Grow Your B2B SaaS S7E20 - How SaaS Companies Will Scale in 2026: GTM Efficiency, RevOps, and Word-of-Mouth Growth with Koen Stam
How will SaaS Companies scale in 2026? The next era of SaaS growth won’t be won by adding more reps, more tools, or more noise. In this episode, go-to-market operator Koen Stam (Personio) breaks down why 2026 will mark a decisive shift from people-heavy scaling to process-first, data-driven, efficiency-led growth—and what founders must do now to stay ahead.
Koen oversees international revenue operations across Benelux, DACH, the Nordics, Spain, and beyond, and he brings a rare operator’s lens to the future of GTM. He unpacks how founder-led, sales-led, and hybrid motions will evolve; why RevOps is about to become one of the most strategic functions in SaaS; and why fixing the data layer is the non-negotiable prerequisite to making AI actually work.
You’ll learn why the biggest upside in 2026 will come from retention, expansion, and word of mouth, how to design motions that scale with simplicity and discipline, and what it really takes to build from 0 to 10K MRR and to 10M ARR with one product, one audience, and one crystal-clear process.
A must-listen for founders, operators, and GTM leaders building for the next wave of SaaS.
Key Timecodes
(0:00) - Intro: B2B SaaS go-to-market 2026, RevOps, AI, retention, expansion
(1:13) - Guest intro: Koen Stam, Personio, international RevOps, HR tech
(2:04) - 2026 GTM strategy: process-first, data-driven, efficiency-led growth
(2:47) - GTM motions: founder-led vs sales-led vs hybrid, authenticity, efficiency
(4:02) - Efficiency in SaaS: bow tie model, customer journey mapping, root causes
(5:35) - RevOps priority: data layer, metrics, RevOps to CRO
(6:38) - AI in GTM: fix data foundations, process over people
(7:26) - Retention & expansion: word-of-mouth, NRR, customer-led growth
(9:20) - Sponsor: Reditus affiliate and referral platform for B2B SaaS
(10:14) - Word-of-mouth playbook: product value, customer success, community events
(12:06) - Build GTM from scratch: founder-led content, AI amplification, simplify
(13:59) - Referrals & partners: partner ecosystem, trust, incentives, win-win
(15:26) - Zero to 10K MRR: one offer, one ICP, focus, execution
(16:54) - Scale to 10M ARR: one product, one market, process-first, data model
(17:37) - Connect with Koen: LinkedIn, Substack, AI learnings
(17:55) - Audience building: LinkedIn vs Substack, creator-led growth
(18:27) - Outro: subscribe, sponsor, Reditus, Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast