SaaS District

Mindsight by a Dr. Dan Siegel

How to Rewire Your Mind to Become a Higher Performance with Dr. Eugene Choi #236

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Dr. Eugene K. Choi is a transformational leadership coach who helps leaders perform at their best in high-pressure environments.

He created a science-based process that teaches entrepreneurs how to activate their executive brain for better clarity, focus, and results. With expertise in clinical pharmacy, neuroscience, and business coaching, he has supported thousands of entrepreneurs and executives in improving their mindset and reducing toxic stress in order to perform better in their business.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Introduction to High Performance Mindset
02:56 - Understanding Survival Mode vs. Executive State
05:49 - Identifying and Managing Survival Responses
09:10 - The Impact of Fight, Flight, and Freeze Responses
12:00 - The Role of Awareness in Performance
14:47 - Transitioning from Survival to Executive State
17:57 - Building Awareness and Skills for High Performance
23:27 - Understanding Survival State vs. Executive State
27:29 - Rewiring the Brain for Optimal Performance
30:46 - The Role of Community in Personal Growth
33:13 - The Courage to Face Personal Growth
36:28 - Creating Space for Self-Reflection
37:36 – Eugene's Favorite Activity to Get Into a Flow State
38:03 – Eugene's Advice for His Younger Self
38:27 – Instrumental Resources for Eugene's Success
39:20 – What Does Success Mean for Eugene's Today
35:26 – Get in Touch with Eugene

Get in Touch with Eugene:

Website

Mentions:

Dr. Joe Dispenza

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The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

How Ads, AI, and Intent Signals Drive B2B SaaS Revenue with Srikrishna Swaminathan #235

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Srikrishna Swaminathan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Factors.AI, a platform that helps B2B marketers understand, attribute, and optimize their go-to-market performance through data-driven insights. With a career spanning product, sales, and strategy, Sri has built and scaled high-performing teams, including a $100 million business unit at InMobi, before turning his focus to marketing analytics and revenue intelligence.

At Factors.AI, Sri has led the company’s mission to simplify complex marketing data by unifying customer journeys, automating attribution, and surfacing actionable insights for marketers. He emphasizes the importance of connecting marketing activity to real business outcomes, advocating for transparency, precision, and measurable impact in every GTM motion.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:21 - Understanding the Buyer Journey
05:27 - The Role of AI in Marketing Execution
11:02 - Navigating Privacy and Personalization in Ads
14:37 - Leveraging Intent Data for Targeting
19:53 - The Emergence of GTM Engineering
22:06 - Creating a Unified Data View for Decision Making
25:31 - Personal Insights and Advice from Sri
26:00 – Sri's Favorite Activity to Get Into a Flow State
27:22 – Sri's Advice for His Younger Self
29:12 – Biggest Challenges and Goals for Factors AI
31:06 – Instrumental Resources for Sri's Success
33:09 – What Does Success Mean for Sri Today
35:26 – Get in Touch with Sri

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NYSE (New York Stock Exchange)

How Tech Founders Can Successfully List on the Stock Exchange with Peter Goldstein #234

Mon, 19 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Peter Goldstein is the Founder and CEO of Exchange Listing, a capital markets advisory firm specializing in helping emerging growth companies list on major stock exchanges such as NASDAQ and NYSE.

Peter has over 35 years of experience as an entrepreneur, investment banker, and strategic advisor. He has successfully led IPOs, uplistings, mergers, and private placements across a range of industries. Through Exchange Listing, he guides companies through the complex go-public process with a focus on compliance, capital formation, and long-term growth.

He is also the founder of Emmis Capital and author of The Entrepreneur’s IPO, offering a practical roadmap for founders seeking public market entry.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
00:45 – Challenges Tech Founders Face in Preparing for an IPO
06:45 – Why a Solid Management Team Matters Before Going Public
12:45 – Common IPO Misconceptions Among Tech Entrepreneurs
13:45 – How Tech Companies Can Stay Attractive to Investors
17:45 – Key Milestones for Companies Under $100M Before IPO
25:05 – Balancing the Costs and Benefits of Going Public
26:05 – The Role of Strategic Planning in a Successful IPO
29:05 – Examples of Sub-$100M Companies That Went Public
33:05 – Peter's Favorite Activity to Get Into a Flow State
33:35 – Peter's Advice for His Younger Self
34:35 – Biggest Challenges and Goals for Exchange Listing
35:30 – Instrumental Resources for Peter's Success
36:30 – What Does Success Mean for Peter Today
38:00 – Get in Touch with Peter

Get in Touch with Peter:

Mentions:

Newsmax

Books:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

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Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO)

Leadership Mindset: Building High Performance Teams while Maintaining Cultural Integrity with David Anderson #233

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0500

David Anderson is a global business leader with extensive experience as a C-level executive, board member, advisor, and executive coach at DWA Leadership.. He specializes in building high-performing teams, fostering a winning leadership mindset, and helping organizations navigate the complexities of growth as well as innovation.

David has a strong entrepreneurial background and has served on numerous boards, including as chair, bringing forward-thinking strategies to both non-profits and businesses. His approach focuses on empowering leaders to "Jump the S Curve" of growth and achieve lasting success.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:35 - Cultivating Talent in High-Performing Teams
05:41 - Managing Diverse Global Teams
08:03 - Mindset Shifts for C-Level Transitions
10:55 - Cultivating an Environment for Open Dialogue and Feedback
13:48 - Strategies for Jumping the S-Curve of Growth
16:16 - Maintaining Cultural Integrity While Scaling
19:38 - Identifying Toxic Behaviors in Team Members
22:52 - Maximizing Board Member Engagement
25:46 - Getting the Most from Your Leadership Board
27:55 - Tailoring Leadership Coaching for Founders
33:41 - Key Traits for Leaders in a Rapidly Changing World
36:03 - David's Favorite Activity to Get Into a Flow State
36:37 - David's Piece of Advice for Your Younger Self
37:45 - Biggest Challenges and Goals for 2025
38:30 - Instrumental Resources for David's Success
40:06 - What Does Success Mean for David Today
42:08 - Get in Touch with David

Get in Touch with David:

DWA Leadership Website

Mentions:

McKinsey & Company

Arizona State University (ASU)

Harvard Business Review (HBR)

Inc. Magazine

Valynt Digital

Books:

Leader Is Not a Title by David Anderson

Jumping the S-Curve by Paul Nunes and Tim Breene

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Extreme Revenue Growth by Victor Cheng

Creating Custom Digital Funnels to Raising Capital for your SaaS with Jagger Lucé #232

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Jagger Lucé is the Head of Sales at Valynt Digital, a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in paid advertising, video production, copywriting, graphic design, and AI-driven automation.

At Valynt, have created a revolutionizing capital raising solution through innovative digital marketing funnels, including Series A - Series D advertising campaigns.

Valynt Digital's forward-thinking approach eliminates cold calling through advanced automation solutions powered by artificial intelligence, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency in sales across diverse industries.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:20 - Agency Background and SaaS Capital Raising
02:21 - Successful Techniques for Engaging Investors Online
05:58 - Challenges Facing SaaS Founders in 2024
07:38 - How Long the Campaign Process Takes to Work
08:42 - Strategies and Tools for Targeting Customers or Investors
13:18 - Integrating AI into High-Ticket Deal Sales and Investments
16:25 - Applying Automation to Sales and Onboarding Processes
18:52 - Insightful Metrics for Scaling Digital Sales Campaigns
23:18 - Aspects of Successful Raising Cases
25:18 - Jagger's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
26:47 - Jagger's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
28:28 - Jagger's Biggest Challenges at Valynt Digital
29:39 - Valynt Digital IS HIRING!
30:40 - Instrumental Resources For Jagger's Success
32:06 - What Does Success Mean for Jagger Today
33:02 - Get In Touch With Jagger

Get In Touch With Jagger:

Valynt Digital Website

Valynt Digital LinkedIn

Mentions:

Dan Spottsville

Books:

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée A. Mauborgne

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Good to Great by Jim Collins

Path to Acquisition: Insights from Weebly & Vurb with Ryan Glasgow #231

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Ryan is the Founder and CEO of Sprig, a user experience measurement tool suite used by top companies such as Paypal, Coinbase, Figma, and Peloton. Since founding the company in 2019, Sprig has raised $90M, achieving a valuation of $330M.

He has a proven track record in scaling SaaS startups like Weebly (acquired by Square) and Vurb (acquired by Snapchat).

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:27 - Journey from Entrepreneurship to SaaS Acquisitions
07:56 - Getting Innovations Insights from Users
12:33 - What Most People Miss When Analysing NPS Services
16:37 - Key Skills for Founders in Hyper Growth Stage
20:52 - Predictable Motion on GTM Strategy
22:05 - Utilizing Mixed Methods Research for Sprig's Evolution
28:23 - Strategies for Incorporating AI into Sprig's Products
32:29 - Ryan's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
34:45 - Ryan's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
38:09 - Ryan's Biggest Challenges at Sprig
39:36 - Instrumental Resources For Ryan's Success
41:21 - What Does Success Mean for Ryan Today
45:40 - Get In Touch With Ryan

Get In Touch With Ryan:

Mentions:

Books:

BE 2.0 by Jim Collins

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Amsterdam Standard Website

Scaling a SaaS company with ZERO Marketing Budget with Leopold van Oosten #230

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Leo is the Founder and CEO at Amsterdam Standard, a technology partner who specializes in software development, IT staffing, and user interface design, the company provides dedicated nearshore teams, UX/UI interface design services, and agile software development for projects emphasizing agility.

With over two decades of professional experience Leopold is a seasoned expert in scaling development teams and sourcing top tech talent.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:21 - Journey from Enthusiast to SaaS Investor
05:38 - The Best Stage for Getting Their Help
08:44 - Strategies and Challenges in Scaling Amsterdam Standard
13:04 - Role of Storytelling in Low-Budget Marketing
17:20 - Transitioning to Marketing Spending
23:46 - Advice for Product-Led Scaling Challenges
28:47 - Solid Scaling System for SaaS Growth
31:36 - Leopold's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
32:10 - Leopold's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
32:41 - Leopold's Biggest Challenges at Amsterdam Standard
33:44 - Instrumental Resources For Leopold's Success
35:40 - What Does Success Mean for Leopold Today
37:00 - Get In Touch With Leopold

Get in Touch with Leopold:

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Books:

Storybrand by Donal Miller

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The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

The Intersection and Future Trends of SaaS, AI, and Hospitality with Luca Zambello #229

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Luca Zambello is the co-founder and CEO of Jurny, an AI-driven property management solution which is reshaping short-term rental and hotel operations.

He is a recognized expert in artificial intelligence and a serial entrepreneur, founding Jurny in 2019 in order to simplify and make AI and automation accessible for all hospitality businesses, including small Airbnb hosts to large hotel chains.

Luca is also an Advisory Board Member for Entertainment and Hospitality Management at California State University and has raised over $12M in capital to develop his AI powered technology.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:27 - Jurny's Growth and Current Status
07:25 - Recommendations for Founders Moving to US
11:33 - Surrounding Yourself with “Like-Minded People”
13:30 - Investor Perspective and Market Opportunities
17:08 - Tech Integration vs the Human Touch
21:15 - AI Tools for Future-Ready Hotels
26:32 - Opportunities and Challenges in Hospitality
30:39 - Luca's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
31:18 - Luca's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
32:05 - Luca's Biggest Challenges at Jurny
33:01 - Instrumental Resources For Luca's Success
35:27 - What Does Success Mean for Luca Today
38:08 - Get In Touch With Luca

Get in touch with Luca:

Luca's LinkedIn

Jurny's Website

Mentions:

Airbnb

Books:

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz

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How to Build an effective GTM and Partnership Program for Your SaaS with Barrett King #228

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Barrett King is the Sr. Director of Revenue at New Breed, a HubSpot's top solutions partner, on a mission to help unlock meaningful growth. He is a highly motivated leader with over a decade of experience in building partnerships and executing go-to-market strategies for SaaS companies.

His expertise includes creating and implementing sales and marketing plans for improving customer engagement and retention.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:27 - Introduction to New Breed
03:15 - Working With HubSpot in 2024
09:27 - Crafting GTM Strategy with 3 Pillars
14:29 - Effective B2B SaaS Partnership Programs
17:07 - AI Tools in the Sales Coaching Process
22:29 - HubSpot Usage of AI
26:20 - Barrett's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
27:07 - Barrett's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
28:14 - Barrett's Biggest Challenges at New Breed
30:07 - Instrumental Resources For Barrett's Success
32:39 - What Does Success Mean for Barrett Today
33:42 - Get In Touch With Barrett

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Scaling People by Claire Hughes Johnson

How to Build an Unbreakable SaaS Business Scaling Beyond $10k in MRR with Matt Verlaque #227

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Matt Verlaque serves as the COO at SaaS Academy, a premier training hub for B2B SaaS entrepreneurs, where they specialize in playbooks, templates, and lessons tailored for the SaaS world.

The academy provides both business solutions as well as personal growth coaching. Matt also leads the Growth Accelerator program, helping early founders scale beyond $10k in MRR.

Beyond his professional role, Matt is a dedicated family man, an upcoming author set to release his first book in 2024. He is also the co-founder and CEO of UpLaunch, a triathlete, and a former firefighter.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:28 - Matt's Background and Work with Dan Martell
06:14 - Founders' Most Common Scaling Challenges
08:30 - Channels and Strategies for Recurring Revenue
10:35 - How to Price Properly
13:32 - Key SaaS Success Metrics for Rigorous Tracking
17:26 - Traits and Mission on Leadership Insights
20:09 - Getting the Message Out as a Founder or CEO
22:26 - The Balance of Effective Leading as Boss and a Friend
25:41 - Leadership Strategies for Addressing Performance Gaps
29:06 - Matt's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
31:07 - Matt's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
31:58 - Matt's Biggest Challenges at SaaS Academy
35:28 - Instrumental Resources For Matt's Success
37:43 - What Does Success Mean for Matt Today
42:07 - Get In Touch With Matt

Get In Touch With Matt:

Mentions:

Books:

The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Extreme Revenue Growth by Victor Cheng

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The Act of Will by Roberto Assagioli

Looking for Guidance for Businesses on Security Policy Development With your SaaS with Kyle Jones #226

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Kyle Jones is the Senior Cybersecurity Analyst at Rhymetec, cloud security company that delivers cutting-edge cybersecurity, compliance, and data privacy solutions to contemporary SaaS enterprises.

Kyle is a dedicated cybersecurity analyst who’s expertise particularly shines in aligning SaaS cloud structures with industry benchmarks and regulations.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:20 - Key Considerations for Cybersecurity Development
04:41 - Key Threats to Stay Mindful Of
06:35 - Balancing Cybersecurity with Limited Resources
09:59 - Safeguarding IT Infrastructure with Performance Optimization
12:50 - Cybersecurity Policies' Crucial Role in Mitigating Threats
16:03 - Perspective on AI Automation and Opportunities for Startups
19:08 - Effective Communication and Compliance of Cybersecurity Policies
24:57 - Standard Qualifications of a Expert in Cybersecurity
27:33 - Kyle's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
28:01 - Kyle's Piece Of Advice For His 20-Year-Old Self
28:54 - Kyle's Biggest Challenges at Rhymetec
30:07 - Instrumental Resources For Kyle's Success
32:43 - What Does Success Mean for Kyle Today
33:24 - Get In Touch With Kyle

Get In Touch With Kyle:

Rhymetec Website

Mentions:

Gemini (Google Bard)

Google Cloud

Books:

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The 21st Century Sales Bible by Yaniv Zaid

How to Establish Authority & Build a Loyal Audience as a Tech Leader with Yaniv Zaid #225

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Dr. Yaniv Zaid, also known as "Dr. Persuasion," is a lawyer and economist, provider of business and media consulting to companies and organizations, and a requested and highly experienced lecturer on the topic of improvement of speaking, marketing and persuasion abilities.

He's also a No. 1 best-selling author on Amazon with his latest 21st century Sales Bible, economist and advocate, and active as business and media consultant to government ministries, private firms and public organizations. In 2003, Dr. Zaid ranked third place in the worldwide list of public speakers.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:46 - Selling, Audience, and Tech Leadership
06:10 - How to Become an Authority
08:46 - Advice for Effective Team Communication and Action
13:38 - Reducing Distractions in a Competitive Environment
16:27 - Key Skill Every Leader Should Invest In
18:36 - Practicing Listening from Other Experts
25:10 - The 10 Commandments of Marketing, Negotiation & Persuasion
27:46 - Yaniv's Opinion on AI Tools for Content Creation
31:04 - Yaniv's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
31:53 - Yaniv's Piece Of Advice For His 25 Younger Self
33:00 - Yaniv's Biggest Challenges at His Business
34:43 - Instrumental Resources For Yaniv's Success
36:01 - What Does Success Mean for Yaniv Today
37:30 - Get In Touch With Yaniv

Get In Touch With Yaniv:

Yaniv's Website

Yaniv's Email

Books:

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AI at Work: What People Are Saying

Going From $0 to $30M ARR and 3x Your Sales Performers Using AI with Ryan Staley #224

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Ryan is the Founder & CEO at Whale Boss, a cutting edge consultancy designed around providing fast results vs. billable hours.

Ryan helps CEO’s or Revenue Leaders implement a 7-8 figure sales system in 3 months based on the principles that grew a business unit from 0- $30M ARR while adding $30M+ in capital revenue (with ONLY 4 Sales people and without lead generation.)

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:24 - Scaling Tech Company to $30M ARR in 5.5 Years with 4 Reps
04:29 - Key Steps for Replicating Ryan's Success
09:45 - Focusing on the Higher Value Customers
13:22 - Ryan's Experience with AI
15:50 - Boosting Performance 3x with AI in Teams
21:11 - AI Adoption on Organization Departments
23:20 - Strategies for Adopting AI In Sales and Customers Success
27:41 - Notable Outcomes with AI
29:35 - Ryan's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
30:30 - Ryan's Piece Of Advice For His 25-Year-Old Self
32:02 - Ryan's Biggest Challenges at Whale Boss
33:12 - What Does Success Mean for Ryan Today
35:09 - Instrumental Resources For Ryan's Success
37:11 - Get In Touch With Ryan

Get In Touch With Ryan:

Mentions:

Articles:

Books:

The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy

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Eight Roads Ventures Website

Exploring Investing, Trends and Fundraising in 2024 with Michael Treskow #223

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Michael is a Partner at Eight Roads Ventures based out of London, where they’re focused on venture and growth investments in technology companies across Europe and Israel.

Previously, Michael invested in technology companies at Accel in London, and Warburg Pincus both in San Francisco and New York. He received a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:17 - Eight Roads Ventures' Investing Focus Today
03:37 - How to Stand Out in a Funding Pitch
05:55 - Market Tips & Strategies for Founders
08:59 - 2024 Industry Trends and Exciting Verticals
14:09 - Startup Fundraising in Public Market Valuations
20:55 - When to Consider a Exit
25:37 - Common Traits of High-Performance Entrepreneurs
31:45 - Michael's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
32:25 - Michael's Piece Of Advice For His 25-Year-Old Self
33:10 - Michael's Biggest Challenges at Eight Roads Ventures
34:21 - Instrumental Resources For Michael's Success
35:32 - What Does Success Mean for Michael Today
36:41 - Get In Touch With Michael

Get in Touch with Michael:

Michael's LinkedIn

Michael's Twitter

Mentions:

Substack

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Bootstrapping to $3M ARR and Embracing Outcome-Based Pricing with Stefan Debois #222

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Stefan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Pointerpro, a software platform to create your own online assessments with auto-generated personalized reports. It helps you turn your expertise into a tool that delivers personalized advice at scale.

Before founding Pointerpro, Stefan worked for 15 years in several consulting companies as a consultant, project manager, and account manager. He has contributed to Entrepreneur, Capterra, CrazyEgg, mainly in the areas of entrepreneurship and digital marketing. In addition, he founded the Facebook group “B2B Bloggers Boost Group”, where top-tier B2B bloggers help each other to create content and get mentioned.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:14 - Stefan's Background Story Into SaaS
06:05 - The Turning Point and Founding Pointerpro
08:45 - Turning Validation into a 3M ARR Success Story
12:02 - SEO Insights and AI Trends for 10X Traffic Growth
15:48 - Transitioning from Organic to Paid Marketing Timing Tips
17:56 - Time-Based Vs Outcome-Based Pricing Strategies
23:45 - Pricing Through Time and Cost Saving
27:59 - Stefan's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
28:24 - Stefan's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
30:11 - Stefan's Biggest Challenges at Pointerpro
31:41 - Instrumental Resources For Stefan's Success
33:28 - What Does Success Mean for Stefan Today
36:08 - Get In Touch With Stefan

Get In Touch With Stefan:

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Story Driven Decks by Jarie Bolander

Mastering The Art of Marketing Through Storytelling with Jarie Bolander #221

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Jarie is the founder of Story-Driven, a company that utilizes storytelling techniques to accelerate brand awareness and generate leads for B2B businesses.

With a proven track record in startups, Jarie has successfully raised over $10 million in funding and played a key role in a $750M exit.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:14 - Jarie's Engineer Journey to Marketing
04:15 - Storytelling in B2B Brand Awareness and Lead Generation
07:44 - B2B Marketers' Hesitation with Storytelling Strategies
10:58 - Crafting Compelling Stories in Marketing Framework
16:32 - Insights from B2C Tactics for B2B Marketers
22:01 - Tips for B2B SaaS Marketers to Elevate Storytelling
24:40 - Jarie's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
25:07 - Jarie's Piece Of Advice For His 25-Year-Old Self
26:17 - Jarie's Biggest Challenges at Story Driven
27:15 - Instrumental Resources For Jarie's Success
28:13 - What Does Success Mean for Jarie Today
28:56 - Get In Touch With Jarie

Get In Touch With Jarie:

Jarie's LinkedIn

Story Driven Website

Mentions:

Stéphane Nasser

Books:

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Loonshots by Safi Bahcall

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High Output Management by Andy Grove

Investing Trends, Niches, and Success Stories with AlbionVC with Robert Whitby-Smith #220

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Robert is a Partner at Albion VC, an independent investment firm that backs visionary founders with long-term capital and scale-up expertise. With £1 billion of venture funds invested in 50+ companies, Robert focuses on deeptech and B2B software startups. His extensive experience in corporate finance and board-level work allows him to provide strategic guidance on everything from culture to fundraising.

Some of his current supported companies include Academia, Accelex, Brytlyt, Diffblue, Convertr, Gravitee.io, and more. Robert's passion for supporting innovative founders makes him a valuable partner in the world of venture capital.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Robert's Background
03:27 - Current Startups Landscape
05:16 - AlbionVC's SaaS Investment Trends
07:34 - Growth and Funding Tips for SaaS CEOs
10:39 - Later Stage vs Early Stage
12:05 - Strategies for Scaling Without Capital
13:36 - Avoiding Downfall from Expenses
16:55 - AlbionVC-backed SaaS Triumphs and Key Growth Factors
20:56 - Robert's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
21:35 - Robert's Piece Of Advice For His 25 Younger Self
25:40 - Robert's Biggest Challenges at Albion VC
29:11 - Instrumental Resources For Robert's Success
31:13 - What Does Success Mean for Robert Today
32:09 - Get In Touch With Robert

Get In Touch With Robert:

Robert's LinkedIn

Albion VC Website

Mentions:

Snowflake

Books:

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore

Zero to One by Peter Thiel

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How to Maintain the Balance Between System-Relevent vs Human-Centricity as an Entrepreneur with Michaell Magrutsche #219

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Michaell is the Creativity-Awareness Educator at MICHAELLM.com. He holds the role of Wisdom Art Awareness Coach & hosts his own podcast show called The Smart of Art Podcast.

Michaell showcases a unique blend of talents and expertise and advocates for unlocking individual potential. His transformative journey from feeling like an outcast to embracing humanity defines his commitment. With six books, including "The Smart of Art," he will be sharing keys to a 60% more fulfilled life, navigating complexities with a balanced human-centric and system-relevant perspective.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:15 - Michael's Life & Journey
09:44 - Finding Balance Between Employment and Friendship
13:33 - Unleashing Self-Awareness Through Artistic Creation
19:00 - Getting Inspiration to Overcome Creative Blocks
22:26 - Understanding the 'Never Enough' Stress Paradox
28:41 - Motivation and Passion
35:01 - Finding the Human-Centric Brand
43:57 - Defining Human Value in Systems
51:23 - Michaell's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
52:08 - What Does Success Mean for Michaell Today
53:17 - Get in Touch with Michaell

Get in Touch with Michaell

Michaell's Website

Michaell's LinkedIn

Are You Living a SYSTEM-RELEVANT or HUMAN-CENTRIC LIFE and Which is Dominant? When you can answer these questions it will spark enough awareness to make your life AT LEAST 50% EASIER. It’s just the awareness that trumps all. What is living a HUMAN-CENTRIC versus SYSTEM-RELEVANT LIFE?

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The Conscious Leadership Group

Empowering Startup Leaders for Success and Resilience with Kenneth Berger #218

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Kenneth Berger is the Executive Coach at Kenneth Berger Coaching with over two decades of experience in the tech industry. He's empowered leaders from startups like Typeform, Dribbble, and Fastly, guiding them to tackle challenges, combat burnout, and achieve their desired life paths. Serving as a trusted confidant to multiple CEOs, Kenneth equips them with the tools to succeed in the dynamic tech world.

With a wealth of experience in technology, Kenneth's mission is to assist startup leaders in defining their goals, standing up for their aspirations, and embracing the world's response. His unique insights, garnered from years as a founder, operator, and executive coach, enable him to guide tech leaders in achieving their potential while addressing the opportunities and challenges inherent in the industry.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
02:13 - Navigating The Founder Archetypes in Startups
09:32 - Breaking Fear Cycles in Startups
12:15 - Fear, Perfectionism, and Burnout
15:40 - Avoiding Awkward Conversations
17:16 - Fostering Learning and Resilience
19:12 - Impact of Clarity and Humility on Startup Dynamics
22:49 - Leadership Role on Effective Communication
25:34 - Well-Phrased Requests & Effective Communication
31:20 - Kenneth's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
31:45 - Kenneth's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
32:23 - Kenneth's Biggest Challenges at His Company
33:18 - Instrumental Resources For Kenneth's Success
35:08 - What Does Success Mean for Kenneth Today
36:21 - Get In Touch With Kenneth

Get In Touch With Kenneth:

Kenneth's LinkedIn

Kenneth's Website

Mentions:

Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.D

Books:

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

No Bad Parts

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More About Akeel:

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Active Campaign CMO: Integration, Automation and Marketing Insights to Scale to $165M ARR

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Shay Howe is the Chief Marketing Officer at ActiveCampaign, a cloud-based email and CRM automation platform with 185,000 customers worldwide and secured $360 million in funding through three rounds.

He's a product leader with a design and engineering background. Before ActiveCampaign, Shay served as Vice President of Product at Belly and Yello, overseeing product strategy and design. He led product teams at high-growth companies like Groupon and advised at Techstars, Lightbank, and Prota ventures. Additionally, he authored "Learn to Code HTML and CSS '' published by Pearson Education.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:27 - The Financial Growth Story of ActiveCampaign
03:34 - Unveiling the Postmark Deal
08:41 - Identifying Customer-Centric Integrations
13:19 - Choosing the Right Pricing Model
20:13 - Successful Strategies to Mitigate Single Platform Risks in 2023
22:46 - The Power of AI in ActiveCampaign's Automation and Marketing
29:02 - Shay's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
29:49 - Shay's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
31:19 - Shay's Biggest Challenges at ActiveCampaign
32:43 - Instrumental Resources For Shay's Success
35:35 - What Does Success Mean for Shay Today
37:38 - Get In Touch With Shay

Get In Touch With Shay:

Shay's LinkedIn

ActiveCampaign Website

Mentions:

Postmark

Books:

The Founder's Mentality by Chris Zook and James Allen

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

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More About Akeel:

Emergent Ventures Website

Navigating Venture Capital, AI, and Innovation in Q4 2023 with Anupam Rastogi #216

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Anupam Rastogi is a General Partner at Emergent Ventures, which focuses on seed and early-stage ventures, investing in transformative AI-powered SaaS and enterprise infrastructure companies. They invest at pre-seed, seed, seed+, and post-seed rounds across enterprise and B2B software, including Application SaaS, Cloud, Data, Infra, Security, Vertical SaaS and Dev Tools.

Over the past decade, Anupam has led or played a substantive role in over 20 successful technology investments globally, ranging from early to expansion stage, and several large exits.

Prior to his investing career, he spent several years in operating roles in the mobile, enterprise, and data analytics spaces, bringing to market four new products, setting up a big data analytics stack in a Fortune 100 environment, and authoring five international patents and publications.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:31 - Silicon Valley's Current Sentiment About AI
05:36 - What's The Early-Stage VC Criteria
10:47 - Getting To Know Founders In Person vs Remotely
13:06 - The Future of the Venture Market
15:38 - The AI's Impact on Employment
20:17 - 100x Engineers + 100x Professionals + AI
23:57 - Crafting a Winning Startup Fundraising Pitch
28:42 - Anupam's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
29:10 - Anupam's Piece Of Advice For His 25 Younger Self
30:12 - Anupam's Biggest Challenges at Emergent Ventures
30:48 - Instrumental Resources For Anupam's Success
32:12 - What Does Success Mean for Anupam Today
33:05 - Get In Touch With Anupam

Get In Touch With Anupam:

Anupam's LinkedIn

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Your Next Five Moves by Patrick Bet-David

Empowering Your Sales Journey Through Confidence with Wesleyne Whittaker

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Wesleyne is the Founder of Transformed Sales: A Sales training and consulting firm focused on the STEM industries. She's a chemist turned sales coach, dedicated to helping individuals achieve their professional aspirations. With a background in chemistry and success as a top international salesperson, she founded Transformed Sales to guide aspiring leaders in honing their skills and achieving remarkable results.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:15 - Former Chemist's Journey to International Sales Manager
03:47 - Coaching Middle Management to Boost Sales Team
07:29 - Qualities of Ideal Sales Personnel and Leaders
11:53 - Building Confidence In Sales
14:25 - Addressing Burnout Among Founders
18:34 - Sales Tips for Tech Companies in Challenging Times
20:59 - Wesleyne's Activity for Achieving Flow State
21:21 - Key Instrumental Resources to Wesleyne's Success
23:43 - Wesleyne's Advice to His 25-Year-Old Self
24:31 - Wesleyne's Major Challenges at Transformed Sales
25:31 - What Success Means to Wesleyne Today
28:18 - Get in Touch with Wesleyne

Get in Touch with Wesleyne:

Wesleyne's LinkedIn

Mentions:

Ed Mylett

Books:

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How to Leverage AI for Your Digital Content Marketing with Andy Crestodina #214

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Andy Crestodina is the co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media Studios, a digital agency based in Chicago. He has over 18 years of experience where he's advised 1000+ businesses on digital marketing. Andy speaks at major marketing conferences, contributes to prominent marketing blogs, and also hosts the Content Matters podcast.

His extensive writing covers content marketing, SEO, social media, and analytics. Andy presents 50-70 times annually and authored "Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing."

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:23 - Incorporating AI into Strategies and Budget
04:43 - Measuring Growth Results Impact with AI
09:10 - Top AI-Driven Marketing Content Pieces
12:16 - Emerging Market Opportunities for the Future
14:48 - AI-Enhanced High-Converting Sales Pages
18:57 - SEO Content Optimization with AI
23:23 - AI-Driven Content Publishing and SEO Ranking
26:06 - Managing and Hiring Roles for AI-Powered Content
27:59 - Recap
29:08 - Andy's Preferred Activity for Achieving Flow State
30:20 - Andy's Advice to His 25-Year-Old Self
31:38 - Andy's Major Challenges at Orbit Media Studios
33:37 - Key Resources Instrumental to Andy's Success
35:06 - What Success Means to Andy Today
36:28 - Connect with Andy

Connect with Andy:

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The Big Leap by Gay Hendriks

The CEO's Impact on Sales & Overall Business Leadership with Alice Heiman #213

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Alice Heiman is renowned for elevating B2B sales and increasing valuation for high-growth companies. She collaborates with CEOs and sales leaders to develop strategies that energize sales teams, secure new business, and nurture existing accounts. As the host of "Sales Talk for CEOs," her podcast inspires businesses to reach their full potential.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:23 - Accelerating Sales with CEO Collaboration
07:45 - CEO Involvement in Sales and Customer Understanding
13:47 - Avoiding Sales Mistakes as CEO
21:09 - Entrepreneurial System for Leadership
25:44 - Focusing on the "Genius Zone" for CEOs
36:41 - Motivation and Strategies for CEO-led Sales Teams
41:54 - Alice's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
43:15 - Alice's Piece Of Advice For Her Younger Self
46:52 - Alice's Biggest Challenges at Work
49:15 - What Does Success Mean for Alice Today
50:11 - Get In Touch With Alice

Get In Touch With Alice:

Alice's LinkedIn

Alice's Website

Books:

Traction by Gino Wickman

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Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk

High Performance Selling and Building a Business with John Barrows #212

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500

John Barrows is the CEO of JB Sales Training, the go-to sales training for the world's top sales forces, dedicated to helping individuals become the highest-paid sellers in any given room. Throughout his +25 years career, he has held diverse roles in the industry, acquiring extensive knowledge and expertise in sales strategies. By sharing his wealth of experiences, he strives to uplift and empower sales professionals, aiming to elevate the sales profession as a whole.

Currently, as the founder of his own sales training company, John collaborates with renowned organizations such as Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Google, along with numerous other rapidly growing companies worldwide.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:46 - Building an Effective Sales Team
11:17 - Reaching Out to Prospects Successfully
15:56 - Embracing the "1% Mentality"
19:24 - Understanding Sales Triggers
21:34 - AI Tools for Personalization
27:20 - Overcoming Sales Time Challenges
32:11 - John's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
33:05 - John's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
34:41 - John's Biggest Challenges at JB Sales Training
37:16 - Instrumental Resources For John's Success
40:03 - What Does Success Mean for John Today
45:06 - Get In Touch With John

Get in Touch with John:

John's Website

John's LinkedIn

Mentions:

John Barrows Podcasts

Gary Vaynerchuk

Jeff Hoffman

Feedly

Books:

Raving Fans by Kenneth Blanchard

4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris

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The Power of Human Connection In Community Building and Sales with Jen Allen-Knuth

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Jen Allen-Knuth is the Head of Community Growth at Lavender, an AI email assistant that helps you write better emails faster, double replies, and save time. Together, they are providing comprehensive tools and guidance for crafting compelling sales emails.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:31 - Embracing Vulnerability's Unique Superpower in Sales
05:06 - The Sales Influence of Emotional Content Connections
08:59 - AI-Enhanced Email Efficiency in Sales
13:37 - Jen's Favorite AI Tools for Sales
16:13 - Authenticity & Communication Impact of AI Content
20:18 - Leading Companies' Strategies for Evangelism and Community Growth
24:36 - Finding Where To Engage with Customers & Build a Community
31:19 - Jen's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
31:38 - Jen's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
32:30 - Jen's Biggest Challenges at Lavender
33:19 - Instrumental Resources For Jen's Success
34:32 - What Does Success Means for Jen Today
35:14 - Get In Touch With Jen

Get In Touch With Jen:

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Books:

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The Marketing Ladder Podcast

Unleashing Big Results on a Limited Ad Spend with Mason Cosby #210

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Mason Cosby is the Director of Demand Generation at Sales Assembly, a leading organization that offers Elevated Learning & Development for GTM Teams, where he leads the development of impactful B2B programs. His journey in sales and marketing began as a means to pursue flexibility for seminary studies.

In addition to his role at Sales Assembly, Mason hosts "The Marketing Ladder" podcast and serves as a GTM Ambassador at GTM Partners, solidifying his influence in the marketing community.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:25 - Mason's 200 Dollar Tech Stack
05:52 - Growing Reach and Driving SQLs on a Limited Budget
07:53 - Comparing Costs and ROI of Podcasting
12:31 - Pitching Podcast Guests into a SQL Conversation
16:14 - Maximazing Reach in the Post Recording Phase
20:41 - Purpose of Your Podcast + Guest Engagement
25:01 - Podcasting Results and Investment Return
28:45 - The Future of Digital Marketing with Artificial Intelligence
30:14 - Mason's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
30:40 - Mason's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
32:22 - Mason's Biggest Challenges at Sales Assembly
33:17 - Instrumental Resources For Mason's Success
36:03 - What Does Success Mean for Mason Today
37:33 - Get In Touch With Mason

Get in Touch with Mason:

Mason's LinkedIn

Sales Assembly Website

Mentions:

Gary Vee

Neil Patel

Creation vs Distribution

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More About Akeel:

Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian

Strategies for Success in Social Selling Through LinkedIn with Nicholas Thickett #209

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Nicholas Thickett is the Co Host at the B2B Power Hour, a space to connect with others in B2B marketing + sales space, where they share their experiments on social selling, ABSD, cold email, AI, SEP's, Async video, virtual events and more. With an expansive archive of 160+ podcast episodes, takeaways and articles, they help sales and marketing professionals thrive in a world dominated by outdated playbooks and old-school tactics.

Nicholas is also the Managing Partner at Alignd, Marketing & Partnerships Manager at KO Advantage Group, a competitive home brewer and woodworker.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:31 - Differentiating Social Selling from Social Media Marketing
04:59 - Approaches In Social Media Marketing
09:14 - Standing Out & Closing More Deals in Uncertain Markets
12:30 - Is LinkedIn The Ultimate Sales Platform?
15:40 - Mastering Prospect Research & List Building on LinkedIn
21:58 - Unlocking Meeting Success with Cold Prospects
25:25 - Content Creation for Engaging Prospects
29:29 - Future Transformation In Social Selling with IA
31:30 - Nicholas' Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
32:18 - Nicholas' Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
33:19 - Nicholas' Biggest Challenges at B2B Power Hour
35:43 - Instrumental Resources For Nicholas' Success
40:04 - What Does Success Mean for Nicholas Today
42:03 - Get In Touch With Nicholas

Get In Touch With Nicholas:

B2B Power Hour Website

Nicholas LinkedIn

Mentions:

Rory Sutherland

Brent Adamson

Books:

The Challenger Customer by Brent Adamson

Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte

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"Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss

Data-Driven Strategies for Hiring Excellence and Retaining Top Talent with Neha Naik #208

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Neha Naik is the Founder and CEO of RecruitGyan, a human resources company specializing in recruitment consulting, business staffing, and interview preparation with a focus on technology startups. Neha accelerates company growth by attracting top talent and motivating investors. She is an official member of the Forbes Business Council and has founded multiple ventures, including RG, The Sleepy Cub, Creative Arc, and Triad partners.

Neha is an expert in career planning, recruitment, a certified sleep consultant, and a mom entrepreneurship coach, helping mothers start businesses and achieve work-life balance.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:24 - Founders' Sleep and High-Level Performance
02:35 - The Power of Data Storytelling and Hiring Strategies
05:38 - Training Hiring Managers for High-Caliber Talent Acquisition
07:58 - Unveiling the Importance of Retention
11:14 - Shaping an Ideal Company Culture to Boost Referrals and Cut Recruiting Costs
14:19 - Key Questions for Anonymous Surveys
17:54 - The Role of AI in Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent in 2023
21:53 - Powerful Tools in the Recruiting World
23:51 - Neha's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
24:17 - Neha's Piece of Advice for Her 25 Years Old Self
24:59 - Neha's Biggest Challenges at RecruitGyan
26:19 - Instrumental Resources For Neha's Success
28:00 - What Does Success Mean for Neha Today
28:44 - Get In Touch With Neha

Get In Touch With Neha:

Mentions:

Books:

"Atomic Habits" by James Clear

"Happy Pocket Full of Money" by David Cameron Gikandi

"Die With Zero: Getting All You Can From Your Money and Your Life" by Bill Perkins

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More About Akeel:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

How to Launch Your Startup Business with Limited Resources with Melissa Kwan #207

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Melissa Kwan is the Co-founder and CEO of eWebinar, a revolutionary SaaS company that helps people automate repetitive webinars and achieve a better work-life balance. With over twelve years of experience in startups and three successful companies built without venture capital backing, Melissa is a revenue-driven founder specializing in sales and business development.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:23 - Prioritizing Sales Efforts Being A Bootstrapped Company
04:36 - Leveraging Free Marketing Channels
09:52 - Reaching Out For Users When Founding
12:33 - How To Acquire First Users Without A Budget
14:27 - What Is Social Selling & Why It Is Important
20:06 - Ways To Find Where Your Customers Are
22:55 - Creating Your Own Audience Community
29:54 - Melissa's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
30:30 - Melissa's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
31:52 - Melissa's Biggest Challenges at eWebinar
32:48 - Instrumental Resources For Melissa's Success
34:19 - What Does Success Means for Melissa Today
36:01 - Get In Touch With Melissa

Get In Touch With Melissa:

Melissa's LinkedIn

eWebinar Website

Mentions:

Lloyed Lobo

Books:

Presentation Secrets Of Steve Jobs by Carmine Gallo

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More About Akeel:

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

Why First Impressions Matter When it Comes to Onboarding with Peter Ord #206

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Peter Ord is the Founder and CEO of GuideCX®, a leading provider of client onboarding and implementation tools for SaaS companies. With a focus on delivering value faster to clients, they offer advanced solutions that help project managers and client success teams invite, guide, and engage their customers.

Peter's vision is to empower businesses to create a truly customer-centric onboarding experience that leaves a lasting impression, becoming the top choice for companies looking to enhance their onboarding process and drive customer success.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:19 - The Founding & Overview Of GUIDEcx
07:18 - GUIDEcx Funding & Size Today
07:55 - First Steps On Customer Experience & Why It Is Important
15:37 - Setting Up The Most Important Metrics & KPIs
18:41 - Customer Experience Trends And Technologies To Keep An Eye In 2023
23:00 - The 5 Steps To The Early Success of GUIDEcx
27:44 - Advice To Scale SaaS Startups
31:42 - Peter's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
32:31 - Peter's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
33:21 - Peter's Biggest Challenges at GuideCX
35:19 - Instrumental Resources For Peter's Success
36:33 - What Does Success Means for Peter Today
37:56 - Get In Touch With Peter

Get In Touch With Peter:

Mentions:

Books:

The User Method by Jeff Schwarting

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

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Building, Scaling and Fundraising A SaaS Company with Sufian Chowdhury #205

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Sufian is the Founder & CEO of Kinetik, Where they offer a suite of products and API solutions to organizations in the non-emergency medical transportation industry to streamline and automate billing. Through their platform, they help streamline day-to-day operations for brokers, managed care organizations, and local transportation providers.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:07 - Founding Of Kinetik
05:54 - Why Sufian Turned Down a Major Ride Share Deal
07:34 - Working With Health Plans
13:53 - Most Important Strategies For Scale
17:43 - How To Know If It's Time To Scale
20:10 - Networking In New York
21:22 - Covid-19 Impact On Kinetik
23:45 - Company Control & Relationship With Investors
29:17 - Investing Opportunities On The Healthtech Future
30:36 - Sufian's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
31:02 - Sufian's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
31:24 - Sufian's Biggest Challenges at Kinetik
32:26 - Instrumental Resources For Sufian's Success
33:06 - What Does Success Means for Sufian Today
33:56 - Get In Touch With Sufian

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Cybersecurity, Space Exploration and The Future Of SaaS Business with Adam Anderson #204

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Adam Anderson is a Managing General Partner of Ansuz Capital, a venture fund that helps Cybersecurity companies that specialize in protecting businesses from the number one cyber risk facing the world: Social Engineered Cyber Attacks targeting your employees. He’s also the Chairman, and co-founder of Hook Security.

He’s also an entrepreneur who after 20 years on the frontline of cybersecurity, writing five books, and years of keynotes and interviews, he then sold his first cybersecurity company a few years ago.

He’s also the co-host of the Two Stones One Bird Podcast, where they talk to entrepreneurs who are interested in investing or starting their own funds.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:27 - The State Of SaaS Ventures & VC Economy Today
03:20 - Failing To Raise A $60M Fund And Turning Around
06:24 - Adam's Initiation On Fighting Cybercrime in 2018
09:47 - The Kind Of Investment That Adam Usually Works With
11:31 - Fast Capital Vs Slow Capital
20:59 - Investment Opportunities Coming With Space Exploration
27:19 - 3 Steps To Reduce Security Risks & Breach As A SaaS Founder
29:41 - Adam's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
30:21 - Adam's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
31:04 - Adam's Biggest Challenges at Ansuz Capital
32:10 - Instrumental Resources For Adam's Success
34:18 - What Does Success Means for Adam Today
36:32 - Get In Touch With Adam

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The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Thriving for Revenue in The 2023 Market Downturn with Scott Stouffer #203

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Scott Stouffer is the Founder & CEO of ScaleMatters, a platform that delivers Go-to-Market operations, analytics, and insights to help businesses drive capital-efficient growth.

He took his first company (Visual Networks) public in 2001 and grew it to a peak market cap of $3 billion. Since then, he has been 5x CEO and 3x Founder.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:35 - GTM Strategy To Overcome Downturn
05:13 - Common Points For CAC Decreasing & Shortening Sales Cycle
13:11 - Effectively Balancing Sales Team And Leads
15:16 - Key Elements Of Context To Improve Operations & Outcomes
23:12 - How To Begin Incorporating Data In SaaS Scaling
27:48 - Most Important Data & Sources To Aim For Fast Growth
31:21 - Scott's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
32:09 - Scott's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
33:40 - Scott's Biggest Challenges at ScaleMatters
36:16 - Instrumental Resources For Scott's Success
38:45 - What Does Success Means for Scott Today
42:45 - Get In Touch With Scott

Get in Touch With Scott:

Scott's Email

ScaleMatters Website

Mentions:

The Data Room Podcast

Books:

Essentialism by Greg Mckeown

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UI/UX Interfaces For Fast Growth SaaS with UserActive #202

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Peter Loving is a software designer, coach and consultant who works with SaaS companies to build better products, making UI & UX improvements that drive growth & wow users.

He’s the founder of UserActive, an agency that designs meaningful tech products. They are inspired by a mission to help tech founders build products that enrich the lives of users, doing this by applying critical thinking, creative talent and product strategy to solve real business challenges.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:22 - UserActive In Terms Of Size Today
02:49 - The Product Designing Process
07:21 - Metrics And Case Studies
17:19 - Back End Process
24:01 - Features And Functionality On Different Workflows
25:21 - Final Advice From Peter
27:36 - Get In Touch With UserActive

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Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull & Amy Wallace

The Symbiotic Relationship Between Performance & Brand Marketing with Kamil Rextin #201

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Kamil Rextin is the General Manager of 42 Agency, a B2B Agency that helps SaaS companies scale Demand Generation & build RevOps infrastructure. He has worked in RevOps Growth & Demand Gen for the last 12+ years at companies like CrowdRiff & Uberflip.

He uses a scientific approach when it comes to marketing. So rather than believing whatever is trending, he experiments, and whatever proves to be effective is what matters to him.

Outside of work, Kamil enjoys hiking and reading, especially comics.

In the episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:08 - What Is Demand Generation?
02:48 - The Relation Between Demand Generation & Brand Marketing
06:03 - Top Mistakes When Implementing Dem Gen & RevOps
09:08 - Demand Generation Through LinkedIn
12:41 - Performance Branding
14:01 - First Steps To Start Doing Performance Marketing
17:05 - Kamil’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
17:37 - Kamil's Piece of Advice for His 20 Years Old Self
18:22 - Kamil's Biggest Challenges at 42Agency
19:05 - Instrumental Resources For Kamil's Success
20:41 - What Does Success Means for Kamil Today
21:25 - Get In Touch With Kamil

Get in Touch With Kamil:

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Books:

Working Backwards by Colin Bryar & Bill Carr

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Best Rated SaaS Podcasts

Christian Cox: Building a Long-Term, Sustainable Product Development Framework

Technology In Healthcare Management With Plumero #200

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Christian Cox is a linguist, professional ponderer and currently the founder at Plumero Technologies.

Christian is an Experienced Agile Business Analytics and Technology Professional with a relatively unconventional background. As a Spanish major who spent six years in Argentina, Chris was first exposed to the digital technology world at a small web development company. Chris is a certified scrum master and earned his Masters in Regional Integration Processes at Universidad de Buenos Aires and his BA in Spanish Linguistics at Arizona State University.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:02 - About Plumero
04:06 - Is Plumero Seeking For Investment?
05:24 - Plumero’s Ideal Client
06:22 - Plumero’s Website Walkthrough
11:16 - Why & How To Use Plumero
23:36 - Get In Touch With Christian

Previous Episode with Christian Cox:

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https://www.revvspark.com/saas-district/

What Is SaaS Conversion Content And How to Create It with Carly J Cais #199

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Carly is the Founder & CEO of RevvSpark, a content agency that creates full-funnel marketing content strategy, generates demand, optimizes conversions, and helps elevate Sales Team’s potential.

She started in Marketing over 20 years ago, first in B2C and then in B2B where she is now on a mission to grow businesses with creative "Conversion Content" that levels up internal teams and drives demand.

She’s an expert in streamlining B2B tech companies to ignite rapid growth, specializing in companies in the Startup to Scaleup phase, who are below $25M in revenue.

She is also writing a book called "Startup to Scaleup: $100K Growth Secrets from SaaS Leaders" that will be published in Q1 2023.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:38 - The Concept Of Content
02:42 - How A SaaS Company Can Determine Their Content Needs
04:01 - Examples Of Conversion Content
05:10 - Measuring The Content Success
10:08 - How A Company Can Incorporate A PLG Motion Into A Go-To-Market Strategy
12:33 - How Much Content Is Enough?
15:23 - Top 3 Effective Techniques For Growing A B2B Business
20:11 - Technology That SaaS Founders Should Prioritize Implement
23:08 - Carly’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
24:52 - Carly’s Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
25:15 - Carly’s Biggest Challenges at RevvSpark
26:34 - Instrumental Resources For Carly’s Success
28:49 - What Does Success Means for Carly Today
29:27 - Get In Touch With Carly

"Become a Content Machine: The Conversion Content System"

This PDF lays out step-by-step how to create a month’s worth of content from ONE source piece, and the tools and tips we use to create all the touchpoints that take a buyer through each stage of their journey.

Get In Touch With Carly:

Mentions:

Books:

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

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The Psychological Knowledge and Power Behind SaaS Companies with Darshan Pindoria #198

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Darshan Pindoria is a Psychology and Mindset Coach at Deeppsyc, an organizational psychology service that impacts key areas of mental health and performance. Darshan has a BSc in Psychology, he’s a vlogger, public speaker and course creator who also took up training for 9 months as a monk in a yoga ashram.

Darshan’s past SaaS experiences working as a Business Development Manager at companies like Verto Cloud, eBusiness Guru Limited, Avasam and Replyco.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
02:05 - Darshan's Background
04:46 - Darshan's Experience & Learnings As A Monk
16:19 - Darshan's Meditation Practice
17:56 - Common Employees’ Struggles Worked At Deeppsyc
20:55 - Companies’ Best Practices For Employees’ Mental Health
26:58 - Darshan’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
27:27 - Darshan’s Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
27:46 - Darshan’s Biggest Challenges at Deeppsyc
28:21 - What Does Success Means for Darshan Today
29:06 - Get In Touch With Darshan

Get In Touch With Darshan:

Darshan’s Instagram

Deeppsyc Website

Deeppsyc YouTube Channel

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Subscriptions Management For Digital Agencies With AppBind

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Sunir Shah is a marketer, developer and startup guy. He's the founder of AppBind, a subscriptions management tool for resellers and agencies. AppBind lets you subscribe to software and ads for clients without using your credit card. This cloud-based billing solution enables trustful communication between agencies and clients.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
00:46 - AppBind Overview
03:21 - Who Is AppBind's Ideal Customer / Target Market
05:23 - Prices & Features
06:17 - AppBind’s Product Functions
14:19 - Contract Integrations
18:10 - Back-End
20:22 - Investing On AppBind

Get In Touch With Sunir:

Sunir Shah's LinkedIn

AppBind

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"SaaS Growth Hacks" Facebook Group

How To Add Revenue Fast To Your SaaS Company with Aaron Krall #196

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Aaron is a SaaS Onboarding & Lead Conversion Specialist, and the founder of SaaS Accelerator, a coaching program that helps SaaS founders to implement systems and processes to scale revenue faster and more predictably.

He helps SaaS companies with an ARPU of $100 or more achieve scalable, predictive growth and are looking for proven systems and frameworks they can implement into their business to increase revenue and build a scalable SaaS.

Aaron also runs the SaaS Growth Hacks community on Facebook which currently has over 20,000 members.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:46 - Big Reasons Why Companies' Streams Decrease
09:09 - Changing The Marketing Channel
12:36 - Checklist To Know If A Company Is Ready To Scale Up
15:35 - Downside Of Scaling Up Before Being Ready
16:25 - The "Fisher Analogy" When Searching For New Clients
19:33 - Building A Community As a SaaS Founder
27:37 - The Best Revenue Streams To Budget For Into 2023
31:42 - Aaron’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
32:46 - Aaron’s Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
35:16 - Aaron’s Biggest Challenges To Continue To Grow
36:54 - Instrumental Resources For Aaron's Success
39:53 - What Does Success Means for Aaron Today
43:20 - Get In Touch With Aaron

Get In Touch With Aaron:

Aaron Krall's Website

Mentions:

Peldi Guilizzoni from Balsamiq

SaaS District Interview with Peldi Guilizzoni

Lake Coloring App

Travis Sago

Dan Martell

Books:

How To Live by Derek Sivers

Anything You Want by Derek Sivers

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The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

Importance of Due Diligence When Buying A Business with Ahmed Raza #195

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Ahmed is the Director of Due Diligence at Rapid Diligence, a company that provides due diligence and consulting services for buyers looking to acquire businesses under $500M.

Ahmed previously founded a small-cap private equity fund to buy eCommerce businesses and lead due diligence for private equity funds focused on SaaS, eCommerce, FBA, and content website acquisitions.

In this episode we cover:

01:12 - Ahmed's Due Diligence & Acquisition Background
05:26 - Differences Acquiring a SaaS, an E-commerce & Content Business
10:32 - Organic Vs Ads Traffic For E-Commerce
11:45 - High Level Red Flag Checklist To Review When Acquiring
13:12 - Top Reasons & Red Flags That Kills A Deal
15:41 - Percentage Of Successful DD
16:45 - Combining E-Commerce & Affiliate Website Strategy
18:24 - What Kind Of Business & Process To Start Acquiring
20:55 - Ahmed's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
22:22 - Ahmed's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
24:45 - Ahmed's Biggest Challenges at Rapid Diligence
26:15 - Instrumental Resources For Ahmed's Success
28:18 - What Does Success Means for Ahmed Today
30:19 - Get In Touch With Ahmed

Get In Touch:

Ahmed Razza's Twitter

Rapid Diligence Website

Ahmed's Email

Books:

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

My First Million Podcast

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Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener

Using Interactive Product Demos As Your PLG Motion with Natalie Marcotullio #194

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Natalie Marcotullio is a Head of Growth and Operations at Navattic, a company that empowers prospects to get hands-on with a product earlier through no-code interactive demos and helping SaaS companies give their prospects a better buying experience. More than 200 go-to-market teams use Navattic across the funnel, from first touch in outbound campaigns, to website product demos and post-demo leave behinds.

Natalie has a background in SEO and digital marketing for B2B sales and marketing SaaS. Now she focuses on full-funnel marketing, GTM strategy, and improving the digital buyer experience.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:12 - What Is An Interactive Product Demo
01:53 - Why Interactive Product Demo Is So Important
04:39 - Interactive Demos Vs. Free Trials
06:30 - The Power Behind A No-Code Interactive Product Demo
07:31 - The Ideal Customer For Product Demo
08:31 - Measuring The Conversion Rates Using Interactive Product Demo
10:17 - Best Way To Show Your Product Demo On Your Website
11:59 - What To Consider Before Testing Out
12:40 - The Sales People Opinion About Interactive Demos
15:04 - Natalie's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
16:00 - Natalie's Piece Of Advice For Your Younger Self
17:12 - Natalie's Biggest Challenges at Navattic
17:59 - Instrumental Resources For Natalie's Success
19:58 - What Does Success Means for Natalie Today
21:46 - Get In Touch With Natalie

Get In Touch With Natalie:

Natalie's LinkedIn

Navattic's Website

Mentions:

Andrew Capland

Books:

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How to Build a Successful Startup From Scratch with Dom Einhorn, Spencer Fry & Thomas Petersen #193

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0500

In this episode we have great founders talking about what to do, mistakes to avoid and how to validate an startup, great content shared by Dom Einhorn, founder & CEO of Uniqorn Incubator; Spencer Fry, Founder at Podmatch.com and Thomas Petersen, Co-Founder and CEO at First Principle.

In this episode we cover:

00:38 - Best Places And Countries To Start Your Business
03:45 - Growth Levers
08:47 - Who Is The Ideal Profile Of Founders

Full episodes with:

Dom Einhorn

Spencer Fry

Thomas Petersen

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How to Combine a Community-Led Growth & Product Led Growth Strategy with Zachary DeWitt # 192

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Zach DeWitt is a Partner at Wing Venture Capital, a firm investing in Seed and Series A rounds for transformative enterprise tech companies. Prior to Wing, Zach was CEO and co-founder of Drop, which built two award-winning iPhone apps (Drop Messages and Firefly) before selling the technology and the IP intellectual property to Snapchat in 2016.

Zach holds a BA in Economics from Yale University as well as an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:30 - Explaining CLG & PLG When It Comes To SaaS
09:06 - Big Monolithic Brand Vs Community Led Product
10:30 - Does CLG Work For Every Kind Of SaaS
12:35 - Benefits Of Using Community-Led Growth
15:19 - Where To Start To Spread Your Word
17:43 - The Right Time & Way To Develop A Community
20:36 - How Often & How To Share Updates With The Community
27:52 - How PLG Companies Can Keep The Community Active & Engaged
31:39 - Zackary's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
32:26 - Zachary's Piece Of Advice For His 20 Years Old Self
33:51 - Zachary’s Biggest Challenges at Wing Partner Capital
34:49 - Instrumental Resources For Zachary's Success
36:40 - What Does Success Means for Zachary Today
38:44 - Get In Touch With Zachary

Get In Touch With Zachary:

Mentions:

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Big Data Governance & Data Security For SaaS Companies with Balaji Ganesan #191

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Balaji is the co-founder & CEO at Privacera, a startup focused on building tools for enterprises to balance data democracy, open use of data with the need for comprehensive governance. They are focused specifically on enterprises moving data to public cloud and leveraging it for analytics, ML & AI.

Balaji comes from an IT Consulting background and intentionally moved into Sales at a small company to learn and develop new business on the grounds. He then used that experience to build and sell a startup and then build another successful one.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:26 - Balaji's Background + Founding & Acquisition Of XA Secure
08:26 - The Main Successful Learning Of Founding XA Secure & Privacera
13:35 - Public Or Internal Data
19:08 - Is It Their Data + Why Would They Need Someone Else To Deal With The Data
22:46 - Flying Cat Marketing - Content-led B2B SEO agency
24:30 - Data Democracy & Government Data Risks
32:51 - How Privacera Adapt To Worldwide Different Rules & Demands
34:32 - What New Founders Should Keep An Eye On To Make It Work
37:51 - Balaji’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
38:41 - Balaji’s Piece Of Advice For His 20 Years Old Self
40:07 - Balaji’s Biggest Challenges at Privacera
43:37 - What Does Success Means for Balaji Today
46:39 - Get In Touch With Balaji

Get in Touch:

Privacera Website

Balaji's LinkedIn

Mentions:

Don Bosco Durai

Capt. Sully Sullenberger

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Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute

Why Every SaaS Founder Should Care About Customer Onboarding with Sri Ganesan # 190

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Sri Ganesan is Co-founder & CEO of Rocketlane, a leading Customer Onboarding Platform and SaaS product that helps businesses by replacing generic project management and document collaboration tools with a unique, unified workspace.

Sri has spent his last 9 years building and scaling SaaS businesses. His last start-up, Konotor, was acquired by Freshworks in 2015 and went on to become their fastest-growing product (today known as Freshchat). Prior to building start up, Srikrishnan was leading product teams at companies like Verizon, Rediff, and Jigsee.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:35 - Sri's Background + Freshworks Acquisition Story
08:33 - Founding Rocketlane
11:10 - The Importance & Impact Of Customer Onboarding
14:29 - What Kind Of Companies Rocketlane Is Build For
16:55 - The Needs Of Sales & Marketing Teams In An Onboarding Platform
19:35 - Flying Cat Marketing - Content-led B2B SEO agency
21:33 - Prioritizing The Most Important Things When Onboarding A New Client
24:09 - Pros & Cons Of Following An Onboarding Template vs Natural Conversations
25:52 - How New Business Can Implement Or Optimize A Customer Onboarding Process
27:46 - Sri's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
28:27 - Sri's Piece Of Advice For His 20 Years Old Self
29:03 - Sri's Biggest Challenges at Rocketlane
30:19 - Instrumental Resources For Sri's Success
32:26 - What Does Success Means for Sri Today
33:09 - Get In Touch With Sri

Get In Touch:

Mentions:

Books:

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip & Dan Heath

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10% discount on 11Sight services with the coupon HORIZEN10

Shortening The Sales Process From Days To Hours with Aleks Gollu #189

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Aleks Gollu is the co-founder and CEO of 11Sight, an Inbound Video Call Platform for Revenue Teams. Aleks is a serial entrepreneur and CEO with a successful track record of building innovative solutions from idea to exit. He started his career at Oracle and Sapient. However, being in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, he rapidly realized his passion for entrepreneurship and co-founded his first startup, O’TelNet, a pioneer of SMS-based cell phone applications that was acquired by a competitor.

He holds a B.S. degree from MIT and an M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from UC Berkeley. Gollu has also been granted 8 patents, is fluent in 4 languages, and outside of work, Aleks is a movie aficionado and enjoys mountain biking and cooking.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:28 - How 11Sight Is Innovating The Video Calling SaaS Business
07:13 - How These Unscheduled Calls Work At 11Sight
11:17 - How Inbound Video Reduces The Sales Cycle For Client & Customer Perspectives
12:56 - Businesses Where Reduced Sales Cycle Works Better Or Don't
14:36 - 11Sight Tried On A Outbound Level
16:17 - How 11Sight Video Calling Works
18:37 - DoFollow - Premium Link Building
19:46 - Fast Building Confidence And Trust With Customers
23:04 - The Most Critical Skill In a Sales Communication
26:12 - Aleks’ Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
26:49 - Aleks’ Piece Of Advice For His 25 Years Old Self
28:46 - Alek’s Biggest Challenges at 11Sight
30:39 - Instrumental Resources For Aleks’ Success
32:02 - What Does Success Means for Aleks Today
35:27 - Get In Touch With Aleks

Get In Touch With Aleks:

11Sight Contact Page

Aleks’ LinkedIn

Discount:

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PPC for SaaS - Top Experts Reveal Advice to Scale with Dylan Hey & Luis Camacho #188

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0500

In this episode we have two experts talking about PPC, sharing strategies about budget, funnel, campaigns and more.

Dylan Hey is the Co-Founder & CEO of HeyDigital, a creative PPC & CRO agency that focuses on helping SaaS & B2B Tech Companies scale revenue with PPC & Paid Social Advertising Campaigns. After successfully managing hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending on Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Capterra for a lot of customers, Dylan has built an effective SaaS specific advertising process that works.

Luis Camacho is the Founder & CEO of Fantom Agency, an elite digital marketing agency for SaaS & B2B companies alongside the strongest community where they help SaaS companies over the $20K MRR mark, who are trying to scale up via a predictable and strategically thought out customer acquisition process.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
00:41 - Best PPC Channels For B2B SaaS Companies
07:04 - How SaaS Companies Should Be Setting Budgets For PPC to Maximize Results
09:33 - Best Strategy Setting Up a Campaign or Optimizing Your Current Funnel
11:14 - Is Paid Media Campaigns a Good Strategy for Every SaaS?

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Best Rated SaaS Podcasts

Cloud Apps Capital Partners Website

Moving Up Market in The SaaS World with Andy Stinnes #187

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Andy Stinnes is a General Partner at Cloud Apps Capital Partners, a market-focused VC firm specializing in cloud business application companies. They partner with entrepreneurs at the early stages to build global category leading companies.

Andy is responsible for developing investment strategies, sourcing and leading investments, and serving on the boards of portfolio companies. He’s an expert in business software applications, business networks, enterprise-class product strategy and go-to-market.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Flying Cat Marketing - Content-Led B2B SEO Agency
01:08 - Intro
02:19 - Investing In SaaS Apps & Cloud Market In 2022
06:47 - Investment Thesis + What Cloud Apps Capital Partners Look For
12:24 - Importance & Time To Moving Up Market
19:59 - Checkpoints To Know That A Company Is Ready To Upmarket
23:07 - Different Key Metrics In A Upmarket Business
25:40 - Mistakes When Trying To Scale A Business Too Early
30:12 - Strategies For Upmarket Transition
33:53 - Tips For Freshly Started Founders To Scale Their Company
37:23 - Andy's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
38:03 - Andy's Piece Of Advice For His 25 Years Old Self
39:16 - Andy's Biggest Challenges at Cloud Apps Capital Partners
41:05 - Instrumental Resources For Andy's Success
43:26 - What Does Success Means for Andy Today
44:55 - Get In Touch With Andy

Get In Touch With Andy:

Andy's LinkedIn

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E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

The Secret Psychology Behind Building A High-Performance Team with Vlad Hu #186

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Vlad Hu is the CEO of TensionX, a software development company that specializes in Web Apps and Google Chrome extensions development. The company helps common people find technical solutions, get away from routine and save time for the really important stuff.

Vlad is known for his expertise in building SaaS, Optimizing Business Processes, and Automation. In addition to being a co-founder of a handful of cloud SaaS apps, he helps entrepreneurs on their SaaS Business Journey.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Flying Cat Marketing - Content-Led B2B SEO Agency
01:08 - Intro
02:31 - Building A High-Performance Work Team From Scratch
03:51 - Measuring The Level Of The Performer
06:48 - Different Stages Of The Building Process
10:16 - Common Problems Faced By High-Performance Workers
12:30 - Keeping Track Of The Team Performance Improvements
14:54 - Top Secrets To Build And Coach A High-Performance Team
17:02 - The Team Coaching Process
19:47 - Celebrating & Giving Recognition
25:56 - Vlad's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
26:52 - Vlad's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
27:50 - Vlad's Biggest Challenges at TensionX
29:01 - Instrumental Resources For Vlad's Success
31:25 - What Does Success Means for Vlad Today
33:00 - Get In Touch With Vlad

Get In Touch With Vlad:

Vlad's LinkedIn

Vlad's YouTube Channel

Mentions:

Dan Lok

Books:

Principles by Ray Dalio

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W. Curtis Preston's Book "Modern Data Protection" Free Copy On Druva's Website

Why Founders Should Use a SaaS Service For Data Protection & Resilience with W. Curtis Preston # 185

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0500

W. Curtis Preston aka “Mr. Backup” is the Chief Technical Evangelist at Druva, a data protection as a service company. He's an expert in backup & recovery systems, a space he has been working in since 1993, designing data protection systems for some of the largest organizations in the world.

He is also the host of the Restore it All podcast, founder and webmaster of backupcentral.com, a website dedicated to backup and recovery and has written four books about backup and recovery.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Flying Cat Marketing - Content-Led B2B SEO Agency
01:08 - Intro
02:20 - SaaS Applications And Higher Risks Of Data Loss
07:59 - The Basic Features That SaaS Data Protection Companies Includes
11:05 - Difference Between Protecting Privacy & Data Security
12:57 - Challenges & Risks Of Backing Up Data Using A Traditional System
18:27 - What You Should Be Aware Of When Choosing A Backup Service Team
25:20 - Does Migrating A Company's Backup To A Cloud Provider Mitigate Risks?
30:53 - How Often A B2B SaaS Should Be Backing Up
33:20 - Curtis' Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
34:08 - Curtis' Piece Of Advice For His 25 Years Old Self
34:52 - Curtis' Biggest Challenges at Druva
37:10 - Intrumental Resources For Curtis' Success
38:38 - What Does Success Means for Curtis Today
40:08 - Get In Touch With Curtis

Get In Touch With Curtis:

Curtis' Twitter

Druva Website

Mentions:

Stephen Foskett

Backup Central's Restore It All Podcast

Books:

First, Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman

How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

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Best Rated SaaS Podcasts

Samurai Marketers Website

Everything About Link-Building in SaaS with Shaurya Jain #184

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Shaurya is the founder of Samurai Marketers, a link-building agency for brands in the SaaS industry. He loves to help B2B brands implement their organic marketing and link-building strategies. Among Samurai Marketers' clients, you will find some famous SaaS brands like Zoom, Udemy and Waybook.

When he is not working, you can find him reading some business or personal development books.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Flying Cat Marketing - Content-Led B2B SEO Agency
01:08 - Intro
03:02 - The Importance Of Link-Building In 2022
05:29 - Should We Pay For Back-Links?
07:04 - High Quality Back-Links
10:06 - Link-Building Value Vs Other SEO Marketing Strategies
11:55 - Campaigns With Great Results
18:29 - Tests & Metrics To Understand Results From A Link
20:29 - Dofollow.io - Premium Link Building
21:44 - Ranking & Driving Links To The Right Pages
25:41 - Tips To Start Link-Building With Little Or No Budget
27:40 - The Story Behind The Name Samurai Marketers
29:34 - Shaurya's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
30:09 - Shaurya's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
31:18 - Shaurya's Biggest Challenges at Samurai Marketers
32:11 - Instrumental Resources for Shaurya's Success
34:30 - Get In Touch With Shaurya

Get In Touch With Shaurya:

Shaurya's LinkedIn

Discount:

10% discount on Samurai Marketers services, just mention that you came from the SaaS District Podcast.

Books:

Built To Sell by John Warrillow

The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle

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Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

Managing Legal Risks For Digital Documents And Contracts with Charles Brecque #183

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Charles is the founder and CEO of Legislate, an early-stage legal tech startup which allows large landlords, letting agents, and small businesses to easily create, sign and manage contracts that are prudent and fair. Legislate’s platform is built on its patented knowledge graph which streamlines the contracting process and aggregates contract statistics to quickly unlock valuable insights.

Charles was also one of the first employees of Mind Foundry, an Oxford University spin out specializing in automated data science and AI.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Byldd - MVP Development Agency Based in New York
01:12 - Intro
02:22 - How & Who Legislate Works Helping Settle Agreements
05:25 - How The Contract Templates Are Built
09:36 - Preventing Legal Risks Signing Through Legislate Vs Lawyer
14:01 - Using AI In The Contract Creating Process
17:11 - Dofollow.io - Premium Link Building
18:44 - Are e-Signatures As Legally Binding As Wet Signatures?
21:00 - Security Processes For Digital Signatures
21:49 - Overview Of The Legal Tech Market
23:39 - How Legal Leaders Can Help Improve The Process & Technology
24:53 - Legislate in Terms of Size Today
25:11 - Charles' Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
25:36 - Charles' Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
26:45 - Charles' Biggest Challenges at Legislate
27:29 - Instrumental Resources for Charles' Success
28:57 - What Does Success Means for Charles Today
30:38 - Get In Touch With Charles

Get In Touch With Charles:

Charles' LinkedIn

Legislate Website

Books:

How To Become A Rain Maker by Jeffrey J. Fox

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Flying Cat Marketing Website

5-20% Monthly Growth Using SEO As A Framework For Your B2B SaaS with Maeva Cifuentes # 182

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Maeva is the CEO of Flying Cat Marketing, an SEO agency for companies in martech, salestech and proptech. They help fast-growing B2B SaaS companies turn their website into one of their greatest inbound revenue channels through both SEO and content.

They can help your SaaS by creating high quality content, convert visitors, and achieve 5-20% monthly growth.

Maeva has been a translator since 2009, speaks 5 languages and in her spare time she does improv theater and works on getting fluent in Italian.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Byldd - MVP Development Agency Based in New York
01:12 - Intro
02:50 - The Ideal Time For SaaS Companies Investing In SEO & Content Marketing
08:28 - Results When Creating Content & Building Links To The Website
12:04 - Analyzing Competitors' Content Process
15:58 - Tracking KPI's When Starting A Marketing Strategy
19:45 - Ranking, Topic Clusters & Value Keywords
22:21 - Allocate SEO Budget Between Link Building, New Or Old Content
24:17 - Dofollow.io - Premium Link Building
25:12 - Strategy For Optimizing The Content
26:41 - What Constitutes A Good Backlink + Paying Backlinks For Fast Results
29:27 - SEO Free & Low Cost Tips For SaaS Founders
32:48 - The History Behind The Flying Cat Marketing Name
34:15 - Maeva’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
35:10 - Maeva's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
35:45 - Maeva's Biggest Challenges at Flying Cat Marketing
36:44 - Instrumental Resources for Maeva's Success
38:48 - What Does Success Means for Maeva Today
39:51 - Get In Touch With Maeva

Get In Touch With Maeva:

Maeva's LinkedIn

Mentions:

Camille Trent

Erin Balsa

Books:

Deep Work by Carl Newport

The One Thing by Gary Keller

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The Strategy And Tactics Of Pricing by Thomas T Nagle

Defining Pricing & Packaging For New B2B SaaS Products with Dan Balcauski #181

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Dan is the Founder & Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, a consulting firm that accelerates product growth and increases customer loyalty. They bring world-class product management and strategy practices to B2B SaaS and Marketplace companies in the small-to-mid market.

Dan has managed multiple products throughout the product life-cycle from new concept incubation, product launch, product maintenance, platform transitions, and end of life over the last 15 years.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Byldd - MVP Development Agency Based in New York
01:12 - Intro
03:00 - What Is Product Value?
09:18 - Perceived Value Vs Cheap Price
13:00 - Strategy For Getting An Effective Price
16:31 - What Some SaaS Founders Get Wrong About Pricing
17:59 - How Often The Price Should Be Changed
20:34 - Adjusting The Price When Adding New Features
23:14 - Advantages Of Using Free Trials Or Freemium
32:02 - Dofollow.io - Premium Link Building
33:20 - Should Companies Show Pricing On Their Websites?
39:34 - When To Bring A Pricing Expert To Your Product Marketing Team
42:26 - Dan’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
43:27 - Dan's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
43:45 - Dan's Biggest Challenges at Product Tranquility
44:38 - Instrumental Resources for Dan's Success
46:17 - What Does Success Means for Dan Today
47:24 - Get In Touch With Dan

Get in Touch With Dan:

Dan's LinkedIn

Product Tranquility Blog

Mentions:

Patrick Campbell

Books:

Monetizing Innovation by Madhavan Ramanujam & Georg Tacke

Magic Mind, The World's First Productivity Drink - You can get 40% off on your subscription for the next 10 Days. Try it out, go to magicmind.co/SaaS and use our Discount Code SAAS20

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Jason Fried from Basecamp

Product Development To Turn Your Idea Into Your Next App Scale-up with Andreas Creten # 180

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Andreas Creten is a software engineer and an entrepreneur who loves developing apps and building teams. He’s the CEO of madewithlove, an app development company that helps startups and established companies turn ideas into applications by offering development, consulting and ad interim management services, building both products and teams.

They have been CTO in over 60 companies, mainly operating as CTO ad interim. You can regularly find Andreas working on open-source projects and speaking at conferences around the world.

in this episode we cover:

00:00 - Byldd - MVP Development Agency Based in New York
01:12 - Intro
02:19 - Introducing Legacy Code
04:16 - Top Red Flags On The Due Diligence Process
08:50 - What Is Technical Debt And How They Work It
11:40 - Balancing Technical Debt & Product Development
15:24 - Scenarios Where Refactoring The Code Can Work
17:25 - Tools That Madewithlove Use To Ensure Code Quality
20:20 - Building The Perfect Engineering Team
23:24 - The App Development Process With madewithlove
28:35 - Madewithlove in Terms of Size Today
30:07 - Andreas’ Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
31:13 - Andreas’ Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
32:51 - Andreas’ Biggest Challenges at Madewithlove
34:06 - Instrumental Resources for Andreas’ Success
36:54 - What Does Success Means for Andreas Today
38:07 - Get In Touch With Andreas

Get In Touch With Andreas:

Andreas' LinkedIn

Mentions:

Books:

Getting Real by Jason Fried

The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim & Kevin Behr

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Understanding Hybrid-Remote Work & Building Trust In A Virtual Office with Rajiv Ayyangar # 179

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Rajiv Ayyangar is the Co-founder and CEO of Tandem, a desktop app for distributed teams that simulates a "virtual office”, allowing users to see who’s around, what they are working on, talk and collaborate in one click.

Rajiv studied bioengineering at Princeton and subsequently worked at Fairchild and Yahoo. He’s also a rock climbing, classical piano player and probably an expert on blind wine tasting.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Byldd - MVP Development Agency Based in New York
01:12 - Intro
02:45 - How Did Remote/Hybrid Work Affect Tandem’s Team
04:51 - Building Tandem
06:48 - Tandem's App Changes Before Vs After COVID-19
08:31 - How Are Tandem Helping Build A Trusting Workplace
10:51 - The Secret Of The Successful Hybrid Teams
13:40 - Ways Of Working And Their Evolvement
17:47 - Tandem's Plans To Support Remote/Hybrid Work
19:27 - Trends On VR Work Space
21:09 - What SaaS Founders Should Consider Before Hiring Remotely or In Person
23:03 - Tandem in Terms of Size Today
23:35 - Rajiv’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
23:58 - Rajiv's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
23:53 - Rajiv's Biggest Challenges at Tandem
27:06 - Instrumental Resources for Rajiv's Success
28:30 - What Does Success Means for Rajiv Today
29:15 - Get In Touch With Rajiv

Get In Touch With Rajiv:

Mentions:

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Working Backwards by Colin Bryar & Bill Carr

How PR Strategies Support SaaS Exits with Lindsey Groepper #178

Fri, 13 May 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Lindsey Groepper is the president at BLASTmedia, a national B2B SaaS PR agency that takes a holistic approach to PR.

Lindsey is responsible for new business development and helping oversee the strategic direction of the agency where they focus public relations.

Lindsey graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communications, majoring in Public Relations.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Byldd - MVP Development Agency Based in New York
01:12 - Intro
02:14 - The Right Time To Write A Press Release & Announcement
04:06 - What To Expect From A Effective Copy PR Release
07:57 - What Metrics Matter To A PR Agency + Reporting & Result
12:46 - Working With A PR Team + What They Need
17:01 - The Stalking, Stealing & Using People Strategy
22:54 - Lindsey’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
24:24 - Lindsey’s Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
27:03 - Lindsey’s Biggest Challenges at BLASTmedia
29:17 - Instrumental Resources for Lindsey’s Success
32:55 - What Does Success Means for Lindsey Today
34:23 - Get In Touch With Lindsey

Get In Touch With Lindsey:

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How AI Powers Cloud Automation & Help To Reduce Cloud Costs with Leon Kuperman #177

Fri, 06 May 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Leon Kuperman is the CTO of CAST AI, a platform that increases your SaaS company’s profit margin without additional work. They cut your cloud bill in half, automate DevOps tasks, and prevent downtime in one Autonomous Kubernetes platform.

Leon has over 20 years of experience in product management, software design and development all the way through to production deployment. He’s an industry leader on Web Application Security and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), e-commerce, cloud computing and web application architecture. He’s passionate about his customers, his work as well as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, where he actually holds a Brown belt.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Sponsor: Byldd - MVP Development Agency Based in New York
01:12 - Intro
02:55 - The Main Value Of AI & Why Simple Automation Is Not Enough
08:24 - Problems in Cloud Service That Requires Automation
12:56 - Tips To Start Using Automation On A SaaS
15:52 - Scenarios Where Cloud Automation May Not Work Well
17:55 - The Main Tool Categories To Address The Automation Challenges
19:26 - The Secret Of Building a Machine Learning Model
21:24 - Where is CAST AI in Terms of Size Today
22:18 - Leon’s Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
23:18 - Leon’s Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
24:17 - Leon’s Biggest Challenges at CAST AI
25:36 - CAST AI Ukraine Hiring Program
27:10 - Instrumental Resources for Leon’s Success
29:36 - What Does Success Means for Leon Today
32:36 - Get In Touch With Leon

Get In Touch With Leon:

Mentions:

Books:

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

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Net Dollar Retention: The One Metric SaaS Companies Should Focus On with Firaas Rashid #176

Wed, 04 May 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Firaas Rashid is CEO and founder of Hook, a predictive data platform that empowers Customer Success teams. Hook is transforming B2B SaaS by providing accurate revenue predictions and intelligent, actionable insights to secure more customer renewals.

Firaas founded Hook in late 2020 and has already raised millions in funding from some of the top investors and company founders in Europe. He is passionate about changing the way Customer Success Teams operate, which we’ll go deeper into on today’s episode.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Byldd - MVP Development Agency Based in New York
01:11 - Intro
02:25 - How Hook Works Customer Success With SaaS companies
05:57 - Understanding Customer Success & Customer Support When Building A Team
08:12 - Key Measurements & Metrics To Pay Attention
12:13 - How Often Should We Be Tracking These Metrics
13:36 - How Do These Metrics Help Prevent Customer Churn
15:08 - Key Actions We Can Take At This Stage
17:55 - Structuring Incentives For Your CS Team
21:37 - Tips On Hiring The Right Person For A CS Role
26:40 - Firaas’ Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
27:54 - Firaas’ Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
31:00 - Firaas’ Biggest Challenges at Hook
32:14 - Instrumental Resources for Firaas’ Success
35:12 - What Does Success Means for Firaas Today
37:23 - What Is A Ideal Workplace For Firaas
40:09 - Get In Touch With Firaas

Get In Touch With Firaas:

Firaas Rashid LinkedIn

Hook Metrics Report

Mentions:

TK Kader

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Organic Growth Acceleration For Your B2B Saas Company with George Chasiotis #175

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0500

George Chasiotis is the Managing Director of MINUTTIA, an organic growth acceleration agency for B2B SaaS companies. George started out as an independent marketing consultant but was soon pulled down the path of creating an agency. In his free time, he imparts wisdom (read: rants) on LinkedIn or buries his head in psychology books to get down the “why” of human behaviour.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:35 - SEO as The Main Channel Of Traffic For a Starting SaaS
05:33 - Link Building & Creating An Authority on Early Stage
07:14 - Strategies For Later Stage Companies
12:11 - Ranking Top-Notch Content in 2022
16:17 - Google's Ranking Factor To Be Aware Of
19:27 - Follow Vs No-Follow Link
21:45 - Investing In SEO With Limited Budget
26:54 - The Problem Of Using Copycat Content
29:04 - George's Favorite Tools For Managing SEO Campaigns
34:34 - Volume Vs Quality Content
38:38 - George's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
38:52 - George's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
39:08 - George's Biggest Challenges at MINUTTIA
41:00 - Instrumental Resources for George's Success
41:54 - What Does Success Means for George Today
42:36 - Get In Touch With George

Get In Touch With George:

Mentions:

Sparkle and Thrive Podcast

Books:

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke

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Reinventing Workforce Health Management in the MedTech SaaS Space with Benjamin Crevant #174

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Benjamin Crevant is the Co-Founder and CEO of MyC MedTech, a compliant tool for companies to manage health data, medical check-ups and remote medical sites, worldwide. They offer predictive analysis and insights relevant to the activity and their employees health.

After more than 8 years working around the globe gaining managing and entrepreneurship skills, Ben went back to Europe where he and his co-founder Laurent reinvented how companies can manage their team resilience and bring healthcare to workers and companies.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:23 - Why MedTech Is Important To Avoid Health Problems
05:47 - MedTech Ecosystem And It's Evolution
07:49 - How Covid-19 Has Transformed Companies Digitalization
09:02 - Reliable Measurement Of Health Workforce's Statistics
10:57 - The Approach When Implementing a Healthcare Service
13:27 - Employee's Data Privacy & Security
15:55 - Big Companies Challenges When Managing Healthcare
20:44 - Opportunities For Future MedTech SaaS
24:10 - Benjamin's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
25:20 - Benjamin's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
26:37 - Benjamin's Biggest Challenges at MyC MedTech
27:48 - Instrumental Resources for Benjamin's Success
32:17 - What Does Success Means for Benjamin Today
33:45 - Get In Touch With Benjamin

Get in Touch With Benjamin:

Benjamin's LinkedIn

MyC MedTech Website

Mentions:

Google

Netflix

Books:

The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings

Tag Us & Follow:

Zero to One by Peter Thiel

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How The Future of Work Is Set to Impact SMB Platforms with Pedram Afshar #173

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Pedram Afshar is the Co-Founder & CEO of Amaka, a tech startup specialized in accounting integrations and business daily data automation. Started in 2015, Amaka now has a worldwide customer base and a over 45+ person team.

He is an expert in creating innovative technology solutions, where before starting into entrepreneurship, Pedram had a career in commercial banking, credit risk and portfolio management, where he acquired experience in the SME landscape that he then used to become a startup founder.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Costumer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:06 - How Amaka Works + The Impact Of Using API
03:48 - The Accidental Entrepreneur
04:32 - Founding Amaka
06:09 - Marketing Experiments and Channels That Work
07:44 - Leveraging Relationships Through API
08:31 - Automation Limitations When Build a SaaS
11:12 - The Future Of Work With SMB Platforms
13:48 - Tips For Starting a e-commerce SaaS Efficiently
16:24 - What Pedram Would Do Different If He Started Today
18:15 - Leading a Company Tutorial Based on 90’s Rap Classics
20:23 - Pedram's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
21:34 - Pedram's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
22:48 - Pedram's Biggest Challenges at Amaka
25:52 - Instrumental Resources for Pedram's Success
28:03 - What Does Success Means for Pedram Today
29:16 - Get In Touch With Pedram

Get in Touch With Pedram:

Pedram's LinkedIn

Amaka's Website

Books:

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

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How to Convert More SaaS Users Using Video Reviews with Adam O'Leary # 172

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Adam O'Leary is the Co-Founder of TrustScout, a video testimonial capture tool that helps their customers get video reviews in a fast, simple and automated way. Originally developed for agency white-label, eCommerce, and SMBs, TrustScout helps clients increase their sales conversions, social media engagement and SEO ranking.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Costumer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:39 - Adam's Background & TrustScout Fouding
08:23 - Review Page A/B Test
09:37 - Analyzing Video Reviews vs Written Reviews
11:47 - The Best Moment & Place To Show Video Reviews
14:44 - When To Capture Video Testimonials
16:03 - When Is The A-Ha Moment For a Client
19:13 - Best Approach To Ask For Customers Reviews
22:42 - Script For The Perfect Video Testimonial
26:13 - Adam's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
26:51 - Adam's Piece of Advice for His 22 Years Old Self
27:32 - Adam's Biggest Challenges at TrustScout
28:20 - Instrumental Resources for Adam's Success
29:33 - What Does Success Means for Adam Today
31:21 - Get In Touch With Adam

Get In Touch With Adam:

Adam's LinkedIn

TrustScout Website

Mentions:

Google Business Reviews

HubSpot

TrustPilot

Books:

The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone

The Marketing Secrets Show with Russell Brunson

The Daily Stoic

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Bootstrapping A 7-Figure ARR SaaS With Only 2 People Using PLG with Esben Friis-Jensen # 171

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Esben is the Co-founder and CGO at Userflow, which offers the fastest and most user friendly onboarding flow builder for SaaS/Online businesses on the market.

Prior to Userflow, Esben co-founded Cobalt.io, a 200+ employee company which he stepped down at the beginning of 2021.

He has a background as an Accenture consultant with more than 3 years of experience in test and deployment management of global IT implementations.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Costumer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:17 - The PLG Strategy Definition
05:20 - Tips to Create Auto Selling Products
07:10 - The Features Of The Great Product
09:00 - Giving The Right Solution At The Right Time
11:10 - Make The Customer Onboarding Happen
12:51 - Examples Of Successful Onboarding
14:53 - How They Built Userflow
17:22 - Esben's Role On Building Userflow
21:42 - Esben's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
22:48 - Esben's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
24:23 - Esben's Biggest Challenges at Userflow
25:03 - Instrumental Resources for Esben's Success
27:57 - What Does Success Means for Esben Today
31:00 - Get in Touch With Esben

Get In Touch With Esben:

Mentions:

Books:

Product Led-Growth by Wes Bush

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How to Master the Perfect B2B Pricing Strategy for Your SaaS with Marcos Rivera # 170

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Marcos Rivera is the Founder & CEO of PRICING I/O, a company that helps growth-stage B2B SaaS companies design the right pricing, shifting from guesswork to framework and get ready to scale up.

Marcos is also an author, speaker, investor, and entrepreneur. He was raised by a single mother in a one bedroom apartment in the Bronx and survived the hard streets by applying what her mom taught him: Stay curious, take lead, and give help.

Fast forward to today, Marcos was Program Executive Director of Product Management, teaches pricing to MBA students at UC San Diego (where he earned his MBA from the Rady School of Management), coached over 100 SaaS CEOs and helped price over 200 SaaS products and counting.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Costumer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
01:52 - B2B Companies' Mistakes When Pricing Their Offering
02:37 - Numbers That Influence The Price
05:03 - When Founders Discover That They Need To Optimize Prices
06:41 - What Charge For Vs When To Charge
08:03 - Charging Monthly Vs Annually
09:00 - Should Every Company Publish Their Pricing?
12:16 - How Anchoring Affect Sales
13:16 - The Forking Method
15:28 - How Much Free Trial Or How About Freemium
17:04 - How To Convert A Freemium Customer To A Paid Customer
20:20 - Marcos' Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
20:47 - Marcos' Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
21:34 - Marcos' Biggest Challenges at Pricing I/O
22:46 - Instrumental Resources for Marcos' Success
24:22 - What Does Success Means for Marcos Today
25:30 - Get in Touch With Marcos

Get In Touch With Marcos:

Mentions:

Books:

Marcos' Upcoming Book "Street Pricing"

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How to Leverage Security To Close Faster Enterprise Deals for Your SaaS Company with Girish Redekar # 169

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Girish Redekar is the CEO & Co-Founder of Sprinto.com, a company that helps SaaS companies become SOC-2 compliant, close enterprise deals faster and pass vendor security assessments easily.

He previously built and bootstrapped RecruiterBox to over 2500 customers and 50+ employees both in the US and India. The company was then acquired by a private equity firm Turn/River Capital in an all cash deal.

Girish is a passionate programmer and entrepreneur, keen on helping other SaaS businesses demonstrate security chops and close enterprise deals faster.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Costumer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:14 - Starting to Implement Cybersecurity in a SaaS
04:56 - Most Common Cyber Attacks
07:21 - First Steps to Founders Preventing Cyber Attacks
10:11 - Security Questionnaire
13:48 - Aligning Security With Less Cost
16:34 - SOC2 Explained
20:21 - Girish's Past Ventures Before Starting Sprinto
24:19 - Girish's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
24:56 - Girish's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
25:28 - Girish's Biggest Challenges at Sprinto
25:44 - Sprinto Is Hiring!
26:28 - Instrumental Resources for Girish's Success
31:50 - What Does Success Means for Girish Today
33:31 - Get in Touch With Girish

Get in Touch With Girish:

Sprinto.com

Girish's Email

Mentions:

Creedence Cleanwater Revival

Atomic Habit by James Clear

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

Amp it Up by Frank Slootman

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Live SaaS Website Teardown for Optimizing Copy and UX for Improving Conversions with Christopher Silvestri # 168

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Christopher is a Conversion Alchemist at Conversion Alchemy, which means he brings copywriting, user experience and digital psychology together to help businesses understand how their visitors and users interact with them and build websites that act as their sales machines, making more money in the process.

Chris is a Former UX lead at Zeda Labs & Conversion Crimes, he writes and e-skate at Concrete Surfers (recently sold), has been playing drums for 20+ years in a band, playing basketball for 20+ years and practices Vipassana meditation daily.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Costumer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
03:54 - Postalytics Teardown
04:21 - First Page Look
21:49 - Pricing Page
34:58 - About Page
35:55 - Call To Action Buttons
39:10 - CRO Measuring Tool
41:14 - ShoutOUT Teardown
41:47 - First Page Look
52:55 - Pricing Page
54:03 - Two Call To Action Buttons Together
54:57 - Signing Up & Dashboard
01:03:04 - Get in Touch with Christopher

Get in Touch With Christopher:

Conversion Alchemy Website

Christopher's Twitter

Mentions:

7 Levels of Conversion

Balsamiq

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Best Practices For Effectively Managing Remote Developers with Victor Purolnik # 167

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Victor Purolnik is the Founder & CEO of Trustshoring, a company that can help you find the right software development resources to support your growth, by linking you with professional and skilled developers that fit your company culture.

He’s an expert in the software development and outsourcing industry, with around ten years’ of experience as both provider and client.

He’s the author of the Complete Outsourcing Playbook, and the organizer of many events in the startup and outsourcing space. Recently, he’s also joined a Berlin-based startup, Rebolet, as their iterim CTO.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Costumer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:22 - Trustshoring's Software Dev Team Finding Process
05:53 - Offshoring The Technical Team Vs Hiring In House
11:20 - Consider Hiring Lower Cost Dev Teams
13:18 - Favorite Questions When Hiring a Remote Tech Team
18:00 - Hiring Remotely or Locally Pros & Cons
24:33 - Meeting With Your Agency & Team
25:43 - Development Costs For Building a B2B SaaS Product
30:47 - Platforms To Find Remote Developers
32:55 - Dev Team Levels, Speed of Execution & When To Change
39:29 - Victor's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
40:14 - Victor's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
40:43 - Victor's Biggest Challenges at Trustshoring
42:36 - Instrumental Resources for Victor's Success
44:26 - What Does Success Means for Victor Today
46:22 - Get in Touch With Victor

Mentions:

Steli Efti (CEO of Close)

Rob Walling (Co-Founder of Tinyseed)

Startups For The Rest Of Us Podcast

Product Stories Podcast

Get in Touch With Victor:

Victor's LinkedIn

Victor's Email

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How to Avoid Common Mistakes US SaaS Companies Make When Expanding Into Europe with Alan Gleeson #166

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Alan Gleeson is the Founder of Work With Agility, a strategic B2B marketing consultancy with a passion for supporting tech startups to generate leads and to grow their businesses.

Alan started his career in financial services, joining Barclays on their graduate programme. He joined Palo Alto Software, a leading SaaS company in 2004 where he acted as the Managing Director for the European subsidiary for a number of years.

More recently, Alan has worked for a number of leading SaaS startups, in a mix of full time and consultancy engagements.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Costumer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:34 - What To Plan Before Expanding Internationally
04:29 - Common Challenges When Branching Out
07:33 - Branching Differences Between EU & US Companies
09:52 - Considering Region, Culture & Language When Expanding
19:54 - CMO, Alan's Playbook & EU Vs US B2B Companies Market
23:51 - Finding The Right Team For Your SaaS In A New Market
27:24 - Hiring Someone Full Time & Salary Expectations
32:45 - Alan's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
33:37 - Alan's Vision When Starting Work With Agility
38:06 - Alan's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
39:46 - Alan's Biggest Challenges at Work With Agility
41:12 - Instrumental Resources for Alan's Success
42:58 - What Does Success Means for Alan Today
44:19 - Get in Touch With Alan

Get in Touch With Alan:

Mentions:

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Top Metrics That Drive Higher SaaS Valuations And You Don’t Know About Selling your SaaS Business Can Hurt You with Lowell Ricklefs #165

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Lowell Ricklefs is the CEO & Founder of Traction Advising, a Hands-on M&A firm focused on helping B2B SaaS companies with >$5M ARR get acquired. They exist to help you sell your company.

Lowell has been a Founder/CEO and buyer as well as COO of a $120M public company which he brought to a $260M Exit. Startup CRO and Global VP at Rockwell. He’s also a Global Mentor, Investor, Board member and CEO coach.

in this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Customer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:37 - SaaS under $5M ARR Valuation Changes
06:02 - Expected Valuation for Private SaaS
09:16 - Financial Buyer vs Strategic Buyer
10:43 - Top Metrics to Consider When Valuing a Company
14:51 - Sell 100%, Raise VC Money & Grow the SaaS?
17:29 - When is The Right Time to Sell Your SaaS
20:34 - Reasons Why Founders Are Selling Their SaaS
22:43 - The Advisor Work on a Transaction
27:16 - Relationship Vs Cold Outreach To Approach Buyers
29:31 - Lowell's Past Ventures Before Traction Advising
30:51 - Lowell's Vision While Starting Traction Advising
31:46 - Lowell's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
32:37 - Lowell's Biggest Challenges at Traction Advising
34:10 - Instrumental Resources for Lowell's Success
35:18 - What Does Success Mean to Lowell Today
36:57 - Get in Touch With Lowell

Get in Touch with Lowell:

Lowell's LinkedIn

Lowell's Email

Mentions:

Steve Jobs

Books:

The Paradox of Choice

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Getting Your First Customers as a Bootstrapped Startup With a Limited Budget with Andy Cabasso # 164 [ Startups ]

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Andy Cabasso is the co-founder at Postaga, an outreach service to build links for free, with its AI-assisted all-in-one outreach platform. They can find outreach opportunities, analyze outbound content, find email addresses and much more.

Andy is also co-founder of Offsprout, where they help web design agencies to build websites for their customers using white-label website building tools.

Prior to Postaga and Offsprout, was also co-founder at JurisPage, an Internet marketing agency focusing on helping law firms create a professional Internet presence and get better visibility online. JurisPage was acquired by Uptime Legal in 2016. Before all that, Andy was a practicing lawyer.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Customer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:28 - Best Channels To Get Your First Costumers
04:29 - Finding & Reaching Out to The Right People
07:18 - Charm Offensive Cold Outreach
09:23 - Postaga's Email Open Rates
11:12 - Outreach Cost-Effectiveness
13:32 - Growth Tips to Save Money and Time
18:16 - TinySeed's Startup Accelerator Program
25:53 - Getting Early Customers Through Product Hunt
30:23 - Better Days to Product Launch
31:32 - Product Launch Final Tips
33:54 - Experiences Lauching on AppSumo
37:51 - Andy's Vision When Starting Postaga
38:50 - Andy's Piece of Advice for His 25 Years Old Self
39:38 - Biggest Challenges Andy's Facing
40:13 - Instrumental Resources for Andy's Success
42:30 - What Does Sucess Mean to Andy Today
43:53 - Andy's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
44:41 - Get in Touch With Andy

Get in Touch With Andy:

Mentions:

Startups For the Rest of Us

Grow Together Facebook Group

Books:

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

Mastering The Rockfeller Habits

Discount:

Go to Postaga.com and redeem the Coupon PODCAST50 to get 50% OFF for 3 Months

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Content Marketing: Using the Soft and Hard Power of Marketing to Grow your SaaS Business with Greg Elfrink #163

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Gregory Elfrink has been the Director of Marketing at Empire Flippers since 2016. He joined originally as a Content Manager. Now, as the Director of Marketing, he manages everything from the content to the marketing automation, to vision and goal setting, all the way down to the implementation.

His big goal is to make Empire Flippers more mainstream as an M&A brand, and to help investors see the power of digital assets, while helping sellers have life changing exits. Gregory was born in Anchorage, Alaska where he worked in the oil fields and now travels the globe networking and speaking.

In this episode we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT Customer Messaging via SMS, Email, WhatsApp & Messenger
00:50 - Intro
02:45 - Current Trend in The SaaS Sales Market
05:22 - SaaS Business Valuation
08:07 - Marketing ROI Results in Empire Flippers Site
10:51 - Back Link Strategy for SaaS Founders
13:13 - Leveraging Content & Reaching Customers As a Starting SaaS
16:04 - The Soft & Hard Power of Marketing
20:15 - Measuring The Soft & Hard Power of a SaaS
23:40 - SaaS Evaluation Process Before Selling It
26:09 - Reasons Why People Give Up Selling Their SaaS
28:39 - Top Common Reasons To Sell a SaaS Business
31:56 - Greg's Past Ventures & Background
35:14 - Instrumental Resources For Greg's Success
37:12 - What Does Success Mean to Greg Today
38:26 - Greg's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
39:29 - Get in Touch With Greg

Get in Touch With Greg:

Greg's LinkedIn

Greg's Email

Mentions:

Surfer

The Opportunity Podcast

Books:

The Believing Brain

Plot And Structure

The Richest Man in Babylon

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Essential UX-UI Design Tips for 2022 (Compilation)

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Starting 2022, we compiled some of the best advice for UI-UX & Product designers from our 2021 season. Whether you are an expert designer or even starting, These lessons will upgrade your creativity, production process and take your skills to the next level.

Thank you to our guests Pek Pongpaet (Impekable), Peter Loving (UserActive) and Billy Carlson (Balsamiq) for this insights.

Full Episodes:

Pek Pongpaet

Peter Loving

Billy Carlson

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What Advice Would You Give Your Younger Self (2021 Founders Compilation)

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 05:00:00 -0500

2021 marked the start of a new chapter for the SaaS District Podcast. We had many top list entrepreneurs that shared their life and work experience and moved us in many ways, unlike ever before.

We've asked several SaaS founders: "What advice would you give your 25 year old self?" and compiled our top responses in this video for you.

Thank you all for joining us in season 2, see you in the next year.

All Interview Episodes

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Designing SaaS Products That Deliver Better User Value and Drive Growth with Peter Loving # 160

Wed, 22 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Peter Loving is a software designer, coach and consultant who works with SaaS companies to build better products, making UI & UX improvements that drive growth & wow users.

During this episode we cover:

00:00 - Balsamiq Rapid, Effective and Fun Wireframing Software
00:46 - Intro
02:32 - Creating a Value-Based Product Dashboard
08:26 - The Relation Between UI/UX & Product Design
12:29 - Tech & SaaS Improvements When Building Designs
17:05 - Increasing Retention & Reducing Churn With Better Product Design
19:37 - UserActive Top Analytics Tools
22:24 - Changes & Important Skills For Future UX designers
25:25 - Peter’s Top 3 Favourite SaaS Companies Designs/UI
30:15 - Background, Past Ventures & Building UserActive
35:51 - Advice Peter Would Give to His 25 Years Old-Self
37:36 - Peter’s Greatest Challenges as Being CEO at UserActive
40:52 - Instrumental Resources For Peter's Success
43:51 - What Does Success Mean To Peter Today
45:44 - Get in Touch With Peter

Mentions:

Airtable

MixPanel

Inside Balsamiq: How To Do Customer Interviews and Better Wireframe Development Across Time Zones With Alberto Forni & Jessica Orellanes # 159

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Alberto Forni is a Software Engineer at Balsamiq where he works on the Balsamiq Wireframes development. He is passionate about programming, Design, User Interface, and, more broadly, he loves everything that has a plug :D

Jessica Orellanes is a qualitative user experience researcher at Balsamiq. After 10+ years in Communication and Digital Marketing, she found real love in UX Research. Now it is her passion and her job.

During this episode we cover:

00:00 - ProdCamp User Feedback & Product Management Platform
00:54 - Intro
02:57 - Customer Research at Balsamiq
05:20 - How The Research Interview Works
07:57 - Peers & Improve Organization Communication Strategy
10:12 - Time zones & The "Golden Hour"
12:19 - Product Road map & Decisions
16:55 - Tips About Starting a Customer Research on a SaaS
21:23 - Adding Value To Interaction With Customers
25:21 - How Balsamiq is Monitoring & Improving With/Without Metrics
29:10 - Why Alberto Doesn't Have a Balsamiq Pet
29:25 What Pet Alberto Would Adopt + Name
29:54 - Alberto's Suggested Dishes to Try in Bologna
30:31 - Why Jessica Doesn't Have a Balsamiq Pet
31:52 - What Pet Jessica Would Adopt + Name
32:35 - What Superpower Jessica Would Want
34:15 - Career Path Tips From Alberto & Jessica
35:51 - What Motivates Them to Keep Working Hard

Get in Touch With Alberto & Jessica:

Alberto’s Twitter

Jessica’s Twitter

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Inside Balsamiq: How To Get Started and Best Practices With Wireframing With Billy Carlson # 158

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Billy Carlson is a Design Educator at Balsamiq where he helps new and non-designers learn best practices of interface and digital product design. He’s been a designer for over 15 years and has worked on many types of projects. Previously, he led large UX teams at various corporations' internal design groups.

During this episode we cover:

00:00 - Impekable Bay Area Product Development Agency
00:45 - Intro
02:08 - Basics of Wireframing & How to Get Started
04:22 - Taking Notes on Wireframing References
05:30 - First Steps on Prototyping
08:06 - Content First Design
09:41 - How SaaS Founders Can Apply Content First Design
10:48 - The Educational Part of The Design Process
12:57 - Principles of Effective Wireframing
21:30 - Expectations & Productivity on Leading Design Team
24:05 - Billy's Routine To Get Into a Creative State
26:02 - Best Dog Breed as Companion for Wireframing
26:50 - What Pet Billy Would Adopt
27:48 - Billy's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
29:11 - Billy's Favorite Thing About Working at Balsamiq
30:08 - Path Tips for Design Career

Links:

Ten Principles of Effective Wireframes

Get in Touch With Billy:

Billy's Twitter

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Inside Balsamiq: The Importance of Building Longevity in Your SaaS Business with Alasdair Mason & Valerie Liberty # 157

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Alasdair Mason is the Customer Champion at Balsamiq. He has been developing his passion for great service in a number of fields for over 2 decades. Whether it's mobile computing, winter sports, video hosting or wireframing the one common factor is providing exceptional support.

As a resident of beautiful South Lake Tahoe, California he embraces the remote-work lifestyle and, when away from his desk, he loves to golf in the summer and snowboard in the winter.

Valerie Liberty is the Head Chef at Balsamiq, but she also handles sales and free inquiries in the Wow! Division. She’s their first US employee, and has been helping customers try to rid the world of bad software since the 90s, even before she and Peldi, worked together at Macromedia. Balsamiq may be a flat organization, but she still answers to one manager, 18-year old rescue mutt, Cooper.

During this episode we cover:

00:00 - WA.Team Convert Messages to Happy Costumers
00:54 - Intro
02:57 - Balsamiq's Way of Customer Support
04:35 - Love What You're Doing
05:47 - The Goldencircle of Balsamiq's Freemail
12:18 - The Importance of Longevity
17:28 - Building & Implementing Longevity
23:11 - Alasdair's Favorite Pet at Balsamiq Team
24:14 - Alasdair's Favorite Lake Tahoe Summer Activity
25:09 - Cooper and Nala's Favorite Balsamiq Recipe
26:20 - Who's The One That Hates The Most Going to The Vet?
27:16 - Favorite Hobby That Gets Them Into A Flow State
31:09 - Career Path & Professional Development Tips
35:09 - What Motivates Them to Keep Working Hard
37:16 - What They Love Most About Working at Balsamiq

Mentions:

Sunir Shah's SaaS District Episode

Get in touch with Alasdair & Valerie:

Valerie’s Twitter

Alasdair’s Twitter

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Inside Balsamiq: Education as a "Feature" of Your SaaS Product with Leon Barnard # 156

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Leon Barnard is a Designer, Writer, and Educator at Balsamiq. He uses his 10+ years of experience as a UX designer to teach user interface design basics and wireframing to Balsamiq's audience of mostly non-designers. He loves helping people and technology get along better.

During this interview we cover:

00:00 - ShoutOUT SMS and Email Messaging That Converts
01:08 - Intro
02:29 - Marketing Strategy on Balsamiq
04:28 - Balsamiq Atypical Approach on Marketing
06:56 - The Whole Product Concept
10:11 - The "What Should I Make For Dinner" Feature
13:12 - Product Experience, Features & Wireframing
14:56 - The 4 Pillars Of Balsamiq's Sustainable Growth
17:23 - How Implement This Pillars as SaaS Founder
20:12 - Customer Service as A Marketing Tool
22:05 - How Balsamiq Uses Education As A Feature
29:39 - Leon's Favorite Hobbies To Get Into a Flow State
30:16 - Something People Usually Learn Only After It Is Too Late
31:31 - Career Path Tips For Professionals at Leon's Area
33:03 - What Motivates Leon To Continue Working Hard
34:13 - What Leon Loves The Most About Balsamiq

Mentions:

Balsamiq SaaS Design Lessons

Get in Touch with Leon:

Leon’s LinkedIn

Leon’s Twitter

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Inside Balsamiq: How To Run Better Sales, Tech Support and Documentation with Brendan Saricks & Liz Green # 155

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Brendan has worked in customer facing roles for his entire professional career. As a founding member of Balsamiq’s Tech Support team, and the Support team Co-Lead, Brendan helps shape the policy and philosophy of Balsamiq’s Support communications.

He also thinks he is funny, despite evidence to the contrary.

Liz Green has had a passion for software and tech since she was young. While her studies were in the Marketing & Advertising field, she discovered her true calling for software support 10 years ago.

She joined Balsamiq in 2016 to help lead the Support and Olio teams. Staying close to customers and their journey brings her joy, but she's also comfortable wearing different hats. On any given day, you might find her troubleshooting payment issues, writing documentation, and running manual tests & QA.

During this interview we cover:

00:00 - Oditly Bring Automation to Inspection Workflows
00:54 - Intro
02:39 - Balsamiq's Sales Process Today
05:06 - The "Finding The Human" Philosophy
09:47 - Maintaining The Team Unification on Balsamiq
13:51 - How They Manage Challenging Conversations
16:17 - Docs & Support Work
20:21 - Cachao's Favorite Game
20:57 - Who's The King In The House, Titan or Odin?
21:29 - Titan & Odin's Favorite Sleep Position
22:59 - What Superpower They Would Have
23:34 - Workplace Superpower
24:33 - Favorite Hobby That Gets Them Into A Flow State
25:31 -Career Path & Professional Development Tips
28:18 - What Motivates Them to Keep Working Hard
30:35 - What They Love Most About Working at Balsamiq

Get in Touch With Brendan & Liz

Brendan's LinkedIn

Liz's LinkedIn

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Inside Balsamiq: How To Resist "Feature Creep" + Better Project Management and Prioritization with Peldi Guilizzoni # 154

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Peldi Guilizzoni is the Founder and CEO of Balsamiq, a fully bootstrapped company focused on wireframing UI/UX.

After studying Computer Science in Italy he moved to San Francisco, where he worked for a couple of years. Through his experience at Adobe systems as an Engineering Lead, he discovered an opportunity to develop a tool that could make everyone more productive and help them do a better job, something he describes as a “no going back technology”.

After a series of events that led to quitting his job at Adobe and focusing on his project, he decided to go back to Italy and found his successful company.

Peldi first joined us on SaaS District where he shared his full background and story on episode 18 of SaaS District.

During this interview we cover:

00:00 - CoffeePals.co The Best Way To Get Your Teams Talking
00:53 - Intro
02:30 - Product Management Priority Techniques
07:35 - The Product’s Mid Life
11:51 - Development Periods While Releasing a SaaS
14:49 - The Mistake of Having Too Many Around Features
19:04 - Best Practices To Avoid Feature Creep
23:51 - Balsamiq’s Growth Philosophy
27:05 - Peldi’s Favorite Hobby That Gets Him Into A Flow State
27:45 - Something People Usually Learn Only After It is Too Late
28:19 - What Motivates You to Keep Working Hard
29:30 - Why Do You Name Your Dog Lucy And What’s Her Favorite Meal
30:20 - What’s The Best Trick Lucy Has Taught You?
31:15 - What Business Peldi Would Start From Scratch Today

Get in Touch With Peldi

Peldi’s Twitter

Peldi’s LinkedIn

Previous Episodes With Peldi Guilizzoni

Sticking to Your Values When Building your StartUp

How to Compete As a Bootstrapped Company Vs. VC Funded Competitors

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How to Automate Your Lead Generation On LinkedIn: Bootstrapping Expandi.io to $6M ARR in 18 months With Stefan Smulders # 153

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Stefan Smulders is a SaaS Entrepreneur, Forbes Business Council and Father of a 5-year-old son. He’s the Co-founder of Expandi, a cold outreach automation tool that helps B2B marketers and agencies to automate their lead generation efforts on LinkedIn. It is completely bootstrapped SaaS where his team grew it from zero to $6M ARR in 18 months.

During this interview we cover:

00:00 - Intro
01:57 - Linkedin's Policy Change and How It Affects Outreach & Sales
06:50 - The Future of Outbound Sales Sequences
07:45 - Linkedin's Profile Score & Engagement
11:43 - Getting Started on Cold Campaign
18:01 - Linkedin Outreach Strategies
21:34 - Expandi.io Initial Stage & First Clients
31:17 - Contentfy.co Your On-Demand Podcast Editing Team
33:13 - Creating Content & Post The Right Way
34:55 - Finding The Right Audience
36:33 - Plans for Growth & Expansion
41:04 - Stefan's Vision While Starting Expandi.io
46:23 - Piece Of Advice Stefan Would Give To His 25 Years-Old Self
48:32 - Stefan’s Greatest Challenges at Expandi.io
50:23 - Instrumental Resources For Stefan's Success
52:27 - What Does Success Mean To Stefan Today
54:23 - Get in Touch With Stefan

Mentions:

*Lempod

*SaaS District Episode with Guillaume Moubeche, Co-Founder of Lempod

Ilya Azovtsev

Grown Hackers

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