The SaaSiest Podcast

In this episode, we speak with Monica Elgemark, CMO, Oneflow, the platform that automates the entire contract process from start to finish, all in one place.  We talked with Monica about her learnings from working with large enterprise companies and which of those learnings we can benefit from in SaaS scaleups.  We are particularly looking into the topic of leadership and process:   - How are investment decisions being made and prioritized? - What is the role of the business case? - How to lead is different in an enterprise organization - how can we leverage that in SaaS? - How to have a clear emphasis on performance in the cultural values? These are some of the many topics we address with Monica. Please tune in to listen to her learnings from bringing the best of the Enterprise world into the SaaS scale-up organization.

In this episode, we speak with Bastian Karweg, CEO, 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 Bastian about his learnings from the merger of two SaaS businesses with each 10M+ Euro ARR and 100+ strong workforces into one unified organization.  We are particularly looking into the challenging and rewarding elements of a journey of this kind:   - What was the origin of this merger? - Why the C-suite merger workshops are key prior to finalizing a full company merger? - What are the critical stages of a merger of this size that you need to get right? - How do you bridge two established company cultures into something that unites everyone? - How do you allocate new roles, teams, and responsibilities in a way that moves the business forward? These are some of the many topics we address with Bastian. Tune in to listen to his learnings on the key activities to focus on to optimize the chances of a smooth and successful merger.

Jacob Top Møller, Founder of Top Møller Venture & Consult, discusses MEDDIC and its relevance in the SaaS industry. Topics include: what MEDDIC stands for, how it differs from other sales methodologies, who can benefit from it, how to implement MEDDIC, and the pros and cons. Tune in to learn how MEDDIC can impact your organization's revenue team.

In this episode, we speak with Bridget Harris, CEO & Co-Founder, YouCanBookMe, the scheduling and booking platform that is fully customizable to each and every customer's needs, with more than 1m users across 100 countries! We talk with Bridget about what it takes to bootstrap a business to a scale-up with millions in ARR - particularly looking into the challenging and rewarding elements of a journey of this kind :   - What is the true definition of a bootstrapped SaaS business? - How does one decide whether to be bootstrapped or not? - What is the best way to strike a balance between control & autonomy vs. extra fuel & adjusted timelines that VC investments can give you? - What are some of the key benefits vs. critical limitations to be aware of when bootstrapping a business? These are some of the many topics we address with Bridget. Tune in to learn from her amazing journey to get a look behind the scenes of a bootstrapped scale-up. 

In this episode, we speak with Nils Vold, Partner, Verdane, the equity investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable businesses based out of Europe to help them reach the next stage of international growth! We talk with Nils about how this latest disruption in tech, Generative AI, will impact the B2B SaaS world - particularly looking behind the short-term AI hype to understand the long-term effects:   - How is the introduction of Generative AI compared to other historical tech disruptions? - What different levels of AI exist today? - How will AI affect the different disciplines in SaaS? - What are some of the risks and challenges with AI at this point that we need to navigate as SaaS operators? - Will we see a dedicated Chief AI Officer in every organization? These are some of the many topics we address with Nils. Tune in to get his perspective on how Generative AI will impact B2B SaaS and what you may want to think about getting in place today to be ready for the future. 

In this episode, we speak with Osen Akkemik, Senior Director Customer Success, Genesys, the all-in-one Experience as a Service Platform that manages billions of of interactions for organizations in more than 100 countries - a true global leader in its space! We talk with Osen about how to keep the CS team motivated, energized, and incentivized - particularly what methods they are using to keep staff churns down in the CS team:   - How do you keep people engaged and motivated? - What is the role of the open door policy? - Why do 1–1 ones with the Director matter for the individual CSMs?  - What is the power of individual career plans and personal journey tracks? - What are are 3 main tips to avoid churn in the CSM org? These are some of the many topics we address with Osen. Tune in to learn from her experience in managing a large Customer Success organization to learn what you can be doing on your end to keep your CS organization continuing to excel with energy. 

In this episode, we speak with Marie Ahlberg, CFO, Quinyx, the all-in-one Frontline Platform that helps over one million workers keep track of their daily schedules for a better work-life balance, trusted by enterprises worldwide. We talk with Marie about the role of the CFO - particularly how the role and responsibility evolve as the business evolves! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:   - At what point do you need a CFO? Why? - What is the dynamic and role split between the CFO and CEO? - What does the evolution of the CFO role look like over time? - How does the CFO team evolve over time and why? - How to find balance between the short-term tactical execution vs long-term strategic advisor role? These are some of the many topics we address with Marie. Tune in to learn from her journey as a CFO through the phases of startups to large enterprises with global presence. Great insights on how the role and responsibility need to evolve to support the business objectives in the best way possible.

In this episode, we speak with Nick Mehta, CEO, Gainsight,  the Customer Success & Engagement platform that has pioneered the CS profession, a powerhouse in the space with an ARR of 200M+ USD and customers all over the world.  We talk with Nick about churn, logo, and client retention - particularly what preventive actions you can put in place to secure success and minimize the risk of churn! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:   - Why the question "Why did the customer churn" is the wrong one to ask - The better process to find out why customers may churn - Get the process - How do you demonstrate ROI to clients to underscore your value? - How the role of the CSM is evolving over time and based on needs These are some of the many topics we address with Nick. Tune in to learn from his experience in the field of CS and what companies do to become sticky, must-haves, and avoid churn!

In this episode, we speak with Andreas Fabricius, Co-CEO & CCO, Playable,  is a platform that powers over 650 global brands designed to build playable marketing activities that drive engagement with a brand’s products and services We talk with Andreas about handling the ups and downs in a growth journey,  particularly how they handled a tough period for the business to eventually come out on top better and stronger! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:   - How should you react to changes that have a significant impact on the business - What is the role of the leadership team during these times - How to balance trust and transparency with the team in an unknown environment - What are some of the learnings coming out of an exercise like this These are some of the many topics we address with Andreas. Tune in to learn from his experience about the rollercoaster of running a SaaS company, you'll recognize some of the ups and downs shared here.

In this episode, we speak with Emma Aidanpää-Salmi, VP Customer Success, Relex Solutions, the unified supply chain and retail planning platform that helps retailers and consumer brands sell more and waste less, with 100m+ in ARR and a leader in its space. We talk with Emma about the evolution of the CS discipline and how this new setup of CS teams best brings value to an organization! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:   - How should a successful CSM team be measured going forward - How should CS leaders balance between growth and satisfaction/value metrics for their CSM-team - What are the key metrics that you measure your CSM team on - How should the sales responsibilities be split between CS and Sales and why - How should we compensate our CSMs if/when they do contribute to Sales These are some of the many topics we address with Emma, tune in to learn from her experience in running a global CSM team that contributes to customer adoption, and satisfaction while also ensuring revenue growth for each account.