The possibilities of combining AI with the collective intelligence from hundreds of B2B companies to increase their customer acquisition efficiency are limitless. Stephen Messer, Founder and CEO of Collective [i] shares his unique insights into how the potential is becoming a reality for many B2B companies. During today's episode, Stephen and our host, Ray Rike will cover the following topics:The vision behind founding Collective[i] and the Economic Foundation ModelWhy buyer’s historic behavior is more important than a selling processThe challenges and benefits of a “give to get” collective for go-to-market data sharingIf you have ever used Waze to identify the shortest time from where you are to where you need to go, you understand the value of "collective intelligence". When you start to think about being able to understand which companies are most likely to buy your product and/or to understand why a specific customer buys, and who are the key decision makers you need to engage with, the possibilities that come to mind are limitless!Stephen shares how a Neural Network (AI) is being applied to Go-to-Market data to help B2B companies materially increase the ROI on their customer acquisition investments.Stephen shares how his experience founding LinkShare and the concept of affiliate networks is foundational to Collective {i}. Over 10 years ago, Stephen identified that salespeople create a new "roadmap" for every new opportunity. He envisioned building a network where everyone shares their sales process data anonymously so that the collective group can benefit from the collective wisdom generated by the group.The result was building one large neural network and creating an economic foundation model trained on how buyers buy from real-world processes.One of the fundamental premises is that companies cannot build their own neural network and thus not build their own foundational model - as they do not have the insights required into how new target companies actually buy.If you are responsible for leading a B2B Sales team, rely upon a sales team to achieve your financial plan, or are an individual sales professional who would like to know more about how a target customer or existing prospect buys, this conversation is one of the most thought-provoking discussions that we have had on the Metrics that Measure Up podcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SaaS company acquisition velocity will increase in 2025 and the role of marketplaces purpose built for buyer and sellers will become a must visit for both. If you are considering selling or buying a SaaS company, this discussion with Andrew Gazdecki, Founder and CEO at Acquire.com is a must listen. During the episode Andrew and our host, Ray Rike cover the following topics:The catalyst for founding Acquire.comThe trends in B2B SaaS start-up and early stage company acquisitionsTop lessons learned from the insights of hundreds of B2B SaaS acquisitionsSome of the key insights shared during the episode include:The value of preparing for the Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM)The importance of a discovery call with buyers prior to the Letter of Intent (LOI) The role of international buyers for U.S. companiesValuation expectations need to be realistic and reflect the current realityEBITDA is key for companies under $5M - know the current rangesDeal structures are widely varied - be open to different structuresGrowth Rate, Churn and Quality of Revenue are key metrics to highlightIf you are considering selling your SaaS company or a buyer thinking about buying an existing SaaS company, this conversation with Andrew Gazdecki, Founder and CEO of Acqiure.com is a must listen!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

HubSpot was an early mover in building a media asset inside a B2B SaaS company with the purchase of The Hustle in 2021. Rob Litterst is the Head of Growth for the HubSpot Media Network which has expanded far beyond those early days in building out their media network!During today's episode, Rob and Ray discuss many aspects of building, growing and measuring the business impact of a media asset within a B2B SaaS company including:The vision for building a media asset within a B2B SaaS Company Measuring the business impact of an internal media assetLessons learned from growing the HubSpot media networkIf you are a Chief Marketing Officer considering how or if to build a media brand within your B2B SaaS company, or a CFO or CEO considering approving the investment in developing media assets in our SaaS company, this conversation with some who have been involved in doing it at both ProfitWell (acquired by Paddle) and HubSpot provides insights that only come with the experiences of doing it in two of the industry's best examples!!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gary Survis, an Operating Partner at Insight Partners, and Ethan DeSilva, Head of Monetization Strategy, dive into the complex world of AI monetization in the SaaS sector. They discuss the crucial balance between revenue and user adoption, highlighting the need to evolve pricing strategies as value increases. The conversation covers the challenges businesses face, such as market readiness and trust in AI, and presents a structured approach to integrating AI effectively. Together, they offer valuable insights on navigating financial trade-offs and the importance of aligning monetization with customer goals.

Poya Osgouei has been responsible for securing sponsorships for some of the largest B2B events including SaaStr, Lenny's and Friends Summit, Elevate by Plato and shares his insights on the future of B2B tech events.During this episode, Poya and Ray discuss the following topics:The state of B2B tech eventsThe future of B2B tech eventsCommunity, Brand or Revenue - the "why" behind B2B tech eventsThe Power of NetworkingThe ROI of B2B tech eventsIf you are considering hosting a b2b tech event, sponsoring a b2b tech event or attending a b2b tech event, this episode is chalked full of insights, perspectives and the return on investment thesis to consider.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apurv Bansal, Founder and CEO of Zenskar, a cutting-edge billing platform, discusses the shift towards variable pricing models like Usage-Based and Value-Based Pricing. He highlights the complexities these models introduce to billing, emphasizing the need for real-time integration of usage data to ensure transparency and customer trust. Apurv also shares insights on revenue management, the importance of customer experience, and challenges for early-stage SaaS companies. Additionally, he provides valuable advice for aspiring B2B tech founders, stressing passion and patience in entrepreneurship.

J.T. Cecchini, CEO of LevelUp Finance, brings his expertise in financial reporting for SaaS companies to the discussion. He delves into the complexities of B2B SaaS reporting systems as firms scale beyond $20M. The talk emphasizes the importance of accurate metrics like ARR and a unified data strategy to attract investors. J.T. also introduces the 5x5 Reporting Matrix and a Valuation Framework tailored for SaaS, highlighting how these tools can enhance investor confidence and streamline financial decision-making.

Godard Abel, CEO of G2 and Chad Gold, CFO at G2 led a session at SaaS Metrics Palooza 24'. This is an audio only version of their fireside chat with Metrics that Measure Up host, Ray Rike.During this episode, Godard, Chad and Ray discuss the following topics:When does a company need to hire a CFOWhat is the partnership dynamics between a CEO and CFOWhat are the investor and board responsibilities for a CEO vs CFO at G2What metrics become more important as a company scales to $100M ARR and aboveIf you are a B2B SaaS company, you already know G2 and this conversation is a great opportunity to learn how they use metrics to lead the company to the next level of success!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Imagine a career journey starting as a software developer at NASA, then a B2C video service developer, moving on to the role of a general manager at game developer Zynga, and next heading to be the Head of Growth at Postmates - an early to food delivery service and now founding an FP&A platform company for the Office of Finance - that is the journey of Siqi Chen, Founder and CEO at Runway!During this conversation, we cover three topics with Siqi including:The catalyst for founding a B2B FP&A software companyThe evolution of the Office of FinanceThe importance of User Experience for B2B SoftwareSiqi highlighted his lack of comfort with company financials as a primary catalyst for founding a Financial Planning and Analysis software company. During Covid, Siqi was required to quickly "re-plan" his company financials to present to his VC investor, Andreessen Horowitz and began to understand the pain of existing financial planning processes and the associated software.One of the primary beliefs that Siqi brings to FP&A is that finance has historically been about reporting, but going into the future will become a strategic function and requires a deeper level of business understanding and the ability to model multiple possible scenarios to develop clarity of the path forward.Siqi highlighted the importance of providing the board a solid forward-looking plan, but also the ability to leverage real-time data across multiple systems to aid the decision-making process.  As a company evolves, the number of business systems increases materially and creates a real challenge in using spreadsheets to model business scenarios that depend upon data from multiple systems.Viewing a model as a "business simulation", using strategies from game development is a unique perspective that Siqi's experience in gaming company Zynga. One of the barriers in moving beyond Excel is that as companies scale, it is not about eliminating the use of Excel, it is about highlighting the existing pains of using Excel for financial modeling including the increasing challenges of ingesting data from multiple systems, collaboration across multiple departments and being able to plan on a segment by segment basis.Another challenge in growing companies is that every department has its own "excel model" to plan its function, which is great for a smaller company, but makes it almost impossible to bring 4 - 5 different department models together into one master "company plan".  Hence the requirement for a company-wide FP&A solution that can facilitate collaboration between every department in building a company-wide plan.Finally, we discussed how the learnings from the B2C world help in running a B2B company. First, Siqi highlighted that "unlearning" is a key trait as some strategies that work for building a consumer product do not easily translate into a B2B business. One of the key insights is the importance of speaking to the target users versus using your intuition. Another key un-learning is that the "users" of B2B software are typically NOT the buyers of the software, so the approach to both user experience and messaging must reflect the needs of the economic buyer and the users.If you care about measurements, care about data and are looking for a better way to manage business modeling and having real-time data available to facilitate decision making - this conversation with Siqi is a great listen!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bill MaCaitis, former CMO at Slack, Zendesk, and Salesforce, shares his wealth of knowledge on B2B marketing metrics. He discusses lessons learned from leading brands and the importance of integrating brand building with lead generation. Bill emphasizes a shift from traditional metrics to a more nuanced approach that values brand awareness and customer-centric metrics. He also explores the impact of AI on marketing metrics and product-led growth strategies, emphasizing a cohesive customer experience and the significance of technology skills in advancing careers.