell Online Businesses Here (Top Website Brokers We Use)

Episode DescriptionAI is fundamentally changing how SaaS companies should think about pricing. When your software makes teams 70% more efficient, charging per seat means you're literally shrinking your own market. In this conversation, product management veteran Lee Bridges explains why seat-based pricing is a burning platform and what comes next.Lee, returning to the podcast after five years, recently led a pricing transformation project that forced him to confront an uncomfortable truth: AI-driven efficiency gains directly reduce the number of seats customers need. His solution? Outcome-based pricing that aligns incentives between vendors and customers while future-proofing against AI disruption.GuestLee Bridges - Cheif Product Officer at Inn-Flow, father, audio engineer, and vibe coder who recently completed a major pricing transformation project for a B2B SaaS company in the field service space.Key Topics CoveredThe Seat-Based Pricing ProblemHow AI efficiency reduces Total Addressable Market (TAM)The misalignment of incentives between vendors and customersInternal team conflicts created by per-seat modelsWhy "reducing a team from 10 to 3" destroys 70% of your revenue potentialOutcome-Based Pricing ExplainedThe difference between usage-based and outcome-based pricingHow to identify and price meaningful outcomesThe psychology of "you make money when your customer makes money"Avoiding the "nickel and diming" feeling of usage-based modelsReal-World ImplementationCase study: Field service sales teams (20 minutes to 90 seconds per quote)Tiered prepayment models with outcome "credits"Combining platform fees with outcome pricingWhen outcome-based pricing works (and when it doesn't)The Future of SaaS and AIWhy B2B SaaS isn't going anywhere despite AI hypeThe problem with expecting everyone to be a product managerConsistency, training, and the limits of LLM-generated experiencesVibe coding and no-code tools in practiceNotable Quotes"If you create efficiencies that make a process so efficient that some number of people will no longer be necessary... you reduce the number of potential seats. You reduce the Tam.""If I give you a dollar and you're going to give me $10 back, I'd be insane to not do that as many times as I can.""You're really expecting everyone on Earth to be a product manager. That's just not going to happen.""The most people don't have a high level of agency. They don't know what they want, when they want it, and they don't know how to describe it."Practical TakeawaysEvaluate your pricing model now - If you're charging per seat and building AI features, you're creating a strategic vulnerabilityStart with new products - Test outcome-based pricing with new offerings rather than risking existing revenueIdentify measurable outcomes tied to customer revenue - What metrics does your sales team already use when discussing ROI?Consider hybrid models - Platform fees plus outcome pricing can balance predictability with value alignmentThe complexity trade-off - Outcome-based pricing must remain simple enough to avoid litigation-inducing confusion

Sam Lessin is a partner at Slow Ventures, a former VP of Product at Facebook, and a two-time founder who's now teaching etiquette to Silicon Valley's founders. In this unconventional episode, Sam explains why proper etiquette has become a vital skill for founders in 2026—especially as technology becomes more central to society and trust becomes harder to build. His etiquette book and courses have become surprisingly popular, teaching founders how to “show up in a room with a low heart rate” and quickly build trust.We discuss:1. Why etiquette matters2. Sam's framework for showing up confidently, with a low heart rate, in any room3. How to navigate introductions, small talk, meetings, and meals like a pro4. Simple hacks for remembering names and handling awkward social situations5. 30+ specific etiquette tips—Brought to you by:10Web—Vibe-coding platform as an APIDX—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchersWorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/silicon-valleys-missing-etiquette-playbook—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts:https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Sam Lessin:• X: https://x.com/lessin• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wlessin• Website: https://www.wlessin.com• Podcast: https://moreorlesspod.com• Lettermeme: https://lettermeme.com/lessin—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Sam's background(04:18) The role of etiquette in business success(09:30) Introductions and entering a room(16:20) Engaging conversations and building relationships(23:55) Hygiene and dress code essentials(33:42) Dining etiquette(37:15) Tipping etiquette(41:36) The “B&D trick”(43:05) Humor in social settings(45:18) Self-deprecating humor(47:42) Winding down conversations(49:20) Scheduling etiquette(55:23) Communication and email etiquette(01:02:28) Meeting etiquette tips(01:04:03) Virtual meeting best practices(01:05:15) The importance of cleaning up after yourself(01:05:58) Exiting and follow-up etiquette(01:07:24) Final thoughts(01:09:20) AI corner(01:11:13) Contrarian corner(01:16:25) Lightning round—Referenced:• Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com• Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com• “Lose Yourself” by Eminem on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7MJQ9Nfxzh8LPZ9e9u68Fq• Alison Gopnik on Childhood Learning, AI as a Cultural Technology, and Rethinking Nature vs. Nurture: https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/alison-gopnik• Garry Tan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan• Bain & Company: https://www.bain.com• Evernote: https://evernote.com• Calendly: https://calendly.com• Morning Brew: https://www.morningbrew.com• Cursor: https://cursor.com• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can't stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell• DigitalOcean: https://www.digitalocean.com• Cloudflare: https://www.cloudflare.com• SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com• Marc Andreessen on X: https://x.com/pmarca• Landman on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Landman-Season-1/dp/B0D4D8RTMD• Dave Morin on X: https://x.com/davemorin—Recommended books:• Modern Etiquette in Technology, Finance, Society, and at Home: A Slow Ventures Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Etiquette-Technology-Finance-Society-ebook/dp/B0G4HSKSY5• Life, the Universe and Everything: https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Everything-Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-ebook/dp/B001ODEQ7A• The Ancient City: A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome: https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-City-Religion-Institutions-Greece/dp/0801823048• Man's Search for Meaning: https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl-ebook/dp/B009U9S6FI• Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base: https://www.amazon.com/Area-51-Uncensored-Americas-Military-ebook/dp/B004THU68Q• The Lessons of History: https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-History-Will-Durant/dp/143914995X• The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King: https://www.amazon.com/Fish-That-Ate-Whale-Americas/dp/1250033314• The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Kings-Shanghai-Jewish-Dynasties/dp/0735224439—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Ander Tallet, co-founder and COO of Dash Bio and CEO of DigitalRadius, joins Ross Katz to discuss transforming the traditional CRO model through automation, transparency, and productization. Drawing on deep experience from Moderna, Science Exchange, and his leadership roles in digital transformation, Ander shares how Dash Bio is slashing turnaround times, improving data quality, and simplifying procurement for biotech companies. This episode unpacks the future of CRO services, strategic procurement, and the power of operational innovation in biotech. What you'll learn in this episode: >> Why traditional CRO models hinder speed and transparency in biotech >> How Dash Bio delivers 90% faster turnaround through automation >> What productizing CRO services really means for the customer experience >> How regulatory requirements shape innovation in clinical bioanalysis >> Why investor buy-in requires solving real, painful problems in biotech Meet our guest Ander Tallett is the co-founder and COO of Dash Bio and the CEO of DigitalRadius, where he leads digital transformation initiatives as one of the largest Smartsheet partners in the ecosystem. He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Science Exchange and co-founded Block Mill Capital, a B2B SaaS-focused investment fund shaped by his experience evaluating and implementing more than 100 SaaS platforms.  About the host Ross Katz is Principal and Data Science Lead at CorrDyn. Ross specializes in building intelligent data systems that empower biotech and healthcare organizations to extract insights and drive innovation. Connect with our guest: Sponsor: CorrDyn, a data consultancyConnect with Ander Tallet on LinkedIn  Connect with us: Follow the podcast for more insightful discussions on the latest in biotech and data science.Subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode!Connect with Ross Katz on LinkedIn Sponsored by… This episode is brought to you by CorrDyn, the leader in data-driven solutions for biotech and healthcare. Discover how CorrDyn is helping organizations turn data into breakthroughs at CorrDyn.

Every marketer wants to create a campaign that cuts through, but most B2B brands try to do it with more spend, more channels, and more polish. The real lever is simpler: say something people actually feel.That's the lesson of Oura Ring's ‘Give Us a Finger,' a campaign that nailed cultural timing, sharp copy, and product-specific boldness without losing its soul. In this episode, we explore its B2B marketing takeaways with the help of our special guest Sylvia LePoidevin, CMO & Creator of The Zero to One Marketer.Together, we break down what B2B marketers can learn from making your copy the multiplier, leading with tension, and turning cultural insight into measurable demand.About our guest, Sylvia LePoidevinSylvia LePoidevin is a B2B SaaS marketing leader who has gone from the first marketing hire to CMO at two companies now valued over $2 billion combined. Most recently, Sylvia was the CMO at Kandji. She joined as employee #4 and helped scale the company from pre-seed to an $850M valuation with global offices across the US, London, Sydney, and Tokyo. A former early hire at DataFox (acquired by Oracle's AI group) and FloQast (now valued at $1.6B), Sylvia has spent her career building go-to-market engines from zero, often without playbooks, resources, or precedent. Her passion is helping founders and scaling teams build with the buyer first, using messaging, content, and community as multipliers for growth. Raised in remote Africa before moving to the US alone at 17, Sylvia credits her resilience and outsider perspective as her greatest assets in navigating zero-to-one challenges in both life and business.What B2B Companies Can Learn From Oura Ring's ‘Give Us the Finger' Campaign:Make your copy the multiplier, not the footnote. Sylvia's first lesson from ‘Give Us a Finger; is that the words are the performance channel. She says, “You think so much about the budget and the metrics, but if you put half as much of that effort into just like what the freaking copy is saying, that can change the unit economics of your whole campaign more than anything.” Oura didn't win because they spent more, they won because the headline is sticky, visual, and instantly understandable. In B2B, it should be the same. Before you tune targeting or add spend, pressure-test the message. One sharp line that people repeat will outperform five “optimized” versions nobody remembers.Lead with tension. What makes this campaign work, in Sylvia's eyes, is that it taps a real, shared feeling in the market. She grounds it in one clear idea: “The whole concept of ‘Give Us the Finger' is sort of an act of defiance against aging.” That's why it resonates beyond the cult fans. It's selling an attitude, not a tracker. For B2B marketers, the move is to find the tension your buyers already live in and build the campaign around that. When the audience feels seen first, the product lands as the natural weapon.Keep the wrinkles in your writing. Sylvia loves this campaign because it doesn't feel sanded down into safe brand mush. Her takeaway is blunt: “ AI takes the wrinkles out of your writing… People are now looking for the wrinkles because it shows that it's real.” Oura's creative has an edge, personality, and a little defiance, which is exactly why it sticks. In B2B, where everything tends to sound committee-approved, the fastest way to disappear is to over-smooth. Let your voice have texture. Keep the sharp edges that make your brand human. That's what people notice, trust, and remember.Quote“ 95% of your buyer is not in market at any moment, only 5% is. And it's very lucrative and tempting to pour all of your resources into that 5% and try to capture the existing demand. But eventually it's going to cap out. And to really achieve that hockey stick, long-term growth, you need to invest in the 95%.”Time Stamps[00:55] Meet Sylvia LePoidevin, CMO & Creator of The Zero to One Marketer[01:26] Why Oura Ring's “Give Us the Finger” Campaign?[04:32] Sylvia's Career Journey in Content Marketing[05:47] Inside the Strategy Behind Oura Ring's ‘Give Us the Finger' [10:52] B2B Marketing Takeaways from Oura Ring's ‘Give Us the Finger' Campaign[26:48] A Content Marketing Playbook for First-Time CMOs[31:47] Modern Marketing Strategies That Actually Work[40:26] The Hidden Power of Internal Influencers[43:55] AI in Content Creation: What to Use, What to Avoid[49:29] Final Thoughts and TakeawaysLinksConnect with Sylvia on LinkedInAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of The Fractional CMO Show, Casey tackles the brutal reality every fractional CMO faces: prospects just don't care about what you're offering.    Casey shares a war story about losing a private jet deal the moment he confused "FOB" with "FBO" - instantly revealing himself as an outsider faking expertise. The prospect literally laughed in his face. Most fractional CMOs show up talking about "marketing that isn't working" instead of understanding the CEO whose marriage is crumbling from late nights, or the franchisor terrified about what their FDD will reveal.    The truth? You don't know your audience well enough. Experienced executives don't hire generalists claiming to help "B2B SaaS" or "healthcare." Learn the pains. Speak the language. Become a student of one specific industry instead of pretending you can help everyone. Key Topics Covered: -Know your audience deeply: Become fluent in their language and visceral pains, not surface-level problems  -The FOB vs FBO lesson: One wrong acronym cost Casey a private jet client - proving he was an outsider faking expertise  -Real pains business owners face: Crumbling marriages from late nights, embarrassing FDD reports, losing first-to-market position, burnt out from bad consulting advice  -"B2B SaaS" isn't a niche: Go specific enough that you know when companies get funding, what software they use, and speak the insider language  -Nobody knows who you are: Stop waiting for inbound - go talk to strangers, build real relationships, announce yourself as the specialist  -Business owners spend aggressively: They don't want to save money, they want speed - and they'll pay for the right person  -Bridge the awareness gap: Prospects know something's broken but don't know a fractional CMO exists as the solution

In this episode of The SaaS Revolution Show, Alex Theuma is joined by Nick Turner, CEO of Dreamdata, to discuss the journey from CRO to CEO and what it really takes to scale a B2B SaaS company in the age of AI. Nick shares lessons from Dreamdata's growth journey, including the company's $55M Series B, and explains why trust and accuracy matter more than hype when building AI products. He breaks down the risks of applying generative AI and agents to complex revenue and attribution data and what SaaS leaders should consider before putting AI in front of customers, boards, or finance teams. Alex and Nick also discuss: - Nick's transition from CRO to CEO and what changed at the leadership level. - How Dreamdata approaches AI as a system of context, not just automation. - Why reliable attribution and data integrity are critical for modern GTM teams. - How investors evaluate AI, retention, and fundamentals at growth stage. - Practical advice for founders building sustainable, predictable SaaS businesses into 2026.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

Boost Your E-commerce with AI-Powered Conversion Tools from Optimonk Optimonk.com About the Guest(s): Krisztian Kiraly is a seasoned Senior E-commerce Growth Strategist and CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) expert with over ten years of experience in digital marketing. He specializes in helping Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands increase revenue by optimizing their full sales funnels. His expertise has delivered impressive results, including a remarkable 86% conversion rate lift in a single month. Currently, Krisztian Kiraly is affiliated with OptiMonk, a leading B2B SaaS company that provides AI-driven CRO tools for enhancing e-commerce performance. Episode Summary: In this episode of The Chris Voss Show, Chris engages in a riveting conversation with Krisztian Kiraly, a leader in the e-commerce optimization space, where they delve into conversion rate optimization (CRO) techniques and tools crucial for modern online businesses. As Krisztian Kiraly articulates why CRO is becoming pivotal in the digital marketing domain due to ever-rising ad costs and heightened customer expectations, listeners will gain invaluable insights into improving online sales performance. This episode promises to unravel data-driven strategies, addressing the challenges Digital Commerce faces amidst increasing competition. Krisztian Kiraly further discusses the transformative role of AI in e-commerce optimization, specifically through their SaaS offering, OptiMonk. The podcast explores how OptiMonk’s AI-powered tools assist businesses in reducing cart abandonment, enhancing product visual appeal, and personalizing direct marketing outreach. This episode also dives deep into the importance of implementing systematic processes over isolated tactics in digital marketing, providing a comprehensive overview of how to effectively leverage technology to achieve more significant business outcomes. Key Takeaways: Conversion rate optimization is essential due to increasing online competition and rising advertising costs. OptiMonk’s AI-based tools offer solutions to enhance CRO by providing personalized and targeted customer experiences. For an e-commerce site to effectively use OptiMonk, it should have a substantial visitor flow to leverage the tool's full potential. AI can dynamically generate more compelling product images and descriptions, potentially transforming visitor interactions and increasing sales. Hyper-personalization in digital marketing campaigns can lead to enhanced customer experiences, crucial in earning robust ROI from ad spend. Notable Quotes: “I call it the hope marketing, which means I do some tactics without measuring anything, and I hope to get results.” “Conversion rate optimization will be one of the most important areas of digital marketing in the future.” “With OptiMonk, it’s possible to rescue the cart abandoners on-site, which is much more effective than just a normal automated email.” “AI does the heavy lifting, but you are in control.” “The future is in segmentation and hyper-personalization, creating a tailored customer experience from beginning to end.”

[Original air date: June 19, 2025]In this episode, Alex Immerman, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, joins CJ to discuss the CFO role and how it's changing in the era of AI. He explains what the components of a company's AI agenda the CFO should own, how and where it should be leveraged in an organization, and why, if you're preparing to go public, AI needs to be mentioned in your S-1. He breaks down how the financial landscape differs greatly between AI-native SaaS companies and traditional B2B SaaS companies in terms of retention curves and gross margins, and how this relates to the ever-important LTV to CAC metric. As someone who has worked with prominent CFOs and interviewed many for a16z's portfolio companies, Alex also describes the qualities of a great CFO, and shares his favorite interview question, before discussing CFOs, CEO, and board dynamics.—LINKS:Alex Immerman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/immermanAndreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:a16z's Alex Immerman on the Evolving Role of the CFO in the Age of AIhttps://youtu.be/JIvHp-mlnzsSo You're Looking for a “Strategic” CFO? Bloomerang's Steve Isom on What That Really Meanshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgHOtvG1Ces—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:46 AI Margins Improve Dramatically00:02:29 What Separates Great CFOs00:03:29 Founder Mindset Drives Performance00:05:31 Founder Intensity and Margin Expansion00:06:57 Backing Unproven Bets Thoughtfully00:08:29 Interviewing CFOs for Backbone00:09:55 When CFOs Push Back on Strategy00:11:25 CFO Trust With Boards and Investors00:11:50 How CFOs Engage Investors When Hiring00:14:44 Building Strong CFO Investor Relationships00:16:18 Sharing Bad News Early00:17:21 CEO Vision Versus CFO Validation00:20:57 How AI Is Changing the CFO Role00:23:56 Incumbents Versus AI-Native Finance Tools00:26:24 CFOs Driving Internal AI Adoption00:28:07 AI Impact on Customer Support Efficiency00:29:26 Internal Leverage From AI Automation00:31:29 Why Investors Care About LTV to CAC00:34:00 LTV to CAC Across Business Models00:36:26 Retention Curves Matter More Than Growth00:38:16 Evaluating AI Gross Margins Long Term00:40:04 Recipe for AI Margin Expansion00:43:01 What Makes a Public-Ready CFO00:44:47 Beating Guidance Drives IPO Performance00:46:56 Growth Versus Profitability Has Rebalanced#RunTheNumbersPodcast #CFOLeadership #FintechInvesting #AISaaS #VentureCapital This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

Send us a textIn this annual predictions spectacular, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias kick off 2026 by looking back at how well their 2025 AI forecasts held up (spoiler: pretty darn well) and then boldly lay out what's coming next for artificial intelligence, associations, and knowledge work. From real-world AI recruiting agents and voice-first interfaces to the rise of AI literacy as a job requirement, the shift from SEO to AEO, and the very real possibility of AI-native platforms disrupting traditional associations, this episode is packed with practical insight and big-picture thinking. Whether you're an association leader or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, this conversation is both a wake-up call and a roadmap for making 2026 the year you move from experimenting with AI to truly leading with it. 

Six years after his first appearance on Founder Views, Luca is back with the real story of how AI forced a full business model and go-to-market shift.Customerly went from a seat-based, product-led support platform for small SaaS teams to an AI-first customer service engine selling into mid-market and enterprise, where volume and ROI are obvious.In this episode we get into:The AI pivot: why they refused to build “old-school chatbots,” and how ChatGPT changed what was possibleQuality metrics that matter: error rate, confidence thresholds, escalation triggers, and why AI CSAT can be higher than humansWhat actually trains a good AI agent: knowledge base structure, what not to upload, and how hallucinations happen in the real worldAutomation outcomes: average ticket closure rates, what drives 80%+ vs 40–50%, and how teams improve over timeEnterprise GTM shift: moving from product-led to sales-led, filtering signups, longer cycles, bigger ACVOutbound reality: why the agency failed, what changed when they built outbound internally, and the tooling stack (Clay, Apollo, Lemlist, Pipedrive)Founder sales lessons: Challenger Sale thinking and why founders still need to own sales earlyThe Arena The Arena is a private Skool community for SaaS founders who are actively building and selling. I share real-time decisions, experiments, and assets as I use them while growing a bootstrapped SaaS.No theory. No polish. Just execution.Learn more at: https://www.skool.com/the-arena/Chapters / Timestamps00:00 – Reunion after 6 years and what changed (COVID + AI era)01:27 – Luca intro: what Customersly does today02:30 – From $100K ARR to near $1M and why pricing changed05:08 – “Chatbots are shit”: how they built AI without the bad UX07:10 – Under 1% error rate and reducing hallucinations09:52 – Grounded AI, intents, and automating beyond FAQs11:09 – Closure rate benchmarks and what “good” looks like16:41 – How to pick an AI support tool that actually works18:20 – Training mistakes: transcripts, clutter, and marketing banners causing hallucinations20:46 – Confidence thresholds and escalation as a feedback loop22:48 – How long it takes to move from 45% to 70–80% automation24:34 – Should AI learn from your inbox? Pros, risks, and why they avoid it29:41 – Implementation timelines: small teams vs enterprise rollouts31:38 – Why AI CSAT can beat humans (speed wins)35:46 – Escalation rules: human request, sentiment, low confidence, missing info37:21 – Going enterprise: ARPU jump and sales-led reality41:02 – Outbound experiment: agency failure and building it internally43:32 – LinkedIn ads + Clay targeting + the masterclass lead magnet49:25 – Challenger Sale and shifting the conversation53:20 – Founder lesson: why you can't outsource what you haven't done58:54 – Outbound stack: Clay, Apollo, Lemlist, Sales Nav, Pipedrive01:05:12 – 2026 vision and wrap

The startup game has completely changed. If you are still building with the 2018-2022 B2B SaaS playbook, you are already behind. In this episode, we break down exactly how the GenAI shift has altered value creation, competition, and business models forever. This isn't just about adding AI to your product—it's about rethinking your entire reason to exist. If you want to know where the massive, uncrowded opportunities are right now (and why Service-as-Software is the next gold rush), this is your blueprint.Why You Should ListenWhy "incremental value" startups are no longer fundable.The 3 new threats killing your "time-to-market" moat.Why the B2B SaaS playbook is dead and what's replacing it.The massive "Service-as-Software" opportunity most founders are missing.Moving beyond "per seat" pricing: The new revenue models winning today.Keywordsstartup podcast, startup podcast for founders, GenAI startups, product market fit, service as software, B2B SaaS, AI business models, startup competition, seed stage, founder advice00:00:00 Intro 00:01:57 Pre-Gen AI vs Post-Gen AI Eras 00:03:23 The Trap of Incremental Value Props 00:06:58 Gen AI Unlocks Undeniable Value 00:08:50 The New Triple Threat Competition 00:11:50 Why Time in Market Is Dead 00:13:14 Cycle Speed Is the Only Moat Left00:15:00 Rethinking B2B SaaS Business Models 00:16:45 The Service as Software OpportunitySend me a message to let me know what you think!

[Top Resources Series] Marketing Secrets and Productivity Hacks Mitch Steinberg is the CEO of Wilshire Consulting Partners, a financial consulting firm offering tax planning, accounting, outsourced bookkeeping, CFO services, and strategic guidance to individuals and businesses. Chris Mason is a marketing expert who specializes in helping business owners turn their expertise into revenue through data-driven, results-oriented marketing strategies. Alex Gluz is the Founder of T.A. Monroe, a demand generation agency helping B2B SaaS companies to build marketing revenue engines to meet and exceed revenue and growth goals in a scalable, predictable, and sustainable way. Liana Ling is the Founder of Power Up Strategy, a digital marketing agency that empowers visionary entrepreneurs and expert-based businesses to achieve predictable, sustainable client growth through strategic, data-driven marketing systems. In this episode… In today's fast-paced world, businesses must navigate marketing, finances, and growth while staying competitive. Could a data-driven, strategic approach be the key? How can business owners use expert insights to optimize operations and ensure long-term success? Mitch Steinberg, Chris Mason, Alex Gluz, and Liana Ling reveal how they're transforming their industries with innovative approaches to growth and efficiency. Mitch highlights how proper financial systems and bookkeeping can help businesses avoid common pitfalls and achieve sustainable growth. Chris explains how building marketing funnels around existing customer desires leads to higher conversions, while Alex shares how understanding demographics and refining messaging can drive better customer acquisition and reduce costs. Liana emphasizes how AI-driven tools like N8N and OpenRouter can streamline operations, automate content creation, and improve decision-making for businesses looking to scale efficiently. In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz speaks with Mitch Steinberg, Chris Mason, Alex Gluz, and Liana Ling to discuss strategies for building sustainable business growth. They discuss optimizing financial systems, creating revenue-generating marketing funnels, and utilizing AI tools to enhance business efficiency. They also dive into the importance of understanding customer needs and demographics to drive success.

In this episode of the B2B Go-To-Market Leaders Podcast, Vijay Damojipurapu speaks with Akshay Doshi, SVP of Sales at SpotDraft, about building repeatable value in B2B SaaS—and why great go-to-market is ultimately about elevating customers, not just closing deals.Akshay shares his journey from SDR to sales leader, including formative lessons from customer success, enterprise account management, and scaling sales teams during uncertainty—most notably, building SpotDraft's GTM engine just as the pandemic reshaped buying behavior worldwide.The conversation explores how modern GTM leaders can design sales motions that mirror the customer experience, create trust through expectation-setting, and build systems that scale culture—not just revenue.They dive into:Why Akshay defines GTM as go-to-repeatable value, not just pipeline or quota.How experience in customer success makes sales leaders more credible and effective.Designing sales processes that reflect the onboarding and delivery experience customers will actually receive.Building trust by saying “no” to the wrong customers—and why it pays off years later.Scaling a sales culture through values, micro-wins, and cultural carriers.How sales and marketing must operate as a single orchestration layer, not separate functions.Lessons from scaling SpotDraft through outbound, word-of-mouth, and customer love during COVID.Why AI in legal tech requires careful expectation-setting, not hype-driven positioning.Advice for aspiring GTM leaders: learn adjacent functions early and think like an operator, not just a seller.This episode is a deep, practical look at how modern sales leaders can build durable GTM systems by aligning value, culture, and customer outcomes.Connect with Vijay Damojipurapu on LinkedInConnect with Akshay Doshi on LinkedInBrought to you by: stratyve.com

From time to time, we'll re-air a previous episode of the show that our newer audience may have missed. During this episode, Santosh is joined by Zach Fredericks, Principal at Primary Venture Partners, an early-stage VC firm that focuses on B2B SaaS, fintech, health, devtools, built world, and supply chain. In this conversation, Santosh and Zach discuss Zach's unexpected entry into supply chain and venture capital, detailing his experiences at Loadsmart and BlackRock. The discussion highlights the pandemic's impact on supply chains, emphasizing the need for resilience and adaptable solutions. Zach underscores the importance of decision intelligence and data interoperability, predicting a shift from EDI to APIs. He also discusses investment trends, advocating for near-shoring and expressing optimism about the trucking industry's future. The episode offers valuable insights into supply chain innovation and investment opportunities and so much more! Highlights from their conversation include:Overview of Primary Ventures (1:17)Zach's Background in Supply Chain (2:42)Macro Thesis from Pandemic Insights (4:46)Surprises in Software Adoption (6:55)Opportunities for Entrepreneurs (9:03)Decision Intelligence Importance (12:07)AI's Role in Supply Chain (14:48)Investment in Lyriq (19:01)Advice for Founders in Supply Chain (22:20)Investment Strategies in Supply Chain (23:48)Business Model Viability (25:01)This or That Segment: (26:27)Final Thoughts and Takeaways (27:05)Dynamo is a VC firm led by supply chain and mobility specialists that focus on seed-stage, enterprise startups.Find out more at: https://www.dynamo.vc/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Season seven of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast centered on one core ambition: how to grow from early validation at 10K MRR to meaningful scale at 10M ARR. Across the season, founders, operators, and leaders shared practical guidance on product-market fit, hiring, go-to-market systems, partnerships, pricing, revenue operations, community, expansion revenue, and more. This summary distills their insights as shared in the episodes—nothing theoretical, nothing added beyond what they discussed—into a single, coherent narrative designed to help you focus, execute, and build momentum.From the outset, the thesis is clear. There are patterns you'll hear repeatedly—focus, alignment, ICP clarity, hiring for stage-fit, segmentation, community, and systems. There are also points of debate that reflect the realities of stage and context. What follows is a structured walkthrough of the advice discussed in the season, episode by episode, following the journey from 10K MRR through the climb toward 10M ARR.Season 7 Full Episode listS7E1: How to Build SaaS Partnerships That Actually Drive Revenue with KaraLynn LewisS7E2: Why 80% of Outbound Sales Fails, and How to Fix It with Besnik VrellakuS7E3: Building SaaS Partnerships That Actually Drive Revenue with Hugo PereiraS7E4: Why Your SaaS GTM Isn't Working And How to Fix It with Operational Discipline with Garrath RobinsonS7E5: B2B SaaS Sales Growth: Outbound Strategies to Scale Revenue with Joey GilkeyS7E6: How is AI Transforming Go To Market for B2B SaaS with Maja VojeS7E7: Why Human Psychology Still Wins in B2B SaaS Sales (Even in the Age of AI) with Desiree-Jessica PelyS7E8: Building a Community-Led Growth Engine for SaaS with Michelle GoodallS7E9: The Future of SaaS Content: AI, Personal Branding, and Authority with Tommy WalkerS7E10: Scaling SaaS Sales: From Founder-Led to High-Performance Teams with Kevin “KD” DorseyS7E11: How to Use Signal-Based Selling to Drive Efficient SaaS Growth with Shoaib G.M.S7E12: SaaS Pricing Strategy 2026: Hybrid Models, AI Costs & Value-Based Pricing with Tjitte JoostenS7E13: Building a Global SaaS GTM: Cultural Nuances, Local Teams & Expansion with Varun ThambaS7E14: Scaling SaaS in 2026: AI Adoption, Pricing Shifts & Efficient Growth with Romy Kotler-de GrootS7E15: SaaS Monetization in 2026: Tiering, Usage, AI Add-Ons & Pricing Experiments with Krzysztof SzyszkiewiczS7E16: SaaS GTM in 2026: AI, Hybrid Sales & High-Performance Revenue Engines with Richard SchenzelS7E17: How PLG Will Change in 2026: AI Agents, Onboarding & Hybrid GTM with Roelof OttenS7E18: Preparing Your SaaS for an Exit: Valuation Drivers, Buyers & Metrics That Matter with René de JongS7E19: How SaaS GTM Will Change in 2026: Thought Leadership, Intent Signals & AI-Powered Growth with Glenn MiseroyS7E20: How SaaS Companies Will Scale in 2026: GTM Efficiency, RevOps, and Word-of-Mouth Growth with Koen StamS7E21: How AI Will Rewrite SaaS GTM in 2026: Pricing, Efficiency & Sales Automation with Jacco van der Kooij

What does it take to bootstrap a B2B SaaS company to tens of thousands of users and adapt to the changing landscape of lead generation? In this episode of Predictable B2B Success, serial entrepreneur Besnik Vrellaku, founder and CEO of Salesflow, joins Vinay Koshy to discuss the strategies and lessons that drove his company's rapid growth. He shares insights on overcoming stagnation, fostering a culture of experimentation, and the challenges of scaling without external funding. He explains the importance of monitoring customer acquisition costs, how his approach to product development and customer feedback has evolved, and how experimentation is integrated across all departments at Salesflow. The discussion also covers the impact of multi-channel outreach, data-driven decisions, and AI-driven personalization on B2B sales, as well as the value of learning through challenges. This episode offers transparent insights and actionable takeaways for founders, sales leaders, and anyone interested in growth strategies. It encourages a fresh perspective on building predictable B2B success from the ground up. Some topics we explore in this episode include: B2B Lead Generation & SalesFlow.io's Multi-Channel ApproachBootstrapping and Resourcefulness in SaaSGrowth Experimentation and Rapid IterationBalancing Customer Feedback vs. Product VisionProduct Development & Tech Adoption (AI, Multi-Channel)Resource Prioritization Between Maintenance and InnovationLeveraging AI and Data for Campaign OptimizationAutomation's Impact on SDR RolesCreating a Culture of ExperimentationOutbound Messaging, Channel Selection, and Emerging PlatformsAnd much, much more...

Dan Layfield, founder of the Subscription Index, joins Mark Stiving to unpack the less-visible pricing and monetization levers that drive real growth in subscription businesses. With experience scaling Codecademy from $10M to $50M in revenue and leading product teams at Uber and Diligent, Dan brings a product-led, ROI-first perspective on pricing. This episode culminates in one of the most actionable subscription pricing tactics you'll hear: how to price annual plans based on actual monthly retention, not industry norms.  If you work in SaaS, consumer subscriptions, or any recurring-revenue business, this episode offers practical insights you can test immediately.   Why You Have to Check Out Today's Podcast: Learn the annual pricing tactic that dramatically increases LTV and cash flow by aligning plan discounts to real retention behavior. Understand why subscription growth is constrained more by monetization systems than acquisition and where hidden revenue leaks live. Discover how product, pricing, and payment mechanics quietly shape retention long after customers click "Subscribe".   "If you know your average retention rate within monthly plans, and most of your users are in monthly plans, you price your annual plan to be like one or two months more than your monthly retention rate." – Dan Layfield   Topics Covered: 00:45 - How Dan Got Into Pricing. Dan shares how pricing became a key growth lever while scaling Codecademy and why monetization matters more as products mature. 01:10 - Scaling Subscription-Based Businesses. Dan shares lessons from scaling Codecademy's subscription business and why pricing becomes critical as companies grow. 05:12 - Subscription Pricing and Retention Strategies. How pricing decisions influence retention length and why subscription pricing must reflect real user behavior. 09:11 - Retention Challenges in Subscription Businesses. The difference between short-term and long-term retention products and why under-12-month subscriptions require different strategies. 11:32 - Subscription Product Strategies. Time to value versus time to success, and how product design affects lifecycle length and churn. 17:02 - Monetization Strategies in Subscription Businesses. What monetization really includes beyond price, from paywalls to upsells, renewals, and payment recovery systems. 19:45 - Checkout Flow Optimization Strategies. Why small checkout improvements deliver outsized ROI and how minor friction quietly suppresses revenue. 23:22] AI's Impact on Consumer Products. Why AI adoption is slower in consumer subscriptions than B2B SaaS and where future disruption may emerge. 26:30 - Annual Plan Pricing Strategy. Dan explains the monthly-to-annual pricing approach that boosts LTV, improves cash flow, and increases commitment. 29:31 - Key Subscription Product Insights. Final reflections on retention, monetization levers, and where subscription companies should focus first for growth.   Key Takeaways: "This is one of the few tides that lifts all boats in subscription products. It makes payment processing easier. You collect cash up front. Those users psychologically commit to the product more." – Dan Layfield "If you're retaining users for four months on average, change your annual plan discount rate to be 50%. So they're paying for six months up front." – Dan Layfield "...if you look at any of the big consumer products that discount more than 10 to 20% annual plans, you can kind of guess their monthly retention rate." – Dan Layfield   People & Resources Mentioned: Codecademy – Subscription growth case study Uber Eats – Marketplace product experience Subscription Index – Dan's subscription monetization resource Stripe / App Store Billing – Payment and dunning challenges in subscriptions   Connect with Dan Layfield: Website: https://subscriptionindex.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/layfield/    Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

Busy isn't the same as better.We sat down with product strategist, coach and consultant, and now a pubslihed author Tim Herbig to unpack a simple truth: real progress with impact that matters happens when strategy, metrics, and discovery align.If you lead change across a product, a platform team, culture or your own habits - you'll leave with a clearer way to choose what to focus on, what to measure, and what to learn.Say no with confidence. Retire progress theater. And build momentum you can be proud of.Key Insights:Context beats templates every time - "better practices" for your situation matter more than copying what worked for someone elseStrategy's real job is helping people say yes and no fastThe "why" question is ruthlessly effective - if you can't explain why you're doing something, you're probably just checking boxesAI helps you reach hard problems faster but only if you're ready to actually solve them instead of automating busyworkHow to spot progress theater before it drains your energy and budget ... also how to choose a better strategy for your beach body in 2026 and a lot more!___________TIM'S BIOTim Herbig is a product management coach, consultant, and author who helps teams make evidence-informed decisions by connecting strategy, OKRs, and discovery. For over a decade, he worked in various in-house and consulting roles across publishing, professional networking, and enterprise B2B SaaS. Tim's work has helped organizations from Lufthansa Group Digital Hangar to early-stage startups move from following "best practices" to developing better practices suited to their context that led to desired impact. Tim writes a popular weekly newsletter and is the author of "Real Progress: How to Connect the Dots of Product Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery." He lives by 3 core values: integrity (doing what you say), curiosity (going down rabbit holes), and sincerity (being honest even when it's hard).5) CALL TO ACTION & RESOURCESReady to move from alibi progress to real progress?Connect with Tim's work:Newsletter: https://herbig.co/newsletter (Weekly insights on strategy, OKRs, and discovery)Book: "Real Progress: How to Connect the Dots of Product Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery"Website: https://herbig.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herbigtMentioned in the episode:Petra Willa's PM Wheel conceptJames Clear's quote on context-dependent adviceRavi Mehta's concept of "market interrupt moments"Gibson Biddle's Strategy/Metric/Tactic frameworkTim's homework for you:Start by asking one question this week: "Why are we doing this?" Then see if you can connect your answer to actual measurements and learning. That's where real progress begins.  _________Enjoyed this conversation?  Don't forget to subscribe to never miss an insight! Rate, and share the show with someone who needs a better way to make progress.  Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First, Executive, Leadership and Optimal Performance Coach 360, Change Leadership & Culture Transformation Consultant

Хотите знать, где будут лучшие вакансии и зарплаты в 2026 году? Следите за венчурными инвестициями.Куда идут деньги фондов - там растут компании, там нанимают людей, там платят топовые оффера.AI привлек $18.9 млрд в один квартал, cybersecurity бьет рекорды по финансированию,fintech проводит успешные IPO, а B2B SaaS ожидает первый double-digit рост с 2021 года.Это не просто цифры - это ваши будущие работодатели и карьерные возможности.Какие ниши взлетят и где искать работу уже сейчас?Узнаем у венчурного инвестора с 11-летним опытом, Дениса Калышкина.Приходите с вопросами или оставляйте их заранее в Телеграм канале:https://t.me/prodcastUSAДенис Калышкин - инвестиционный директор американского венчурного фонда с 11+ лет опыта,основатель проекта для предпринимателей "Спроси VC":https://t.me/ask_vchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/denis-kalyshkin-b634592a/ Предыдущие эфиры с Денисом:Мечтаешь о стартапе? 16 честных ответов от венчурного инвестора — https://youtube.com/live/6FR1KS9n0P4Стартап-тренды 2025: что взорвет рынок и почему бездействие - ваш главный враг? — https://youtube.com/live/K3WRgBFU06sКак и где найти сооснователя стартапа? Как выбрать подходящего партнера для бизнеса? — https://youtube.com/live/-s1ZyqzL9bAКак придумать идею для стартапа? Кому нужно запускать бизнес? С чего начать? — https://youtube.com/live/uXBAtS11nYcЧто нас ждет в 2025? Кризис, массовые увольнения, крах стартапов. Где искать работу? — https://youtube.com/live/ZbYm10zrfEAЗаписаться на карьерную консультацию (резюме, LinkedIn, карьерная стратегия, поиск работы в США):https://annanaumova.comКоучинг (синдром самозванца, прокрастинация, неуверенность в себе, страхи, лень):https://annanaumova.notion.site/3f6ea5ce89694c93afb1156df3c903abТелеграм:https://t.me/prodcastUSAИнстаграм: https://www.instagram.com/prodcast.usТикТок: https://www.tiktok.com/@us.jobTimecodes00:00 Начало18:39 Про венчурный рынок в США26:12 Тренды 2025 и 2026 года57:47 Вопросы из чата1:36:39 Что можешь пожелать тем, кто ищет работу в 2026?

Elena Verna is the head of growth at Lovable, the leading AI-powered app builder that hit $200 million in annual recurring revenue in under a year with just 100 employees. In this record fourth appearance on the podcast, Elena shares how the traditional growth playbook has been completely rewritten for AI companies. She explains why Lovable focuses on innovation over optimization, how they've shifted from activation to building new features, and why giving away their product for free has become their most powerful growth strategy.We discuss:1. Why 60% to 70% of traditional growth tactics no longer apply in AI2. Why you have to re-find product-market fit every 3 months3. The specific growth tactics driving Lovable's unprecedented growth4. Why giving away product is a growth strategy that beats paid ads5. “Minimum lovable product” as the new standard (not minimum viable product)6. Why activation now belongs to product teams, not growth teams7. Whether you should join an AI startup (honest tradeoffs)—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUsVercel—Your collaborative AI assistant to design, iterate, and scale full-stack applications for the webPersona—A global leader in digital identity verification—Transcript: ⁠https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-new-ai-growth-playbook-for-2026-elena-verna⁠—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): ⁠https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/181207556/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation⁠—Where to find Elena Verna:• X: https://x.com/elenaverna• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaverna• Newsletter: https://www.elenaverna.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Elena Verna(05:19) The scale and growth of Lovable(08:55) Confidence in Lovable as a business(12:17) Retention at Lovable(15:02) Lovable's unique growth levers(28:13) The role of marketing in Lovable's success(38:09) Launching new features(40:59) Hiring and team dynamics(43:17) The value of vibe coding(49:46) The importance of community(51:47) Giving away your product for free(56:26) Tripling their company size(01:00:23) Product-market-fit challenges(01:08:50) Advice for joining AI companies(01:12:00) Work-life balance(01:15:20) What it's like to work at Lovable(01:19:45) Women in tech(01:25:29) Final thoughts and lightning round—Referenced:• Elena Verna on how B2B growth is changing, product-led growth, product-led sales, why you should go freemium not trial, what features to make free, and much more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/elena-verna-on-why-every-company• The ultimate guide to product-led sales | Elena Verna: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-product-led• 10 growth tactics that never work | Elena Verna (Amplitude, Miro, Dropbox, SurveyMonkey): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-growth-tactics-that-never-work-elena-verna• Lovable: https://lovable.dev• Building Lovable: $10M ARR in 60 days with 15 people | Anton Osika (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika• Stripe: https://stripe.com• What differentiates the highest-performing product teams | John Cutler (Amplitude, The Beautiful Mess): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-differentiates-the-highest-performing• How to win in the AI era: Ship a feature every week, embrace technical debt, ruthlessly cut scope, and create magic your competitors can't copy | Gaurav Misra (CEO and co-founder of Captions): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-win-in-the-ai-era-gaurav-misra• “Dumbest idea I've heard” to $100M ARR: Inside the rise of Gamma | Grant Lee (CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-50-people-built-a-profitable-ai-unicorn• Eric Ries on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries• Elena's post on LinkedIn about Lovable Missions: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elenaverna_everythingispossible-lovableway-activity-7401627519646474242-hn6e• SheBuilds: https://shebuilds.lovable.app• Shopify + Lovable: https://lovable.dev/shopify• The Product-Market Fit Treadmill: Why every AI company is sprinting just to stay in place: https://www.elenaverna.com/p/the-product-market-fit-treadmill• Cursor: https://cursor.com• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can't stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell• Unorthodox frameworks for growing your product, career, and impact | Bangaly Kaba (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Instacart): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/frameworks-for-growing-your-career-bangaly-kaba• The adjacent user: https://brianbalfour.com/quick-takes/the-adjacent-user• Granola: https://www.granola.ai• Wispr Flow: https://wisprflow.ai• I'm worried about women in tech: https://www.elenaverna.com/p/im-worried-about-women-in-tech• Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Every episode of season seven asked the same question: what advice would you give a SaaS founder who is just starting out and aiming to go from zero to 10K MRR? This summary brings together the most practical and battle-tested suggestions from dozens of founders, operators, and go-to-market leaders. The focus is squarely on what works early on—how to find your first customers, validate demand, price correctly, and build momentum without burning too much cash. Across the conversations, certain patterns emerged repeatedly, alongside a few conflicting insights that provide nuance. The episodes cover founder-led growth, go-to-market motion, pricing tactics, product-market fit, and building early traction, all directly from people who have done it. If your goal is 10K MRR for a B2B SaaS, this is the guidance they shared. And once you get there, the next episode in the series digs into the leap from 10K MRR to 10 million ARR. For now, here is the zero-to-10K playbook, as told by the guests.

In this insightful episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains welcomes Jimi Gibson, VP of Brand Communication at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency—and a former professional magician! Together, they unpack the art (and science) of connecting with B2B SaaS customers through authentic storytelling, brand strategy, and personal visibility. Jimi Gibson shares his powerful Five Finger Framework for brand building, why founders should put a face to their company, and actionable strategies to create lasting emotional ties and customer loyalty—even in an AI-driven, content-saturated world.If you're a SaaS founder tired of beige, forgettable marketing and want your brand to stand out for something meaningful, this conversation is a treasure trove of tactical wisdom and inspiration.Key Takeaways00:00 "Feature Ops & AI Strategies"05:07 Magic, Marketing, and Connection08:05 "The Stump Test Mystery"12:13 SaaS Exits, Branding, and AI16:49 "Magic, Frameworks, and Authenticity"19:26 "Commitment Drives Long-Term Success"22:07 "Name Your Villain Strategically"24:52 Thumbs Up: Measuring Impact28:16 Customer-Centric Solutions Matter Most31:34 Building Long-Term Customer Relationships36:44 Identifying Competitor Weaknesses Strategically39:20 "Defining Your Target Market"41:00 Maximizing AB Testing Value46:01 AI Lacks Human Connection47:50 "Building Authority Through Personal Branding"51:47 Essential Brand Stories FrameworkTweetable Quotes"Marketing, like magic, is about capturing attention and delivering the wow—the call to action." — Jimi Gibson"Founders, your audience is not 'everybody.' It's one person. Speak directly to them." — Jimi Gibson"A faceless brand is forgettable. People buy from people, not just companies." — Jeff Mains"Declare your villain. If you don't stand for something—or against something—your brand stands for nothing." — Jimi Gibson"The clearer you can be, the more likely your message will resonate with someone who needs your solution." — Jimi Gibson "You can't out-robot the robots. Your experience, empathy, and story are your ultimate differentiators." — Jimi GibsonSaaS Leadership LessonsConnect Authentically, Not Generically:Strong SaaS leaders craft messaging as if speaking to one person—even in a large market.Show Your Face:Humanizing your brand increases trust and long-term retention. Don't hide behind anonymity.Stand for (and Against) Something:Declaring a clear brand "villain" or enemy sets your tribe apart and ignites loyalty.Long-Term Relationships > Short-Term Transactions:Protect your customer “family,” listen deeply, and own up to mistakes for lasting affinity.Measure the Impact You Leave:Track not just revenue, but employee growth, industry disruption, customer transformation, and your unique “thumbprint.”Be Visible in the AI Era:Customer stories, bylined articles, and video increase your odds of being cited and found as the authority, not just another generic provider.Guest Resourcesjimi@Thriveagency.comhttps://thriveagency.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimi-gibson/Episode Sponsor

They were building a Segment competitor. It was working—customers were paying. But every sales call, prospects kept asking about the backend tech instead of the product. So they killed the roadmap and pivoted. It took them 18 months to hit $1M ARR. Then they started growing. And so far, they've raised $350M. Viraj walks through exactly how he validated the pivot, landed the first 10 customers, and why being outside Silicon Valley forced him to show more traction than everyone else.Why You Should ListenHow to know when your side feature is actually your real productThe exact question to ask prospects to validate willingness to payWhy getting to $1M ARR slowly can set you up to scale fasterHow to compete when you're not based in Silicon ValleyWhat talking to your first customer 4x a day for 2 months teaches youKeywordsstartup podcast, startup podcast for founders, open source startup, B2B SaaS growth, pivot strategy, developer tools startup, finding product market fit, early stage fundraising, design partners, commercial open source00:00:00 Intro00:01:46 Getting caught at the Coldplay concert00:14:29 Deciding to Pivot From a Working Product to Something New00:17:27 Building a Business Around Open Source Technology00:19:38 Selling Before You Build00:27:37 Talking to the First Customer Four Times a Day00:30:51 Landing the First Ten Customers00:35:10 Fundraising Without Silicon Valley Pedigree00:38:48 When He Knew He Had Product Market FitRetrySend me a message to let me know what you think!

In this episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast, host Joran welcomes back Jacco van der Kooij, founder of Winning by Design, to unpack how AI-native SaaS companies are changing the rules of growth, pricing, and go-to-market in 2026. The conversation covers why real-time user-level data is becoming the defining competitive advantage, the pitfalls and promise of usage-based pricing for AI products, the existential challenge of inference costs for freemium models, and the enduring importance of subscriptions with smart hybrid elements. It also dives into how AI will replace the majority of sales tasks, the 30 percent of human expertise that remains essential, and why advocacy and community-driven growth loops will shape pipeline generation. From early-stage foundations to scaling to $10 million ARR, Jacco breaks down what founders need to get right now to thrive in the years ahead.Key Timecodes(0:00) - B2B SaaS podcast intro, AI native SaaS, pricing, GTM strategy 2026(1:01) - Jacco van der Kooij intro, Winning by Design(1:14) - 2026 success factors: real-time data, PLG, cohort analytics(2:31) - AI native buyer journey, user-led growth, usage patterns(3:48) - SaaS pricing: usage-based vs subscription, outcome-based pricing(4:23) - AI inference costs, freemium risk, monetization challenges(5:05) - Freemium in AI tools, limits, value gating(5:23) - Consumption-based pricing vs subscription, hybrid pricing(6:12) - Hybrid pricing example, membership + per-resolution fees(7:03) - Efficient growth, GTM efficiency, LTV:CAC, retention, outcomes(8:36) - AI for customer insights, demand gen, lookalike users(9:36) - Ad: B2B SaaS affiliate referral platform, AI-powered recruitment(9:47) - AI and jobs: replace vs enable, workforce impact(11:19) - GTM with AI: 70% sales tasks automated, CRM, scheduling, summaries(12:56) - Trust, human expertise, advocacy, risk mitigation(13:59) - Rebuilding GTM 2026: automation, expert touchpoints, events(15:00) - Growth loop: usage patterns, word of mouth, advocacy pipeline(16:26) - Community-led growth: user conferences, LinkedIn sharing, Clay example(17:02) - SDR strategy: activate users, customer success advocacy(17:11) - Early-stage advice: real-time data system, analytics(17:25) - Data stack recommendation: Snowflake, realtime data lake(17:32) - Scaling to $10M ARR: team alignment, closed-loop GTM(18:04) - Shared system understanding: recurring revenue, training(19:01) - Growth Institute by Winning by Design: courses, community, case studies(19:39) - Where to find: winningbydesign.com, Growth Institute(19:45) - Closing thoughts, optimism, AI era(19:54) - Outro: like, subscribe, sponsor, guest/topic requests(20:17) - Reditus mention, B2B SaaS affiliate program

Alexander Embiricos leads product on Codex, OpenAI's powerful coding agent, which has grown 20x since August and now serves trillions of tokens weekly. Before joining OpenAI, Alexander spent five years building a pair programming product for engineers. He now works at the frontier of AI-led software development, building what he describes as a software engineering teammate—an AI agent designed to participate across the entire development lifecycle.We discuss:1. Why Codex has grown 20x since launch and what product decisions unlocked this growth2. How OpenAI built the Sora Android app in just 18 days using Codex3. Why the real bottleneck to AGI-level productivity isn't model capability—it's human typing speed4. The vision of AI as a proactive teammate, not just a tool you prompt5. The bottleneck shifting from building to reviewing AI-generated work6. Why coding will be a core competency for every AI agent—because writing code is how agents use computers best—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs: https://workos.com/lennyFin—The #1 AI agent for customer service: https://fin.ai/lennyJira Product Discovery—Confidence to build the right thing: https://atlassian.com/lenny/?utm_source=lennypodcast&utm_medium=paid-audio&utm_campaign=fy24q1-jpd-imc—Transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-humans-are-ais-biggest-bottleneck—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/180365355/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation—Where to find Alexander Embiricos:• X: https://x.com/embirico• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/embirico—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Alexander Embiricos (05:13) The speed and ambition at OpenAI(11:34) Codex: OpenAI's coding agent(15:43) Codex's explosive growth(24:59) The future of AI and coding agents(33:11) The impact of AI on engineering(44:08) How Codex has impacted the way PMs operate(45:40) Throwaway code and ubiquitous coding(47:10) Shipping the Sora Android app(49:01) Building the Atlas browser(53:34) Codex's impact on productivity(55:35) Measuring progress on Codex(58:09) Why they are building a web browser(01:01:58) Non-engineering use cases for Codex(01:02:53) Codex's capabilities(01:04:49) Tips for getting started with Codex(01:05:37) Skills to lean into in the AI age(01:10:36) How far are we from a human version of AI?(01:13:31) Hiring and team growth at Codex(01:15:47) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• OpenAI: https://openai.com• Codex: https://openai.com/codex• Inside ChatGPT: The fastest-growing product in history | Nick Turley (Head of ChatGPT at OpenAI): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-chatgpt-nick-turley• Dropbox: http://dropbox.com• Datadog: https://www.datadoghq.com• Andrej Karpathy on X: https://x.com/karpathy• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can't stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell• Atlas: https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-atlas• How Block is becoming the most AI-native enterprise in the world | Dhanji R. Prasanna: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-block-is-becoming-the-most-ai-native• Goose: https://block.xyz/inside/block-open-source-introduces-codename-goose• Lessons on building product sense, navigating AI, optimizing the first mile, and making it through the messy middle | Scott Belsky (Adobe, Behance): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-on-building-product-sense• Sora Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.openai.sora&hl=en_US&pli=1• The OpenAI Podcast—ChatGPT Atlas and the next era of web browsing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdbgNC80PMw&list=PLOXw6I10VTv9GAOCZjUAAkSVyW2cDXs4u&index=2• How to measure AI developer productivity in 2025 | Nicole Forsgren: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-measure-ai-developer-productivity• Compiling: https://3d.xkcd.com/303• Jujutsu Kaisen on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81278456• Tesla: https://www.tesla.com• Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice• Andreas Embirikos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Embirikos• George Embiricos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Embiricos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Embiricos—Recommended books:• Culture series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WLZZ9WV• The Lord of the Rings: https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0544003411• A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought series Book 1): https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Upon-Deep-Zones-Thought/dp/1250237750• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Mostly Growth on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MostlyGrowthMostly Growth on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-growth/id1842238102Mostly Growth on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3KDtaLaXx1obFp5PUhZ6V3In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar explore the hidden mechanics behind focus, competition, and value creation across both consumer culture and B2B SaaS. They unpack why point-solution companies like Untuckit and Raising Cane's can outperform diversified rivals, examine how competition actually strengthens category demand, and break down the gray zone of mid-market venture exits where founder incentives and investor expectations diverge. The conversation ranges from private equity roll-ups to the realities of cold-calling returning as a top-performing growth channel, to pricing transparency, algorithmic price discrimination, and how everyday behaviors—from mall Santas to $12 club water—reflect deeper strategic forces. It's a fast, practical look at how operators can stay focused, understand market pressure, and avoid chasing the wrong game.—SPONSORS:Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetricsMetronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That's why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com—LINKS:Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:Building AI-Native Software With No Rules | Christopher O'Donnellhttps://youtu.be/Fr1027kZyC0SaaS Founder or Pop Star? CJ Gets Schooledhttps://youtu.be/LMZq_DwVmkYThe Layer-Cake Playbook for Vertical SaaS Growth | with Roland Ligtenberghttps://youtu.be/yPxWvhPISKoThe One Use Case for Venture Debt That Most Founders Never Think Abouthttps://youtu.be/XxH_Y9OH_i0—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:42 Sponsors – Pulley | Metronome00:04:02 Mall Fashion & Nostalgia00:05:50 The Modern Mall Santa Reinvented00:06:52 Untuckit & the Platform vs. Point Solution Debate00:08:31 The Power of Category Focus00:09:56 Obsession, Craft, and the Raising Cane's Lesson00:10:46 Germany's “Hidden Champions”00:12:44 Competition: When to Care and When Not To00:14:05 OpenAI, Gemini & the “Code Red” Mindset00:15:34 Competition to Category Education00:17:00 Pricing Pages as Competitive Battlegrounds00:18:05 VC Deck Theater & Competitive Grids00:18:54 Rise of B2B Newsletter Advertising00:19:48 Awkward Exits: The Venture “Gray Zone”00:21:46 Founder Life-Changing Exits vs. VC Math00:23:04 Why Secondaries Exist (and When They Help)00:24:58 Why $100–500M Is the Most Common SaaS Exit Range00:26:14 Structural Misalignment in Venture Exits00:27:20 How Much Secondary Is Too Much?00:30:25 Business Blunders: Justin Bieber the PM00:31:54 Voice Notes, Etiquette, and Chaos00:33:23 Cold Calling Makes a Comeback00:35:50 Catherine Jhung Still Cold Calls CFOs00:37:44 Algorithm Pricing Labels & Data-Driven Pricing00:41:11 Why Clubs Charge $12 for Water00:42:40 Closing Credits#MostlyGrowthPodcast #keepitsimple #focuswins #businessstrategy #operatorsmindset This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

If you're in B2B SaaS, you probably feel it already: the old way of “just hire more SDRs and send more emails” is broken.Everyone has the same tooling. Everyone is running the same sequences. Everyone is “personalising at scale” with the same prompts. Yet pipeline quality is down, efficiency is under scrutiny, and suddenly… go-to-market (GTM) design has become a first-class strategic problem.Few people are better positioned to talk about this shift than Harrison Rose.Harrison co-founded Paddle, helped turn it into one of the UK's fastest-growing software companies, and has now raised a $13M Series A (led by Notion Capital, with participation from Robin Capital, Inovia, Salicap, Common Magic, Andrena and more) to build GoodFit – an AI-driven GTM data platform.Here's what's covered:00:47 | What GoodFit actually does — mapping your entire market and scoring every account01:32 | Paddle origins → the first-principles GTM problem that later became GoodFit03:31 | From internal tool to standalone company — recognizing the “product inside Paddle”04:18 | Who buys GoodFit — why B2B tech is the first adopter (and why the market is much bigger)06:28 | Second-time founder advantage — credibility, networks, and selling before the product exists08:29 | Choosing investors — why Notion, avoiding echo chambers, and constructing a syndicate13:24 | Bootstrapping for four years — optionality, profitability curiosity, and knowing when VC is the right path18:34 | AI's real impact on go-to-market — why most teams are just automating bad outreach22:25 | The GoodFit vision — deciding who to sell to, why, and how (and leaving execution to others)35:34 | Leaving Paddle — identity, founder evolution, and learning to lead differently the second time around46:40 | Giving back — why Harrison opens his inbox for “weird, gnarly, unsaid” founder questions

How do you take a niche SaaS product from zero to $150k MRR in under two years — without venture capital?In this episode of Founder Views, Kosta Panagoulias sits down with Nadav Boaz, co-founder of VoiceDrop, to break down exactly how they scaled fast by combining cold email mastery, SEO execution, and ruthless operational discipline.This isn't theory. Nadav shares what actually worked — and what didn't — across dozens of past businesses before VoiceDrop finally clicked.We cover:How VoiceDrop reached $150k MRR with a lean, remote teamThe exact 3 growth channels they double down on (and why)How cold email is used strategically — not spammySEO tactics that helped them rank #1 and show up in AI searchWhy pre-authorizing trial users increased conversions from 12% → 50%Managing churn in a high-ticket SaaSWhy “usage” matters more than loginsLessons from running (and failing) dozens of businesses before successIf you're a SaaS founder focused on execution, leverage, and real growth, this episode delivers.Chapters / Timestamps00:00 – Why VoiceDrop caught Kosta's attention02:00 – What VoiceDrop does (ringless voicemail explained)04:00 – Team size, remote setup, and founder roles07:00 – Using past businesses as leverage for new SaaS launches10:20 – The 3 growth pillars: SEO, cold email, Google Ads13:30 – SEO execution: keywords, authority, and SOPs with VAs16:00 – Ranking in AI search (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.)18:10 – Cold email infrastructure that actually works22:00 – Targeting, segmentation, and ARPU strategy26:00 – When SEO overtook outbound as the #1 channel27:00 – Boosting trial-to-paid conversion to 50%30:00 – Pre-authorization: filtering tire-kickers32:00 – Human vs product-led conversions36:00 – Using AI inside the product (voice cloning, scripts)39:00 – AI for outbound replies and internal leverage41:30 – Scaling fast without burning out as a founder45:30 – Customer support, tooling, and cost control50:00 – Managing churn in a high-ticket SaaS53:30 – The single metric Nadav watches daily54:20 – Favorite business book & lifestyle choices56:20 – One billboard lesson for SaaS founders 

How will SaaS Companies scale in 2026? The next era of SaaS growth won't be won by adding more reps, more tools, or more noise. In this episode, go-to-market operator Koen Stam (Personio) breaks down why 2026 will mark a decisive shift from people-heavy scaling to process-first, data-driven, efficiency-led growth—and what founders must do now to stay ahead.Koen oversees international revenue operations across Benelux, DACH, the Nordics, Spain, and beyond, and he brings a rare operator's lens to the future of GTM. He unpacks how founder-led, sales-led, and hybrid motions will evolve; why RevOps is about to become one of the most strategic functions in SaaS; and why fixing the data layer is the non-negotiable prerequisite to making AI actually work.You'll learn why the biggest upside in 2026 will come from retention, expansion, and word of mouth, how to design motions that scale with simplicity and discipline, and what it really takes to build from 0 to 10K MRR and to 10M ARR with one product, one audience, and one crystal-clear process.A must-listen for founders, operators, and GTM leaders building for the next wave of SaaS.Key Timecodes(0:00) - Intro: B2B SaaS go-to-market 2026, RevOps, AI, retention, expansion(1:13) - Guest intro: Koen Stam, Personio, international RevOps, HR tech(2:04) - 2026 GTM strategy: process-first, data-driven, efficiency-led growth(2:47) - GTM motions: founder-led vs sales-led vs hybrid, authenticity, efficiency(4:02) - Efficiency in SaaS: bow tie model, customer journey mapping, root causes(5:35) - RevOps priority: data layer, metrics, RevOps to CRO(6:38) - AI in GTM: fix data foundations, process over people(7:26) - Retention & expansion: word-of-mouth, NRR, customer-led growth(9:20) - Sponsor: Reditus affiliate and referral platform for B2B SaaS(10:14) - Word-of-mouth playbook: product value, customer success, community events(12:06) - Build GTM from scratch: founder-led content, AI amplification, simplify(13:59) - Referrals & partners: partner ecosystem, trust, incentives, win-win(15:26) - Zero to 10K MRR: one offer, one ICP, focus, execution(16:54) - Scale to 10M ARR: one product, one market, process-first, data model(17:37) - Connect with Koen: LinkedIn, Substack, AI learnings(17:55) - Audience building: LinkedIn vs Substack, creator-led growth(18:27) - Outro: subscribe, sponsor, Reditus, Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast

We're thrilled to welcome back Eva Hongyan Gao, Head of Product ESG at AMCS Group, a returning guest (episode 102) and a product leader in B2B SaaS, circular economy, and ESG, for a special episode on using LLMs securely inside the enterprise. Eva joins Matt and Moshe to offer a candid, hands-on look at how AI fits into enterprise toolkits, the challenges of data compliance, and the realities of integrating tools like Microsoft Copilot Studio within strict security frameworks.Eva brings deep experience building for demanding enterprise customers, where success is measured not just by innovation, but by strict ISO, SOC 2, and GDPR compliance. She shares what happens behind the scenes as product leaders and IT teams try to balance innovation, cost, and data protection, sometimes losing sleep over responsible tool usage and ever-climbing AI integration costs.Join Matt, Moshe, and Eva as they explore:Using AI tools in highly regulated, security-conscious B2B enterprise settingsThe compliance process: from ISO and SOC2 to GDPR and internal AI guidelinesWhy Microsoft Copilot is becoming the default LLM in enterprises, and what you still need to watch out forBuilding internal agents and chat interfaces to answer roadmap questions and handle stakeholder requestsLessons learned moving from over-engineered platforms to simpler, compliant AI toolsCreative AI workflows, including removing branded assets between Copilot and Figma and orchestrating information for various departmentsThe ongoing struggle: data redaction, internal transparency, and the limits of controlling generative modelsLLM orchestration: mixing old-school logic with new AI capabilities, and knowing when not to use AISecurity best practices and the importance of a trust-based compliance mindset across the organizationWhat happens when stakeholders use AI tools in ways product never expectedOpportunities for Copilot and DevOps to streamline maintenance, documentation, and stakeholder requestsThe future of AI in sustainability, product management, and business decision-makingAnd much more!Want to connect with Eva or learn more?LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/evagaodeYou can also connect with us and find more episodes:Product for Product Podcast: http://linkedin.com/company/product-for-product-podcastMatt Green: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgreenproductMoshe Mikanovsky: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikanovskyNote: Any views mentioned in the podcast are the sole views of our hosts and guests, and do not represent the products mentioned in any way.Please leave us a review and feedback ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How SaaS GTM Will Change in 2026? In this episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast, host Joran welcomes Glenn Miseroy, co-founder and CEO of Expandii, a cloud-based LinkedIn automation solution. Over the past six years, Expandii has grown to a team of 45 and scaled to 10 million ARR. The conversation digs into how go-to-market motions will evolve by 2026, why employee-led thought leadership will become central to growth, how AI will reshape ideation and timing, and why signal-based, intent-driven approaches must replace traditional lead lists. Glenn also shares how he would rebuild a go-to-market motion from scratch, how to operationalize signals across channels, and what founders should prioritize at different revenue stages—from zero to 10K MRR with founder-led growth to scaling toward 10 million ARR with clear ICP and aligned storytelling.Key Timecodes(0:00) - B2B SaaS Podcast Intro: GTM 2026, intent signals, LinkedIn thought leadership, AI(1:14) - Guest Intro: Glenn Miseroy, Expandi CEO, LinkedIn automation, 10M ARR(1:49) - 2026 GTM Vision: employee-led thought leadership, hybrid PLG + SLG(2:57) - AI for Thought Leadership: ideation, personalization, timing(3:34) - Defining Intent Signals: website visitors, LinkedIn profile views, post engagement, followers(4:13) - Signal-to-Intent: timing outreach with high-intent signals(5:10) - Full-Funnel GTM: thought leadership reach to multichannel outreach(5:42) - Rebuilding GTM 2026: team-led LinkedIn thought leadership strategy(6:49) - Phase 2: capture engagement signals, route to sales, no more lead lists(7:58) - Company-Level Intent + ABM: multi-contact warming, signal-based outreach(9:15) - Enabling Employee Advocacy: content ops, Scripe, AI content calendar(10:35) - Overcoming Posting Fear: ICP-first mindset on LinkedIn(12:00) - Sponsor: Reditus affiliate referral platform for B2B SaaS(12:57) - AI and Headcount: efficiency, enablement, process optimization(13:44) - 2026 Growth Loop: thought leadership pipeline, AI personalization, timing triggers(14:50) - Trigger-Based Outreach: new Head of Sales timing on LinkedIn(15:14) - 0–10K MRR: founder-led growth on LinkedIn, capture intent signals(16:39) - Scaling to 10M ARR: clear ICP, aligned messaging, storytelling(17:58) - Messaging Framework: problem-led narrative vs “10X meetings”(18:59) - Connect with Glenn: LinkedIn, Expandi website(19:11) - Outro CTA: subscribe, sponsor, Reditus info

Ted Merz is a veteran media and product leader with 30+ years shaping financial journalism, rising from Bloomberg's 15th newsroom hire to Managing Editor for the Americas and leading product innovation with AI-driven analytics before co-founding Principles Media and Pricing Culture.Episode Sponsor: Fiscal AI is a modern data terminal that gives investors instant access to twenty years of financials, earnings transcripts, and extensive segment and KPI data—use my link for a two-week free trial plus 15% off: https://fiscal.ai/talkingbillions/Find me on Substack!3:00 - Ted discusses New York's unique advantage: unlike cities dominated by single industries (SF/tech, DC/politics, LA/entertainment), New York offers everything—tech, finance, media, advertising—creating endless opportunities to learn from the best across multiple domains.8:00 - The Bloomberg origin story: When Ted joined as the 15th hire in 1990, nobody knew it would become dominant. People questioned whether a data company had the right to produce news. Bloomberg fought for White House credentials, viewed as illegitimate by established media.15:00 - Bloomberg's founding insight: Mike Bloomberg created the first B2B SaaS company before the term existed, building a real-time financial information platform that fundamentally changed how markets consumed data.25:00 - Career transition wisdom: Your network changes dramatically when you leave big institutions. Ted learned to broaden his approach—meeting people not for immediate transactions but for perspective, serendipity, and unexpected connections.35:00 - The evolution of media: Ted emphasizes the importance of "learning in public"—creating content that reaches beyond immediate circles. Even 1,000 views represents an audience unimaginable in the 1980s.55:00 - On building networks: Don't only meet people who can hire you. Meet broadly for perspective on what you should do, how to do it, and who else is playing the game. Matt Ziegler exemplifies the "one plus one equals a thousand" connector.1:04:00 - Redefining success: Ted's perspective evolved dramatically from Bloomberg days when titles and team size mattered. Now success means doing passionate work—writing, communicating, shaping words—while making a living and meeting great people.1:06:00 - The Friday night test: Bogumil shares his realization—spending Friday evening researching a company out of pure curiosity, not obligation. When you love the process itself, you've found something meaningful.Podcast Program – Disclosure StatementBlue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm's employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives, and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for any individual. Listeners are encouraged to seek advice from a qualified tax, legal, or investment adviser to determine whether any information presented may be suitable for their specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Edwin Chen is the founder and CEO of Surge AI, the company that teaches AI what's good vs. what's bad, powering frontier labs with elite data, environments, and evaluations. Surge surpassed $1 billion in revenue with under 100 employees last year, completely bootstrapped—the fastest company in history to reach this milestone. Before founding Surge, Edwin was a research scientist at Google, Facebook, and Twitter and studied mathematics, computer science, and linguistics at MIT.We discuss:1. How Surge reached over $1 billion in revenue with fewer than 100 people by obsessing over quality2. The story behind how Claude Code got so good at coding and writing3. The problems with AI benchmarks and why they're pushing AI in the wrong direction4. How RL environments are the next frontier in AI training5. Why Edwin believes we're still a decade away from AGI6. Why taste and human judgment shape which AI models become industry leaders7. His contrarian approach to company building that rejects Silicon Valley's “pivot and blitzscale” playbook8. How AI models will become increasingly differentiated based on the values of the companies building them—Brought to you by:Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUsCoda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace—Transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/surge-ai-edwin-chen—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/180055059/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation—Where to find Edwin Chen:• X: https://x.com/echen• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinzchen• Surge's blog: https://surgehq.ai/blog—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Edwin Chen(04:48) AI's role in business efficiency(07:08) Building a contrarian company(08:55) An explanation of what Surge AI does(09:36) The importance of high-quality data(13:31) How Claude Code has stayed ahead(17:37) Edwin's skepticism toward benchmarks(21:54) AGI timelines and industry trends(28:33) The Silicon Valley machine(33:07) Reinforcement learning and future AI training(39:37) Understanding model trajectories(41:11) How models have advanced and will continue to advance(42:55) Adapting to industry needs(44:39) Surge's research approach(48:07) Predictions for the next few years in AI(50:43) What's underhyped and overhyped in AI(52:55) The story of founding Surge AI(01:02:18) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Surge: https://surgehq.ai• Surge's product page: https://surgehq.ai/products• Claude Code: https://www.claude.com/product/claude-code• Gemini 3: https://aistudio.google.com/models/gemini-3• Sora: https://openai.com/sora• Terrence Rohan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrencerohan• Richard Sutton—Father of RL thinks LLMs are a dead end: https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/richard-sutton• The Bitter Lesson: http://www.incompleteideas.net/IncIdeas/BitterLesson.html• Reinforcement learning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement_learning• Grok: https://grok.com• Warren Buffett on X: https://x.com/WarrenBuffett• OpenAI's CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai• Anthropic's CPO on what comes next | Mike Krieger (co-founder of Instagram): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/anthropics-cpo-heres-what-comes-next• Brian Armstrong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barmstrong• Interstellar on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Interstellar-Matthew-McConaughey/dp/B00TU9UFTS• Arrival on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Arrival-Amy-Adams/dp/B01M2C4NP8• Travelers on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80105699• Waymo: https://waymo.com• Soda versus pop: https://flowingdata.com/2012/07/09/soda-versus-pop-on-twitter—Recommended books:• Stories of Your Life and Others: https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Your-Life-Others-Chiang/dp/1101972122• The Myth of Sisyphus: https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Sisyphus-Vintage-International/dp/0525564454• Le Ton Beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465086454• Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid: https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

What happens when building a product means outsmarting an intelligent adversary every single day? In this podcast hosted by Cassio Sampaio, Tenable Vice President of Product and Program Management Matthew Frank will be speaking on the realities of creating secure B2B SaaS products. He explores how exposure management is evolving, why identity is becoming the new perimeter, and how AI is reshaping both sides of the cybersecurity battlefield.

Emily Ting from CCS America joins Jim to talk about what culture actually feels like at work, how it shapes the day to day, and why marketing in industrial manufacturing is still years behind other B2B sectors. She walks through her journey from Japanese speaking intern to “do everything” marketer, three years working inside a Japanese headquarters, and the reality of being the bridge between leadership, engineers, sales and the outside world. Emily shares how she translates deeply technical machine vision concepts into something humans can understand, why AI has not killed the need for good lighting, and how a short book about penguins on a melting iceberg helped CCS rethink its culture and distributor program.What you'll hearHow Emily defines culture as “what you feel in the air” when you walk into work, and why it can either energize you or quietly drain you.The story of how Japanese fluency opened the door at CCS, sent her to headquarters in Japan, and what she learned from that office culture.Practical tips for doing business and filming content in Japan, from privacy expectations to simple etiquette that changes how you show up.What it is really like to be the person who turns hardcore machine vision physics and jargon into useful stories and content.Why leadership asking for ROI without clear goals is such a common pattern, and how she tries to navigate that tension.How CCS Americas had to reset expectations after the Covid boom and get sales, marketing and engineering genuinely aligned again.Why industrial marketing is still behind B2B SaaS, and what manufacturers can borrow without repeating old mistakes.How the book “Our Iceberg Is Melting” turned into required reading and gave everyone a way to see themselves in the change story.Topics coveredCulture as lived experience versus official “values”Working in Japan, unspoken rules and privacy around filmingTranslating technical machine vision and lighting conceptsAI hype in inspection and why fundamentals still matterGetting leadership, engineers and marketing on the same pageRemote and hybrid culture in a small, spread out teamDesigning a distributor program as a culture project, not just a sales programThe messy reality of modern industrial marketingKey quotes“Culture is what you feel in the air when you walk into work. Do you feel ready to do what you set out to do, or like there's a pressure sitting on your mind all day”“Marketing is much messier than people want. You rarely get a perfect straight line between what you did and the deal that closed.”“Sometimes the decision is no decision. Staying in the status quo feels safer than making a move that might go wrong.”“AI did not make lighting irrelevant. If bad lighting did not matter, those AI companies would not keep coming back to us for help.”“You do not always get the insight you want by asking the question directly. Sometimes you have to go the long way round to reach the part of the customer that actually decides.”

Stewart Butterfield is the co-founder of Slack and Flickr, two of the most influential products in internet history. After selling Slack to Salesforce in one of tech's biggest acquisitions, he's been focused on family, philanthropy, and creative projects. In this rare podcast appearance, Stewart shares the product frameworks and leadership principles that most contributed to his success. From “utility curves” to “the owner's delusion” to “hyper-realistic work-like activities,” his thoughts on craft, strategy, and leadership apply to anyone building products or leading teams.We discuss:1. Hyper-realistic work-like activities2. The owner's delusion3. Utility curves4. “Don't make me think”5. “We don't sell saddles here”6. Tilting your umbrella7. When to pivot—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUsMetronome—Monetization infrastructure for modern software companiesLovable—Build apps by simply chatting with AI—Transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/178320649/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation—Where to find Stewart Butterfield:• X: https://x.com/stewart• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/butterfield—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Stewart Butterfield(04:58) Stewart's current life and reflections(06:44) Understanding utility curves(10:13) The concept of divine discontent(15:11) The importance of taste in product design(19:03) Tilting your umbrella(28:32) Balancing friction and comprehension(45:07) The value of constant dissatisfaction(47:06) Embracing continuous improvement(50:03) The complexity of making things work(54:27) Parkinson's law and organizational growth(01:03:17) Hyper-realistic work-like activities(01:13:23) Advice on when to pivot(01:18:36) The importance of generosity in leadership(01:26:34) The owner's delusion—Referenced:• Slack: https://slack.com• Flickr: https://www.flickr.com• Cal Henderson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamcal• Blok: https://blok.so• Brandon Velestuk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-velestuk-6018721b• Magic Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Link• Ticketmaster: https://www.ticketmaster.com• John Collison on X: https://x.com/collision• Patrick Collison on X: https://x.com/patrickc• Sundar Pichai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundarpichai• Three Questions with Slack's CEO: https://www.technologyreview.com/2014/11/21/170330/three-questions-with-slacks-ceo• Six Sigma: https://www.6sigma.us• What is kaizen and how does Toyota use it?: https://mag.toyota.co.uk/kaizen-toyota-production-system• John Collison's post on X about passion projects: https://x.com/collision/status/1529452415346302976• Parkinson's law: https://www.economist.com/news/1955/11/19/parkinsons-law• We Don't Sell Saddles Here: https://medium.com/@stewart/we-dont-sell-saddles-here-4c59524d650d• Glitch: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(video_game)• IRC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC• This will make you a better decision-maker | Annie Duke (author of “Thinking in Bets” and “Quit,” former pro poker player): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-better-decisions-annie-duke• The woman behind Canva shares how she built a $42B company from nothing | Melanie Perkins: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-making-of-canva• Prisoner's dilemma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma• Stewart Little: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Little• Dharma and Greg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_%26_Greg• Stewart's post on X referencing “the owner's delusion”: https://x.com/stewart/status/1223286626991796224—Recommended books:• Principles: Life and Work: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Life-Work-Ray-Dalio/dp/1501124021• Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress―and How to Bring It Back: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nothing-Works-Killed-Progress_and/dp/154170021X• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind: https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Al-Ries/dp/0071373586• Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away: https://www.amazon.com/Quit-Power-Knowing-When-Walk/dp/0593422996—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com