The SaaS Revolution Show

In this engaging discussion, Mark Roberge, Co-Founder at Stage 2 Capital and the mind behind HubSpot's sales team, shares insights on effective sales strategies. He dives into the concept of a recruitment agency within companies and the shift towards Product-Led Growth in SaaS. Mark emphasizes the value of extended trial periods for software and the complexities of partner channels for early-stage companies. His blend of practical experience and academic wisdom offers a fresh perspective on navigating sales dynamics in the SaaS landscape.

Chris Walker, CEO of Passetto and former founder of Refine Labs, shares profound insights on demand generation for SaaS businesses. He emphasizes the importance of CEOs actively participating in marketing and understanding customer behaviors. The rise of 'dark social' and its impact on B2B marketing is discussed, alongside challenges in measuring ROI. Chris advocates for a customer-centric approach, effective use of platforms like LinkedIn and TikTok, and the significance of community engagement in driving success.

Live from the SaaStock USA 2024 Scale Stage, Ashley Kramer, GitLab’s Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, sits down with AJ Eckstein, Founder & Creator at Creator Match and Fast Company. Together, they explore the imminent shift in how companies measure AI's impact on efficiency, questioning whether the productivity gains truly justify the risks and costs associated with AI adoption. Ashley argues that forward-thinking companies must move beyond traditional output metrics and focus on those that reflect real business value—such as enhanced software quality, faster time-to-market, consistent delivery, and, most importantly, improved customer satisfaction.Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: 13-15 May 2025 | Austin, Texas. Connect, learn and thrive at the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. https://saastock-usa.com/tickets/ 🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe 2025: 12-14 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland. "The best SaaS conference for founders, execs & investors in Europe, period." - Christoph Janz, Partner, Point Nine. https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Steve Oriola, CEO at Unbounce, who shares the leadership lessons he's learnt from navigating a SaaS M&A and the transformation AI has had on business. "We also survey base of employees and those values are landing pretty well. That's an important part of it, is that people understand how everyone works and how everyone should be working and how we should be making decisions. And we correct ourselves all the time on that." Steve shares: • How he's steering the marketing tech ship through choppy waters - from perfecting landing pages to building an AI-powered platform that actually tells you which customers are worth chasing • The behind-the-scenes of marrying two companies' cultures; complete with leadership team matchmaking and values that actually stuck • Why he's betting big on AI being more than just a buzzword • The secret sauce to staying sane as a CEO, including cold plunges, fitness regimes, and the art of not bringing work drama home (even when your spouse is in the industry) • How he's tackling his biggest CEO headache with everything from Berlin Q&As to leadership pow-wows and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: 13-15 May 2025 | Austin, Texas. Connect, learn and thrive at the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. https://saastock-usa.com/tickets/ 🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe 2025: 12-14 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland. "The best SaaS conference for founders, execs & investors in Europe, period." - Christoph Janz, Partner, Point Nine. https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Kevin Hu, Co-Founder & CEO at Metaplane, who shares how they navigated Metaplane's journey from pivot to Series A and beyond. "Most of us come from tens of thousands of years of subsistence farmers and we're one of the first generations that has the opportunity to build something that can have a large impact with software and capitals leveraged. And when it comes to the CEO job, one can hope that the problems never stop. When the problems stop, I think that's when growth stops. The best case scenario is when the problems are new problems all the time and it doesn't feel like Groundhog Day." Kevin shares: • The reasons that drove Metaplane to pivot (twice!) • The importance of attracting strong leaders and building a repeatable sales process as a company grows • His approach to decision-making and prioritisation; from the way he collects information to committing to decisions • Why being upfront about expectations and offering upside potential is crucial to recruiting top talent • Metaplane's unique onboarding process where new hires "ship something" on day one • Overcoming market headwinds through a product-led approach and land-and-expand strategy and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: 13-15 May 2025 | Austin, Texas. Connect, learn and thrive at the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. https://saastock-usa.com/tickets/ 🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe 2025: 12-14 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland. "The best SaaS conference for founders, execs & investors in Europe, period." - Christoph Janz, Partner, Point Nine. https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Abakar Saidov, CEO at Beamery, who shares his success story from Wall Street-er to tech unicorn. "A lot of entrepreneurs actually start businesses out of necessity. And necessity comes from two parts, either you have to do it because you have no other option, or you feel like you have to do it because you want the idea to exist so much. And usually I feel like if those are not your two reasons, one is like you can't imagine a world without this idea or you just have no choice. You're probably not going to make it through the the grind." Abakar shares: • On a mission to create equal access to work opportunities: The founding story of Beamery • Why customer experience is a key differentiator (and one of the reasons they've achieved such high NPS scores for implementations in an industry where low scores are common) • The top two qualities investors look for in founders • How evolving founder perspectives and motivations have shaped the company's growth • What he does to maintain energy after 10+ years as CEO • Why his ongoing process of growth and development is centred around Andy Grove's concept of the Competence Frontier and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: 13-15 May 2025 | Austin, Texas. Connect, learn and thrive at the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. https://saastock-usa.com/tickets/ 🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe 2025: 12-14 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland. "The best SaaS conference for founders, execs & investors in Europe, period." - Christoph Janz, Partner, Point Nine. https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Taylor Hersom, Founder & CEO at Eden Data, who shares insights into their global scaling journey during the pandemic. "Your reputation is everything as you're growing fast and trying to make it to your next round. And when you have multiple competitors in a space, you don't want your customer or prospect googling your name and seeing something like a data breach." Taylor shares: • His approach to growing the business; from focusing on partnerships and referrals to differentiating through branding and content marketing • Key security concerns for founders, including reputational damage and the need for certifications like SOC 2 to close deals • How he capitalised on the increased focus on cybersecurity during the pandemic as more businesses moved operations online • How they identified an underserved niche and tailored their offerings and messaging to serve them effectively • The one thing their team does to drive inbound leads and more!Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: 13-15 May 2025 | Austin, Texas. Connect, learn and thrive at the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. https://saastock-usa.com/tickets/ 🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe 2025: 12-14 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland. "The best SaaS conference for founders, execs & investors in Europe, period." - Christoph Janz, Partner, Point Nine. https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

Join Preston ‘PK’ Keller, founder of Emergent3, as he recounts his harrowing journey of facing a lawsuit from a corporate giant while building his SaaS business. He reveals how personal challenges, including the health struggles of his newborn, forced him to focus on positivity and resilience. Discover the pivotal moments that shifted his perspective and the value of relationships over material success. PK shares how embracing adversity led him to surprising triumphs in both his personal and professional life.

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Tony Jamous, Founder & CEO at Oyster HR, who shares how building Oyster HR as a mission driven company helped them scale to SaaS unicorn-dome. "It enabled me to also be detached from the outcome. So no matter what happens, we miss a quarter or somebody quits, then you're not reactive to that. Instead, you remain always centred on your goals, on your values, on your principles and more in an acceptance mode. This journey of building businesses, it's, it's highs and lows. So how can you remain yourself in a mode of clarity, stability, no matter the highs and the lows?" Tony shares: • Hyper growth in the early days during Covid: From achieving product market fit without having a full platform to going from zero to a billion in market cap in two years • Maintaining a mission driven culture: Why instilling meaning and importance to the work employees do you is the backbone of a successful mission driven organisation • Reducing headcount costs doesn't necessarily mean laying people off - it should be a strategic shift rather than a financial exercise • How he reprogrammed his nervous system to become a better leader and be less reactive • Behaviour is an equation that has two variables: who the people are and the environment they're in ( ...and the influence leaders have on them) and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: 13-15 May 2025 | Austin, Texas. Connect, learn and thrive at the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. https://saastock-usa.com/tickets/ 🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe 2025: 12-14 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland. "The best SaaS conference for founders, execs & investors in Europe, period." - Christoph Janz, Partner, Point Nine. https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Raluca Ragab, Head of UK & DACH at Eurazeo, who shares how to succeed as a growth company. "If you think of all the companies that had to raise a seed or series A in 2022, when it was hard, in 2023, when it was super hard, and even in 2024, anybody who's been successful to do that and is now graduating, right? So Maybe they were 1 million company in 2022 and they're 5 million in 2023 and they're now kind of becoming a growth stage company. Those companies, they were so scrutinised, they found it so hard to get funded that actually they have much stronger unit economics, they have great stories and they know how to deliver growth without having a bloated cost structure. So I do think that there's a second wave now of these companies that had to go through this kind of much harder time funding in their earlier stage and they never got to being efficient, that they just kind of got the basics and the fundamentals right and they're going to scale off a much more reasonable set of unit economics and cost structure." Raluca shares: • Being a visionary founder versus a 'good process' person • What it takes to build a successful growth stage company and get the right investment • Track records and unit economics: The metrics Raluca and her team prioritise • Europe's lack of global winners and business champions compared to in the US • How AI is lowering barriers to entry for software development to quasi zero and more! Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: 13-15 May 2025 | Austin, Texas. Connect, learn and thrive at the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. https://saastock-usa.com/tickets/ 🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe 2025: 12-14 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland. "The best SaaS conference for founders, execs & investors in Europe, period." - Christoph Janz, Partner, Point Nine. https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)