Podcasts about Saas

Michael Nicosia is the Co-founder and COO of Salt Security, a company that protects APIs from threats using cloud-scale big data, AI, and ML. Under his leadership, Salt has raised $271 million, reached a $1.4 billion valuation, and has become a leader in API security with patented AI technology and Fortune 500/Global 1000 clients. With over 20 years of experience in enterprise software sales and marketing, Michael helped lead Adallom as COO from its founding to its $327 million acquisition by Microsoft. In this episode… APIs power nearly every modern digital service, yet most companies remain unaware of just how vulnerable these connections can be to breaches. With AI agents, MCP protocols, and microservices expanding rapidly, how do you ensure that sensitive data isn't leaking through unseen cracks in your API infrastructure? Michael Nicosia, a serial entrepreneur and technology executive, shares how he took the leap from corporate roles to building a platform that safeguards APIs. He describes starting with only an idea, refining it through Y Combinator, and securing early validation from security leaders. Along the way, Michael emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer outcomes, building the right team, and persevering through uncertainty. His journey shows that protecting digital services isn't just about software — it's about resilience, trust, and staying ahead of attackers. In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz interviews Michael Nicosia, COO and Co-founder of Salt Security, about scaling cybersecurity solutions for the modern digital world. Michael discusses lessons from Y Combinator, navigating the fundraising journey, and securing enterprise clients. He also shares insights on pricing models, hiring top talent, and the role of mentorship in building a lasting company.

In this episode, we sit down with Gary Engles, the visionary behind MyGig – a full‑stack affiliate platform that equips business professionals to earn recurring income while delivering every essential service a modern company needs, from tax‑credit optimization and IT security to PEO‑backed HR, CRM automation, financing, credit‑building, and even fractional CMO marketing. Gary's journey is anything but ordinary. He launched a martial‑arts‑based leadership academy at 22, sold it, turned COO of a trading‑education firm, helped multiple companies prep for lucrative exits, and now runs MyGig's “business‑in‑a‑box” ecosystem. He'll share how his 35‑year martial‑arts discipline shapes his leadership philosophy, why staying in your “area of genius” is the ultimate productivity hack, and the exact SaaS tools he wishes he'd had when he first started. If you're a founder looking to streamline operations, boost revenue, or become a certified MyGig reseller, this conversation is packed with actionable insights, real‑world examples, and the secret sauce that lets you focus on vision while outsourcing the rest. Tune in, take notes, and get ready to level up your business—fast. LinkedIn: garyengels Website: www.joinmygig.com Check out our CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter–our premium newsletter with hacks and nuggets to level up your organization. Sign up HERE.  I AM CEO Handbook Volume 3 is HERE and it's FREE. Get your copy here: http://cbnation.co/iamceo3. Get the 100+ things that you can learn from 1600 business podcasts we recorded. Hear Gresh's story, learn the 16 business pillars from the podcast, find out about CBNation Architects and why you might be one and so much more. Did we mention it was FREE? Download it today!

Think investors who don't re-up for your next round are doing you a favor?Not the case!Most entrepreneurs see this as rejection. But here's what Sahil Patel discovered after 11 years building and selling ER Express: Sometimes the BEST thing that can happen is getting misaligned investors out of your cap table.His family office investors knew service businesses. But SaaS? Different game entirely."The way you look at a SaaS business, you really have to look at unit economics. If you just look at the whole cost, it looks terrible."The result? A year of treading water while growth stalled.But here's where it gets interesting: Those same investors offered him a management buyout with seller financing. NON-RECOURSE.Eight quarters of consecutive growth followed.We'll dive deep into this (and so much more) in this episode of the DealQuest Podcast! How to identify when investor misalignment is killing your business Why timing is the entrepreneur's biggest enemy (not money) The crisis pivot that doubled his total addressable market Building performance-based business models that guarantee results And much more Whether you're navigating complex investor relationships or building systems for sustainable growth, this conversation provides frameworks every business leader needs.• • •FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/sahilpatel• • • FOR MORE ON SAHIL PATELhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sahilanamipatel/https://www.spiralyze.com/ FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFERhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/https://www.coreykupfer.com/ Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

In this deep dive episode, we explore the evolution of networking with Avery Pennarun, Co-Founder and CEO of Tailscale. Avery shares his extensive journey through VPN technologies, from writing his first mesh VPN protocol in 1997 called “Tunnel Vision” to building Tailscale, a zero-trust networking solution. We discuss how Tailscale reimagines the OSI stack by... Read more »

SaaStr 821: Swapping Stories - Building AI-First Companies: Insights from Zapier's CEO and Co-Founder Wade Foster Join us for an in-depth conversation with Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, on the SaaStr AI Swapping Stories Podcast! Wade shares how Zapier is leading the way in AI-powered automation, the evolution from simple workflows to agentic systems, and why AI fluency is now a must-have for every new hire. In this episode, we discuss: The journey of Zapier from integration tool to AI orchestration platform Real-world examples of agentic workflows and automation at scale How Zapier's culture embraces “don't be a robot, build a robot” The impact of AI on sales, customer success, and internal operations Tips for companies looking to hire and upskill for an AI-first future The latest trends in AI tools, including voice-to-text and workflow automation Whether you're a founder, operator, or just curious about the future of work, this episode is packed with actionable insights and inspiration. And see you at Zapconnect next week (sign up here - it's free.)  -----------------------------------------------------------------------    Fin is the #1 AI Agent for resolving complex queries like refunds, transaction disputes, and technical troubleshooting—all with speed and reliability. See how Fin can deliver the highest resolution rates and highest-quality customer experience at fin.ai/saastr.  --------------------- If you're serious about B2B and AI, you need to be in London this December 2nd and 3rd.   SaaStr AI London is bringing together more than 2,000 leaders and founders for two days of practical advice on scaling into the new year.  We'll have speakers flying in from OpenAI, Wiz, Clay, Intercom, and all your favorite SaaS companies, including yours truly with Harry Stebbings for a live 20VC podcast. It'll be fun, and it's all in the heart of London.  Don't miss out: get your tickets with my exclusive discount by going to podcast.saastrlondon.com ---------------------   Hey everybody, the biggest B2B + AI event of the year will be back - SaaStr AI in the SF Bay Area, aka the SaaStr Annual, will be back in May 2026.    With 68% VP-level and above, 36% CEOs and founders and a growing 25% AI-first professional, this is the very best of the best S-tier attendees and decision makers that come to SaaStr each year.     But here's the reality, folks: the longer you wait, the higher ticket prices can get. Early bird tickets are available now, but once they're gone, you'll pay hundreds more so don't wait.    Lock in your spot today by going to podcast.saastrannual.com to get my exclusive discount SaaStr AI SF 2026. We'll see you there.

Too many leaders hit a wall trading time for money, playing it safe, or letting fear hold them back. Aaron Golub, legally blind, former D1 athlete, NFL free agent, and now speaker-turned-SaaS founder, didn't let obstacles stop him. In this episode, you'll learn how adaptability, trust, and self-awareness helped him move from keynote stages to co-founding Precision Search, a SaaS business with his sister.About the Guest: Aaron is the first legally blind Division I athlete to play football, a former NFL free agent, and a sought-after motivational speaker. He's also the co-founder of Precision Search, a programmatic SEO company helping businesses scale.About the Episode: What does it really mean to be GrowthReady? For Aaron Golub, it's about leaning into discomfort, adapting to change, and building something bigger than yourself.In this episode, host Steve Mellor dives deep with Aaron on how he transitioned from keynote stages to building a scalable software company alongside his sister. Aaron shares the lessons he's learned about adaptability, gamifying growth, and why asking for help is one of the most underrated leadership skills.This is a conversation for entrepreneurs, leaders, and high-performers who want to stop trading time for money and start building ventures that can scale far beyond themselves.Key Takeaways:What it really means to be growth readyAdaptability as a competitive advantageTransitioning from a speaking career to a SaaS companyThe limitations of personal branding and why Aaron wanted moreHow to gamify growth so business stays funThe importance of asking for help and building trustNavigating partnerships and teamwork (including working with family)Aaron's wildest dreams: IPO or a $100M+ exitLinks & Resources MentionedAaron Golub's Website → AaronGolub.comPrecision Search (Aaron's SaaS company) → PrecisionSearch.ioConnect with Aaron on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/aarongolubFollow Steve Mellor → LinkedIn | InstagramMore Episodes of the GrowthReady Podcast → www.growthreadypodcast.comSend us a textSupport the showSign up for the monthly newsletter with Steve and GrowthReady (formerly known as Career Competitor) by providing your details here - Request to become part of our community Also be sure to give him and the show a follow on Instagram @coachstevemellor

About this episode (#405): In this episode, Jack and Jeremy run a two-part teardown of real cold outreach messages. They start by analyzing a LinkedIn message that pitches AI agents for lead generation, then break down a clever follow-up email from a SaaS tool the recipient had signed up for months earlier. You'll hear what worked, what didn't, and how to write outreach that actually gets replies, whether your audience is ice cold or just cooling off. Key topics discussed in this episode: Why vague or generic subject lines instantly signal cold outreach - The dangers of pitching without credibility, proof, or a clear ask How to use curiosity properly in cold messages (and when it backfires) Why offering value or reciprocity makes outreach more effective A teardown of a SaaS follow-up email that used a “you never used your free credits” angle The difference between cold, warm, and “lukewarm” outreach (and why lukewarm might be your best audience) How small, specific asks can increase reply rates This episode is a masterclass in cold outreach psychology, whether your leads are brand new or just haven't heard from you in a while.  About the hosts: Jack Reamer founded SalesBread.com – the lead generation agency that brings B2B companies 1 lead per day by sending ultra-personalized LinkedIn messages and cold emails. Show listeners can book a free, 15-minute lead generation brainstorm session here: https://salesbread.com/contact/ Jeremy Chatelaine founded QuickMail.com – the most performant cold email platform to get replies, thanks to industry-leading features such as Deliverability AI and Advanced Stats. Start your trial today here: https://quickmail.com

LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/ What if AI could 10x your personal brand overnight? In this episode of Dropping Bombs, I grill the co-founder/CEO of 1DS Collective—the stealth marketer who supercharged the Liver King's raw liver memes into a $100M+ empire, scaling from 0 to 1M followers in months. From compressing growth at Bevy and The Muse to launching SaaS platforms and enterprise sales machines, John unveils why silent execution trumps hype, and AI's role in spotting blind spots for 2025 leaders. John's blueprint: Spot revenue leaks, build health/wellness systems, and make personal brands AI-proof. Liver King war stories reveal virality moves, plus talent/media hacks and virtual expertise for mass scale. Brad probes courses vs. high-ticket: "Give away the sauce—they'll pay more." Ideal for entrepreneurs swapping luck for precision.

Stevie Case breaks down how she's building one of the most advanced outbound sales machines in SaaS—balancing AI-driven efficiency with human-first selling to achieve conversion rates that beat inbound.

In this episode, I sat down with tech humanist Kate O'Neill to explore how organizations can balance human-centered design in a time when everyone is racing to find ways to leverage AI in their businesses. Kate introduced her “Now–Next Continuum,” a framework that distinguishes digital transformation (catching up) from true innovation (looking ahead). We dug into real-world challenges and tensions of moving fast vs. creating impact with AI, how ethics fits into decision making, and the role of data in making informed decisions.      Kate stressed the importance of organizations having clear purpose statements and values from the outset, proxy metrics she uses to gauge human-friendliness, and applying a “harms of action vs. harms of inaction” lens for ethical decisions. Her key point: human-centered approaches to AI and technology creation aren't slow; they create intentional structures that speed up smart choices while avoiding costly missteps.     Highlights/ Skip to: How Kate approaches discussions with executives about moving fast, but also moving in a human-centered way when building out AI solutions (1:03) Exploring the lack of technical backgrounds among many CEOs and how this shapes the way organizations make big decisions around technical solutions (3:58)  FOMO and the “Solution in Search of a Problem” problem in Data (5:18)  Why ongoing ethnographic research and direct exposure to users are essential for true innovation (11:21)  Balancing organizational purpose and human-centered tech decisions, and why a defined purpose must precede these decisions (18:09) How organizations can define, measure, operationalize, and act on ethical considerations in AI and data products (35:57) Risk management vs. strategic optimism: balancing risk reduction with embracing the art of the possible when building AI solutions (43:54) Quotes from Today's Episode "I think the ethics and the governance and all those kinds of discussions [about the implications of digital transformation] are all very big word - kind of jargon-y kinds of discussions - that are easy to think aren't important, but what they all tend to come down to is that alignment between what the business is trying to do and what the person on the other side of the business is trying to do." –Kate O'Neill     " I've often heard the term digital transformation used almost interchangeably with the term innovation. And I think that that's a grave disservice that we do to those two concepts because they're very different. Digital transformation, to me, seems as if it sits much more comfortably on the earlier side of the Now-Next Continuum. So, it's about moving the past to the present… Innovation is about standing in the present and looking to the future and thinking about the art of the possible, like you said. What could we do? What could we extract from this unstructured data (this mess of stuff that's something new and different) that could actually move us into green space, into territory that no one's doing yet? And those are two very different sets of questions. And in most organizations, they need to be happening simultaneously." –Kate O'Neill     "The reason I chose human-friendly [as a term] over human-centered partly because I wanted to be very honest about the goal and not fall back into, you know, jargony kinds of language that, you know, you and I and the folks listening probably all understand in a certain way, but the CEOs and the folks that I'm necessarily trying to get reading this book and make their decisions in a different way based on it." –Kate O'Neill     “We love coming up with new names for different things. Like whether something is “cloud,” or whether it's like, you know, “SaaS,” or all these different terms that we've come up with over the years… After spending so long working in tech, it is kind of fun to laugh at it. But it's nice that there's a real earnestness [to it]. That's sort of evergreen [laugh]. People are always trying to genuinely solve human problems, which is what I try to tap into these days, with the work that I do, is really trying to help businesses—business leaders, mostly, but a lot of those are non-tech leaders, and I think that's where this really sticks is that you get a lot of people who have ascended into CEO or other C-suite roles who don't come from a technology background.”  –Kate O'Neill     "My feeling is that if you're not regularly doing ethnographic research and having a lot of exposure time directly to customers, you're doomed. The people—the makers—have to be exposed to the users and stakeholders.  There has to be ongoing work in this space; it can't just be about defining project requirements and then disappearing. However, I don't see a lot of data teams and AI teams that have non-technical research going on where they're regularly spending time with end users or customers such that they could even imagine what the art of the possible could be.” –Brian T. O'Neill   Links KO Insights: https://www.koinsights.com/ LinkedIn for Kate O'Neill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateoneill/ Kate O'Neill Book: What Matters Next: A Leader's Guide to Making Human-Friendly Tech Decisions in a World That's Moving Too Fast

"Customers need more than what you want to sell them." This week, Tim has a long-awaited conversation with his sister-In-law Kristin Ratzlaff, a global team leader at a software as a service (SaaS) company, with decades of experience, who travels the world doing high-level sales. After years of discussing everything from business and sales to fear and opportunity, they finally sits down with Kristin to talk about growing up in the fireplace industry and how that impacted her career in sales. In this episode, Tim and Kristin discuss: How early experiences in sales can teach valuable lessons that stay with you throughout your career. Building credibility through being authentic and allowing customers to talk about themselves to see where you fit. Approaching difficult conversations with team members and balancing coaching and encouragement while being sensitive to the individual. The sales process and building a framework that sets people up for success. Pursuing opportunities so that momentum doesn't stall without being too pushy or aggressive. Don't miss this unique episode to hear how a sales leader can create an environment that sets their team up for success. ------ Become a supporter of The Fire Time Network and get access to awesome rewards: ⁠⁠⁠https://itsfiretime.com/join⁠⁠⁠ To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine⁠⁠⁠ Read The Fire Time Magazine Reader Edition online: ⁠⁠⁠https://magazine.itsfiretime.com⁠⁠⁠ Download The Fire Time Magazine app to get full access to the magazine (for free): ⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/app

INTELLIGEMSIntelligems brings A/B testing to business decisions beyond copy and design. Test your pricing, shipping charges, free shipping thresholds, offers, SaaS tools, and more by clicking here: https://bit.ly/42DcmFl. Get 20% off the first 3 months with code FARIS20.RICHPANELCut your support costs by 30% and reduce tickets by 30%—guaranteed—with Richpanel's AI-first Customer Service Platform that will reduce costs, improve agent productivity & delight customers at http://www.richpanel.com/partners/ajf?utm_source=youtube.//Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) can make or break Q4, but timing your sale wrong—or structuring your offer poorly—can leave money on the table. In this episode, Andrew Faris breaks down the data that reveals exactly when to launch your sale and why most brands get this wrong.You'll learn how to:- Structure BFCM offers that maximize AOV and profit per order.- Avoid common mistakes around margin erosion and shipping costs.- Use early November shopping spikes to your advantage.- Understand why sending more email and SMS is critical, not optional.- Protect profit if inventory runs low, and why chasing “viral” Black Friday wins usually backfires.This episode is about helping operators make data informed decisions. It will help operators scale profitably during the busiest season of the year. If you want to enter BFCM with confidence—and avoid the mistakes that drain margins—this episode will give you a clear framework to follow.//CHAPTER TITLES:00:00:55 - The Importance of Your Black Friday Offer00:04:20 - Black Friday Deals WON'T Degrade Your Brand00:06:34 - Larger AOV Creates Greater Margin Benefit00:07:45 - Pay Close Attention To Your Margin00:10:30 - When To Launch Your Black Friday Sale00:14:25 - Consistency In The Data00:18:31 - You CAN'T Send Too Many Email00:21:03 - Inventory Shortages00:23:06 - DON'T FORCE IT//SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL FOR 2X/WEEKLY UPLOADS!//ADMISSIONGet the best media buying training on the Internet + a free coaching call with Common Thread Collective's media buyers when you sign up for ADmission here: ⁠⁠https://www.youradmission.co/andrew-faris-podcast⁠//FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/andrewjfaris ⁠Email: podcast@ajfgrowth.comWork with Andrew: ⁠https://ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

There are hundreds of SaaS metrics, but which ones truly matter for SaaS leaders who want to scale, raise capital, and maximize company valuation? In episode #313, Ben Murray breaks down the five essential metrics every SaaS executive must understand — whether you're a founder, CFO, or operator. From bookings to retention, gross profit, OpEx, and the ROSE efficiency metric, you'll learn how to read your SaaS P&L like a top operator, and why these metrics are critical to driving durable growth, improving investor metrics, and strengthening your business model. What You'll Learn Bookings – Signed contracts for ARR commitments, the fuel of your revenue engine. Retention – Gross revenue retention, net revenue retention, and customer retention are the ultimate health checks for recurring revenue. Margins (Gross Profit) – Why accurate COGS vs. OpEx separation matters for forecasting, profitability, and valuation. OpEx Profile – How much you should invest in R&D, sales, marketing, and G&A as a percentage of revenue. ROSE Metric (Return on SaaS Employees) – A powerful measure of organizational efficiency and path to profitability, stronger than revenue per FTE. Why These Metrics Matter Finance & Accounting: They form the backbone of your SaaS P&L and cash flow forecasting. Investor Metrics: Investors use these to evaluate efficiency, scalability, and risk. Valuation: Strong retention, margins, and efficiency drive higher SaaS valuations. Business Leaders: Understanding these numbers enables smarter decisions at both the departmental and company levels. Resources Mentioned Free Webinar – Deep dive into these five metrics, plus tips, frameworks, and pro insights: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/pl/2148701264 Quote from Ben “Every SaaS leader doesn't need to calculate these metrics themselves — but they must understand them. These numbers tell the story of your business.”

Send us a textIn this episode of The AI Advantage Series on The Matt Brown Show, Matt sits down with Simon Taylor, CEO of HYCU, the world's fastest-growing SaaS data protection company. Simon unpacks how AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape, not only as a powerful defensive tool but also as a force that dramatically accelerates the scale and sophistication of attacks.He explains why the rise of agentic AI compounds the risks of SaaS sprawl and data silos, bringing us closer to what he calls the “SaaS Data Apocalypse.” Simon also shares how HYCU has reimagined data protection by building an AI-powered, low-code marketplace that enables SaaS vendors to integrate in weeks rather than years. The conversation moves beyond technology to consider the ethical and regulatory challenges of AI, the importance of transparency, and the human responsibility that comes with deploying powerful new systems.Matt and Simon also explore the cultural and economic shifts that AI is creating, from the loss of apprenticeship models in traditional careers to the ways elder care may be transformed in the future. Simon introduces his leadership framework of Humanity, Exceptionalism, and Resourcefulness, emphasizing why empathy and purpose still matter as organizations embrace automation. He reflects on the speed of adoption that has surprised even him and offers a candid perspective on how CEOs can navigate this new AI-driven economy.Support the show

For many marketers, managing data across different platforms is a constant headache. From pulling campaign metrics into Airtable to building reports that actually make sense, the process often eats up hours that could be better spent on strategy. Andy Cloke, founder of Data Fetcher, joins the podcast to explore how no-code integrations can transform the way marketers work with data. Andy shares how Data Fetcher makes it simple to connect Airtable with your popular platforms, automatically update dashboards, and streamline reporting. He also discusses the growing importance of APIs in marketing, why integrations are becoming non-negotiable, and how even non-technical professionals can harness these tools to work smarter.   About Data Fetcher Data Fetcher is an Airtable extension that lets non-technical teams connect to any API without writing code. Launched in 2020 as one of the first extensions on the Airtable marketplace, it now serves hundreds of customers who pull data from over 5,000 different APIs. The tool offers pre-built integrations for popular services like Google Analytics, Stripe, and OpenAI, plus the flexibility to connect to any REST or GraphQL API. Users can schedule automated syncs, transform incoming data, and build powerful workflows directly within their Airtable bases. As a bootstrapped and profitable company, Data Fetcher focuses on sustainable growth rather than chasing venture capital metrics. The extension has been featured by both Airtable and G2.   About Andy Cloke Andy Cloke is the founder of Data Fetcher, a bootstrapped SaaS that helps teams connect APIs to Airtable. After teaching himself to code and working as a freelance developer, he built and sold his first startup before launching Data Fetcher on the Airtable marketplace. As a solo founder, Andy uses Twitter to share his experiments, failures, and wins openly to help other bootstrappers. He focuses on leveraging platform ecosystems to find underserved niches and advocates for staying focused on one project rather than chasing shiny objects. Time Stamps 00:00:17 - Guest Introduction: Andy Cloke 00:01:49 - Previous MarTech Venture: TikTok Influencer Platform 00:02:39 - Introduction to Data Fetcher 00:05:10 - Ease of Use and Integration with Airtable 00:07:26 - Challenges Marketers Face with Data Tools 00:11:46 - No-Code Movement and Its Impact on Marketing 00:13:18 - Marketplace Insights for Software Vendors 00:19:27 - Leveraging AI in Marketing Workflows 00:20:25 - Best Marketing Advice Received by Andy 00:21:31 - Advice for New Marketers Quotes "Data Fetcher basically lets people have an escape patch, like a really flexible tool that lets them connect to anything, pulling the data from other places." Andy Cloke, Founder of Data Fetcher.   "An API is just a way of them saying, here's how you can get data out of this tool or write data into it in a kind of predictable, robust way." Andy Cloke, Founder of Data Fetcher.   "If SEO and YouTube are working, just focus on those, just double down and just nailing one or two channels is much more effective than trying to be everywhere and to everyone." Andy Cloke, Founder of Data Fetcher. Follow Andy: Andy Cloke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andycloke/ Data Fetcher's website: https://datafetcher.com/ Data Fetcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/datafetcher/   Follow Mike: Mike Maynard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemaynard/ Napier website: https://www.napierb2b.com/ Napier LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/napier-partnership-limited/   If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more discussions about the latest in Marketing B2B Tech and connect with us on social media to stay updated on upcoming episodes. We'd also appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favourite podcast platform. Want more? Check out Napier's other podcast - The Marketing Automation Moment: https://podcasts.apple.com/ua/podcast/the-marketing-automation-moment-podcast/id1659211547

Leaderrs rarely talk about their own health even though it drives every decision. Toni and Raul share their own experiences and what they learned from interviews with 17 founders and C-level leaders about mental and physical habits.They dig into how stress, sleeplessness and company performance feed into each other, how common burnout and anxiety really are, and why so many leaders slip into drinking or other forms of self-medication without noticing.(00:00) - Introduction (06:45) - Mental sealth statistics among founders (09:33) - Physical Health and Company Performance (11:53) - Stress and sickness correlation (16:17) - Do we self medicate too much? (23:33) - Health routines of successful CEOs (28:20) - Exercise routines (30:32) - Challenges of maintaining health when you have kids (34:19) - Health as a job responsibility for founders (39:21) - Improving sleep quality (44:04) - Diet and nutrition (47:13) - Final thoughts (48:50) - Next week: JB from Evergrowth on sales and automation

Ian and Aaron talk about adventures with TypeScript, huge updates re: Outro & Database School, and revisit exactly what happened with Once.com.Sponsored by: Bento, Bifrost for NativePHP, and HoneybadgerInterested in sponsoring Mostly Technical?  Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.(00:00) - Follow Up (04:44) - Adventures With TypeScript (12:56) - Introduction to Postgres (15:11) - Getaway (18:31) - Update on Outro (31:08) - Precipice of a Mistake (38:51) - Railsworld Recap (50:17) - RIP Once.com (01:05:02) - This One's For The Girls Links:Jason Beggs on TwitterReka UIFocus LabRails WorldBourne FranchiseCampfireFizzy WalkthroughThis One's for the Girls

Send us a textIn this episode we interview Billy Cripe, Global Vice President of Marketing at Solifi, a leading financial services SaaS company.Billy shares deep insight into the intersection of content, scalability, and AI—grounded in years of experience across B2B SaaS, demand generation, and sales enablement.What you'll learn in this episode:Why content is more than a marketing asset—it's a gravitational force for engagementHow to measure content's true impact beyond surface-level metricsThe internal cost of unused content and how to avoid itHow marketers can build with empathy by listening to frontline teamsWhy AI will transform marketers from creators to curatorsWhat the future of content looks like in an LLM-powered world

How can job seekers win in a world where roles attract hundreds—if not thousands—of applicants and the hiring process feels like a black hole? This week, Jeff Mains is joined by Garrett Rice, co-founder and CEO of Callings AI, for a compelling look at how AI and modern SaaS tools are reshaping the job hunt—for the candidates themselves.Garrett draws on his extensive tech background—including years at Apple—to outline why today's employment search is fundamentally broken, and how Callings AI equips job seekers with workflow, networking, and optimization tools to regain control, clarity, and confidence on their path to a new role. The conversation is rich with actionable insights on standing out, networking with intention, and designing products for real user needs. If you're a SaaS founder, product builder, or simply navigating your own job transition, this episode is a masterclass in both leadership and innovation.Key Takeaways00:00 Empowering Job Seekers with SaaS04:28 "Career Shift: From Apple to AI"08:31 Job Application and ATS Challenges10:51 "Optimizing Job Application Success"14:48 AI-Enhanced Job Networking Tool18:29 "Comprehensive Job Search Support"21:55 Networking Unlocks Hidden Job Market24:50 Streamlined Job Matching Platform27:32 AI Boosts Efficiency and Fun30:20 Improving Candidate Discovery35:34 "Embrace Internal Growth Over Consultants"40:05 Division of Roles in Partnership41:18 Resume Enhancement Tool Unveiled45:31 Earning Customer Trust Over Awareness49:25 "Sales Hiring and Resource Sharing"Tweetable Quotes"The number one way to win a job is to get out of the pile and into the ‘You're being considered' pile—and that's done through networking." — Garrett Rice"AI won't magically solve the job search, but it can finally help level the playing field." — Garrett Rice"Your resume is a piece of paper. When you reach out, you become human to the company." — Garrett Rice"If you're not iterating, you're not building. Success is just well-managed failure and learning." — Garrett Rice"Credibility is earned, one relationship at a time—it's not just about getting your name out there." — Garrett RiceThe Power of Referrals: "I think that the referral incentive is huge and most people completely underestimate that or forget it exists." - Jeff MainsSaaS Leadership LessonsIterate Relentlessly:"You build, it works a little bit, it doesn't work in parts. You rebuild and you iterate and iterate and iterate.” — Learn as you go. Product-market fit is a process, not a one-time discovery.Mission-Driven Building:Stay laser-focused on delivering value to your core user—even when others try to pull you toward more profitable, “easier” directions.Make Networking Frictionless:In both leadership and job search, proactively and intentionally connecting with others is non-negotiable for success.Credibility Over Noise:The brand battle isn't just about visibility. It's earning trust, one genuine connection at a time, that matters now more than ever.Co-Founder Synergy Matters:Build with people you respect and align with. Complementary skill sets and shared values are a startup's real superpower.Embrace the Unknowns:“The idea that you have when you start… is never how it works out.” Be ready to hack through the jungle, not stroll down a paved path.Guest Resourcesgarrett@callings.aicallings.aihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettriceEpisode Sponsor

I chat with Craig Hewitt , founder of Castos. We talk about his journey from running a podcast editing agency to building a SaaS hosting platform. We cover the challenges of bootstrapping, raising funds, and going international. Craig shares how he uses distribution channels, how AI affects small teams, and what it's like to scale in a niche market. We end with advice for indie founders on picking business models, taking risks, and keeping up with tech changes.My twitter: https://x.com/wbetiagoAbout Craig HewittTwitter: https://x.com/TheCraigHewittPodcast: https://roguestartups.com/Timestamps by PodsqueezeGreg's Background and Starting Podcast Motor (00:01:02)Getting First Clients and Sales Approach (00:06:29)US vs. Europe: Customer Acquisition Differences (00:08:25)Localization and Multi-Currency Pricing (00:13:18)Transition from Agency to SaaS: Castus (00:16:30)Distribution Channels and Product Positioning (00:19:06)Impact of AI on Team and Product Development (00:25:28)Bootstrapping vs. Raising Money: Tiny Seed Experience (00:30:25)Agency vs. SaaS: Which to Start First? (00:31:33)Tiny Seed Accelerator: Value and Learnings (00:35:55)Distribution, Churn, and Growth Challenges (00:38:56)Balancing Family, Agency, SaaS, and Accelerator (00:41:05)Using Investment to Scale and the Realities of Raising Money (00:44:05)Investor Returns and Exit Expectations (00:51:19)Podcasting Market Realities and Churn (00:54:10)Pricing, Retention, and Content Marketing Plateau (00:57:23)What to Do When Growth Plateaus (01:00:59)AI's Impact on SaaS and the Economy (01:10:21)US vs. Europe: Entrepreneurial Mindset Differences (01:14:53)Conclusion and Where to Find Greg (01:17:58)Links and MentionsTools and Websites"Castos": "00:01:02""Podcast Motor": "00:01:02""Audacity": "00:05:40""Ecom from Skype": "00:05:40""Blueberry": "00:05:50""Buzzsprout": "00:05:50""Seriously Simple Podcasting": "00:17:36""HubSpot": "00:19:14""Cursor": "00:15:11""Zencastr": "00:22:33""Zoom": "00:22:33""Figma": "00:24:26""Cursor": "00:27:41""TinySeed": "00:30:25""11 Labs": "00:26:30""Claude": "00:26:30""Marnus": "00:26:30""TinySeed": "00:48:33""WordPress": "00:51:19""Podsqueeze": "00:54:10""Apple Podcast Connect": "00:55:13""Rogue Startups": "01:17:58"Books"Steal Like an Artist": "00:19:31"Videos and Podcasts"Nathan Barry's Podcast": "01:08:40"

On this episode of The SaaS CFO Podcast, host Ben Murray sits down with Riya Grover, co-founder and CEO of Sequence. Riya shares her journey from investment banking to entrepreneurship, including the story behind her first SaaS company in the restaurant industry and its eventual acquisition. She dives into the inspiration for Sequence—a modern billing and quote-to-cash platform designed to tackle the challenges of custom contracts and complex pricing models for scaling SaaS and B2B companies. Riya opens up about the company's pivotal shift from payments to revenue management, navigating tough conversations with investors, and building a lean, high-impact team. She reveals how Sequence is empowering finance teams to automate billing, invoicing, and revenue recognition, while also offering flexibility for hybrid pricing and go-to-market motions. Tune in to hear Riya's insights on scaling a SaaS business, managing a major product pivot, and how AI-powered automation is transforming the future of financial operations. Whether you're a SaaS CFO, founder, or just curious about the evolving CFO tech stack, this episode has a wealth of lessons and practical advice. Show Notes: 00:00 Automated Custom Billing Platform 04:29 Scaling Challenges for SaaS Companies 09:11 Pivoting to Custom Payments Solutions 10:54 Early Capital's Impact on Team Building 14:51 Adapting Teams for Changing Visions 16:40 Growth Strategy Focused on Content and Networking 20:31 Hybrid Scalable Pricing Model 24:35 Transforming Finance with AI Agents 29:19 "Contextual Finance Automation Opportunities" 30:25 "Contact SequenceHQ Easily" Links: SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/sequence-raises-75-million-in-funding Riya Grover's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riya-grover-a22a4822/ Sequence HQ's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sequence-hq/ Sequence HQ's Website: https://www.sequencehq.com/ To learn more about Ben check out the links below: Subscribe to Ben's daily metrics newsletter: https://saasmetricsschool.beehiiv.com/subscribe Subscribe to Ben's SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page SaaS Metrics courses here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/ Join Ben's SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

How is Optimizely reshaping experimentation with AI? Cory Liebgott, VP of Product at Optimizely, joins LaunchPod to share how her team is building agentic AI tools that put customer trust at the center. Cory shares how her team: Pivoted away from risky benchmarking AI to focus on agentic AI tailored to each customer's brand and data Launched Opal, Optimizely's AI suite built on Google Gemini, with strict governance to keep customer data secure Developed experimentation agents that suggest test ideas, run experiments, and summarize results Built internal AI tools like OptiGPT to streamline workflows, from PRDs to customer research, boosting productivity across teams Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliebgott/ Optimizely: https://www.optimizely.com/ Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:52 Implementing Agentic AI at Optimizely 04:58 The Importance of Customer Feedback 06:27 Using AI Tools Internally at Optimizely 15:30 DocuSign and the Squeaky Wheel Problem 30:36 Conclusion Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPodPodcast)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Cory Liebgott.

Join me as I chat with Cody Schneider about the power of using YouTube Creators for influencer marketing. Cody explains a step-by-step playbook for acquiring customers through YouTube creator partnerships. The strategy involves reaching out to 100+ creators in your niche, offering a three-video package plus affiliate commission, identifying which creators drive the most conversions, then putting top performers on monthly retainers. This creates a scalable system where you eventually have dozens of creators regularly making content about your product, with trackable ROI through affiliate links. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:03 - Why partner with Youtube Creators 04:38 - How to find and contact YouTube creators 08:11 - Crafting the email and follow-up strategy 09:26 - Overview of the Strategy 14:42 - The value of underpriced attention 19:12 - The numbers and scaling the process 22:06 - Biggest Bottleneck 22:50 - Automating the process 24:47 - Why start now Key Points: • YouTube creators + affiliate marketing is an effective strategy for getting initial customers, especially for SMB products with one killer feature • The strategy works by reaching out to creators, having them make videos about your product, and giving them affiliate commissions • This is a marketing arbitrage opportunity because many smaller creators (10k-50k subscribers) don't know how to properly price themselves • The goal is to identify underpriced creators, test them, then put the best performers on retainer to create monthly content The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: boringmarketing.com  The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: thevibemarketer.com Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg  Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND CODY ON SOCIAL Cody's startup: https://www.graphed.com  X/Twitter: https://x.com/codyschneiderxx  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@codyschneiderx

AI companies are hitting growth milestones in record time—some reaching $100 million in revenue in just two years. But while this pace feels familiar in tech, healthcare has always been slower to adopt new tools. That may finally be changing.Kent Bennett and Sofia Guerra of Bessemer Venture Partners join Steve Kraus to unpack findings from Bessemer's State of AI 2025 report and what they mean for healthcare. From “supernovas” and “shooting stars” to the rise of systems of action, they explore how AI is reshaping not only software businesses but also the way doctors, health systems, and patients interact with technology.We cover:

Segment 1 - Interview with Jeff Pollard Introducing Forrester's AEGIS Framework: Agentic AI Enterprise Guardrails For Information Security For this episode's interview, we're talking to Forrester analyst Jeff Pollard. I'm pulling this segment's description directly from the report's executive summary, which I think says it best: As AI agents and agentic AI are introduced to the enterprise, they present new challenges for CISOs. Traditional cybersecurity architectures were designed for organizations built around people. Agentic AI destroys that notion. In the near future, organizations will build for goal-oriented, ephemeral, scalable, dynamic agents where unpredictable emergent behaviors are incentivized to accomplish objectives. This change won't be as simple or as straightforward as mobile and cloud — and that's bad news for security leaders who in some cases still find themselves challenged by cloud security. Segment 2 - Weekly News Then, in the enterprise security news, there's funding and acquisitions, but we're not going to talk about them AI's gonna call the cops on you and everyone's losing money on it and Anthropic agreed to pay for all the copyright infringement they did when training models and Otter.ai got sued for recording millions of conversations without consent Burger King got embarrassed and their lawyers didn't like it NPM package mayhem certificate authority hijinks AI darwin awards All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly. Segment 3 - Executive Interviews from Black Hat 2025 Interview with Rohit Dhamankar from Fortra Live from Black Hat 2025 in Las Vegas, Matt Alderman sits down with Rohit Dhamankar, VP of Product Strategy at Fortra, to dive deep into the evolving world of offensive security. From red teaming and pen testing to the rise of AI-powered threat simulation and continuous penetration testing, this conversation is a must-watch for CISOs, security architects, and compliance pros navigating today's dynamic threat landscape. Learn why regulatory bodies worldwide are now embedding offensive security requirements into frameworks like PCI DSS 4.0, and how organizations can adopt scalable strategies—even with limited red team resources. Rohit breaks down the nuances of purple teaming, AI-assisted red teaming, and the role of BAS platforms in enhancing defense postures. Whether you're building in-house capabilities or leveraging external partners, this interview reveals key insights on security maturity, strategic outsourcing, and the future of cyber offense and defense convergence. This segment is sponsored by Fortra. Visit https://securityweekly.com/fortrabh to learn more! Interview with Michael Leland from Island At BlackHat 2025 in Las Vegas, Matt Alderman sits down with Michael Leland, VP Field CTO at Island, to tackle one of cybersecurity's most urgent realities: compromised credentials aren't a possibility — they're a guarantee. From deepfakes to phishing and malicious browser plug-ins, attackers aren't “breaking in” anymore… they're logging in. Michael reveals how organizations can protect stolen credentials from being used, why the browser is now the second weakest link in enterprise security, and how Island's enterprise browser can enforce multi-factor authentication at critical moments, block unsanctioned logins in real time, and control risky extensions with live risk scoring of 230,000+ Chrome plug-ins. Key takeaways: Why credential compromise is inevitable — and how to stop credential use How presentation layer DLP prevents data leaks inside and outside apps Real-time blocking of phishing logins and unsanctioned SaaS access Plug-in risk scoring, version pinning, and selective extension control Enabling BYOD securely — even after a catastrophic laptop loss Why many users never go back to Chrome, Edge, or Safari after switching Segment Resources: https://www.island.io/blog/how-the-enterprise-browser-neutralizes-the-risks-of-compromised-credentials This segment is sponsored by Island. Visit https://securityweekly.com/islandbh to learn more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-424

Why you should listenTaireez reveals how AI consultants can identify specific automation opportunities worth significant annual savings for any client role, transforming vague "AI implementation" conversations into concrete ROI discussions.Learn the systematic approach to expand your share of client value beyond single platform implementations, positioning yourself as a strategic advisor rather than a technical order-taker.Discover a practical tool that helps consultants confidently sell AI automation by providing hard evidence of savings and implementation roadmaps for any job description.As a SaaS or AI consultant, I know you've been in client meetings where you see massive automation opportunities but struggle to articulate the specific value and ROI. In this episode, I talk with Taireez Niswander, Chief AI Officer and creator of the Automation Goldmine platform, who has solved this exact problem. We dive into how you can identify automation opportunities worth tens of thousands in annual savings for any role, transform your positioning from technical implementer to strategic advisor, and systematically expand your client relationships beyond one-off platform implementations. Join us to discover the tool that's helping consultants prove AI value before the sale.About Taireez NiswanderTaireez Niswander is the creator of Automation Goldmine and PerfectFit apps. She is a Chief AI Officer and one of the first 100 people globally to earn the International Chief AI Officer Certification. With over four years of hands-on AI experience and two decades of operations expertise, she has demonstrated remarkable business impact—including scaling business operations by 233% and serving as Vice Chair of CHIFOO's Board of Directors.After being laid off in February 2024, she became a Chief AI Officer by September—proving the power of practical AI implementation.Her work focuses on helping businesses identify and automate high-impact operational processes. Through her Automation Goldmine framework, she's developed a systematic approach to spotting automation opportunities that deliver measurable ROI. Her solutions help consultants and business leaders transform manual workflows into automated systems without the typical tech complexity.Resources and LinksAutomationgoldmine.comTaireez's LinkedIn profile589 – AI 1st business with John MunsellSonger.co Previous episode: 635 - Why Your Sales Problem Isn't Actually a Sales ProblemCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resourcesBONUS:Walk into any meeting, paste a job description and salary, and immediately demonstrate $50K+ in hidden value per role. Start with low-hanging fruit to build trust, then...

Ton Dobbe is the founder of Value Inspiration, helping SaaS companies transform from commoditized to remarkable. He's the author of The Remarkable Effect, where he explores what makes products stand out and command premium prices. And he's a keynote speaker and podcast host himself. In this episode, Ton shares his insights on how SaaS companies can escape the commodity trap and command premium pricing by focusing on their unique approach to solving customer problems, rather than just features and functions.   Why you have to check out today's podcast: Learn how to identify and articulate the real problems your customers face that keep them awake at night. Discover why competing on your approach rather than features is the key to premium pricing. Understand how guarantees and risk reduction can justify higher prices and improve your entire business operation.   "Start thinking about what you do and why customers would pay a premium for that. And if you cannot answer that, there's work to do. It's a very simple question. What would it take for people to start paying a premium for it?" – Ton Dobbe   Topics Covered: 02:37 – Startup failure and value proposition: Why 75% of software scalers fail despite achieving product-market fit and how the inability to market at appropriate value becomes their downfall  04:07 – Value is a story: Ton's definition of value as "a story in the head of a customer" versus Mark's "result of solving problems" and how perception drives pricing acceptance  09:28 – Value pricing and guarantees: How adding guarantees reduces customer fear of making mistakes and enables premium pricing, plus the psychology behind buyer decision-making 12:33 – Guaranteeing results for customers: The insurance model approach to guarantees and how implementation success creates win-win scenarios for both vendor and customer 15:28 – Competing on approach, not features: Why software companies must differentiate based on their unique approach to solving problems rather than feature comparisons with competitors  19:09 – Secret sauce for ideal customers: Ton's 12-step "pressure cooker" process for identifying your value foundation and connecting company knowledge to customer segments  22:11 – Ideal customer segmentation benefits: How focusing on perfect-fit customers accelerates sales cycles, increases win rates, stops discounting, and improves every business function  27:59 – The value of AI solutions: Why companies fail when they position themselves as "AI-powered" instead of focusing on the specific problems their AI capabilities solve 30:39 – Premium pricing strategies: The fundamental question every company must answer - why would customers pay a premium for what you do, and what would it take to achieve that?   Key Takeaways: "Value is a story in the head of a customer. When I say to you, for example, this is 30,000 US dollars. Some people will say, that's expensive. And other people will say, that's a bargain. And the difference is how well you communicate the value in a way that clicks with them." – Ton Dobbe "The moment you can add something like a guarantee or like a reliable promise to that, you can even charge more on pricing because it takes a lot of objections away around the fear of messing up." – Ton Dobbe "If you compete on a feature function level, everybody will lose. So you have to make a choice, are we going to compete on the feature function level or are we going to compete on something else?" – Ton Dobbe "The moment you get that idea in their head, this is the choice and they're gonna solve my problem better than anyone else. They're gonna give me more value than anyone else. Well, why should I even start talking about discounts?" – Ton Dobbe   People / Resources Mentioned: The Jolt Effect (book on buyer indecision) Christian Owens, CEO of Paddle   Connect with Ton Dobbe: Website: https://valueinspiration.com Book: https://theremarkableeffect.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tondobbe/    Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

#281 CRO | Matt is joined by Haley Carpenter, founder of Chirpy, a conversion rate optimization agency. Haley has nearly a decade of CRO experience across agency, SaaS, and eCommerce, and she's known for helping brands use research and testing to make smarter marketing decisions.Matt and Haley cover:Why CRO isn't just A/B testing, and how research should guide every optimization effortHow to approach CRO when you don't have massive website traffic, including scrappy testing methods and toolsThe role of messaging, value props, and social proof in driving higher conversions (and where B2B often lags behind DTC)By the end, you'll have a clearer picture of how to approach CRO as a system, not just a set of tests.Timestamps(00:00) - – Intro (02:09) - – Who is Haley Carpenter (03:09) - – What CRO really means (06:09) - – Research vs. testing explained (10:09) - – Where to start CRO on a website (13:09) - – Testing with limited traffic (17:09) - – Using data for smarter decisions (20:09) - – Building a culture of testing (24:09) - – How to report CRO results (29:09) - – Scrappy tools: Clarity & Hotjar (34:54) - – What B2B can learn from DTC (38:54) - – Why messaging matters more than features (42:54) - – The power of social proof (48:54) - – Common blockers to CRO success (50:54) - – A surprising test result (+7% sales) (52:54) - – Vanity metrics vs. real business outcomes (56:54) - – Closing thoughts Send guest pitches and ideas to hi@exitfive.comJoin the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterCheck out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership***This episode of the Exit Five podcast is brought to you by Qualified.AI is the hottest topic in marketing right now. And one thing we hear a lot of you marketers talking about is how you can use AI Agents to help run your marketing machine.That's where Qualifed comes in with Piper, their AI SDR agent.Piper is the #1 AI SDR Agent on the market according to G2, and hundreds of companies like Box, Asana, and Brex, have hired Piper to autonomously grow inbound pipeline. How good does that sound?Qualified customers are seeing a massive business impact with Piper: a 3X increase in meetings booked and a 2X increase in pipeline.The Agentic Marketing era has arrived. And if you're a B2B marketing leader looking to scale pipeline generation, Piper the #1 AI SDR Agent is here to help.Hire Piper, the #1 AI SDR Agent, and grow your pipeline today.You can learn more at qualified.com/exit5

Segment 1 - Interview with Jeff Pollard Introducing Forrester's AEGIS Framework: Agentic AI Enterprise Guardrails For Information Security For this episode's interview, we're talking to Forrester analyst Jeff Pollard. I'm pulling this segment's description directly from the report's executive summary, which I think says it best: As AI agents and agentic AI are introduced to the enterprise, they present new challenges for CISOs. Traditional cybersecurity architectures were designed for organizations built around people. Agentic AI destroys that notion. In the near future, organizations will build for goal-oriented, ephemeral, scalable, dynamic agents where unpredictable emergent behaviors are incentivized to accomplish objectives. This change won't be as simple or as straightforward as mobile and cloud — and that's bad news for security leaders who in some cases still find themselves challenged by cloud security. Segment 2 - Weekly News Then, in the enterprise security news, there's funding and acquisitions, but we're not going to talk about them AI's gonna call the cops on you and everyone's losing money on it and Anthropic agreed to pay for all the copyright infringement they did when training models and Otter.ai got sued for recording millions of conversations without consent Burger King got embarrassed and their lawyers didn't like it NPM package mayhem certificate authority hijinks AI darwin awards All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly. Segment 3 - Executive Interviews from Black Hat 2025 Interview with Rohit Dhamankar from Fortra Live from Black Hat 2025 in Las Vegas, Matt Alderman sits down with Rohit Dhamankar, VP of Product Strategy at Fortra, to dive deep into the evolving world of offensive security. From red teaming and pen testing to the rise of AI-powered threat simulation and continuous penetration testing, this conversation is a must-watch for CISOs, security architects, and compliance pros navigating today's dynamic threat landscape. Learn why regulatory bodies worldwide are now embedding offensive security requirements into frameworks like PCI DSS 4.0, and how organizations can adopt scalable strategies—even with limited red team resources. Rohit breaks down the nuances of purple teaming, AI-assisted red teaming, and the role of BAS platforms in enhancing defense postures. Whether you're building in-house capabilities or leveraging external partners, this interview reveals key insights on security maturity, strategic outsourcing, and the future of cyber offense and defense convergence. This segment is sponsored by Fortra. Visit https://securityweekly.com/fortrabh to learn more! Interview with Michael Leland from Island At BlackHat 2025 in Las Vegas, Matt Alderman sits down with Michael Leland, VP Field CTO at Island, to tackle one of cybersecurity's most urgent realities: compromised credentials aren't a possibility — they're a guarantee. From deepfakes to phishing and malicious browser plug-ins, attackers aren't “breaking in” anymore… they're logging in. Michael reveals how organizations can protect stolen credentials from being used, why the browser is now the second weakest link in enterprise security, and how Island's enterprise browser can enforce multi-factor authentication at critical moments, block unsanctioned logins in real time, and control risky extensions with live risk scoring of 230,000+ Chrome plug-ins. Key takeaways: Why credential compromise is inevitable — and how to stop credential use How presentation layer DLP prevents data leaks inside and outside apps Real-time blocking of phishing logins and unsanctioned SaaS access Plug-in risk scoring, version pinning, and selective extension control Enabling BYOD securely — even after a catastrophic laptop loss Why many users never go back to Chrome, Edge, or Safari after switching Segment Resources: https://www.island.io/blog/how-the-enterprise-browser-neutralizes-the-risks-of-compromised-credentials This segment is sponsored by Island. Visit https://securityweekly.com/islandbh to learn more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-424

Check out my newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://TKOPOD.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and join my new community at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://TKOwners.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠━I sat down with Rob Walling, who's built and sold multiple companies without raising a dime of venture capital. Rob created what he calls the stair step method, a framework for everyday people to go from freelancing to building big businesses one step at a time. We got into how to know when something is simple enough to vibe code, when you should bring in no-code tools, and when you actually need a developer.We also talked about the 75 different app marketplaces that can be incredible launch pads, why most entrepreneurs should start with an agency or productized service before SaaS, and how Rob grew his own companies like Drip. He shared insights from investing in over 220 startups, the traps new founders fall into, and the repeatable playbooks that really work.If you want to keep up with Rob, check him out here:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/microconfPodcast: https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/Twitter/X: https://x.com/robwallingEnjoy! ---Watch this on YouTube instead here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tkopod.co/p-yt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ask me a question on or off the show here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-ask⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-cjk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn about my company: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-cof⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow me on Twitter here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-x⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free weekly business ideas newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-nl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Share this podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-all⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scrape small business data: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://tkopod.co/p-os⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---

Send us a textThis week, Carl welcomes special guest host Markus Pineyro of Oomi  Kitchen to dive into five major stories shaping restaurants and technology.Is first-party delivery really the answer? We explore the economics, customer experience, and hidden costs behind running your own fleet.Burger King's security scare: An ethical hacker exposes vulnerabilities at RBI. What lessons should operators learn about digital risk and communication?DoorDash's commerce platform expansion: Why their SaaS-like approach could reshape how independents think about tech stacks.FSTEC's Tech Guide: Fresh survey data reveals gaps in loyalty, reviews, and back-of-house investment. Surprising stats operators need to see.Starbucks' AI inventory control: From clipboards to cameras, we break down how imagery-based systems could transform accuracy and cash control.Plus, Markus shares the Oomi journey and what it means to be a digitally native restaurant.00:00 – Welcome & guest intro (Markus, Oomi Digital Kitchen) 01:00 – Q1: Is first-party delivery really the way to go? 06:00 – Q2: Burger King security flaw – lessons for operators 12:00 – Q3: DoorDash expands with new commerce platform 16:00 – Q4: FSTEC Tech Guide – surprising operator survey data 22:00 – Q5: Starbucks tests AI inventory control 26:00 – Markus on Oomi's model & digital-native kitchens 28:30 – Wrap-up & how to connect with MarkusSupport the show

Jonathan Spry, CEO and co-founder of Envelop Risk, joins Robin Merttens for a deep dive into how data science, AI and portfolio-level modelling are transforming cyber reinsurance. As one of the earliest voices in the industry championing machine learning and systemic risk analysis, Jonathan shares what he's learned over nine years of building Envelop into a leading hybrid underwriter operating across London and Bermuda. In his own words, this episode is about building smarter ways to understand, underwrite and capitalise on emerging risk — with cyber as just the starting point. What you'll learn: Why Jonathan and his team focused on cyber risk and portfolio-level underwriting from day one The rationale behind favouring systemic insights over individual vulnerabilities How causal inference provides a leap forward in predicting tail events Why AI liability is already creating new market opportunities The need for creative, multi-source data strategies beyond traditional claims Why Envelop steers clear of SaaS and keeps underwriters embedded in the modelling process How algorithmic underwriting fits into the next chapter of insurance innovation Candid thoughts on the AI hype cycle — and what matters more than the buzz Jonathan also talks through Envelop's shift from MGA to reinsurer, how to think long-term in a volatile market and what kind of partnerships are needed to unlock new forms of risk. If you like what you're hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. You can also contact Jonathan Spry on LinkedIn to start a conversation! Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning. Continuing Professional Development This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme. By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives: Identify the structural and economic drivers pushing insurers toward algorithmic and portfolio underwriting. Produce a strategy for aligning capital, analytics and data science in cyber reinsurance underwriting. Summarise how Envelop Risk evolved from an MGA to a hybrid reinsurer and the rationale behind its capital partnerships. If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 372 page of the InsTech website or email cpd@instech.co to let us know you have listened to this podcast. To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

A full founder's arc: starting small, building global SaaS companies from Hyderabad, taking one to IPO, another to a billion-dollar exit, and then choosing to begin again (and again).Kiran Darisi began at Zoho, founding team member of Freshworks at 25, and stayed twelve years till the company went public. Today he is building Atomicwork, reinventing service management in the AI era. Sreedhar Peddineni started with Host Analytics back when SaaS was still called application service provider, went on to create the customer success category with Gainsight, and is now on his third venture with GTM Buddy.In this episode, we talk about what it takes to build companies that last for decades. We discuss how startups can find the “Goldilocks zone”,why smaller teams are creating more value than ever, and the mistakes founders often make when moving from SMB to enterprise.Both founders share how AI is reshaping every layer of SaaS, why it's both eating the pie and expanding it and what's left for entrepreneurs when the biggest AI companies are chasing every vertical.This conversation looks back at some of India's iconic SaaS companies, shares lessons from two decades of building, and looks ahead to the future of SaaS from India.0:00 — Atomicwork x GTM Buddy1:17 — Why They Chose to Be Founders Again8:27 — How to generate pipeline predictability at a startup?16:46 — Becoming Freshworks' Co-Founder at 2519:43 — How Atomicwork Co-Founders Connected & Chose Their Problem23:25 — Building Companies That Last for Decades27:18 — Why Smaller, High-Quality Teams Win30:21 — 1st vs 2nd Founders: What They Get Wrong31:56 — Scaling: SMB → Mid-Market → Enterprise33:36 — Category Creation at Gainsight40:03 — Disrupting vs Expanding Large Categories44:08 — How to Choose the Right Market49:08 — Why Atomicwork Chose This Category53:11 — The 'Goldilocks Zone' for a Startup Category57:11 — Can Salesforce Be Replaced?58:26 — Neon Fund x Atomicwork1:01:27 — Neon Fund x GTM Buddy1:03:44 — If Big AI Goes Everywhere, What's Left for B2B SaaS?1:07:36 — What to Build in the AI Era?1:10:35 — Is AI Expanding the Pie While Eating It?1:17:03 — How Useful Are Custom GPTs for Companies?1:20:34 — Workflows vs AI Workforce-------------India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Marketers' roles are changing, but their goals are still the same: reach and engage customers, meeting them where they are, and for better or worse, often needing to do more with less while delivering greater value. Agility requires both adapting to change quickly while also having the wisdom to know which changes truly matter. It demands a delicate balance between embracing new technologies and staying laser-focused on core business objectives. Today, we are here in New York City at Opticon25. We are going to talk about the growing role of AI for both marketers and consumers, how organizations can leverage an agentic platform to create better internal and external customer experiences, and how marketers can both do more with less while delivering exponentially greater value. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Rupali Jain, Chief Product Officer and Kevin Li, SVP Product at Optimizely. About Rupali JainRupali Jain is the Chief Product Officer at Optimizely. Previously she has held product leadership roles at several SaaS software companies, including Microsoft's PowerBI and Qualtrics. Throughout her two-decade career, Rupali has shared Optimizely's vision of prioritizing the end user's daily needs. Rupali is committed to advancing practical, growth-driving applications of AI and machine learning to help marketers take control of their workflows, experiment at scale, and deliver digital experiences that meet and exceed customer expectations Rupali Jain on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupali/⁠ About Kevin LiAt Optimizely (previously Episerver before rebrand), I describe my job as a "tale of two mirrors" with one being a telescope and one being a microscope. On the telescope side of product strategy, I own long-term strategy covering build/buy/partner, M&A (thesis, due diligence, etc.), new product launches (SaaS CMS, Personalization, etc.), analyst relations (leader in 11 categories across Gartner, Forrester, and IDC), etc. On the microscope side of product operations, I own the product commercialization process, product operations, product analytics, documentation, and competitive intelligence. Kevin Li on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinsyli/ Resources Optimizely: https://www.optimizely.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Don't Miss MAICON 2025, October 14-16 in Cleveland - the event bringing together the brights minds and leading voices in AI. Use Code AGILE150 for $150 off registration. Go here to register: https://bit.ly/agile150 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Join me as I chat with Cody Schneider about AI Search. Cody explains that while AI search (GEO) is generating buzz, it currently represents a small portion of overall search volume compared to traditional search engines. The value lies in highly qualified leads, with conversion rates of 10-40% from AI search traffic. To optimize for AI search, businesses need to identify which URLs are being referenced by AI for relevant queries and work to get their brand mentioned on those pages. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:51 - What is GEO/AI search? 02:18 - Who GEO is most effective for? 08:16 - How AI search actually functions 12:31 - Tools and strategies for optimizing for AI search 16:45 - Why are people obsessed with GEO 19:56 - Discussion of available tracking tools 22:41 - Final Thoughts on AI Search and GEO Key Points: • GEO (AI Search) refers to search queries through AI platforms like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Gemini • AI search works by expanding user queries into multiple derivative searches, then scraping top Google results • Most effective for businesses with long purchasing decision timelines (SaaS, local service businesses) • Success requires getting your brand mentioned on multiple high-ranking pages that AI references The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: boringmarketing.com  The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: thevibemarketer.com Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg  Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND CODY ON SOCIAL Cody's startup: https://www.graphed.com  X/Twitter: https://x.com/codyschneiderxx  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@codyschneiderx

SaaStr 820: The Complete Guide  to Vibe Coding  Without a Developer with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin Join us in this episode as we dive into the world of vibe coding with a prosumer approach. SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin shares his extensive journey of building production-ready applications without a developer, using platforms like Replit and Lovable. From initial excitement to hard-earned lessons, learn about the strengths, challenges, and key takeaways from creating and deploying vibe-coded apps. Discover why the hype around 'building an app in 20 minutes' is often misleading, and understand the importance of thorough planning, competitive research, and mastering your platform. Whether you're a founder, aspiring app creator, or tech enthusiast, this episode will provide valuable insights into the future of no-code and low-code development.   ----------------------- This episode is sponsored by Intercom  Fin is the #1 AI Agent for resolving complex queries like refunds, transaction disputes, and technical troubleshooting—all with speed and reliability. See how Fin can deliver the highest resolution rates and highest-quality customer experience at fin.ai/saastr. --------------------- If you're serious about B2B and AI, you need to be in London this December 2nd and 3rd.   SaaStr AI London is bringing together more than 2,000 leaders and founders for two days of practical advice on scaling into the new year.    We'll have speakers flying in from OpenAI, Wiz, Clay, Intercom, and all your favorite SaaS companies, including yours truly with Harry Stebbings for a live 20VC podcast. It'll be fun, and it's all in the heart of London.    Don't miss out: get your tickets with my exclusive discount by going to podcast.saastrlondon.com   ---------------------   Hey everybody, the biggest B2B + AI event of the year will be back - SaaStr AI in the SF Bay Area, aka the SaaStr Annual, will be back in May 2026.    With 68% VP-level and above, 36% CEOs and founders and a growing 25% AI-first professional, this is the very best of the best S-tier attendees and decision makers that come to SaaStr each year.     But here's the reality, folks: the longer you wait, the higher ticket prices can get. Early bird tickets are available now, but once they're gone, you'll pay hundreds more so don't wait.    Lock in your spot today by going to podcast podcast.saastrannual.com to get my exclusive discount SaaStr AI SF 2026. We'll see you there.

I'm thrilled to welcome Bill Rice to Noob School for Episode 151 — joining us over Zoom to talk about how counterintelligence thinking, data-driven marketing, and AI are reshaping lead generation and business exits.Bill's one of those rare people who's walked serious, structured careers in two very different worlds. He started his professional life as a U.S. Air Force officer running counterespionage and information-warfare activities — an experience that sharpened his analytical approach to patterns, risk, and human behavior. From there he moved into entrepreneurship and marketing, founding Kaleidico and later Bill Rice Strategy Group to help companies build predictable lead-generation engines. Over the last 20+ years he's focused on fintech and B2B clients, building scalable sales systems and teaching teams how to convert marketing into reliable revenue.In this wide-ranging conversation we dig into:How lessons from counterespionage translate to modern marketing: spotting patterns, validating signals, and avoiding confirmation bias.Practical frameworks Bill uses to build predictable demand-generation for fintech and SaaS companies — what to measure, what to automate, and where human judgment still wins.Real talk on AI: what founders should actually expect from AI today, how to integrate it into content and outreach without losing product-market fit, and cheap experiments that move the needle.Preparing a business for acquisition: what buyers look for in lead-gen systems and the operational readiness that increase valuation.If you run a startup, lead a sales or marketing team, or are thinking about scaling (or selling) your business, this episode is full of tactical steps and thought experiments you can use tomorrow. Pull up a chair, grab your notes, and let's learn how strategic thinking, data, and a little military-grade pattern recognition can make your marketing less messy and more profitable.Get your sales in rhythm with The Sterling Method: https://SterlingSales.co I'm going to be sharing my secrets on all my social channels, but if you want them all at your fingertips, start with my book, Sales for Noobs: https://amzn.to/3tiaxsL Subscribe to our newsletter today: https://bit.ly/3Ned5kL #SalesTraining #B2BSales #SalesExcellence #SalesStrategy #BusinessGrowth #SalesLeadership #SalesSuccess #SalesCoaching #SalesSkills #SalesInnovation #SalesTips #SalesPerformance #SalesTransformation #SalesTeamDevelopment #SalesMotivation #SalesEnablement #SalesGoals #SalesExpertise #SalesInsights #SalesTrends#salestrends

Episode Overview In this episode of the John Kitchens Coach Podcast, John sits down with Steve Zahnd to unpack his journey from running an independent brokerage to leading a three-team merger under Real. They dive into what it takes to lead at scale, why decision-making filters are critical, and how AI is reshaping leadership, communication, and execution. From lessons learned building SaaS systems to navigating the emotional psychology of mergers, Steve shares how clarity, trust, and technology combine to create exponential growth. Whether you're leading a team, scaling a brokerage, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve with AI, this episode is packed with insights on balancing fundamentals with innovation. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Steve's Journey & The Three-Team Merger How Steve went from Century 21 to running his own brokerage to merging three major teams Why core values and vision alignment were non-negotiable in the merger decision Lessons from missing the EXP wave and how that shaped his second chance with Real Leadership & Decision-Making The two filters Steve uses to make big decisions (and avoid blind spots) Why letting go of your brand can be the key to leveling up How to build trust among partners and stay in your lane AI & Operational Excellence Why Steve loads every meeting, document, and decision into his “AI Brain” How AI acts as a strategic thought partner (and where it still falls short) Using AI to improve communication, remove emotion, and accelerate speed of execution Fundamentals & Balance Why AI isn't a replacement for fundamentals but an accelerator The role of project managers and integrators in keeping teams on track How to capture, validate, and prioritize ideas without losing focus Resources & Mentions CoachKitchens.ai – AI coaching tool designed for real estate leaders The Creative Act by Rick Rubin – On faith, creativity, and problem solving Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman – Understanding the Visionary/Integrator relationship Science of Scaling by Ben Hardy – Setting impossible goals with impossible timelines Final Takeaway Growth doesn't come from chasing shortcuts—it comes from clarity, trust, and execution. As Steve puts it, merging three teams and leading at scale is less about having all the answers and more about asking the right questions, leveraging technology, and trusting the process. “AI isn't here to replace leaders—it's here to make great leaders faster, clearer, and more effective.” – Steve Zahnd Connect with Us: Instagram: @johnkitchenscoach LinkedIn: @johnkitchenscoach Facebook: @johnkitchenscoach   If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a review. Stay tuned for more insights and strategies from the top minds. See you next time!

Connect with Manthan Patel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leadgenmanthan/

Eoghan McCabe is the Co-founder and CEO of Intercom, building Fin.ai, the AI customer service company.This was an extremely candid, two hour conversation going inside every detail of how Intercom was the first late stage software company to successfully re-architect itself to be AI-native.Intercom just announced they've built their own customer service-focused AI models, and Eoghan explains why most software companies will have to do the same.We also talk through the lessons he learned coming back to run Intercom in 2022 after stepping back in 2020, why many AI companies have strong negative gross margins despite the narrative, how Intercom designed AI's first outcome-based pricing model, the challenges of buying AI software today, the importance of brand when building new products, and we get in the wayback machine, talking through the pain raising Intercom's initial million dollar Seed round, and how venture capital has changed since then.Thank you to Eoghan's Co-founder Des Traynor for helping me brainstorm topics for the conversation.Special thanks to Ramp for supporting this episode. It's the corporate card and expense management platform used by over 40,000 companies, like Shopify, CBRE and Stripe. Time is money. Save both with Ramp. Get $250 for signing-up here: https://ramp.com/ThePeelTimestamps:(4:18) We're at peak SaaS(9:11) Inside early days of Intercom's turnaround(16:43) AI will beat humans at everything(21:17) Making trade-offs building AI products(24:25) Why Intercom trained their own AI models(28:33) Lessons from returning as CEO(34:19) Overcoming initial AI skepticism in 2022(40:02) Creating AI's first outcome-based pricing(45:15) Intercom's best-in-class gross margins(49:25) Why its so hard to buy AI software today(51:28) Unpacking AI's negative gross margins(58:12) Being perfectly positioned for AI(1:09:47) Why AI products need their own brand(1:16:13) Founder CEOs vs Manager CEOs in AI(1:21:29) AI startup opportunities(1:24:57) Lessons running a team in Dublin and SF(1:28:25) How media has changed over time(1:37:32) Raising Intercom's first $1 million Seed round(1:43:53) Why there are so many VC's(1:47:38) Advice for investorsReferencedIntercom: https://www.intercom.com/Fin: https://fin.ai/Intercom Careers: https://www.intercom.com/careersEoghan's website: https://eoghanmccabe.comIntercom's first pitch deck: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/intercompitchdeckpdf/253317574Follow EoghanTwitter: https://x.com/eoghanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eoghanmccabeFollow TurnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovakSubscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/

How do you build a tech company from scratch, scale it without venture capital, and sell it for $25 million? Sharon Gillenwater did exactly that—and today, she's sharing the secrets, lessons, and mindset that made it happen. If you're curious about entrepreneurship, bootstrapping, and making big impact, this is one conversation you can't miss!

Yoav Oz is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rep AI, the conversational commerce platform giving online shoppers the kind of guided experience you'd expect from an in-store salesperson.The spark came from Yoav's own frustration: landing on ecommerce sites where he was ready to buy but stuck with eight pages of product copy and no one to answer his questions. Call centers felt broken. Chatbots felt generic. Out of that gap came Rep,  short for “representative”: an AI sales assistant trained to step in at the exact right moment, with the context of everything a shopper has clicked, viewed, or abandoned.Yoav isn't building alone. Alongside him is Shauli Mizrahi, Rep's CTO and co-founder, who brings years of experience in behavioral AI. Together, they've built a tool that doesn't just cut support costs: it upsells, converts hesitant browsers, and helps brands maximize the traffic they've already paid to bring in.Their story blends SaaS know-how with ecommerce scrappiness: from proving AI could act like a real salesperson, to showing how conversational data can optimize entire funnels, to scaling integrations that slot into any brand's existing stack.Whether you're running a DTC store, trying to push up average order value, or rethinking how AI fits into your tech stack, Yoav shares a candid look at why the ecommerce funnel is broken and how Rep AI is working to fix it.In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:48] Intro[01:22] Sharing career paths before entrepreneurship[03:23] Bridging gaps between chatbots and consumers[07:01] Shifting mindset from support to revenue[08:33] Training AI with millions of conversations[12:55] Optimizing websites beyond guesswork[15:41] Creating experiences that drive purchases[17:16] Personalizing offers beyond discounts[18:11] Customizing tone of voice for every brandResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeeCommerce shopping AI agent www.hellorep.ai/Follow Yoav Oz linkedin.com/in/yoavozFollow Shauli Mizrahi linkedin.com/in/shaulimizrachyIf you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

In this episode, we talk about how Rick can overhaul the LegUp Health website to fit their new positioning.

About Justin Hammond:Justin Hammond is a B2B SaaS growth strategist specializing in actionable, checklist-driven playbooks that help founders transform trial users into loyal customers. With over a decade of experience scaling high-growth companies including Book Like a Boss, Justin has become a trusted voice on data-driven onboarding, sustainable growth strategies, and practical frameworks that deliver immediate wins. His approach focuses on granular, implementable tactics rather than high-level theory.Show Notes:01:48 Users signing up to see onboarding flows05:23 Step one to a great onboarding flow: user research07:07 Step two to a great onboarding flow: identify high-converting actions09:02 What should good onboarding emails accomplish in a flow?11:40 Onboarding advice for early-stage startups14:21 Overcoming gaps in Time to First Value during onboarding21:14 How will AI shift SaaS onboarding?24:42 Why you shouldn't try to increase product adoption during onboarding

Industrial Talk is onsite at Xcelerate 2025 and talking to Michael Mills, Technical Sales Manager at Fluke Reliability about "Connected Reliability with EMaint". Scott MacKenzie interviews Michael Mills, Technical Sales Manager at Fluke Reliability, about the eMaint X5 system. X5, the third version in three years, is a scalable, cloud-based system designed for global deployment, integrating data from various locations and currencies. It supports standardized benchmarking and offers a unified dashboard for executive views. X5 also includes a spare parts inventory section and integrates with Azima's vibration analysis for automated work order generation. Future developments focus on standardization, mobile enhancements, and AI/machine learning to improve data accuracy and user experience. Action Items [ ] Reach out to Michael Mills on LinkedIn to connect and learn more about email and Fluke Reliability's solutions. Outline Introduction and Welcome Scott MacKenzie introduces the Industrial Talk podcast, highlighting its focus on industry professionals and innovations. Scott MacKenzie welcomes listeners and thanks them for their support, mentioning the platform's celebration of industry professionals. Scott MacKenzie announces the broadcast from the Accelerate 2025 event, sponsored by Fluke Reliability. Scott MacKenzie introduces Michael Mills, the Technical Sales Manager with Fluke Reliability, and expresses excitement about discussing various topics. Discussion on Autonomous Cars and Personal Backgrounds Scott MacKenzie and Michael Mills discuss their experiences with autonomous cars, specifically Waymo. Michael Mills shares his positive experience with the autonomous car, noting the absence of a driver. Scott MacKenzie mentions his son's experience with the autonomous car and expresses excitement about the future of such technology. Michael Mills provides a brief background on himself, mentioning his 10-year tenure with Fluke Reliability and his focus on software and integrated systems. Overview of eMaint X5 System Scott MacKenzie expresses enthusiasm for the connected reliability effort at Fluke Reliability. Michael Mills explains the evolution of the eMaint system, from X3 to X5, highlighting the modern technology and scalability of X5. Michael Mills discusses the global deployment capabilities of X5, including support for different currencies and time zones. Scott MacKenzie inquires about the system's ability to provide an executive view of data across multiple sites, and Michael Mills confirms its capabilities. Currency and Scalability of eMaint X5 Scott MacKenzie asks about the system's handling of currency and exchange rates, and Michael Mills confirms its ability to pull and translate data from different databases. Michael Mills discusses the ongoing development and integration of new technologies like Zima and Proof Technica into the eMaint system. Scott MacKenzie and Michael Mills discuss the architectural vision of eMate as a hub for seamless connectivity and integration with other systems. Michael Mills emphasizes the importance of standardization and the ability to scale the system across multiple locations. Cloud Transition and Support Scott MacKenzie and Michael Mills discuss the transition from on-premise to cloud-based systems, with eMaint being one of the first to adopt a SaaS platform. Michael Mills highlights the benefits of cloud-based systems,...

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 23:00:00 GMT http://relay.fm/upgrade/580 http://relay.fm/upgrade/580 Iconic Plateau 580 Jason Snell and Myke Hurley From the iPhone Air to the iPhone 17 models, from AirPods Pro 3 to the new Apple Watches, we break down all the announcements from the September Apple Media Event! From the iPhone Air to the iPhone 17 models, from AirPods Pro 3 to the new Apple Watches, we break down all the announcements from the September Apple Media Event! clean 5664 From the iPhone Air to the iPhone 17 models, from AirPods Pro 3 to the new Apple Watches, we break down all the announcements from the September Apple Media Event! This episode of Upgrade is sponsored by: Fitbod: Get stronger, faster with a fitness plan that fits you. Get 25% off your membership. Oracle: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is a single platform for your infrastructure, database, application development, and AI needs. 1Password: Discover SaaS applications, automate lifecycle management, and optimize SaaS spend. ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Links and Show Notes: Get Upgrade+. More content, no ads. Submit Feedback

Today's show:In this TWiST founder triple-shot, Alex digs into the real-world rollout of AI agents: Paid.ai's Manny Medina explains agent economics and value-based pricing, iTruckr's Camilo Ramirez shows agents booking loads and coordinating drivers, and Tenax's Elise Myrans demos computer vision + drones that score a single home's wildfire/flood risk for smarter underwriting—plus live office-hours on winning enterprise pilots without getting stuck in PoC purgatory.Timestamps:(00:00) Brainstorming hacks for sales cycles in regulated industries — castles, moats & alligators!(03:50) Meet Paid.ai: tracking costs & monetization for AI agents(04:35) Paid.ai's Manny Medina on the “year of agents” & early enterprise traction(09:04) Netsuite - Download the ebook CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at https://www.netsuite.com/twist(11:06) The tough economics of AI agents vs SaaS — margins squeezed by tokens(18:20) How Paid.ai gets granular: tracking signals & agent activity with OpenTelemetry(21:20) Coda - Empower your startup with Coda's Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist(29:16) Enter iTruckr: Camilo Ramirez brings AI dispatch to the freight industry(31:43) .TECH: Say it without saying it. Head to get.tech/twist or your favorite registrar to get a clean, sharp .tech domain today.(39:02) Scaling from small fleets to mid-sized trucking companies — lessons from AI Trucker(55:59) Tenax ai helps homeowners & insurers manage wildfire, flood & climate riskSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Lon:X: https://x.com/lonsFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisThank you to our partners:(09:04) Netsuite - Download the ebook CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at https://www.netsuite.com/twist(21:20) Coda - Empower your startup with Coda's Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist(31:43) .TECH: Say it without saying it. Head to get.tech/twist or your favorite registrar to get a clean, sharp .tech domain today.Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.comSubscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916