The SaaSiest Podcast

100. Nick Mehta, CEO, Gainsight - Why are your customers staying with you?

In this episode, we speak with Nick Mehta, CEO, Gainsight,  the Customer Success & Engagement platform that has pioneered the CS profession, a powerhouse in the space with an ARR of 200M+ USD and customers all over the world. 

We talk with Nick about churn, logo, and client retention - particularly what preventive actions you can put in place to secure success and minimize the risk of churn! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- Why the question "Why did the customer churn" is the wrong one to ask
- The better process to find out why customers may churn - Get the process
- How do you demonstrate ROI to clients to underscore your value?
- How the role of the CSM is evolving over time and based on needs

These are some of the many topics we address with Nick. Tune in to learn from his experience in the field of CS and what companies do to become sticky, must-haves, and avoid churn!

99. Andreas Fabricius, Co-CEO & CCO, Playable - When the going gets tough - think fast, execute distinctively and learn from it!

In this episode, we speak with Andreas Fabricius, Co-CEO & CCO, Playable,  is a platform that powers over 650 global brands designed to build playable marketing activities that drive engagement with a brand’s products and services

We talk with Andreas about handling the ups and downs in a growth journey,  particularly how they handled a tough period for the business to eventually come out on top better and stronger! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- How should you react to changes that have a significant impact on the business
- What is the role of the leadership team during these times
- How to balance trust and transparency with the team in an unknown environment
- What are some of the learnings coming out of an exercise like this

These are some of the many topics we address with Andreas. Tune in to learn from his experience about the rollercoaster of running a SaaS company, you'll recognize some of the ups and downs shared here.

98. Emma Aidanpää-Salmi, VP Customer Success, Relex Solutions- How should CSMs be measured?

In this episode, we speak with Emma Aidanpää-Salmi, VP Customer Success, Relex Solutions, the unified supply chain and retail planning platform that helps retailers and consumer brands sell more and waste less, with 100m+ in ARR and a leader in its space.

We talk with Emma about the evolution of the CS discipline and how this new setup of CS teams best brings value to an organization! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- How should a successful CSM team be measured going forward
- How should CS leaders balance between growth and satisfaction/value metrics for their CSM-team
- What are the key metrics that you measure your CSM team on
- How should the sales responsibilities be split between CS and Sales and why
- How should we compensate our CSMs if/when they do contribute to Sales

These are some of the many topics we address with Emma, tune in to learn from her experience in running a global CSM team that contributes to customer adoption, and satisfaction while also ensuring revenue growth for each account.

97.Stine Mangor Tornmark, CEO & Co-founder, Openli - How a Community Led Growth approach change everything for the better!

In this episode, we speak with Stine Mangor Tornmark, CEO & Co-founder, Openli, the compliance platform that helps its customers scale their privacy efforts and get on top of their vendors.

We talk with Stine about how she one day had an epiphany, while in the audience at SaaSiest, to do Community-Led growth, and how that changed everything! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- What is the definition of Community-Led growth 
- How do you know if this is the right approach for your business
- What is the process of vetting members
- How do you ensure continuous engagement
- How is an organization impacted when moving to a Community-Led approach

These are some of the many topics we address with Stine, tune in to learn from her experience in scaling fast in a niche space via Community-Led growth.

96. Hélène Hulthin Hagnéré, Founder, SCHHH - Drop the win backs!

In this episode, we speak with Hélène Hulthin Hagnéré, Founder, SCHHH, a Customer Success consultancy supporting organizations to transform their CS journey.

We talk with Hélène about all things CS and specifically Win-backs! Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- What is a win-back
- Why would you not want to save customers
- How do you recommend setting up a CS org for best throughput
- Shall CSMs have a revenue quota
- What is the main CS KPI to track
- Is CS closer allied with product or sales

These are some of the many topics we address with Hélène, tune in to learn from her experience in scaling and running efficient CS organizations over the past 15 years.

95. Katrine Rasmussen, CMO, Pixelz - What is the role of Event Marketing in your ABM strategy?

In this episode, we speak with Katrine Rasmussen, CMO, Pixelz, a post-production platform for brands, retailers, and photo studios across the globe. Combining AI, automation, and the skills of photo retouchers, they are helping some of the world's most renowned brands get images on-site faster 

We talk with Katrine about the role of Event Marketing in your ABM strategy. Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- What is ABM? 
- What is Event Marketing
- How do these play together?
- How do you measure the success of these initiatives
- How is ROI calculated on an event

These are some of the many topics we address with Katrine, tune in to learn from her experience on Event Marketing and how that is an integral part of your ABM strategy when done right.

94. Linda Souza, Founder, 42muses - What is your Brand Archetype?

In this episode, we speak with Linda Souza, Founder, 42muses, the marketing leader and GTM advisor with over 20 years of experience building and scaling high-growth tech startups from seed to exit.

We talk with Linda about how brand archetypes and how they impact the operations of a SaaS company. Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- What are brand archetypes
- Do they really impact the business or is it just marketing fluff
- How can companies figure out what their archetype is
- What different types could be applicable to B2B SaaS companies
- How do you execute on a brand archetype

These are some of the many topics we address with Linda, tune in to learn from her experience of the process of finding your brand archetype and how you execute on it. This is a must listen to all the company leaders and marketing professionals out there, find your brand's personality and make the most of it.

93. Vigleik Takle, CEO, Simployer - Don’t fail to maximise the potential that already resides within your existing staff!

In this episode, we speak with Vigleik Takle, CEO, Simployer, the all-in-one HR tech platform with more than 15000 customers serving over 1.2m users. 

We talk with Vigleik about how companies can avoid missing the opportunity to enable and maximize the potential of their existing pool of staff, rather than just focusing on developing new hires. Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- Why does this oversight at all take place
- How do you in practice and over time make sure to support staff to reach their full potential
- What is the role of the leaders in an organization like this
- What are some key characteristics of an organization that is successful with its people development programs
- Do's and don'ts

These are some of the many topics we address with Vigleik, tune in to learn from his experience of what it really takes to build an organization where staff is catered to and supported to reach their full potential.

92. Karl-Fredrik Lund, CEO, Papirfly Group - What happens after M&A the contract is signed?

In this episode, we speak with Karl-Fredrik Lund, CEO, Papirfly Group, the all-in-one brand management platform that empowers everyone working within your business to create brand-perfect collateral, using pre-approved templating aligned to brand guidelines.

We talk with Karl-Fredrik about the real work that happens after the M&A contracts are signed. Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- What are underlying good reasons to even do M&A
- What are the practical aspects of an M&A process
- What happens after the transaction is closed
- How to handle the critical 3 C's in this process: Communication / Culture Integration /Change management
- How does an M&A process affect a CEO in terms of time and energy consumed

These are some of the many topics we address with Karl-Fredrik, tune in to learn from his experience of what it really takes to be successful with M&A.

91. Sigrún Gunnhildardóttir, CPO, AGR - Going from On-Prem to SaaS!

In this episode, we speak with Sigrún Gunnhildardóttir, CPO, AGR, the demand and supply chain software out of Iceland helping businesses manage their supply chain.

We talk with Sigrún about the process and the transition, going from On-Prem to SaaS, particularly from a product perspective. Topics that are being addressed in this episode are:  

- What are the driving factors in this decision 
- How do you balance uplifting the existing code base vs creating something from scratch
- What have been the most challenging parts in this transition, and how have they been handled
- What effects did this have short-term and long-term on the organization

These are some of the many topics we address with Sigrún, tune in to learn from his experience of merging two fierce competitors into a strong & dominant player.