Podcasts about Saas

Learn how FastWill went from a simple digital will service to a full-fledged SaaS platform revolutionizing estate planning for financial advisors and clients alike.   In this episode of Sharkpreneur, Seth Greene speaks with Zach Tsakiris, founder of FastWill.com. He shares how he expanded his digital estate planning platform into a successful SaaS business that now serves thousands of clients. Starting in the financial services sector, Zach saw the need for an affordable and efficient estate planning solution for mid-tier clients and professionals. He discusses building a SaaS platform for financial advisors, insurance brokers, and clients, offering an easy way to create wills and trusts. Zach outlines the key decisions, partnerships, and strategies that have fueled FastWill's growth and success in a competitive market.   Key Takeaways: → The initial inspiration behind turning FastWill into a SaaS platform. → Key challenges business founders face when scaling and how to overcome them. → The value of a seamless user experience in attracting both clients and professionals. → Why FastWill's SaaS model is a game-changer for estate planning professionals. → The importance of constantly evolving your product to meet user needs and market demands.   Born in Dallas and based in Manhattan, Zach Tsakiris became a top financial advisor in estate planning. He founded FastWill to simplify the process for clients and advisors. As the world goes digital, he envisions estate planning's future online and aims to make FastWill the industry leader.   Connect With Zach: Website Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Payne is the Founder and CEO of Coframe, an AI‑powered platform that optimizes website copy, UI, and conversion performance through machine learning. A serial entrepreneur, he previously co‑founded Autograph, a fan‑experience unicorn backed by a16z and Kleiner Perkins, and AccessBell, a video‑conferencing startup acquired by Tata Group. A Stanford graduate with BS, MS, and MBA degrees, Josh has authored over 20 papers and patents in AI and frequently guest lectures on generative AI. He is passionate about advancing AI‑driven tools that help businesses scale through personalization and intelligent automation. In this episode… Many companies struggle to turn website visitors into paying customers. Conversion rate optimization often feels slow, costly, and dependent on endless iterations, leaving teams unsure how to test the right elements efficiently. How can businesses rapidly identify what truly drives user engagement and lift conversions without exhausting their resources? Josh Payne, an AI innovator and serial entrepreneur with experience building self-improving digital systems, shares how his AI-powered approach solves this challenge by automating and accelerating conversion rate optimization. Drawing on lessons from CRO expert Justin Christianson, Josh explains the importance of systematically testing site elements, understanding visitor intent, and leveraging data-driven iteration. He also details how companies can scale experiments, reduce engineering and design burden, and uncover winning website variations faster to drive significant revenue growth. In this episode of the Inspired Insider podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz interviews Josh Payne, Founder and CEO of Coframe, about using AI to transform website conversion optimization. Josh discusses the power of iterative testing, lessons from raising capital for multiple startups, and the role of hackathons in building high-performing teams. He also shares insights on partnering with major brands, scaling experiments efficiently, and leveraging AI for competitive advantage.

Evan Sohn is a senior executive whose career reads like a masterclass in accelerating growth and dominating market share. From steering eCommerce initiatives in Fortune 500 giants to propelling nimble start-ups into industry leaders, Evan's impact has been both profound and measurable.His expertise spans sales, market development, corporate and product strategy, marketing, and business development—and he's done it across an impressive range of industries: talent and HR tech, payments, enterprise software, wireless and mobile, security, and managed services. What's more, Evan has a proven track record of breaking into new markets with cutting-edge technology solutions.Today, Evan is at the helm of Aura Intelligence—the premier SaaS workforce analytics and insights platform, spun out of Bain & Company. Aura empowers investment firms, consulting companies, and large enterprises to make insights-driven decisions, craft future-fit strategies, boost productivity, and reduce costs—all by unlocking the hidden potential of workforce data.Evan's journey is one of strategic vision, relentless execution, and a passion for helping organizations not just keep up with the pace of change—but set it.More Info: Aura IntelligenceSponsors: Become a Guest on Master Leadership Podcast: Book HereAgency Sponsorships: Book GuestsMaster Your Podcast Course: MasterYourSwagFree Coaching Session: Master Leadership 360 CoachingSupport Our Show: Click HereLily's Story: My Trust ManifestoSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/masterleadership. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Wayne, responsible for global sales at BlinkOps, joins ITSPmagazine host Sean Martin to discuss how organizations can harness agentic AI to transform security operations—and much more.The conversation begins with a clear reality: business processes are complex, and when security is added into the mix, orchestrating workflows efficiently becomes even more challenging. BlinkOps addresses this by providing a platform that not only automates security tasks but also extends across HR, finance, sales, and marketing. By enabling automation in areas like employee onboarding/offboarding or access management, the platform helps organizations improve efficiency, reduce risk, and free human talent for higher-value work.Mike explains that while traditional SOAR tools require heavy scripting and ongoing maintenance, BlinkOps takes a different approach. Its security co-pilot allows users to describe automations in plain language, which are then generated—90% complete—by the system. Whether the user is a SOC analyst or an HR manager, the platform supports low-code and no-code capabilities, making automation accessible to “citizen developers” across the organization.The concept of micro agents is central. Instead of relying on large, complex AI models that can hallucinate or act unpredictably, BlinkOps uses focused, purpose-built agents with smaller context windows. These agents handle specific tasks—such as enriching security alerts—within larger workflows, ensuring accuracy and control.The benefits are tangible. One customer's triage agent processed 400 alerts in just eight days without direct human intervention, while another saved $1.8 million in manual endpoint deployment costs over a single month. Outcomes like reduced mean time to respond (MTTR) and faster time to automation are key drivers for adoption, especially when facing zero-day vulnerabilities where speed is critical.BlinkOps runs as SaaS, hybrid, or in secure environments like GovCloud, making it adaptable for organizations of all sizes and compliance requirements.The takeaway is clear: AI-driven automation doesn't just improve security operations—it creates new efficiencies across the enterprise. As Mike puts it, when a process can be automated, “just blink it.”Learn more about BlinkOps: https://itspm.ag/blinkops-942780Note: This story contains promotional content. Learn more.Guest: Mike Wayne, Vice President, Global Sales at BlinkOps | On Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikejwayne/ResourcesLearn more and catch more stories from BlinkOps: https://www.itspmagazine.com/directory/blinkopsLearn more about ITSPmagazine Brand Story Podcasts: https://www.itspmagazine.com/purchase-programsNewsletter Archive: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tune-into-the-latest-podcasts-7109347022809309184/Business Newsletter Signup: https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-business-updates-sign-upAre you interested in telling your story?https://www.itspmagazine.com/telling-your-storyKeywords: sean martin, mike wayne, blink ops, ai automation, agentic ai, micro agents, security automation, soc automation, workflow automation, zero day response, alert triage, enrichment agent, low code automation, cyber security ai, enterprise automation, black hat usa, black hat 2025

In this episode, Rick shares how he approached thinking about what to do with his first meaningful profit.

In this episode of Confessions of a B2B Entrepreneur, host Jamie Pagan, from the Revenue Career Ladder podcast, speaks with Tom Hunt, founder of the B2B podcasting agency Fame. They discuss Tom's unconventional career journey, beginning with early jobs frying chips and washing dishes, which instilled a strong work ethic. The conversation traces his path through large consulting firms like Ernst & Young, and Accenture, where he learned invaluable soft skills and remote management. It then covers his entrepreneurial ventures, from a failed male leggings company to a successful SaaS business, before he finally doubled down on his passion for marketing and audience building to create Fame. This episode provides an honest and tactical look at how a non-linear career path can lead to entrepreneurial success.

In a special episode from the DisrupTV studios, marketing visionaries Christopher Lochhead, Ray Wang, Vala Afshar, and guest Sunil Karkera dive deep into the themes of Christopher Lochhead's latest book, The Existing Market Trap. The conversation is a masterclass in modern marketing strategy, category design, and the seismic impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on business. If you're a marketer, entrepreneur, or executive looking to future-proof your company and career, this episode is a must-listen. Welcome to Lochhead on Marketing. The number one charting marketing podcast for marketers, category designers, and entrepreneurs with a different mind.   Understanding the Existing Market Trap Most companies fail not because their products are bad, but because they compare their innovations to old market standards. This “existing market trap” forces them to compete in crowded, established categories, dooming them to incremental improvements and eventual irrelevance. Lochhead warns that trillions in investment will be lost if companies keep chasing existing markets instead of creating new ones, and much of the 90%+ startup failure rate is due to the trap of incrementalism, trying to be “better” rather than “different.” The key is to stop benchmarking new products against legacy solutions and instead ask: What new problem are we solving, and how can we define a new category around it? The Power of Category Design Category design is the discipline of creating and dominating new market categories. It's not just a marketing tactic, it's a strategic mindset shift. Markets are groups of people with a shared problem, while categories are defined by what people believe can solve that problem. Companies like OpenAI and Nvidia didn't chase existing demand, they created it. Legendary category designers start with a vision of a radically different future and work backward, understanding that the language used to describe a product and category shapes what people believe is possible. Ultimately, the most powerful thing you can “ship” is a new belief about what's possible. Rather than out-featuring competitors, the goal is to redefine the game and build the aisle, not just fight for shelf space. AI as a Co-Founder, Not a Copilot Treating AI as a mere “assistant” or “copilot” is a massive missed opportunity. AI should be the core foundation of your business and career. When AI is just an add-on, it leads to incremental change, but when it is treated as a co-founder, it enables exponential, net-new value creation. The next generation will be “native AI”; they'll expect AI to be at the center of everything. To take advantage of this, businesses should integrate AI deeply, building processes, products, and even company culture around AI from the ground up, and reimagine roles so that AI is seen as a creative partner, not just a tool. To hear more of this amazing dialogue between marketing geniuses, download and listen to this episode.  Links If you wish to check out more episodes from DisrupTV, you can do so on these links: LinkedIn | X (formerly Twitter) | Youtube | Apple Podcast | Website   We hope you enjoyed this episode of Lochhead on Marketing™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on iTunes!

Unlocking Sustainable Growth with Customer Retention Strategies from Yemi Oluseun of The Change HiveIn this episode of The Thoughtful Entrepreneur, host Josh Elledge speaks with Yemi Oluseun, Founder and CEO of The Change Hive. With a background in fintech and corporate transformation, Yemi shares why customer retention—not just acquisition—is the most powerful growth lever for any business. She outlines her five-point retention model, detailing how SaaS founders, service-based entrepreneurs, and growth leaders can build a loyal customer base, reduce churn, and expand revenue through smarter engagement and community building.How to Build a Retention-First Business That Fuels Long-Term GrowthYemi reveals that many businesses plateau not because they can't attract new customers—but because they're losing them too soon. Her five-point retention model helps leaders plug those leaks by focusing on onboarding, behavior tracking, customer habits, feedback loops, and timing review requests with customer milestones. From onboarding roadmaps and “quick wins” to using behavioral analytics and hosting customer roundtables, Yemi emphasizes creating early value, consistent engagement, and authentic relationships that turn customers into brand advocates.One of her most powerful insights is the importance of review-based feedback and expansion selling. By mapping the customer journey, identifying key touchpoints, and knowing when to request testimonials, businesses can not only improve retention but unlock new revenue streams. Yemi also shares tools like retention scorecards, milestone mapping, and customer health monitoring—reinforcing that retention isn't just a tactic, it's a strategy that touches every part of your business.Yemi's approach is actionable and measurable. She encourages founders to shift their focus from front-end sales to post-sale engagement and build a company culture where retention is everyone's responsibility. With the right systems, support, and mindset, you can transform customer success into your most reliable and scalable growth engine.About Yemi OluseunYemi Oluseun is the founder and CEO of The Change Hive, a consulting and training company that helps mission-driven businesses grow sustainably through retention-first strategies. With a background in corporate transformation, fintech, and customer growth, she's passionate about helping leaders turn clients into long-term advocates.About The Change HiveThe Change Hive empowers business leaders with the strategies and systems they need to improve customer retention and expand revenue. Through diagnostics, frameworks, and live workshops, The Change Hive helps SaaS and service-based businesses create sticky, high-value customer relationships.Links Mentioned in this Episode:The Change Hive WebsiteYemi Oluseun on LinkedInThe Change Hive Retention ScorecardEpisode Highlights:Why retention is the most overlooked yet powerful growth leverThe Change Hive's five-point retention model for reducing churnHow to use behavioral analytics and roundtables to drive engagementThe role of milestone-based review requests in boosting trust and referralsHow to identify revenue expansion opportunities with existing customersConclusionYemi Oluseun makes a compelling case for shifting your focus from acquisition to retention. With the right systems and engagement strategies in place, you can create a business that grows...

Shay Levi (@shaylevi2, CEO @UnframeAI) & Larissa Schneider (COO @UnframeAI) discuss the complexities of building an enterprise-grade AI platform. Topics include what an AI platform is, the advantages of adoption, and the efficiencies gained.SHOW: 948SHOW TRANSCRIPT: The Cloudcast #948 TranscriptSHOW VIDEO: https://youtube.com/@TheCloudcastNET CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK:  http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwNEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCAST:  "CLOUDCAST BASICS"SPONSORS:[VASION] Vasion Print eliminates the need for print servers by enabling secure, cloud-based printing from any device, anywhere. Get a custom demo to see the difference for yourself.[DoIT] Visit doit.com (that's d-o-i-t.com) to unlock intent-aware FinOps at scale with DoiT Cloud Intelligence.SHOW NOTES:Unframe websiteTopic 1 - Shay & Larissa, welcome to the show!  Give everyone a brief introduction and a little about your background. Topic 2 - Today, we're discussing AI Security and Enterprise Platforms. What are the problems or issues you see with AI development today?Topic 3 - Is this where an AI platform comes into play? I'm seeing more and more about this term and wondering what it truly means to be a platform. What is your definition of a platform, and what are the advantages?Topic 4 - Shay, considering your background in APIs and API security, how does that knowledge transfer into this space?Topic 5 - Larissa, with your background in operations, where do you see the inefficiencies in AI development and lifecycle management of the AI models and the datasets?Topic 6 - Let's talk about Unframe. Give everyone an overview. Is this a SaaS service? How and where does it fit into your typical AI development stack?FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netBluesky: @cloudcastpod.bsky.socialTwitter/X: @cloudcastpodInstagram: @cloudcastpodTikTok: @cloudcastpod

In this episode of Case Studies, Casey sits down with Jim Herrmann, former BYU football captain, NFL player, entrepreneur, and business development leader at HGGC, for an inspiring conversation about resilience, reinvention, and the relationships that shape a meaningful career. Jim reflects on his journey from a small-town kid in Wisconsin to winning a national championship at BYU, learning from legendary figures like Lavell Edwards and Jim McMahon, and navigating the highs and lows of a professional football career cut short by injury. He shares how those early lessons in discipline, perseverance, and leadership translated to the business world; from co-founding a pioneering SaaS company in the early days of the internet to building a career connecting people and creating value in private equity. This episode dives deep into what it means to push through hardship, embrace new opportunities, and own your unique strengths. For entrepreneurs, athletes, and anyone seeking to grow through transition, Jim's story is a masterclass in resilience, humility, and the power of relationships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Product Experience, Randy Silver speaks with Dariusz Dziuk, Product Lead for Music Expression at Spotify, about the origins and evolution of Canvas, the looping visuals that accompany music tracks. From early assumptions and first principles thinking to scaling and measuring marketplace success, he shares how a bold experiment turned into one of Spotify's most engaging features.Key Takeaways— Balancing Art and Science: Product management often lives between structured analysis and intuitive creativity—success lies in mastering both.— First Principles and Assumptions: Questioning defaults—like static, square cover art—can open doors to bold innovation.— Real Stakes Drive Real Creativity: Artist engagement with Canvas only truly emerged once the stakes felt genuine and public.— Marketplace Thinking: Canvas succeeded because it delivered value for all marketplace participants—creators, consumers, and the platform itself.— Innovation Through Structure: Weekly design sprints and rapid prototyping allowed Spotify's innovation lab to explore and discard ideas quickly, eventually landing on Canvas.— Scaling Insights: Measurable impact came later—higher engagement, saves, shares, and a new visual identity for music on Spotify.— Artist-Centric Focus: Prioritising the needs of the supply side (artists) can unlock cold start challenges and marketplace growth.Chapters0:00 – Marketplace Thinking at Spotify1:20 – Darius Jurek's Journey into Product2:45 – From Engineering to 0-to-1 Product Innovation4:00 – Is Product Management an Art or a Science?6:30 – The Brief: Connecting Creators and Fans8:20 – Building an Innovation Lab10:00 – Exploring Dozens of Ideas11:45 – Why Canvas Won Out13:10 – The Challenge of Validating a New Format16:00 – Questioning the Assumptions Around Cover Art19:00 – Real Stakeholder Feedback and Creative Buy-In21:00 – Marketplace Metrics of Success23:30 – Canvas and the Evolution of Music Discovery26:00 – Visual Design, Collaboration, and Artist Empowerment28:00 – Darius on Supplier-Led Product StrategyFeatured Links: Follow Dariusz on LinkedIn | Dariusz's website | Spotify | '#mtpcon @ Pendomonium 2024 Encore' recap Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath. Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.

This week on The Data Stack Show, John and Matt bring you another edition of the Cynical Data Guy. John and Matt dive into the evolution of customer data infrastructure, the growing influence of low-code tools like Clay, and the blurred lines around the “engineer” title in modern data roles. They also discuss the trade-offs between SaaS adoption and building custom solutions, the pitfalls of enterprise software buying, and the realities of platform lock-in—using Palantir's unique business model as a case study. Key takeaways include the importance of simplicity and scalability in data engineering, the need for clear requirements when evaluating tools, and a healthy skepticism toward sales pitches and “art of the possible” features. Don't miss this month's Cynical Data Guy. Highlights from this week's conversation include:Reacting to the Rise of the GTM Engineer (1:11)Is "Engineer" the Right Term? (4:49)Low-Code Tools, AI, and Future Workflows (7:14)Simplicity in Data Engineering (14:38)The Pitfalls of "Simple" Solutions (15:18)Choosing SaaS vs. Building In-House (18:26)Business Process Abstraction and SaaS Adoption (21:31)Enterprise Software: Art of the Possible vs. Practicality (24:31)Sales Advice: Focus on Customer Needs (27:11)Forward Deployed Engineers and Delivery Models (29:05)Platform Lock-In: When Is It a Dirty Word? (36:41)Legacy Systems and the Reality of Lock-In (39:53)Final Thoughts and Takeaways (40:55)The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack, customer data infrastructure that enables you to deliver real-time customer event data everywhere it's needed to power smarter decisions and better customer experiences. Each week, we'll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.RudderStack helps businesses make the most out of their customer data while ensuring data privacy and security. To learn more about RudderStack visit rudderstack.com.

A story about turning personal frustration into breakthrough technology—and why great products come from pain you actually feel.This Episode is for SaaS founders struggling to identify their real target audience—and wondering how to separate urgent problems from nice-to-have features.Most SaaS companies don't fail because of bad tech. They fail because they try to solve problems they don't actually feel.Davit Baghdasaryan, CEO of Krisp AI, took a different path. Former head of product security at Twilio, he spent evenings in Armenia taking morning calls from San Francisco—dealing with background noise that existing solutions couldn't touch. One personal frustration became the foundation for technology that now processes over a billion minutes monthly and powers 80% of human-to-AI voice interactions.And this inspired me to invite Davit to my podcast. We explore how building from real pain creates unbeatable product-market fit. Davit shares insights about choosing problems with no alternatives, why great demos feel like magic, and how focusing on essence over speed built technology that companies like Discord and Twilio now license. You'll discover why their "marketing experiment" desktop app became Product of the Year—and how they accidentally created infrastructure that now processes over a billion minutes monthly.We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – They focus on the essence – They offer something valuable and desirableDavit's story proves that breakthrough technology starts with problems that personally bother you.Here's one of Davit's quotes that captures his philosophy on problem selection:"In order to understand the pain, you need to understand the alternative. If you are in an office, the alternative is to go find a quiet room—probably not that painful. But if you're in an airport or call center with people speaking next to you, there is no alternative."By listening to this episode, you'll learn:Why understanding alternatives reveals true market urgency What separating horizontal from vertical markets actually meansWhen building hard technology first pays off long-termWhy great demos feel magical instead of technicalFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Davit Baghdasaryan, CEO of Krisp AI Website: krisp.ai Weekly Voice AI newsletter

Got a question or comment? Message us here!This week, we're unpacking the phishing wave hitting SaaS platforms ... from social engineering to OAuth abuse and AI voice spoofing. Learn why people remain the #1 attack vector and how to stay one step ahead.Support the showWatch full episodes at youtube.com/@aliascybersecurity.Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere you get your podcasts.

The flood of AI-generated content has made it harder than ever to know what's real, and easier than ever to lose trust.    In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Shouvik Paul, COO of Copyleaks, about how marketers can create and protect content while building trust. Shouvik shares experience scaling multiple SaaS companies to successful exits, and how those same principles—like recurring revenue and scalable systems—can help marketers build sustainable growth rather than chasing short-term wins.   Listeners will hear practical ways to use AI to speed up research, personalize marketing at scale and tap into customer data for new opportunities—all while avoiding the pitfalls of overreliance. Shouvik explains why keeping a human in the loop is critical, what happens when AI “hallucinates” and how legal and IP issues are evolving around AI-generated content.   This conversation delivers insight and actionable advice, providing a clearer picture of how to balance AI's speed and scale with human creativity, originality and responsibility. Leader Generation is hosted by Tessa Burg and brought to you by Mod Op.    About Shouvik Paul: Shouvik Paul is the Chief Operating Officer of Copyleaks, an Inc. 5000-recognized company and leading AI-powered platform for text analysis, content authenticity, and generative AI governance. Trusted by enterprises, educational institutions, and governments worldwide, Copyleaks enables organizations to verify content originality, detect AI-generated and AI-influenced material, and stay compliant amid rapidly evolving AI technologies and regulations. With over 25 years of experience scaling and exiting SaaS companies across the EdTech and MediaTech sectors, Shouvik brings deep operational and go-to-market expertise. Shouvik is at the forefront of advancing responsible AI adoption, helping organizations navigate the complexities of content integrity, copyright protection, and regulatory compliance in an ever-evolving AI landscape.   About Tessa Burg: Tessa is the Chief Technology Officer at Mod Op and Host of the Leader Generation podcast. She has led both technology and marketing teams for 15+ years. Tessa initiated and now leads Mod Op's AI/ML Pilot Team, AI Council and Innovation Pipeline. She started her career in IT and development before following her love for data and strategy into digital marketing. Tessa has held roles on both the consulting and client sides of the business for domestic and international brands, including American Greetings, Amazon, Nestlé, Anlene, Moen and many more. Tessa can be reached on LinkedIn or at Tessa.Burg@ModOp.com.  

Title:  How Survive When Real Estate Deals Fail with Ruben Kanya Summary: In this conversation, Seth Bradley, a securities attorney and real estate investor, discusses the complexities of capital raising, the importance of experimentation in finding one's niche, and the critical role of networking and trust in the investment landscape. He shares insights from his journey in real estate and tech, emphasizing the need for grit and public speaking skills to succeed in capital raising. The discussion also highlights the challenges of the first capital raise and the lessons learned along the way. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the multifaceted benefits of hosting a podcast, emphasizing the importance of listening and connection. They explore the intricacies of capital raising in real estate, discussing the significance of grit, networking, and leveraging other people's money. The dialogue also covers compliance with securities laws, compensation structures in syndication, and the emerging trend of fund to fund structures. Tribevest is introduced as a solution for simplifying fund management and ensuring compliance in capital raising efforts. Links to listen and subscribe: https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/raising-capital-the-right-way-compliance-funds-and/id1341895972?i=1000688593916 Links to watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyF9Z72m2R0 Bullet Point Highlights: You need a license to raise capital legally. Experimenting with different models helps identify what works for you. Building authority and trust is essential in capital raising. Networking with high net worth individuals is crucial. The first capital raise is often the hardest. Grit and determination are key to success in entrepreneurship. Public speaking skills can enhance your ability to communicate effectively. Learning from clients can provide valuable insights for your own journey. You can leverage your existing skills to add value in capital raises. Building a strong network can facilitate easier capital raising. Having a podcast enhances listening skills and fosters connections. Capital raising requires grit, a strong network, and resources. Leveraging other people's money accelerates business growth. Compliance with securities laws is crucial in capital raising. Compensation structures in syndication vary based on deal size and type. Fund to fund structures are becoming more prevalent in real estate. Effective communication is key to successful networking. Tribevest simplifies the process of raising capital compliantly. Understanding the legalities of capital raising is essential for success. Building a community can expedite personal and professional growth. Transcript: Ruben Kanya (00:00.142) whole idea here is you're actually not allowed to raise capital without a license. So just like being a doctor or a dentist or an attorney, you have to have a license to be able to raise capital and it's called a broker dealer or potentially an RIA, registered investment advisor. So if you're not one of those people, if you don't have a license, you need to have an exemption from having that license. if it's your, this is speaking in generalities, but if it's your own deal, if it's your own fund,   If it's your own syndication, if you're the one buying the property, that's an exemption. You're exempted. You can raise capital for your own deal and that's okay. And that's kind of the co-GP concept that we talk about sometimes. I actually don't like to say co-GP because to me it's a fallacy. There's no such thing as a co-GP. You're either a GP and an active partner.   Who's this? you're an entrepreneur? you're a real estate investor? you're trying to learn from those who did it? Well, come into the lab then. Put your white coat on, gloves on, notepad, and let's go, Joe.   Experiment nation this episode was a really fun one with Seth Bradley who is a fun manager Invest in entrepreneurs. He's an attorney he as a startup founders of software as a service and Really what I loved about What he's built is   Everything that he's built, it's vertically integrated, which I love, but he really embodies the principles of experimenting. Right. And what I mean by that is he has tried multiple models in real estate, which allowed him to get exposure, which I think is really important when I talk about having a well-rounded experiment in your lab, LabAK being your life, so that you can at least identify   (Seth Bradley) (02:10.529) what you like, what you don't like, what gives you return on energy, what drains you. I think those are all important things for us to then be able to niche down. A lot of times we talk about niching down, but we haven't even gotten a taste of what's on the menu to even understand what it is that we want to niche down in. And so part of what I created here at Experimentation in the lab is to bring you   folks who can present the menu of the different options that there is in not only real estate, but in business and even career to then give you that exposure so that you can then get a taste even from this show and then implement it yourself and maybe try one or two or three experiments or four or five. How many it takes for you to feel like this is the thing. This is the thing that I'm going to hold on to and grasp to and go all in on. Right. And that's what we did.   And keep in mind that life has seasons. A lot of us can do something and it could be four seasons. Your season could be five years, 10 years, 15, but I do believe in the compound effect. his journey, Seth's journey, he was able to get his first duplex, then quads, then small multifamilies and big multifamily units. And the next thing you know, he's doing $120 million a deal just in 2022 alone, right? In one year.   But with that, one thing I wanted to highlight, so one thing is the experiment, different exposures, AKA building blocks towards the very thing that he's doing now. But the other thing is being able to get a free, or I should say, get a paid internship. And that's through servicing your clients, learning from them, and then taking a page from their book. He was an attorney that was putting down together his SEC deals of syndications,   capital raising, and then he learned from his clients because he had full transparency. Sometimes, often we're in a position where the proof of concept is right in front of us, but we don't grab it by the horns. We just see it for what it is, just clocking and clocking out. No matter what job you have, there's an opportunity for you to actually take lessons, systems, SOPs, structure, any skillset to take it to the next level for your own endeavors.   (Seth Bradley) (04:38.252) And what I mean by that is I was a realtor and I was a realtor for the investor. understood how investors, underwrote their deals. And that was my win for me to hone my craft in real estate, underwriting deals, pulling comps, walking properties, understanding value at all. That was when I was the realtor for the investor. You can still look it up on bigger pockets. You can still see my page. That's what I was doing. I was helping investors invest until I then became an investor myself.   And in this case, he was an ICC attorney providing these, you know, going through the process of doing syndications, fund to fund, et cetera. And then he learned and he said, not only do I have a practice that does it, but I can also be on the other side of that transaction. So don't you ever forget the importance of being on the other side of the transaction in whatever service that you offer, even if it's just call it.   You work in hospitality at a restaurant to make ends meet. There's a system, there's a SOP, there's a checklist. There's something in there that is a proof of concept that you can then take and implement somewhere in your business. And the universe will tell you its secrets if you listen. The clues are all around us. Last but not least, I love our conversation around being an authority, building a brand.   Essentially, that's what capital raising is and he talked about three pillars. I don't want to talk about he said money Right is one heart of the center trust in your network, right? Your network is you gotta have a big network He talks about having a platform like this where I think everybody should have a podcast because you get the interview you get to learn the skills of communication listening, etc but most importantly you foster relationship while on the air and then   It builds trust to whoever's listening. I'm sure that if you're listening right now and you and I wanted to go into a deal together, there's some form of trust. If this is not your, your first episode. So there's that, right? We talked about having a meetup, restarting our meetups. That's key. Connecting people, they trust in you. Being an authoritative figure, trust. They can't flow you if they don't know you. So stop being cute and stop hiding and put yourself out there. Right? Money. Money follows all of the above network and trust.   (Seth Bradley) (07:00.408) people who have money in your network will make it easier than those who are in your network who are broke. So surround yourself with people who have money, not just because they have money, but of course it can help you tremendously if you're trying to raise capital. And there's something that goes about saying with people who have money, it's not that they're better or anything, but there is a level of opulence and abundance.   And I think there should be a good balance. But certainly if you're trying to raise money with people who don't have money and you're in a circle, people don't know how many doesn't mean to say that you can't uplift them when you have an opportunity, but it's going to be hard to raise capital from people who don't have capital. Right. So that's one thing to keep in mind. Money trust network and being an authority. You can build an authority from home in the lab, in a studio, in person.   And you don't always have to be an expert in something else. Sometimes you can actually have authority within your own circle. If you're a dentist and you're trying to raise capital with other dentists, they trust you. You have authority maybe in your current marketplace, you're a manager of some kind or you're a lead or you're just someone that people really trust. You have that authority. You have trust already with like-minded people in your circle. So this was a great one. He brought a lot of core values home. And that's what I love about   the show. It's every time you listen or anytime you interview someone who's had done some amazing leaps and experiments in their own lab, there's always some consistent clues that kind of bring to the surface and maybe it just, I'm aware of them, but if not, my goal is to extract that and make them aware for you. So I trust that you're going to get a lot from this episode without further ado, Seth Bradley in the lab, y'all.   Experimentation, what's going on? Your host Ruben here. Today I have the pleasure of connecting with a gentleman that we connected with, had some mutual connections. And I was like, I didn't want to let the serendipity go to waste because I saw there was a mutual beneficial component to the lab, as I always say. And I always think you're as good as your tools, you're as good as your resources. And so I'm really happy to have the gentleman here step into the lab with us to give us insight. And I also love the   (Seth Bradley) (09:21.39) I'll call it a vertical integration I think and maybe Seth will keep me honest here, but without further ado I want to welcome Seth Bradley. How's it my man? Welcome to the lab brother   Going great, man. Ruben, really appreciate you having me on. Thanks for having me in the lab.   Absolutely, man. I should so listen if I'm curious so Seth because you know, we we start to talk a little bit and I was a car We're getting to the weeds of things. I want to make sure I hit this record button, but I'm just a curious guy and I'm so curious that if I'm at a real estate conference and you and I sit next to each other and I say hey I'm Ruben Seth. Nice to meet you. You know, what do you do for a living? What do you lead with because you have a very interesting background? So I want to we're gonna reverse engineer, but I'm so curious as to   at the time that we're recording this, what do you lead with if you don't know what my interests are, you don't know where I'm coming from, I could be an investor, I could be interested in putting my money to work, what do you lead with? I'm just so curious.   I love that question, man, because sometimes I have a hard time answering it. It's an easy question to answer for most people, but for me, I have to think about it for a second. But typically I'll lead with I'm a securities attorney, specifically a real estate securities attorney. So if you're raising capital for real estate from passive investors, I'm your guy. can help you put together your fund or your syndication compliantly and secondarily, or, you know, one B I'll call it a tech founder. So involved in a few tech startups as well.   (Seth Bradley) (10:48.238) That's awesome. Then that opens up the window because I see her tech founder and then I securities attorney. Is that that accurate?   Yep, nailed it.   securities attorney. would you do you happen to do you still do I mean, of course, you've been involved in raising capital yourself, which is what I want to lead with next. But are you actively investing? And if you are, what is the model? Is it more investing in the startup? Or is it more investing in actual capitals? I should say social capital relationships, or even you know what, maybe it's some form of real estate, what is your current I guess, investing   season for lack of better words.   Yeah, it's all across the board, man. mean, everything that you mentioned, I mean, just quickly, I started in real estate in 2013. House hacked into a duplex did kind of the bigger pockets podcast. Listen to that. Red Rich Dad, Poor Dad, you know, the typical journey you take and house hacked into a duplex and started buying bigger and bigger properties got to the point where, you know, I wanted to get into syndications and funds and start raising capital. So I started actually investing passively into real estate first and I got my feet wet.   Ruben Kanya (12:01.55) figured out what that investor journey looked like. And then I started raising capital myself from my own syndications where potentially I could be just a capital partner or also an operator. So I raised a good amount of capital from 2019 to 2023, I would say, before the interest rates started to spike. And then we slowed down a bit, but we still own a good amount of that real estate and just put it in perspective. We bought about $120 million with the real estate in 2022 alone. And now I'm kind of   involved with a handful of tech startups where I'm also in that same capacity where I'm raising capital or helping the CEO raise capital for seed rounds for these startups.   Okay, very interesting. So I'm glad let's go to the very beginning because you talked about bigger pockets with shout out to bigger pockets, right? Because that's or did you say bigger pockets? I did hear you say that. Okay, cool. had a mutual kind of, know, I was planning my seeds. I think that they did an amazing job, of course, like minded investors together. 2013 get a duplex. I'm sure one thing I'm curious about and you know, someone else might be listening is, you know, what   point now every everyone's situation is different with that said, but at what point did you start to think, okay, it's time to bring in some outside capital and, I'm going to lead with you. It seems that you strike me as a guy who does things strategically. enlighten me a little bit as to get the duplex. Was there another lever that was pulled to get the next property before you start to raise capital? Or is that right away, right into, okay, now it's time to raise capital. Cause   duplex going to take me so far. Tell me about that journey.   Ruben Kanya (13:43.732) No, I mean, that journey was, you know, a lot of different types of things. mean, I've wholesaled, I've fixed and flipped single family properties. We were doing that in Cleveland for a while. Then we kind of moved on to multifamily, you know, smaller multifamilies up to four units, which is still residential, but then up to, you know, like 16 units, those sorts of things. Then we started getting to where, you know, capital starts getting constrained, your own capital, or if you're doing like a JV, starts getting constrained. But I was fortunate enough that my legal practice, which also started in 2013,   was highly related to what I was doing. So as a real estate attorney, my real estate clients were raising capital for their real estate deals. So then I got into securities law. So I saw how they were raising capital. Then I started helping them raise capital from the legal side. And then I started raising, and then I realized that, hey, if we want to go bigger, I've got to be more like my clients who are buying, you know, 50, $100 million properties. How do we do that? Well, like they do it. They need to raise capital from either   passive investors or from, larger investors like family offices and places like that. So I knew that that was the pathway. So I was fortunate enough to kind of have that perspective shown to me by my clients and they kind of showed me the blueprint. Hey, this is how you need to do it. Now, a lot of other attorneys see that same blueprint and they don't really have that entrepreneurial mindset. So they're kind of just like that service oriented, Hey, let's do what I'm doing. And I'm just going to help. But I have an entrepreneurial mindset. I I'm like,   I want to do that. I want to buy that property. I want to run that business. I want to scale it. like anything else, though, I still had a little bit of reservation, I would say. So I decided to invest passively first just to get my feet wet, just to see what that investor experience was like. And then once I did that a few times, I really got into the active side and dove right in.   Oh man, I love so many elements of that. Let's unpack the experiment phase, right? Because that's what I truly believe in. I'm curious to what your thoughts are on this, right? Before I even preface by saying this, I think, and this is just a thought, could be wrong. I'm experimenting life as it is. But when you ask someone, hey, what do you want to do for a living? Right? It's like, well, I don't know. I haven't been exposed to enough.   (Seth Bradley) (16:03.116) Right. But then when you start experimenting with a lot of different things, then you can niche down because you've been exposed to like this that I don't like, et cetera. And there's a second leg to that, but I want to touch on that for a second because you said you did wholesale fixing flips, then you need small multifamily. What do you think you were able to gain from that? My personally, when I see that, I see, well, you were able you were able to get insight, but   Again, maybe you see things differently. Maybe it's like you needed to do those things and you thought it was true. And then you were led down one path and led to another. What do you take from that? Were you experimenting or was it more or less of the natural progression of events and what you thought was going to be your end all be all ended up progressing into a new ideal. Tell me about that experience.   Yeah, I mean, I think it was an experiment. It was me trying. I knew I wanted to be in real estate. I love real estate. I've always been drawn to it. It's just been an interesting thing for me and interesting subject. I remember when I was in undergrad and I couldn't afford to buy any kind of real estate or didn't have a job at all. And I was trying to figure out, well, man, how can I buy like these townhouses that I'm living in and rent those out? Like, I remember just being interested from the get go. So I knew I wanted to be in it, but it was certainly an experiment to see.   how to break into the market, how to scale a business. Because once you got into a duplex and your house hacked and bought a few other single family properties, it was like, okay, well, we can continue to do this, but I'm always looking again to scale. And to do that, a lot of times you do need to bring in other people's money to be able to fund that scale. But not always. mean, I think it would be a better pathway, honestly, if you can scale without other people's money, because then you can own 100 % of it. But a lot more difficult to do. So if you want to...   you want to grow with scale fast, typically it's with other people's money. And again, luckily I was already in a profession that gave me that experience to be able to see that pathway and be able to execute on   (Seth Bradley) (18:02.35) Now tell me that's a great insight or at least a transition point there, Seth, because we, know, in our professions, we spend a lot of time, but not a lot of folks spend the time to have the lens of an entrepreneur to say, hey, maybe I can actually take a page from their book. Right. Because I think it's interesting that it's we all are entrepreneurs. Right. So we go into business ourselves to run away from maybe possibly corporate. Some people.   And then we build our own companies. We install systems, we invest in resources. And then it's like, we turn into the thing that we were maybe running away from, but there's a lesson that we get to build it our way and have maybe learned lessons from these big corporations. In your end, it reminds me a little bit of me because I again, certainly not an attorney by any means. And I won't compare being a realtor to an attorney, but you are servicing clients and you get to at least,   at least get nuggets from their journey and then say, Hey, why don't, why don't I take a page from their book? Can you talk to us about that? Because I think honestly, it's an unkept almost secret and not even talked about enough where it's like, Hey, you're taking this opportunity right now to get to understand the playbook, see how they've done it, learn from their mistakes, right? Right. Through service and while getting paid. And then you're like, okay, now I'm going to do it for me. So   Do you see it that way as well? was it kind of, know, or did you strategically go into it thinking that you do that? Or it was kind of like, you know what? This is kind of cool. Let me try it myself.   Yeah, I mean, and Ruben, hats off to you, man, because a lot of realtors and brokers, they're around real estate every single day. That is literally their business. They have access to deals before other people. They get to see things that other people don't get to see. They get to see the transactions. They get to see how they change hands. And as you know, most of them don't invest in real estate. like, you even own your own house? Do you own any investment properties in...   Ruben Kanya (20:11.918) 90 % of them don't, right? Unless it's, well, maybe their own house, but that's probably it. They don't invest. And it's crazy to think about that when they're around that all the time. And it's the same thing with attorneys, right? Like, know, they're, whether there's somebody like me, there's real estate or securities, and they have clients that are, that are buying large properties and raising capital, or it's, you know, some other practice like and A where they're combining companies and building companies and things like that.   I think that there's a certain entrepreneurial DNA that's in some of us and it's not in others. And that's okay. Like some people thrive in an office atmosphere or thrive in a W-2 type of atmosphere. And a lot of times I don't even like to disrupt that. Like people, you know, are comfortable there. They like the steady paycheck and that's okay. And I think the vast majority of people do want that and they do like that. They like the predictability of it. But some of us out there, like me and you, I believe are, you know, we just,   We're not a fit for that. Like we need to build. I think that's the key is, is the build, right? Cause you were talking about, you know, we start putting all the systems and the processes and the things into place to ultimately end up in the, the same machine that we didn't want to work for. But I don't think that's the piece that's important. The piece is important is that that climb the build, we want to build like we were builders. love to build.   Yeah. Have you ever had a conversation, with maybe your associates on? I don't know if this is a hypocritical question, because I don't know if I could answer this. But I'm curious, have you had a conversation with another attorney? Like, hey, you see this all the time. Have ever thought of doing it yourself? What's the mindset behind? Have you had that conversation? And have you had around those? Yeah, just curious.   Yeah, I definitely, I definitely have. think, you know, at least specifically with the attorney industry or with that profession, we are, we're trained to look at risk. We're trained to evaluate liability. We are trained to be conservative in nature. and that is totally different than when you're an entrepreneur and you're out there building a business and you're, don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. And there's going to be a problem that pops up today that you didn't expect.   Ruben Kanya (22:30.01) And you don't know if you're going to be able to pay payroll and all these different things that come up as an entrepreneur, as a business builder, that's totally a different mindset than it is that attorneys are trained for. So I think that's definitely a separation. like, you know, I have a lot of investors that are attorneys. That was, that's who my investor base is. Typically it's other attorneys. A lot of other capital raisers don't go after attorneys because they are paying the ass. We ask a lot of questions. Like I said, we are risk averse. Like, you know, we're not the ideal.   person or people to raise from.   I'm gonna predict my money isn't really the case.   with a cold on the page. 137 second paragraph line four. What does that mean? Why is that? And, know, that's the kind of stuff you have to deal with. But, you know, they do make a good amount of money. So there's a, you know, there's a push, there's a give take there. But, you know, I think that that's, I have identified that with conversations with my investors and obviously my prior colleagues. I mean, that in itself is, is a big difference.   It's a big difference. We're just as attorneys, we're just trained to find and look at risk and think about all the bad things that can happen. And man, when you're building a business, when you're growing out on your own and you say, I'm done with my W-2, I don't want that paycheck anymore. That's a lot of risk, right? Or at least it's a lot of risk to a person that thinks that way. I actually don't think that way. I think it's more risky to be have one income stream and be a W-2, but that's certainly not the way that they typically look at it.   (Seth Bradley) (24:02.306) Yeah, no, it's interesting what you're saying. But I'm also curious though, that if they are also investing, because it sounds like you've also worked with some associates, or at least your investors have come from the same cloth, it sounds like they might be, instead of again, raising the capital like you are, high risk, high leverage, they're willing to put their money to work. Do you find that   And I guess maybe that's it. Do you find that that kind of archetype is finding that to be of a less riskier approach versus flipping versus doing it themselves? Or do you find that it's more of time constraint thing? it's like, listen, I got the money. You mentioned it. I have a high net worth. I'm an accredited investor. Let me just do it with someone who's an expert. What have you seen since you've been on both sides, and especially as a fundraiser?   Yeah, I think it's that investor profile. You know, these are folks that make a lot of money from their W-2. They have no time on their hands because their W-2 is so demanding. then any time they have outside of that, it's got to be spent with family. So they really just don't have any time, but they do have capital. So it's just that investor profile that you're dealing with with attorneys and some of the similar, you know, with doctors and dentists and engineers and people like that. Same thing. You know, they're highly paid professionals.   You know, they went to school for a long time. They make a lot of money, but they don't have any time. And unless they really want to venture out and say, okay, I want to raise capital or, or, I don't know, you have to figure out a way to carve out more time because they certainly don't have it. I know when I worked in big law firms and I'm trying to bill 2000 hours a year, I don't have time to, you know, invest actively. In fact, I actually got fired from my big law job, my last one, because of that, because I'm raising capital and doing real estate deals.   and starting businesses and guess what? You don't have time to do that if you're working at a demanding job, whether that's as an attorney or Dr. Dennis, whoever that might be. So I think it just comes down to that profile and do you have time? Do you have capital? And then whatever one you have a surplus of, that's probably where you're going to fit into the asset. So you can invest if you have capital and no time.   Ruben Kanya (26:26.126) You need to find something a little bit more passive and that comes through like funds and syndications and things like that.   All right. So that's very helpful and I think very interesting because you've seen both sides. You not only were on the other side, but you've also been the capital raiser and then you've also yourself invested passively. Tell me about the first deal that if you recall, at least the like kind deal when you raised capital, who did you go to?   Did you start with your client base? Did you start with friends and family? And then maybe we can even get into the granularity. I know there's different non-accredited, accredited 506V versus 506C. There's a lot of different kind of foundational pillars. But talk to us about what your first deal was like, if you recall some of the numbers and what kind of asset type and then who you actually pulled in. So people can start thinking of actually what's possible when we talk about capital.   you know, in fundraising, we think of it as this big thing, but people like you and me can actually start initiating these kinds of transactions. Talk to us about your first one.   Yeah, man, I mean, don't remember the actual specifics, but it was like 100 because there's around 150 unit multifamily something like that was your first That was the first raise it was the first raise but I was brought I I wasn't the primary operating partner I brought in as a capital raiser that sort of thing and also providing some legal services as well. Um, but I was   (Seth Bradley) (27:48.078) That was your first race.   (Seth Bradley) (28:01.422) Hold on. That's interesting. Now you kind of you're kind of double. Is that is that how you got your general partner essentially? Were you a general partner on that? Or were you tell us about that? Because from what I understand, you can correct me if I'm wrong here. You're the expert. You can bring in different subject matter expertise to the table to value your I guess your position and a capital raise. Maybe one is investor relations, one, et cetera. Did you from what I understand, bacon?   some of your services and as a GP or is that, what did you?   Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I was a general partner on that deal, baking in some of my legal services as well. Started leveraging my skillset that's super valuable. Obviously, it's applicable to these capital raises. I can help you raise capital and also be the securities attorney and also potentially the real estate attorney as well on the deal. So lots of different ways that I can get in there and provide value to the active partnership.   But yeah, I I was tasked with raising, you know, half a million dollars. I didn't hit it. I hit way under. I think I might've raised like a couple hundred thousand dollars. And I was pretty happy that I even hit that because it's the first time. I'm, and I'll tell you what, man, like capital raising is hard. Like I think that, you know, you see all these masterminds out there and these coaching programs and things and they're teaching how to raise capital and some are great. And I'm actually in a couple of them. but they are, you know, they, have to sell you on that. easy, right? They have to sell you on, Hey,   I'll give you the systems, the processes and boom, you're going to be able to raise a million dollars easily. It's not that easy. unless you already have a built in network of high net worth individuals, that's where you'll find success. Or maybe you have a platform like yours where you can access a lot of people that you already have a relationship with and you'll like, and trust you that love what you're doing. And they're like, man, if he's investing in this, it must be good. So that those people, like you, and then also people that are.   Ruben Kanya (29:59.426) we tend to see a lot of doctors and dentists that are very successful right out of the gate. Cause guess what? They work with other doctors and dentists who already trust them, who have money, who already trust them. So they do great. and then others, like me are probably somewhere in the middle, right? We we've got a base of investors that are like attorneys, which seem like they'd be great because they have money, but guess what? They're a pain in the ass. So there's, there's a little bit of give take there. and then you have other folks who,   you know, maybe they're a school teacher or something like that where their colleagues maybe don't have a ton of money to invest and they have to follow just like, you know, follow the processes, the systems and the marketing funnels and those things and rely really heavily on that. And typically it doesn't go that well. It doesn't on the first one. You've really got to be scrappy. Like you've got to get in there. You've got to literally make a list of a hundred people that you know, that might want to invest right.   type it up, go systematically through that list, and you've gotta break out of your shell and not be afraid to just reach out to these people, no shame, get your pitch together and just do it. And it feels awkward and you don't wanna do it and you feel like a salesperson, but you've gotta do it. You've gotta break through those reservations and make it happen because that first raise is a bear. You've gotta just be.   You've got to be scrappy and you've got to do whatever it takes and 10x whatever you think is going to take.   Experiment nation, you've heard me talk about how multiple investors across the nation are landing these lucrative midterm rental insurance contracts by making these small tweaks on the branding and marketing side, especially if you're an existing short-term rental operator, there is a quick and easy shift that you can make with the ride guide in place. And because we've launched a two-day bootcamp,   (Seth Bradley) (31:59.278) that not everyone could attend in real time, I've put together a recording where you can get all the materials and all the guides to focus on rebranding either your short term rental business or your current midterm rental business so that you can actually have the insurance companies reach out to you. And then day two is if you want to actually play offense, how you can reach out to them by listing on the right platforms, et cetera.   If you're looking to get this MTR bootcamp so that you can start optimizing and you can start receiving these lucrative contracts that again, provide less headaches, less turnovers, unlike the Airbnb space, you can start receiving inquiries today by having the right guide in place. So please go to experimentrealestate.com for slash MTR bootcamp or click the link in the bio to make sure you get your hands on the   and midterm rental insurance bootcamp to fast track your way into landing these lucrative insurance contracts the exact same ways multiple investors have taken advantage of this unknown and untapped niche within the midterm rental umbrella. Wow, so I'm a systems guy and as you're speaking, I'm taking notes here guys. I heard three key pillars and feel free to add to them because I wanna hear.   kind of the downfall of some of what folks are coaching. I heard one is money, number two is trust, and number three is network. And I like how you highlighted those because I hear, well, if you have a network and you can get access and you have a large pool, then there's probably people who are gonna have money in there. Then if you have what I'm hearing is authority, trust, AKA I'm a doctor, you're a doctor, we speak the same language. And by the way, guess what? Third pillar, we all have money.   So that's kind of like the sweet, sounds like that's the sweet spot. MTN money trust and network. What did I miss?   Ruben Kanya (34:03.89) You nailed it, man. That's it. That's kind of the big level, the high level things that you need. I mean, you need that authority or you need to be able to show that you know what you're doing, that you know what you talk about and what you're talking about, that sort of thing. And then obviously that network, you either have to develop that through your W-2 that you already have or however it might be, or maybe you have a platform, right? Like maybe you have a platform like a podcast or an investor group.   or an in-person meetup. We don't do those as much as we used to before COVID, but that used to be a huge thing. Like I were on a real estate meetup in San Diego County or something like that. And it goes, that used to go really, really well for people to be able to raise capital. So yeah, you gotta have that platform. Network. I know, right, Networking lunch.   You should bring that back. There's something about because there's something about this, right? This is cool. Like, what a time to be alive where you and I can connect in the flesh. But I want to echo what you just said. Because I'm kind of speaking to myself as a reminder, Ruben, you got to get these meetups going again. We used to do a meetup in New York and Atlanta.   And just the relationships that happen in the room and you're being the super connector is so powerful. I wouldn't get cute and just, you know, this is great that you and I can connect while you're in San Diego and I'm here in Boston, but it's not, or it's and, I think we should, I think we should bring it back. Cause I could tell it may a super charismatic dude, great energy. you know, obviously you're authoritative figure and I feel like, I think, it will only service more.   never seen.   (Seth Bradley) (35:41.87) to have these in there's something about in person. So yeah, I'm just I'm preaching to the choir, but I'm also like, hey, accountability, I'm gonna check up on you. gotta do the same.   You gotta appreciate it. Tell me sure man. And it's great. Like when we meet on something like this and we have some interactions on social media and then we get on each other's podcast, you know, get to know each other. And then when you meet in person, you're like, this is awesome. You already feel like you know the person. So technology is a great and right. Another and yeah.   Yeah, don't sleep on that fit that in person. We need more of that if anything. And people are, you know what, people I think are actually searching for it with all this technology. So good reminder for the both of us and whoever who's listening. I want to touch on something that you said, Seth. You mentioned, because I like learning from those who either have failed or made mistakes because can expedite our learning process. So you said,   First deal typically, uh first one doesn't go well, uh, it's a bear but then you also mentioned that uh, you know Some some mastermind programs, right and there's a lot out there good and bad and some are better than others. Uh, some of them, you know I see I guess uh, maybe Don't um, I should say, um, maybe they fall a little short   of helping you get to your first link. What's missing? What's the missing link? We talk about money, trust and network, but like if I wanted to nail it the first time the right way without, and I wanted to learn from someone like you from, your mistakes or from someone else's mistakes or from, know, those masterminds that are just falling short, what is a, is, is it a foundational or at least insight or lesson learn or thing I should keep top of mind in addition to the money, trust and network that would maybe put me in a   (Seth Bradley) (37:40.024) position not to have the first one be so challenging.   Yeah, I mean, to be honest with you, I think it's going to be challenging no matter what. I mean, I think what I was going to say is actually grit, right? You have to have grit. So I think it kind of it's a counterbalance here where you have a mastermind or coaching program or a class or something like that that you're selling to somebody. And the only way somebody is going to buy it is if you say, hey, buy this or come join me in this group and   I'll make it easy for you to do what you want to do. Like that's the selling point. You have to say that it's going to be easy to get them to pay you to do it. But the problem is once they're in, you realize it's not easy. So, you know,   People sell the promise, not the process.   That's right. That's right. So, you know, I think maybe I don't know if there's any way around that. Like you certainly can't sell it is going to be hard and be like, Hey, well, if you buy my $20,000 program, you're probably not going to make it. So you can, if you want, you know, it's just not, it's not going to work. So I don't know if that's going to change, but I would say maybe once you get into that program, then you preach that, look, I can give you the systems, I can give you the processes. I can even teach you the compliance and I can hook you up with all my different, you know, my network and   Ruben Kanya (38:59.21) hook you up with my securities attorney and my CPA and my funnel builder and those sorts of things. But at the end of the day, really emphasize that it's going to be work. You have to not only implement the systems, but you're going to have to scrap. Just like building any business, capital raising is a hard business and you're going to have to do things that are going to make you uncomfortable. And if you don't go all in, you're not going to make it. That's all there is. It's just like any business.   or even a piece of a business. So me and my wife own a few gyms together and like sometimes we'll implement like you know, a promotion or something. Right. And if we half asset, it doesn't work. It just doesn't. It simply does not work. You have to have full buy-in. You have to believe in it yourself and you have to get your teammates and your employees to believe in it or they won't or they won't grow in the same direction as you. You've got to be all in just like with any business or it's not going to work.   love that. That's a good one. The belief system is certainly a big one. And I'm sure it comes off across, especially in this space of capital raising, you people want to know that, do you believe in what you're saying, right? Just as much as you believe in yourself. That's interesting. So   Tactically, was talking to this gentleman yesterday at the gym, speaking of the gym, a young guy, a hustler, you know, making some good money. And we were kind of talking about, you know, journey, you know, part of the journey is, you know, acquiring skill sets and honing your and sharpening the axe, for lack of a better word. And so I'm curious, you know,   And I'm going to stick to my pillager because that's a reference point for me. But if I'm thinking of, what is one skill? Not saying for this is the end all be all by any means, just curses. If I was to focus and truly get really, really good at one skill and, can she not just achieve mastery in it? Is it fostering relationships, remembering Seth's birthday, what he does? Is it being able to really get   (Seth Bradley) (41:17.998) great at communication and putting together a pitch deck, just to get a little bit more granular of like, what skillsets should I be thinking of, of honing, flexing that muscle and or which skill sets would actually give me an advantage in this space to really double down on? What would you say to that?   I'll just lean on what I personally did. And I think that that's public speaking. So it's a lot, it's something that people hate, right? Like most people hate it. There's a small percentage of people that love it. Not very many. Most people say it's their biggest fear. Certainly my biggest fear was public speaking. so I had to overcome that. I realized that in order to be the person that I wanted to be, I needed to overcome that fear. I needed to get good at what I was not good at. And that was certainly it. And I'll tell you what.   doing what we're doing now helped me. So I launched a podcast. It helps a lot. You get used to talking, you get used to conversating with people and you being the center of attention and focusing your thoughts and putting them into the words that you want to say. And it, it really helped. And I think that that goes from the top down. So even if you, you know, public speaking, you're thinking about, you know, being on stage and giving a presentation, that sort of thing.   Just gonna say.   Ruben Kanya (42:34.914) but it trickles down all the way to networking conversations, to having a phone call with an investor. Like it just improves your conversation skills and your communication skills that you have, whether you're on stage, whether you're on a podcast or whether you're on a phone call or a face-to-face meeting with an investor, it trickles all the way down.   I love this conversation so much and Seth, you have your own podcast as well. Why don't you plug it in for a second.   Sure, it's called the Passive Income Attorney podcast, but I will say that I'm rebranding to Raise the Bar Radio. Obviously a homage to raising capital and being an attorney.   Right. No, the reason I bring that is I couldn't, I just want to echo that, that, everything is, is, is a, is a building block, right? I think what's fascinating about having your own show, right? Seth is, you know, that when someone is talking, traditionally, or if you're not well trained, you're already thinking the next thing to say, not really hearing the person. This skillset right here, but we're doing, which I love so much, you know, forces you to be a better listener.   You know be able to collect information Digest it analyze it and then respond to it. I've always said I think having a show a podcast is one of the ultimate hacks because of the the the There's just so many multiple benefits associated with it. I'm curious. Do you see it that way too? Or is it just me?   Ruben Kanya (44:06.798) just 100 % man 100 % you heard me man like that it's a game changer I mean there's that's to me the number one thing but also you you just get to make connections too right like you get to have guests that you have to have a reason to have somebody on your show that maybe you wouldn't get to talk to for whatever reason or and you get to cross paths with people and you get to say you get to share this experience like we're always gonna have this experience I know when I meet up with people in real life   maybe five years later, like at a networking event, I'm like, my gosh, you remember we were I was on your podcast four years ago or whatever. And it's just like, you know, it's like we're high school buddies or something. you know,   You know, that's so funny you say that Seth, because I was at a conference and I've seen this dude and it had been so long. He's awesome. And I blanked on his name and I was like, but I like, hadn't seen me yet. So I just went to my episode, scrolled them like that's right. Cause I couldn't put it together. I'm like, why am I playing on it? And we hit it off. went to lunch together. Like it was just awesome. But it's to your point, it's, it's sharing an experience one.   It's learning how to communicate, learning how to listen, and then being able to... That's why I actually like being on this side more, because I get to ask you questions. It's having a master class. I'm learning so much right now, and then I get to share with my audience. It's like, Roman, that was just a great interview. like, dude, I self-interest. I selfishly was just as hyped. I'm so glad you got value out of it. So that's awesome, Seth. Let me ask you. So, know, biggest...   You talked about the capital raising, challenging, having grit, needing grit, having a network, having money, having relationships. On the other side of this is, ah, this isn't for me. Do you have a message for those folks who are saying, you know, if you're an advocating for it and obviously you have a service around it, you've done it yourself. Sure. It's not for everybody.   (Seth Bradley) (46:14.178) Right, but for someone out there who's not thinking this right like I think I was in a meetup There was a gentleman out like 300 something units like single-family homes. I think I think you did it the old-fashioned way old gentleman I'm like, yeah, I'm like damn. what is it? What message you have to like share as far as I? Like pulling on levers, right? That's why a lot of us get into real estate levers being anyone resources capital social capital, etc Can you?   Just give us your take on this lever and the power it has. And if someone's not thinking of this, the power it can have. I you mentioned 120 million in 2022. Like help us understand and grasp that for someone who's thinking still like, oh, I'm going to just refinance. I'm going to flip this home and I'm going to OPM. How important is that?   It's so important. Like I said, it's scale, right? It's scale and speed. And that applies to any business that you're trying to scale. It's speed. Like, can you get there on your own or maybe finding one partner at a time? A lot of times that's where you start. Like if you're fixing and flipping homes, you get to a max and you're like, I'm going to bring in, you know, Joe Shimo or my brother-in-law and they're going to fund this one deal. And you're doing one house at a time, or maybe you're doing two houses and you're doing three, but that takes time.   I mean, it just takes a lot of time to get there. So you're just going to be going like this. Maybe you're going to keep improving and then you're going to have one bad deal and it'll be chopped back down a little bit and they're to keep going. But with other people's money, you go like this, like that you get vertical and you can get, and you can just get economies of scale. can, again, just go with speed and that's what matters in business. Now, maybe that's not for everyone. I do get that. Like, I think if you would have asked me a few years ago, I would have said, this is the only way.   Like this is the only way you have to do it. I don't know if it's necessarily for everyone, but if you do want to get to that next level and you want to get there fast, like you want to achieve it soon, then other people's money is where it's at. Like you have to use it like gasoline on a fire.   (Seth Bradley) (48:21.678) Tell us about the, I recently heard Alex Formozzi say this, and I think he was talking about how people need to realize that a piece of a watermelon is always gonna be greater than a large grass, like grapes or something like that. I was like, oh, that's a very interesting analogy. Can you break down maybe just for us who are not familiar with the split?   when you're raising capital and you have other people's money in play and you know a lot of people talk about assets under management here and there millions here and there but help us understand like what's what's the what's the ratio you helped a lot of clients if someone's a GP on a hundred million dollar deal or a ten million dollar deal how much are they actually taking home right like how much do I make because you know you see a lot even on social like   I think that's very interesting for us because you know, we got into the space and we're super lean, but at the same time our margins are ridiculous and it's not about how many doors someone how much profit we make per each, you know, property with all these insurance companies who are paying us like five X what you would traditionally pay. So it's never been about a door contest for us, but that's very prevalent in the industry. Like, we got assets on a management, you know, 20 million here, 120 million. But how much would one.   for someone who's listening, or maybe you're not thinking, said pour gasoline on it, how much am I actually taking home, let's say on a $100 million raise, or on a 20 million, 10 million? What's the good ratio? Like what am I making? And then what's the upside of that? And why is it beneficial for me to really pay attention to this? Especially if I am for profit and money driven, and I understand the opportunity that might be at stake here.   For sure, man. And you're kind of opening up a can of worms, right? So we'll see where we take this. the general idea here is you're actually not allowed to raise capital without a license. So just like being a doctor or a dentist or an attorney, you have to have a license to be able to raise capital. And it's called a broker dealer or potentially an RIA, a registered investment advisor. So if you're not one of those people, if you don't have a license, you need to have an exemption from having   Ruben Kanya (50:41.814) that license. Now, if it's your, this is speaking in generalities, but if it's your own deal, if it's your own fund, if it's your own syndication, if you're the one buying the property, that's an exemption. You're exempted. You can raise capital for your own deal and that's okay. And that's kind of the co-GP concept that we talk about sometimes. I actually don't like to say co-GP because to me it's a fallacy. There's no such thing as a co-GP. You're either a GP and an active partner.   or you're not. And what's a co GP. So we call co GPS or the way that the industry tends to frame them as kind of these small capital raisers, right, these small capital raisers that come in and raise a little bit of capital, and they don't participate in the deal in any other way. So they don't provide any services, they don't do any of   I got got I got rich friends Right you call me you say Ruben. Can you code GP this? know you can probably bring us an extra 50 million to the table Co GP or you're saying is actually not kosher   It depends. So it all depends on how you structure that deal. So if you're bringing a large amount of capital and you're only bringing capital, what you're going to want to do is negotiate managerial or voting rights within that legal entity that you're partnering with. So maybe they're the operating partner and you're the capital partner. And that's okay. So long as you as the capital partner have some sort of like meaningful voting and managerial rights. So that's kind of what private equity does, right? They come in, they raise capital.   And that's all they do is provide capital. But guess what? In those legal documents, if something goes wrong, let's say with the property or whatever the asset is, they have takeover rights. They can come in and manage the property and take over the asset management if they want to. Those rights are baked into the legal documentation. And that's what makes it okay, because they are an active partner because they have those managerial and or voting rights. But when you come in as a, let's say a smaller partner, and all you're doing is bringing in capital,   Ruben Kanya (52:41.1) and you're not doing anything else. So you haven't negotiated any meaningful rights to make decisions or to manage. you don't actually manage the asset. You don't actually attend the meetings. You don't do anything except, here's my 500,000 bucks from my investors. And then you walk away. That's actually not legal. And a lot of people call that the Code GP model. But actually, you're either an active partner in the deal or you're not.   Would it change Seth if I, it sounds like what you're saying is I'm bringing 500K and then I'm just leaving. I'm just like, here you go. Here's, I'm just hooking you up. Would that change if I put my own money into the deal? Now I'm an LP or no, there's more complicated.   Now you're, yeah, now you're an LP because it's your money. So you're just an investor.   Right. you're saying I could, yeah. So you're saying the difference between the example you just gave is the fact that that person never had money in, they just brought money in. That's none of their own money. And then they didn't do anything. You're saying that's a red flag for lack of better words, if they don't have the proper, I guess, voting rights, manager rights, et cetera. Is that an accurate recap?   Yeah, I can use my own capital. I can put my own half a million dollars into somebody's deal and be a passive investor. And that's okay. I'm not raising capital. That's my capital. But if I said, okay, here's $250,000 from my mom and $50,000 from Rubin and another $100,000 from this person and that person. And I put it in a LLC or I just bring them into the deal. Then that is raising capital. You're raising capital from other people. And that's, that's the difference there.   (Seth Bradley) (54:14.254) Yeah, so it's almost like you could be stacking, you know, people are a bunch of people are recruiting for the fund, but those folks are not on there as investors. It's aggregated funds, essentially, which could create a problem, right? Is that what you're saying? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Very interesting. I never even thought of that case study. Yeah.   Yeah, I didn't even ask your question though, which was how much money can you make? Right? So typically, typically, and again, we're putting securities laws aside here. We're just talking about kind of industry norms, we'll call it. Maybe 30 % or so is put aside for the capital raising. So 30 % of the GP. let's say there's a syndication where you do a 70 30 split, 70 % goes to the investors, 30 % goes to the general partners. Well,   If you bring in, let's say, 100 % of the equity, you bring in all of it, then you'll probably be allocated about 30 % of the general partnership. So 30 % of the 30 % in that example. So you get 9 % of the deal.   What did you mean by 100 % of the equity amount following?   So if you had to raise, let's say you're closing on a $10 million property and you need to raise $4 million to close it, or let's say the down payment plus capital improvements, something like that, and you bring in the full $4 million, you brought in 100 % of the equity needed to close the deal.   Ruben Kanya (55:38.574) Yep. And then overall, so and then what has happened now? So what's going on now or what's happened over the last couple of years is that there have been some very well-known syndicators in the space get investigated by the SEC and people have said, all right, well, now we need to figure out a different way to raise capital, compliantly. Right. And the answer is actually always been out there, but it's had some difficulties and that's a fund to fund. So   people out there, they've heard of a fund to fund. This is more a more prominent way, a more compliant way to raise capital nowadays. But I'll tell you what, comparing it to the CoGP model, it's more complicated. It costs more money and it's just a lot more work for you as the capital aggregator or the fundraiser. So people have avoided it because they've just done the CoGP model because it's easier. But now that the CoGP model isn't as available, people are still doing it, but people are kind of shying away from it because of the   the investigations that went on. Fund to Fund has become a lot more prominent and you have companies like Tribe Best who I'm chief legal officer for, full disclosure. We put together a Fund to Fund product where we make it cheaper, easier, more compliant, and you can just do it very easily and within five business days because we do everything for you. So instead of you having to find a securities attorney and a CPA, open a business banking account, file your LLC,   Walk your investors through the signing ceremony and get them to wire your funds. We call that herding the cats. Do all these things and put your cap table together, do your distributions, all those things that you'd normally have to do. Tribe Best does. And we do it for a very low price in comparison to what I would charge you if you came to me as a law client.   Interesting so I like how you just covered the foundation there. Let's go back to the 10 million dollar example, right? Yeah, you put in equity is you said so this is me saying Equity to close is 4 million. And so I'm bringing in 4 million just so I'm clear is do I have and this is my assumption that a Lot of syndicators are also raising the capital for that 4 million. Is that not correct?   Ruben Kanya (57:55.032) Typically, yes.   Okay, so then you're saying, just want to make sure I understand all the different use cases. So I could be 4 million and then the Delta, I can either traditional lending and or have my investors cover the Delta, which would be the 6 million. Is that accurate?   Yeah, I mean you can find however you need to fill in that the debt the equity stack Well wouldn't be the equity stack the full capital stack. Yeah   Typical though, it more typical that if I'm the GP to $10 million asset that I'm actually going to raise, I don't know, $3.5 million and put 500K on my own money? Is that more typical than I'm...   I would say that is typical. Yep. That is more typical. would say prime example idea, $10 million property, get a $6 million, maybe a little bit more, $6, $7 million loan. And then you raise three or $4 million, whether that's from passive investors or whether that's your own capital that you put in, or maybe you bring in fund to fund investors.   (Seth Bradley) (59:02.478) Okay, so that's where I wanted to ask the question, fund to fund. Tell me how that's different than the, bring in 3.5, I bring in 500K to the table, I raised 3.5, now I have a $4 million down payment, we borrow $6 million on debt. Tell me how the fund to fund is different than that approach.   Sure. So that deal that you just described, we like to call that when we're talking it with respect to fund to funds, the target deal. So that's the target deal. Like that's the entity and the structure that's buying the asset. So they're buying this $10 million asset. We're actually at the fund to fund level, one level down from there. So we create our own legal structure, our own LLC, and you have your own manager, a fund manager who brings in their own passive investors and they put them in that fund to fund legal entity.   And then the fund of fund legal entity actually invests into the target deal. So they come into the target deal as basically a big passive investor. let's say they aggregate a half a million dollars where typically, you know, the average investor might be $50,000. So these are bigger investors. It's just one big investor to the lead sponsor or the target deal, but it's really, yeah, it's really another fund is what it is. So it's a fund of a fund or a fund of a syndication.   That is so interesting. so you're saying that is becoming more prevalent. You fund a fund. I mean, I would imagine that's where not to get so far off topic, but that's where a lot of big companies who are deploying their excess capital or investing in. I I guess it's in multiple portfolios, right? Investing, right? mean, there's commercial, there's insurance. I mean, there's so many different things you can invest your money into.   Yes.   (Seth Bradley) (01:00:46.656) Is that all fun to fun families essentially?   For sure. For sure. Yeah. You know, you can call it a fund. There's different kinds of fund to funds. Fund funds aren't new. They've just been deployed in a different way recently or more prominently or more often, which is this kind of this I'll call it. We like to call it an SPV fund to fund single purpose vehicle fund to fund. Now other people will call it that same thing and mean something different, but the way that we mean it is that we create this fund to fund entity.   And it's a single purpose vehicle, meaning it's created only to invest in one deal. So that $10 million multifamily deal, we create a fund of an SPV fund of fund only to invest in that one

How do you grow predictable revenue for your non-profit initiative?  In this value-packed episode of Leaders of Transformation, host Nicole Jansen sits down with Jonathan Beck, founder of WeGive—a powerful SaaS platform transforming how nonprofits and faith-based organizations engage donors and fuel their missions. After co-founding PayStand, a global leader in digital payments, and building a successful career in Silicon Valley, Jonathan felt a strong pull to return to his roots and serve the nonprofit world. With WeGive, he's merging innovative technology with purpose, helping mission-driven leaders build stronger supporter relationships and generate sustainable, predictable revenue. Jonathan shares how donor engagement is evolving from basic transactions (“Giving 1.0”) to immersive, personalized experiences through what he calls a Giving Experience Platform. Today's donors expect more than forms and receipts—they want meaningful stories, deeper connection, and seamless digital interactions. Nicole and Jonathan discuss how nonprofits and churches can elevate engagement, integrate modern tech like Salesforce and Planning Center, and use AI to reduce administrative burden. They also dive into the real-world challenges leaders face when navigating digital transformation—and how to overcome them with clarity and confidence. Whether you're an executive director, outreach pastor, fundraising professional, or mission-driven entrepreneur, this episode will inspire you with fresh ideas and actionable strategies to amplify your impact. What We Discuss in This Episode How is “Giving 3.0” different from traditional fundraising methods? What is a “Giving Experience Platform” and how does it work? Why are personalized donor journeys critical for today's nonprofit growth? What practical steps help nonprofits increase donor retention and conversion? How does WeGive integrate with tools like Planning Center, Salesforce, and more? Which donor engagement strategies work best for Gen X and Millennial supporters? What are the biggest barriers to technology adoption in the nonprofit sector—and how can leaders overcome them? How does AI streamline repetitive nonprofit tasks and elevate donor relationships? Who are WeGive's ideal clients—and how do they measure success? What pricing models make advanced fundraising tech accessible for growing organizations? Podcast Highlights 0:00 - Evolution of Giving Platforms 6:09 - Donor Journey: From Online to Mailbox 7:54 - Effortless Fundraising Boosts Connections 12:25 - Church Software Usability Challenges 13:42 - Enhanced Church Giving Tools 17:27 - WeGive: Seamless Donation Experience 21:47 - Nonprofits Lack Innovation Culture 25:37 - Essentials for Any Church 29:21 - Flexible CRM and Payment Solutions 30:09 - Affordable Platform Fees for Nonprofits 34:27 - AI-Driven CRM Insights 36:47 - Entrepreneurial Insights and Innovation Favorite Quotes “Today's donors are purchasing a piece of their identity, and the product is delivered via communication. It's not just a transaction—it's a relationship.” ~ Jonathan Beck “Most nonprofit tools are stand-alone point solutions. What we need is an integrated giving commerce flow that merges online and offline experiences.” ~ Jonathan Beck “AI and integrated platforms are finally letting small teams create the personal, high-touch donor journeys that used to be reserved for huge organizations.” ~ Jonathan Beck Be sure to check out WeGive.com for more info, a demo, or to explore partnership opportunities. Looking to take your nonprofit or church fundraising to the next level? This episode is your roadmap. Episode Resources: https://leadersoftransformation.com/podcast/business/541-the-future-of-giving-adapting-for-the-next-generation-with-jonathan-beck/ Check out our complete library of episodes and other leadership resources here: https://leadersoftransformation.com ________

Unlocking Sustainable Growth with Customer Retention Strategies from Yemi Oluseun of The Change HiveIn this episode of The Thoughtful Entrepreneur, host Josh Elledge speaks with Yemi Oluseun, Founder and CEO of The Change Hive. With a background in fintech and corporate transformation, Yemi shares why customer retention—not just acquisition—is the most powerful growth lever for any business. She outlines her five-point retention model, detailing how SaaS founders, service-based entrepreneurs, and growth leaders can build a loyal customer base, reduce churn, and expand revenue through smarter engagement and community building.How to Build a Retention-First Business That Fuels Long-Term GrowthYemi reveals that many businesses plateau not because they can't attract new customers—but because they're losing them too soon. Her five-point retention model helps leaders plug those leaks by focusing on onboarding, behavior tracking, customer habits, feedback loops, and timing review requests with customer milestones. From onboarding roadmaps and “quick wins” to using behavioral analytics and hosting customer roundtables, Yemi emphasizes creating early value, consistent engagement, and authentic relationships that turn customers into brand advocates.One of her most powerful insights is the importance of review-based feedback and expansion selling. By mapping the customer journey, identifying key touchpoints, and knowing when to request testimonials, businesses can not only improve retention but unlock new revenue streams. Yemi also shares tools like retention scorecards, milestone mapping, and customer health monitoring—reinforcing that retention isn't just a tactic, it's a strategy that touches every part of your business.Yemi's approach is actionable and measurable. She encourages founders to shift their focus from front-end sales to post-sale engagement and build a company culture where retention is everyone's responsibility. With the right systems, support, and mindset, you can transform customer success into your most reliable and scalable growth engine.About Yemi OluseunYemi Oluseun is the founder and CEO of The Change Hive, a consulting and training company that helps mission-driven businesses grow sustainably through retention-first strategies. With a background in corporate transformation, fintech, and customer growth, she's passionate about helping leaders turn clients into long-term advocates.About The Change HiveThe Change Hive empowers business leaders with the strategies and systems they need to improve customer retention and expand revenue. Through diagnostics, frameworks, and live workshops, The Change Hive helps SaaS and service-based businesses create sticky, high-value customer relationships.Links Mentioned in this Episode:The Change Hive WebsiteYemi Oluseun on LinkedInThe Change Hive Retention ScorecardEpisode Highlights:Why retention is the most overlooked yet powerful growth leverThe Change Hive's five-point retention model for reducing churnHow to use behavioral analytics and roundtables to drive engagementThe role of milestone-based review requests in boosting trust and referralsHow to identify revenue expansion opportunities with existing customersConclusionYemi Oluseun makes a compelling case for shifting your focus from acquisition to retention. With the right systems and engagement strategies in place, you can create a business that grows...

Send us a textCRO veteran Dylan Ander (Founder, heatmap.com) joins Jordan to spill the never-before-shared story of how he landed heatmap.com by acquiring an entire C-Corp—and why the name matters for brand authority, SEO, and inbound. We break down why GA4 falls short for eCommerce, how definitions (sessions, idle windows, engagement) skew your numbers vs Shopify, and what to use when you need buyer-truth, not vanity metrics.Dylan unveils element-level revenue analytics—Revenue per Click (RPC) and Revenue per Session (RPS)—plus the coming Revenue per View (RPV), so you can prioritize changes that actually increase cash, not just clicks. We dig into pixel-level behavior tracking (no cookies, no PII), AI insights that call out underperforming elements (e.g., a specific FAQ item), and how to catch bugs and bot traffic before they burn revenue.We also get tactical on replacing Google Optimize, the realities of SaaS pricing (and why “McDonald's pricing” works), and the rise of social search (TikTok as a top search engine) shaping product discovery more than LLM/Chat. If you own a P&L for a DTC brand—or you're the CRO/performance lead—this episode will make you money.What you'll learn→ How Dylan cold-outreaches to acquire companies & premium domains (the “urgent, must speak to founder” play)→ Why GA4 under-/over-reports vs Shopify—and how definitions (idle windows, engagement) distort truth→ The RPC/RPS (and coming RPV) metrics that finally connect elements → revenue→ Pixel-level behavior tracking (no cookies/PII) + AI insights that tell you exactly what to change→ Social search optimization (TikTok search often beats LLM/Chat for product discovery)→ Replacing Google Optimize and building reliable A/B workflows in 2025→ The real cost drivers behind SaaS pricing—and how to price without burning trust→ Bot/junk filtering and defining a “session” that reflects buyers, not noiseWho this is for→ DTC/eCommerce founders & growth leaders→ CROs, performance marketers, and Shopify teams→ SaaS operators curious about pricing, PLG, and analytics positioningTimestamp:00:00 Intro & why this convo matters for DTC02:00 The C-Corp acquisition story behind heatmap.com06:30 Exact-match domains, SEO, and the inbound engine09:20 GA4 vs Shopify: definitions that change your numbers16:30 RIP Google Optimize: reliable A/B testing in 202518:50 Element-level revenue: RPC, RPS (and RPV coming)22:30 Pixel-level tracking & AI insights (no cookies/PII)26:15 Catching bugs + filtering bots/junk traffic28:40 Social search: TikTok as a top product discovery engine31:20 SaaS pricing & the “McDonald's” strategy36:40 Who should use revenue-based heatmaps (and why)44:30 Contrarian analytics takes you need to hear55:10 Personal: life, music, and loving the gameGuestDylan Ander — Founder, heatmap.com (revenue-based heatmaps, funnels, analytics for ecom). Mentions his upcoming book, Billion Dollar Websites.

Erik Christiansen is the Co-founder and CEO of Justuno, a conversion optimization SaaS platform. With over 20 years of experience in e-commerce and tech, he specializes in sustainable growth and product development. Before co-founding Justuno, Erik scaled Sierra Snowboard from $0 to over $20 million in annual revenue.  In this episode… Many website visitors leave without purchasing, and abandoned carts represent millions in lost revenue for e-commerce brands. Even as traffic and ad spend grow, conversion rates often stagnate, and customer acquisition costs continue to rise. How can online retailers capture more value from existing website traffic? According to e-commerce expert and entrepreneur Erik Christiansen, improving on-site conversions can unlock immediate revenue gains. His three-step revenue approach, which includes capturing, identifying, and converting leads, prioritizes real-time engagement, visitor segmentation, and actionable promotions. Additionally, techniques like cart abandonment campaigns, shopper preference pop-ups, and high-quality SMS collections boost conversions and strengthen margins by maximizing the lifetime value of each visitor. In this week's episode of the Up Arrow Podcast, William Harris chats with Erik Christiansen, Co-founder and CEO of Justuno, about driving revenue through smarter on-site conversions. Erik also discusses creative cart abandonment strategies, the difference between vanity metrics and meaningful KPIs, and why hands-on entrepreneurship builds resilience.

Today, we're joined by Chris Silvestri, Founder at Conversion Alchemy, an agency that combines copywriting, UX design, and psychology to help SaaS and eCommerce companies convert more visitors into customers. We talk about:How failure to crystallize strategy results in messaging shortcomings & low conversionsTactics to get started with & accelerate messaging content, including use of AIImpacts of improving messaging to differentiate your SaaS offeringGrowth stages at which it's most impactful to fine-tune messagingUse of AI models to act as prospects in order to gain insights, including use of real research to construct partially synthetic personas

In this episode, Eitan Koter sits down with Dan Chorlton, CEO and co-founder of Goa Marketing. Goa Marketing is a SaaS platform that helps enterprise advertisers get more from their Google Ads budgets. Dan and his team have managed and optimized over a billion pounds in paid search, partnering with brands like MoneySupermarket to improve returns and reduce wasted spend.They start with the story behind Goa, including why the name stands for Governance, Opportunity, and Accountability. Dan explains how these three pillars guide their approach to managing campaigns at scale, from keeping track of errors to spotting new opportunities and showing leadership clear results.Eitan asks about the biggest gaps in Google Ads today, and Dan shares how automation and the right processes can make a major difference. They talk about where money often leaks out of campaigns, why testing matters, and how to set up experiments that lead to real improvements.They also discuss Google's latest ad formats, the impact of Performance Max, and how to balance automation with control. Dan offers his perspective on why ad copy testing still matters, the importance of a strong value proposition, and how small changes can have a large impact.If you run Google Ads, whether you are spending millions a year or just getting started, you will hear clear ideas for making your budget work harder and your results stronger.Website: https://www.vimmi.net Email us: info@vimmi.net Podcast website: https://vimmi.net/mastering-ecommerce-marketing/ Talk to us on Social:Eitan Koter's LinkedIn | Vimmi LinkedIn | YouTube Guest: Dan Chorlton, CEO (interim) & Founding Director at GOA MarketingDan Chorlton's LinkedIn | GOA MarketingTakeaways:Adaptability is crucial in the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.Testing and analyzing results rigorously is essential for success.Maximizing advertising spend efficiency can lead to significant cost savings.

Visit thedigitalslicepodcast.com for complete show notes of every podcast episode. Join Brad Friedman and Andy Culligan as they chat about getting your sales and marketing teams to work together and the hidden costs of siloed teams. Andy Culligan is a marketing leader specializing in revenue growth and scaling SaaS businesses. With close to a decade of experience in both marketing and sales, Andy excels as a Fractional CMO, CRO, and Marketing Advisor. He is known for his straightforward approach to Account-Based Marketing (ABM), aligning marketing and sales teams to drive commercial success. Andy has held key marketing leadership positions at multiple SaaS companies including Emarsys (acquired by SAP), Exponea (acquired by Bloomreach) & Leadfeeder (now Echobot). He focuses on personalized marketing strategies that create meaningful touchpoints, ultimately boosting revenue for his clients. The Digital Slice Podcast is brought to you by Magai. Up your AI game at https://friedmansocialmedia.com/magai

Are you wondering why Your SaaS GTM Isn't Working, And How to Fix It with Operational Discipline? In today's competitive business environment, success depends not just on great products, but on how effectively you bring them to market. Yet, many companies struggle with go-to-market (GTM) strategies that fall apart under pressure. Why? Because marketing and sales often operate in silos, pulling in different directions instead of working as a unified force. Think of it this way: marketing should act as the recon team, gathering intelligence, identifying opportunities, and setting the stage. Sales, on the other hand, is the strike team—responsible for execution and closing. When these two functions are misaligned or overloaded with conflicting motions, the result is confusion, inefficiency, and missed revenue. In this episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast, Joran Hofman sits down with Head of GTM Garrath Robinson to explore why most GTM strategies fail—and how a disciplined, military-inspired approach can help businesses stay focused, aligned, and ready to win.Key Timecodes(0:00) – The Battlefield of Business(1:12) – Meet Garrath Robinson: From Combat Veteran to Growth Architect(1:39) – GTM Gone Wrong: Real-World Horror Stories(5:52) – What Is a Go-To-Market Motion, Really?(7:17) – When Motions Collide(8:33) – Leadership Fails and GTM Breakdown(13:26) – Inside the Strike Operating System(19:51) – Signal Calibration: Finding What Really Moves the Needle(22:47) – Marketing 2.0: From Arts & Crafts to Operational Powerhouse(26:09) – Avoiding the GTM Trap: Common Pitfalls to Watch For(31:43) – Give It Time: The Patience Behind Real Transformation(33:16) – The People Behind the Process(35:12) – Garrath's Golden Rule: Discipline Over Dollars(36:41) – Building the Future: Gut Instinct, Fundamentals, and Human Connection(39:33) – Scaling Revenue: From 0 to $10K MRR and Beyond(44:15) – Wrapping Up: Key Takeaways + Connect with Garrath Robinson

What SaaS metrics and financial metrics really matter when you're scaling toward your first $1 million in ARR? In episode #305, Ben Murray breaks down the essential numbers to track using his Five Pillar SaaS Metrics Framework. From building a strong accounting foundation to tracking investor metrics like retention, bookings, and gross profit, this episode gives you the tools to set your business model up for scale and eventual company valuation growth. Whether you're a founder, CFO, or finance lead, you'll learn how to implement the right KPIs before you cross the $1M mark, so you can confidently present metrics to your team and/or investors and operate with clarity. What You'll Learn: SaaSfy Your Accounting Foundation Why your accounting system (QBO, Xero, etc.) needs a SaaS-specific structure. How a clean P&L improves your ability to track revenue, margins, and KPI's. Track Bookings Data Early Why executed contracts (new ARR, expansion ARR, and contraction) are one of the most important SaaS numbers. How bookings feed your go-to-market efficiency calculations and help measure sales ROI. Retention Is Key Gross revenue retention, net revenue retention, renewal rates, and logo retention — and when each matters most. How retention signals product-market fit and impacts valuation. Other Metrics to Watch Gross profit, EBITDA, cash flow forecasting, and cash runway. How do these connect to financial strategy and your long-term investor metrics? Why These Metrics Matter Before $1M ARR: Creates a financial systems foundation for scale. Equips you to benchmark your performance against peers. Builds a data story for fundraising and valuation discussions. Avoids costly gaps in financial modeling once growth accelerates. Resources Mentioned"

This week on the pod, Kevin and Laura talk with Bree Flemings, CEO and co-founder of Jem Social, about building a tech platform at the intersection of influencer marketing, data privacy, and the ever-shifting world of digital media.Bree shares how DJing in college led her to the world of content creation, and what ultimately drove her to start Jem Social, a platform designed to help brands connect with the right influencers at scale. We talk about the evolution of marketing, the role of AI, and the balance between automation and authenticity. Bree also gets into how Jem is adapting to changing ad trends, why community-based marketing is on the rise, and how she's thinking about data privacy, moderation, and the future of trust in the creator economy. She also shares about the challenges of user acquisition, retention, and what's next for Jem Social. Bree Flemings is the CEO and co-founder of Jem Social, a SaaS platform that helps consumer brands easily find and partner with influencers who match their target audience, location, and budget. Jem is backed by Nexcubed, Bank of America, and NC Invest.She is a results-driven Founder, Product marketing Manager and Project Manager with a proven track record in delivering complex projects on time and within budget. She is customer obsessed. Highly skilled in leading cross-functional teams, managing project scope, and ensuring customer satisfaction. Her experience spans everything from launching market-ready products to managing stakeholder relationships and driving agile development. Simply put: she knows how to take an idea and make it real.

Eli Portnoy joins Jeff Mains on SaaS Fuel to dive deep into the world of B2B customer feedback, leadership, and scaling SaaS ventures. Eli shares candid stories and practical wisdom from his career, including founding and exiting Sense360 and ThinkNear. He breaks down how BackEngine AI is changing the game for customer retention and voice-of-customer insights by harnessing AI to organize and activate the wealth of organic customer feedback that's already flowing through businesses. The conversation ranges from tactical product decisions and the dangers of confirmation bias, to transformative leadership lessons, distribution vs. product obsession, and the future of AI in SaaS. This episode is a goldmine for scaling founders, product leaders, and anyone who wants to build lasting companies around customer obsession and actionable data.Key Takeaways00:00 Appoint Voice of Customer Owner05:38 Leveraging AI for Customer Feedback08:07 "Customer Data Insights Unveiled"11:20 Visibility Challenges and Customer Feedback16:04 Second Business: Hard Lessons Learned18:01 Balancing Data with Intuition21:26 Pursuit of Right Answers24:34 Appointing Customer Voice Ownership28:14 "Empower Through Shared Context"31:06 "Context Enables Growth in Teams"33:17 "Focus on Pain, Not Solutions"39:33 Sales Empathy Essential for Success41:53 Successful SaaS: Niche vs. Consolidation45:02 Burnout: Catalyst for Personal GrowthTweetable Quotes“If an executive team cares about the voice of the customer, someone needs to own it—explicitly and visibly.” — Eli PortnoyViral Topic: The Hidden Cost of Leadership Loneliness: "Most leaders are exhausted from playing the lone hero and it's killing both your results and your sanity." — Jeff Mains“Most B2B companies operate on anecdotes, not data. That's where bias creeps in.” — Eli Portnoy“The customer isn't always right—but they're always insightful.” — Eli PortnoyViral Topic - Digging Deeper Than Features: "It's not about the feature. It's not about the horse or the car or anything else. What do they really want? They want to go faster." — Jeff Mains“Distribution beats product if nobody knows about you or can't buy from you. Prioritize both.” — Eli Portnoy“Context is the most important thing you can give a high-performing team.” — Eli Portnoy“In the age of AI, building features is easy—delivering outcomes through focus and distribution sets the winners apart.” — Eli PortnoyPreventing Burnout as a Leader: "Stop drowning alone and build your stability matrix." — Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsMake Customer Obsession Tangible:Assign clear responsibility and accountability for customer feedback within your executive team.Don't Rely on Surveys Alone:True feedback is happening organically; invest in systems or tools that capture it across all customer touchpoints.Default to ‘I Don't Know':The best leaders approach growth with curiosity, seeking truth rather than confirmation of personal biases.Share the “Why” Behind Decisions:Equip your teams with context so they make aligned, mission-driven choices without bottlenecking leadership.Speed Matters for Reversible Decisions:Don't overthink what doesn't move the needle. Make quick calls unless the decision is high-impact and hard to reverse.Prioritize Team Over Titles:Avoid title inflation to win talent; it creates future misalignment and headaches as you...

Ian and Aaron discuss pricing for Outro.fm, what kind of sponsors Aaron should have on Database School, trips vs. vacations, GPT-5, and so much more.Sponsored by: Bento, Honeybadger, Laravel Nightwatch, Flare by Spatie, and Laracon AU.Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Trip vs. Vacation (05:46) - First Real School (12:23) - An Update on Satisficing (14:00) - Polls in Outro.fm (23:11) - Outro.fm Pricing (42:44) - GPT-5 (59:10) - Sponsors for Database School? (01:09:40) - Ian's Getting Organized (01:23:15) - LifeOS Update Links:AWD vs. 4WDCall Screening in iOS 26Parkinson's LawJustin Jackson on BlueskyTatami - email monitoring & alertingGPT-5 is hereSam Altman's tweet showing the Death StarNotebookLMBear.appDatabase SchoolObsidianNotion Calendar

Remote work and AI promised to make us more productive. The data says otherwise.In this episode, we unpack new research showing remote workers put in about two and a half hours less each day than office teams, and studies suggesting AI tools can weaken critical thinking and slow skill growth. We explore what happens when these trends collide, how they impact career development, and why leaders need to address the issue now.Sources:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 study Measuring the Impact of Early-2025 AI on Experienced Open-Source Developer Productivity Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task Never miss a new episode, join our newsletter on revenueformula.substack.com(00:00) - Introduction (03:25) - Research: Remote work is not working (09:31) - Parkinson's Law of Productivity (16:50) - Distractions in work environments (17:48) - Remote work and career development (24:01) - AI's impact on developers (28:41) - Study: AI making us dumber? (32:34) - The Future of Cognitive Functions (40:59) - Final thoughts (41:58) - Next week: What have we been working on?

Neil Twa is the Co-Founder of Voltage Holdings, which invests in and acquires ecommerce brands and SaaS brands.

Today on LaunchPod, we're talking with Bret Tushaus, VP of Product at Deltek. In this episode, we discuss: How Deltek built Dela—an AI agent framework powering everything from smart summaries to autonomous accounting Why AI is rewriting the role of Product Management, and what leaders need to know now And how Bret's team leveled up their AI skills fast — with short, high-impact sprints focused on real tools and real problems Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-tushaus-b959b56/ Deltek: https://www.deltek.com/en Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI in Product Management 01:06 Building AI-Powered Solutions at Deltek 03:05 Smart Summaries and Predictive Analytics 08:24 Intelligent Exploration and Conversational Interfaces 17:39 The Future of AI Agents 22:14 Getting Started with AI in Your Team 26:52 Final Thoughts Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPodPodcast)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Bret Tushaus.

Telecom and ISP lifecycle management can be tedious and opaque. On today's Tech Bytes, we talk with sponsor Lightyear about its SaaS-based platform that handles telecom and ISP procurement, tracks installations and inventory, manages billing, and more. We talk about the pain points that Lightyear can solve, the components of the platform, and how Lightyear... Read more »

"She's led millions in growth, raised a $34M seed round, and still makes it home for family dinner."

In this bonus episode, John and Matt preview the next installment of the Cynical Data Guy. The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack, customer data infrastructure that enables you to deliver real-time customer event data everywhere it's needed to power smarter decisions and better customer experiences. Each week, we'll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.RudderStack helps businesses make the most out of their customer data while ensuring data privacy and security. To learn more about RudderStack visit rudderstack.com.

Enterprise AI leaders from C3 AI, Resolve AI, and Scale AI reveal how Fortune 100 companies are successfully scaling agentic AI from pilots to production and share secrets for successful AI transformation.Topics Include:Panel introduces three AI leaders from Resolve AI, C3 AI, and Scale AIResolve AI builds autonomous site reliability engineers for production incident responseC3 AI provides full-stack platform for developing enterprise agentic AI workflowsScale AI helps Fortune 100 companies adopt agents with private data integrationMoving from AI pilots to production requires custom solutions, not shrink-wrap softwareSuccess demands working directly with customers to understand their specific workflowsAll enterprise AI solutions need well-curated access to internal data and resourcesSoftware engineering has permanently shifted to agentic coding with no going backAI agents rapidly improving in reasoning, tool use, and contextual understandingIndustry moving from simple co-pilots to agents solving complex multi-step problemsSpiros coins new concept: evolving from "systems of record" to "systems of knowledge"Democratized development platforms let enterprises declare their own agent workflowsSemantic business layers enable agents to understand domain-specific enterprise operationsTrust and observability remain major barriers to enterprise agent adoptionOversight layers essential for agents making longer-horizon autonomous business decisionsPerformance tracking and calibration systems needed like MLOps for reasoning chainsCEO-level top-down support required for successful AI transformation initiativesTraditional per-seat SaaS pricing models completely broken for agentic AI solutionsIndustry shifting toward outcome-based and work-completion pricing models insteadReal examples shared: agent collaboration in production engineering and sales automationParticipants:Nikhil Krishnan – SVP & Chief Technology Officer, Data Science, C3 AISpiros Xanthos – Founder and CEO, Resolve AIVijay Karunamurthy – Head of Engineering, Product and Design / Field Chief Technology Officer, Scale AIAndy Perkins – GM, US ISV Sales – Data, Analytics, GenAI, Amazon Web ServicesFurther Links:C3 – Website – AWS MarketplaceResolve AI – Website – AWS MarketplaceScale AI – Website – AWS MarketplaceSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Telecom and ISP lifecycle management can be tedious and opaque. On today's Tech Bytes, we talk with sponsor Lightyear about its SaaS-based platform that handles telecom and ISP procurement, tracks installations and inventory, manages billing, and more. We talk about the pain points that Lightyear can solve, the components of the platform, and how Lightyear... Read more »

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

Here is the republish of my chat with Rob Walling, author of the SaaS Playbook. We delved into product pricing, focusing on value alignment rather than greed, and discussed strategic price increases to reduce churn and bolster marketing. Rob also shared when to start paid ads and how to create impactful content. He offered advice on assembling a team within budgetary limits and revealed that smart business structuring can lead to profit with less work. Our conversation ended on the importance of joy in entrepreneurship, emphasizing freedom, purpose, and relationships.These shownotes were created with PodsqueezeLinks and MentionsSAS Playbook: 01:31:58Startups for the Rest of Us Podcast: 01:31:58MicroConf YouTube Channel: 01:31:58The Zen Founder Guide to Founder Retreats: 01:30:39Twitter Thread for Book Recommendations: 01:32:37TimetsampsRob Walling's Book (00:01:16)Writing the Book (00:02:13)Pricing Strategies (00:06:36)OpenAI's Pricing Strategy (00:11:54)Competitive Pricing Strategy (00:13:50)Greed and Motivation (00:16:40)Reasons for Raising Prices (00:17:50)Impact of Pricing on Marketing (00:19:24)Paid Advertising Considerations (00:20:59)Using Ads for SEO Strategy (00:24:57)Marketing Approaches for SaaS (00:29:50)Creating Compelling Content for Reddit (00:32:38)Navigating Reddit and Other Forums (00:34:17)Understanding Marketing and Content Strategies (00:35:20)Challenges of Early-Stage Product Development (00:38:03)Defining Product-Market Fit (00:44:48)Size of the Market (00:48:24)Total Reachable Market (00:49:01)Reaching 100% of the Paying Market (00:50:42)Total Addressable Market (00:51:00)Escape Velocity (00:54:20)Business Plateau (00:55:39)Hiring and Team Growth (00:57:24)Managing People (01:03:09)Owner and Founder Level Thinkers (01:04:35)Challenges of Hiring and Paying Employees (01:05:33)Remote Work and Cost-Effective Hiring (01:07:18)Working On vs. In the Business (01:10:33)Achieving Work-Life Balance and Financial Success (01:14:51)Earning Wealth and the Challenges of Autopilot Income (01:19:44)Investing and Selling Assets (01:20:21)Tax Treatment and Selling SaaS Companies (01:21:14)Wealth and Freedom (01:22:09)Finding Happiness as an Entrepreneur (01:23:04)Retreats and Self-Reflection (01:30:10)Recommendations and Conclusion (01:31:58)

What happens when the finish line finally arrives, only to leave you asking, What now? Jerome Myers talks with Tad Fallows, founder of Long Angle, about building and selling a company on his terms and the surprising challenges of life after the deal. They reveal the truth about “work optional” wealth, finding meaning beyond money, and what comes after you win. Listen now to uncover life after success. [00:00 – 12:00] From Harvard to High Growth Tad's unconventional path from Ivy League to McKinsey to co-founding a SaaS company in an unlikely market Why early success is more about relationships than résumés How bootstrapping through the 2008 downturn shaped his approach to risk [12:01 – 24:00] Scaling Without Selling Out Growing 40–50% every year without venture capital Why an unsolicited offer wasn't enough to pull the trigger How a year of preparation expanded their market story and increased exit value [24:01 – 36:00] The Exit on His Terms Choosing the right buyer over the highest bidder Why does Tad want all of his chips off the table, not half The surprising upside of post-sale stock grants [36:01 – 46:00] Building Long Angle The sudden wealth questions no one prepares you for: estate planning, alternative assets, and raising grounded kids Why peer-to-peer wisdom beats Wall Street advice How a Slack channel for friends became a thriving founder community [46:01 – End] Redefining “What's Next” The Founder's Exit Paradox: when money solves the math but not the meaning Why purpose doesn't have to be permanent to be valid Finding fulfillment in family, community, and building again Key Quotes: “If you have 10 times as much wealth, you're probably 2x as happy.” – Tad Fallows “The hardest part of the exit is what happens next.” – Tad Fallows Connect with Tad: Website: longangle.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fallows Don't miss The Entrepreneur Event of the Season, the $100M Money Models Book Launch streaming live on YouTube, Aug 16, 2025.  Register Here for Free

When people Google Bonterra, they often see 2021 as its starting point. That year, lead investor Apax joined with Vista, holder of Social Solutions, and Insight Partners, holder of EveryAction, to unite those businesses under one brand. But, as Matthew Hardy tells us, the company's history stretches much further back—“We have customers that are 20–25-year-old customers, so (there are) a lot of longstanding relationships.”From its earliest days, Bonterra's mission has been clear: provide “purpose-built software for nonprofits.” Today, that includes tools for strategic philanthropy, enabling Fortune 50 companies and foundations to distribute funds, manage grants, and ensure resources reach the right causes.Its Impact Management business works with both small nonprofits and large entities—including city and state initiatives involving millions of dollars—to answer the central question: “What's the impact?” Hardy tells us many philanthropists have historically invested without a clear view of results; Bonterra's solutions aim to change that.Fundraising and Engagement solutions—traditional CRM-style donor management platforms—serve nonprofits across the spectrum, from micro-organizations to nationally recognized names.Although backed by private equity “impact funds,” Hardy stresses there's no easing of performance expectations. Bonterra tracks “all the same metrics you would typically see in your vertical SaaS companies”—from new and install base bookings to gross and net retention, margins, and EBITDA.Ultimately, Hardy's strategic lens centers on value realization. “If your customers…aren't finding significant value…you're not going to last long,” he tells us. Whether helping nonprofits hit fundraising goals or guiding corporate giving programs, Bonterra's work is measured by both mission and metrics.

It's the most common question on sales calls, at networking events, conferences and more. And yet, most people answer it in the most forgettable way. In this episode, I discover “The Magnetic Message”. This is my 12-second framework for answering this question with clarity and confidence. Wherever you are, this simple structure will help you stand out in a sea of sameness, spark curiosity and leave a lasting impression. What you'll learn in this episode: • How to craft a 12-second Magnetic Message that captures attention • How to earn the right to share your story in a way that connects (and spreads even when you're not in the room) • A real-world example from a SaaS sales team I worked with and why it works This episode is for : B2B leaders, executives, sales professionals, service-based entrepreneurs, and anyone who wants to speak with more influence and unshakeable confidence in high-stakes moments. LINK & CTA

In this episode of The Digital Executive podcast, host Brian Thomas chats with Pejman Roshan, CMO of Menlo Security, about how the rise of hybrid work and SaaS adoption is transforming the cybersecurity landscape. Pej shares how Menlo's isolation-based browser security shifts the model from reactive defense to proactive protection—keeping malicious content out by never letting it reach the endpoint.With a career spanning Cisco, Aruba, and VMware, Pej reflects on how marketing in cybersecurity now demands both creativity and deep technical understanding. He explains why the browser is becoming the new endpoint and how Menlo is leading the way in securing users wherever they work.If you liked what you heard today, please leave us a review. Apple or Spotify

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I chat with Andy Wilson, Senior Director at Dropbox, to explore how AI is quietly but fundamentally changing how we work. Andy offers a deep dive into Dropbox Dash, an AI-powered search and knowledge management tool designed to cut through digital noise and reclaim the one thing most professionals are running out of: time. We unpack how Dash is solving the growing problem of content sprawl by integrating with over 60 SaaS platforms, offering AI-driven answers instead of just links. Andy describes it best: the internet lets you search all of human knowledge, but good luck finding that one deck from last quarter in your company's Google Drive. Dash aims to fix that. And it's already doing so for teams like McLaren F1, who use the platform to coordinate high-stakes race weekends with precision and security. We also discuss how Dropbox is adopting AI internally, from the acquisition of Reclaim.ai to enhancing virtual-first collaboration with intelligent scheduling and governance tools. For Dropbox, AI isn't a novelty. It's becoming the backbone of how distributed teams work better together. Andy likens it to having a personalized chief of staff, helping you prioritize, organize, and even remind you when to take a break. Our conversation also touches on Andy's creative roots at the BBC and Aardman, and how those experiences shaped his product thinking today. He shares real examples of how Dropbox supports content creators and knowledge workers alike, including feedback tools like Dropbox Replay and user-generated storytelling workflows powered by simple file request features. If you're wrestling with digital overload, managing hybrid teams, or just wondering how AI can actually help without taking over, this episode is for you. Andy paints a grounded, human picture of the future of work, one where AI supports creativity and restores clarity, not chaos.

A lot of SaaS founders start with freemium because it feels like the easiest way to get users in the door—but then those users never really convert. You end up with a bloated free tier, server costs piling up, and barely enough paying customers to keep things going. It's like giving away your best stuff and hoping someone eventually offers to pay for it. And the worst part is, by the time you realize what's happening, it's already eating into your runway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV69xh5WFrE Dan Balcauski, founder and Chief Pricing Officer of Product Tranquility, helps B2B SaaS companies fine-tune pricing to drive real growth. Today, he explains why freemium often fails in B2B, especially when customer value isn't clearly defined. He shares how subscription models have matured and why pricing needs to reflect what users actually care about. His focus: use value-based metrics to build smarter, more profitable product strategies. Stay tuned! Quotes: “If you don't really understand how you're charging customers or haven't thought it through well, you're missing the highest leverage opportunities.” “I would spend most of my time on what the price tag goes on, and little time on what number goes on the price tag.” “Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. We need to understand it's not what we think; it's what those customers think, whom we're actually trying to sell this to.” Resources: Accelerate your growth today | Product Tranquility Connect with Dan Balcauski on LinkedIn

Have you ever wondered why your sales team's performance doesn't match their enthusiasm for training? I found myself in this exact predicament, puzzling over a 97% customer satisfaction rate for our program, yet only 15% of participants were implementing what we taught. This disconnect led to a fascinating journey of discovery and innovation in the world of sales technology. Key Insights: The unexpected pivot from service to software, driven by market demands and investor feedback How we leveraged our sales training expertise to create AI-powered writing and engagement tools The importance of understanding your users' workflow to build truly valuable solutions Strategies for transitioning from a service-based model to a product-led growth approach The Productivity Paradox Here at Vengreso, we uncovered a fascinating paradox in sales training. Despite a 97% satisfaction rate with our training programs, only 15% of reps were actually implementing what they learned. Why? The answer lies in the time-consuming nature of sales activities. Their research showed that on average: It takes 6-12 minutes to write a LinkedIn comment. Creating a social media post consumes 32 minutes. No wonder reps weren't putting their training into practice! This insight led to the development of two new features within FlyMSG, an AI-powered writing and sales engagement tool designed to streamline these processes. Exciting Features on the Horizon: FlyGrammar: An AI-powered writing assistant to rival established players AI Sales Roleplay and Coaching: FlyMSG now includes an AI-driven sales roleplay and practice session with personalized feedback for cold calling. AI Paragraph Rewriter: FlyMSG can now rewrite, humanize, and improve any paragraph or sentence instantly and it works everywhere online. Whether you're a sales manager or above looking to enhance your team's performance or an entrepreneur interested in the journey from service to SaaS, this episode offers valuable insights into the future of sales technology and the power of understanding your users' needs. "A fool with a tool is still a fool." - Learn why combining powerful technology with effective training is the key to sales success. Join me as we explore the challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned in building a sales productivity platform that's reshaping how modern sales teams operate. Discover how we're addressing the pain points in the sales workflow and why our approach might just be the future of sales enablement. Key Moments 00:00:00The Perplexing Customer Satisfaction Paradox Mario Martinez Jr. discusses the puzzling situation of having 97% customer satisfaction but only 15% of people implementing their training. This led to the development of AI-powered tools to address the time-consuming nature of social media engagement for salespeople. 00:01:37Introducing Mario Martinez Jr. and Vengreso Mario shares his background, including his family nickname "Sonny," and introduces Vengreso, creators of Fly Message. He explains how the company evolved from a service-based business to a SaaS company focused on sales productivity and engagement tools. 00:05:54From Service to SaaS: Vengreso's Transformation Mario details the transition from a service-based company to a SaaS business. He discusses the challenges faced, including raising funds and pivoting their strategy to focus on enterprise sales prospecting training alongside their Fly Message tool. 00:19:30Leveraging AI for Sales Engagement Mario explains how Vengreso uses AI to enhance their products, leveraging their existing sales training content to guide AI-powered writing and responses. He emphasizes their focus on creating a comprehensive workflow solution for salespeople. 00:27:29Product Strategy and Future Plans Mario outlines Vengreso's product strategy, including various "Fly" branded tools and their approach to product-led growth. He discusses future plans, such as improving daily usage and potentially being acquired by a larger company in the next five years. 00:37:00Challenges and Personal Pride Mario identifies funding as the main challenge for accelerating growth. He expresses pride in being an engaged father, sharing advice on balancing work and family life by sacrificing sleep rather than family time when building a company. Follow Us on: ·         LinkedIn ·         Twitter ·         YouTube Channel ·         Instagram ·         Facebook Learn More About FlyMSG Features like: ·         LinkedIn Auto Comment Generator ·         AI Social Media Post Generator ·         Auto Text Expander ·         AI Grammar Checker ·         AI Sales Roleplay and Coaching ·         Paragraph Rewrite with AI ·         Sales Prospecting Training for Individuals ·         FlyMSG Enterprise Sales Prospecting Training Program Install FlyMSG for free: ·         As a Chrome Extension ·         As an Edge Extension  

In this episode of The Friday Habit, Mark chats with Benjamin Johnson, serial tech co-founder and founder of Particle 41. With over two decades in software development, DevOps, and startup building, Ben shares hard-earned lessons on what it really takes to lead successful tech initiatives—from bootstrapping SaaS platforms to advising CEOs on digital strategy.They dig into the evolution of AI, the risk of overengineering, and how founders can use time-tested principles like quarterly planning, intentionality, and simplicity to build smarter—not harder. Plus, Ben explains how he turned 1,000+ unread LinkedIn messages into 10 real leads in 30 minutes using AI.If you're an entrepreneur, CTO, or creative leader navigating the tech landscape, this episode will challenge you to rethink complexity, lead with clarity, and focus on what truly matters.

A turbulent flight sparked Wayne Slavin's idea for Sure: let consumers buy insurance in real time. But after launching as a D2C app, he realized the bigger opportunity was powering insurance sales for others. Sure's pivot to B2B turned it into a vertical SaaS platform that lets enterprise companies embed insurance at the point of transaction. In this episode, Wayne explains how to pivot without losing your mission, why founders should lead early enterprise sales, and why he refuses to run proof-of-concept deals. He also shares why — if he could do it over — he'd avoid launching a business with so much built-in complexity. RUNTIME 51:58 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (3:16) How a turbulent flight inspired Wayne to sell insurance directly to consumers. (7:03) Why he reached out to a founder who tried (and failed) to launch an insuretech startup. (12:01) Becoming fluent in insurance industry jargon “was definitely a learning curve.” (16:05) The point when Wayne realized Sure needed to pivot. (20:16) The transition from D2C to B2B “was a slow aircraft carrier style turn.” (22:35) How to tell whether you're grinding through a rough patch or building on the wrong model. (29:21) When it was time to pitch to enterprise customers, “ most of those conversations were led by me. (32:40) “ Proofs of concept are actually the way for a big company to not do something.” (40:45) Sure is an embedded finance company, not an insurance company. (44:04) “ In hindsight, I would not want to be in another business where you are dependent on two other parties performing.” (49:08) The one question Wayne would have to ask the CEO if he were interviewing for a role with an early-stage startup. LINKS Wayne Slavin Sure "The Start-up From Hell," Inc.com SUBSCRIBE

What SaaS metrics actually move the needle on your company valuation? In episode #304, Ben Murray shares his “Power 3” SaaS metrics — the three investor metrics that consistently signal scalable growth and increase SaaS valuations. While many articles list “top metrics” without context, these three have proven to be the most impactful in boardrooms, investor meetings, and due diligence. If you want to attract investors, strengthen your business model, and maximize your valuation, start by mastering these three metrics. What You'll Learn: Gross Profit Why high gross profit (80%+ for pure-play SaaS) is a foundation for growth. How revenue mix and margins by stream impact scalability and valuation. Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) Why GRR is the ultimate measure of product stickiness. How poor retention erodes efficiency and drags on working capital. ROSE (Return on SaaS Employees) Ben's proprietary alternative to “revenue per FTE.” Now updated to account for AI-driven roles that replace human labor. Why ROSE is more accurate for modern SaaS org efficiency. Why These Metrics Matter for Investors & Valuation Investors look for predictable, efficient growth — these metrics show exactly that. High gross profit and retention indicate a sustainable business model. ROSE reveals operational efficiency that supports long-term profitability. Together, these KPIs create a clear narrative for maximizing company valuation. Resources Mentioned: The Power 3 SaaS Metrics — Blog post + downloadable templates: https://www.thesaascfo.com/the-power-3-saas-metrics-that-predict-if-youll-scale-or-stall/ Quote from Ben: “If I could only choose three metrics to see if you're scaling the right way, it would be gross profit, gross revenue retention, and ROSE.”

In Episode 47 of Planning Aces, Jack Sweeney and resident thought leader Brett Knowles explore the evolving role of FP&A through the lens of three forward-looking CFOs. Dan Zhang (ClickUp), John Rettig (Bill), and Josh Schauer (insightsoftware) share how they're driving enterprise agility, leveraging AI to eliminate inefficiencies, and rethinking capital allocation. From Zhang's battle against “SaaS overload” to Rettig's “prove-it mentality” and Schauer's daily forecasting, each CFO reveals a distinct approach to enabling smarter, faster decision-making. Their insights offer a compelling look at how modern FP&A leaders are transforming strategy execution in real time.

Can we have a real talk about AI agents?A new Gartner study showed that more than 95% of companies pushing AI agents..... aren't. Vendors, startups, Saas companies pivoting and savvy marketers are shoving Agents down our throats like hot food in a buffet line. But guess what? Most of it is shin marketing. Or lies. Want to know the real landscape around AI agents, minus the B.S.? Good. Then join us as we cut through the fluff. Newsletter: Sign up for our free daily newsletterMore on this Episode: Episode PageJoin the discussion: Thoughts on this? Join the convo and connect with other AI leaders on LinkedIn.Upcoming Episodes: Check out the upcoming Everyday AI Livestream lineupWebsite: YourEverydayAI.comEmail The Show: info@youreverydayai.comConnect with Jordan on LinkedInTopics Covered in This Episode:AI Agent Hype Versus RealityGartner Study Exposes Agent WashingDefining True AI Agents vs WorkflowsPrevalence of Fake AI Agents Market$4 Billion AI Agent Investment RisksMajor Tech Companies' AI Agent StrategiesAgentic AI Adoption Failure RatesNarrow vs General AI Agent Use CasesSpotting Fake Agents in Enterprise SoftwareThe Importance of AI Literacy for AgentsTimestamps:00:00 "AI Insights for Business Leaders"05:51 Future AI Agents: Definition and Potential06:58 "AI Workflow vs. True Agent"11:34 "Agent Tech's Uncertain Future"14:53 AI Dominates Decision-Making by 202818:15 "Beware AI Agents Hype"24:18 The Chaos of Undefined AI Agents25:31 "Agentic AI FOMO in Business"31:16 AI Training Essential for Teams32:12 Debunking AI Agent MythsKeywords:AI agent, AI agents, agentic AI, agentic AI marketing, AI workflow, pre built automation, chatbot, automation tools, robotics process automation, computer vision, large language model, agent washing, Gartner study, generative AI, AI-powered workflow, agent capabilities, virtual browser, virtual desktop, command line tool, Terminal, AI powered marketing automation, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Google agent space, OpenAI agent mode, Anthropic Claude, Meta superintelligence lab, Salesforce agent force, agentic model, O3, Gemini 2.5 Pro, startup AI agents, narrow AI agent, general AI agent, autonomous agentic AI, enterprise software, investment scam, business decision makers, C-suite, AI strategy, technical reality vs marketing hype, technology adoption failure, FOMO AI investment, AI literacy, AI-powered business processes, scalable AI solutions, narrow task-specific agent, Aqua hire, agent definition, advanced reasoning, planning capabilities, memory systems, adaptive AI, context awareness, workflow automation, business productivity AI, agent integration, AI investment trends, enterprise AI adoptionSend Everyday AI and Jordan a text message. (We can't reply back unless you leave contact info) Ready for ROI on GenAI? Go to youreverydayai.com/partner