Podcasts about vertical saas

Switching Shop Management Systems isn't as hard as you think! Give Shop Controller a try HEREIf your DVI isn't certified, you're losing customers! Get a FREE certification when you touch HERE!In this episode, you'll get to meet Tekmetric's new COO! Lauren Langston shares her journey from a software-focused background to joining the automotive industry, emphasizing her desire to deliver better technology tailored to the auto repair industry. Braxton and Lauren also get into the trust gap between consumers and auto repair shops, highlighting how transparency and the right technology can help bridge that divide. 00:00 Vertical SaaS in Professional Services04:02 Consumer Distrust in Auto Repair09:13 Enhancing Customer Trust Through Tech12:06 Tekmetric's Brand and Founder Impact14:59 Managing Tech Change in Business20:19 "Founders Drive Continuous Innovation"21:10 Tekmetric's Next-Level Customer Focus24:25 "Aligning Customer Needs with Offerings"27:47 Auto Industry's Vast Opportunities31:46 Building Tech with Industry Experts

In this episode, CJ is joined by Peter Benevides, CFO of Olo, a leading vertical SaaS company powering digital ordering, payments, and guest engagement solutions for popular restaurant brands. Peter explains how Olo successfully expanded into payments and used this as a strategic advantage. He breaks down how the company stacks S-curves through continued product expansion and adoption, and how this enables them to increase revenue without increasing the take-rate. The conversation also covers pricing strategy and how Olo balances subscription and consumption-based models. Peter also sheds light on what it's like selling into franchise businesses and lessons learned from other vertical SaaS companies like Veeva.If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.—SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 40,000 companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅, head to NetSuite https://netsuite.com/metrics and get the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning.RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. Whether it's multi-element arrangements, subscription renewals, or complex usage-based contracts, RightRev takes care of it all. That means fewer spreadsheets, fewer errors, and more time for your team to focus on growth. For modern revenue recognition simplified, visit rightrev.com and schedule a demo.Planful is a financial performance management platform designed to streamline financial tasks for businesses. It helps with budgeting, closing the books, and financial reporting, all on a cloud-based platform. By improving the efficiency and accuracy of these processes, Planful allows businesses to make better financial decisions. Find out more at www.planful.com/metrics.Brex offers the world's smartest corporate card on a full-stack global platform that is everything CFOs need to manage their finances on an elite level. Plus they offer modern banking and treasury as well as intuitive expenses and accounting automation, bill pay, and travel. Brex makes it easy to control spend before it happens, automate annoying tasks, and optimize your finances. Find out how Brex can help you make every dollar count at brex.com/metrics.Vanta's trust management platform takes the manual work out of your security and compliance process and replaces it with continuous automation. Over 9000 businesses use it to automate compliance needs across over 35 frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Centralize security workflows, complete questionnaires up to five times faster, and proactively manage vendor risk. For a limited time, get $1,000 off of Vanta at vanta.com/metrics.Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. It doesn't just show you where the problems are—it helps you solve them. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities, like duplicative spend, to automating those painful procurement workflows, to giving you the best market data that turns every vendor negotiation in your favor. Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how—FOLLOW US ON X:@cjgustafson222 (CJ)—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Preview and Intro(01:53) Sponsor – NetSuite | RightRev | Planful(05:24) An Introduction to Olo(08:34) Reaching Larger and Smaller Enterprises(10:34) The Focus on Guest-Facing Technology(13:22) The Evolution of Payments at Olo(16:38) Sponsor – Brex | Vanta | Tropic(20:33) The Card-Not-Present Offering and Fraud(23:50) Knowing Who Your Guest Is and Olo's Extended Value Prop(32:04) Stacking S-Curves(33:30) Increasing Revenue Without Increasing the Take-Rate(36:27) How the Payments Module Makes Other Products Stickier(37:39) Advice to CFOs Looking to Add Payments(39:11) Pricing Subscription and Consumption-Based Products(42:35) Forecasting and the Predictability of This Model(44:43) Vertical Software Company Case Study: Veeva(49:06) Working with Franchises(53:42) Long-Ass Lightning Round: Planning for the Future(56:16) Advice to Younger Self(58:48) Finance Software Stack(59:24) Craziest Expense Story Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

My guests today are Martin Spinnangr and Shubham Bhattacharya, CPO at Munu and former CPO at Favrit - two Nordic rivals in the world of hospitality SaaS. We talked about what it takes to build and scale a vertical SaaS product, the challenges of defining your ideal customer profile, why most product validation efforts fail, acquisition vs. retention, the real cost of poor strategic alignment, and more. Shubham is currently a Lead PM at Xeneta and Martin has been a Product leader in Laerdal Medical and Easee before Munu - so this conversation brings different perspectives to the table and it was good to connect with these two again! Enjoy :) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

Dave Yuan is the founder of Tidemark, an active growth equity investor focusing on vertical SaaS companies with outsized advantages that can become “control points” in their markets and grow very big. Dave and Tidemark have invested in successful companies like Toast, ServiceTitan, Karbon and Dutchie.  In this episode, Dave shares some of the most useful strategic growth frameworks for vertical SaaS companies to grow through winning market share, expanding with additional products, and even extending through an industry ecosystem serving new markets. We also talk about the impact of AI on established vertical SaaS players and how it's both an opportunity and a thre Tidemark supports the global community of practical vertical SaaS founders by publishing their strategic growth frameworks, their annual Vertical SaaS Benchmarketing Report,  and they host the annual Vertical SaaS Collective Live conference for founders.  Quote from Dave Yuan, founder at Tidemark “Vertical SaaS founders should not be asleep with AI. You can wave it off, view it as a toy, and say that no one's going to trust that outcome or use it. That may have been the case, but things are changing really quickly. “Lots of smart people are making it better every month, and you have a massive opportunity to improve it with your data and workflow. “Jump into it to control your destiny. Don't get caught sleeping without AI in your product in a useful way.” Links Dave Yuan on LinkedIn Tidemark on LinkedIn Tidemark website Tidemark Vertical SaaS Knowledge Project  VSaaS Collective Live 2025 conference Vertical SaaS Benchmark Report 2024 The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com/newsletter.

Hexa is trying something new. Instead of fostering startups from the ground up and incubating them for the first year or so, the Paris-based startup studio is acquiring a majority stake in Veevart, a vertical software-as-a-service company for museums that provides solutions for ticketing, fundraising, CRM and collection management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Die Aufinity Group mit ihren Produkten „bezahl.de“ und „Aufinity“ ist ein FinTech mit der Mission, das Zahlungsmanagement in der europäischen Automobilbranche neu zu definieren. Unsere Plattform ist bereits die Nr. 1 für digitales Zahlungsmanagement im Automobilhandel in Deutschland. Unsere ganzheitliche Lösung automatisiert, digitalisiert und vereinfacht den gesamten Forderungsprozess, von der Zahlungsanforderung bis zur 100%igen Datenqualität für die automatisierte Buchung in Ihrem Buchhaltungssystem. Sparen Sie wertvolle Zeit und Geld, indem Sie sich auf Ihr Kerngeschäft konzentrieren, während wir dafür sorgen, dass Sie ohne Aufwand schneller bezahlt werden.

In this episode Rex chats with Sheel Mohnot from Better Tomorrow Ventures. Sheel shares his journey of living on a dollar a day in India, founding and selling multiple companies (including one sparked by a chance meeting on a train), and even hosting nine weddings—one of them sponsored by Taco Bell in the metaverse. They dive into Sheel's evolving personal finance stack, from traditional banks to Robinhood's gold credit card, and discuss why consumer fintech is suddenly exciting again. Sheel also unpacks how AI-driven solutions are transforming bookkeeping, mortgage operations, and more. From vertical SaaS insights to San Francisco's culture of radical experimentation, this conversation is a whirlwind tour of where fintech is headed.00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:00 - BTV Office & Life Above Work00:02:46 - Microfinance & Typhoid Stories00:04:01 - Half-Billion Domain Startup00:05:13 - Nine Weddings & Taco Bell00:06:28 - Building a Modern Finance Stack00:08:14 - Credit Cards & Margin Lending00:10:24 - Bank Inefficiencies & Chime's IPO00:11:33 - Consumer Fintech: Lessons & LTV00:15:50 - B2B Focus & Early-Stage Strategy00:19:15 - AI in Services: Accounting & Mortgage00:23:07 - Vertical SaaS & Embedded Finance00:31:10 - AI's Impact on Low-Margin Services00:33:34 - Doing More with Less & Moats00:40:01 - Regulatory Shifts & SF's Future

SaaStr 786: Going Long: How Procore's Founder Tooey Courtemanche Built a Billon-Dollar SaaS Empire Over 23 Years What does it take to build and scale a vertical SaaS giant over two decades? According to Tooey Courtemanche, CEO and Founder of Procore, it's about focus, perseverance, and a relentless commitment to customer success. In a recent conversation with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin, Tooey shared insights into his 23-year journey as CEO of Procore, the leading SaaS platform for construction management. From surviving economic downturns to scaling into a multi-product enterprise serving millions, Procore's story is a masterclass in vertical SaaS excellence. Tooey offers insights into maintaining work-life balance, strategic shifts during the financial crisis, transitions to multi-product offerings, and the impact of AI in the construction industry. Tooey also emphasizes the importance of customer-centricity and how Procore's brand has become ubiquitous in the U.S. construction market while exploring new international territories. Whether you're a SaaS enthusiast, a founder, or interested in the construction tech landscape, this episode is packed with valuable lessons and forward-thinking strategies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier this year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code JASON50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

In this second episode of our three-part series with Payabli, we dive into their Pay Out product and explore how SaaS platforms are transforming money movement. Jo Phillips and Will Corbera share how they identified gaps in the market and built a unified API that enables software companies to embed and monetize payouts seamlessly. They discuss how traditional payout models often fail to maximize efficiency and revenue, and why SaaS platforms should go beyond simple merchant settlements.This episode breaks down the growing role of embedded managed payables and on-demand payouts, showing how software platforms can streamline vendor payments while creating new income streams. Jo and Will also highlight the impact of virtual card issuance as a revenue driver and explain why integrating both accounts receivable and payable within a single platform is a game-changer. Tune in to learn how embedded payouts are shaping the future of fintech and SaaS payments.

SaaStr 787: 10 Ways Sales is Different in Vertical SaaS with Mangomint's VP of Sales Marchelle Mooney While some might dismiss sector-specific vertical SaaS software as ‘too small' or ‘too niche', companies like Veeva ($40B), Clio ($3B), Toast ($1.3B), and Slice ($1B) have proven there's massive value in going deep rather than broad. Mangomint has quietly built an impressive vertical SaaS business in the spa and salon space, growing 100% year-over-year to approach $20M ARR with 110% NRR. So we asked Mangomint's VP of Sales Marchelle Mooney to share 10 ways sales is different in vertical SaaS. Marchelle's personal journey took her from early adopter of Mangomint, to 6 years later, VP of Sales over a 25+ person SMB sales team. Here's some of what she's learned along the way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code JASON50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   

Eight Roads Ventures is a global venture capital firm backed by Fidelity that helps entrepreneurs scale. We partner with game-changing technology and healthcare companies with a presence in Europe, India, China, Japan and the US. Our global platform has 50+ years of venture investing experience, $11 billion in AUM, over 450 portfolio companies and 60+ IPOs.

Have you read the phrase “AI won't replace your job, but people who use AI will”? Well, that's not entirely true.In today's episode, we discuss how AI is disrupting the entire GTM at the moment - and we discuss it with Jacco van der Kooij.(00:00) - Introduction (04:24) - How AI is transforming GTM (15:01) - AI: Volume, cost and... what's the last one? (20:43) - Beyond talking leaflets (26:04) - Agentic World and AI Sub-Agents (30:13) - The First Mover Advantage (35:09) - From shovel to excavator (39:53) - The Three Storms (45:16) - The Rise of Vertical SaaS (53:11) - AI's Exponential Growth and Future Impact References"In 2025, AI won't just assist salespeople – it will replace them.", Winning by Design"Why and how AI is going to replace sales" (video), Jacco van der KooijAI share of search, Rand FishkinThis episode is brought to you by by Everstage - the highest rated Sales Commissions Platform on G2, Gartner Peer Insights, Trustradius with over 2,000+ customer reviews. Some of their customers include leading brands like Diligent, Wiley, Trimble, Postman, Chargebee etc.,You can go to https://www.everstage.com/revenue-formula to check out Everstage and mention Revenue Formula to unlock a personalized Sales Compensation Strategy Session with Everstage's RevOps experts—crafted for enterprise teams to maximize performance.Never miss a new episode, join our newsletter on revenueformula.substack.com

SaaStr 777: The Rise of Vertical SaaS: Achieving 110% NRR from SMBs with Mangomint's CEO Join SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin, and CEO of Mangomint, Daniel Lang, as they dive into the booming world of vertical SaaS. Discover why software tailored for niche industries like salons and spas is gaining traction. Daniel shares insights on the evolution of salon software, the impact of embedded financial services, and the challenges and strategies around customer onboarding and retention. Learn about Mangomint's impressive growth and the importance of automation and AI in small business operations. This episode is packed with valuable takeaways for SaaS enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code NOVEMBER20 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: mmhmm.app Build client relationships faster with mmhmm, the app that helps you impress prospects in every meeting. Create and send recordings that help them get to know you. Try it free on Mac and Windows at mmhmm.app. That's M-M-H-M-M dot app --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This season will feature conversations with key decision-makers who have to support the journey to a platform or any ecosystem. We will talk to C-suite executives, board members, investors, and others who must be bought into the platform journey. In this episode, Avanish and Dave discuss: Dave's background and what led him to start TidemarkTidemark's VSKP framework on how a Vertical SaaS company can win their category, expand their offerings, and then, for a select few, extend through the value chainWhat it really means to be a control point and why it mattersThe mindset (and perhaps mindset shift) that is required to build a strong ecosystemThe wedges you need to be mindful of and the problems they can cause on your journeyThinking about the varying horizons of your product roadmap and how to synthesize them in actionable paths forwardHow to determine if your team is ready for the platform journeyAnd much more! Host: Avanish SahaiAvanish Sahai is a Tidemark Fellow and has served as a Board Member of Hubspot since April 2018 and of Birdie.ai since April 2022. Previously, Avanish served as the vice president, ISV and Apps partner ecosystem of Google from 2019 until 2021. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the global vice president, ISV and Technology alliances at ServiceNow.  From 2014 to 2015, he was the senior vice president and chief product officer at Demandbase.  Prior to Demandbase, Avanish built and led the Appexchange platform ecosystem team at Salesforce, and was an executive at Oracle and McKinsey & Company, as well as various early-to-mid stage startups in Silicon Valley.About TidemarkTidemark is a venture capital firm, foundation, and community built to serve category-leading technology companies as they scale.  Tidemark was founded in 2021 by David Yuan, who has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years.  Learn more at www.tidemarkcap.com.LinksFollow our guest, Dave YuanFollow our host, Avanish SahaiLearn more about Tidemark

SaaStr 774: The Vertical SaaS Rocketship: Samsara's CEO and Co-Founder Sanjit Biswas and SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin on Samsara's Journey to $1.26 Billion in ARR! SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin has an exclusive conversation with Sanjit Biswas, founder and CEO of Samsara and a two-time entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience.  Sanjit shares insights on the growth of Samsara, a leading vertical SaaS company that's disrupting the industry by growing 36% and reaching $1.26 billion in ARR. We dive into how Samsara is transforming operations across various fields including fleets, trucks, and more, by leveraging innovative AI technologies. Sanjit discusses the company's early days, the impact of their first startup, Meraki, and what led them to create Samsara. We also explore the importance of maintaining strong team dynamics, the role of customer feedback in product development, and how Samsara is enabling real-world AI applications. Tune in to learn about the fascinating journey and the future of Samsara directly from its visionary founder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code NOVEMBER20 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: mmhmm.app Build client relationships faster with mmhmm, the app that helps you impress prospects in every meeting. Create and send recordings that help them get to know you. Try it free on Mac and Windows at mmhmm.app. That's M-M-H-M-M dot app --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In this episode of the Engineering Influence podcast by the American Council of Engineering Companies, host Shreya, the Marketing & Communications Coordinator, is joined by Adam Loewentheil, co-founder and CEO of Aldoa. Together, they delve into the transformative power of technology in the engineering and consulting industries, emphasizing the evolution over the past 20 years and the promising direction it's headed towards. Adam sheds light on the challenges faced by engineering firms in adapting to new technological advancements, highlighting the industry's reliance on outdated tools like Microsoft Word and Excel. He introduces Aldoa's innovative, verticalized SaaS solution, specifically designed to address these challenges, streamline workflows, and incorporate AI to enhance efficiency without compromising the scientific expertise of professionals. The discussion extends to the benefits of vertical SaaS solutions, which are purpose-built for specific industries, offering tailored functionalities and cost savings. Adam shares insights into Aldoa's key offerings, including project management, resource management, and financial management tools, which have already attracted over 100 U.S. customers this year. For those interested in learning more about Aldoa's solutions and how they can be customized for their business, Adam invites listeners to visit their website or reach out via email. Tune in to discover how Aldoa is revolutionizing the engineering and consulting landscape.

This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey to build deep vertical business solutions that deliver 10x value for every 1x in price charged. My guest is Dan Uyemura, CEO of Pushpress. Dan has had an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age. He was a Dot-com era pioneer: During college, he founded Mixture.com, a platform that was ahead of its time and preceded social media giants like Myspace.  After working in tech, including a stint at Myspace, he made a dramatic career pivot by opening his own CrossFit gym.  He quickly got frustrated with the poor software options available for gym management. So in January 2012, he leveraged his tech background to create PushPress and rebel against manual paperwork and complicated, overpriced software. Their mission: to make gym management
 the easiest part of starting a fitness business.  And this inspired me, and hence I invited Dan to my podcast. We explore his journey from MySpace coder to gym owner to software entrepreneur. Dan shares his insights on what it takes to create a competitive advantage that's hard to beat. He elaborates on empathy-driven support, value-based pricing, and the "layer cake" approach that makes his SaaS products invaluable. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer value over traditional SaaS metrics and shares innovative strategies to outmaneuver competitors. Last but not least, he shares his data-driven decision-making framework and lessons on team building.  Here's one of his quotes "Money is an output. It's the result of energy spent somewhere else. So the problem is, a lot of people build those businesses around money. How do I make more money? How do I generate more money? How do I increase my top line? Or bottom line? The reality is that's an output, and you can never affect an output. You can only affect the input. And the input is the order of magnitude and the sheer volume of value you provide to customers. That's what you got to focus on." During this interview, you will learn four things: How he's tuning his product strategy to grow a highly defensible position against competitors. His framework for building conviction and speeding up decision-making in feature development How he overcame the balancing act of horizontal feature breadth with vertical depth improvements His approach to innovating pricing models to outmaneuver competitors and accelerate growth. For more information about the guest from this week: Dan Uyemura Website: Pushpress Subscribe to the Daily SaaS Reflection Get my free, 1 min daily reflection on shaping a B2B SaaS business no one can ignore. Subscribe here Yes, it's actually daily. And yes, people actually stay subscribed (Just see what peer B2B SaaS CEOs say) My promise: It's short. To the point. Inspiring. And valuable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 In the latest episode of our podcast, we sit down with Gokul Rajaram - a Product Leader, Operator and Board member who has helped build seven of the largest tech companies globally - Google, Facebook, Square, DoorDash, Coinbase, Pinterest and Trade Desk. He is popularly known as the 'Godfather of Google Adsense', here he grew it from zero to over $1 billion in revenue. Later, he founded an NLP company which was acquired by Facebook, where he then led the Ads Product team as Product Director, helping grow revenues from $0.75 billion to $6.5 billion, and helped Facebook transition its advertising business to become mobile-first. He helped Square, DoorDash and Coinbase go public (IPO) as management team and board member, additionally he is a prolific Angel Investor for 300+ startups including Airtable, Airtable, CRED, Curefit, Figma, Learneo, Pigment, Postman, Whatfix and more. In this episode, Gokul shares invaluable insights on how to grow from startup to scale-up quoting stories from his rich experience. He stresses the importance of product-market fit (PMF), exploring its critical link to monetization and sound unit economics.He also addresses the formidable challenges startups face in the fiercely competitive AI sector and how can young entrepreneurs build in this exciting sector. In this podcast, below are the topics covered:0:00 - Journey from India to Silicon Valley8:10 - Three Stages of a Company: Start-up, Early-Growth, Scale-up13:41 - Discovering Product Market Fit and Monetization23:23 - Challenges for Startups in AI28:20 - Vertical SaaS and Indian Tech InnovationGokul offers a masterclass in entrepreneurial excellence - his experiences and strategies provide a roadmap for navigating the complex and ever-evolving tech landscape, making this episode a must-listen for aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals alike.Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_inThis podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes.Please share your feedback here: https://primevp.in/podcastfeedback

SaaStr 763: The Secrets to Selling and Scaling in Vertical SaaS with Slice's CRO Loren Padelford Loren Padelford, CRO of Slice and previously SVP and GM of Shopify Plus, does a deep dive with the SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin on the top learnings selling to SMBs and within Vertical SaaS. The conversation dives into Slice's approach of helping independent pizzerias by offering integrated software and services, comparing it to the approach of Domino's. Lauren offers lessons learned during his career in SaaS, with inspirational views on growth strategies, customer focus, and building trust with SMB entrepreneurs. This discussion is ideal for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of vertical SaaS and its impact on the business ecosystem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code jason50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: remote.com When the right person for the job is a world away, Remote Talent brings the world to you. As the top job board for remote-first companies, we give you powerful tools to post your listings and reach the world's top candidates and remote professionals. Start building your dream team from anywhere—visit Remote.com/jobs today. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Anrok A question for SaaS finance leaders, do you know where your customers are? Anrok tracks where your sales are creating exposure, and automates tax calculation and filing worldwide. Built for high-growth software companies, Anrok protects your revenue and saves you time. Visit anrok.com/saastr to learn more.

Join me as I chat with Luke Sophinos, Founder & CEO of CourseKey, as we discuss the frameworks and strategies for building a successful vertical SaaS business. Learn how to find, validate, and launch SaaS opportunities!Timestamps: 00:00 Intro01:51 Why Vertical SaaS?05:46  How to pick your vertical11:05 Understand the industry inside-out19:11 Analyze existing solutions22:02 Automating the ideation and validation process with AI35:04 Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL40:19 The power of the wedge product49:35 Pricing framework1) Why Vertical SaaS?• Market often overlooked by VCs chasing unicorns• Opportunity to build enduring businesses with strong retention• Still massive potential in 2024, even in "boring" industries2) How to pick your vertical:• Focus on industry, not idea• Look for:a) Large market size ($1B+)b) Fragmented (many SMBs)c) Mix of small, mid-market, enterprise3) Understand the industry inside-out:• Map end-to-end operations• Get hands on P&Ls• Follow the money - where are they spending?• Identify areas still using pen & paper4) Analyze existing solutions:• Look for legacy providers• Identify where they're using horizontal solutions• Find gaps where AI/FinTech could add value5) The power of the wedge product:• Your "get in the door" offering• Should be:a) Easy to implementb) Solves a critical problemc) Ideally free or low-cost• Example: Roofer․com's proposal tool6) Go-to-market strategy is CRITICAL:• Many industries require relationship-based sales• Product-led growth is ideal (but rare)• Get creative: Industry newsletters, memes, etc.7) The payments opportunity:• Owning the transaction can 10x your market size• Build before/after transaction, then capture it• Example: Toast in restaurants8) Pricing framework:• Understand current spend on problem you're solving• Price based on ROI you deliver• Aim for 20-50% of value created9) Keys to success:• Only build products that:• Increase revenue• Decrease costs• Prevent churn• Maintain compliance10) Validating ideas:• Don't just Google search• Talk to actual businesses• Offer to buy lunch and shadow operationsWant more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideas 

Mike Kovarik is the founder and former CEO of Attribytes, a software company he started, grew, and successfully sold in just over five years. Mike was a data analytics leader at large food distributors, where he discovered a chronic challenge with low-quality product data in their massive e-commerce systems. He quit his job, built a product with a friend, and his former employer became his first customer.  Attribytes grew steadily in the next few years, serving food distributors and retailers in the US, with Mike making the first sales and slowly adding new employees. He invested his savings in the company and raised just over $2 million from a strategic and several angel investors in Phoenix, Arizona. They grew to nearly $5 million in ARR in 2019 with just over 20 employees.  In 2020, Mike sold the company to Syndigo, a larger data management provider that served the same industry. He joined Syndigo for over a year to lead the acquisition of other data management companies to expand their product offerings. When their acquisition strategy changed in 2022, Mike left to take a break and then acquire and retool another vertical software company called ShopControlller. Quote from Mike Kovarik, founder of Attribytes "I built a little spreadsheet and I put in what our revenue was, what our current valuation was, and then what that exit would look like after taxes for me, just to see what that dollar amount was. We were at almost $5M ARR, and we were getting interest from acquirers, so it was already interesting. "I created another spreadsheet to show what would happen if we raised big VC funding and invested that lover for 5-10 years to grow. What rate of return would I get? How would we be diluted? What annual recurring revenue would we need to get to, and what valuation would that be? What would my dollar amount be? "The reality is that the amount for me would be pretty close to the same if we sold now or raised a big VC round. And I'm not trying to risk everything to potentially buy a plane. I could have a big exit now and have a lake house and a place in Flagstaff, and my kids' kids will be good. What else do I need?" Links Mike Kovarik on LinkedIn Attribytes on LinkedIn Syndigo website ShopController website The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. 

Cameron Priest is the co-founder and former CEO of TradeGecko, an inventory and order management platform for e-commerce businesses that was acquired by Intuit in 2020 for around $100M. He's now building AMP, a company that acquires, rolls up, and scales Shopify apps - and incubating new ventures at the intersection of AI and vertical SaaS.In today's episode, we discuss:* Cam's journey from an NZ kiwifruit orchard to founding Trade Gecko, how they landed in Singapore.* Scaling a B2B product, including specific growth tools, frameworks they used along the way - so much of which is still relevant today, and eventual $80M+ acquisition by Intuit. * Building Amp and the strategy of acquiring "landing pad" businesses in the Shopify ecosystem, how - as acquirers - they assess, value, and execute an acquisition … including the use of debt, how to think about revenue multiples, etc.* The vision for a platform allowing businesses to build customized niche software* Reflections on ambition, the importance of a supportive ecosystem, and the potential for fostering innovation in New ZealandWhere to find Cam online:* https://x.com/cameronpriest* https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronpriest/Listen on:* Apple Podcasts* Spotify Subscribe for more expat stories every Friday! Think of someone who would enjoy this episode? Hit share and send it to them- or send them our way! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diaspora.nz

Your customer is your North Star. They're the reason you're in business. They're the source of revenue and referrals. You may have personal motivations and goals for yourself and your team, but none are achieved if you don't attract the right people and deliver exceptional customer experience.So how do you build a customer-centric culture, then sustain and protect it for years to come?Go inside the company and culture that brings Real Estate Team OS to life every week! Get warmed up for the Techtember series that kicks off next week!Learn about tech, teams, customer centricity, and customer-led education with Follow Up Boss Co-Founder and CEO Dan Corkill!Watch or listen to Ep 040 with Dan Corkill for insights into:- Attracting agents, staff, and consumers alike to your experience by being thoughtful and intentional- The self-enforcing dynamics of a strong company culture- Ways to decide - as your business is growing - who to hire and when (in short: look for where the pain or bottleneck is)- How Dan decided to focus and niche down to serve the real estate community - How the puzzle of online leads became an opportunity for teams and a problem to solve- The big difference between AI and automation (and how both are useful)- A quick preview of who and what is ahead in the Techtember series of this show- Staying focused on your customer, not your product, by investing in customer-led educationFor Dan's responses to our three pairs of closing questions, check out this Fireside Chat at FUBCON 2023: https://youtu.be/ad-_sgeko6s?feature=shared&t=2315Follow Up Boss:- https://followupboss.comReal Estate Team OS:- https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

Ara Mahdessian is the Co-Founder and CEO @ ServiceTitan, one of the great vertical SaaS business of the last decade. Today the company powers over 11,800 trade customers and has raised over $1.4BN from some of the best including Bessemer, Battery, Index, ICONIQ and more. Their latest valuation pegged the business at a reported $7.3BN. In Today's Episode with Ara Mahdessian We Discuss: 1. The $7BN Company That Did Not Want To Raise VC Money: Why did Ara not want to raise VC funding in the early days? What convinced Ara to change his mind? Why did he choose Byron and Bessemer? Does Ara believe that ServiceTitan would have been the success that it is, if it had raised in today's market, a $5M on $25M seed round? What would they have done differently? 2. How to Master Going Upmarket: What are Ara's biggest lessons on what it takes to go upmarket? How does the product need to change? How does the org of the company change? When is the right time to go upmarket? What did ServiceTitan get wrong in their move into enterprise? What did Ara learn from this? 3. How to Build a Brand in SaaS and Have Premium Pricing: What are some of Ara's biggest lessons in how to build the best brand in vertical SaaS? What works in brand building in SaaS? What does not? What would he do differently? What have been Ara's biggest lessons on pricing? ServiceTitan is 3x their competitors, how does Ara think about what is required to have such premium pricing? 4. How to Master the Second Product & Be the Best at Customer Success: When is the right time to do a second product? Why is it too late to wait for PMF with your first product to do the second product? What product did ServiceTitan wait too long to release? What did they learn? What product did they release too early? What did they learn? What are the two core reasons why customer success is the most important element in a business? 5. The Core Pillars of Great Leadership: Why do product builder founders have such an increased chance of success in startups? Why do you have to have expertise in the domain you are hiring for to hire the best? What does truly great leadership mean to Ara today? How has his style of leadership changed? What has Ara learned from soccer that he has applied to being a CEO?  

Join us for an engaging conversation with Brett Goldstein, who is currently building a stealth startup. Previously, Brett was the Co-Founder and CEO of Launch House and served as a Senior Product Manager at Clearbit. In this episode, we explore a variety of startup ideas and business opportunities, including a conference event aggregator, vertical SaaS for matchmakers, data enrichment SaaS, and much more. Brett shares his framework for building a billion-dollar startup by disrupting legacy enterprise software companies. We break down how to transform spreadsheets into profitable startups and discuss the tactics and frameworks to build these businesses from idea to cash flow. Whether you're aiming to launch your first million-dollar business or are curious about cutting-edge entrepreneurial strategies, this episode is packed with actionable advice and inspiration. Don't miss this essential guide to launching a successful startup!Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)Get access: [gregisenberg.com/30startupideas](http://gregisenberg.com/30startupideas)

Jared and Bobby Napiltonia discuss the current SaaS go-to-market landscape, covering the future of subscriptions, AI in pricing and customer support, and evolving channel dynamics. They highlight AI's impact on industries, the rise of robotics, and the changing review site landscape. Emphasis is placed on adaptation, partnerships, niche markets, vertical SaaS, off-balance sheet resources, system integrators, second-party data, and market-based thinking. Understanding customer industries and building partnerships with conviction and perseverance are key themes.Takeaways:The SaaS go-to-market landscape is undergoing significant changes, and businesses need to adapt to stay competitive.The future of subscriptions is uncertain, and outcome-based pricing may become more prevalent.AI has the potential to revolutionize pricing and customer support, but it needs to be applied strategically and with a focus on customer success.The channel will play a crucial role in the future of go-to-market strategies, and businesses should consider regional expertise and trusted partners.Industries like manufacturing and welding are being disrupted by AI and robotics, leading to changes in labor markets and job requirements.Review sites are losing credibility, and businesses should focus on building trust and leveraging word-of-mouth recommendations. Partnerships and ecosystems play a crucial role in the SaaS industry, enabling companies to reach niche markets and provide specialized solutions.Vertical SaaS is gaining popularity as businesses seek industry-specific solutions that cater to their unique processes and requirements.Off-balance sheet resources, such as partnerships, can provide cost-effective solutions and expertise that companies may not have in-house.Understanding the customer's industry and challenges is essential for effective selling and building successful partnerships.Conviction and perseverance are key in building partnerships and driving success in the SaaS industry.Chapters:00:00 Introduction and Revisiting the Past03:25 The Uncertain Future of Subscriptions06:26 AI's Impact on Pricing and Customer Support09:12 The Role of the Channel in Go-to-Market Strategies11:18 Disruption and Opportunities in Manufacturing and Robotics14:34 The Decline of Review Sites and the Importance of Trust21:32 The Changing Landscape of System Integrators23:41 The Value of Second-Party Data in a Cookieless World26:05 Understanding the Customer's Industry and Challenges31:08 Building Partnerships with Conviction and Perseverance

Join us as Omar El-Ayat, general partner at Euclid Ventures, takes us on a journey into the exciting world of vertical SaaS - and explains its phenomenal impact on the construction industry. Discover how purpose-built software is tackling age-old challenges in construction, helping businesses overcome fragmentation and streamline complex processes. Plus, hear why investing in founders with deep domain expertise is crucial, the importance of addressing critical "hair on fire" problems, and how new technologies like generative AI could influence the next wave of innovation. Key Takeaways: Understand how Vertical SaaS differs from horizontal software and why it's essential for the construction industry. Learn the importance of domain expertise and industry connections in fostering successful Vertical SaaS ventures. Discover the significance of addressing acute pain points ("hair on fire" problems) to drive technology adoption. Tune in to uncover how Vertical SaaS is not just a trend but a transformative force in the construction industry! -------------------------------------------- Stay ahead. Get all the news and insider exclusives delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter The Bytes Line at: https://bricks-bytes.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bricks-bytes/ X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bricksbytespod Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmNbunUTIIQDzbJgGJt9_Zg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bricksbytes/ --------------------------------------------- This episode is brought to you by Shft—helping contractors like you leverage BIM to secure a leading position in the race towards construction's digital future. Visit: https://maketheshft.digital —---------------------------------- BuildVision is a procurement network for the $5T commercial construction market. We are transforming the commercial construction supply chain by bringing contractors, manufacturers, and project stakeholders onto a single software platform—revolutionizing how every component is sourced, purchased, and financed. ----------------------------------- Timestamps: (0:00 - 2:14) - Intro to Guest and Sponsor (2:14 - 9:30) - Omar's journey as a Venture Investor (9:30 - 14:15) - How To Spot Large Underserved Industry For Investment (14:15 - 15:40) - What Is Vertical SaaS (15:40 - 24:10) - Omar's Approach to Industry where He Is Not An Expert At (24:10 - 32:27) - Recurring Challenges While Selling In Construction (32:27 - 48:30) - Omar's Views on Go-To-Market In Construction (48:30 - 56:20) - Importance of AI while choosing Startups In Vertical Startup (56:20 - 58:36) - Importance of Profitability While Investing In Startups (58:36 - 01:10:52) - Learnings Omar's Learned Building Euclid Ventures (01:10:52 - 01:11:31) - Outro

Seeking the best startup and leadership advice tailored for CEOs?SUBSCRIBE TO MARK MACLEOD'S NEWSLETTER: https://markmacleod.me/newsletter/ ----------------------------------------------Are you curious about the journey of raising over $400 million in capital and navigating the path from startup to IPO? Tune in for this enlightening conversation! In this episode, host Mark MacLeod delves deep with Jack Newton, the co-founder and CEO of Clio, to explore the multi-faceted aspects of leading a legal tech company. Jack shares the inspiring story of Clio's origin, the pivotal moments in their fundraising journey, and the strategic decisions that led them to become a market leader. Discover insights into how Jack and his co-founder Ryan balanced their roles, the crucial importance of continuous learning, and how surrounding oneself with experienced team members can propel a company forward. -------------------------Key moments: 04:15 The Origin Story of Clio08:30 Importance of Product and Technology Expertise 11:45 Securing First Institutional Angel Funding 19:20 Growth Stage Power Dynamics 25:50 Transitioning from Venture to Private Equity 33:05 Choosing the Right Partners for Growth 40:50 Vertical SaaS and Customer Retention 46:30 Preparing for an IPO and Future Growth-----------------------Since 1999, I have sat at the right-hand side of the leaders of high growth technology companies as either a CFO, VC or deal maker. I served as CFO for software companies including Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) and Freshbooks. As a CFO I experienced outright failures, wildly profitable exits, and everything in between.I was a General Partner in Real Ventures, Canada's largest and most active seed stage fund. My investments there include the fund's largest cash on cash and highest IRR returns to date. Most recently, I founded SurePath Capital Partners the leading investment bank for SMB SaaS companies where we did hundreds of millions in financing and exit transactions.Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themarkmacleod/Connect on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/markmacleod_Contact Mark: https://markmacleod.me/

In this episode, CJ is joined by Jeff Cooper, the CFO of Guidewire, a publicly traded vertical software company serving the insurance industry. Jeff explains the strategic advantage Guidewire has in owning the control point within a customer's tech infrastructure and how they achieved this. He sheds light on the challenges and benefits of Guidewire's industry-specific business model, including long sales cycles, non-standard fiscal years, and the risks of burning through their market. He also discusses ARR as the most important metric, how he decides on the metrics he reports on, and how to think about the value of professional services within your valuation and value proposition. If you're looking for an ERP head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get a customized KPI checklist.—SPONSORS:Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages.

In this episode host Upendra Varma welcomes Matt Ford, co-founder and CEO of Prism FM, a vertical SaaS solution for the live music industry.Here are the talking points, Product:Prism FM organizes all elements of planning live events, including financials, paperwork, payments, and accounting.Understanding the Customers:Prism serves various customer profiles, including music venue owners, performing art centers, Broadway organizers, and talent agencies.Origins and Background:Matt's journey into building Prism stemmed from his experience as a concert promoter and tech entrepreneur.He identified the industry's need for a software system to streamline operations.Initial Growth and Challenges:Matt initially closed the first 20 deals personally, leveraging his network and attending conferences.Transitioning from founder-led sales to a team-based approach, Prism explored channels like SEO/SEM and traditional marketing.Sales Process and Pricing Strategy:Sales cycles vary, with smaller deals closing quicker and larger deals taking longer.Prism employs a sophisticated sales pitch focusing on price validation and showcasing value through time and efficiency gains.Product Marketing and Network Effects:Word of mouth plays a significant role due to inherent network effects, with existing users advocating for Prism within their networks.Product marketing emphasizes the platform's ability to connect and streamline workflows between venues and talent agencies.Team and Product Development:Prism's team consists of 26 members primarily focused on product development, engineering, sales, and customer support.Matt underscores the importance of in-house product development, emphasizing quality over outsourcing.Funding and Vision:Prism recently closed a $5 million Series B round, totaling $15 million in funding.Matt envisions Prism becoming an industry standard within the live music sector, with plans for expansion and potential acquisitions.Future Growth:While specific revenue targets remain uncertain, Matt believes Prism has the potential to reach hundreds of millions in recurring revenue.The focus remains on evolving the product to meet industry needs and capitalize on network effects.

In this episode, we delve into the success story of ZenMaid, a Vertical SaaS company, with CEO Amar Ghose joining us to share insights.Here are the talking points,Amar explains how ZenMaid simplifies scheduling for residential cleaning businesses worldwide, highlighting the critical role of efficient scheduling in the cleaning industry.Discover ZenMaid's customer base, primarily consisting of small to medium-sized residential cleaning businesses paying around $100 per month, totaling approximately 2,000 paying customers and $2.5 million in annual revenue.Learn about ZenMaid's impressive growth rate of 25 to 30 percent over the past 12 months.Explore ZenMaid's diverse marketing strategies, including organic traffic, SEO, a thriving Facebook community, and industry partnerships.Understand the significance of ZenMaid's Facebook groups in fostering engagement, gathering feedback, and generating content ideas.Gain insights into ZenMaid's SEO strategy, centered around content creation, particularly through the annual Maid Summit.Discover ZenMaid's approach to industry partnerships and the mutual benefits derived from collaborations within the cleaning industry.Learn about ZenMaid's customer acquisition funnel, involving retargeting, email marketing, and personalized onboarding.Understand ZenMaid's churn metrics, with customer churn under 5 percent and revenue churn around 2 percent per month.Explore ZenMaid's journey from inception, starting with cold outreach to acquire the first 100 customers, followed by inbound growth fueled by SEO and industry partnerships.Hear about Amar's commitment to ZenMaid's long-term vision, prioritizing independence and organic growth over external funding, despite offers for investment.

Today on the pod, Mary Ann and Alex dug into a whole mess of news, including:Mews' massive new round is proof that vertical SaaS + payments remains a great way to build a big business, and earn a unicorn valuation at a time when those are growing rarer.The global companies taking on Carta, including QuotaLab in South Korea. An acquisition has helped QuotaLab expand its product remit to founders, investors and their LPs.Deel's purchase of Africa's PaySpace got us talking about how acquisitive the HRtech company has been lately. We also dug into news that Deel crossed the $500 million ARR mark, a feat that other companies in its market have managed, like Gusto. (Remofirst also raised more capital, showing just how competitive Deel's market is today.)Venture capital musical chairs: One Founders Fund investor has left the firm to go back to building things, while Benchmark lost a partner to their prior home at Thrive. Expect more, similar moves this year as venture resets from its last boom.We have an interview coming out tomorrow that we're stoked about, and will be back on Monday. Talk soon!For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity's Simplecast website.Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is hosted by TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm and Mary Ann Azevedo. We are produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Our teachers today are Daniel Eisen and Paul Yancich, co-founders of Arcadea Group. Arcadea is a private market, long-duration investor building a permanent home for high-quality, vertical market software companies.  Today, we sit down with an example of next-generation talent in Daniel and Paul, who began Arcadea after having the rare opportunity to learn and sit at the feet of Mark Leonard and the remarkable core team of Constellation Software. In this session, we learn about the attractive opportunity in vertical market software and the structural advantages of pursuing this particular opportunity with permanent capital. They've built Arcadea in a way that both honors their past while successfully layering on their own unique ethos. Please enjoy our class with the impressive and inspiring Daniel Eisen and Paul Yancich. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Summus. Summus is a revolutionary health benefits solution, driving superior employee engagement while dramatically lowering your company's enterprise-level healthcare spend. They're completely transforming the world of health benefits by providing employers and their employees in any location, fast access to over 5,100 of the top medical specialists from America's very best medical centers for support across all health questions. If you're looking for a benefit that drives your employee engagement, truly takes care of your people in their most scary and vulnerable times, all while improving your healthcare ROI, visit GoSummus.info/AOI. This episode is brought to you by Hunt Club. Hunt Club unlocks relationships and helps companies grow. Whether it's recruiting your next hire, landing your next big partner, or financing your business, a trusted introduction always works more effectively. Hunt Club's tech-enabled search model leverages the largest community of its kind to refer amazing talent on your behalf. Additionally, its software program, Atlas, helps organize the entire network of a company or fund and assists in streamlining the right introductions. If you're looking for the ideal solution for all of your talent needs, visit HuntClub.com/AOI. ----- Art of Investing is a property of Pine Grove Studios in collaboration with Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Art of Investing, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.  Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @ArtofInvest | @Buhrman_Rick | @PaulBuser | @JoinColossus Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). Show Notes (00:00:00) Welcome to the Art of Investing (00:04:19) First Question - The Success of Constellation Software (00:14:58) The Role of Incentives in Business Success (00:18:37) Paul's Personal Background and Career Path (00:21:48) The Journey to Success: Overcoming Obstacles (00:25:35) The Importance of Operating Roles in Business (00:29:41) Breaking into Finance with a Religious Studies Major (00:33:22) Working with Mark Leonard (00:40:10) The Birth of Arcadea (00:43:11) Influences On the Vision For Arcadea (00:44:19) The Concept of Renter vs Owner in Business (00:44:59) The Influence of 'The Hard Thing About Hard Things' (00:47:58) The Decision to Start Arcadea and the Importance of Partnership (00:55:52) The Structure of Arcadea as a Company, Not a Fund (01:01:29) The Importance of Long-Term Ownership and Growth Orientation (01:06:16) Reflecting on the Early Years of Arcadea (01:12:01) Positioning Against Venture-Backed Companies (01:17:22) Building a Shareholder Base (01:30:49) The Future of Vertical Software

Más del 70% de los colegios en México se manejan con Excel, pero las escuelas son empresas con retos específicos para los que Excel no es la mejor solución.Curiosamente, a la vez, se suele decir que vender tecnología a escuelas es un dolor de cabeza. Pero, mi invitado de hoy se ha encontrado con que no es así. Conversé con Andrés Benavides, CEO y cofundador de Cometa, una plataforma que permite a las escuelas centralizar sus tareas administrativas, gestionar sus cobranzas, y ofrecer a padres de familia una experiencia de pago sencilla. Y en tan solo dos años ha llegado a más de 150 escuelas en México.Cometa ha levantado capital de fondos de inversión como Kaszek Ventures y Reach Capital.-Este episodio es presentado por Zendesk, la plataforma en la que confían miles de startups y empresas globales como Slack, Shopify y Airbnb para gestionar su atención al cliente. Prueba Zendesk completamente gratis por 6 meses registrándote en: https://bit.ly/3SqKvCV-En este episodio conversamos sobre:   • Los retos de tropicalizar un modelo de negocio y tener que pivotar   • Aprendizajes de crear un software especializado en una industria   • Ventas B2B y cómo desarrollar relaciones cercanas con tus clientesPor favor ayúdame dejando una reseña en Spotify o Apple Podcasts: https://ratethispodcast.com/startupeableNotas del episodio: https://startupeable.com/cometa/Para más contenido síguenos en:YouTube  | Sitio Web(5:00) Timestamp -Este episodio es presentado por Zendesk, la plataforma en la que confían miles de startups y empresas globales como Slack, Shopify y Airbnb para gestionar su atención al cliente.Gracias a la plataforma omnicanal de Zendesk que integra todos tus canales de comunicación en un solo lugar, puedes gestionar tickets, ofrecer un gran experiencia, aumentar tus ventas, pero sobre todo construir relaciones cercanas con tus clientes.Como beneficio exclusivo por escuchar Startupeable, prueba el CRM de Zendesk completamente gratis por 6 meses registrándote en: https://bit.ly/3SqKvCV

This is our weekly kick-off show, coming to you Tuesday morning as yesterday was a holiday here in the States. Here's the rundown:Crypto prices are up, and we're looking at another busy earnings week. Palo Alto Networks, Sprout Social, Nvidia and Block will report this week.Planity has put together a $48 million Series C, which is a super neat vertical SaaS deal. Software and payments make for a tasty combo, and Planity wants to bring those benefits to salons in Europe.The EU is after TikTok under the DSA, which could have major implications for social media regulation.And Walmart is buying Vizio; LockBit got smashed; and MariaDB has a buyer on the horizon.In closing, this WSJ piece on San Francisco is worth your time.For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity's Simplecast website.Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is hosted by TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm and Mary Ann Azevedo. We are produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

This is our startup-focused Wednesday episode, so we're taking a deep look at a number of startup fundraisings, and the latest from the world of venture capital itself. Startups and capital, it's our jam!Here's what we got into on the show today:Goodshuffle raised $5 million, showing that vertical SaaS is far from kaput, even if software valuations remain under strain.SUMA Wealth put $2.2 million into its own accounts, showing that audience-tuned fintech products still have legs. SUMA Wealth's target Latinx demographic seems to be resonating with what the startup is building.Behold! A crypto startup showing hella consumer traction.On the social media side, Bluesky is now open to everyone and growing quickly, and Blush raised $7 million more to keep its dating app invite-only.And then there were more rounds! Finally closed $10 million, while Klas put together $1 million for its edtech efforts.In closing, Episode 1 has a new early-stage UK fund that we wanted to talk about.For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity's Simplecast website.Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more! Credits: Equity is hosted by TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm and Mary Ann Azevedo. We are produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.

Today CJ hosts Dave Yuan, the founder and partner at Tidemark — a legend in the world of vertical SaaS. Dave has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years. Before founding Tidemark, Dave spent 15 years as a general partner at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), where he was fortunate to invest in and help 25 companies scale and win. Twelve companies have gone public, and eight have been acquired. Today's conversation covers key heuristics, what's wrong with classical vertical SaaS strategies, and the importance of thinking multi-product early on. This is a master class in how vertical SaaS companies come to dominate a market and a deep dive into the metrics they stay close to along the way. As mentioned during the episode, Tidemark is launching its first annual Vertical and SMB SaaS Benchmark survey. You can complete the survey here if you're a vertical SaaS or SMB/horizontal leader (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DXPNVWM). It is completely anonymous and takes ~10 minutes to complete. If you're interested, the Tidemark team can walk you through your results compared to your peers. Survey participation also helps provide valuable insights in support of the broader vertical SaaS ecosystem and benefits your fellow operators. --- PSA: Run The Numbers has a new Spotify and Apple show link. Follow the links to subscribe and ensure you'll never miss an episode Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run-the-numbers/id1723787140 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zQCkklNnVgMD364kCW5SV --- SPONSORS: Maxio | Tropic | Thoropass Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages.

Today CJ hosts Dave Yuan, the founder and partner at Tidemark — a legend in the world of vertical SaaS. Dave has been investing, advising, and building technology companies for over 20 years. Before founding Tidemark, Dave spent 15 years as a general partner at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), where he was fortunate to invest in and help 25 companies scale and win. Twelve companies have gone public, and eight have been acquired. Today's conversation covers key heuristics, what's wrong with classical vertical SaaS strategies, and the importance of thinking multi-product early on. This is a master class in how vertical SaaS companies come to dominate a market and a deep dive into the metrics they stay close to along the way. As mentioned during the episode, Tidemark is launching its first annual Vertical and SMB SaaS Benchmark survey. You can complete the survey here if you're a vertical SaaS or SMB/horizontal leader (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DXPNVWM). It is completely anonymous and takes ~10 minutes to complete. If you're interested, the Tidemark team can walk you through your results compared to your peers. Survey participation also helps provide valuable insights in support of the broader vertical SaaS ecosystem and benefits your fellow operators. --- SPONSORS: Maxio | Tropic | Thoropass Maxio is the only billing and financial operations platform that was purpose built for B2B SaaS. They're helping SaaS finance teams automate billing and revenue recognition, manage collections and payments, and put together investor grade reporting packages.

In this episode, Nick Tippmann, former CMO of medtech company Greenlight Guru, joins Pablo, Damp, and John to break down his journey as a marketer turned investor. Nick shares why vertical SaaS companies should think like category designers and how he evaluates the category potential of early-stage startups.  We discuss:How Greenlight Guru tipped from tool to platform to category, Why he believes vertical SaaS is fertile ground for category designers, How he evaluates the category potential of early stage startups as an investor.This conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

The future of vertical software seen through the lens of the fitness and wellness industry. In it we cover the evolution of software to ecosystems, predicting customer behavior, the rise of embedded finance, and the global appetite for fitness. Fritz Lanman is CEO of Mindbody, the leading software platform serving fitness and wellness studios in over 150 countries. An incredible success case for vertical software that has grown to serve 60,000 businesses representing more than 20M consumers. Supporting them with a comprehensive suite of tools from scheduling to marketing. Mindbody went public on the NASDAQ in 2015 and was taken private by Vista Equity in 2019. Fritz came to Mindbody via the acquisition of Classpass where he was first an investor then CEO, and still serves as CEO today. Starting his career at Microsoft Fritz is a 3x entrepreneur, passionate about advanced software and data, and has an enviable angle investment track record that includes Pinterest, Square, Wish and Flexport. Subscribe for new podcasts. Email me on danieldarling@focal.vcSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we have Lucile Cornet with us. Lucile is a Partner at Eight Roads, a $11BN global venture fund with offices across the globe.Eight Roads invests in companies at the Series B stage and helps them scale up internationally. They have 450 portfolio companies globally, of which 60 are IPOs, and many are unicorns: Alibaba, Toast, Flywire, Chewy, Hibob, Neo4j, or Fever.Lucile is part of the European team of Eight Roads. She is a French national (born in Toulouse) but has been based in London for 15 years and focuses on anything SaaS and Fintech series B. She became one of the youngest female partners in Europe, being promoted to Partner in 2021 at just 33 years old. Her investments include companies such as Spendesk, Leocare, Amenitiz, Reveal, and Thinksurance.Outside work, Lucile is a mum of two daughters who loves adventurous travel and cooking and as you'll see, a dazzling extrovert who thrives in meeting new people.Watch the full interview on eu.vc

Episode 319 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Peter Berg, Managing Partner at M12, Microsoft's venture capital fund. I've had lots of investors as guests on the podcast, but I was excited to interview Peter because I've never interviewed an investor from a CVC or a Corporate Venture Capital fund. I'm not sure what the number is today, but according to a 2023 report about CVCs, it counts 1,100 active CVCs. Based on this scale, it is a very meaningful opportunity for entrepreneurs in terms of raising capital. Thus, Peter and I pretty much get right into the details towards the beginning of our conversation about the world of CVCs… from what they are, differentiators, strategic advantages of raising capital from a CVC, how to evaluate a CVC, and other topics. As previously stated, M12 is Microsoft's VC fund. The firm invests in Seed, Series A, and Series B rounds of funding across different categories like Cloud Infrastructure, AI, Cybersecurity, Web 3 & Gaming, Vertical SaaS, and Developer Tools. In this episode of our podcast, we cover: * How Peter landed a first name @peter handle on Twitter / X.com. * A walk through Peter's career including his investment into Square and the creation of Visa Ventures which scaled to a global organization and went on to invest in Stripe, LoopPay (a Boston startup that was acquired by Samsung), and many other companies. * All the details on Peter's area of focus at M12 and what he is targeting for investments. * M12 portfolio company examples like Inworld and Typeface. * His thoughts and opinions on the current state of the market for raising capital. * And so much more.

Follow Julien's journey building his next startup with the help of Chris, author of Blitzscaling We apply an approach which is the opposite of what you'll hear from Y Combinator The approach we apply is the PayPal mafia approach It's the approach of Reid Hoffman who after PayPal founded LinkedIn and was the first investor in Airbnb It's the approach of Peter Thiel who after PayPal founded Palantir and was the first investor in Facebook It's the approach of the people who win over and over again What's the Blitzscaling approach? It's about being thoughtful and deliberate. Having deep insight instead of just hustling. Reid calls it “contrarian and right”. Peter says “startups are built on secrets” It's about getting more done than everyone else and moving faster than everyone else, but doing that in a manner which is comfortable and looks easy. Or as Chris says “be quick but don't hurry” Subscribe if you want to understand the actual way to win. Share with one of your friends who is launching a startup

Jules Schwerin of RTP Global joins Nate to discuss How AI Will Transform Legacy Industries, The Bull Case for Vertical SaaS, and the Future of the Series A Market. In this episode we cover: Investing in Lagging Industries and Overcoming Inertia to Adopt Modern Tech Market Entry Strategies and AI Adoption Market Size, Competition, and Funding for Vertical SaaS Companies Logistics Investments and Niche Markets IPOs, Deal Making, and Valuations in the Venture Capital Industry Guest Links: Email LinkedIn RTP Global The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

We are excited to sit down with Manu Sharma, an investor at Tusk Venture Partners.  Manu started his career at Dallas VC, helping launch the fund before heading to business school in Chicago. This year, Manu joined Tusk Venture Partners, an early-stage fund based in NYC. Tusk has a unique model in that it helps companies navigate highly regulated markets. Manu dives into the benefits of business school, doubling down in regulated markets, pros and cons of AI and what areas of vertical SaaS are ripe for technological disruption. Episode Chapters: Moving from India to the United States - 1:30Building Dallas Venture Capital - 2:15Why Business School? - 4:00Tusk Venture Partners - 7:10Helping Companies with Regulatory Risks - 9:45The History of Vertical SaaS - 11:16AI Execution on Vertical SaaS - 18:12The Contract Network (Legal Tech) -  23:10The End State of LLMs - 25:45Platform Team in VC - 27:12Ending Questions - 28:45As always, feel free to contact us at partnerpathpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to hear ideas for content, guests, and overall feedback.

We are excited to sit down with 2x founder Alex Jekowsky. During college, he launched Ulyngo, a multi-channel marketplace that enabled universities to facilitate student life commerce. Alex grew the business until its acquisition by Modo Labs in 2019. He then founded Cents, a leading laundry business management system. Cents helps laundromats with everything from onboarding, payments, employee management, customer records, in-store operations, and more!Episode Chapters:Founding Ulyngo - 1:15Interest in Laundromats - 4:48Modernizing the Laundry Tech Stack - 7:30The Consumer Experience - 10:50Cents' Addressable Market - 12:40Optimizing the Value Chain - 15:32GTM Strategy - 18:27Vertical SaaS Takeover - 23:30Payments in Vertical SaaS Businesses - 26:35Horizontal versus Vertical SaaS - 28:00Ending Questions - 30:15As always, feel free to contact us at partnerpathpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to hear ideas for content, guests, and overall feedback.

On this episode of The Professional Services Pursuit Banoo is joined by Kantata's CEO, Michael Speranza. They discuss the dramatic shifts that have taken place in the professional services industry over the past 12 months and the pressure that's placed on businesses.  They also dive into how vertical SaaS solutions are reshaping the future of PS and helping organizations to overcome the arduous task of achieving more with less.Other key topics include:The trends and rate of change the industry has experienced in the last 12 monthsTechnologies role in adapting to major changesThe fundamental difference between the PS Cloud and legacy PSA toolsHow PS Cloud technology goes beyond project success and financialsThe cost of avoiding change

A major trend in SaaS has been vertical-specific companies integrating payment processing as a strategy to increase revenue and improve attractiveness in M&A. In this episode, managing directors Mike Lyon and Jeff Koons discuss the “FinTechization” of vertical SaaS, how buyers think about payment integration opportunities, and how companies can capitalize on payment tech trends while not handing all the upside to buyers or private equity firms.Securities offered through Vista Point Advisors, member FINRA/SIPC. This has been provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation. It is not intended to address all circumstances that might arise. The views expressed herein may change at any time subsequent to the date of issue. Testimonials from past clients may not be representative of the experience of other clients and there is no guarantee of future performance or success. Clients are not compensated for their comments.

Frustrated by a lack of understanding of consumer taste preferences and a lack of data-driven decision-making about winemaking, Katerina Axelsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Tastry, built an AI and chemical analysis system to solve this. With custom-built algorithms that take chemical analysis and develop flavor profiles and a database of consumer taste preferences that map to the US's 248M adults, Tastry is paving a new, innovative way to use data to make and market wine.Detailed Show Notes: Tastry was founded around 6 years ago, but 1st 4 were more of an R&D project, officially launched Dec 2021The wine industry is trying to anticipate what consumers wantNew wines have an 85% failure rate in the 1st yearPeople describing flavors in wine doesn't correlate with if they like itTastry uses AI and Machine Learning with chemical analysis to break down a wine's flavor2 databases - wine's flavor profile and consumer taste preferences that are matched togetherWine databaseAnalyze 10,000's of wines/yearChemical analysis is done in-house on standardized equipment but with proprietary softwareThe Top 2,000 wines based on IRI annually are analyzed to build a baseline data set as wineries' samples are proprietaryConsumer taste databaseDid double-blind tasting panels, asking consumers if they both liked or did not like wines; the negative preference is important for the flavor profile buildingConsumers also asked analog questions that became the Recommended by Tastry quizUse algorithms to relate data and predict preferences for the rest of the population (248M taste profiles)Can now predict individual consumer taste profiles if they take the Tasty quiz with 93% accuracy in how they would rate the winePalates are very unique; the largest cohort is only 13 peopleDemographics don't show a lot of differences in taste preferencesCustomers - work with >100 wineries, 22 of 25 largest wineriesWinemaker use casesComputational Blending - uses simulation to match profiles from different blends and adjustments; winemakers set parameters on what they are trying to achieveWinery had to switch from barrels to adjustments to 5x production and used blending to get a similar profileNavigating smoke taint (3k tons, $10M worth of fruit) - came back with a recipe that solved the issueMaintaining year-over-year consistencyWinery marketing use casesRecommended by Tastry plug-in for wine clubsLook more at finished wines and at competitive sets and overlap of consumer preferencesRetailer use casesRecommender helps get more niche brands discoveredThere is more traction for e-retailers now; pilots with big box retailersDec 2023 - Tastrt will announce a scalable way to access a broad # of winesStrong ROI - 44-215x, benefits mainly cost savings, increased revenueBusiness model - Vertical SaaS with consumption-based modelSubscription to dashboardLab analysis of samples provides ~$3,000 worth of analysis for a $370 list priceCompublend - per simulation chargeAccess to competitive data sets from the Top 2,000 winesPricing is the same for winemakers, marketing, and retailersRaised ~$10M in funding from individuals, early stage VC's, and strategic investors (wine, AI, retail) Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sebastian Duesterhoeft of Lightspeed Venture Partners joins Nate to discuss Are Software Businesses Defensible? What is the S curve and How to Time it, and Lessons from Investing in Snowflake, Databricks, and Confluent. In this episode we cover: Investing in a Challenging Market with a Growth Investor AI Technology, Its Impact & Potential to Disrupt Industries and Create New Opportunities Investment Strategies and Price Dynamics in the Startup Space Investing in Enterprise Software Companies, Including S-Curve Analysis Market Size and Potential for a New Endpoint Security Player Determining the Size of the Queue for Cloud Security and Software Development Market Sizing, Vertical SAAS, and Software Margins Investing, Brand, and Distribution in the Tech Industry Guest Links: Twitter LinkedIn Lightspeed Venture Partners The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!