Podcasts about saas companies

TJ Joosten is the co-founder of RevFixr, a pricing and monetization consultancy that helps SaaS companies improve pricing, packaging, and revenue growth. Before starting RevFixr, TJ spent a decade building and selling software, helping early-stage companies find customers, refine product-market fit, and navigate pricing decisions from small startup deals to multi-million-dollar enterprise contracts. Today, he works with SaaS founders, private equity firms, and software companies ranging from $1M ARR to $20M+ in revenues. TJ and his team have worked with more than 100 software companies, helping them identify monetization gaps, redesign packaging, move upmarket, and capture more of the value they create without necessarily building new products. In our practical conversation, TJ explains why most founders systematically underprice their software, why private equity firms often see pricing opportunities founders miss. We also discuss what's changing (and not changing) in pricing and packaging with AI and agents this year. He shares savvy advice on usage-based pricing, hybrid pricing models, AI agents, and why founders should continuously test pricing rather than treating it as a fixed decision. Key Takeaways Monetization Gap - Most SaaS companies create more value every year but fail to capture it through pricing and packaging. Pricing Courage - Founders procrastinate price increases while private equity buyers immediately look for pricing opportunities. Hybrid Pricing - Combining fixed fees with usage pricing often increases expansion revenue while reducing buyer risk. Founder Ownership - Pricing works best when one person owns it while sales, product, and finance actively contribute. Constant Testing - Pricing is not fixed; every new quote is an opportunity to validate a better monetization strategy. Quote from TJ Joosten, Co-founder of RevFixr "If you rarely get friction on pricing, it's rarely a barrier to entry and closing sales, then you have a pricing opportunity. If at least 20% of your deals in the negotiating stage don't push back on pricing then you're probably charging way too little. "If let's say 40 % keeps giving you pushback then of course you might want to go down. At that stage they have already invested time so they'll always also be honest about are you simply too expensive and therefore I'm not buying your solution?  "Or is there a different reason? You can just straight up ask someone like why didn't you buy? And if they don't give the reason of price, then you probably don't have a pricing problem." Links Tjitte (TJ) Joosten on LinkedIn RevFixr on LinkedIn RevFixr website Podcast Sponsor – Full Scale This podcast is sponsored by Full Scale, one of the fastest-growing software development companies in any region. Full Scale vets, employs, and supports over 300 professional developers, designers, and testers in the Philippines who can augment and extend your core dev team. Learn more at fullscale.io. 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.

In episode 159 of The Side Hustle Experiment Podcast  John (https://www.instagram.com/sidehustleexperiment/ ) and Drew (https://www.instagram.com/realdrewd/) talk with Al Carlton.Al is the founder of SellerAmp. He shares his journey from Amazon affiliate to SaaS entrepreneur. Discover how his technical background and innovative use of technology created one of the biggest softwares in the Amazon space.Don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the bell so you don't miss future episodes with top entrepreneurs and creators.Chapters00:00 – Intro + Meet the Founder of SellerAmp 02:00 – How Al Carlton Got Started Online 25+ Years Ago 04:15 – From Amazon Affiliate to Amazon Seller 06:10 – The Burnout That Led to SellerAmp 07:40 – How SellerAmp Got Its First 100 Customers 09:15 – Why Word-of-Mouth Beat Paid Advertising 11:00 – How SellerAmp Decides What Features to Build 12:35 – How AI Is Changing Software Development 15:00 – Will AI Replace Developers & Amazon Sellers? 16:40 – Growing SellerAmp From a Side Project to a Team 18:10 – Biggest Challenges Building a SaaS Company 20:10 – Selling Physical Products vs Running Software 27:15 – Why Most Amazon Sellers Fail 29:10 – Scaling From Solo Founder to CEO 31:45 – Al's Daily Routine & Work Habits 34:30 – The Future of SellerAmp + New Features Coming 37:00 – Angel Investing, SaaS Acquisitions & New Ventures 39:00 – The Hidden Skill Behind Great SaaS Founders 49:00 – Hiring Employees Earlier Changed Everything 56:00 – Can AI Build the Next SellerAmp? 01:00:00 – Final Advice for Entrepreneurs & SaaS Founders#makemoneyonline #sidehustleexperimentpodcast #sidehustles Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sidehustleexperimentpodcast/ Listen on your favorite podcast platformYoutube: https://bit.ly/3HHklFOSpotify: https://spoti.fi/48RRKcPApple: https://apple.co/4bmaFOk Check out Drew's StuffInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/realdrewdTwitter: https://twitter.com/DrewFBACheck out John's StuffInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sidehustleexperiment/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SideHustleExp FREE ResourcesFREE Guide: How to Make Money Reviewing Products https://bit.ly/3HIGFSP

00:00 – Intro & Jed's welcome 01:20 – How Backstory Branding was born from client feedback 02:33 – Jed's non-traditional background vs. the usual MBA crowd 04:52 – Why founders struggle to accept bold brand strategy 06:50 – Branding is not a crap shoot 08:26 – How strong brands multiply SaaS exit value 12:13 – The four phases of the Backstory Brand Wheel 13:46 – The DemoChimp → Consensus rebrand story ($110M raise) 16:36 – Jed's IDEO days, patents & human-centred design 20:10 – Why marketing leadership churn destroys brand equity 23:27 – Final thoughts & where to find Jed Connect with me on:All my linksBecome a guestSign up for RiversideGet Descript #DigitalMarketing #Branding #PersonalBranding #MarketingInsights #SocialMediaStrategy Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim dive into product management. They cover problem space versus solution space and why so many founders and product teams build features based on assumptions, customer requests, or competitive pressure without doing the discovery work necessary to understand what users are actually trying to accomplish. This episode is a masterclass on how to avoid building features nobody uses and how to create products that customers genuinely adopt, value, and pay for. Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. Links:  DemandMaven Subscribe to The Work by DemandMaven on Substack The Lean Product Playbook by Dan Olsen Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works  Continuous Discovery Habits by Theresa Torres Chapters (00:01:00) - Product discovery and idea validation.(00:03:15) - Why understanding the problem deeply creates better product decisions.(00:06:05) - What product discovery actually means in practice.(00:14:40) - Observational research and watching users interact with products.(00:16:15) - User stories versus hypothetical behavior.(00:19:50) - An example of the user stories you might look for on a SaaS reporting function.(00:23:45) - How support tickets can help lead you to the areas you should start working on.(00:29:00) - Castos example: uncovering integration problems through user stories.(00:37:45) - Theresa Torres and the Continuous Discovery approach.(00:44:30) - How discovery creates clearer product strategy and positioning.

Are AI inference costs already eating into your gross margin — and you can't even see them on your P&L? In episode #370, Ben Murray breaks down exactly what belongs in AI COGS for SaaS companies offering an AI-first or AI-infused product line. Inference bills are stacking up fast, infrastructure-layer spend is the surprise line item nobody priced in, and most finance teams haven't built the GL account structure to capture any of it cleanly. If you don't get the framework in place now, you'll be reporting AI gross margin you can't actually defend by next quarter — and your board will notice. The 5 cost categories every AI COGS framework needs — inference, model hosting/GPU infrastructure, the AI infrastructure layer, monitoring and observability, and AI-specific support Why AI inference costs deserve their own GL account — and shouldn't be buried inside your cloud hosting bill where they disappear The surprise cost line one industry report flagged as the #1 unexpected AI expense — hiding in data platform usage, networking, and egress How to structure your COGS cost centers so you can deliver clean margins by AI product line, not just lumped together at the company level Why token tracking by customer cohort (heavy / medium / light users) is now table stakes for any AI product sold as a subscription The deployed-engineer question: should AI support tickets sit with tech support or a specialized team — and how that decision rewires your margin model Tune in to get the AI COGS framework in place before your gross margin lands on a board slide you can't defend. Resources Mentioned Ben's new AI course: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/ai-finance-metrics-saas Ben's blog post: What Should Be Included in AI COGS: https://www.thesaascfo.com/what-should-be-included-in-ai-cogs/ SaaS Metrics Foundation course: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/the-saas-metrics-foundation

Aaron Levie is one of the most forward-thinking public company CEOs when it comes to enterprise adoption of AI. Aaron is the CEO of Box, the enterprise storage company that does over $1BN in revenue but only has a market cap of $3.2BN. Something we discuss today… AGENDA:  00:00 — Why the Experts are DEAD WRONG About the US-China AI Race 10:55 — Everyone is Wrong About Labour Markets: You Will Not Lose Your Job 13:10 — What Role Does Not Exist Today But Will Be So Common in 5 Years 16:45 — Is Your SaaS Tool Actually a Valueless Database in an Agentic World? 20:50 — The Cybersecurity Tsunami: Why Agents are Your Biggest Threat  25:50 — Token Maxing: What Every Company Needs to Know About Budgeting Tokens 34:55 — Is Silicon Valley Secretly Being Powered by Open-Source CCP Models? 39:15 — The Brutal Truth: Is This Generation of CEOs Too Low-IQ for AI? 46:55 — Frontier Labs: Why Aaron is Still Betting Everything on the Labs  

My guest today is Denada Ramnishta, the Chief Revenue Officer at Efficient Capital Labs. I've known Denada for over a decade, having first met her during her time at American Express where she was part of the early team building out merchant financing. She's been a consistent champion for democratizing capital access for small and medium-sized businesses, and now she's doing that at ECL, which provides non-dilutive funding and cross-border payment infrastructure for AI and SaaS companies.In this episode, we dig into how ECL approaches revenue-based financing differently from others in the space, their AI-driven underwriting system called Aura, the fascinating origin story behind their cross-border payments product ECL Flow, why VCs are actually their top referral source, and how they're adapting their underwriting as SaaS pricing models shift from recurring revenue to usage-based models. We also discuss the so-called SaaS apocalypse and what Denada is actually seeing on the ground from the founders she works with every day.In this podcast you will learn:Her journey from American Express to Efficient Capital Labs.What her time at Amex taught her about building responsible lending products.What ECL does exactly.What has been learned from the high profile stumbles in revenue based financing.How debt funding has been misunderstood by founders.Why VCs are the number one deal source for ECL.Their underwriting system called Aura and why it is unique.How Aura has allowed them to evolve their underwriting process.Why they decided to expand to underwriting companies that operate cross border.Why they created ECL Flow and expand into cross border money movement.Where they will be expanding this new infrastructure.Denada's thoughts on the SaaS apocalypse.As pricing models change for SaaS, how they are adapting their underwriting models.How they are able to grow fast with very low charge off rates.What is next for ECL.Connect with Fintech One-on-One:Tweet me @PeterRentonConnect with me on LinkedInFind previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Anthony Chiaravallo, founder and CEO of Vallo Media — a performance marketing agency that has placed over $100 million in paid media — joins Jeff Mains on SaaS Fuel for a candid, no-BS conversation about what actually works (and what doesn't) in B2B paid advertising.The conversation goes deep on performance media for SaaS: why cold lead gen ads are the fastest way to burn budget, how to build warm audiences before asking for a demo, and the massive cost savings that come from full-funnel thinking. Anthony exposes the hidden world of click fraud and bot traffic, explains how to set up clean data signals, and makes the case for why last-click attribution is quietly killing B2B ad performance. He closes with a pointed recommendation on where SaaS founders should — and should not — spend their limited marketing dollars.Key Takeaways3:44 — Anthony's Origin Story: From SVP to Founder Anthony's position was eliminated during COVID after five years building a paid media practice at a 4,000-person agency. He turned a side consulting hustle into Vallo Media, gave himself 6–12 months to match his corporate salary, and never looked back.5:50 — Founder Mindset: Replace Yourself First The biggest shift from agency leader to founder is understanding that your primary job as CEO is to replace yourself. Anthony systematically identified what he was spending the most time on and hired for it — starting with paid media execution so he could focus on sales and strategy.8:42 — How to Prioritize Your First Hires Start by asking: what am I spending the most time on that someone else could do better? Anthony's first hire was a paid search specialist — a person he found on LinkedIn, contracted for a project, and who has now been with him for six years running his entire paid media department.11:43 — What Makes B2B SaaS Performance Media Unique Running cold lead gen ads against a B2B SaaS audience is "a fast way to set cash on fire." One client was paying $8,000 per ebook download — from unqualified leads. The fix: build warm audiences through awareness and video campaigns first, then retarget. That same client dropped CPL from $8,000 to $115.16:49 — The Most Common Ad Waste Traps Brands celebrate cheap clicks without ever checking if those clicks are from real, qualified people. The most dangerous trap: reporting 1,000 clicks at $1 CPC while 90% of those users bounced in two seconds — bots or totally unqualified traffic.17:46 — Clean Data Signals & Behavioral Conversions Instead of only tracking form fills, set up behavioral conversions: time on site, page views, video engagement. These "quality signals" train the ad platform's AI to find more people like your best visitors — not just whoever clicks cheapest.20:40 — How Click Fraud Actually Works Bad actors spin up thousands of AI-generated fake websites, embed programmatic ad code, and deploy click bots to generate revenue from every ad served. Over half of annual digital ad spend is estimated to hit fake sites and bots.21:39 — How to Protect Your Ad Budget Set up behavioral conversion tracking in Google Tag Manager, link it to GA4, and monitor closely whether platform-reported clicks match actual engagement in your web analytics. Vallo Media manually excludes 50,000+ fraudulent domains per month in programmatic campaigns.26:56 — When a Flawed UX Tanks a Campaign Anthony walked a healthcare client through a campaign where 1,100 people clicked and zero downloaded the app — because the user flow required a QR code scan, app download, account setup, and SMS verification in sequence. He couldn't even complete it himself.30:39 — UX Is a Paid Media Problem Your landing page, checkout, and signup flow are part of your paid media strategy. A client ignored Anthony's landing page recommendations for eight months — performance suffered the entire time. Paid ads don't exist in a silo.36:18 — AI for Ad Creative: Useful Starting Point, Not a Replacement AI design tools can quickly improve creative direction (simplify text, modernize layouts, test variations) — but they need a human with marketing knowledge and taste to direct them and approve the output. "AI is only as good as the human giving it direction."39:32 — The Right Way to Test Ads Reserve 5–10% of monthly budget for digital experiments. Test one variable at a time. Run AB tests monthly. One surprise finding: ads showing a person looking at the product outperformed ads with the person making eye contact with the camera for driving direct sales.41:37 — Why Last-Click Attribution Is Killing B2B Ads Last-click attribution only credits the final touchpoint and ignores every podcast listen, social impression, and website visit that built purchase intent. In B2B SaaS, buying cycles can span a year — you need a mixed media model that assigns value across all touchpoints.46:31 — Where to Spend (and Not Spend) Your Budget Don't start with Google Ads — competition is high and lead quality is inconsistent without brand foundation. Instead: invest in data immersion first, then build brand through top/middle funnel awareness and engagement campaigns. Once you've built warm audiences, bring Google Ads online to capture the demand you've already generated.Tweetable Quotes"The worst thing a B2B SaaS company can do in performance media is run lead gen ads against a cold audience." — Anthony Chiaravallo"Paid media doesn't exist in a silo. It's part of your overall marketing mix — and there's an effective way to do it." — Anthony Chiaravallo"You can't just turn on a paid ad and expect the leads to flow. Especially in B2B, you're skipping five steps." — Anthony Chiaravallo"Over half of annual digital ad spend is going to fake websites, fake bots, and hackers collecting a payday on every click." — Anthony Chiaravallo"AI is only as good as the human giving it direction. It doesn't have taste, context, or discernment." — Anthony Chiaravallo"Build demand before you try to capture it. Your whole job becomes easier when it comes to conversion." — Anthony Chiaravallo"If your user experience is not totally frictionless, your campaigns are not going to be successful." — Anthony Chiaravallo"You eat what you kill as a founder. It was much more rewarding — you see your business grow, your team grow." — Anthony ChiaravalloSaaS Leadership Lessons1. Replace Yourself Systematically, Starting on Day One Anthony's first move as a founder was identifying what he was doing that someone else could do better. He hired a paid search specialist immediately, freeing himself for sales and strategy. The lesson: your job as CEO is to continuously remove yourself from execution and move toward empowerment.2. Sales Is Never Someone Else's Responsibility No matter how strong your sales team gets, as a founder you never fully hand off sales. Anthony kept business development as his north star from day one — because as he puts it, founders "eat what they kill." Staying close to the sale means staying close to the customer.3. Hire People Smarter Than You in Their Lane Don't try to be an expert in everything. Find people who are better than you at the specific skill you need, give them the resources and autonomy to outperform you, and focus your energy on orchestration and vision.4. Strategy Before Spend — Always 90% of success in paid media comes from setup: campaign structure, tracking, data signals, and understanding the customer journey. Before spending a dollar on ads, conduct a data immersion, audit your analytics, and map what your best customers' buying journey actually looked like.5. Full-Funnel Thinking Beats Tactical Execution SaaS founders who jump straight to lead gen ads skip the awareness and engagement layers that warm audiences and reduce acquisition costs. Brands that invest in the top and middle of the funnel — video, content, thought leadership — have dramatically lower cost-per-pipeline when they eventually run conversion campaigns.6. Measure What the Platform Won't Tell You Ad platforms report the metrics that make them look good. Real performance intelligence lives in your web analytics: time on site, page views, branded search volume, brand recall lift. Close the loop by sending quality signals back to the algorithm, and insist on UTM hygiene and proper GA4 setup before running a single dollar in spend.Guest Resourcesanthony@vallomedia.comhttps://www.vallomedia.com/https://www.facebook.com/vallomedia/https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonychiaravallo/https://www.linkedin.com/company/vallomediahttps://www.instagram.com/vallomedia/Episode SponsorThe Captain's KeysSmall Fish, Big Pond – https://smallfishbigpond.com/ Use the promo code ‘SaaSFuel'Champion Leadership Group –

Six newly-created accounts made a profit of $1 million by correctly betting that the U.S. would strike Iran by February 28. TechCrunch spoke with VCs to learn what investors aren't looking for in AI SaaS startups anymore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does it really mean to balance purpose and profit as an entrepreneur? In this episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, host Marcia Dawood sits down with Coco Sellman to uncover how founders can address real community needs while building profitable, lasting companies.Marcia Dawood introduces Coco Sellman, a serial founder and the author of “A Force for Good.” Coco's journey began with deeply personal motivations—seeking specialized care for her stepdaughter—which inspired her to launch and later successfully exit a healthcare business. Now, she's focused on empowering women entrepreneurs to scale with intention and impact.This episode offers valuable insights for anyone navigating the world of startups and scale-ups. Coco Sellman shares hard-earned lessons on timing exits, acquiring businesses, and the essence of her practical growth framework. With honest stories and actionable advice, the conversation makes this episode an essential listen for founders seeking both purpose and profitable growth. To get the latest from Coco Sellman, you can follow her below!https://www.linkedin.com/in/cocosellman/https://aforceforgood.biz/https://www.amazon.com/Force-Good-High-Impact-High-Growth-Enterprises/dp/B0DPVV9Q8Q Sign up for Marcia's newsletter to receive tips and the latest on Angel Investing!Website: www.marciadawood.comDo Good While Doing WellLearn more about the documentary Show Her the Money: www.showherthemoneymovie.comAnd don't forget to follow us wherever you are!Apple Podcasts: https://pod.link/1586445642.appleSpotify: https://pod.link/1586445642.spotifyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/angel-next-door-podcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theangelnextdoorpodcast/Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/theangelnextdoorpodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marciadawood

Ready to churn less and win more?

Today, we're joined by Tim Schumacher, Co-Founder of saas.group, a conglomerate of independent SaaS businesses founded by experienced industry veterans with proven entrepreneurial, investing, and product backgrounds. We talk about:The new exit options saas.group brings to startupsGrowing small SaaS companies while preserving what's good & made them strongCharacteristics of successful startups, including lean companies with a very clear focusAdvice for SaaS founders – to sell or not to sell?The SaaS market in Europe

SaaStr 839: Why Most SaaS Companies Will Fail at AI (And How to Avoid It) with Intercom's CPO The Brutal Truth About Transforming a SaaS Company into an AI Company Intercom's Chief Product Officer, Paul Adams, shares the unfiltered story of how they transformed from a struggling SaaS company with 5 quarters of declining growth into an AI-first company with a breakthrough product (Fin) that now handles 1M+ customer resolutions per week. What You'll Learn: Why AI transformation requires "refounding" your entire company - not just adding AI features The self-harming decisions you must make to win (including parting ways with ~33% of your team) How to go from 0 to 6,000+ AI customers with 65% average resolution rate Why demos ≠ products and the "marketing overhang" problem The complete shift in how you build software (empirical evaluation vs. traditional product development) Why designers now ship code to production at Intercom How the buyer has changed (hint: it's no longer just the department head) --------------------- This episode is Sponsored in part by HappyFox: Imagine having AI agents for every support task — one that triages tickets, another that catches duplicates, one that spots churn risks. That'd be pretty amazing, right? HappyFox just made it real with Autopilot. These pre-built AI agents deploy in about 60 seconds and run for as low as 2 cents per successful action. All of it sits inside the HappyFox omnichannel, AI-first support stack — Chatbot, Copilot, and Autopilot working as one. Check them out at happyfox.com/saastr   ---------------------   Hey everybody, the biggest B2B + AI event of the year will be back - SaaStr AI in the SF Bay Area, aka the SaaStr Annual, will be back in May 2026.    With 68% VP-level and above, 36% CEOs and founders and a growing 25% AI-first professional, this is the very best of the best S-tier attendees and decision makers that come to SaaStr each year.     But here's the reality, folks: the longer you wait, the higher ticket prices can get. Early bird tickets are available now, but once they're gone, you'll pay hundreds more so don't wait.    Lock in your spot today by going to podcast.saastrannual.com to get my exclusive discount SaaStr AI SF 2026. We'll see you there.

Summary In this episode, Amas Tenumah and Bob Furniss delve into the current state of Software as a Service (SaaS) and its intersection with artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the context of contact centers. They discuss the recent downturn in stock prices for major SaaS companies like Salesforce and ServiceNow, attributing this to Wall Street's skepticism about the actual impact of AI on these platforms. Amas expresses concern that the hype surrounding AI is outpacing the reality of its implementation, suggesting that many companies are not yet ready to fully embrace AI-driven solutions. Bob echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of expertise and experience in successfully implementing these technologies.   AI hype is ahead of customer readiness. Wall Street is skeptical about SaaS companies' future. Vibe coding may not replace the need for expertise. Experience in implementation outweighs potential of new tech. Both extremes of AI adoption are currently inaccurate. Sound bites "Service now stock hasn't been this cheap in like four years." "There's two different stories going on here." "Both extremes are wrong today." Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Current Market Overview 00:53 The Impact of AI on SaaS Companies 03:42 Building vs. Buying: The New Paradigm 07:18 Navigating Contract Renewals and New Technologies 10:49 The Future of AI in the Contact Center Industry 13:38 Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Summary In this episode, Amas Tenumah and Bob Furniss delve into the current state of Software as a Service (SaaS) and its intersection with artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the context of contact centers. They discuss the recent downturn in stock prices for major SaaS companies like Salesforce and ServiceNow, attributing this to Wall Street's skepticism about the actual impact of AI on these platforms. Amas expresses concern that the hype surrounding AI is outpacing the reality of its implementation, suggesting that many companies are not yet ready to fully embrace AI-driven solutions. Bob echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of expertise and experience in successfully implementing these technologies.   AI hype is ahead of customer readiness. Wall Street is skeptical about SaaS companies' future. Vibe coding may not replace the need for expertise. Experience in implementation outweighs potential of new tech. Both extremes of AI adoption are currently inaccurate. Sound bites "Service now stock hasn't been this cheap in like four years." "There's two different stories going on here." "Both extremes are wrong today." Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Current Market Overview 00:53 The Impact of AI on SaaS Companies 03:42 Building vs. Buying: The New Paradigm 07:18 Navigating Contract Renewals and New Technologies 10:49 The Future of AI in the Contact Center Industry 13:38 Conclusion and Key Takeaways

AI, AI, and more AI. Do you even live in Silicon Valley if you're not talking about it every episode? This week, we go deep on how open-source vibe-coding tools are starting to replace the need for traditional SaaS contracts. Dave shows (and tells) how he used the open-source “Claude bot” to reverse-engineer his Mural photo frames and spin up a better web UI in under 30 minutes. Brit test-drives Anthropic's new Cowork, auto-mapping the entire seed VC market while it runs her browser, and celebrates how much these agents are boosting household productivity. Sam loves the power but calls local agents a massive security backdoor, argues trust will consolidate with Apple and Google, declares that “software is not a business,” and announces we've officially entered the fart-app era of AI toys. Jessica flags rising panic among SaaS vendors. Don't miss Sam's hot-chick analogy and Brit's Pop Corner to close it out

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.

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.

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

Send us a textGuest: Mark Walker, CEO at Nue.io -- SaaS pricing isn't breaking because of AI — it's breaking because most revenue systems were never built for the speed and complexity of today's models.In this episode, Mark Walker, CEO of Nue.io, joins host Ken Lempit to unpack why modern SaaS and AI companies are abandoning legacy CPQ and billing stacks for a flexible, unified revenue infrastructure built for rapid change.Key highlights:Why legacy CPQ + billing can't support modern SaaS pricingHow committed consumption + bank-billed models are reshaping monetizationWhy speed of configuration is now a GTM advantageWhat RevOps must rethink as pricing experiments explodeHow elite teams thrive on hard problems and high-velocity executionIf you're a B2B SaaS founder, CRO, CMO, or RevOps leader navigating complex pricing models, upgrading your revenue stack, or preparing for next-gen AI monetization, this conversation will change how you think about scaling.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch.

When you've built a successful service or consulting company, the idea that building your own SaaS product can sound very attractive: scalable revenue, recurring customers, and product-led growth. But the reality is often far more complex. In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim explore why non-SaaS companies struggle when attempting to spin off software products. They cover what makes SaaS such a different business model, the hidden costs and pitfalls of under-committing, and what it really takes to make a spin-off succeed. If you've ever wondered whether your company should build its own SaaS product, or you're already in the middle of one, this episode will help you avoid the most common mistakes and wasted investment. Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. Chapters (00:01:00) - Why non-SaaS companies get drawn to the “siren song” of SaaS(00:03:00) - How building internal tools triggers the idea of selling a software product.(00:09:45) - Why SaaS is hard and why spinning off a SaaS product often doesn't work out.(00:14:30) - Why parent-company reputation doesn't transfer to a SaaS spin-off as often as you'd think.(00:18:30) - What are the most common pitfalls to avoid if you're thinking about creating a SaaS spin-off product?(00:23:15) - Most SaaS spin-offs require $200K–$800K of investment before they start making money.(00:28:30) - Understanding go-to-market for a SaaS product and the mistakes that parent companies often make.(00:41:30) - The problems that come up with the parent company isn't fully committed to the new product.(00:44:20) - What made Moz and SearchPilot successful when others failed.(00:47:45) - Final advice: hire experienced contributors and treat the spin-off like a true startup.

How do you go from a scrappy B2B SaaS with early traction… to a repeatable, scalable growth machine?In this episode, we sit down with EVP's Allen Zhu — founder-turned-PM-turned-investor — to unpack the go-to-market playbook for scaling from 1 to 10. We dive into how top SaaS companies segment their market, fund sales and marketing early, and build moats that compound.Allen shares real examples from EVP's portfolio (including Nexl) and explains how segmentation, workflow-driven expansion, and smart early investment helped them scale fast without burning cash.Tune in and learn:+ How segmentation drives efficiency — and the Nexl case that proves it+ The “self-funding” model for early sales & marketing investment+ Product expansion frameworks: follow the workflow, then follow the money+ How to build switching-cost moats and pre-board ROI for enterprise dealsThis is a must-watch for any B2B marketer or founder navigating the jump from early traction to scalable growth.-----------------------------------------------------

In this episode of the Transform Sales Podcast: Sales Software Review Series, Dave Menjura, Marketplace Specialist at CloudTask, sits down with Andrey Kholkin, CTO at Weberlo, to discuss how Weberlo, a robust tracking and attribution platform, helps businesses optimize their advertising budgets and enhance campaign performance. Andrey shares how Weberlo began as a personal project designed to address common challenges in tracking ad effectiveness, such as lost data from pixels and unreliable attribution windows. Weberlo solves these challenges by accurately capturing and attributing customer interactions across multiple channels, providing lifetime attribution, and integrating seamlessly with major shopping carts and ad platforms. Listeners will discover how Weberlo significantly improves advertising ROI by clearly identifying which ads and channels generate sales, enabling businesses to confidently allocate budget towards high-performing campaigns and swiftly discontinue ineffective ones. Andrey demonstrates how Weberlo's detailed dashboards provide actionable insights into ad spend, Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), geographic performance, device usage, and conversion rates, delivering real-time data essential for strategic decision-making. Find out how Weberlo can streamline your advertising efforts, reduce costs by 10-20%, and ensure accurate tracking of every dollar spent. Andrey emphasizes the ease of setup, intuitive user experience, and Weberlo's commitment to providing businesses with comprehensive data to power their marketing strategies. Try Weberlo here: https://software.cloudtask.com/weberlo-e20b63 #TransformSales #SalesSoftware #Weberlo #AdOptimization #AttributionSoftware #MarketingROI #Tracking #SalesInsights

Most SaaS founders struggle to break through the noise in an increasingly commoditized market. With everyone using the same cold email tools and personalization tactics, how do you actually stand out and scale to eight figures? In this presentation from Founder's Summit (December 2024), Nathan Latka—who's deployed $180 million across 519 SaaS deals—reveals the three proven moats that separate $10M+ companies from the rest. These aren't theoretical frameworks; they're real playbooks with actual revenue data from companies that have cracked the code. Key Highlights: 02:57: The three moats that work best for the future06:14: Build social proof monuments 11:22: How Odoo undercuts Shopify 17:04: Turn free users into marketing armies16:01: The winning strategy Resources:

Are you struggling to stay ahead of your competitors in the B2B SaaS market? In this podcast hosted by Cassio Sampaio, Okta Head of Insights for Growth Kundan Kolhe will be speaking on building effective competitive intelligence strategies. Drawing from over 20 years of enterprise software experience, Kundan shares insider tactics on how top tech companies transform competitive insights into winning business strategies.

On this episode of The SaaS CFO Podcast, host Ben Murray sits down with Riya Grover, co-founder and CEO of Sequence. Riya shares her journey from investment banking to entrepreneurship, including the story behind her first SaaS company in the restaurant industry and its eventual acquisition. She dives into the inspiration for Sequence—a modern billing and quote-to-cash platform designed to tackle the challenges of custom contracts and complex pricing models for scaling SaaS and B2B companies. Riya opens up about the company's pivotal shift from payments to revenue management, navigating tough conversations with investors, and building a lean, high-impact team. She reveals how Sequence is empowering finance teams to automate billing, invoicing, and revenue recognition, while also offering flexibility for hybrid pricing and go-to-market motions. Tune in to hear Riya's insights on scaling a SaaS business, managing a major product pivot, and how AI-powered automation is transforming the future of financial operations. Whether you're a SaaS CFO, founder, or just curious about the evolving CFO tech stack, this episode has a wealth of lessons and practical advice. Show Notes: 00:00 Automated Custom Billing Platform 04:29 Scaling Challenges for SaaS Companies 09:11 Pivoting to Custom Payments Solutions 10:54 Early Capital's Impact on Team Building 14:51 Adapting Teams for Changing Visions 16:40 Growth Strategy Focused on Content and Networking 20:31 Hybrid Scalable Pricing Model 24:35 Transforming Finance with AI Agents 29:19 "Contextual Finance Automation Opportunities" 30:25 "Contact SequenceHQ Easily" Links: SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/sequence-raises-75-million-in-funding Riya Grover's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riya-grover-a22a4822/ Sequence HQ's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sequence-hq/ Sequence HQ's Website: https://www.sequencehq.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 New Wave of AI-First SaaS Companies Serving SMBs w/ Cooper Simson of Martell Ventures - AZ TRT S06 EP16 (278) 8-24-2025       What We Learned This Week: ·         Political & product risk can kill a business overnight. ·         AI is lowering barriers to software creation while eliminating low-value roles. ·         SMBs are ripe for AI adoption, especially in workflow automation & marketing. ·         The best AI businesses solve real problems — not just add shiny features. ·         Future-proofing means building where the “puck” is going, not where it's been.     Guest: Cooper Simson https://www.linkedin.com/in/cooper-simson-896957b1/ Website: https://martellventures.com Contact Cooper -  Instagram: @Coop_Doggy_Dog  Dan Martell's portfolio manager and business partner at Martell Ventures. Cooper talks about what they're building around AI and SaaS software, companies they work with, and the products for SMBs.   Show Notes Guest: Cooper – Entrepreneur & AI Venture Builder Bio ·         Started with a finance degree but never pursued traditional finance. ·         First venture: lead-gen & marketing agency (failed when partner left). ·         Pivoted through freelance work → launched a business helping people apply for government grants using AI. ·         Business collapsed overnight due to political risk when U.S. policy changed. ·         Backed by Dan Martel, who later brought Cooper into Martel Venture Studio AI. ·         Lessons learned: Always maintain control of the product and build businesses that can withstand outside risks.     Segment 1: AI + SMB Software Companies ·         Martel Ventures works with AI-first SaaS companies solving real business problems for SMBs (0–100 employees, $1M–$50M+ in revenue). ·         Examples of portfolio companies: o    Precision Connect – cleans and organizes business data dashboards. o    Atlas AI – AI voice agent that can call leads, nearly indistinguishable from a human caller. o    Hero – recruitment tool powered by AI. ·         AI is the middleman killer → entry-level tech jobs (SDRs, data analysts) most at risk. ·         Core question for any AI product: Does it solve a real problem, or is it just an AI feature? Segment 2: Dan Martel & Martel Ventures ·         Dan Martel: 27+ years in tech, 3 major software exits, 5M+ followers. ·         Founder of SaaS Academy (coached 6,000+ students). ·         Author of Buy Back Your Time. ·         Martel Ventures (founded 2024): o    Invests in and advises AI SaaS startups. o    Target: 10–12 portfolio companies per year. o    Provides equity, funding, and advisory services to accelerate growth & marketing. ·         Martel Ventures' niche: AI + SaaS companies with clear use cases and revenue potential. ·         Cooper's biggest takeaway: “Skate to where the puck is going” — build for future AI demand, not yesterday's. Segment 3: The AI Shift in Business ·         Cost transformation: AI drastically reduces software development and coding costs. ·         AI enables SMBs to: o    Automate workflows & reduce repetitive tasks. o    Boost employee efficiency → turns “C players” into “B+ players.” o    Increase ROI per employee by shifting them to higher-value work. ·         SMB Examples: Local service providers, agencies, or firms generating $1M–$50M annually with 5–200 employees. ·         Key insight: If you can't identify the customer and the problem solved in 5 seconds, the product likely won't succeed. AI Use Cases in Marketing & Ops ·         Lead research automation. ·         Retargeting: AI can read your website, identify IPs, and find who visited. ·         Ad research: analyze competitor ads with AI agents. ·         Campaign automation: compresses timelines from weeks to days. ·         Contact management: AI can segment and organize lists for sharper targeting. Cooper Philosophy: Frameworks & Systems ·  The "Founding 50" framework walkthrough ·  How to diagnose bottlenecks and build fast paths to MRR ·  Distribution engine strategies that accelerate growth Contrarian Takes ·  "Distribution beats capital — especially when your offer hits" ·  Why founders waste time perfecting products instead of selling ·  Red flags he spots instantly in founders AI Market Insights ·  What makes AI-first companies different from traditional SaaS ·  Why SMBs are the sweet spot for AI products right now ·  How venture landscape is changing for AI companies Leadership & Scaling ·  "Lighthouse, not tugboat" guidance approach ·  Speed over perfection in execution ·  People-first, action-oriented leadership style     Dan Martell – Bio info https://www.danmartell.com/ventures/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmartell/?originalSubdomain=ca https://www.saasacademy.com/author-dan-martell Dan Martell is a renowned coach and founder of SaaS Academy, celebrated for his expertise in scaling B2B SaaS businesses and significant contributions as an angel investor. Dan Martell is a Canadian entrepreneur, angel investor, and coach known for his expertise in the SaaS (Software as a Service) industry. He's founded, scaled, and successfully exited three technology companies. He's also a prominent figure in the SaaS coaching space, having founded SaaS Academy. Additionally, Martell is an Ironman athlete, philanthropist, and author.  Book – Buy Back Your Time     Biotech Shows: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Biotech-Life+Sciences-Science   AZ Tech Council Shows:  https://brt-show.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=az+tech+council *Includes Best of AZ Tech Council show from 2/12/2023   Tech Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Tech-Startup-VC-Cybersecurity-Energy-Science  Best of Tech: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=best+of+tech   ‘Best Of' Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Best+of+BRT      Thanks for Listening. Please Subscribe to the AZ TRT Podcast.     AZ Tech Roundtable 2.0 with Matt Battaglia The show where Entrepreneurs, Top Executives, Founders, and Investors come to share insights about the future of business.  AZ TRT 2.0 looks at the new trends in business, & how classic industries are evolving.  Common Topics Discussed: Startups, Founders, Funds & Venture Capital, Business, Entrepreneurship, Biotech, Blockchain / Crypto, Executive Comp, Investing, Stocks, Real Estate + Alternative Investments, and more…    AZ TRT Podcast Home Page: http://aztrtshow.com/ ‘Best Of' AZ TRT Podcast: Click Here Podcast on Google: Click Here Podcast on Spotify: Click Here                    More Info: https://www.economicknight.com/azpodcast/ KFNX Info: https://1100kfnx.com/weekend-featured-shows/     Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the Hosts, Guests and Speakers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent (or affiliates, members, managers, employees or partners), or any Station, Podcast Platform, Website or Social Media that this show may air on. All information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes. Nothing said on this program should be considered advice or recommendations in: business, legal, real estate, crypto, tax accounting, investment, etc. Always seek the advice of a professional in all business ventures, including but not limited to: investments, tax, loans, legal, accounting, real estate, crypto, contracts, sales, marketing, other business arrangements, etc.  

What's the secret behind B2B SaaS sales growth and how can outbound strategies be used to scale revenue efficiently? When it comes to growing a B2B SaaS company, not all sales leads are created equal. Inbound leads, those who find you through marketing efforts or referrals, already have some level of trust. They've seen your website, maybe read a blog post or two, and are at least familiar with your brand. Outbound leads, on the other hand, have no idea who you are. You're reaching out to them cold, and they're likely skeptical from the start. That's why trust becomes your most important asset in outbound sales. In this episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast, brought to you by ⁠SaaStock⁠, Joey Gilkey, CEO of Titan X, explains that outbound sales require a different mindset. You're not just selling a product; you're building a relationship from zero. In outbound, your first impression matters more than ever. That process starts with establishing credibility right away. Without trust, even the best SaaS product won't make it through the noise.As a valued listener of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast, we've got something special for you! As a valued participant, you have the exclusive opportunity to get a 30% discount on tickets to SaaStock Europe this October - the leading conference for AI & SaaS founders, investors, and leaders.Key Timecodes(0:00) – Introduction: Building Trust in Outbound vs. Inbound Sales(0:51) – Scaling Revenue in B2B SaaS: Proven Outbound Strategies(1:30) – Joey Gilkey's Irresistible Offer for Increasing Connect Rate(1:55) – Joey's Outbound Story: From Services Company to SaaS(3:00) – Launching TitanX: Zero to Five Million in 12 Months with Outbound(4:04) – The Compounding Effect of LinkedIn and Outbound Strategies(4:57) – Defining Outbound in the Modern B2B SaaS Context(5:53) – Common Challenges in Scaling Revenue for SaaS Companies(6:50) – The Four Fundamentals of Outbound: List, Message, Rep, Follow-up(8:21) – Importance of Targeting the Right Companies and Titles(9:44) – Structuring an Outbound Strategy for Success(10:42) – Accounts First, Then People: Tailoring Messaging to Personas(11:40) – Messaging That Resonates: Understanding Different Pain Points(12:35) – Evaluating Rep Performance and Funnel Math(13:24) – Follow-up Systems: The Buckets Framework(14:30) – Understanding the Six Buckets in Outbound Strategy(16:49) – Retargeting and Ads: Leveraging CRM Systems for Follow-up(17:34) – Choosing the Right Outbound Channels: Phone vs. LinkedIn(18:50) – Phone as the Tip of the Sphere: Conversational Advertising(20:10) – Scaling Outbound: The Advantage of High Connect Rates(21:07) – Combining Outbound and Inbound for Effective Nurturing(22:06) – Common Pitfalls in Outbound: Focusing Too Much on Meetings(23:13) – Surveying the Market: Understanding Buyer Readiness(24:57) – Phone Outbound as Advertising: Focusing on Conversations(25:14) – Handling Seasonality in Outbound: Deliverability vs. Receptivity(26:16) – High-Impact Tactic: Prioritizing Meaningful Conversations(27:41) – Apple's iOS Update: Impact on Outbound Phone Calls(29:05) – Future of Outbound: Predictions for the Next 2–3 Years(30:09) – Preparing for the Future: Self-Sourcing Pipeline & Sales Dev(32:50) – Advice for SaaS Founders: From $0 to $10K MRR(34:59) – Scaling from $100K to $10M ARR: Founder's Key Strategies(37:04) – Final Thoughts: Best Practices in Outbound & Revenue Growth(40:22) – Conclusion: Key Takeaways and Recap(42:34) – Contact Information and Closing Remarks

Today, we're joined by Erik Huddleston, Chief Executive Officer of Aprimo, the #1 digital asset management and content operations platform. We talk about:Automating content creation, plus scaling upstream & downstream processes with brand safety agentsFramework for CEOs to think through how to best apply AI more generallyThe importance of role clarity: understanding the core activities that impact the financial planHow SaaS vendors can survive tech consolidation by being strategically relevant to the budget ownerThe importance of a good personal knowledge management system

Public SaaS companies are growing faster—but private equity–backed SaaS companies are doing it more profitably. In this episode, AJ and Asad dig into new data from David Spitz comparing ARR growth and EBITDA margins across both groups, and debate what's really driving the difference: lower R&D spend, selection bias, or superior go-to-market execution. They also unpack the implications of long CAC paybacks, PE-style operational rigor, and whether most founders truly understand the capital partners they're signing up with. Thanks for tuning in! New episodes of Topline drop every Sunday and Thursday. Don't miss GTM2025 — the only B2B tech conference exclusively for GTM executives. Elevate your 2026 strategy and join us from September 23 to 25 in Washington, D.C. Use code TOPLINE for 10% off your GA ticket. Stay ahead with the latest industry developments and emerging go-to-market trends with Topline Newsletter by Asad Zaman. Subscribe today. Tune in to The Revenue Leadership Podcast every Wednesday, where host Kyle Norton talks with real revenue operators and dives deep into what it takes to succeed as a modern revenue leader. You're invited! Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders, share insights, and keep the conversation going beyond the podcast! This episode is sponsored by UserEvidence. Want to know what actually moves the needle on trust? Download The Evidence Gap, a data-backed report on the customer proof that drives real results. Get it now at userevidence.com/evidence.  Key Chapters: (00:00) - Introduction to Topline Podcast and Episode Overview (02:42) - Exploring SaaS Growth Metrics and Margins (05:29) - The Role of R&D in SaaS Companies (08:32) - Understanding CAC and Payback Periods (11:22) - Cohort Analysis and Its Importance (14:34) - Navigating Board Dynamics and CEO Challenges (17:26) - The Importance of Understanding Investors (20:39) - Lessons from Previous Funding Rounds (23:34) - Market Dynamics and Founder Challenges (26:25) - The Impact of Market Conditions on Founders (29:39) - Acquisition Strategies and Long-Term Vision (32:34) - The Future of LinkedIn and Social Networks (35:42) - Conclusion and Key Takeaways (36:10) - The Evolution of LinkedIn and Market Dynamics (38:30) - Challenges in Product Market Fit and Email Cadences (40:45) - The Challenger Sale: Relevance and Misconceptions (46:40) - AI's Impact on Sales Methodologies and Market Dynamics (53:38) - Defining Intelligence in AI and Its Implications (01:02:00) - Best Practices for Using AI Effectively  

Rob Anspach interviews Adam Hommey on SaaS Companies and their authenticator scams, self check out scams, tipping scams, email scams and even podcast guest scams. And how entrepreneurs can fight back. The post Ep 353 – Bullshit Scams first appeared on Rob Anspach's E-Heroes.

How do usage-based SaaS companies convert transactional or variable revenue into Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)? Episode #299 gives you a practical framework for presenting usage-based ARR to your Board, investors, and internal teams with clarity and confidence. After manually reviewing hundreds of public filings and investor materials, Ben Murray breaks down the real-world methods used by companies like Confluent and Datadog to turn usage into ARR. What You'll Learn The most common method for usage-based ARR The second most common method How these methods compare to traditional MRR x 12 for subscription models Why ARR is often used as a North Star Metric and how transparency is improving across SaaS companies. Resources Mentioned Webinar Replay & Slide Deck (~59 slides): Get definitions, examples, and real ARR formulas from leading SaaS companies: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/zz3ZR2WL Ben's Research Process “Over 100 hours of manual research. I tried using AI—OpenAI couldn't handle it. I had to read the filings myself. These ARR methods are backed by real-world data from public SaaS companies.”

In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by seasoned sales leader Jim Drill to discuss essential aspects of the B2B sales process, career development, and leadership. Jim shares valuable lessons from his extensive career, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer pain points, selling higher in the customer organization, and connecting solutions to concrete business metrics. Through insightful stories from his experience at companies like IBM, PTC, and beyond, Jim highlights how asking the right questions and staying curious can lead to substantial sales success. The conversation also delves into practical advice for young sellers and leaders, stressing the significance of structured training and continuous learning. Jim's anecdotes offer perspective on effectively driving urgency, building strong champions, and implementing impactful sales strategies.ADDITIONAL RESOURCESLearn more about Jim Drill:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimdrill/Watch Force Management's Panel Discussion on AI in Sales Leadership: https://hubs.ly/Q03rlW4Z0Download the CRO Strategy Checklist: https://hubs.li/Q03f8LmX0Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT[00:02:09] Jim's Early Career at IBM[00:05:23] Learning the Sales Process[00:07:13] The Importance of Curiosity and Learning[00:15:34] Advice for Young Sellers[00:21:15] Understanding Business Metrics[00:30:08] High-Level Sales Strategies[00:38:08] Budget Constraints and Problem Solving[00:38:43] The M and W Approach to Organizational Navigation[00:39:12] Connecting Metrics to Urgency and Champions[00:40:12] The Importance of Metrics in Sales[00:41:09] Creating Emotional Connections in Sales[00:45:51] The Power of the Champion Letter[00:56:58] The Role of Sales Leadership[01:00:31] Common Mistakes in StartupsHIGHLIGHT QUOTES"Knowledge builds confidence. Confidence turns into credibility. Credibility turns into enthusiasm. That turns into passion, and passion turns into persuasion. But the foundation is knowledge.""The urgency, lack of champions—if sellers are struggling, go back to your metrics. Where are you with your metrics?""Consultative selling is not just about providing solutions, but deeply understanding the pain points and creating value.""You can either do this, separate yourself and set yourself up for the future, or you're going to end up working for someone that did it.""Fires are going to happen. My job is to make sure the whole forest doesn't burn down."

In this episode of the Transform Sales Podcast: Sales Software Review Series, Eddie Bello

Andrew Gazdecki is the founder and CEO of Acquire.com, a marketplace of buyers and sellers of smaller, profitable SaaS products with revenues between $100,000 and $5,000,000. Andrew sold his own software company and learned how little support and information was available to sell a software product for under $5-10 million in deal size. Acquire.com has helped over 2000 entrepreneurs sell their software products for a combined value of more than $500 million. Acquire offers additional support to help founders package, promote, negotiate, and close their transactions. Potential buyers are vetted for financial viability and identity confirmation before getting confidential details for any deal. In this episode, Andrew describes their typical seller and buyer profiles, the typical process for a founder to sell a small and profitable SaaS company, typical multiples of profit that financial buyers offer, and founder transition periods. Quote from Andrew Gazdecki, founder and CEO of Acquire.com "There are three buckets of active buyers on Acquire.com. The first is below $100,000 net profit. That's going to be an individual buyer looking for something with maybe a little bit of product market fit. They want to take the product, grow it a little bit, see what they can do from there. They're buying a very, very early startup. So some buyers will actually start small and then work their way up. "From $100,000 to $1 million in net profit in our middle range, the buyer will a blend of "micro PE firms" and holding companies that want to get their hands on a business where there's a lot more going on. And then a $1 million in profit and above is going to be for the more traditional private equity or strategic buyers." Links Andrew Gazdecki on LinkedIn Andrew Gazdecki on Twitter Acquire.com on LinkedIn Acquire.com website 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.

Jason Lemkin is one of the leading SaaS investors of the last decade with a portfolio including the likes of Algolia, Talkdesk, Owner, RevenueCat, Saleloft and more.  Rory O'Driscoll is a General Partner @ Scale where he has led investments in category leaders such as Bill.com (BILL), Box (BOX), DocuSign (DOCU), and WalkMe (WKME), among others. In Today's Episode We Discuss: 04:23 What is Wrong with Billionaires on Twitter: Are They Depressed? 08:49 Why Does product Market Fit Mean Less Than Ever 11:50 Why is Venture Capital More Risky Than Ever and No One is Discussing It 16:17 Will Private Equity Save a Generation of SaaS Companies and VCs 23:53 a16z's $20BN Fund: Seriously? 31:29 Why Josh Kushner and Thrive Capital are Masters of the World 38:21 Why is Seed Investing for Suckers 45:49 Why Are $50 Million Seed Funds Useless 46:21 Founders Fund Raises $4.6BN: Analysis 52:00 How WIll LPs Change Their Approach to Venture in the Next Five Years 59:53 When Will IPOs Comeback? 01:09:15 Why Does it Not Make Sense for the Best Companies to IPO 01:09:51 Lost Ethics and Morals in Founder Secondaries and Term Sheets 01:22:58 Quickfire: OpenAI, Cursor, Deel vs Rippling      

Nina Achadjian is a Partner at Index Ventures, where she invests across seed, venture, and growth stages in AI, enterprise software, and vertical SaaS. She sits down with Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners, and the two discuss Nina's predictions for M&A in 2025, the importance of product market fit and what Nina looks for in a new hire. Plus, the two dig into Index's recent IPO with ServiceTitan, and how they managed a high-profile exit in the difficult IPO market of 2024.Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partnersLearn more about OpenLP: openlp.vcLearn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vcLearn more about Top Tier Capital Partners: ttcp.comSubscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.CHAPTERS:(0:00) Welcome to Origins(1:49) The Trading Floors of London and New York4:54-The ServiceTitan IPO(15:22) The Exit Window for SaaS Companies in 2025(17:45) Predictions & AI(25:10) More M&A vs. IPO(30:34) Investment Lessons Learned at Index(34:59) Hiring People Who Become Great Investors(39:03) Hive & the Armenian Tech Ecosystem

In this episode of The SaaS CFO Podcast, we are excited to have Ali Rizvi, the innovative CEO and founder of TrueRev, as our guest. Ali's journey from being a CPA with a solid background in finance and audit to becoming the driving force behind TrueRev, offers a wealth of insights. He draws on his extensive experience as a CFO for early-stage tech firms to highlight the persistent financial challenges SaaS companies face, ultimately leading him to develop TrueRev as a solution for subscription and revenue management issues. TrueRev is dedicated to streamlining operations for small to medium-sized businesses dealing with recurring revenue complexities. Ali elaborates on how the platform addresses these challenges by focusing on revenue recognition, subscription management, and financial reporting, providing SaaS companies with a cohesive solution. With a mission to solve the financial chaos that arises in tech-driven companies, TrueRev aims to ensure accurate and seamless financial operations, especially for businesses lacking the resources to address these problems with existing systems or headcount. In addition to sharing the vision behind TrueRev, Ali provides a glimpse into the strategic roadmap for growth and the essential role of clean data in financial operations. He offers valuable perspectives on the evolving landscape of subscription management and where the industry is headed. Whether you're an entrepreneur in the SaaS space or a finance professional seeking to optimize financial processes, Ali's discussion is full of actionable insights and forward-thinking strategies. Tune in to explore how TrueRev is changing the game in SaaS financial management and what it means for your business. Show Notes: 00:00 Revenue Recognition Challenges 05:34 Target Market: Growing Companies' Recurring Revenue 09:09 Side Project to Startup Launch 11:28 Inbound Strategy Focused on Conversion 13:32 Bootstrapping vs. VC Funding Pressure 18:49 Holistic Subscription Management Challenges 20:34 Complexity of Contract Management 23:08 "Explore TrueRev with Ali" Links: Ali Rizvi's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rizvial/ TrueRev's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/true-rev/ TrueRev's Website: https://truerev.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

In this episode, we talk about how top B2B SaaS companies are winning with SEO in 2025. Our guest, Tom Shapiro, is the founder and CEO of Strata Beat. He shares his knowledge and experience, including how he helped grow iProspect from $12 million to $75 million in yearly revenue. As an expert in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral intelligence, Tom offers a fresh way to think about SEO and audience engagement.Key Timecodes(0:48) - Guest Introduction: Tom Shapiro and his background(1:32) - Discussion on SEO performance report by Strata Beat(2:17) - Explanation of AI Overview by Google(3:01) - Importance of ranking in AI Overviews(4:27) - Misconceptions about AI overviews and SEO(5:52) - Strategies for optimizing for AI Overviews(7:04) - Reverse engineering approach for AI Overviews(8:08) - Audience segmentation and its impact on SEO(9:53) - Explanation of audience segmentation(12:27) - Content strategies for effective audience segmentation(14:01) - Adding free tools to websites and their SEO impact(15:31) - Evaluating the effectiveness of free tools(17:02) - Benefits of free tools for lead generation(18:34) - Creating simple vs. sophisticated free tools(19:47) - Original research and its benefits(21:09) - Uses of original research beyond SEO(22:10) - Effort involved in producing original research(24:30) - Blogging frequency and maximizing organic traffic(25:59) - Impact of custom graphics in blogs(27:42) - Importance of internal links for SEO(28:53) - Best practices for internal linking(30:13) - Summary of top SaaS companies' SEO strategies(31:30) - Content hubs and different content types(33:10) - Contrarian views on SEO and AI Overviews(34:36) - Importance of targeting relevant keywords(36:13) - Strategies for SaaS founders in 2025(37:27) - Importance of ICP research(39:00) - Advice for SaaS founders aiming for 10K MRR(40:41) - Advice for SaaS founders aiming for 10 million ARR(43:21) - Testing and optimizing CTAs(44:56) - Conclusion and contact information for Tom Shapiro(46:22) - Summary of the episode and closing remarks

How can SaaS companies scale globally while managing risks and maintaining sustainable growth?In this episode of B2B Revenue Acceleration, Aurelien Mottier sits down with Mike Malloy, CEO of Malloy Industries, to dive deep into the strategies that help SaaS companies scale effectively.Mike kicks off the discussion by sharing his journey and the mission behind Malloy Industries. He then sheds light on the key methods for penetrating new markets and reaching customers across different regions. These strategies are crucial for any SaaS company expanding its footprint internationally.But scaling isn't just about growth—it's about overcoming the challenges that come with it. Mike and Aurelien discuss common hurdles B2B SaaS companies face, from managing cash flow to aligning sales strategies with international markets. They also emphasize the importance of building and managing sales teams that can operate efficiently across multiple regions.Innovation is at the heart of successful scaling. Mike explores how SaaS companies can tailor their value propositions to resonate with diverse customers and industries. He also delves into the critical aspect of risk management and contingency planning, offering creative approaches to mitigate risks as companies scale globally.Whether you're a startup or an established player in the SaaS space, this episode is packed with actionable insights to help you navigate the complexities of scaling.

In this episode of the Transform Sales Podcast: Sales Software Review Series, Eddie Bello

In today's episode of the EUVC podcast, Andreas talks with Stephen Millard, Operating Partner & Chief Platform Officer at Notion Capital, a London-based fund exclusively investing in B2B SaaS. With roots dating back to early SaaS pioneers like Message Labs, Stephen brings deep operational know-how and a data-driven approach to venture investing. Notion Capital's Cloud Champions latest report unpacks European SaaS companies' unique challenges, from navigating fragmented markets to scaling revenue rapidly, emphasizing the need for constant reinvention.Using extensive experience and real-world case studies, Stephen explains how today's well-informed buyers reshape the traditional seller-buyer dynamic. He outlines the critical transition for founders: from a hands-on, experimental phase to a disciplined, outcome-focused strategy, ensuring that teams align across sales, marketing, and product development. Stephen also shares practical insights on adapting go-to-market strategy and building enduring, high-growth businesses in a rapidly evolving market landscape.Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview

Today, we're joined by Srikrishnan Ganesan, Co-Founder & CEO of Rocketlane, the #1 customer onboarding, PSA, and project delivery software. We talk about:Launching an incomplete product vs. going to market too late Determining the scope of an MVP & a full-featured, differentiated productUnique approaches to “Design Partners” during product development Best ways to build a communityMaintaining a sense of urgency once established & not getting too comfortable

How much do software businesses sell for in the seven, eight, or even nine-figure range? This episode of the Buying Online Businesses Podcast dives into what it takes to sell or buy a SaaS company. Host Jaryd Krause speaks with Diamond Innabi, an expert in buying and selling software businesses. With over 10 years of experience, she has helped close successful deals in industries like energy, government, education, real estate, and technology. Diamond understands the challenges that come with selling a software company, from making sure sellers get full credit for their recurring revenue to explaining complex technology to buyers. She also knows how to position businesses with high customer concentration and other tricky factors in a way that attracts the right buyers. In this episode, listeners will learn: ✅ How long it takes to prepare a business for sale (sometimes up to two years!)✅ What needs to happen before a business is ready to sell✅ How software companies in the $15M - $150M range are valued✅ The biggest mistakes that cause deals to fall apart—and how to avoid them✅ Key negotiation strategies to get the best deal✅ How to assess a business’s strengths and weaknesses before making an offer Since joining SCG in 2014, Diamond has helped grow the team, mentor new investment bankers, and improve processes that lead to better deals. She has a strong track record of getting results and often helps clients secure deals beyond their expectations. Tune in now to discover what it takes to successfully buy or sell a SaaS company.

How do you position your B2B SaaS for explosive growth? In this exciting episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast, host Joran Hofman sits down with April Dunford, the founder of Ambient Strategy and a leading expert in brand positioning. April shares valuable insights on why positioning is crucial for success in the B2B SaaS world. Positioning is often confused with branding and messaging, but it's far more important and foundational. It's about clearly defining why your product is the best at delivering value to a specific group of customers. Positioning helps you understand your competitors, highlight your unique features, and make it clear why your solution stands out in the market. Tune in to learn how effective positioning can drive massive growth for your SaaS business. Key Timecodes (0:00) - Introduction: Understanding Competition and Positioning (0:58) - Guest Introduction: Featuring April Dunford (1:42) - Defining Positioning vs. Messaging and Branding (3:18) - Importance of Clear Positioning (4:18) - Positioning as a Foundation for Marketing and Sales (6:01) - Differentiating Positioning from Branding (6:59) - Positioning in Practice: Impact and Implementation (9:23) - Common Mistakes in SaaS Positioning (12:34) - Misunderstanding Competition: The Intern Analogy (14:28) - Importance of Positioning in B2B (20:18) - Sales Pitch and Positioning: April's Process (24:08) - Testing Positioning with Sales Pitches (27:44) - Cross-functional Team Importance in Positioning (30:40) - Workshop Style for Positioning Process (34:32) - Challenges in Implementing Positioning (36:53) - Future of Positioning in Crowded Markets (39:07) - Advice for Early-stage SaaS Companies (41:39) - Advice for Scaling SaaS Companies (44:06) - How to Contact April Dunford

Show Notes: Marilyn Lin, a customer support thought leader with over two decades of experience, discusses the importance of customer support in driving business success in the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry. She has led global Technical Support Teams that not only resolve issues but also foster customer loyalty, drive renewals, and inform product strategies. In today's competitive SaaS landscape, customer support is not just a cost center but a linchpin of retention and growth.   Customer Support in the SaaS Industry The conversation turns to the different terms for customer support, such as customer support, customer service, customer care, and customer success. Marilyn identifies the difference between terms. She equates customer success to the team focused on the health of a customer, focusing on how they are leveraging and using the product and solution, realizing value from their investments. They are more akin to the account management side of the organization, taking care to understand the customer's top priorities and helping guide them through leveraging and using the solution and products they have purchased or subscribed to. She explains that customer support and customer service are terms used interchangeably to describe the teams that help customers resolve issues with using their products or services. In B-to-B environments, customer support are more technical support teams, while customer care and customer service is more tactical and often describe teams within B-to-C environments.   Subcategories within Customer Support There are different subcategories within customer support, such as onboarding teams, which help new B2B customers onboard with a SaaS company. Major functions  tied to customer support include customer training and onboarding, customer delivery teams, and customer escalation teams. The support delivery team handles cases and interacts with end users, helping them find solutions to their issues. A customer escalation team is involved when customers escalate issues or outages, ensuring timely resolution. Marilyn explains that historically, customer support organizations have been seen as reactive and cost centers rather than a strategic arm. However, there is a treasure trove of insights from the interactions with end users, which can be used to drive improvements in the product and solution. This information can feed into the product development cycle, helping product and engineering teams prioritize their roadmaps and drive the voice of the customer. Support teams can also provide insights related to training and enablement, usability, and user experience, which can be shared with the enablement and design teams. The Importance of Customer Support in Business The importance of customer support in a business is discussed, including the need for analytics to understand the impact of the customer support team and how that ties back to customer retention rates. A high retention rate can lead to increased value and a better brand image. Marilyn talks about key metrics she pays attention to as VP of customer support, including the importance of understanding the time to resolution, common themes of issues, and the financial impact of these metrics is mentioned. In a recurring revenue environment, it is crucial to highlight top case drivers or issues tied back to the customers and provide the ARR to the executive team. The need to prioritize areas like product bug fixes or feature enhancements is stressed, and the cost to serve customers, breaking it down by segments and regions to better understand customer needs and improve efficiency. By focusing on these metrics, businesses can better serve their B2B customers and drive more value. Examples are shared.   Tracking Trends and Changes in the Support Business In a VP of Customer Support role, key metrics include time to resolve issues, first time to resolve, and the ability to address user issues with the first interaction. Additionally, the team and individual level is monitored to identify areas for improvement. Employee engagement is a key focus, with companies conducting quarterly or twice a year employee satisfaction surveys. The focus is on analyzing trends and identifying high priority areas for improvement. In a support organization, it is crucial to prioritize employee experience, provide the right tools and processes, and listen to employee feedback. Support leaders should prioritize their team's well-being, as it translates into better customer service and interaction. By taking care of their employees, support leaders can improve their overall customer experience.   Evaluating a SaaS Company's Customer Support In evaluating a SaaS company, it is essential to consider whether the support organization has a strategic roadmap outlining their vision and quarterly milestones. This roadmap should evolve as business objectives and priorities change. A more holistic view of investments should be considered, not just focusing on key metrics. Marilyn suggests that organizations should give their team the support to take time to step back and look for ways to make things more efficient, such as creating knowledge articles based on interactions to prevent customers from having to log cases. Training and enablement should be provided for employees to continue learning and grow.   AI Customer Support Solutions AI solutions are being evaluated and implemented by support organizations to enhance customer service. Marilyn led the first support team at Salesforce  to leverage AI and machine learning within their support processes, using SupportLogic. The app helped identify potential cases that would escalate, allowing managers and teams to be aware of potential cases and provide timely resolutions to end users. The SupportLogic app has improved the way managers manage their teams and assigned cases to the right agents with the right knowledge and experience to handle unresolved cases more efficiently. This has led to improvements in the way managers manage their teams and elevating the customer experience provided by their support agents.   Timestamps: 03:40: Defining Key Customer Service Terms  07:47: Classification of Customer Service Roles  10:22: Transforming Customer Support from a Cost Center to a Revenue Driver  13:00: Metrics and KPIs for Customer Support  18:00: War Stories and Practical Examples  21:48: Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Metrics for VP of Customer Service  25:44: Evaluating Customer Service in SaaS Companies 29:07: Implementation of AI in Customer Service    Links:  Resource: https://umbrex.com/resources/how-to-analyze-a-saas-company/ Website: Golotusgroup.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynlin/   Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

SaaStr 783: HubSpot Co-Founder and Chairman Brian Halligan on SaaS Markets and AI (Part 1) SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin recently sat down with HubSpot Chairman and co-founder Brian Halligan, who shared valuable insights on the current state of SaaS, evolving board meeting formats, and how AI is reshaping the industry. Here are the key takeaways from part 1 of this interview. 00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview 01:00 Early Days and Growth of HubSpot 02:41 IPO Reflections and Market Insights 04:06 Regrets and Lessons Learned 06:38 Public Company Challenges and Board Dynamics 14:03 Innovative Board Meeting Formats 21:15 The Dreaded Monday Morning Meeting 22:10 Meta Learnings and SaaS Market Vibe Check 22:55 Navigating the SaaS Downturn 24:35 Challenges for SaaS Companies in 2024 29:11 AI in B2B: Who Wins? 32:46 The Future of AI and Pricing Models 36:18 AI Parity and Customer Support 40:31 Real-World AI Implementation Challenges   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code JASON50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Send us a textPeek into a head-turning conversation comparing the daily utility of Meta Ray-Bans versus Apple's Vision Pro. How do these technologies influence branding and consumer engagement? We've got first-hand accounts that might just reshape your tech investments.In this episode, Jordan West with Andrew Faris, who began his e-commerce adventure with Kalo, a famed silicone wedding ring brand, and grew his expertise through strategic roles at Common Thread Collective. Together, they discuss the power of community engagement, the importance of authenticity in branding, and the innovative marketing approaches that have propelled them to success.Listen and learn in this episode!Key takeaways from this episode:Usable Technology:Meta Ray-Bans showcase the value of consumer-friendly tech that integrates into daily life, unlike Apple's Vision Pro.E-commerce Growth:The e-commerce sector continues to expand, making it an opportune time for new entrants thanks to shared industry knowledge.Effective Marketing:Authentic engagement with niche communities, like CrossFit, is crucial for brand success. Tailored strategies are necessary for different markets.Creative Advertising:High-volume, low-cost creative ad production can be effective, but diverse advertising strategies may also yield success.Financial Management Tools:Tools like Lifetimely and Triple Whale are vital for managing cash flow and ensuring business transparency.Knowledge Sharing:Free resources and advanced software tools have enhanced e-commerce operations, benefiting businesses across the board.Podcast Networking:Podcasts serve as excellent networking tools, facilitating connections and industry insights.Niche Market Focus:Targeting the smallest viable market can drive success, as advised by experts like Seth Godin and Alex Hormozi.Involvement in Business:Staying engaged in day-to-day operations is valuable, as highlighted by Andrew Farris's personal approach to business management.Today's Guest:Andrew Faris, who has been involved in e-commerce for approximately a decade, mainly outside of the SaaS sector. He began his career in branding with Kalo, a silicone wedding ring company, and swiftly achieved significant growth without external funding. After Kalo, he became one of the initial strategists at the Common Thread Collective (CTC) and was involved in managing brand strategies with Taylor Holiday. Andrew later led growth at CTC, which spun off brands under 4 by 400, and is now managing his agency, AGF Growth, focusing on a select number of clients.Growth Plan: www.upgrowthcommerce.com/growMillion Dollar Offers: www.upgrowthcommerce.com/growIn this episode's sponsor is Revenued - is a financial technology company that provides businesses with revenue-based financing solutions. Instead of relying on credit scores or collateral, Revenued offers funding based on a company's revenue. This allows businesses to access capital quickly and repay it as they generate income. Learn more here: Revenued

Send us a textWe're celebrating our 600th episode—a special milestone featuring four brilliant minds and the evolution of our strategy that took us to astonishing growth. Dive deep into discussions of cultural shifts and generational shopping behaviors. In this episode, Jordan West gets into a dynamic discussion featuring a star-studded lineup of "the awesome pod guys" (ASOM): Jon Roman, Amir, Brian, and Jimmy Kim. Our focus? The controversial rise of TikTok Shop and the broader landscape of social commerce. We'll explore how this platform is reshaping consumer behavior, its implications for DTC brands, and its potential to rival established marketplaces like Amazon.Listen and learn in this episode!Key takeaways from this episode:Adapting to Social Commerce: Brands must embrace TikTok Shop and similar platforms within the next 6 to 18 months to stay competitive as social commerce grows rapidly and resembles marketplaces like Amazon.Challenges for SaaS and DTC: Platforms dominated by social commerce create hurdles for SaaS companies lacking email integration.Influencer Leverage: Influencers hold significant power over brand strategies due to their commission structures, resembling MLM models, which can impact companies' approaches to social commerce.Differing Regional Success: Social trust and ecosystem development contribute to Asia's success in social commerce, contrasted with Western skepticism.Generational Shopping Shifts: Younger consumers lean towards platforms like TikTok, while older demographics prefer Meta, showing distinct behaviors shaped by age.Content and Brand Strategy: ASOM's growth strategy underscores the success of social media engagement, consistent content, and adapting to platform dynamics.Risks of Platform Dependency: Over-reliance on social platforms and influencer presentation autonomy pose risks, highlighting the need for adaptive strategies.Challenges in Advertising: Mobile game ads face hurdles in e-commerce with user experience issues, akin to the challenges of Google display ads.Today's Guests: John Roman, Founder of Battle Box, is well-versed in ecommerce, particularly direct-to-consumer (DTC) models. He offers insights on the state of social commerce both in the U.S. and internationally.Bryan MacDonald, is an ecommerce expert who brings attention to the operational challenges of social commerce, such as varying influencer commissions.Jimmy Kim, is involved in the Commerce Roundtable, a platform that brings together eCommerce leaders to discuss trends, strategies, and innovations. This initiative provides events and resources for the direct-to-consumer (DTC) community​Amer Grozdanic, is a professional with experience in managing and scaling e-commerce operations.  He discusses logistics, supply chain, and operational strategies for e-commerce businesses.Growth Plan: www.upgrowthcommerce.com/growMillion Dollar Offers: In this episode's sponsor is Revenued - is a financial technology company that provides businesses with revenue-based financing solutions. Instead of relying on credit scores or collateral, Revenued offers funding based on a company's revenue. This allows businesses to access capital quickly and repay it as they generate income. Learn more here: Revenued

Tim founded SaaS Group in 2018 using his own money from Eyeo exit to acquire Deploybot. SaaS Group is structured as an LLC and funded all deals with equity until 2020 when they began using debt. In 2024, they sold about 5% of the SaaS Group LLC for $25m implying a value of $500m. They've purchased 20 companies over the last 5 years. Their companies do $60m in combined revenue today and employ 300 people. They typically pay 2-4x multiples. DashThis, Usersnap, and Rewardful are some of their larger companies. Can they acquire $60m more in ARR over the next 12 months?