Podcasts about Saas

Ric Elias - The Art of Living Well - [Invest Like The Best, CLASSICS] Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 10 years, published once a month. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. Ric Elias is the CEO and co-founder of Red Ventures, which has a portfolio of fast-growing digital businesses like Lonely Planet, The Points Guy, Bankrate, and large investments in a variety of other businesses across industries. He began the business in 2000 and has grown it to now a global company with thousands of employees. Ric walks us through the early struggles that have led to what is now a flourishing investing platform, but mostly this episode is a masterclass on cultural values and philosophies that transcend mere financial gain. We discuss the difference between living good and well, the power of forgiveness, and compounding more than just your capital. Ric's story is one of resilience, humility, and grace. His story about being in the front row of the plane that Captain Sully landed in the Hudson is singular and very moving. Please enjoy my conversation with Ric Elias. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by WorkOS. WorkOS is a developer platform that enables SaaS companies to quickly add enterprise features to their applications. With a single API, developers can implement essential enterprise capabilities that typically require months of engineering work. By handling the complex infrastructure of enterprise features, WorkOS allows developers to focus on their core product while meeting the security and compliance requirements of Fortune 500 companies. Visit WorkOS to Transform your application into an enterprise-ready solution in minutes, not months. ----- Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @joincolossus ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Timestamps: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:02:00) Meet Ric Elias (00:02:49) Chasing the Big Dream (00:05:38) Understanding Red Ventures: Origin and Evolution (00:10:25) Operational Success and Company Culture (00:25:30) Reflections on Money and Personal Well-being (00:28:49) The Difference between Good and Well (00:32:55) The Hudson River Plane Crash Experience (00:42:37) Reconnecting with Puerto Rico and Reviving the Basketball Team (00:45:07) Underdogs to Champions (00:48:09) How to Build Trust and Culture (00:52:29) Reflections on Leadership (00:56:12) The Role of Confidence and Courage (00:59:38) The Value of Family and Friendships (01:01:57) The Pursuit of Purpose Over Profit (01:06:52) Recruitment and Company Culture (01:10:07) Reflecting on Success (01:14:33) The Importance of Pace and Speed (01:16:23) Other Business Philosophies (01:23:17) The Kindest Thing

What happens when AI becomes your most influential referrer?As consumers turn to ChatGPT for answers, James Cadwallader and his team at Profound help brands like Eight Sleep and MongoDB gain visibility and leverage inside AI models.On this episode of Grit, he explains why brand narrative has shifted away from content, and why Profound is scaling globally ahead of traditional SaaS timelines.Guest: James Cadwallader, co-founder and CEO of Profound and Ilya Fushman, partner at Kleiner PerkinsConnect with James CadwalladerX: https://x.com/thejamescad?lang=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca/​Connect with Ilya FushmanX: https://x.com/ilyafLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilyafushman/Connect with JoubinX: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGrit​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

Interview with Frank Vukovits: Focusing inward: there lie threats also External threats get discussed more than internal threats. There's a bit of a streetlight effect here: external threats are more visible, easier to track, and sharing external threat intelligence doesn't infringe on any individual organization's privacy. That's why we hear the industry discuss external threats more, though internally-triggered incidents far outnumber external ones. Internal threats, on the other hand, can get personal. Accidental leaks are embarassing. Malicious insiders are a sensitive topic that internal counsel would erase from company memory if they could. Even when disclosure is required, the lawyers are going to minimize the amount of detail that gets out. I was chief incident handler for 5 years of my enterprise career, and never once had to deal with an external threat. I managed dozens of internal cases over those 5 years though. In this interview, we discuss the need for strong internal controls with Frank Vukovits from Delinea. As systems and users inside and outside organizations become increasingly connected, maintaining strong security controls is essential to protect data and systems from both internal and external threats. In this episode, we will explore the importance of strong internal controls around business application security and how they can best be integrated into a broader security program to ensure true enterprise security. This segment is sponsored by Delinea. Visit https://securityweekly.com/delinea to learn more about them! Topic Segment: Personal Disaster Recovery Many of us depend on service providers for our personal email, file storage, and photo storage. The line between personal accounts and work accounts often blur, particularly when it comes to Apple devices. We're way more dependent on our Microsoft, Apple, Meta, and Google accounts than we used to be. They're necessary to use home voice assistants, to log into other SaaS applications (Log in with Google/Apple/FB), and even manage our wireless plans (e.g. Google Fi). Getting locked out of any of these accounts can bring someone's personal and/or work life to a halt, and there are many cases of this happening. I'm not sure if we make it past sharing stories about what can and has happened. Getting into solutions might have to be a separate discussion (also, we may not have any solutions…) Friend of the show and sometimes emergency co-host Guillaume posted about this recently A romance author got locked out of her books A 79 year old got locked out of her iPad with all her family photos. Sadly, this is one of the most common scenarios. Someone either forgets their pin and locks out the device permanently, or a family member dies and didn't tell anyone their passwords or pins, so the surviving family can't access data, pay the bills, etc. Google example: Claims of CSAM material after father documents toddler at doctor's request https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/22/google-csam-account-blocked Dec 2025 Apple example: she tried to redeem a gift card that had been tampered with: https://hey.paris/posts/appleid/ Google example: developer lost all his work, because he was working on preventing revenge porn and other sensitive cases, and was building a better model to detect NSFW images: https://medium.com/@russoatlarge_93541/i-built-a-privacy-app-google-banned-me-over-a-dataset-used-in-ai-research-66bc0dfb2310 My partner's mom's Instagram account got hacked. Meta locked out all of it (Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook) and she couldn't get it reinstated. They wouldn't even let her open a NEW account. Weekly Enterprise News Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-438

In episode #339 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben explains how change of control provisions in customer contracts can quietly derail due diligence, fundraising, or a future company exit. Drawing from real-world CFO experience and a recent webinar with a SaaS-focused tech attorney, Ben breaks down why seemingly standard legal language can introduce major risk into a SaaS company's recurring revenue profile. Ben highlights how buyers and investors scrutinize customer contracts during due diligence—and why poorly structured MSAs can threaten valuation, increase churn risk, or even kill a deal outright. What You'll Learn What a change of control provision is and why it matters How customer contracts are reviewed during SaaS due diligence Why change of control clauses can open the door to customer churn after an acquisition How procurement teams and customer legal teams typically push for these provisions When to push back, escalate, or seek alternative contract language Why contract structure is part of strong SaaS financial and operational readiness Why It Matters Customer contracts directly impact company valuation during an exit or fundraise Change of control provisions can trigger immediate churn risk post-acquisition Buyers want confidence in the durability of recurring revenue Poor legal hygiene can delay, discount, or kill a transaction Proactive contract review reduces future due diligence friction Strong back-office processes support long-term financial strategy and investor trust Resources Mentioned Webinar replay with Omid (tech attorney) on legal readiness for SaaS exits: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/pl/2148384654 SaaS Metrics course: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/the-saas-metrics-foundation

professorjrod@gmail.comExplore the pivotal moment in technology education as we trace the origins of the internet browser from Mosaic's innovation at NCSA to Netscape Navigator's rise as the gateway to the web. This episode dives deep into internet history, highlighting the major players like Jim Clark and Marc Andreessen who shaped the early web experience. We also analyze the browser wars triggered by Microsoft's Internet Explorer, illustrating challenges in technology development and competition. Whether you're preparing for your CompTIA exam or passionate about tech exam prep, understanding this history enriches your IT skills development and offers valuable context for technology education.I walk through the tactics that made Navigator beloved—progressive rendering, rapid updates, and the birth of JavaScript—and the strategic choices that slowed it down, like the all-in-one Communicator suite. We unpack the bundling play that tilted distribution, the developer headaches of competing nonstandard features, and the DOJ antitrust case that redefined how we think about platform power. The twists don't end there: AOL buys Netscape, adoption fades, and then a bold move changes the web again—open sourcing the code to create Mozilla.From Gecko to Phoenix to Firefox, we trace how community-driven software brought speed, security, and standards back to center stage. That lineage lives in every tab you open today, from Firefox to Chrome to Safari, and in the modern idea of the browser as a platform for apps, SaaS, and daily life. Along the way, I share classroom plans, student podcast previews, and a practical way educators can keep learners engaged over winter break.If you love origin stories, tech strategy, or just remember the thrill of that big N on a beige PC, this one's for you. Listen, subscribe, and share your first browser memory with us—was it Navigator, IE, or something else? And if this journey brought back the dial-up feels, leave a review and pass it on.Support the showArt By Sarah/DesmondMusic by Joakim KarudLittle chacha ProductionsJuan Rodriguez can be reached atTikTok @ProfessorJrodProfessorJRod@gmail.com@Prof_JRodInstagram ProfessorJRod

你以為懂得用 ChatGPT 寫文案、改 Email 就是「懂 AI」了嗎？大錯特錯！在這一集 Sparksine 廣東話讀書會，我們邀請到《AI 為王》作者、資深行銷及 AI 專家: 阿石 (Ah Shek)，為大家揭開 2026 年最殘酷的科技趨勢：AI Agent (AI 代理) 的崛起。為什麼阿石說 ChatGPT 只是「高分低能」的鸚鵡？為什麼傳統的 SaaS 軟體模式正在崩潰？未來的職場，初級員工（Junior）是否將被 AI 全面取代，而我們又該如何轉型成為「AI 管理者」？本集內容乾貨滿滿，從 AI 的底層邏輯，到中小企如何利用自動化工具（如 Manus, n8n, Bolt）以快打慢，建立自動賺錢的 MVP 產品。如果你不想在接下來的 AI 浪潮中被淘汰，這一集你絕對不能錯過！本集精彩重點： ✅ AI Agent vs Chatbot： 為什麼「會行動」的 AI 才是未來的經濟引擎？ ✅ 職場大洗牌： 企業開始削減 Junior 人手，什麼技能才能保住飯碗？ ✅ 工具實戰： 阿石私藏的 AI 工具清單 (Manus, Bolt, Cursor) 大公開！ ✅ 老闆思維： 別再用「數據安全」當藉口，新加坡政府已經領先香港多少？⏱️ 時間軸 (Time Stamps)：00:00 - 節目開始 & 嘉賓介紹：阿石與他的新書《AI 為王》01:50 - 行為模式改變：為什麼現代人不再 Google，轉而向 AI 發問？05:15 - 殘酷職場真相：企業開始裁減 Junior 員工？重複性工作的末路08:20 - AI 是取代人，還是提升人的天花板？「品味」與「創意」的重要性11:00 - 破解 AI 迷思：AI 其實是一隻「高分低能」的鸚鵡？理解 Token 與預測機制12:10 - 「凶心人」理論：為什麼 AI 沒有記憶？Context Window 是什麼？16:45 - 核心話題：ChatGPT 已過時？什麼是 AI Agent (AI 代理)？18:15 - 數位轉型 2.0：從軟體服務 (SaaS) 到「勞動力服務」 (Service-as-a-Software)21:40 - 實戰案例：如何用 AI Agent 自動處理行銷新聞、報價單與個人記帳28:20 - AI Agent 懂得 "Try and Learn"：與傳統自動化 Workflow 的最大分別29:10 - 未來組織架構：人人都是管理者 (Manager)，企業需要「AI 大使」34:30 - 大企業 vs 中小企：為什麼大公司買了 Copilot 卻沒人想用？42:30 - 工具推薦：2026 年必學的 AI 神器 (SearchGPT, Gemini, Manus)45:50 - 開發新模式：用 Bolt.new + Cursor 快速生成 MVP，再外包給印度工程師51:00 - 「天下武功，唯快不破」：靠微型 SaaS 建立被動收入51:50 - 給觀望者的建議：別讓「安全性」成為拒絕進步的藉口！關於嘉賓： 阿石 (Ah Shek) - 資深數碼營銷培訓師、創業家，《營銷為王》及《AI 為王》作者。致力於推動 AI 在商業場景的落地應用，擅長利用自動化工具提升企業效率。

Pour l'épisode de cette semaine, je reçois Jonathan Chemouny, GTM Europe chez Eleven Labs.Eleven Labs est aujourd'hui le leader mondial de l'IA audio : synthèse vocale (text-to-speech), transcription (speech-to-text), doublage multilingue, musique générative et surtout agents vocaux capables d'interagir en temps réel de manière ultra naturelle.Au cours de cet épisode, Jonathan revient sur son parcours, de l'entrepreneuriat à ses expériences chez Intercom et Lattice, jusqu'à son rôle actuel chez Eleven Labs où il pilote le Go-To-Market en Europe dans un contexte de croissance exceptionnelle (plus de 200M$ d'ARR atteints en à peine deux ans).Nous avons longuement parlé des grands cas d'usage d'Eleven Labs (création de contenu, doublage de podcasts, agents vocaux pour le support ou les ventes), des ruptures technologiques qui expliquent l'explosion de la voix (latence, qualité des modèles, orchestration temps réel), mais aussi des usages inattendus qui émergent sur le marché.Jonathan partage également une vision très concrète du Go-To-Market dans l'IA : pourquoi les playbooks SaaS classiques ne fonctionnent plus, comment structurer un moteur d'outbound quand l'inbound explose, le rôle clé des Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE) pour closer des deals complexes, et les expérimentations menées avec l'IA vocale pour prospecter, qualifier et convertir plus vite.Un épisode dense et très opérationnel, au cœur des enjeux actuels du SaaS et de l'intelligence artificielle.Vous pouvez suivre Jonathan sur LinkedIn.Bonne écoute !Mentionnés pendant l'épisode :Eleven LabsIntercomLatticeLemlistClayPalantirDoctolibNever Split the Difference – Chris VossInfluence et Manipulation – Robert CialdiniPour soutenir SaaS Connection en 1 minute⏱ (et 2 secondes) :Abonnez-vous à SaaS Connection sur votre plateforme préférée pour ne rater aucun épisode

The pod signs off for the year with its final episode—a sharp, chaotic recap of last year's predictions and a fresh round of hot takes for 2026. Sam and Dave, unsurprisingly, wing it: Sam calls a single $500B+ IPO (SpaceX), Google up, NVIDIA down, and Meta hitting new highs on AI-powered ads. Jess warns that AI-driven efficiency will fuel layoffs (especially in journalism) and that CapEx hype is outrunning reality. Dave predicts a boom in third places and games-first IP, while Britt bets on an Apple comeback, AI wearables as daily “life summarizers,” a breakout AI-native social app, and a celebrity licensing their AI twin. True to form, the crew goes off script to debate Amazon's rumored $10B OpenAI deal, AI as the new UI, which model builders survive, regulation looming over prediction markets, “slop” as word of the year, GLP-1s going mainstream, creators eyeing Emmys, and much more. Chapters:01:50 Morin's “Nauti or Nice” Holiday Card04:06 Sam's 2025 Predictions: Bitcoin, Solana ETFs, Crypto Government Adoption05:16 Britt's 2025 Predictions: Amazon Marketplace, Elon's “TITS,” Swift Engagement07:52 Dave's 2025 Predictions: Data Centers, Material Flow Robotics, Crypto Clarity10:18 Jess's 2025 Predictions: TikTok U.S., Vertical Stacks, Media Copyright, GLP-1s11:40 2025 Themes: “Slop,” AI Talent Wars, Government–Tech Ties12:58 Big Tech Check-In: Apple Loses Ground, Google's Delta13:41 Amazon's $10B OpenAI Bet and Chip Diplomacy16:16 Britt's 2026 Predictions: Apple Comeback, Wearable Agents, AI Talent Deals21:45 Jess's 2026 Predictions: AI-Driven Layoffs, Liquidity Wave, Prediction Market Regulation28:57 Dave's 2026 Predictions: Third Places, Games-First IP, Roblox Scrutiny36:17 Sam's 2026 Predictions: One $500B+ IPO, Nvidia Down, Google Up, Meta ATH44:13 AI Is the New UI: SaaS UX Moats Under Pressure49:35 Does AI Adult Content Go Mainstream?50:04 Dave on Google Doppl and AI Try-On Tech51:28 Britt's Pop Corner: Taylor Swift Album and Pregnancy Speculation52:19 Industry Wish List: More DPI, Kids' Mental Health, Waymos EverywhereWe're also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessYouTube: https://youtu.be/ehO3wIio7NwConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit

Shoot us a Text.Episode #1223: Cars Commerce lines up its next CEO as a new chapter begins for dealer tech. Lucid's factory-backed used pricing puts EV depreciation in plain sight. And even as consumers keep spending this holiday season, a growing “joy deficit” reveals how tired—and cautious—shoppers really are.Show Notes with links:Our good friends at Cars Commerce are teeing up a major leadership transition. Longtime CEO Alex Vetter will hand the keys to Tobias “Tobi” Hartmann in early 2026, marking the end of an era and signaling a renewed push around growth, digital tools, and AI for dealers.Hartmann brings 25+ years of experience leading global marketplaces, most recently as CEO of Scout24 and previously at HelloFresh and eBay Enterprise.Alex Vetter, who has been with Cars.com since its 1998 launch, will step down after transforming the company into a vertical SaaS and marketplace platform for dealers.Under Vetter, Cars Commerce expanded through acquisitions like Dealer Inspire, AccuTrade, and DealerClub, strengthening its dealer-facing tech stack.Alex Vetter: “I'm confident that Tobi will continue our momentum for the next chapter of firsts. He will be a tremendous leader for this next phase of growth.”Lucid just launched its first factory-backed used-car program, and the pricing is doing more talking than the marketing.Lucid Recharged is the brand's certified pre-owned program for the Air sedan, with the Gravity SUV coming later.Eligible cars must be single-owner examples under 62,000 miles and pass a 160+ point factory inspection.Pricing is the headline: a 2023 Air Pure with ~20,000 miles can land in the mid-$40Ks versus a new MSRP just under $71K.Consumers are still spending this holiday season—but they're not exactly enjoying it as a new Retail Dive report says shoppers are leaning heavily on credit and BNPL.Katie Thomas of the Kearney Consumer Institute summed it up bluntly: there's a “real joy deficit for consumers,” driven by high prices and constant anxiety-focused messaging.Despite steady spending, consumers are fatigued, stressed, and increasingly reliant on credit, resale, and “dupe” gifting to get through the holidays.Shoppers feel stuck in an echo chamber of stress—online, in ads, and in daily life—where everything is expensive and brands keep reminding them of it.“Getting emotional doesn't have to be serious,” Thomas noted0:00 Intro with Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier6:05 Cars Commerce Announces Leadership Transition9:52 Lucid Launches CPO Program12:31 The Joy Deficit In RetailThank you to today's sponsor, Mia. Capture more revenue, protect CSI, and never miss a call or connection again with 24/7 phone coveraJoin Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/ JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/

Alistair Roome is the founder and CEO of HD London Art (https://hdlondonart.com).FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/andrewjfaris Email: podcast@ajfgrowth.comWork With AJF Growth: https://ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠INTELLIGEMSIntelligems brings A/B testing to business decisions beyond copy and design. Test your pricing, shipping charges, free shipping thresholds, offers, SaaS tools, and more by clicking here: https://bit.ly/42DcmFl. Get 20% off the first 3 months with code FARIS20. MOVE SUPPLY CHAINReduce your OpEx and create more leverage in your company with financial forecasting, AI, and offshore talent by visiting ⁠https://morestaffing.co/af⁠.

In episode #338 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben explains how to quickly sanity-check your sales and marketing forecast for the upcoming year using one high-signal SaaS metric: the Cost of ARR. As founders and CFOs finalize budgets, Ben shows how mismatches between projected bookings and planned go-to-market spend can reveal unrealistic assumptions before they turn into missed targets. Using simple examples, Ben walks through how the Cost of ARR connects sales and marketing spend, net new ARR bookings, and historical performance—making it one of the most effective tools for validating SaaS and AI company forecasts during budget season. What You'll Learn How to use the Cost of ARR to validate your sales and marketing budget The relationship between sales and marketing spend and net new ARR bookings How to identify unrealistic growth assumptions in your forecast The difference between blended the Cost of ARR, Cost of New ARR, and Cost of Expansion ARR Why historical performance should anchor forward-looking forecasts How benchmarking by ACV and sales motion improves forecast accuracy Why It Matters Sales and marketing forecasts often fail because spend and bookings assumptions are disconnected Cost of ARR provides a mechanical reality check before committing to a budget Overly aggressive ARR targets can be identified early and corrected Underspending on go-to-market becomes visible when bookings expectations are too conservative Benchmarking against peers helps validate whether forecast assumptions are realistic Strong financial modeling and forecasting discipline improves board and investor confidence Resources Mentioned Cost of ARR metric framework: https://www.thesaascfo.com/saas-cac-ratio/ Benchmarking data from Ray Rike at Benchmarkit.ai Concepts from SaaS FP&A forecasting and go-to-market efficiency analysis: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/the-saas-metrics-foundation

Dave Hersh, co-founder and former CEO of Jive Software, shares the real story behind bootstrapping Jive to $12M in revenue before raising venture capital and scaling aggressively. He explains how fear, comparison, and the pressure to "go big" drove him to abandon his profitable core business and pursue a new upmarket strategy that ultimately cost the company its soul.  After growing to $60 million, Jive eventually went public, but not without internal strain, personal turmoil, and ultimately the realization that the company had drifted away from what made it successful.  Dave discusses how overexpansion, premature scaling, hiring missteps, and market-chasing derail both VC-backed and bootstrapped companies—along with the psychological patterns founders rarely acknowledge.  He shares lessons from his book "Reignition: Transforming Stuck Startups Into Breakout Winners" on why most stuck companies don't need a new strategy—they need a wiser founder who understands their inner operating system and is willing to grow alongside the business. Today Dave coaches founders, writes about the emotional foundations of leadership, and acquires underperforming SaaS companies to "refound" them with more clarity, connection, and human-first strategy. Key Takeaways Founder Psychology Matters — Most stuck companies trace back to subconscious patterns, not strategy failures, and founders must address these to grow. Premature Scaling Kills — Expanding markets or teams too quickly dilutes the core and creates complexity most companies cannot absorb. Core Before Expansion — Winning in a beachhead and protecting the core creates more durable growth than chasing adjacent market too early. Better Growth Pace — Sustainable companies grow at the pace the market allows; forced hypergrowth often destabilizes otherwise healthy businesses. Quote from Dave Hersh, Co-founder and Former CEO of Jive Software "I realized that 90% of stuck companies and failed companies are not the reasons that we say they failed. Like they didn't have product market fit or they ran out of cash or the founders didn't get along. It's the psychology underneath. If you actually look at the source of those problems, It was these very consistent psychological patterns that founders run into. "So hero complex, warrior, imposter syndrome, over identification with the company. It was all of these things that I kept seeing over and over again that led to the decisions that got them stuck. And so, yes, while it's true, they got out competed. Why did they go after the big market? What led them to do that? Why did they try to compete against these companies they were competing against? "And then you start to tap into what's really going on and you see: They're trying to earn validation. They are trying to get redeemed as an entrepreneur. They're trying to live up to their parents, their older sibling, their peer group. And it was that desire that led to them trying to go after this big market and raising too much money that got them stuck. And so I like to work with the source material, which is, Why did you do that?" Links Dave Hersh on LinkedIn Book by Dave Hersh: Reignition: Transforming Stuck Startups into Breakout Winners Dave Hersh website Podcast Sponsor – Fraction This podcast is sponsored by Fraction. Fraction gives you access to senior US-based engineers and CTOs — without full-time costs or hiring risks. Get 10 to 30 hours per week from vetted and experienced US-based talent. Find your next fractional senior engineer or CTO at fraction.work. You can start with a one-week, risk-free trial to test it out. The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

If you're in the SEO industry, you know Darren Shaw and his company, Whitespark.If you're not... well you're still in for a good episode as we barely even talk about SEO!We go deep into how Darren is able to run a 7-figure agency and equally sized SaaS that is well recognized in the SEO industry. On top of that, we talk about he's still able to find the time to remain a subject matter expert in the SEO field, make all these YouTube videos, build winning teams, vibe code new SaaS products, and maintain his personal brand.Darren is everywhere all the time and still running a more successful business than we are... how?Check out Whitespark at https://whitespark.ca and follow Darren and Whitespark on all the social medias:https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenshawwhitespark/https://www.facebook.com/darrenshawseohttps://www.youtube.com/@WhitesparkCa-----SPONSOR: Tiiny HostThis week's episode is sponsored by Tiiny Host. Use code "grow" and get 50% OFF your first month of a Pro or Pro Max plan at https://tinyhost.com/agencies.-----JOIN THE FREE DISCORDhttps://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRDOur recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencygrowthpodcastTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencypodcastFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

In this week's episode, Allen sits down with J. Jordan Thaeler — retail strategist, founder, operator, and the mind behind ReformingRetail. If you've ever wondered why retail keeps breaking… and what it actually takes to fix it… this conversation is for you.Jordan brings the unfiltered truth about:✔️ The real problems facing retail today✔️ What companies get wrong about growth & data✔️ Why most tech solutions miss the mark✔️ How to build retail operations that actually work✔️ The future of brick-and-mortar and digital integration✔️ Lessons from years advising retailers and foundersThis episode is packed with insights, straight talk, and the kind of perspective you won't find anywhere else.

Alex Gluz is the Founder and CEO of Digital Marketing at T.A. Monroe Digital, an agency that specializes in helping B2B and SaaS companies perfect every step of their sales funnel. With years of experience in the industry, Alex creates systems and frameworks for scalable, profit-driving B2B digital marketing strategies, frameworks, and executions to drive ROI. Alex is also the host of the Revenue Engine Podcast, a show highlighting the top leaders in technology and marketing. In this episode… Businesses today face the challenge of balancing rapid growth with the increasing demands of trust-building, personal branding, and AI-driven innovation. While these elements have the potential to significantly accelerate business success, missteps can hinder progress, especially when companies fail to effectively integrate them into their strategy. So how can businesses harness these powerful tools to drive long-term growth and success? From building authentic relationships to embracing AI technology, leaders in this episode share invaluable insights on how to navigate these challenges. Mark Stiltner explains how AI can optimize marketing strategies, particularly in account-based marketing (ABM), making campaigns more efficient and impactful. Patrick Ferdig emphasizes the importance of trust in business relationships, highlighting how consistency and reliability build the foundation for long-term partnerships. Sylvia LePoidevin discusses the shift in branding, where individual employees are becoming the face of companies, using their personal influence to elevate the brand's message and connect more authentically with audiences. Kristin Oelke highlights how combining financial insights with a strong customer base provides a clearer picture of a business's future trajectory. Meanwhile, Usman Sheikh dives into the world of agentive AI, exploring how intelligent bots can transform sales processes by automating key tasks and generating measurable outcomes. In this episode of the Revenue Engine Podcast, Alex Gluz reflects on his insightful conversations with Mark Stiltner, Patrick Ferdig, Sylvia LePoidevin, Kristin Oelke, and Usman Sheikh. These industry leaders uncover the power of trust, personal branding, and AI in driving business growth. Together, they offer practical strategies for leveraging these tools to create scalable, sustainable success in today's competitive market.

Manny Bobe joins Jeff to break down the fast-emerging world of vibe coding — AI-guided software creation that's turning non-technical people into product builders. Manny shares his journey from CFA to data scientist to AI evangelist, explains why coding skills became his career unlock, and shows how AI removes the need for complex environments, dev setup, and backend knowledge. Together they explore real-world examples from RevOps, sales, and product teams using vibe coding to solve problems instantly and build tools no SaaS vendor ever would.

Send us a textGuest: David Karandish, Founder & CEO of Capacity  --  Most SaaS companies don't fail because the technology is bad. They fail because they build point solutions, chase the wrong markets, and struggle to turn AI into real, scalable value.In this episode, David Karandish, Founder & CEO of Capacity, joins host Ken Lempit to share how his team scaled past 20,000 customers and toward $100M+ in revenue by evolving from an AI point solution into a full SaaS platform for support and contact centers.David breaks down the pivots behind that growth, why mid-market SaaS often stalls, and how the compound startup model is reshaping modern SaaS — not by doing more, but by integrating smarter.Key takeaways from this episode:Why many AI SaaS products fail before reaching enterprise scaleThe difference between “salad” vs. “brownie” AI projectsHow platform consolidation creates GTM and pricing leverageWhy GTM motion must align with deal sizeHow integration becomes the true SaaS moatIf you're a B2B SaaS founder, CRO, or CMO navigating AI adoption, platform strategy, or the leap from mid-market to enterprise, this episode offers a grounded playbook for building durable SaaS growth—without the hype.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch.

Join us LIVE on Mondays, 4:30pm EST.A weekly Podcast with BHIS and Friends. We discuss notable Infosec, and infosec-adjacent news stories gathered by our community news team.https://www.youtube.com/@BlackHillsInformationSecurityChat with us on Discord! - https://discord.gg/bhis

Why Customer Success Can't Be Automated (And What AI Can Actually Do) In this special year-end episode of the FutureCraft GTM Podcast, hosts Ken Roden and Erin Mills sit down with Amanda Berger, Chief Customer Officer at Employ, to tackle the biggest question facing CS leaders in December 2026: What can AI actually do in customer success, and where do humans remain irreplaceable? Amanda brings 20+ years at the intersection of data and human decision-making—from AI-powered e-commerce personalization at Rich Relevance, to human-led security at HackerOne, to now implementing AI companions for recruiters. Her journey is a masterclass in understanding where the machine ends and the human begins. This conversation delivers hard truths about metrics, change management, and the future of CS roles—plus Amanda's controversial take that "if you don't use AI, AI will take your job." Unpacking the Human vs. Machine Balance in Customer Success Amanda returns with a reality check: AI doesn't understand business outcomes or motivation—humans do. She reveals how her career evolved from philosophy major studying "man versus machine" to implementing AI across radically different contexts (e-commerce, security, recruiting), giving her unique pattern recognition about what AI can genuinely do versus where it consistently fails. The Lagging Indicator Problem: Why NRR, churn, and NPS tell you what already happened (6 months ago) instead of what you can influence. Amanda makes the case for verified outcomes, leading indicators, and real-time CSAT at decision points. The 70% Rule for CS in Sales: Why most churn starts during implementation, not at renewal—and exactly when to bring CS into the deal to prevent it (technical win stage/vendor of choice). Segmentation ≠ Personalization: The jumpsuit story that proves AI is still just sophisticated bucketing, even with all the advances in 2026. True personalization requires understanding context, motivation, and individual goals. The Delegation Framework: Don't ask "what can AI do?" Ask "what parts of my job do I hate?" Delegate the tedious (formatting reports, repetitive emails, data analysis) so humans can focus on what makes them irreplaceable. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction and AI Updates from Ken & Erin 01:28 - Welcoming Amanda Berger: From Philosophy to Customer Success 03:58 - The Man vs. Machine Question: Where AI Ends and Humans Begin 06:30 - The Jumpsuit Story: Why AI Personalization Is Still Segmentation 09:06 - Why NRR Is a Lagging Indicator (And What to Measure Instead) 12:20 - CSAT as the Most Underrated CS Metric 17:34 - The $4M Vulnerability: House Security Analogy for Attribution 21:15 - Bringing CS Into Sales at 70% Probability (The Non-Negotiable) 25:31 - Getting Customers to Actually Tell You Their Goals 28:21 - AI Companions at Employ: The Recruiting Reality Check 32:50 - The Delegation Mindset: What Parts of Your Job Do You Hate? 36:40 - Making the Case for Humans in an AI-First World 40:15 - The Framework: When to Use Digital vs. Human Touch 43:10 - The 8-Hour Workflow Reduced to 30 Minutes (Real ROI Examples) 45:30 - By 2027: The Hardest CX Role to Hire 47:49 - Lightning Round: Summarization, Implementation, Data Themes 51:09 - Wrap-Up and Key Takeaways Edited Transcript Introduction: Where Does the Machine End and Where Does the Human Begin? Erin Mills: Your career reads like a roadmap of enterprise AI evolution—from AI-powered e-commerce personalization at Rich Relevance, to human-powered collective intelligence at HackerOne, and now augmented recruiting at Employ. This doesn't feel random—it feels intentional. How has this journey shaped your philosophy on where AI belongs in customer experience? Amanda Berger: It goes back even further than that. I started my career in the late '90s in what was first called decision support, then business intelligence. All of this is really just data and how data helps humans make decisions. What's evolved through my career is how quickly we can access data and how spoon-fed those decisions are. Back then, you had to drill around looking for a needle in a haystack. Now, does that needle just pop out at you so you can make decisions based on it? I got bit by the data bug early on, realizing that information is abundant—and it becomes more abundant as the years go on. The way we access that information is the difference between making good business decisions and poor business decisions. In customer success, you realize it's really just about humans helping humans be successful. That convergence of "where's the data, where's the human" has been central to my career. The Jumpsuit Story: Why AI Personalization Is Still Just Segmentation Ken Roden: Back in 2019, you talked about being excited for AI to become truly personal—not segment-based. Flash forward to December 2026. How close are we to actual personalization? Amanda Berger: I don't think we're that close. I'll give you an example. A friend suggested I ask ChatGPT whether I should buy a jumpsuit. So I sent ChatGPT a picture and my measurements. I'm 5'2". ChatGPT's answer? "If you buy it, you should have it tailored." That's segmentation, not personalization. "You're short, so here's an answer for short people." Back in 2019, I was working on e-commerce personalization. If you searched for "black sweater" and I searched for "black sweater," we'd get different results—men's vs. women's. We called it personalization, but it was really segmentation. Fast forward to now. We have exponentially more data and better models, but we're still segmenting and calling it personalization. AI makes segmentation faster and more accessible, but it's still segmentation. Erin Mills: But did you get the jumpsuit? Amanda Berger: (laughs) No, I did not get the jumpsuit. But maybe I will. The Philosophy Degree That Predicted the Future Erin Mills: You started as a philosophy major taking "man versus machine" courses. What would your college self say? And did philosophy prepare you in ways a business degree wouldn't have? Amanda Berger: I actually love my philosophy degree because it really taught me to critically think about issues like this. I don't think I would have known back then that I was thinking about "where does the machine end and where does the human begin"—and that this was going to have so many applicable decision points throughout my career. What you're really learning in philosophy is logical thought process. If this happens, then this. And that's fundamentally the foundation for AI. "If you're short, you should get your outfit tailored." "If you have a customer with predictive churn indicators, you should contact that customer." It's enabling that logical thinking at scale. The Metrics That Actually Matter: Leading vs. Lagging Indicators Erin Mills: You've called NRR, churn rate, and NPS "lagging indicators." That's going to ruffle boardroom feathers. Make the case—what's broken, and what should we replace it with? Amanda Berger: By the time a customer churns or tells you they're gonna churn, it's too late. The best thing you can do is offer them a crazy discount. And when you're doing that, you've already kind of lost. What CS teams really need to be focused on is delivering value. If you deliver value—we all have so many competing things to do—if a SaaS tool is delivering value, you're probably not going to question it. If there's a question about value, then you start introducing lower price or competitors. And especially in enterprise, customers decide way, way before they tell you whether they're gonna pull the technology out. You usually miss the signs. So you've gotta look at leading indicators. What are the signs? And they're different everywhere I've gone. I've worked for companies where if there's a lot of engagement with support, that's a sign customers really care and are trying to make the technology work—it's a good sign, churn risk is low. Other companies I've worked at, when customers are heavily engaged with support, they're frustrated and it's not working—churn risk is high. You've got to do the work to figure out what those churn indicators are and how they factor into leading indicators: Are they achieving verified outcomes? Are they healthy? Are there early risk warnings? CSAT: The Most Underrated Metric Ken Roden: You're passionate about customer satisfaction as a score because it's granular and actionable. Can you share a time where CSAT drove a change and produced a measurable business result? Amanda Berger: I spent a lot of my career in security. And that's tough for attribution. In e-commerce, attribution is clear: Person saw recommendations, put them in cart, bought them. In hiring, their time-to-fill is faster—pretty clear. But in security, it's less clear. I love this example: We all live in houses, right? None of our houses got broken into last night. You don't go to work saying, "I had such a good night because my house didn't get broken into." You just expect that. And when your house didn't get broken into, you don't know what to attribute that to. Was it the locked doors? Alarm system? Dog? Safe neighborhood? That's true with security in general. You have to really think through attribution. Getting that feedback is really important. In surveys we've done, we've gotten actionable feedback. Somebody was able to detect a vulnerability, and we later realized it could have been tied to something that would have cost $4 million to settle. That's the kind of feedback you don't get without really digging around for it. And once you get that once, you're able to tie attribution to other things. Bringing CS Into the Sales Cycle: The 70% Rule Erin Mills: You're a religious believer in bringing CS into the sales cycle. When exactly do you insert CS, and how do you build trust without killing velocity? Amanda Berger: With bigger customers, I like to bring in somebody from CX when the deal is at the technical win stage or 70% probability—vendor of choice stage. Usually it's for one of two reasons: One: If CX is gonna have to scope and deliver, I really like CX to be involved. You should always be part of deciding what you're gonna be accountable to deliver. And I think so much churn actually starts to happen when an implementation goes south before anyone even gets off the ground. Two: In this world of technology, what really differentiates an experience is humans. A lot of our technology is kind of the same. Competitive differentiation is narrower and narrower. But the approach to the humans and the partnership—that really matters. And that can make the difference during a sales cycle. Sometimes I have to convince the sales team this is true. But typically, once I'm able to do that, they want it. Because it does make a big difference. Technology makes us successful, but humans do too. That's part of that balance between what's the machine and what is the human. The Art of Getting Customers to Articulate Their Goals Ken Roden: One challenge CS teams face is getting customers to articulate their goals. Do customers naturally say what they're looking to achieve, or do you have a process to pull it out? Amanda Berger: One challenge is that what a recruiter's goal is might be really different than what the CFO's goal is. Whose outcome is it? One reason you want to get involved during the sales cycle is because customers tell you what they're looking for then. It's very clear. And nothing frustrates a company more than "I told you that, and now you're asking me again? Why don't you just ask the person selling?" That's infuriating. Now, you always have legacy customers where a new CSM comes in and has to figure it out. Sometimes the person you're asking just wants to do their job more efficiently and can't necessarily tie it back to the bigger picture. That's where the art of triangulation and relationships comes in—asking leading discovery questions to understand: What is the business impact really? But if you can't do that as a CS leader, you probably won't be successful and won't retain customers for the long term. AI as Companion, Not Replacement: The Employ Philosophy Erin Mills: At Employ, you're implementing AI companions for recruiters. How do you think about when humans are irreplaceable versus when AI should step in? Amanda Berger: This is controversial because we're talking about hiring, and hiring is so close to people's hearts. That's why we really think about companions. I earnestly hope there's never a world where AI takes over hiring—that's scary. But AI can help companies and recruiters be more efficient. Job seekers are using AI. Recruiters tell me they're getting 200-500% more applicants than before because people are using AI to apply to multiple jobs quickly or modify their resumes. The only way recruiters can keep up is by using AI to sort through that and figure out best fits. So AI is a tool and a friend to that recruiter. But it can't take over the recruiter. The Delegation Framework: What Do You Hate Doing? Ken Roden: How do you position AI as companion rather than threat? Amanda Berger: There's definitely fear. Some is compliance-based—totally justifiable. There's also people worried about AI taking their jobs. I think if you don't use AI, AI is gonna take your job. If you use AI, it's probably not. I've always been a big fan of delegation. In every aspect of my life: If there's something I don't want to do, how can I delegate it? Professionally, I'm not very good at putting together beautiful PowerPoint presentations. I don't want to do it. But AI can do that for me now. Amazingly well. What I'm really bad at is figuring out bullets and formatting. AI does that. So I think about: What are the things I don't want to do? Usually we don't want to do the things we're not very good at or that are tedious. Use AI to do those things so you can focus on the things you're really good at. Maybe what I'm really good at is thinking strategically about engaging customers or articulating a message. I can think about that, but AI can build that PowerPoint. I don't have to think about "does my font match here?" Take the parts of your job that you don't like—sending the same email over and over, formatting things, thinking about icebreaker ideas—leverage AI for that so you can do those things that make you special and make you stand out. The people who can figure that out and leverage it the right way will be incredibly successful. Making the Case to Keep Humans in CS Ken Roden: Leaders face pressure from boards and investors to adopt AI more—potentially leading to roles being cut. How do you make the case for keeping humans as part of customer success? Amanda Berger: AI doesn't understand business outcomes and motivation. It just doesn't. Humans understand that. The key to relationships and outcomes is that understanding. The humanity is really important. At HackerOne, it was basically a human security company. There are millions of hackers who want to identify vulnerabilities before bad actors get to them. There are tons of layers of technology—AI-driven, huge stacks of security technology. And yet no matter what, there's always vulnerabilities that only a human can detect. You want full-stack security solutions—but you have to have that human solution on top of it, or you miss things. That's true with customer success too. There's great tooling that makes it easier to find that needle in the haystack. But once you find it, what do you do? That's where the magic comes in. That's where a human being needs to get involved. Customer success—it is called customer success because it's about success. It's not called customer retention. We do retain through driving success. AI can point out when a customer might not be successful or when there might be an indication of that. But it can't solve that and guide that customer to what they need to be doing to get outcomes that improve their business. What actually makes success is that human element. Without that, we would just be called customer retention. The Framework: When to Use Digital vs. Human Touch Erin Mills: We'd love to get your framework for AI-powered customer experience. How do you make those numbers real for a skeptical CFO? Amanda Berger: It's hard to talk about customer approach without thinking about customer segmentation. It's very different in enterprise versus a scaled model. I've dealt with a lot of scale in my last couple companies. I believe that the things we do to support that long tail—those digital customers—we need to do for all customers. Because while everybody wants human interaction, they don't always want it. Think about: As a person, where do I want to interact digitally with a machine? If it's a bot, I only want to interact with it until it stops giving me good answers. Then I want to say, "Stop, let me talk to an operator." If I can find a document or video that shows me how to do something quickly rather than talking to a human, it's human nature to want to do that. There are obvious limits. If I can change my flight on my phone app, I'm gonna do that rather than stand at a counter. Come back to thinking: As a human, what's the framework for where I need a human to get involved? Second, it's figuring out: How do I predict what's gonna happen with my customers? What are the right ways of looking and saying "this is a risk area"? Creating that framework. Once you've got that down, it's an evolution of combining: Where does the digital interaction start? Where does it stop? What am I looking for that's going to trigger a human interaction? Being able to figure that out and scale that—that's the thing everybody is trying to unlock. The 8-Hour Workflow Reduced to 30 Minutes Erin Mills: You've mentioned turning some workflows from an 8-hour task to 30 minutes. What roles absorbed the time dividend? What were rescoped? Amanda Berger: The roles with a lot of repetition and repetitive writing. AI is incredible when it comes to repetitive writing and templatization. A lot of times that's more in support or managed services functions. And coding—any role where you're coding, compiling code, or checking code. There's so much efficiency AI has already provided. I think less so on the traditional customer success management role. There's definitely efficiencies, but not that dramatic. Where I've seen it be really dramatic is in managed service examples where people are doing repetitive tasks—they have to churn out reports. It's made their jobs so much better. When they provide those services now, they can add so much more value. Rather than thinking about churning out reports, they're able to think about: What's the content in my reports? That's very beneficial for everyone. By 2027: The Hardest CX Role to Hire Erin Mills: Mad Libs time. By 2027, the hardest CX job to hire will be _______ because of _______. Amanda Berger: I think it's like these forward-deployed engineer types of roles. These subject matter experts. One challenge in CS for a while has been: What's the value of my customer success manager? Are they an expert? Or are they revenue-driven? Are they the retention person? There's been an evolution of maybe they need to be the expert. And what does that mean? There'll continue to be evolution on that. And that'll be the hardest role. That standard will be very, very hard. Lightning Round Ken Roden: What's one AI workflow go-to-market teams should try this week? Amanda Berger: Summarization. Put your notes in, get a summary, get the bullets. AI is incredible for that. Ken Roden: What's one role in go-to-market that's underusing AI right now? Amanda Berger: Implementation. Ken Roden: What's a non-obvious AI use case that's already working? Amanda Berger: Data-related. People are still scared to put data in and ask for themes. Putting in data and asking for input on what are the anomalies. Ken Roden: For the go-to-market leader who's not seeing value in AI—what should they start doing differently tomorrow? Amanda Berger: They should start having real conversations about why they're not seeing value. Take a more human-led, empathetic approach to: Why aren't they seeing it? Are they not seeing adoption, or not seeing results? I would guess it's adoption, and then it's drilling into the why. Ken Roden: If you could DM one thing to all go-to-market leaders, what would it be? Amanda Berger: Look at your leading indicators. Don't wait. Understand your customer, be empathetic, try to get results that matter to them. Key Takeaways The Human-AI Balance in Customer Success: AI doesn't understand business outcomes or motivation—humans do. The winning teams use AI to find patterns and predict risk, then deploy humans to understand why it matters and what strategic action to take. The Lagging Indicator Trap: By the time NRR, churn rate, or NPS move, customers decided 6 months ago. Focus on leading indicators you can actually influence: verified outcomes, engagement signals specific to your business, early risk warnings, and real-time CSAT at decision points. The 70% Rule: Bring CS into the sales cycle at the technical win stage (70% probability) for two reasons: (1) CS should scope what they'll be accountable to deliver, and (2) capturing customer goals early prevents the frustrating "I already told your sales rep" moment later. Segmentation ≠ Personalization: AI makes segmentation faster and cheaper, but true personalization requires understanding context, motivation, and individual circumstances. The jumpsuit story proves we're still just sophisticated bucketing, even with 2026's advanced models. The Delegation Framework: Don't ask "what can AI do?" Ask "what parts of my job do I hate?" Delegate the tedious (formatting, repetitive emails, data analysis) so humans can focus on strategy, relationships, and outcomes that only humans can drive. "If You Don't Use AI, AI Will Take Your Job": The people resisting AI out of fear are most at risk. The people using AI to handle drudgery and focusing on what makes them irreplaceable—strategic thinking, relationship-building, understanding nuanced goals—are the future leaders. Customer Success ≠ Customer Retention: The name matters. Your job isn't preventing churn through discounts and extensions. Your job is driving verified business outcomes that make customers want to stay because you're improving their business. Stay Connected To listen to the full episode and stay updated on future episodes, visit the FutureCraft GTM website. Connect with Amanda Berger: Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn Employ Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not represent those of any company or business we currently work for/with or have worked for/with in the past.

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

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

Agentforce is everywhere and everything but in speaking to many ISVs, they are still wondering when is the right time to lean into AI with more than just a story. Where in the hype cycle are we is something I wonder about a lot. So I set out to find an ISV that is actually succeeding in the Agentforce world and that journey led me to Igor Stosic, CEO of Quadrix Soft who make Goat Email on the AppExchange, as my next guest on How We Got There. They are actually selling the first Agentforce use cases for customers, which has to be making AEs covering those accounts VERY happy. Igor is based out of Serbia so we touch on the geographical benefits and challenges around being an ISV out of Europe. They've found a lot of success driving leads from the AppExchange from a gtm perspective. We touch on what has been working and mistakes made along the way, sharing transparent feedback about how to build an app that goes wide so you can know what works for customers and lean into those items.But then we dove into the main topic of Agentforce. We touched on various concepts like how they came up with the Agentforce use case, how they monetize the Agentforce element, and much more. A specific example a use case where they use Agentforce is variability of tone based on the location of the customer that you are interacting with - sending an email to someone in the US looks different from sending an email to someone in Germany.If you are curious about Agentforce, this episode is for you. This episode is brought to you by Tequity Advisors . Tequity Advisors is a global sell-side M&A advisory firm with core expertise in SaaS and ISVs, Salesforce, ServiceNow, SAP, Microsoft, all things Data and AI, and the hyper scaler MSP cloud ecosystems with a focus on the Salesforce ecosystem and beyond! #salesforce #isv #gtm #salesforcepartners #appexchange

Talar Herculian Coursey is the GC and VP HR for ComplyAuto, a SaaS company serving auto dealerships in the US. Talar was previously the GC for Vista Ford and a file clerk, associate, and partner at the national labor and employment law firm, Fisher Phillips LLP. Talar is licensed to practice law in California and Utah. She is also a CIPP, CIPM, certified yoga instructor, certified life coach, and a retired dog walker. In this episode… Knowing the types of data a company collects is essential for building strong privacy and security practices. Many organizations collect a wide range of sensitive information, including financial data, identity documents, and data created through connected technologies. Employees often rely on text messages and mobile apps to communicate, creating touchpoints where sensitive information is shared with third parties. So, how can general counsels and privacy pros safeguard sensitive information while accounting for the risks introduced by third-party vendors?  Protecting sensitive information starts with establishing policies and processes that reflect how data flows through an organization and understanding how teams communicate with consumers. That's why it's important to provide employees with secure, encrypted channels when communicating with customers. Customized training is equally important, and using gamification and tailored phishing simulations helps engage employees, deepen their understanding of the sensitive information they handle, and improve their ability to recognize potential privacy and security risks. By pairing these tools with training that is specific to the work environment, general counsels and privacy pros can help employees stay vigilant and reduce the likelihood of privacy and security incidents.  In this episode of She Said Privacy/He Said Security, Jodi and Justin Daniels talk with Talar Herculian Coursey, General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources at ComplyAuto, about managing privacy and security risk tied to data collection practices. Drawing on her experience in the automotive dealership industry, Talar explains why understanding the types of data companies collect is critical to building effective privacy and security programs. She explains how companies can strengthen their defenses through encrypted communication tools and customized employee training programs. Talar also outlines the significant risks posed by third-party vendors and offers practical tips for managing these risks.

Welcome to The SaaS CFO Podcast! In this episode, Ben Murray sits down with Michael Salorio, founder and CEO of Solentrex, an ambitious new player in the solar industry bringing an all-in-one, AI-driven ERP platform to residential solar companies. Michael Salorio shares his journey from a finance and wealth management background to building a cutting-edge SaaS product and highlights how Solentrex is streamlining operations for both solar installers and sales teams. Tune in as we explore the evolving solar market, dive into Solentrex's product launch roadmap—including a soft launch and a major industry conference debut—and discuss the challenges and lessons learned from fundraising and onboarding early customers. If you're interested in vertical SaaS, ERP innovation, or the future of solar tech, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss! Show Notes: 00:00 "Philantrix: Team-Driven Success" 04:11 "Streamlining Solar Sales Workflow" 08:30 Delaying Launch for Accuracy 11:37 Solar Growth Through Relationships 13:50 Key Metrics for Growth Focus 17:24 "Streamlining Polar Industry Operations" Links: SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/solentrex-secures-strategic-investment Michael Salorio's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-salorio-a55204108/ Solentrex's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/solentrex/about/ Solentrex's Website: https://solentrex.com/ To learn more about Ben check out the links below: Subscribe to Ben's daily metrics newsletter: https://saasmetricsschool.beehiiv.com/subscribe Subscribe to Ben's SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page SaaS Metrics courses here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/ Join Ben's SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

The future of business hinges on mastering the complexities of AI customer analytics, a topic J.R. Lowry explores with Sameer Narkar, Founder of Konnect Insights, a pioneering SaaS platform that delivers an AI-powered, omnichannel view of customer interactions. Sameer details how his bootstrapped company built an in-house, secure AI solution—using models like Llama and Gamma—to unify customer data from all channels, solving the pain point of siloed systems to dramatically improve customer care and provide deep marketing insights. The conversation also delves into the three layers of Konnect's AI offering, the journey of pivoting a business, and the critical need for focus and a strong culture for leaders navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of decision analytics and AI.Check out the full series of “Career Sessions, Career Lessons” podcasts here or visit pathwise.io/podcast/. A full written transcript of this episode is also available at https://pathwise.io/podcasts/sameer-narkar.Become a PathWise member today! Join at https://pathwise.io/join-now/

Traditional ABM frameworks are no longer enough.In this episode of the OnBase podcast, Paul Gibson sits down with Declan Mulkeen, CMO at Strategic ABM, to explore how modern ABM strategies are evolving toward outcomes, relevance, and long-term customer value.They discuss why customers do not buy “ABM models,” how buying groups should really be approached, the role of AI in accelerating insight without losing trust, and why lifetime value is becoming the most important metric for B2B growth.If you are rethinking your ABM approach or struggling to prove impact beyond marketing metrics, this conversation will change how you look at account-based marketing.About the GuestDeclan heads up Marketing at strategicabm. After some 20 years working as a CMO in the Professional Services, SaaS and EdTech sectors, Declan is now Agency-side building the strategicabm brand and running the Agency's successful ABM program. Declan is also the host of the leading ABM podcast, Let's talk ABM.Connect with Declan.

What if the next breakout startup isn't powered by better software… but by better connectivity? Today's 10 Minute Tech Talk is all about removing the invisible limits that hold entrepreneurs back. We are joined by Jay Noschese from T-Mobile for Business, and this conversation flips the script on how founders should think about 5G. We're not talking faster phones. We're talking about new business models, new customer experiences, and entire industries being reshaped because connectivity can now be customized, optimized, and trusted for mission-critical work. Hit PLAY, and you'll hear how technologies like 5G Advanced and network slicing are already powering live sports broadcasts, massive events, and healthcare systems where failure isn't an option. And more importantly, you'll start to see what this unlocks for entrepreneurs building what's next. If you're a founder, operator, or innovator asking, "What can I build now that wasn't possible before?" You're in the right place. Let's jump in. Listen to the entire TechVibe interview here. This Pittsburgh Technology Council podcast is for tech and manufacturing  entrepreneurs exploring the tech ecosystem, from cyber security and AI to SaaS, robotics, and life sciences, featuring insights to satisfy the tech curious.

In this potluck episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott answer your questions about keyboard shortcuts, choosing frameworks in the age of AI, markdown vs CMSs, backup strategies, moving countries for work, staying relevant as a developer, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:28 Do keyboard shortcuts actually improve productivity? Hyperkey 08:41 What is Error Lens, and why use it? Ep 956: Should I Keep Using WordPress? 11:44 How Scott is using a Svelte 5 service worker 14:52 Does tech stack choice still matter with AI coding? Ep 951: A first look at Remix 3 20:15 What stack should you choose for a greenfield SaaS? 22:38 What's the right stack for a band website? 28:24 Is moving countries for work worth the tradeoff? 34:59 Brought to you by Sentry.io 36:16 How should you manage commits with AI tools? 40:50 Is programming still a good career in the AI era? 47:03 How should you back up large files and media? Ep 949: Web Dev HORROR Stories + Spooky Trivia! (Spooky Stories Pt. 1) Ep 962: The Home Server / Synology Show 53:29 What backup setup works for small teams and clients? 55:14 How should you store sensitive files safely? 58:07 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs Sick Picks Scott: Philips LED Ultra Definition Wes: LEGO Builder App Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

The most future-ready marketing leaders aren't the ones chasing trends… they're the ones who can reinvent themselves every time the industry changes.Michelle Huff, Chief Marketing Officer at Alteryx, joins Marketing Trends to break down the mindset that kept her relevant through every major tech revolution, from Web1 to cloud, SaaS, PLG, and now AI. She explains how to balance curiosity with focus, why AI is really about automating judgment (not just tasks), and how she's redesigning her marketing org around agents, automation, and new workflows.Michelle also shares early results from Alteryx's AI experiments, how she's rebuilding a 700,000-person community, and why great leaders still start with the end user even as their buyer audiences expand. Key Moments:  00:00 – How to Stay Relevant Through Every Tech Shift03:42 – A Career Spanning Web1, Cloud, SaaS, and AI06:58 – Curiosity Is the Ultimate Career Advantage10:12 – When Leaders Should Tinker and When to Delegate13:28 – Building a Marketing Culture That Experiments16:41 – Why AI Is About Judgment, Not Just Automation20:07 – Inside an AI-Powered SDR Outbound Workflow23:34 – Do AI Agents Replace People or Elevate Them26:58 – Upskilling Teams in an AI-Driven Organization30:17 – Why Most AI Content Fails to Break Through33:36 – How to Stand Out in a Noisy B2B Market36:52 – Why Enterprise Brands Lose Touch With End Users39:48 – How Alteryx Built a 700,000-Person Community43:06 – Turning Community Into Competition and Learning46:32 – Early AI Wins That Drive Real Pipeline Impact  This episode is brought to you by Lightricks. LTX is the all-in-one creative suite for AI-driven video production; built by Lightricks to take you from idea to final 4K render in one streamlined workspace.Powered by LTX-2, our next-generation creative engine, LTX lets you move faster, collaborate seamlessly, and deliver studio-quality results without compromise. Try it today at ltx.studio Mission.org is a media studio producing content alongside world-class clients. Learn more at mission.org. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Open source has always played a big role at 37signals. This week, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson share why they're drawn to working in the open, and how that mindset carries into their newest product, Fizzy.Key Takeaways00:12 – Why open source continues to matter at 37signals05:12 – Sharing work publicly pushes quality higher09:55 – How open source fits into Fizzy's SaaS setup15:15 – Treating open source as a gift19:41 – Getting direct feedback in unfamiliar but fun ways 22:56 – How the team decides what goes into Fizzy and what doesn't24:34 – A Danish language lessonLinks and ResourcesFizzy is a modern spin on kanban. Try it for free at fizzy.doRecord a video question for the podcastBooks by 37signalsSign up for a 30-day free trial at Basecamp.comHEY World | HEYThe REWORK podcastThe Rework Podcast on YouTubeThe 37signals Dev Blog37signals on YouTube@37signals on X

#719 If you've ever wondered how a SaaS business gets off the ground — or how math and spreadsheets can evolve into a powerful, profit-driving platform — this episode is for you! Host Brien Gearin sits down with Adam Callinan, founder of Pentane and host of the Growth Mavericks podcast, who shares his journey from building a multi-million dollar beverage accessory company (that landed a deal on Shark Tank) to launching a SaaS platform that helps consumer brands and service businesses optimize their profitability. Adam reveals how he scaled his first business to $8 million in revenue without employees or investors, the painful realities of running a startup, and how the operational tools he built for himself eventually became Pentane. You'll learn why he's cautious about AI, how Pentane gives clear, prescriptive financial recommendations, and why even non-sexy, service-based businesses deserve world-class tools to make smarter decisions! (Original Air Date - 5/8/25) What we discuss with Adam: + From coolie cups to software + Scaling to $8M with no employees + Behind-the-scenes of Shark Tank + Solving problems with spreadsheets + Why most SaaS is built backwards + Math > AI for financial clarity + How Pentane guides business decisions + Real-world use cases for Pentane + Helping service businesses with numbers + Building lean, profitable companies Thank you, Adam! Check out Pentane at ⁠Pentane.com⁠. Listen to the ⁠Growth Mavericks podcast⁠. Follow Adam on ⁠LinkedIn⁠. Watch the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠video podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ready to churn less and win more?

As organizations race to adopt AI, many discover an uncomfortable truth: ambition often outpaces readiness. In this episode of the ITSPmagazine Brand Story Podcast, host Sean Martin speaks with Julian Hamood, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer at TrustedTech, about what it really takes to operationalize AI without amplifying risk, chaos, or misinformation.Julian shares that most organizations are eager to activate tools like AI agents and copilots, yet few have addressed the underlying condition of their environments. Unstructured data sprawl, fragmented cloud architectures, and legacy systems create blind spots that AI does not fix. Instead, AI accelerates whatever already exists, good or bad.A central theme of the conversation is readiness. Julian explains that AI success depends on disciplined data classification, permission hygiene, and governance before automation begins. Without that groundwork, organizations risk exposing sensitive financial, HR, or executive data to unintended audiences simply because an AI system can surface it.The discussion also explores the operational reality beneath the surface. Most environments are a patchwork of Azure, AWS, on-prem infrastructure, SaaS platforms, and custom applications, often shaped by multiple IT leaders over time. When AI is layered onto this complexity without architectural clarity, inaccurate outputs and flawed business decisions quickly follow.Sean and Julian also examine how AI initiatives often emerge from unexpected places. Legal teams, business units, and individual contributors now build their own AI workflows using low-code and no-code tools, frequently outside formal IT oversight. At the same time, founders and CFOs push for rapid AI adoption while resisting the investment required to clean and secure the foundation.The episode highlights why AI programs are never one-and-done projects. Ongoing maintenance, data validation, and security oversight are essential as inputs change and systems evolve. Julian emphasizes that organizations must treat AI as a permanent capability on the roadmap, not a short-term experiment.Ultimately, the conversation frames AI not as a shortcut, but as a force multiplier. When paired with disciplined architecture and trusted guidance, AI enables scale, speed, and confidence. Without that discipline, it simply magnifies existing problems.Note: This story contains promotional content. Learn more.GUESTJulian Hamood, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer at TrustedTech | On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-hamood/Are you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Spotlight Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Highlight Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKeywords: sean martin, julian hamood, trusted tech, ai readiness, data governance, ai security, enterprise ai, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand story podcast, brand spotlight Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does it take to build truly product-driven engineering teams? In this episode, Matt Watson — founder and CEO of Full Scale and author of Product Driven — joins Lily and Randy to challenge the longstanding silos between product and engineering. Drawing on 25+ years of experience and four tech ventures, Matt makes the case for why developers need more than just code to care about: they need context, ownership, and clarity.From redefining “done” to the evolving role of AI in software teams, this conversation dives into how product leaders can foster a culture where engineers aren't just implementers, but co-creators of customer value.Chapters0:00 – Why “no feedback” is a warning sign, not success1:46 – Matt's journey: from developer to founder2:58 – Thinking outside the code: how the book Product Driven started4:50 – Why many engineers don't think about the customer5:57 – The rise of product managers and the walling off of engineers6:56 – Redefining the role of PMs in cross-functional teams9:01 – Metrics, measurement, and the illusion of progress10:57 – Ownership as the root of productivity13:04 – Code monkeys, culture, and killing creativity14:55 – Communicating context: five minutes that save weeks17:04 – AI and the changing definition of developer productivity20:32 – External value vs internal tech debt22:48 – The Product Driven model: Vision, Focus, Clarity, Shared Ownership, Courage27:08 – Why courage is the starting point for changeOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath. Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.

In this episode of The Metrics Brothers, hosts Ray “Growth” Rike and Dave “CAC” Kellogg provide a critical deep dive into the 2025 SaaS Benchmark Report published by High Alpha. Known for their analytical, and sometimes "crusty" approach, the metrics brothers dissect the data behind 800+ SaaS companies to separate real market trends from report commentary.Key Highlights & BenchmarksThe brothers break down the report's most significant findings with their signature skepticism regarding "correlation vs. causation."The AI Growth Premium: Companies with AI at their core are growing significantly faster than those using AI as a supporting feature. For instance, in the $1–5M ARR band, AI-core companies achieved a median growth of 110%, compared to 40% for their peersThe "Lean Team" Era: Efficiency is surging as headcount falls. Median revenue per employee has jumped to $129K–$173K, with top-tier public companies hitting over $283K. The hosts note that engineering and support have seen the largest headcount reductions due to AI automationVenture Rebound (with a Caveat): While quarterly VC deal value has returned to near 2021 levels (~$80B), the capital is highly concentrated. Over half of all VC funding is currently flowing into AI startups, often in massive "mega-rounds."In-Office vs. Remote: For the second consecutive year, the data suggests that in-office or hybrid teams are growing faster (42% median) than fully remote teams (31% median).As always, Ray and Dave offer practical advice for founders and GTM leaders:"Read the data, but watch out for the commentary." While the data is good, some commentary and conclusions in the report imply causation where there is at best some level of correlation, such as why companies stay private longer or how AI "drives" growth.Retention is King: The strongest growth outcomes are found where high Net Revenue Retention (NRR) meets short CAC payback periods.Outcome-Based Pricing: The brothers highlight the shift toward outcome-based and hybrid pricing models as a primary driver for best-in-class NRR in 2025.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In our latest episode, our co-hosts Robby and Tim talk with Jon Morehouse, founder and CEO of infrastructure company Nuon which enables Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) for everyone. This is an exclusive podcast episode with Jon digging into their decision to open source Nuon! The episode discusses the industry's growing shift toward Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC), where SaaS products run directly inside a customer's cloud account rather than the vendor's. This model is especially attractive to enterprises because it improves security, data sovereignty, and trust, while enabling earlier pilots and shorter sales cycles. Infrastructure products like Nuon focus on making this practical by packaging applications so they work in customer environments without requiring vendor access, positioning BYOC as an enterprise-first approach that is likely to become the default way software is delivered.A key theme is open source as a trust and distribution strategy. In the infrastructure space, open sourcing lowers perceived risk, deepens customer collaboration, and builds community, which in turn acts as sales enablement for large enterprise deals. The conversation also connects BYOC to AI, highlighting patterns like bring-your-own-model, keys, and GPUs, and frames BYOC as a spectrum rather than a binary choice. The broader vision is to define and lead a BYOC movement by uniting vendors around shared standards, trust, and community-driven adoption.

Today, we're joined by Tricia Maia, Head of Product at TED. We all know TED Talks — but behind the scenes, TED is undergoing a massive product transformation to adapt to a post-AI media landscape. In this episode, Tricia Maia, Head of Product at TED, pulls back the curtain on how they're solving the “discovery” crisis facing digital media today. Tricia shares: * Why “views” are dead: Explaining why TED is abandoning top-of-funnel traffic as their North Star metric and shifting focus to “depth,” completion rates, and account signups to combat volatile search algorithms * AI that actually scales: How TED is using advanced AI auto-dubbing — not just subtitles — to clone speakers' voices into other languages, driving 2-3x better performance * The “gap” strategy: The challenge of connecting a decentralized ecosystem of free users and volunteers at TEDx with an ultra-premium live experience that can cost up to $12,500 per ticket Links Tricia's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/triciamaia/ TED.com: https://www.ted.com/ Chapters 00:00: Introduction 01:51: TED's Media Landscape in an AI World 02:17: What does "Product" mean at TED? 04:24: How TED is Dealing with Challenges and Strategies in Media Discovery 14:59: Evolving Metrics and Goals Beyond Vanity Metrics Like Views 24:24: How TED is Connecting Digital and Event Audiences 32:22: TED's New AI Auto-Dubbing Initiative 37:14: Conclusion Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPodPodcast)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Tricia Maia.

James Brett is a serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist with 30+ years of C-suite and growth leadership experience, and a Partner & Co-Owner of Gear-Net. Since founding his first company at just 18, James has built, scaled, and successfully exited businesses across pro A/V, SaaS, broadcasting, mobile tech, finance, real estate, events, and marketing.Known for his passion for innovation and mentoring, James specializes in turning bold ideas into reality, then refining “the last 5%” that makes projects memorable for all the right reasons. He's a sought-after speaker, advisor, and board contributor, valued for his positive, forward-thinking perspective.Fun facts: Super Bowl audio engineer, certified stunt car driver, voice-over artist, extreme adventure traveler, CNN live reporter and owner of 800+ pairs of sneakers.This Episode is brought to you by Elation and Main Light

Building a SaaS as a non-technical founder? You're probably one decision away from burning months of time, thousands of dollars, or a painful chunk of equity. In this episode, we break down the most common non-technical founder SaaS mistakes we see over and over again—from choosing the wrong tech lead to building in silence, over-engineering too early, and falling in love with software instead of the business. If you want to avoid the traps that quietly kill most SaaS startups before they ever get traction, this is a must-listen. Chapters (00:00:00) - 5 Mistakes All Non-Technical Startups Make(00:00:52) - 7 Startup Mistakes You're Making(00:03:57) - The Tech Lead Nightmare(00:05:12) - The 2 Biggest Mistakes Startup Founders Make(00:06:56) - 3 Mistakes of Over Engineering and Under Engineering(00:09:41) - 3 Reasons Why You're Building Something Nobody Will Want(00:11:31) - 3 Mistakes All Startups Make(00:13:46) - 5 Most Common Mistakes First-Time SaaS Founders Make

Vikram Seth is the Co-founder and Product Visionary at Ducknowl, a talent-screening and assessment platform that helps employers make faster, smarter, and more data-driven hiring decisions. He is also a Co-founder of Simpalm, a company that provides software and services focused on IT and staffing solutions. With more than a decade of management and IT staffing experience and a master's degree from Georgetown University, he brings deep expertise to digital innovation in recruitment. Vikram also supports sustainable organic farming in the Chicagoland area. In this episode… Building better hiring systems isn't just about speed — it's about finding ways to truly understand talent, reduce bias, and streamline decision-making. Many leaders still struggle with outdated processes that overlook talented individuals and waste time and resources. So how can technology and smarter talent solutions transform the way companies hire? Vikram Seth, a leader in technology-driven hiring innovation, believes companies improve dramatically when they look beyond resumes and adopt structured, consistent evaluation methods. He highlights how video screening, skill-based assessments, and integrity-focused tools help hiring teams gain clearer insight into candidates while reducing costly misjudgments. The result is a more efficient, equitable, and data-informed hiring workflow that helps businesses scale with confidence. Vikram also emphasizes the power of global talent and why embracing modern staffing models opens new doors for growth. In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz speaks with Vikram Seth, Co-founder and Product Visionary at Ducknowl, to discuss building better hiring systems through technology and smarter talent solutions. They explore how structured assessments mitigate bias, how global talent enhances operations, and how real-world staffing challenges drive innovative solutions. Vikram also talks about the mindset that shaped his entrepreneurial journey.

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

In episode #337 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben breaks down why software revenue categorization is a foundational requirement for strong finance, accounting, and SaaS metrics. He explains the core revenue types every SaaS, AI, or software company should separate on their P&L—and why commingling revenue creates downstream issues in MRR tracking, retention metrics, forecasting, and company valuation. Ben walks through the major recurring and non-recurring revenue categories, then shows how clean revenue segmentation enables accurate MRR schedules, retention analysis, cash flow forecasting, and smoother due diligence with investors and acquirers. What You'll Learn The core revenue categories every SaaS or AI company should clearly define The difference between subscription, usage, overage, services, managed services, and hardware revenue Why overages must be separated at both the SKU and general ledger level How revenue categorization feeds directly into MRR schedules and waterfalls Why recurring and variable revenue must be forecasted differently How clean revenue data improves retention metrics and go-to-market efficiency analysis Why investors and acquirers expect revenue clarity during fundraising and due diligence Why It Matters Accurate MRR and ARR tracking depends on clearly defined revenue streams Retention metrics (GRR and NRR) break when revenue types are mixed together Revenue forecasting and financial modeling require different assumptions by revenue type Cash flow forecasting becomes unreliable without segmented recurring revenue data Company valuation is directly impacted by the perceived quality of recurring revenue Investors and acquirers expect detailed revenue schedules during fundraising and due diligence Strong financial systems and accounting discipline reduce friction in audits and exits Resources Mentioned Ben's SaaS revenue hierarchy framework: https://www.thesaascfo.com/the-saas-revenue-hierarchy-why-defining-your-revenue-streams-matter/ SaaS Metrics course at The SaaS Academy: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/the-saas-metrics-foundation

Subscriptions aren't enough anymore. We dig into why the next wave of software winners are building full commerce platforms where payments are invisible to users yet central to growth. With NMI's CMO Peter Galvin and Product Director of Developer Experience, Luis Peña, we unpack how vertical SaaS turns checkout into a native, on-brand experience that drives revenue, cuts churn, and opens the door to embedded finance.We start with the big shift: horizontal tools are giving way to vertical platforms that automate every workflow and own the moment of payment. From dentist offices to gyms and home services, merchants want one system that books, bills, and gets them paid. Peter explains how integrated payments changes the business model - subscription fees plus payments monetization and new fintech lines like working capital - while strengthening loyalty through a consistent, secure merchant and consumer experience.Luis takes us into the build. He shares a practical roadmap for developer-friendly adoption: onboard merchants within your app, collect card data with tokenization and design for webhooks, and exception paths from day one. We talk sandboxes, test suites that simulate real failure modes, and AI-friendly docs that make it easier for modern teams to ship quickly without cutting corners. Then we zoom out to the data advantage - interchange optimization, card mix insights, network tokenization, and benchmarking that inform pricing, conversion, and cross-sell strategies.The takeaway is simple: treat payments as a growth engine, not a bolt-on. When software controls the workflow and the commerce flow, the product becomes stickier, the economics improve, and customers stop thinking about payments at all.

MY NEWSLETTER - https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribeJoin me, Nik (https://x.com/CoFoundersNik), as I interview Jesse (https://x.com/JesseTinsley). This week, I sit down with Jesse, a true operator who turned his small consultancy, Job Mobs, into a massive, 100% bootstrapped holding company.We dive deep into his aggressive strategy of acquiring eight companies in two years, playing offense when the market was down in late 2022.Jesse reveals how he scaled from a $7 million services business, to a projected $100+ million SaaS operation. He shares the unconventional tactics used to acquire a publicly traded company (recruiter.com) and why buying premium domain names like employer.com is the secret hack to gaining instant brand credibility.Critically, we break down how he uses creative deal structuring (including paper LBOs) to achieve what he calls infinite IRR.Questions This Episode Answers:1. How can you use a market downturn to aggressively acquire competitor businesses?2. How does a premium domain name provide instant brand authority and ROI?3. How is it possible to achieve infinite IRR when buying a business?4. What creative financing methods (like a seller note) allow you to buy businesses with zero cash down?5. Where are the best non-tech opportunities for business roll-ups across the country?Enjoy the conversation!__________________________Love it or hate it, I'd love your feedback.Please fill out this brief survey with your opinion or email me at nik@cofounders.com with your thoughts.__________________________MY NEWSLETTER: https://nikolas-newsletter-241a64.beehiiv.com/subscribeSpotify: https://tinyurl.com/5avyu98yApple: https://tinyurl.com/bdxbr284YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/nikonomicsYT__________________________This week we covered:00:00 Highlights_Navigating Acquisitions in a Downturn02:54 Building a Diverse Business Portfolio06:11 From Employee to Entrepreneur: The Journey09:00 Strategic Acquisitions: Lessons Learned12:09 The Impact of Branding and Domain Names14:59 Creative Deal Structuring for Success17:47 Opportunities in a Shifting Market20:55 Future Trends in Infrastructure and Technology

In this value-packed episode of SaaS Fuel, Jeff Mains welcomes Egil Østhus, co-founder and CEO of Unleash—the world's leading open source feature management platform. Egil dives deep into the journey from thriving in corporate boardrooms to taking the entrepreneurial leap, co-founding Unleash with his brother, and scaling a business using open source and commercial strategies. The conversation explores critical challenges of serving both community and enterprise needs, the next-generation concept of Feature Ops, the nuanced impact of AI in software development, and the essential synergy between engineering and business for SaaS growth. Whether you're steering product strategy or deep in the code, this episode delivers actionable insights and leadership wisdom for founders navigating modern tech landscapes.Key Takeaways00:00 "Building Smarter: Growth Strategies"03:22 "Entrepreneurship Realities & Tech Futures"07:38 Enterprise Software Delivery Challenges13:21 "Challenges of Co-Founding Family"16:10 "Balancing Open Source and Enterprise"17:45 Open Source vs. Paywall Decisions23:28 "Building Enterprise Growth Processes"24:24 "Start Early on Commercial Strategy"30:08 "Unified Metrics for Long-Term Impact"32:09 "DevOps: Feature Lifecycle & Governance"36:26 AI's Impact on Developer Roles39:55 "Business Context for Developers"42:37 Culture Consistency Drives Success46:49 "Magician Marketer & Scaling Stories"Tweetable Quotes“We in the Nordics are sort of naive—we don't understand how difficult it really is. ‘How hard can it be to build this company?'” — Egil Østhus“Always put community trust first. If you break it, that decision is irreversible.” — Egil Østhus“If you have the best product that nobody knows about, it's really hard to sell it.” — Egil Østhus“Feature Ops bridges the gap between engineering and business—bringing real-time control and risk mitigation to software delivery.” — Egil Østhus“Every developer should challenge themselves to understand how their work impacts the business and end users.” — Egil Østhus“Culture is consistency. It's the boring stuff you do every day that builds a scalable company.” — Egil ØsthusSaaS Leadership LessonsCustomer Value First:“It's all about creating customer value. Bringing product out there and building a proper business model.” (Egil Østhus)Get Outside Your Comfort Zone:True growth happens when you jump into deep water and test if you really can build what you preach.Respect and Resolve Tension (Especially in Family):In co-founder relationships, never allow tension to build—address issues immediately, maintaining respect and professionalism.Open Source Takes Discipline:Develop clear guiding policies on what features are open and which are gated—never betray community trust with irreversible decisions.Build Commercial Capacity Early:Don't wait for sales and marketing to “catch up”—grow those functions as soon as possible to accelerate learning and scale.Engineers Need Business Context:The best developers deeply understand the product's business impact, continually interact with customers, and help shape business direction.Guest Resourcesegil@getunleash.iohttps://www.getunleash.io

In this episode of The Fractional CMO Show, Casey continues the conversation with a dozen successful women from the CMOx accelerator boardroom. This is part two of a webinar series where these fractional CMOs get real about building six-figure practices on their own terms.   These aren't beginners. These are women commanding $10K+ monthly retainers, managing teams of 30+ people across multiple clients, and turning down full-time job offers even when they didn't have paying clients yet. They come from automotive, financial services, SaaS, climate tech, life sciences, and consumer brands.   The conversation digs into pricing psychology, imposter syndrome, getting ghosted by prospects, why portfolio obsession is a waste of time, and the counterintuitive truth that higher-paying clients are actually less demanding. Casey laser coaches through some tough questions about what's really holding people back from charging what they're worth and claiming the expert position they've already earned. Key Topics Covered: -Why higher-paying clients are less demanding and require less "keyboard time" while creating bigger impact -Stop competing on price—establish your rate and find clients who pay it, not clients you have to convince -Corporate conditioning taught you the finish line always moves—fractional work means you set the standards -You're not competing with other fractionals—your success lives in relationships with 20-50 people over your lifetime -Getting ghosted isn't personal until they explicitly say no—keep following up with creative persistence -Pitch decks are overrated—sell the bespoke solution, not a menu of services -Some deals close in a day, others take a year of showing up consistently in someone's world -Who's a good fit: committed, coachable, vulnerable people willing to do the work and hear no​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Ian and Aaron discuss how Aaron's orchestrating fly.io boxes for Database School, why sometimes you need to use AI to help AI, and why Costco is truly a great place.  Plus an all-time Ian resume rant and so much more.Sponsored by Bento, Flare, Ittybit, tldraw, OG Kit, Tighten, and NusiiInterested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Classic Little Kid Disease (04:14) - Weekend Update (18:29) - Ian's Resume Rant (33:57) - Advent of SQL (46:50) - Using AI to Help AI Links:Google ClassroomNorthPark CenterDanbury Railway MuseumMelissa & DougThomas & FriendsAdvent of SQL on Database SchoolCodeRabbitStratechery

Join Nick Lamagna on The A Game Podcast with his guest Jordan Fleming! On this episode of The A Game Podcast: Real Estate Investing for Entrepreneurs, Nick Lamagna sits down with Jordan Samuel Fleming — real estate investor, SaaS founder, and the co-founder of smrtPhone, the all-in-one cloud phone system and power dialer built for real estate investors and high-volume sales teams. Jordan's story is anything but typical: a classically trained musician turned tech strategist who went from building systems in the Podio ecosystem to helping thousands of businesses tighten their follow-up, track every touchpoint, and scale from a couple deals a month to consistent high volume without burning out. You'll hear the real "behind the curtain" conversations that matter to investors right now:   ✅  Why most investors stall at 1–2 deals/month (and what the best operators do differently)   ✅  The fortune-in-the-follow-up framework: lead buckets, consistent touchpoints, and why your CRM is full of "found money"   ✅  How power dialing, call logs, recordings, and team accountability can expose leaks and immediately increase conversions   ✅  Real talk on cold calling, texting, and communication compliance — and why doing the basics well still wins   ✅  Where AI in real estate is going next (and how voice + automation will reshape acquisitions) Jordan also shares insights from his new book "Click. Call. Scale." — a practical playbook for building a phone-first sales system that helps real estate investors close more deals through better conversations, better data, and better process.  He also hosts the hit podcast That Real Estate Tech Guy. If you're wholesaling, flipping, buying rentals, running a acquisitions team, or building a real estate business that needs more leads and better conversions, this episode is a must. Connect with Jordan / smrtPhone + grab the resources mentioned: Links are in the show notes. Support the show: If you got value, please follow/subscribe on Apple Podcasts & Spotify, and share this episode with an investor or entrepreneur who's ready to scale. See the show notes to connect with all things Jordan!   Connect with Jordan: FREE Copy of the Book CLICK CALL SCALE Here! Jordan Fleming on Youtube Jordan Fleming on Instagram Jordan Fleming on Threads Jordan Fleming on Twitter Jordan Fleming on Facebook Jordan Fleming on LinkedIn That Real Estate Tech Guy Podcast     Connect with Smrtphone: www.smrtphone.io SmrtPhone On Youtube SmrtPhone on Facebook Smrtphone on Instagram Smrtphone on LinkedIn SmrtPhone on TikTok Smrtphone on Threads   --- Connect with Nick Lamagna www.nicknicknick.com Text Nick (516)540-5733 Connect on ALL Social Media and Podcast Platforms Here FREE Checklist on how to bring more value to your buyers      

Stuck waiting for your platform's marketplace to send you your next lead? In this episode, I break down the three traps that keep SaaS partners grinding on low-margin implementations, and what happened when a Monday.com partner finally made the WHO and WHAT decisions he'd been avoiding. We dig into how he went from competing on price with thousands of other partners to closing his biggest deal ever by selling outcomes instead of configurations. If you're a Salesforce, Zoho, or HubSpot partner who's tired of being at the mercy of algorithm changes, this one shows you what it looks like to own your pipeline.Resources and LinksApply for a Multiplier CallPrevious episode: 654 - How to Build Automations That Actually Scale With Your Business with Jared WeissCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources