How to Win podcast with Peep Laja

Finding Your Focus - with Blackthorn's Chris Federspiel

Jan 8, 2024

Chris Federspiel, CEO of Blackthorn.io, discusses the company's strategic growth in the Salesforce ecosystem and the role of customer feedback. Topics include go-to-market strategies, target customers, effective acquisition channels, and the importance of focus and industry expertise. They also touch on challenges in product development, shifting market focus, and working with partners for customer acquisition.

26:53

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Episode guests

Chris Federspiel

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Quick takeaways

Blackthorn.io found initial success by focusing on the Salesforce ecosystem and targeting the higher education and nonprofit verticals with a payments app integrated with Stripe.

By understanding the needs of their target customers in the higher education and nonprofit sectors, Blackthorn.io was able to streamline their marketing efforts and significantly scale their revenue.

Deep dives

Focus on a niche salesforce ecosystem

Blackthorn.io focused on the Salesforce ecosystem, specifically targeting the app exchange. They identified a technical gap and built a payments app that was simpler and integrated with Stripe. By catering to the higher education and nonprofit verticals, they found their initial focus, which helped them gain traction and visibility in their target market.

Introduction

2min

Building, Challenges, and Revenue Growth

2min

Finding Success Through Focus and Market Strategy

6min

Apps and Products Offered by the Company

4min

Shifting Market Focus, Increasing Prices, and Challenges

2min

Working with Partners and Acquisition Channels

11min

This week on How To Win: Chris Federspiel of Blackthorn.io, a company specializing in Salesforce integration and application development. You’ll hear about Blackthorn's strategic approach to the Salesforce ecosystem, the critical role of customer feedback in shaping their product development, and the journey of focusing their offerings to achieve significant growth in the competitive SaaS market.

Key Points:

00:00:16 How did Blackthorn achieve its growth?
00:01:30 How long to build first product?
00:03:36 Time to hit 1 million ARR?
00:04:21 Target customers for your products?
00:06:09 Explain go-to-market strategy?
00:08:18 Go-to-market for growth acceleration?
00:09:54 Current product lineup?
00:14:10 Target customer segment evolution?
00:16:09 Effective customer acquisition channels?
00:17:42 Monitoring competition?
00:19:12 Unsuccessful strategic bets?
00:21:45 Importance of company focus?
00:22:12 What set Blackthorn apart from others?
00:24:00 Top advice for B2B founders?
00:25:57 How did Blackthorn win?

Mentioned:

Chris Federspiel

Blackthorn.io
Chris Federspiel's X

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