The SaaSiest Podcast

In this episode, we speak with Bas van Wijk, VP Commercial Operations, AskCody, the Meeting Management Platform for Microsoft that's driving meeting efficiency through an intelligent Meeting Management and Resource scheduling Platform, and has helped shape the relationship between real estate, organizations, and technology at more than 2500 offices globally. We talked with Bas about getting your inbound lead engine going! In particular, we are looking into the process of some of the early steps in this process: - Per definition, what does it mean to be an inbound-driven business? - What are the main difficulties moving from a sales-led to a marketing/inbound-led approach? - Which are some of the very steps to take here, and why in that order? - How do you manage the potential revenue gap that may take place in a transition period? - What changes does this require to a team and org structure that previously was sales-led? - What effects does it have on revenue predictability? These are some of the many questions we address with Bas. Please tune in to hear how Bas successfully executed this transition and now operating a fully inbound-led business, sharing his learnings along the way.

In this episode, we speak with Ingrid Bonde Akerlind, Principal, Oxx, a specialist SaaS investor, who provides each entrepreneur with a support system of unique specialist expertise and network, and a culture of unfaltering partnership and absolute conviction. The firm’s strategy is built around the concept of “Go-To-Market Fit” (GTMF), developing a structure for thinking about how to build a repeatable, sustainable growth engine that accelerates and propels the growth of SaaS companies. We talked with Ingrid about what happens after you find Product-Market-Fit (PMF)! In particular, what are some of the key decisions to get right at this point and common pitfalls to avoid: - What is the difference between PMF vs GTMF? - Which metrics matter at this point and why? How do you know if your commercial initiatives will bring you closer to your target unit economics? - What decisions are key to make regarding your organization and team structure at this phase? - How can you leverage go-to-market experiments, and what are they anyway? - What are the signs that your SaaS has truly achieved Go-To-Market fit? These are some of the many questions we address with Ingrid. Please tune in to hear when Ingrid untangles what happens after you graduate from the “seed stage” and need to figure out how to (re)organize your efforts as you grow.

In this episode, we speak with Markus Ståhlberg, CEO & Co-Founder, N.Rich, the Account-based GTM Platform best suited for fast-growing mid-market and enterprise companies. It's been recognized in the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Account-Based Marketing Platforms report and is the only provider Headquartered in Europe. We talked with Markus about how to approach a market where you are up against competition that has more funding, bigger teams, and greater spending! In particular, we are looking into the process of outplaying them rather than outspending them: - How do you differentiate your offering in a market with larger competitors, and ensure it resonates with your target customers? - What tactics can be used to get the initial attention on your terms? - Can limited resources, in fact, be a competitive edge? How can you leverage that you are a “smaller” player towards the customer? - What strategies are feasible to build a loyal customer base and meet their needs better than your competitors? - Which are the common traps to avoid when going up against the big ones? These are some of the many questions we address with Markus. Please tune in to hear how Markus' learnings from being the up and commer in a market with established large players can inspire you to run strategies and plays that help on your journey.

In this episode, we speak with Vincent Jong, VP Product, Dealfront, the Go-to-Market Platform giving sales and marketing teams the data, applications, and insights they need to win any European market.  We talked with Vincent about how you can approach a PLG motion, from a product and commercial perspective! In particular, we are looking into a step-by-step approach: - How shall a PLG approach be combined with the humans in the Go-to-Market - What type of small experiments can be leveraged to introduce PLG elements into a human-driven GTM operation - What key strategies do you employ in the product design to ensure immediate value delivery and a frictionless onboarding experience for new users? - How do you integrate product analytics and user feedback mechanisms to continuously refine the product experience, prioritize features, and drive user engagement in a PLG context? These are some of the many questions we address with Vincent. Please tune in to hear how Vincent is paving the way for a PLG & human-led approach, one step at a time, to further improve the customer experience.

Janus Klok Matthesen, Co-founder and CTO of Pixelz, discusses the impact of AI on engineering teams. Topics include the role of engineers in the AI future, efficiency gains with AI tools, risks of AI in engineering, and the changing dynamics between humans and machines in software development.

Martin Lidgard, Founder & CEO, Web Manuals, the All-in-One Document Management System For Aviation Professionals that has bootstrapped past 10m Euro in ARR and continues to grow fast globally. We talked with Martin about empowering team members! In particular, we are looking into the methods of how you can include, enable, and empower younger talent to run key strategic projects with success, and what that does to the culture of the business: - It all starts with onboarding, how do you do this efficiently in the sense that people are truly ready when the onboarding period is over? - How can you leverage in-person cohort onboarding periods and bi-yearly company-wide kickoffs to foster co-learning? - How do you decide when and which strategic projects a new member takes on? - What is the role of this power of distribution and decision-making? - How does leadership take form in an organization like this? These are some of the many questions we address with Martin. Please tune in to hear how Martin's dedicated investment in young talents has turned into a strategic success factor for the business.

Nathan Latka from Founderpath shares insights on getting non-dilutive capital, lessons learned as a SaaS founder, top SaaS companies, and growth strategies. He also discusses future plans and his journey in SaaS. Tune in for a conversation with a modern SaaS legend!

In this episode, we speak with Liza Collin, Product Director, Visma, the group behind mission-critical business software for a more efficient and resilient society. With 15,000 employees, 1,700,000 private and public sector customers across Europe and Latin America, and a net revenue of €2,000+ million this is a giant in the SaaS space. We talked with Liza about Using the rule of 78 to calculate delayed GTM impact, and how to avoid GTM delays! In particular, we are looking into the financial impact of a delayed GTM process: - Why 78? What does the rule of 78 mean and showcase? - How do you calculate the financial impact of a GTM delay? - What are the most common reasons for GTM delays, and how can companies anticipate or mitigate these challenges upfront? - Given the complex nature of launching new products or services, what are some strategies companies can use to streamline their GTM process? - Who owns the main responsibility for avoiding GTM delays? These are some of the many questions we address with Liza. Please tune in to hear here describe how you can use the rule of 78 to highlight the importance of speed to avoid a big financial impact, Even if it is just a month or two of a delay, the financial burden of such a delay is exponentially heavy to take on, which is what the rule of 78 will showcase.

In this episode, we speak with Niclas Lilja, Founder & CEO, Younium, the subscription management tool that integrates into your existing systems to streamline subscription management, invoicing/billing, financial reporting, and data insights. We talked with Niclas about how it is to take your SaaS to the US! In particular, we are looking into the good, bad, and the ugly that the first year of business in the US brings: - When is your SaaS business ready to establish a local presence in the US? - What have been the main challenges in the first year in business in the US? - What adjustments and potential compromises must you make to make it fly in the US? - From a personal perspective, what do you need to consider when moving your entire family over? These are some of the many questions we address with Niclas. Please tune in to hear what Niclas has to say about the first year in the US with his European HQ SaaS, the lessons learned and the advice to other leaders planning do the same. 

In this episode, we speak with Michael Versluis, CEO & Founder, Expansify, the GTM agency helping European SaaS companies to a successful market entry in the US. We talked with Michael about landing your first customer in the US when your home market is the EU! In particular, we are looking into some of the proven steps and actions required to be successful from his learnings taking his previous business to the US: - How did you identify the specific needs of the U.S. market for your SaaS product, and what steps did you take to tailor your solution to meet these needs? - Could you share the story of how you acquired your first customer? - What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them? - What sales strategies were most effective in the early stages of your business, especially in a competitive market like the U.S.? These are some of the many questions we address with Michael. Please tune in to learn from Michael's experience and his top three pieces of advice to follow when trying to acquire your first customers in the U.S.