Podcasts about flowtown

In this powerful episode, software entrepreneur and investor Dan Martell shares his incredible journey from a troubled youth facing jail time to building multiple successful tech companies and achieving a nine-figure net worth. Dan opens up about:His remarkable transformation story and the power of second chancesBuilding and selling multiple tech companies including Flowtown and ClarityThe mindset shifts required to scale from 8 to 9 to 10 figuresWhy he launched Martel Media and grew to 140M+ monthly views in just 16 monthsHis philosophy on time management and why "Buy Back Your Time" became a #1 bestsellerThe importance of personal brand in building billion-dollar businessesLiving from faith vs. fear and being 1000% accountable for your lifeHis vision for the future and creating generational impactDan shares actionable insights on building wealth through focus rather than diversification, the power of "who do I need to become?" versus "what do I need to do?", and why true success comes from fulfilment rather than freedom.

Unlock the secrets of entrepreneurship as Rich Somers engages with Dan Martell, a WSJ bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, and growth coach. Journey with Dan as he shares his evolution from launching successful ventures like Clarity.fm and Flowtown to becoming an angel investor with a portfolio that boasts industry titans like Intercom and Udemy. Discover how Dan's fresh insights on business growth can empower you to create a venture you truly love. He explores essential topics, including how to spot market trends, master the art of sales, and identify the critical factors that drive pricing strategies. Dan also emphasizes the importance of public speaking and content creation, revealing how a strong social media presence and reputation can dramatically influence business success. Throughout the conversation, he breaks down the vital skills needed to excel as a business owner, highlights the significance of due diligence in acquisitions, and shares invaluable lessons learned from industry giants like Grant Cardone and Warren Buffett.--Interested in learning more about how to build your boutique hotel portfolio? Dive into our proven process by joining the Boutique Hotel Mastermind Community. Book a free call here: www.hotelinvesting.com.Looking to elevate your personal brand to the next level? Join The 7 Figure Creator Mastermind Community. Book your free intro call today at www.the7figurecreator.com and discover the strategies that will transform your success.Interested in investing with Somers Capital? Visit www.somerscapital.com/invest to learn more. Looking for STR/Boutique Hotel Management? Schedule a free consultation at www.excelsiorstays.com/management.

Dan Martell is the founder of SaaS Academy, where he coaches entrepreneurs on scaling B2B SaaS businesses to achieve growth and success. With over a decade of experience, Dan has built and exited three technology companies, earning a reputation for his expertise in the tech and startup world. He has invested in more than 50 startups, including well-known companies like Intercom, Udemy, and Unbounce, and was recognized as Canada's top angel investor in 2012. Dan's entrepreneurial ventures include founding Clarity.fm, Spheric Technologies, and Flowtown, all of which had successful exits. His leadership extends to High Speed Ventures, where since 2021 he has focused on acquiring and operating world-class SaaS companies, further demonstrating his impact in the SaaS industry. Learn more about Dan Martell: https://www.danmartell.com/ Follow Dan Martell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danmartell Learn more about Casey Adams: https://www.caseyadams.com Follow Casey Adams on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casey

Rich sits down with Dan Martell - a WSJ best-selling author, serial entrepreneur, investor, and growth coach. Dan is the mastermind behind several successful companies, such as Clarity.fm, and Flowtown. He is also an angel investor with a diverse portfolio that includes companies like Intercom, Udemy, and Unbounce.Rich and Dan start off by discussing how they got connected, Dan's jet and how to hire a pilot, the lack of tax benefits in Canada, connecting with Kent Clothier, Dan's background and how he got into making content, where Dan sees the most opportunity for every day individuals, looking at trends in the market, the value of sales as a skillset, and the feedback loop.They also reflect on public speaking and an author's expertise, Joe Rogan and being passionate about what we are interested in, the highest gross margins in the tech industry, Grant Cardone and 10x Ventures, the ability to produce returns in capital, the benefits of reputation and being on social media, and Alex Hormozi and Warren Buffett.Lastly, Rich and Dan talk about the skillset required of being a business owner, the value add components of buying companies, willingness to pay and changing pricing, what customers value, the due diligence period, the Winklevoss twins, the benefits of taking a company public, the success of Amazon as a company, Mr. Beast, the value of writing a book, and what makes an entrepreneur successful. Connect with Dan on Instagram: @danmartell--Connect with Rich on Instagram: @rich_somersInterested in investing with Somers Capital? Visit www.somerscapital.com/invest to learn more. Interested in joining our Boutique Hotel Mastermind? Visit www.somerscapital.com/mastermind to book a free call. Interested in STR/Boutique Hotel Management? Visit www.excelsiorstays.com/management to book a free call.

Dan Martell is a prominent Canadian entrepreneur and business coach known for his contributions to the technology and startup ecosystem. With a track record of successful ventures like Clarity.fm and Flowtown, he's gained recognition for his expertise in SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses, growth hacking, and entrepreneurship. Martell is not only a seasoned founder but also a trusted advisor and mentor to startups, making him a key figure in the entrepreneurial community, and he continues to inspire and guide the next generation of innovators.On this episode of The Rollercoaster Dan shares his personal story which is a testament to the profound impact of simple acts of kindness. He recounts how a prison guard's belief in him, combined with uplifting words, illuminated the path to a transformed life. This powerful narrative emphasizes that "it costs nothing to light somebody else's candle," underscoring the potential to change not only a person's day but also their entire life with the gift of compassion and encouragement, even in the most challenging circumstances.Embrace the art of investing in your families as the ultimate endeavor of a lifetime. It's not just about dedicating your time, but a commitment to nurturing the bonds that bind. Like a savvy financial strategist, invest in your family's capital, fostering growth and prosperity not only in terms of wealth but also in love, trust, and shared experiences. Just as a sports team invests in a coach to refine their skills, invest in guidance and mentorship to help your family reach its fullest potential. Prioritize good health, not just as a personal endeavor, but as a gift to your loved ones, ensuring everyone's well-being. Remember, actions speak louder than words – lead by example, use your feet to set the pace, and let your deeds be the resounding testament of your commitment to your family's success.If you are willing to show up and put in the efforts, you can have it all. Dan Martell, a renowned entrepreneur and motivational speaker, emphasizes the power of mindset, proximity, and the incredible possibilities that unfold just by believing. Martell's inspiring message serves as a beacon of hope and guidance for those who aspire to achieve their dreams. With the right attitude, the right company, and unwavering belief in one's abilities, the sky's the limit. Dan Martell's insights empower individuals to unlock their full potential and reach for the stars, reminding us that the path to success is within reach for those who dare to dream and work towards their goals.Where to find Dan Martell:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmartell/Twitter: https://twitter.com/danmartellWork with Tyler: https://www.saasacademy.com/Book: https://wwwSirva SoundbitesExplores the latest trends and topics on global talent mobility and the future of work.Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify-Where to find Tyler Hall: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerchall/ Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-tyler-hall-archives-7018241874482122753/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sirTHALL Work with Tyler: https://www.tylerchristianhall.com/

Join Eric Worre and Dan Martell as they chat about managing time effectively and boosting productivity. Dan's personal journey from adversity to entrepreneurial success is a key highlight. He underscores the significance of focusing on tasks that invigorate you and delegating energy-draining ones. They also emphasize self-awareness, mentorship, and the value of mastermind groups. Listeners can gain valuable strategies for enhancing efficiency, setting high standards, and making purposeful decisions. The conversation inspires action and the application of mentorship and book knowledge for greater efficiency and success. Tune in for valuable insights on improving your time management and productivity skills! About: Dan Martell is the founder and CEO of SaaS Academy, the world's No. 1 coaching program for B2B SaaS founders. He's also a serial entrepreneur, triathlete, investor, author, husband, and father. Dan's a 5x SaaS founder with three successful exits, including companies such as Clarity.fm, Spheric, and Flowtown. Since founding SaaS Academy, he's coached 800+ B2B SaaS founders to scale with confidence. On average, his SaaS Academy students have increased their MRR by 209% within six months. HIGHLIGHTS: Effective time management and boosting productivity Dan Martell's inspiring journey from adversity to entrepreneurial success Identifying tasks that energize and delegating draining ones Practical strategies for enhancing efficiency and decision-making The value of investing in personal development and learning from mentors Taking action to become smarter and more efficient in life Creating structure and setting intentional standards for success The significance of confidently saying no to unnecessary commitments Transforming from an unstructured lifestyle to a highly productive one Key principles for achieving success in both personal and business endeavors SOCIAL MEDIA: Website URL: https://www.danmartell.com/ Dan Martell IG

Dan Martell is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and coach who has helped thousands of entrepreneurs around the world build successful businesses. He has started and sold several companies, including Clarity.fm, a platform that connects entrepreneurs with expert mentors, and Flowtown, a social media marketing platform. Dan is also an angel investor, with a portfolio that includes companies like Intercom, Udemy, and Unbounce. https://www.saasacademy.com/ Instagram  @DanMartell https://www.instagram.com/danmartell/   Linkedin  @DMartell https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dmartell   Youtube  @DanVMartell https://www.youtube.com/user/danvmartell/videos?app=desktop   TikTok @DanVMartell https://www.tiktok.com/@danvmartell  

Welcome to episode #871 of Six Pixels of Separation - The ThinkersOne Podcast. Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation - The ThinkersOne Podcast - Episode #871. Meet my friend, Dan Martell. He's an award-winning Canadian entrepreneur, investor, best-selling author, and coach to over 1000+ SaaS founders. It wasn't always success after success for him. Dan had a rocky start to his entrepreneurial journey. At just 15 years old, he was in a high-speed chase with the cops, and things only seemed to go downhill from there. He failed at building a tech company at a young age and then failed again at a hosting company at 19. However, after trying consulting for 3 years, he finally succeeded with his first company, Spheric Technologies, at the age of 24. Although he bootstrapped the company from the ground up and saw significant growth, he hit a wall. He was working 100 hours a week, operating on 3-to-4 hours of sleep per night, and had nobody to turn to for critical advice. He struggled with identifying his biggest opportunity to kick-start sales, had a disorganized team, and was throwing money at the wall to see if anything would stick. After breaking through the revenue ceiling with Spheric Technologies, selling the company, and taking a year off, he founded two more successful companies (Flowtown and Clarity.fm). He learned many lessons and had many awkward mistakes along the way, which he wanted to pass on to others to help them get to where he was faster and with fewer scars. Dan created SaaS Academy and shares all he's learned on his website and YouTube/TikTok channels. Dan recently published the book, Buy Back Your Time - Get Unstauck, Reclaim Your Freedom and Build Your Empire. The book (which is a great read), is about installing systems and mindset shifts to engage in high-value work that brings you energy and fulfillment. Trading money for time will bring you more success than you ever thought possible, while reducing stress and maximizing happiness. Dan's journey proves that success doesn't come easy, and there's a lot of dead-wrong information out there. However, with the right mentors, books, and advice, there are answers. Enjoy the conversation... Running time: 52:01. Hello from beautiful Montreal. Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts. Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation. Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook. Check out ThinkersOne. or you can connect on LinkedIn. ...or on Twitter. Here is my conversation with Dan Martell. Buy Back Your Time - Get Unstauck, Reclaim Your Freedom and Build Your Empire. SaaS Academy. Dan on YouTube. Dan on TikTok. Follow Dan on Instagram. Follow Dan on Twitter. Follow Dan on LinkedIn. This week's music: David Usher 'St. Lawrence River'.

Dan Martell is the founder of SaaS Academy, a coach to more than 1,000 SaaS founders, and the author of "Buy Back Your Time," which aims to help entrepreneurs enjoy more freedom while continuing to level up in business. Dan is also an active angel investor who invested early on in companies such as Udemy, Hootsuite, Intercom, Unbounce, Getaround, and many other B2B SaaS startups. In this episode, Dan shares his story, from being locked up in prison to becoming a 5x SaaS founder with three successful exits, including companies such as Clarity.fm, Spheric, and Flowtown. He's also the CEO of two 8-figure businesses. You'll also learn how to calculate your own buyback rate to earn more freedom, Dan's "4 C's" to business leverage, and psychology and mindset advice for facing adversity. Key Takeaways with Dan Martell How Dan went from spending time in prison to becoming a 5x SaaS Founder, angel investor, coach to 1000+ Founders, and CEO of two 8-figure companies. The step-by-step calculation for determining your "value creation per hour" and "buyback rate" to earn more freedom. Dan's 4-part framework for creating leverage in your business. Why Dan's first two companies failed to take off—and how he scaled/exited 3 companies in 10 years. How to determine when to sell a growing or profitable business. The profit level at which founders should consider investing in ventures other than their own business. The insight Dan had during a 12-hour walk that completely changed his life. Using endurance athletics to spark new mindsets for dealing with personal and professional adversity. A detailed look at no-code software vs. creating your own. Subscribe to the Podcast We hope you enjoy this episode and that you find some golden nuggets within this interview. Trust us, it's there! If you want episodes delivered straight to your inbox, consider subscribing to the show and we'll email you each time a new episode is released! Thanks for tuning it & keep being awesome. BAM!

We're glad to welcome Dan Martell back on the show to talk about how you can stop trading your time for money and the inspiration behind his book “Buy Back Your Time.” Listen in to create space in your life for self-improvement, build a successful business, and transform into an impactful leader!   Key takeaways to listen for The role of the buyback principle in achieving time freedom Importance of understanding self-growth and contributing to your community Transformational leadership vs. transactional management How to delegate work rather than take full management ownership  Effective ways to free up your time as a business owner Benefits of being intentional about where to deploy your capital and resources   Resources mentioned in this episode Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Ken Blanchard, William Oncken Jr., and Hal Burrows | Paperback and Hardcover High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove | Paperback and Kindle iMessage TikTok Instagram   About Dan Martell Dan is a serial entrepreneur from Canada and is the CEO and founder of SaaS Academy. He specializes in coaching and advising B2B SaaS founders to grow to success similar to his previous founded companies, Spheric, Clarity.fm, and Flowtown. He is also a current managing partner at High Speed Ventures and, in 2013, was awarded as Canada's angel investor of the year. He is an investor, triathlete, husband, and a father who is dedicated in making an impact to the world.   Connect with Dan Website: Dan Martell Instagram: @danmartell YouTube: Dan Martell   Connect with Us To learn more about us, visit our website at www.18summers.com or email us at info@18summers.com. To get a copy of our book “The Family Board Meeting,” click here. Subscribe to 18 Summers Podcast and leave a rating and written review! Social Media Channels Facebook Group: 18 Summers LinkedIn: Jimmy Sheils Instagram: @18summerstribe

Having wonderful parents is a huge blessing, but how can you teach your children that life isn't perfect? This episode is filled with inspiration as Dan Martell shares his remarkable experience as a child on how he utilizes his challenges to reclaim his future.  Catch the wonderful message on converting your mistakes into an outstanding example for your children in this episode! Key takeaways to listen for What can happen when you don't listen to your parents How a prison guard may make a major difference in the life of a kid Transforming your uncertainty to shape a remarkable life's work Embracing ADHD can be detrimental or beneficial Powerful tips to win with ADHD  Effective practices for coping with guilt and focusing on what you can control How to help children understand the benefits of making mistakes Resources mentioned in this episode Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell | Paperback & Hardcover   About Dan Martell Dan is a serial entrepreneur from Canada and is the CEO and founder of SaaS Academy. He specializes in coaching and advising B2B SaaS founders to grow to success similar to his previous founded companies, Spheric, Clarity.fm, and Flowtown. He is also a current Managing Partner at High Speed Ventures and in 2013, he was awarded as Canada's angel investor of the year. He is an investor, triathlete, husband, and a father who is dedicated in making an impact to the world. Connect with Dan Website: Dan Martell Instagram: @danmartell Youtube: Dan Martell   Connect with Us To learn more about us, visit our website at www.18summers.com or email us at info@18summers.com. To get a copy of our book “The Family Board Meeting,” click here. Subscribe to 18 Summers Podcast and leave a rating and written review! Social Media Channels Facebook Group: 18 Summers LinkedIn: Jimmy Sheils Instagram: @18summerstribe

In this episode of the Startup Selling Podcast, I interviewed Dan Martell.   “You can only keep what you give away.” That's the mantra that's shaped Dan Martell from a struggling 20-something business owner in the Canadian Maritimes to a successful startup founder who's successfully raised more than $2 million in venture funding and exited not one... not two... but three tech businesses: Clarity.fm, Spheric and Flowtown.   Serial entrepreneur, speaker & investor Dan is a perfect example of someone who has overcome all odds to achieve massive success. Dan now dedicates his time to coaching high performing SaaS entrepreneurs to scale their businesses in a predictable way.    An activator, a tech geek, an adrenaline junkie and, yes, a romantic (ask his wife Renee), Dan splits his time between Canada (where he grew up), and San Diego with his wife Renee and two boys. Some of the topics that we covered are:   The Not Been Knowing/Doing Gap Achieve/ Keep Simplicity in your Business  3 Questions When Deciding To Introduce Something New To Your Business  Examples of the 3 Question Framework  Links & Resources:    Website: www.danmartell.com/   LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dmartell/   Instagram: @danmartell Listen & subscribe to The Startup Selling Show here:   BluBrry | Deezer | Amazon | Stitcher | Spotify | iTunes | Soundcloud | SalesQualia   Thanks so much for listening! Tell a friend or ten about The Startup Selling Show, and please leave a review wherever you're listening to the show.

Ethan Bloch is the Founder and CEO of Digit, on a mission to tackle the number one stressor for Americans: financial well-being. In doing so, Ethan aims to make financial health effortless for everyone. His obsession with personal finance started at age thirteen when he began day trading technology stocks with his bar mitzvah money and continued as he studied behavioral finance in college and realized that that financial health does not come naturally to most. To combat this, Ethan created Digit, the first personalized and automated savings app that helps members reach their financial goals and achieve results. One of the fastest growing financial service companies, Digit has helped members save over $5 billion and pay down over $180 million dollars of debt to date. An early adopter of social media, Ethan founded his first successful Silicon Valley venture, Flowtown, at age twenty-three. The platform, which helped small businesses connect email and social marketing, was acquired by Demandforce two years after its launch. Ethan has a degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida. He is based in San Francisco. Some of the Topics Covered by Ethan Bloch in this Episode What Digit is and how it works Ethan's passion for finance and how the idea for Digit developed The original MVP of Digit at launch in February 2015 and how it has evolved into what it is today Initial customer acquisition The importance of trust in financial services The role referrals play in the industry and how they developed Digit's referral program Referrals as one of Digit's core growth channels The challenge of resource allocation Why Ethan doesn't recommend being a solo founder How Ethan approached building out the Digit team Ethan's experience fundraising $65M in four rounds of funding Strategic thinking in fundraising The extra hurdles of creating a financial services company Digit's grand ambition and how they're working towards their mission Why Digit focused on saving as the first element of financial health How Digit began to move beyond saving How Digit's product development mirrors an individual's financial health journey Ethan's approach to reading and researching and his view on accelerated learning How Ethan prioritizes reading How Ethan unwinds and finds balance Sign up for The Grind, for actionable insights and stories from successful entrepreneurs delivered to your inbox once per week: https://www.justgogrind.com/newsletter/ Listen to all episodes of the Just Go Grind Podcast: https://www.justgogrind.com/podcast/ Follow Justin Gordon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/justingordon212 Follow Justin Gordon on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justingordon8/

This episode features a We Are Podcast session with Dan Martell. Dan is the founder of Clarity and Flowtown and hosts two podcasts of his own. He is a master at creating magnetic content. Dan goes into the 7-step process he uses to create this valuable content and how he uses it to monetise. He also explains why monetising your podcast isn't just about the money; it's way beyond that. Listen to learn why you should definitely do it now if you haven't already. || LINKS || danmartell.com | wearepodcast.com/| | Full Show Notes - mustamplify.com/253-why-you-should-monetise-your-podcast-with-dan-martell/

Exclusive Download: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - https://bit.ly/2MlZJta -- Let me demystify this complex, confusing strategy they call: Startup Funding Rounds. Yeah, you’ve heard the words thrown around before. “We’re raising our series B”, and “I’m looking for a pre-seed angel investor” or “We’re gearing up for an IPO”... They may as well be talking another language, right? Except that somewhere between those phrases, letters and acronyms is a reliable, rock-solid funding strategy that is PROVEN to work again and again. It has turned founders into billionaires… Put CEOs on the cover of Entrepreneur magazine… And transformed back-of-napkin ideas into living breathing companies. So let’s cut to the bone and spell out the sequential funding rounds in PLAIN ENGLISH. Including: - What each funding round means - How much money you can expect from each round - Who provides that money - How to tell which round a business needs next - Who leads a company through each round - Why the rounds even exist in the first place! If there’s a part of you that feels intimidated because you don’t yet understand all the “CEO talk” (yes, I’m using air quotes here), then don’t worry. I didn’t either.  Now I could write a dictionary on “corporate jargon” 3-houses-thick and I would never even recommend anyone reads it. But in those early days, I was beating down doors to find someone - anyone - that could spell out the basics when I was trying to start my first business. By the end of this video, startup funding rounds will finally make sense.  Drop me a comment if you’re still not sure about anything. I’d love to hear from you. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - https://bit.ly/2MlZJta

When I launched my company Clarity.fm in 2010, I gave a live demo to an audience showing how the service works. It was my Steve Jobs moment. From stage, I demonstrated how Clarity enabled me to call high-profile, successful entrepreneurs and get business advice from them over the phone instantly. For the live demo, I had to call someone notable… someone the audience couldn’t reach. I called Mike McDerment, the CEO of FreshBooks, a super successful accounting SaaS. Mike was my example of a successful CEO. He’s smart, committed to growth, and has scaled FreshBooks from humble beginnings in his parent’s basement back in 2004… ...to a team of over 300+ employees, raising over $75M in funding and earning over $50M+ annual recurring revenue. Now it’s a pleasure to hand him the microphone once again by inviting him on the Escape Velocity podcast to share his infinite wisdom about leadership and growth in the SaaS space. If you’ve ever wondered what kind of a CEO you are (or could be), then you need to hear this interview. In this episode, we’re discussing: - The 3 types of CEOs (which one are you?) - The 3 core functions of a CEO - The 3 stages of leadership growth in a scaling SaaS - Why Mike hired an external COO with shared responsibilities - Dealing with inevitable growth - Scaling a remarkable culture - How a CEO’s gut instinct is your best weapon… if you train it! - Building an executive board - Why Freshbooks resisted VC investors for over 10 years - How to train and sharpen your CEO mind - Pattern recognition as a method of business intuition - Why he thinks Freshbooks, at 16 years old, is still in its infancy Even now, there is still glorification of the struggling startup. “Dude, I’m launching a startup, then I’ll be my own boss and escape the 9-to-5!” But as any business achieves the success it sets out for, many founders struggle to morph into the person they need to be to lead a growing business at scale. That’s why I think it’s incredibly important that you hear the experiences of CEOs like Mike and the inevitable steps that they had to take as their companies grew. It’s better to learn this in advance before you back your business into a corner. So I encourage you: put your earphones in and fire up the episode. It’s eye-opening. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell   

Exclusive Resource: Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster – My Strategy for Overcoming The Daily Ups & Downs of the Entrepreneurial Life and Creating a Bigger Impact - https://bit.ly/34RWZtM -- 2020 sucked. Not only for businesses… but for families, communities and economies around the world. Working closely with SaaS founders means I’ve heard the pains, seen the panic and talked through the new reality of Covid 19 for many struggling startups. Some businesses have a model that lets them bend rather than break. Others… aren’t so fortunate. I spoke with a business owner recently whose brick-and-mortar company was destroyed by Covid 19, losing 70% of business overnight. But here’s the thing… It’s not the pandemic that made entrepreneurship difficult. It was ALWAYS hard, from the start. That’s just how the Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster goes. You’ll experience the greatest highs followed by crushing lows. So how do you DEAL with that? How do you survive without quitting or… just falling to pieces? I’ve been there enough times to have formed a system of thinking that will reignite and reinvigorate you even when the world is cruel and the odds seem stacked against you. Here it is. In this video, I’m going to share a high-level set of tactics that will work to: - Give you hope when your business collapses - Help you break through unexpected barriers - Re-define your business goals - Remain grateful in the face of disappointment - Keep you motivated despite entrepreneurial challenges This video includes 5 key questions to ask yourself today.  Wrong questions always lead to the wrong answers… But these 5 questions are how you can realign your thinking with something positive and actionable. Here’s to 2021, the year that you can come back stronger than your competition and conquer your market landscape. Don’t forget to drop me a comment with how you’re going to reframe the next year for your business. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Resource: Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster – My Strategy for Overcoming The Daily Ups & Downs of the Entrepreneurial Life and Creating a Bigger Impact - https://bit.ly/34RWZtM

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/34nThbm -- I didn’t want to shoot this video. Honestly, I didn’t even think it was necessary. I assumed that all scaling SaaS founders must be doing accrual accounting, right? But I soon discovered about 15% of those that I coach were using cash accounting, and they weren’t clear on the difference between deferred revenue vs accrued revenue. ...or why it matters. Don’t worry, I’m not pointing fingers. Over the years, I made almost every business mistake there is, so there’s no shame or judgement here. But today I want to sell you on what accrual accounting is, WHY your accountant should be doing it... And how it will set up your SaaS company for success. In this video, I’m going to give you the perspective of an entrepreneur, a CEO, or a founder… NOT an accountant. You’ll learn: - Why lots of SaaS founders start with cash accounting - Deferred revenue vs. accrued revenue - How to move to accrual accounting - Why it will make you financially rock-solid - How it can save you from overpaying taxes - What bookkeeping software will do it for you “But Dan, I pay an accountant so I don’t have to think about this stuff.” So do I.  For every company I’ve ever started, I had accountants… and I’ve learned more about accounting than I ever wanted or planned to. But you need to know that your business isn’t a leaky bucket of profits and that you’re optimized for scalable growth. That means knowing some high-level accounting principles. It’s like eating vegetables. They might not be as tasty as chocolate, but trust me - it’s good for you. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell -- Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/34nThbm

“Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not”. This is a quote from my latest Escape Velocity Podcast guest, Marvin Liao, formerly a partner at 500 Startups. 500 Startups is a venture capital fund that runs an accelerator in San Francisco and invests in seed rounds for tech startups. At the time of recording this interview, they backed a lot more than 500 tech companies as their name suggests... How many? 2300+ and counting. Investing in seed-stage startups is risky, too.  When many startups first ask for funding, they’ve often only just assembled their MVP.  They may have a handful of customers, but they’re still testing their product-market fit and hoping to grow. This is where investors like Marvin have to evaluate the SaaS and decide: “Is the risk of investing worth it?” Securing a great round of seed financing can help turn your rough idea into a polished, growth-ready business. I sat down with Marvin to ask how he picks which startups are worth that risk - and which aren’t. Check it out. Although Marvin has moved on from 500 Startups, the company still flourishes with an ever-expanding portfolio.   They are proudly considered the most active early-stage investment fund in the world, with over 5000+ entrepreneurs from 75+ countries on their portfolio. In our interview, Marvin reveals: - The structure of their accelerator program   - Which investment risks paid off the fastest (and which didn’t)   - The 500 Startups investment thesis   - Why they are seed only… and won’t invest in your series A   - How to let your SaaS “die honourably”   - How the HBO show Silicon Valley is surprisingly accurate   - The necessity for executive coaching   - The entrepreneurial business of investing This is an eye-opening interview. I’ve met many SaaS founders that hold investors on a pedestal, treating them like the gods of success. It helps to realize that investment funds are run by living, breathing humans with interests, questions and faults just like everyone else. If you’re interested in accelerator programs and seed financing, make sure you tune in to this episode here. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell   

Exclusive Download: Dream 100 - Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life - https://bit.ly/2KepM4z  -- If you want to start a new SaaS business in 2021 without tearing your hair out, my advice is: Find a co-founder. You shouldn’t have to do it all on your own… and it’s better that you don’t. Finding the right co-founder means having someone who will work just as hard as you, can do the things you can’t, and gives your business a fighting chance in the market. If you’re a non-technical founder, that could mean finding someone technical.  You grow the business, they build the product. Or if you are a technical founder, then it means finding someone that can help you assemble a world-class team and market your product effortlessly while you write the code. But picking the wrong co-founder spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R.  You end up losing a big slice of the most valuable asset in your business: Equity. Don’t ever, EVER, EVER give equity to the wrong co-founder. So how do you find the right co-founder? How do you track them down and get them interested? How do you negotiate a fair equity split? I’ve got you covered. This week’s video is the 5-steps to finding the perfect co-founder for your startup. We’re going to break this down logically and uncover: - What to look for in a co-founder - Where to find a technical co-founder - How to know they are right for you - What to say on your first introduction - How to discuss equity - The safest way to split equity fairly Every SaaS company I’ve launched has been with co-founders. I even launched Spheric with a co-founding team of 4. Could I have launched my businesses entirely on my own? Maybe. But growth would have been slower, I’d have torn my hair out, and my family life would have suffered.  I like working with people… and my businesses are better for it. Yours can be too. Check out the video here and drop me a comment if you have any questions. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell -- Exclusive Download: Dream 100 - Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life - https://bit.ly/2KepM4z 

Exclusive Resource: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - https://bit.ly/39EybsF  -- How are angel investors different from venture capitalists? Both invest in businesses. Both can write you big checks. Both have the power to help your business growth with a cash injection you otherwise would never get. Are they the same? Heck no. I found this out the hard way... When I was raising money for my 4th company Flowtown, I really didn’t know enough about investors. I got some pretty weird looks when they read my terms sheets. I didn’t understand their expectations. And all I had to go on were stories from colleagues, and a head full of wrong assumptions about what investors are looking for. I started on the wrong foot. But eventually, I learned how to do it right... So, when it was time to raise funds for my next business, Clarity.fm, I knew what the investors were looking for. And I nailed it. I closed $1.6M in funding… ...in 3 days! It pays to know who you’re talking to and what they want. Trust me. So I want to clear the air so you know the difference and you don’t raise money from the wrong people with the wrong expectations. That’s what this week’s video is all about. In this video, you’ll discover the difference between angel investors and venture capitalists down to 5 specific criteria: - Source of money - Investment thesis - Pitching style - Check size - Investment filter By the way, I’m also an investor myself, having invested in 40+ companies.  But I am an angel investor, and not a venture capitalist. Hit play on the video and let’s go over the differences. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell  -- Exclusive Resource: Fundraising Like a Pro - Learn the 3 phases of fundraising and a 7 week process for starting & closing your next round of funding - https://bit.ly/39EybsF 

Your website is polished. Facebook ads retargeting, Google ads pushing your domain to the top of the results page. Traffic trickles through… starting with a sign-up for a free trial. All your PPC ad spend is balancing on a knife’s edge. But here’s the question: Will the prospect convert from a free trial to a paid customer? If yes, you can wipe away the sweat and enjoy a profitable growth funnel.    If not, you’re pouring money into Zuckerberg’s pocket without anything to show for it. This is why maximizing your trial-to-customer conversion rate is essential to scaling your SaaS.  I consider it low hanging fruit. You already have the prospect interacting with your product, now you want them to trust you with their credit card. Fortunately, I’m good mates with one of the leading trial conversion experts in the SaaS space: Aaron Krall. In the past, I’ve hired Aaron to educate my SaaS Academy clients. He seriously knows his stuff! So it’s a pleasure to invite him to be a guest on the Escape Velocity podcast and hear what he has to say about onboarding trials that maximize conversions. Not only is Aaron a highly sought-after conversion expert...  But he also started the biggest SaaS-only Facebook group, now with over 21,000 members. In this interview, we talk about: - Impressive onboarding strategies - Companies who are doing it right - How I first met Aaron (and gave him the 5-start treatment) - How Aaron went from food stamps to growth hacking - Getting fired from L’Oréal - The power of niching down (but not staying there) I’ve now released 40+ episodes of the Escape Velocity podcast, but never have I laughed THIS hard during a recording session. Aaron is hilarious. Wait until you hear him impersonate scammy SaaS founders. Tune in with us for a laugh right here. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell  + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell 

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/3o2slW0  -- In 2009, my mentor Dharmesh Shah (co-founder of Hubspot) sat in my office in San Francisco and casually dropped an acronym I hadn’t heard. “We want to increase our ARPU”, he said. I smiled and nodded… but the blank stare on my face was a giveaway. I was clueless. When someone as abundantly successful as the co-founder of a company now valued at over $14B (Yes, B for BILLION) mentions what his company is trying to do… You take notes. Since that day, ARPU has become one of my key SaaS growth metrics that I insist on calculating with my clients. Then, once you know it… you’ve got to grow it! So in today’s video, I’m going to explain what ARPU is, how you track it and how to improve it. Watch it below. Your profit margins will thank you. In this video, once we cover the basics of what ARPU is, I’ll share with you: - The difference between ARPU and ARPA - The 2-minute formula for calculating it - How to know good from bad ARPU numbers - Projections depending on business size - Why ARPU can help smash your SaaS growth ceiling - Strategies to improve ARPU You already know I’m pumped about SaaS metrics. I don’t follow sports. I follow numbers and work with SaaS founders like you to get true visibility about what is and is not working in a tech business… and then how to DO something about it. You don’t have to love it as much as I do. But you’ve got to know what these metrics mean. Hit play on the video and let’s get us both on the same page, yeah? -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell  Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/3o2slW0 

Exclusive Download: High Octane Team Technique™ – Break Down Your Organization Structure by Function & Create An Environment of Results, Not Excuses - https://bit.ly/3916Lgb  -- Many founders throw money at new employees hoping their business will grow…  Only to find they don’t know where to ‘put’ their new employees, and they end up wasting cash on salaries for an under-utilized team. Ever experienced this before? I definitely have. See, I believe a successful founder doesn’t just build a business... A successful founder builds a team of people and then the people build the business. That is my mantra. And as a founder your responsibility is to find, inspire and level up the right people.  That’s where your time is best invested… But what’s equally important is structuring your organization so you can fully utilize your team’s time and skills. And that’s where having the proper organization chart comes into play. This helps you grow from a startup of 2 or 3 co-founders… to a team of 12… then to 25… then 100… then 250… It shows you where people fit in. Who reports to who. And what’s the chain of responsibility… And in today’s video, I’m going to share with you an organization chart that’s SO simple, it’ll take you all the way from a fumbling startup to a scaling corporation ready to go public (if that’s what you want). In this video, you’ll be able to identify where your SaaS is, and where you need to be next. You’re going to learn: The 6 core functions of a software business The 5 levels of leadership to aim for Who your key ‘C’ level team should be How to divide your functions into teams that make sense Expected revenue bands per team size What $0K – $120K – $500K MRR looks like How to cap your direct reports Ultimately keeping your business goals manageable I like to think of SaaS revenue in terms of the talent it can afford. $1M in ARR might sound nice, but after you factor in costs (let’s say 30%), the rest is just salaries for your team. Suddenly all that $1M gets you is 7 employees on $100K salaries without a dollar left. It becomes extremely important to hire the right people at the right time to make sure every dollar spent grows your business to the next revenue band. Take 10 mins to prepare a simple org chart with this video. See you in the comments. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell  Exclusive Download: High Octane Team Technique™ – Break Down Your Organization Structure by Function & Create An Environment of Results, Not Excuses - https://bit.ly/3916Lgb

Back in 2012, when I raised $1.6M in funding for Clarity.fm, I insisted on squeezing more out of my investors. When I put together the final cap table, I made it clear that I also wanted introductions with other investors and businesses on their portfolio.  They told me, “Dan, you’re asking a lot here…” But I put my foot down. I knew you couldn’t put a price on leveraging contacts and networking. Every minute I’ve spent growing my network has paid dividends tenfold. Since then I’ve realized that investors aren’t just a source of capital… They are a gateway to the entire SaaS industry. Which is why I love interviewing investors for their unique view of the market. My latest Escape Velocity podcast guest, Christoph Janz, is the co-founder of Point Nine Capital, a very successful venture capital firm with over $75M of investments. Christoph loves investing in SaaS. If you want to attract rockstar funding, then check out this eye-opening interview. In this episode, you’re going to learn about: Why investors have to hustle too How Point Nine Capital was the first to invest in Zendesk How European investment firms are booming The bottleneck of Silicon Valley talent If freemium is right for you How to think critically about your pricing model Creating a built-in SaaS referral system What investors are looking for Point Nine Capital has invested in big names in tech, such as Typeform, Algolia, Contentful, Geckboard, Delivery Hero, Revolut and more. Christoph was even one the first investors of Zendesk back when it was a team of 4 people making only $7K MRR (now valued at over $2.1 billion). His story of cold-emailing Zendesk with an offer is… just crazy.  You’ve got to hear it! Tune in to the episode here. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell  + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell 

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/38HmL72  -- I don’t think a SaaS founder should be their own accountant. I’m not, and I wasn’t for all 5 of my companies. Your job is to get really good at running a business and making money.  That’s it. But to do that, there is ONE type of accounting that I believe you NEED to understand: Accrual Accounting. Don’t panic, you won’t need to calculate it yourself. That’s your accountant’s job.  But knowing the difference between Accrual Accounting and Cash Accounting is vital to making the best business decisions for your SaaS. So let’s take a quick 10-minutes to go over what exactly it is and why it’s valuable to comprehend it. Once you understand Accrual Accounting, you’ll be able to: Measure incremental growth Clean up your cash flow Keep your finger on the pulse of subtle revenue changes Respond quickly to downtrends in your bottom line Reduce distortion in your metrics I’ve read 2000+ balance sheets, P&Ls, cash flow statements, and I’ve taught dozens of SaaS founders how to interpret their figures. Maybe I’m a freak because I love numbers so much. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  Numbers don’t lie. Expectations do. Fire up the video here and let’s get you up to scratch on Accrual Accounting. It’ll clean up your cash flow, help you track metrics accurately and see important business trends. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell    Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/38HmL72 

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/32l5jkC  -- I believe that great SaaS founders stay ahead of the curve. They’re the trendsetters, not the trend-followers, willing to try something new that makes waves in the market. The problem is that I’ve encountered many cutting edge SaaS businesses whose marketing efforts are too far behind the times. They innovate in software, but hedge their bets in marketing. Then when a new marketing strategy gains momentum, these businesses are left scrambling to catch up to their competitors that have since overtaken them. Innovators get the lion’s share of the growth. That’s why I believe that you need to siphon off a portion of your marketing budget for more cutting edge strategies that have the potential for HUGE returns on investment. But what strategies? I got you covered :) I coach hundreds of SaaS founders to help them grow and scale their businesses with innovative new strategies.  I get to see behind-the-scenes which marketing strategies are working and which aren’t. Based on what I’ve observed first-hand, here are 3 powerful marketing strategies that are rarely used in SaaS but have created high ROI in 2020 and will continue to in 2021. If you were to apply all 3 marketing strategies, then you would have: Higher customer retention rates A system that funds your marketing costs A way to leverage volunteer communities  Direct access to your perfect fit customers Authority in your niche A platform to showcase your best customers A system for 1-on-1s with potential B2B clients I’ll keep an ear out in my networks for any other scalable, high ROI marketing strategies that are working. If I find more, I’ll send them to your inbox.  But for now, I know these 3 marketing strategies work because I’ve seen it first-hand with my clients. Have you tried any? Are you concerned it won’t work for you? Let me know in the comments, I’ll do my best to help. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell  Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/32l5jkC 

If you want consistent, predictable revenue for your SaaS then there’s one thing you’re going to need to build: A killer sales team. Don’t roll your eyes yet… Let me set the record straight. In 2008, when I moved to silicon valley, sales teams were considered evil. Tech companies pursued the unicorn: A product that would “sell itself”. (Yes, I’m using sarcastic air quotes). The likes of Facebook and Instagram fed false hope that you could build a platform with non-existent revenue, burn through rounds of funding and monetize it later for billions. The idea of hiring people to sell for you (aka: a sales team) wasn’t cool. Times have changed. People have woken up from the myth and discovered - surprise, surprise - that you have to work damn hard to make a buck! Today I want you to meet Aaron Ross, co-CEO of Predictable Revenue, author of the book by the same title, and co-author of ‘From Impossible to Inevitable’. Aaron trains sales teams and tech companies on outbound prospecting. He knows the inner workings of a high-performing sales team, and he knows that they ARE necessary. “Build it and they will come” doesn’t cut it. I gave him the microphone on the latest episode of the Escape Velocity podcast and asked him to dispel sales myths and talk through every stage of building a sales team that grows with your SaaS. Whether you love the idea of a sales team or you still feel like it’s evil, this is a great episode where you will learn: Why even introverted founders MUST work sales Why good sales teams don’t just sell How to minimize translation in a sales message How to handle lead nurturing Working teams for a common goal How buyers need help from sales teams Working up from phase zero (non-existent sales teams) The scary side of success The dream of a unicorn tech company still exists today. But as a SaaS coach, it’s my job to help founders grow their business and increase zeroes on their balance sheet. Which means I help you through the hard truth: You need to sell. Tune in the episode here and let Aaron Ross, a master of sales strategy, convince you why it’s what you need to do. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell  + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell   

Dan Martell is an award-winning Canadian entrepreneur, top angel investor, founder of SaaS Academy and CEO of Clarity, Flowtown and Spheric Technologies, mentors at least a half-dozen Technology Accelerator events, runs the biggest Youtube channel for SaaS entrepreneurs in the world. He served as a former adviser to billion-dollar SaaS companies like Intercom, Hootsuite, and Udemy. In 2012, he was named Canada’s top angel investor having completed over 33 investments with companies like Udemy, Intercom and Unbounce. He is an investor in 40+ startups. An avid reader who dreams of remaining a lifelong student, Dan invests in startups whose opportunities and ideas he can get excited about. His philosophy is to build companies that solve the business problems he faces. He takes risks in work and life and focuses on the journey over the reward. Dan is relentless in his work ethic — if a job has to get done, he’ll do it right away. He is a board member of Propel ICT and also volunteers his time working with youth battling addictions at Portage NB. He is passionately involved in facilitating micro-lending to entrepreneurs in developing countries through the non-profit, Kiva.org. Show Links https://twitter.com/danmartell https://www.danmartell.com/

Exclusive Resource: Cancellation Capture System™ - The Flow, Design and Copy You Need To Save Cancellations & Learn as Much as You Can Before a Customer Leaves - https://bit.ly/3jIn03s  -- It’s the thorn in every SaaS founder’s side… The number that keeps you awake at night: Your churn rate. Churn equates to invisible dollars that slip through your fingers. The lower that number, the more successful and exponential your capacity to grow. But how exactly do you measure churn? There isn’t just one number. There are multiple different measures of churn you should know. Today I’m going in-depth into the different types of churn, and strategies to monitor, control and minimize that deadly number. In this video, I’m going to simplify and explain churn in a way that you can apply. You’re going to learn: How to measure churn Logo churn vs revenue churn What is net negative churn SaaS industry churn % standards How to know if your churn is good or bad Churn prediction methods The 20-60-20 rule for developing anti-churn software If you’re a seasoned SaaS pro, churn might look like a beginner’s topic.  It’s not. Sure, it’s one of the first numbers a SaaS founder should measure, but it pays to remain obsessed about that number. If you can make any changes to your churn rate, your company will grow.  It’s that simple. Looking forward to hearing from you in the comments on the video. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell  Exclusive Resource: Cancellation Capture System™ - The Flow, Design and Copy You Need To Save Cancellations & Learn as Much as You Can Before a Customer Leaves - https://bit.ly/3jIn03s 

Exclusive Resource:  Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/3jm3PMv  -- When I was 29 years old, I was pitching to investors for funding.  I’d breezed through my pitch deck, million-dollar smile on my face despite my shaky nerves when they asked: “What’s your CAC?” ‘Yeeeah! I got this’, I thought to myself. CAC stands for ‘Customer Acquisition Cost’ and I had done the math. Smugly, I dropped an impressive number. The investor’s eye’s lit up. “Really? Wow!... But is that your Fully Loaded CAC?” The room went so quiet you would hear a pin drop. My jaw hung open, and I still cringe when I think of the dumbfounded deer-in-the-headlights look on my face. All I could think was, "What the heck does fully loaded mean?” I made a fool of myself that day. Today I’m going to show you how to calculate your Customer Acquisition Cost - fully loaded - in just 3 easy steps so you never look like a fool in front of anyone. If you want to make investors drool over a stake in your company, then you’ve got to know your numbers. See, investors want to avoid risk at ALL costs. They’ll pass on a promising business if the founder doesn’t know the right numbers.  Numbers don’t lie, and neither does your fully loaded CAC. This is a quick dose of metrics-math. Check out the video here and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re there. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Resource: Precision Scorecard™ - Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth - https://bit.ly/3jm3PMv   

Here’s a word that either makes you cringe… or sigh with relief: “Networking”. If you’ve had a bad experience of it, you’ll get that icky feeling of trying to schmooze through fake smiles for business. But if you’ve had a great experience, you’ll think of life-long friends sharing war stories about their businesses and helping each other out. Networking done right is invaluable. You might have heard me say it before: Investors don’t want to meet you… they want to be introduced to you.  That means you’ve got to get out there and network. And the easiest and best way to do that… is at conferences made for SaaS founders. So, for this week’s episode of Escape Velocity Show, I’ve interviewed Alex Theuma, the founder of SaaStock, easily one of my favorite SaaS Conferences in the world.  (In fact, Alex quotes me on his website… and I’m not getting paid to say that!) In this podcast episode, Alex and I chat all about: How SaaStock has grown in record time High-profile founders that have talked at past events The process for starting a networking event The audience-first model of marketing (true for all business types!) Why SaaStock is a great place for startups The afterparties I love conferences. I regularly attend them, I’m often speaking at them, and I’ve made some life-long friends at them. Starting a business shouldn’t be a lonely venture, and that’s why my SaaS Academy includes multiple live events every year. If you find networking difficult, Conferences are like shooting fish in a barrel: It’s impossible not to make valuable connections and learn something new. This episode was a pleasure to record. Alex is one of those guys that’s super easy to talk to and once you tune in here, you’ll get his vibe and see why SaaStock is worth checking out. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell  + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell   

Exclusive Resource: Dream 100 – Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life - https://bit.ly/2T8CwL2 -- Have you ever wanted to cut a toxic person out of your life before? It’s a more common feeling than you think. Maybe there’s an old high school friend, a buddy from college, a distant relative… Whoever it is, you know in your gut that this person is toxic and brings negative energy to most conversations. The question is: Is it ok to cut them out of your life? I think it is. Negative influences can distort your self-belief and cause you to lose faith in your pursuit of a better life. It’s important to do something about those damaging relationships. But there is a right way to cut people out.  (Don’t be an @sshole!) The more you grow and change, the more you realize that some people you know just don’t support your growth. Here’s how to cut people out of your life and move towards building a network of positive people without feeling guilty. Maybe this is a topic that makes you feel uncomfortable, but remember this: I went to rehab when I was 17 years old. I was the toxic kid that other people needed to cut off.  And I knew it. A big part of my rehabilitation was to cut myself off from other negative people and build a supportive network of positivity while learning to be a positive influence on others too. It made my growth possible. If you want to grow, I believe you need to take a ‘friendventory’ and think carefully about your network. If you do it the right way, it is not selfish. It could be exactly what you need right now. Don’t you think? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Resource: Dream 100 – Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life - https://bit.ly/2T8CwL2 

Exclusive Resource: Dream 100 – Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life - https://bit.ly/3lD1gHv -- I can tell if your business is going to scale successfully by asking one question: Do you have a business coach, mentor or advisor? If your answer is no… I’m worried for you.  Hear me out. Succeeding in business means making the right decisions frequently.  I’ve seen small companies dominate in niches that were owned by big-business giants simply because they made better decisions. But I’ve also seen companies run themselves into the ground in less than 12 months because they made too many wrong decisions. As a founder, you’re faced with million-dollar decisions every day, even if it doesn’t feel like it.  You’ve got to know what to say YES to, and when to say NO. Without any shred of doubt in my mind, I know the best way to consistently make winning business decisions is to: Get advice. My first two companies were failures, but my 3rd made me a millionaire. My 4th and 5th were even more successful again… Why? Because I got advice.  Business coaches, mentors, advisors – I’ve hired them all. I’ve even been advised by: - Mark Cuban, Billionaire - Travis Kalanick, founder of Uber - Richard Branson, founder of Virgin - Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup - Sean Ellis, founder and CEO of Growth Hackers - And many, many others I invest over $250K a year (pre-Covid) on coaching, meeting mentors and seeking out strategic advice from experts. I’m telling you… don’t try to be a business genius on your own. Find someone that can advise you. And if you want to know how to find the right advisors for your business, then you’re in luck: That’s what my latest video is about. Advisors know their value and sometimes they’ll offer shady deals in exchange for their million-dollar advice. In this video, I’ll share with you: - How to find the right advisors - How to identify when you need advice - What kind of deals you can expect with an advisor - Why I won’t give equity for advice - How to leverage social currency - Dealing with an advisory board - How to communicate with an advisor The purpose of this video is to demystify how these kinds of business relationships work. It can feel strange to hire someone just to point you in the right direction and help you choose right from wrong in your own business. It felt weird to me the first time I did. But once you feel the weight come off your shoulders knowing that you don’t have to have it all figured out, you’ll realize how infinitely valuable advice is. Good advisors really can make or break your business. Got any other questions about how these types of business relationships work? Leave me a comment below. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Resource: Dream 100 – Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life - https://bit.ly/3lD1gHv

CEOs have it tough. It’s not enough to grow your company into healthy profit margins and then coast along “because it’s working”. I know it’s tempting to kick back and pour the martinis, but comfort is a dangerous position to be in. A great CEO knows this and doesn’t want to be comfortable.  They’ll stay on the bow on the ship, in the storm, telescope in hand, watching the changes in the waves and looking out for even the slightest hint of an iceberg in the distance. Today I want to introduce you to a great CEO and one of my good buddies, Michael Litt. Michael isn’t just the CEO and co-founder of Vidyard, a video hosting platform for businesses… He’s also the co-founder of Garage Capital, a VC firm with over $40M invested in 80+ businesses. A lot of SaaS businesses try to move upmarket over time to higher-paying enterprise customers. Vidyard did almost the opposite, creating a freemium model with a $0 pricing tier and partnering with brands like Adobe, Marketo and Hubspot. As a CEO, steering the ship into a freemium model is… scary.  If it goes wrong, your customers downgrade and you’ve just donated your profit margins. So sitting down with Michael, I wanted to unpack exactly how and why he did this. I’ve got to say… it was executed brilliantly. I’ve known Michael now for nearly 10 years. Being good buds means as soon as I hit record, we got straight to the good stuff chatting about: How Vidyard scaled rapidly as a startup The value of TIME in a commoditized landscape The freemium “land-and-expand” model When to go freemium Getting 2500 PQLs on launch day Building a culture that attracts talent Firing staff if they aren’t a cultural fit The difference in being a founder vs a CEO Leadership is discipline.  The more you can hear from great leaders, the more I believe you’ll embody that discipline and become a great leader yourself. As Jim Rohn said: “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”. So get your headphones, tune in and spend some time hanging out with us. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell  + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell 

Exclusive Download: EBR Flow Planner™ - 9 Box Model to Run Your Executive Business Reviews, Retain High-Value Clients & Increase Expansion Revenue - https://bit.ly/3l5q1Mp  -- Let’s pop the hood of your SaaS retention engine. The machine that creates your revenue, that turns new customers into long term LTV... Pry apart each leaky valve, tighten each bolt and make sure you’re running a fine-tuned growth-maximizing machine. I’ll give you the 3 tools I recommend to improve EACH of the 8 key parts. I love SaaS business models because they’re ideal for generating cumulative wealth… Provided you have a great Customer Success system. If you don’t, churn rates slowly creep higher and higher and the LTV of each customer drops. I’ve identified that there are 8 key areas of a flawless Customer Success system that require a solution. In each category, there are multiple tools and tech you can use. I have a recommended list of those tools, the ones I’ve used in business and can stand by.  If you’re not sure where to start to improve these categories, watch this video and try out my suggestions. Your churn rate will thank you for it. In each of these 8 categories, I’m going to recommend 3 tools. The categories are: Adoption Management Co-Browsing Calendar Surveys Metrics Helpdesk Screen Recording Status Page You need a solution for each of these 8. If you don’t, then there are parts of your customer’s journey that will let you and your customer down. There is no miracle cure-all for crushing churn rates. It’s all about excellent customer success systems. But I’m not going to apologize for that. You’re a business founder, SaaS owner or entrepreneur, right? That means you’ve got to roll up your sleeves and fight the hard fight, figuring out how to grow and scale your business. It’s not easy, but it is worth it. Got any other favourite tools you think other SaaS founders should know about? Add them in a comment on the video right here. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: EBR Flow Planner™ - 9 Box Model to Run Your Executive Business Reviews, Retain High-Value Clients & Increase Expansion Revenue - https://bit.ly/3l5q1Mp 

In 2011, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel, started giving $100k to young entrepreneurs under 22. …but only if they would drop out of college. $100k paid to 20 applicants per year without taking any equity at all.  There was nothing in it for him. So why did he do it?  Thiel believed talented young minds were choosing college instead of building valuable businesses, so he began paying entrepreneurs not to go. It was super controversial. Whether the idea offends you or not, one thing is clear: The Thiel Fellowship attracts talent. Like my latest guest on the Escape Velocity show, Christian Owens. Christian is the founder and CEO of Paddle, an all-in-one SaaS commerce platform that is making massive waves in the tech industry. Before we praise the Thiel fellowship for supporting Christian, let me clarify something: Christian started his first business at 14 years old and grew it to $4M ARR by 17 years old before ever applying for the fellowship.  Then he started Paddle when he was 18 (now grown to $14M+ ARR)… And has been named in Forbes top 30 under 30. Needless to say, Christian is intelligent beyond his years and shares his impressive story and perspective on business in this episode. Christian has been so deeply entrenched in the software world since he was a teenager that he speaks with long-lived wisdom. In this interview we chat about: - How he got accepted into the Thiel Fellowship - Paddle’s unique pricing structure - How they have a nearly 0% churn rate - Front-loading infrastructure for backend profit - Pivoting from apps and games to SaaS - Right revenue vs Wrong revenue - Why it’s cheaper than ever to start a SaaS - How to know when to expand focus - Why moving to Silicon Valley is a bad idea - Supporting $2k MRR up to $100M+ ARR pricing models Paddle is quite a non-traditional and forward-thinking tech company. They have huge insights into what is and is not working in the SaaS world since they have a direct view of the revenue streams of many companies. Christian even considers Paddle as a partner to the tech companies that they work with, often making strategic suggestions so it’s a win-win for everyone. This is a fresh take on innovative tech business strategy. You’re going to love this episode… lots of value! Let’s kick it off. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Top 5 Productivity Hacks – Double Your Energy & Focus By Just Tweaking The Way You Do Everyday Tasks - https://bit.ly/3cfrDQs -- What does success mean? Get specific… what exactly does it look like to you? Is that word just a placeholder for some anonymous measure of public respect and acceptance? Is it about bank account zeros? My idea of success has changed… a lot. The answer I’d have given you when I was 21 is nothing like the answer I’d give you now. Why? Because I grew the F%$& up. When I became a millionaire at 27 years old, I realized that I wasn’t anywhere near as successful as I wanted to be. The elusive dream had changed. Since then, I’ve taken the time to really decide what success looks like to me so I know what I’m aiming for. Now I’d like to share my perspective on what that is. I haven’t shared this before because, to be honest… it’s kind of personal.  But I’d like to share it because every problem became much more manageable when I knew where I wanted to end up. Perhaps you need that clarity too. I’ve learned that success is different for everyone.  It’s subjective. One person thinks it’s about the body they’ve got, another thinks it’s the car they drive, yet another thinks success is the property they own or the friends they have. Have you noticed how you can use ‘success’ in a conversation and everyone assumes you must mean the same thing? “10 steps to success”, “How to become successful”, “Success is just…”. It can be a dangerous concept because we all want “it” without taking time to define what “IT” actually is. Don’t chase an unknown dream. Set the goal posts in the right place and don’t worry what anyone else thinks. I’d love to know what real success looks like to you. Drop a comment on the YouTube video right here and let me know. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: Top 5 Productivity Hacks – Double Your Energy & Focus By Just Tweaking The Way You Do Everyday Tasks - https://bit.ly/3cfrDQs

Exclusive Download: EBR Flow Planner™ – 9 Box Model to Run Your Executive Business Reviews, Retain High-Value Clients & Increase Expansion Revenue - https://bit.ly/2Fkf9uX -- “HELP! I’m losing customers in the pandemic!” As a SaaS Coach, I worked very closely with a lot of software founders who are nervous that their businesses won’t ever recover from coronavirus. Customers are cancelling, accounts are drying up, and prospects are turning into dust. We have never seen a global economic meltdown quite like this one… so the concern is 100% justified. But listen to me: You are not powerless. Today I’m going to give you a crystal ball. I’m going to share my go-to system for identifying ALL of your at-risk customers before they cancel… and then how to save those accounts. It’s like predicting the future and fixing it all at once. I’ve been using this system with my SaaS clients to help them crush their churn rates to below 1%. …even in the middle of a pandemic. Watch the latest video below and I’ll walk you through how to maximize your customer retention. In this video, you’re going to learn: How to maximize customer retention + profits How to find out WHY customers are unhappy What to say that will win them back What a critical event is Why churn has nothing to do with software How to identify red flags as early as possible How to use accountability to save ANY customer The trick is to have a system that alerts your support team when customers exhibit specific pre-churn behaviours, such as not logging in for a set amount of time, disengaging from support chat, or visiting cancellation pages. Customers that meet enough of those conditions are in the danger zone. As soon as those red flags appear, you then need to execute the Red Playbook – a system to save those accounts, correct the relationship and turn them back into raving fans. With the right playbook, at-risk customers won’t have a good reason to cancel. A system like this works. Now more than ever, you’ve got to stay ahead of your at-risk risk customers and spot the red flags early. Your business depends on it. Remember, I’m here to help. If you’re tearing out your hair and not sure what to do with your business, reach out to me and my team. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: EBR Flow Planner™ – 9 Box Model to Run Your Executive Business Reviews, Retain High-Value Clients & Increase Expansion Revenue - https://bit.ly/2Fkf9uX

Take everything you think you know about sales teams… And get ready to throw it out the window. I mean it. Sales, as a concept, is still dragging a lot of dead weight from old-school sales gurus chanting “ABC – Always Be Closing!” The SaaS business model is being polluted by these old ideas that just don’t work. For decades, we’ve needed a fresh new take on sales training strategies… And I finally found that in Jacco van der Kooij. Jacco is the founder and co-CEO of Winning By Design, who provide forward-thinking sales training for tech businesses. I’ve read his books on SaaS sales strategies and loved them so much… I bought extra copies so I could give them to some of my clients to read.  Yeah, I’m an evangelist. So when I had the chance to interview him for the Escape Velocity Show, I knew I was in for a hell of a ride. Jacco, loaded up on Red Bull, drops bombshells of epic sales knowledge like effortless poetry.  He blew my mind multiple times in this episode which is why I’m telling you… you’ve got to check out this interview! This is more than just two SaaS-obsessed guys chatting about business: It’s packed with sales lessons. Tune into this episode and you’ll learn: - How anyone can use good sales techniques - Rational impact vs emotional impact - The secret to selling B2B: help them pitch their boss- Arming your internal buyer - Why B.A.N.T. is outdated and killing SaaS sales - How to change a customer’s priority with IMPACT - Don’t compete for commissions – Collaborate! - How SaaS sales success is measured in backend revenue - Why “the horse” doesn’t have the problem Jacco can drink 14 cans of Red Bull in 4 hours (I’m not even kidding). …But that’s not why I’m impressed. I’m impressed because here is a guy that truly GETS what great salesmanship for a B2B SaaS looks like, has distilled it into digestible strategies, and is just ridiculously generous with all his priceless knowledge. Get your headphones and notepad ready because this is the kind of interview you’ll be thinking about for weeks. Ready? Kick it off here. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: Dream 100 – Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life (Peers, Advisors & Mentors) - https://bit.ly/3m1hI5i -- A few weeks ago, I owned up to the biggest mistakes I made in my 20s… mistakes that cost me literally millions. This video is the sequel. Believe it or not, when I turned 30 I didn’t magically become an angel, with a perfect track record of success.  (Shock! I can hear your gasps from here) I squared up to that decade as a new man, confident and determined to avoid past mistakes. …but immediately started making new mistakes! The reason I’m sharing this is: 1. To humanize me (I’m not a flawless success story, I’m a patchwork of mistakes.) 2. To show you that mistakes are ok (Heck, they’re necessary.) 3. So you can avoid my mistakes (Don’t screw up the way I did.) My 30s started out strong. I was on the brink of exiting my second company, Flowtown, ready to add a few more zeroes to my bank balance. Right after that, I started Clarity.fm and without any help from co-founders, I scaled the company, closed $1.6M in funding from investors like Mark Cuban, then successfully exited that company too…  …and then launched one of the biggest YouTube channels for SaaS Entrepreneurs. But during this decade, I faced a new beast: Myself. My 30s was full of mistakes that came from within me. Broken thinking. I had to reinvent myself – more than once – to become the leader I needed to be. Please… don’t make the mistakes I did.  Watch my latest video where I roast myself, shake your head at my expense (I encourage it) but don’t repeat my screw ups. Today I’m sharing with you: - How I lost 30 – 40% in market value by drifting - The wrong narratives that shaped my leadership - The day I knew I crossed the line (and I had to change) - My anti-portfolio mistakes - How I passed on a $250M company *face-palm*- Why I have 3 coaches… right now Look, I get it. Every advert in your feed, every case-study in your inbox, every silicon valley interview is screaming “SUCCESS!!” right in your face. You just want a break, right? I hope you can see that that’s why I make these videos. It’s not to show off or to wave dollar signs in your face. It’s because I want you to live a better, more fulfilling life while growing a richer business. That’s what motivates me even if it means sharing my embarrassing mistakes. I hope you can see that I’m doing my best to help. Peace. --  Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: Dream 100 – Learn How to Identify The 100 People That Will Transform Your Life (Peers, Advisors & Mentors) - https://bit.ly/3m1hI5i

Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ – Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth – https://bit.ly/2GfadaI -- If you want to stop an investor like me dead in their tracks, show them these 7 numbers. With the right combination, they’ll fall over themselves to throw money at you. Beg to invest. Yes, even in the middle of a pandemic, when the world feels like it’s balancing on a knife’s edge… These 7 numbers will show me your entire company’s health. Scribble it on a napkin, drop it right in front of me… And I’ll tell you: Yes or No. I’m talking about the top 7 customer success metrics you need to measure.  I don’t care what you read about a CEO in magazines, how many Maseratis they own, or if they flew in on a private jet. These numbers are the matrix code that reveal the TRUTH about any company. I’m telling you right now, in your inbox, from me to you– If you aren’t measuring these customer success metrics, you don’t know your own business. So this video is for you. These are the numbers you’ve got to start measuring ASAP, including what they are and how to track them: The reason the 7-number password can unlock an investment frenzy it because it immediately tells me: 1. How good your product is 2. How I can help you earn more 3. Your growth potential 4. Where to unlock lost revenue streams 5. If you’ll survive a new competitor in the market 6. What marketing opportunities you can leverage 7. What holes need plugging in your revenue Over the last 5-7 years, I’ve been involved in hiring over 50+ CSMs (Customer Success Managers) across my portfolio of 40+ investments and my own companies. To make sure that any CSM I hire will hit the ground running, I just say “These are the 7 metrics I need you to measure – find the numbers and report them back to me.” The simple act of knowing these numbers makes it painfully obvious where you need to turn your attention. Get a notepad and pen ready and start the video here. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: Precision Scorecard™ – Keep Your Leadership Team Focused & Accountable To Growth – https://bit.ly/2GfadaI

When you first came up with a price for your SaaS product, I bet you did one of 3 things: 1. Picked a low number because “you’re just starting out”2. Matched (or beat) a competitor’s price 3. Chose a number based on what you would spend How would you feel if I told you to take that price… and double it? Nervous, right? Pricing strategy is where many SaaS founders get nervous, panic and shoot themselves in the foot, yet it’s one of the most crucial numbers for scaling and growth. I want to introduce you to someone that can help:  Meet Carrie Osman, CEO and founder of Cruxy & Company, and my latest guest on the Escape Velocity Show. Cruxy & Company is a business strategy firm that helps B2B tech and fintech companies rebuild their business model and optimize their revenue. One of Carrie’s areas of expertise is pricing. With her team, she will dig up exhaustive data and present strategic findings in a way that makes restructuring a pricing model a no-brainer. It’s like hiring a team of experts to give you the perfect answer so you can MOVE ON. I had the privilege of sitting down and chatting with Carrie about how she runs her consultancy and why they’ve grown to such high praise amongst tech companies. Check it out! What amazes me about Carrie is her energy. She’s everyone’s friend, always active, and relentlessly hard working. - In this episode, she gave me the low-down on: - How action (not theory) creates growth - The value of emotional intelligence - Why she sold her sports car and left a great job to start Cruxy - The ‘one piece of paper’ strategy - Why what you’re NOT doing matters more than what you are - Running effective 1-on-1s - What ‘frogging it’ means - How hiring a consultant means paying only for results - The difference in selling to the USA or the UK - Her 3-favours rule If you’re new to the idea of hiring consultants for short bursts of high-value work, then this episode is absolutely worth a listen. Carrie doesn’t just share her perspective on business growth and strategy; you’ll also understand how great consultants think. You already know I’m a HUGE supporter of paying for great advice… Hiring a firm like Cruxy & Company is an extension of that idea. Grab your headphones and enjoy the episode here. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: 5 Secrets of Silicon Valley – Discover My Silicon Valley Secrets To Skyrocket Your Business by Implementing 5 Little Changes That No One is Talking About - https://bit.ly/2Q1xfTW -- I’ve got to come clean… I’m not a guru. I can’t read your future, don’t perform miracles, and I’m about as enlightened as a stick. I’m just a SaaS-obsessed business coach that has made WAY too many mistakes, enough to fill entire encyclopaedias of ‘what not to do’. But I did do something right:  I didn’t quit.  I squared up my mistakes (2 failed companies), welcomed the hard lessons, and eventually became strong enough to make the right decisions (building and exiting 3 companies). I still get asked “What do you wish you did differently in your career?” Oh man. I could fill books. I have to break my answer up into decades… starting with my 20s. At 20 years old, I was an overworked developer working for free at someone else’s startup.  Just 10 years later at 30 years old, I had sold my 3rd business, was building my 4th and was already a multi-millionaire. Even though I look back fondly on that decade, I still know I made decisions that cost me (or lost me) millions. So, I’m putting a pin in my ego and owning up to my biggest mistakes in the hope that you can avoid them. In this video I’m going to share with you: - The solo mistake that cost me $10 million in lost revenue - How I hired an executive that nearly cost me my business - Why ‘needing to be liked’ sabotaged my company culture - How wearing a suit-and-tie saved my company - Why selling for millions cost me millions more! (Don’t sell early) - How my failed investments poured cash down the drain At least half of my wisdom comes from having screwed up enough times to know why the wrong decisions are actually wrong.  Now I get to save SaaS founders like you from the fate I barely escaped. It would have been so easy to quit or to stay on a course doomed to fail.  But if I had joined the SaaS graveyard, I wouldn’t be in your inbox, on your news feed or sharing these mistakes on YouTube. I’m here to help you get to your success twice as fast as I did. Drop by the video and let me know in the comments: What is the biggest mistake you’ve made recently that you know you’ll regret for years to come? -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: 5 Secrets of Silicon Valley – Discover My Silicon Valley Secrets To Skyrocket Your Business by Implementing 5 Little Changes That No One is Talking About - https://bit.ly/2Q1xfTW

How fast can you scale a software business? 0 – 150 employees in 12 months…? How would you even manage that?! For Elias Torres, the CTO and co-founder of Drift, and my latest guest on the Escape Velocity podcast… it was easy. Elias is the stuff of legends. He’s a machine. He’s been either the founder, CTO or VP of engineering at: Hubspot  Performable Lookery And now Drift. He’s very technical, a coder at heart, but he’s mastered how to scale development teams SUPER quickly. Hiring 150 people in 12 months averages out to 3 people per week. To do that without draining yourself of revenue, you must have water-tight systems, playbooks and processes. When I sat down with Elias to talk about scaling software teams, the conversation soon led to the systems he relies on when he has to move quickly. This episode is yet another goldmine of wisdom and practical lessons. Soak it up! If I haven’t sold you on why this episode is worth your time, then let me spell out what you’re going to learn: Elias’ 3:1 ratio for team structures that works at scale Why selling is a skill coders should learn A shortcut for getting customer feedback straight to developers Ramping up team efficiency Why ‘Infrastructure’ is a dirty word How to use internal product demos to improve your offer The essential processes you need before you can grow How to infuse a culture of productivity The one goal that every team NEEDs to have This guy knows how to grow software. To quote him directly: “Everything needs an engine: a collection of processes that let you achieve your desired outcome repeatedly.” Get your headphones in or speakers on and enjoy the episode right here. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - https://bit.ly/3agnmLt -- Do you have your dream sales team yet? A team of high-converting closers who effortlessly book new accounts and funnel cash into your pockets until your revenue-pants are splitting at the seams? No? Neither did I. I thought you could throw money (aka: investment capital) at business problems to solve them. Just hire a sales team and let the money roll in. Turns out, it doesn’t work that way… (and I was a fool in my 20s.) You need a structured weekly sales team meeting to create the 3 Big R’s: 1. Rhythm 2. Routine 3. Revenue Once I figured that out, I got obsessed with tightening the bolts on my sales team machine until I had a competitive edge and could repeatedly win clients with confidence. Now all of my sales teams are well-oiled machines… and I teach this one weekly 8-point agenda you can follow for one simple reason: I know it works. Fast forward to today and I’ve managed millions of dollars in pipeline and coached 100+ SaaS founders to build out their sales teams. One of my largest clients has 150 sales people, and they use this exact weekly agenda structure I’m going to talk you through in this week’s video. Check it out! This is what I have in store for you today. I’m going to show you: - How to create sales momentum - My recommended sales metrics tools - Why world class salesmanship doesn’t matter (Wh-whaaat?) - Why YOU are the x-factor in your team - The value of a CSM at your sales meetings - Why jealousy can destroy your company - How to build a culture around training If you can commit to one weekly meeting that follows this structure, your sales team will be closing more deals before the year is out. One meeting. … that follow this specific 8 point-agenda. Look, I know that in the face of big numbers (millions, you say?!) it’s easy to think: “This meeting agenda is for big teams – it won’t work for me”. Nope. If I started from scratch today – with a team of only 1 salesperson – I’d still schedule this meeting. I see it as hitting the gym. No matter how small you are, you don’t get big without doing your reps. Hit that play button, soak up the agenda structure, and drop a comment to let me know if you’ll apply it to your next meeting. Peace. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: The Rocket Demo Builder™ – Never give a boring software demo again and close up to TWICE as many deals by this time next week - https://bit.ly/3agnmLt

Exclusive Download: EBR Flow Planner™ – 9 Box Model to Run Your Executive Business Reviews, Retain High-Value Clients & Increase Expansion Revenue - https://bit.ly/3k6Yb2v -- “What the $%&# is a CSM… and how is that going to make me money?!” When I started out in business nearly 20 years ago, there was no such thing as a CSM. Those 3 letters just didn’t go together. Nowadays, most B2B SaaS businesses see a CSM as essential to scaling a business faster, reducing churn, getting greater customer LTV and protecting your brand. A CSM is a Customer Success Manager. It’s not a glorified support person (like I once thought) and yes, they absolutely make you more money. Having a great CSM on your team will boost your revenue. I believe that for every $1 you spend on a CSM, you should be getting $5x back in retention/expansion revenue. Funnel hackers would lose their minds over a funnel that converts 1:5 consistently, long-term… …and yet CSM’s get dismissed by young businesses as an unnecessary cost. I’m going to put an end to that mistaken belief in this week’s video, and I’ll open your mind to what a CSM should be doing in your business and why they are a godsend. After you watch this video, you’re going to understand how a great CSM can: Track your customer satisfaction with easy-to-follow metrics Help your customers fall in love with your products Reduce churn and improve customer retention Increase lifetime value with upgraded accounts and upsells Collect testimonials, case studies and referrals Explode your word-of-mouth marketing Feed product development and innovation I mean… just look at that list!  This is one person you can hire in your business that can do all of the above… if you know how to work with them. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: You can’t just hire someone and expect them to solve your problems without your guidance. CSMs are a godsend, but you’ve got to work with them to build systems so that they can do what they do best. Watch the video and I’ll set you straight on how to work with a CSM in your business. While you’re there, drop me a comment to let me know: As a customer, what was the best interaction you had with a company and why? I’ll bet there was a CSM behind it. Talk soon. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell Exclusive Download: EBR Flow Planner™ – 9 Box Model to Run Your Executive Business Reviews, Retain High-Value Clients & Increase Expansion Revenue - https://bit.ly/3k6Yb2v

How do you sell your SaaS? I mean… how does that process actually look, end to end, from meeting a buyer to pocketing a 7+ figure paycheck? Buying and selling a business isn’t like walking into a store, picking an item off the shelf and approaching the counter. There are valuations, due diligence, escrow accounts, handover processes, and more… before the massive paychecks can get cashed. It’s quite a process. I’ve sold 3 of my own companies, I’m an investor in 40+ other companies, and as a business coach, I’ve helped clients through many sales and handovers. So I know how it works. But I’ve still got nothing on Kevin McArdle. Kevin is the CEO and co-founder of SureSwift Capital and in the past 4 years… …he bought 34 companies. No, not invested. Bought. Outright. Kevin mostly buys bootstrapped B2B SaaS companies, small teams of a founder/ developer with about 3 – 5 contractors whose business makes $25 – $100k MRR. In other words, he’s the perfect buyer for a small software founder that wants to cash out. I sat down with Kevin in the latest episode of the Escape Velocity Podcast and quizzed him on everything about buying and selling businesses. If you’ve ever wanted to ask a SaaS buyer exactly how they think about buying, then this is THE interview you need to hear.  You’ll get answers to: - How much a SaaS will sell for - What’s an attractive profit margin for a seller - Why SaaS founders sell (it’s not always for the cash)- What an end-to-end sales process looks like - What a buyer is looking for - What terms you can expect in a sales agreement - The different stages of a handover - How SureSwift capital grow their businesses after purchase - How Kevin and his team started their company from scratch I’m so lucky to interview people like Kevin.  This guy has a wealth of knowledge and was incredibly generous with his answers, sharing revenue figures, percentages, business names, and more. I’ve met a lot of business people who like to hold their cards close to their chest. Not Kevin.  If anything, I think this interview will show you that there ARE buyers looking for small SaaS companies of only 5 people and they are willing to pay millions for it. You might be closer to selling than you thought. Check out the episode here and leave a comment thanking Kevin for his time – I’ll make sure he reads them. -- Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter @danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome. + Instagram (behind the scenes): http://instagram.com/danmartell + Facebook (live trainings + Q&A): http://FB.com/DanMartell + Twitter (what I'm reading): http://twitter.com/danmartell

Dan Martell is a Canadian entrepreneur and an experienced angel investor who has invested in over 33 companies. Dan is the founder of Clarity.fm, co-founder of Flowtown and founder of Spheric Technologies. He has also been a mentor at 500Startups, GrowLabs and theC100.org. He believes “you can only keep what you give away,” and is…

Dan Martell is an award-winning Canadian serial entrepreneur and the founder of a number of successful start-ups. He is the guy who raised more than $2M for his startups – Clarity and Flowtown – then grew and successfully exited both. He is also an investor in 30+ startups you've definitely heard of and more than likely used, from Unbounce to Udemy to Intercom. Before the interview even started, Dan told me he is on a mission to impact over 10,000,000 at risk youth in his lifetime and he is well on his way.  With an inspiring story of his own, he shares weekly content on his YouTube channel as well as preparing to travel the world with his family.     Join The Changemaker Tribe: www.theinnerchangemaker.com/tribe Show notes and links: http://snip.ly/j9fkp   LINKS -- Join the Legacy Driven Entrepreneurs Community (it's FREE): http://www.theinnerchangemaker.com/tribe Are you enjoying the podcast? Listen to the episode here and leave us a review: Apple: http://apple.co/1JUHcG9 Android: http://bit.ly/2nuoGpl TuneIn: http://bit.ly/2BjY0gU Breaker: http://bit.ly/2BRwOCb iHeartRadio: http://bit.ly/2BhMr9L Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2BbuWEg Want to grab my NEW audio training? Grab a FREE copy of "How To Be The Leader You Truly Are": http://www.theinnerchangemaker.com/leadership Launching a podcast? Grab my Podcast Creation Roadmap: http://www.theinnerchangemaker.com/roadmap