The SaaSiest Podcast

176. Maja Lindström, CPO, Talentech - Lessons learned from 8 acquisitions - The CPO perspective!

In this episode, we speak with Maja Lindström, CPO, Talentech, a leading developer of HR providing a seamless talent journey through a centralized platform. With main hubs in Oslo, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, and Copenhagen, Talentech's scalable solutions support every stage of the talent pipeline, offering personalization and flexibility to meet tomorrow's challenges.

We talked with Maja about their M&A journey, 8 acquisitions to date and counting, and how you make the unifying process work from a product and technical staff perspective. Some of the questions we discuss in this episode are: 

• First, what are the different underlying strategies that can fuel an M&A strategy of this nature?
• What is the process of "onboarding" separate product teams into a new unified and larger team working on a platform strategy?
• What are the most common pitfalls to avoid here, and why?
• What is the process of integrating different products, at times on different tech stacks and different maturity levels?
• To be successful with this amount of frequent and large acquisitions, it requires a lot from the organization. Which are the key players, processes and characteristics needed from an organization to be successful in a process like this?
• How do you find a balance between product autonomy vs central platform thinking to avoid losing speed in deployment and releases?

This is for all the product leaders out there and people considering an M&A strategy. Tune in to learn mode from Maja's journey of acquiring and integrating 8 product organizations into one platform unit.

175. Mie Elmkvist Schneider, VP Sales & CS, Queue-it - The Sales Leadership KPI Dashboard!

In this episode, we speak with Mie Elmkvist Schneider, VP of Sales & CS, Queue-it, a leading developer of virtual waiting room services, empowering 1,000+ organizations worldwide to build and nurture trust with 25+ billion visitors annually by delivering reliable, fair, and transparent online experiences. 

We talked with Mie about the important measures and KPIs to track for a sales leader when focusing on profitability. Some of the questions we discuss in this episode are: 

• What does your Sales Leadership Dashboard look like - what metrics are you keeping track of?
• What are the key metrics when focusing on profitability vs growth?
• Which are key metrics to focus on in new client acquisition vs existing customer expansion?
• Who is involved, why, and how in the ongoing process of monitoring these KPIs, and triggering necessary actions if/when needed based on deviations?
• What tool stack do you use to track this?

This is for all the sales leaders out there, tune in to see if your dashboard aligns with Mie's and if there are any KPIs that you also need to double down on.

174. Marie Claire Silfer Head of Community Management, SaaSiest - MC is in the house and here is why you should care!

This is a special episode with our very own MC, our new Head of Community Management over here at SaaSiest! 

We're building this community in the open together with all of you, and in this episode, we want to invite you on the inside, for you to start getting to know MC! And yes she does have full name, it is Marie Claire, but everyone calls her MC and we hope you will too 😀!

With MC's arrival, we can now get even closer to you, and create even more personal experiences and content helping you accelerate your career. As you can imagine we are thrilled to have her here and we are confident you will see the great impact from her work very soon.

So, who is this MC? What makes her all that special ❤️

Tune in and find out for yourself - you'll get to know the real MC, her story, what she'll be focusing on, and why that matters to you! 

Welcome MC!

173. Nataly Kelly, CMO, Zappi - AI or Die? How CMOs Can Prioritize AI Investments Under Pressure!

In this episode, Nataly Kelly, CMO, Zappi, a leading consumer insights platform that connects brands with consumers. Through AI-powered software that delivers connected insights, Zappi empowers brands to make faster, smarter, and consumer-driven decisions by leveraging real-time, continuous consumer feedback. 

We talked with Nataly about the pressure CMOs have to AI-enable their organization, both from internal demands as well as external requirements to stay competitive and efficient.

Some of the questions we discuss in this episode are: 

• What’s the biggest misconception about adopting AI in marketing that you’ve seen among CMOs?
• With so many potential AI applications, how can CMOs determine where AI will deliver the most value for their specific organization?
  
• How should CMOs balance the pressure to adopt AI quickly with the risk of making investments that don’t deliver results?
• What metrics or indicators should CMOs use to evaluate the success of their AI initiatives?
• What are some of the common mistakes CMOs make when integrating AI into their marketing strategy, and how can they avoid them? 

It is clear that it is not about AI or not AI, it is about how and where to leverage AI for the greatest outcome of the business. Tune in to hear Nataly's thoughts on this from the CMO perspective.

172. Diane Wiredu, Founder, Lion Words - Message-Market Fit: How much does your message resonate with your customer?

In this episode, we speak to Diane Wiredu, a messaging expert and the founder of messaging consultancy Lion Words. She's been helping SaaS companies for a decade to achieve 'message-market fit. So they can cut through the noise, market more effectively, and sell more.

We speak to Diane about Message-Market fit, what it is, why it is important, and how to achieve it! We particularly discuss her take on the process of developing the right message representing your business, and the unique value it provides to customers.

Some of the questions we discuss in this episode are:

• What is Message-Market fit? Why is it important?
• Why do so many companies fail with this - common red flags?
• What are the 5 process steps to achieve a good Message-Market fit?
• How do you balance internal vs external factors when defining the right messaging?
• How do you launch the new messaging, from inception to publishing it externally?

These are some of the questions we address with Diane, tune in if you also want to learn more about how to achieve Message-Market fit.

171. Dirk Sahlmer, Head of Origination, SaaS Group - 3 reasons why nobody will buy your SaaS

In this episode, we speak to Dirk Sahlmer, Head of Origination, at SaaS Group, a conglomerate of independent SaaS businesses founded by experienced industry veterans with proven entrepreneurial, investing, and product backgrounds.

Dirk speaks to 500+ SaaS CEOs a year and has a firm take on what good looks like! We particularly discuss his take on Exit Readiness from a founder and business perspective, which KPIs to have in order, what process to be ready for, and more.

Some of the questions we discuss in this episode are:

• When is a good time to sell your SaaS business?
• Which are the key value drivers defining the value of your business?
• What common red flags will lead an acquirer to pass on you? 
• What type of historical and current data do you need to have available at all times, ready to share with an acquirer?  

These are some of the questions we address with Dirk, and if you’re a founder looking to sell your SaaS you'll find this episode useful. Tune in!

170. Wendy Harris, Revenue Leadership Coach - What is the single most important trait to have as a Revenue leader?

In this episode, Wendy Harris, a seasoned revenue leader from DropBox, Gong, and others, now a founder of The Wendy Harris, a Leadership Coaching Academy, shares her learning on what good and successful leadership looks like.

We talked to Wendy about the critical aspects of leadership in revenue organizations, emphasizing the importance of honest communication, accountability, and self-awareness. We discussed the critical aspects of what a good leader looks like,  mapping it out on her Flamingo Leadership Framework:

Some of the questions we discuss in this episode are:

• What is the single most important trait to have as a SaaS Revenue leader?
• What sets strong-performing leaders apart from average ones?
• How can you use the Flamingo Leadership framework to evolve leaders in your organization?
• How do you as a leader create a feedback culture? 
• Why should employees choose the boss instead of the job?

If you’re interested in learning more about effective leadership or if you just want to find out if you're a pigeon, flamingo, or peacock  - tune in!

169. Adam Holmgren, Head of Demand Gen, Rillion - A 3 step approach on how to run successful Linkedin Ad Campaigns!

In this episode, Adam Holmgren, Head of Demand Gen, Rillion, the Accounts Payable Automation Software supporting over 3,000 companies across over 50 countries.

We talked with Adam about the process and structure of running successful LinkedIn ad Campaigns, particularly looking into the flow and goals of the different layers of a campaign.  

Some of the questions we discuss in this episode are: 

• How the Linkedin Ad Platform is fundamentally different from other platforms and thus requires a different approach?
• What is the best way to define and continuously refine target lists for best outcomes?
• Which are the 3 key layers in a successful campaign?
• Understanding why your goal is not to drive traffic to your site in the first cold layer of the campaign process?
• How do you design a good retargeting strategy to continue to drive the demand?
• What is the look and feel of a good ad? What is the breakthrough of a few examples?
• How should you measure ROI on LinkedIn ad spend?

If you’re keen to step up your Linkedin Ad game this is a must listen to episode - Tune in!

168. Malin Schmidt, Founder & CEO, Kodiak Hub - Beating the Giants: 4 Principles to Outsmart the Big Players in your space!

In this episode, Malin Schmidt, founder and CEO of Kodiak Hub, takes us on her journey from the shipping and oil industries to building a game-changing SaaS platform transforming global supply chains. Malin shares how Kodiak Hub is empowering strategic Enterprise buyers, tackling skepticism, and redefining procurement with transparency and trust at the core. 

We dive into the challenges of competing with large legacy players, and how understanding enterprise dynamics is key to their success. At the heart of Malin’s insights? Building scalable, sustainable growth while staying true to Kodiak Hub’s mission of creating solutions that actually deliver value.

Some of the questions we discuss in this episode are:

• What are the key ways to demonstrate a superior value-to-investment ratio and outplay competitors with more resources?
• How can smaller players effectively get trust and demonstrate a great understanding of the complex dynamics of enterprise stakeholders better than legacy giants?
• What onboarding strategies can help deliver faster time-to-value compared to larger competitors?
• Why openness and seamless interconnectivity through efficient APIs is crucial for winning against established systems?
• How does the “Land & Expand” strategy enable smaller players to build trust and grow within enterprise accounts?

If you’re curious about how you also can win in the Enterprise space against the legacy giants then this is a must-listen episode. Tune in!

167. Victor Wrede, Co-founder and CSO, Scrive – Leveraging partnerships to scale SaaS growth

What’s the secret to turning partnerships into a SaaS growth engine?

In this episode, Victor Wrede, Co-founder and CSO of Scrive, reveals how the company is transforming business workflows with electronic signatures and digital contracts. He shares the strategies behind building strong partnerships, integrating seamlessly into customer workflows, and creating solutions that stand out in competitive markets.

Victor also opens up about the lessons learned from navigating partner dynamics, the importance of joint initiatives, and the fine balance between direct sales and partner-driven growth.

What you’ll take away:

• How Scrive creates efficiency through streamlined solutions
• The game-changing impact of strategic partnerships in SaaS
• Insights on thriving in dynamic marketplaces
• The role of collaboration in driving long-term success
• Practical advice for scaling through innovation and teamwork

If you’re ready to take your SaaS growth to the next level, this episode is filled with ideas and strategies to help you get there. Grab a coffee, tune in, and let’s dive into the world of smarter partnerships!