#388 – How Panos Siozos reached 12.5K customers across 150 countries

A story about solving two problems everyone else picks between.

This episode is for SaaS founders with deep domain expertise—and wondering why the market isn't responding the way they expected.

Most SaaS companies struggle because they know what the solution should be.

Panos Siozos, CEO of Learnworlds, came from a research background in educational technology—three generations of teachers, deep pedagogical expertise. He could have built the pedagogically perfect platform.

Instead, he put the scientists in the backseat and listened to what customers actually needed. That decision took him from building in isolation to 12,500 customers across 150 countries.

This inspired me to invite Panos to my podcast. We explore why expertise becomes dangerous when it drowns out customer truth. Panos shares what happens when your expertise blinds you to what customers already know. You'll discover why Learnworlds wins where every competitor chooses: learning depth or selling power.

We also zoom in on three of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies:

• They offer something valuable AND desirable
• They master the art of curiosity
• They create NEW value possibilities

Panos's story is proof that customer problems beat perfect solutions.

Here's one of Panos's quotes that captures his customer-first philosophy:

"We put the scientists in the backseat. We said, Okay, now we may be theoretical experts in pedagogy and educational technology, but these guys, they have a problem. We need to solve their real problem, not the things that we have in our mind."

By listening to this episode, you'll learn:

• Why theoretical expertise becomes dangerous when it silences customer problems
• What happens when you marry deep capability with practical customer needs
• When customers show you markets you never planned to serve
• Why solving today's customer problem beats building tomorrow's perfect product

Guest Info

Guest: Panos Siozos, CEO & Co-founder Learnworlds Website: www.learnworlds.com