The SaaSiest Podcast

145. Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, Partner, Valueships - The importance of pricing and how it affects your profitability

In this episode, we speak with Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, Partner at Valueships, the pricing consultancy firm that helps companies become more profitable by optimizing their strategy, pricing, value understanding, and overall revenue-related processes.

We talked with Krzysztof about the importance of pricing and how it can impact a company's profitability. We discuss insights from our recent report on SaaS pricing trends in the Nordics, highlighting the lack of differentiation in pricing plans and the missed opportunity for add-ons.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- What role should pricing have in your company? 

- How do you prevent value deterioration when adding new features?

- Why do you need to be careful when discounting your product offerings?

- How do you leverage add-ons to drive increased profitability?

These are some of the many questions we address with Krzysztof. Please tune in to learn more about the challenges of pricing, the importance of differentiation, and the impact add-ons can have on your business.

144. Vladan Soldat, Founding Partner, Nobel Recruitment - How to attract your first VP of Sales in an early stage SaaS!

In this episode, we speak with Vladan Soldat, Founding Partner, Nobel Recruitment, the SaaS Sales Recruitment Agency that helps connect commercial talent with fast-growing SaaS companies in Europe.

We talked with Vladan about hiring your first external VP of Sales. We particularly discuss the approach to attract and retain a VP of Sales when you are an early-stage SaaS and still building up brand awareness.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- When is the ideal time to hire a VP of Sales for a business?

- Which strategies are effective in attracting candidates for a new, fast-growing company?

- What steps are involved in the screening process for hiring a VP of Sales?

- What are common mistakes to avoid when hiring a VP of Sales?

- Which red flags should be looked for in the hiring process of a VP of Sales?

These are some of the many questions we address with Vladan. Please tune in to learn how you can attract, retain, and compensate your first external VP of Sales when you are an early-stage SaaS.

143. Sofia Alexus, CEO, Kundo - what can we learn from B2C when positioning and branding our B2B SaaS?

In this episode, we speak with Sofia Alexus, CEO, Kundo, the customer service platform that helps you simplify customer service with consolidated ticket management, AI tools, and self-service solutions for recurring questions.

We talked with Sofia about the rebranding and positioning exercise they are just doing. We particularly discuss the process leading up the final brand and position statement, and how that has been inspired by the B2C fashion industry.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- Why focusing on building moats might not be right if you have access to the fastest river down to the ocean?

- What we can learn from the B2C industry when it comes to positioning and branding?

- How does the processes look like to define a new brand and positioning?

- How to engage your customers in your branding and positioning work?

These are some of the many questions we address with Sofia. Please tune in to learn more about how they are approaching this work, with inspiration from the B2C world to get closer to their customers.

142. Dirk Jonker, CEO & Founder, Crunchr - How to build for a market that is not fully defined?

In this episode, we speak with Dirk Jonker, CEO & Founder, Crunchr, the people analytics and reporting platform,  that layers on top of your existing HR systems to consolidate disparate data sources into easily accessible people insights.

We talked with Dirk about the challenges of product development and positioning in an evolving market. We particularly discuss the internal and external decisions you need to make to get early admirers to become paying customers.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- What requirements are put on product development when building for a yet non-defined market segment?

- How do you position and sell a product in a market segment that is still evolving?

- What requirements are put on leadership and communication when aiming to hit a moving target?

- How can you leverage competitors to define your role in this new market?

These are some of the many questions we address with Dirk. Please tune in to learn more about how Dirk and his team are positioning themselves to win in a market that is just developing.

141. Hatla F. Johnsen, CEO & Co-founder of uQualio - The benefits of running a lean, distributed, and outsourced team

In this episode, we speak with Hatla F. Johnsen, CEO of uQualio, the cloud-based Video Learning Platform designed to make it easy to start making your own video training program for employees, sales partners, end-users, or who your viewers may be.

We talked with Hatla about the benefits of having a fully lean and distributed team, in particular the methods she's put in place for the team to feel togetherness and be efficient.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- How do you build a lean, distributed, and outsourced team in a cost-effective way that is performing on a high level?

- What expectation does this set on communication flows and setting expectations methods compared to non-distributed team setups?

- How to enable great collaboration between different external teams?

- What is required from the leadership side to run an organization with a distributed team around the world?

These are some of the many questions we address with Hatla. Please tune in to learn more about the steps she is taking to build her distributed team for global success.

140. Haukur Hannesson, CEO, AGR - The journey from customized solutions into a traditional SaaS product

In this episode, we speak with Haukur Hannesson, CEO of AGR, the powerful and easy to use inventory optimisation platform which provides you with the necessary tools to operate with precision and efficiency.

We talked with Haukur about AGR's journey from offering customized solutions to transitioning to a more streamlined standard SaaS product. And the positive impact of the transition on the AGR team and the challenges of managing cash flow during the shift to a subscription-based model.

Here are some of the things we talked about: 

- Why being willing to say no to customers are key to building a successful SaaS product!
- What key changes was required in order to transition to a SaaS product?
- Why you have to say no to unnecessary customizations?
- Will you require additional funding during the shift to a subscription-based model?

These are some of the many questions we address with Haukur. Please tune in to learn more about the steps he took in the process of transitioning to a SaaS product.

139. Helena Tivell, VP of People, Kognity - Leadership development - how to develop your leaders!

In this episode, we speak with Helena Tivell, VP of People, Kognity, the all-in-one digital teaching and learning platform - with interactive content, analytics, and assessment support.

We talked with Helana about the importance of continuously developing the leaders of your organization. In particular, we looked into some of the methods she uses to develop and upskill her leaders and why it matters:

- What is the responsibility of a VP of People role?

- How do you further develop and enhance leaders' ability to lead?

- What tools and methods are used to support this process?

- How do you decide on which areas to focus the upskilling in?

- How do you ensure the learnings live past the training sessions?

These are some of the many questions we address with Helena. Please tune in to learn what steps she's taken to continuously support the leadership team with an upskilling process.

138. Daan Assen, Founder, SwipeGuide - How do you succeed with your customer pilot projects?

In this episode, we speak with Daan Assen, Founder, SwipeGuide, the platform that empowers frontline teams to connect knowledge, collaboratively solve problems, and continuously improve processes to ensure sustainable production patterns.

We talked with Daan about selling to some of the world's largest organizations and the role of the Pilot project in such a sales process! In particular, we are looking into the methods to secure and deliver a successful Pilot project that roles over to a full-fledged & long-term relationship:

- What is your definition of a pilot? What is the purpose?

- Should you charge for Pilots?

- Which key metrics do you prioritize during a pilot to determine its success and potential scalability?

- Who should be running the pilot from the seller's side?

- How do you ensure engagement from the prospect side on pilots?

- What strategy or tactic can significantly increase pilot-to-full-product conversion rates?

These are some of the many questions we address with Daan. Please tune in to learn how they are successfully leveraging Pilots to accelerate sales cycles and what methods they are using to increase pilot-to-full-product ratio.

137. Bas van Wijk, VP Commercial Operations, AskCody - Getting the inbound engine off the ground!

In this episode, we speak with Bas van Wijk, VP Commercial Operations, AskCody, the Meeting Management Platform for Microsoft that's driving meeting efficiency through an intelligent Meeting Management and Resource scheduling Platform, and has helped shape the relationship between real estate, organizations, and technology at more than 2500 offices globally.

We talked with Bas about getting your inbound lead engine going! In particular, we are looking into the process of some of the early steps in this process:

- Per definition, what does it mean to be an inbound-driven business?

- What are the main difficulties moving from a sales-led to a marketing/inbound-led approach?

- Which are some of the very steps to take here, and why in that order?

- How do you manage the potential revenue gap that may take place in a transition period?

- What changes does this require to a team and org structure that previously was sales-led?

- What effects does it have on revenue predictability?

These are some of the many questions we address with Bas. Please tune in to hear how Bas successfully executed this transition and now operating a fully inbound-led business, sharing his learnings along the way.

136. Ingrid Bonde Åkerlind, Principal, Oxx - You have Product-Market-Fit, now what?

In this episode, we speak with Ingrid Bonde Akerlind, Principal, Oxx, a specialist SaaS investor, who provides each entrepreneur with a support system of unique specialist expertise and network, and a culture of unfaltering partnership and absolute conviction. The firm’s strategy is built around the concept of “Go-To-Market Fit” (GTMF), developing a structure for thinking about how to build a repeatable, sustainable growth engine that accelerates and propels the growth of SaaS companies.

We talked with Ingrid about what happens after you find Product-Market-Fit (PMF)! In particular, what are some of the key decisions to get right at this point and common pitfalls to avoid:

- What is the difference between PMF vs GTMF?

- Which metrics matter at this point and why? How do you know if your commercial initiatives will bring you closer to your target unit economics?

- What decisions are key to make regarding your organization and team structure at this phase?

- How can you leverage go-to-market experiments, and what are they anyway?

- What are the signs that your SaaS has truly achieved Go-To-Market fit?

These are some of the many questions we address with Ingrid. Please tune in to hear when Ingrid untangles what happens after you graduate from the “seed stage” and need to figure out how to (re)organize your efforts as you grow.