The SaaSiest Podcast

125. Andrei Zinkevich, Co-Founder, FullFunnel - The SDR model as you know it is dead!

In this episode, we speak with Andrei Zinkevich, Co-Founder, FullFunnel, the famous ABM and full-funnel marketing consulting agency that helps B2B tech companies with high ACV and long sales cycles elevate their Marketing and Sales efforts.

We talked with Andrei about why the SDR model as we know it is dead, and what the future of prospecting must look like to be successful. Some of the questions covered are:

- What is the old SDR Model, and why is it a thing of the past?

- What is ABSR- Account-based sales rep?

- How do you make this transition from traditional SDR to ABSR?

- What changes are required from the organization to be successful with this approach?

- How do companies measure success rate with this approach?

These are some of the many questions we address with Andrei. Please tune in to learn how Andrei and the companies he works with are transforming and benefiting by moving over to an ABSR practice and ditching the traditional SDR setup.

124. Cedric Notz, CEO & Founder, Float - What is Revenue Based Funding and why its a good alternative to traditional funding?

In this episode, we speak with Cedric Notz, CEO & Founder of Float, a Capital-as-a-Service, that offers non-dilutive growth funding to European SaaS and other subscription businesses. They have 100m Euro to deploy in the coming years and you can get loans up to 70% of your ARR.

We talked with Cedric about what Revenue Based Funding is and why it's become so popular at late. Some of the questions covered are:

- What is Revenue-Based Funding?

- How does this differ from other funding alternatives?

- What is the process of lifting a Revenue Based loan?

- Which are the key value-driven SaaS metrics in this process?

These are some of the many questions we address with Cedric. Please tune in to learn how Float and its non-dilutive growth capital can complement traditional capital while boosting the growth of your SaaS company.

123. Martin Geier, VP Sales EMEA, Miro - PLG + Sales motion for the win!

In this episode, we speak with Martin Geier, VP EMEA Sales, Miro, the visual workspace for innovation that enables distributed teams to create the next big thing. Over 60 million people and 99% of the Fortune 100 rely on Miro throughout the innovation lifecycle to clarify complex ideas, center customer needs, and deliver products and services faster

We talked with Martin about Miro's choice to move from a pure PLG motion to also add a Sales motion on top. In particular, we are looking into the dynamics of adjusting a GTM market motion and what it takes to make the transition to the new way of doing business. Some of the questions covered are:

- What are the reasons to add a Sales motion to an already functioning PLG motion?

- How does the Sales motion complement and integrate with the PLG process in practice?

- What changes did you have to do to customer segmentation?

- Which organizational setup is necessary to fully support a PLG+Sales motion?

- What are the key challenges, and how to overcome them, when combining a PLG motion with Sales

These are some of the many questions we address with Martin. Please tune in to learn how Miro successfully combined a PLG motion with Sales to further accelerate growth and increase ticket sizes.

122. Rick van Esch, Managing Director, Sinch Engage - The Rollercoaster of SaaS Acquisitions!

In this episode, we speak with Rick van Esch, Managing Director, Sinch Engage, the Customer Communications Cloud that helps businesses deliver unified, personalized experiences no matter the channels they use. Over 150,000 businesses, including 8 of the 10 largest tech companies in the world, rely on Sinch for their customer communication needs.

We talked with Rick about how his company was acquired by Sinch back in the day and how he as a member of the Sinch team has gone on to do several other acquisitions. In particular, we are looking into the dynamics and the role of the acquirer vs the acquired in this process. Some of the questions covered were:

- Why it is important to know if you are a mercenary or a missionary acquisition?

- What are the key metrics to measure the success of an acquisition?

- Why does the bulk of the workload to integrate sit with the acquired company?

- Which are the most common pitfalls to avoid after the papers have been signed?

These are some of the many questions we address with Rick. Please tune in to learn about his 3 commandments when it comes to successful acquisition - both from the acquirer's and the acquired side.

121. Gustav Westman, CEO, Brightbid - Selling 3rd party products to efficiently validate a market need!

In this episode, we speak with Gustav Westman, CEO, Brightbid, an AdTech company creating results on Paid Search Ads with AI and automation

We talked with Gustav about how he started his SaaS by first selling 3rd party SaaS solutions, to collect marketing intelligence and validate the need before building his platform. Some of the questions covered were:

- How do you bring in 3rd party tools to resell?

- What data points are you looking to collect feedback on?

- When do you know it is better to build it yourself?

- What does it require from an organization to go through the process of being a reseller to sell its own software? 

These are some of the many topics we address with Gustav. Please tune in to learn how you can leverage their growth tactic when launching new products.

120. Ramli John, Author of ”Product-Led Onboarding” - Why does it matter for B2B SaaS companies?

In this episode, we speak with Ramli John, Author of "Product-Led Onboarding”

We talked with Ramli about why Product-Led Onboarding is important for many B2B SaaS Companies. Some of the questions covered were:

- What is Product-Led Onboarding?

- When does it start (outside / inside product)?

- What are typical components?

- How do you measure success? 

- How does Product-Led Onboarding evolve when companies evolve

- What are some areas where you see a lot of SaaS companies fail with their Product-Led Onboarding

- Who owns the Product-Led Onboarding process internally? 

These are some of the many topics we address with Ramli. Please tune in to learn about how you can make your Product-Led Onboarding strategy successful!

119. Ferdinand Goetzen, CEO, Reveall - Selling your early stage SaaS!

In this episode, we speak with Ferdinand Goetzen, CEO, Reveall, the product management platform that helps teams create better alignment between their product strategy and operations.

We talked with Ferdinand about what it feels like to sell an early-stage SaaS startup. We are particularly looking into the steps leading to this decision and the emotional aspect of them:

- What are the real driving factors to sell a business?
- How do you know when the timing is right?
- How do you prepare the team for a process of this kind? And for the life after the acquisition as being part of a different, larger organization.
- What is most challenging in this transition? Why? How do you overcome it?
- What emotions are involved in this process and how to handle them? 

These are some of the many topics we address with Ferdinand. Please tune in to hear his thoughts on what it is like to sell your early-stage SaaS business, and the decisions and emotions involved in the process.

118. Rob van den Heuvel, CEO, Sendcloud - The path to profitability - the key is increasing efficiency!

In this episode, we speak with Rob van den Heuvel, CEO, Sendcloud, the all-in-one shipping platform that helps online retailers save time on shipping and at the same time increase conversion by optimizing their checkout, offering branded tracking and a seamless return process for both businesses and consumers.

We talked with Rob about the process of transforming from a growth-first mindset to a profitability and growth mindset. We are particularly looking into the steps and decisions needed to take place in this transition:

- What does it mean in practice for a SaaS company to shift to a profitability mindset?
- What is the role of the CEO and leadership in this transition?
- What are the key decisions to make in this process?
- How does it impact culture and performance?
- What is most challenging in this transition? Why? How do you overcome it? 

These are some of the many topics we address with Rob. Please tune in to hear his thoughts on what it takes to successfully shift an organization from a growth-first mindset to a profitability and growth mindset.

117. Robin Daniels, Chief Business & Product Officer, LMS365 - How to attract top talent - what is your role as a leader?

In this episode, we speak with Robin Daniels, Chief Business & Product Officer, LMS365, the cloud-based learning platform built into Microsoft 365 with millions of users in 60+ countries globally.

We talked with Robin about what it takes for a SaaS organization to attract top talent. We are particularly looking into the role of the leadership, and what you as a leader can do to become the most attractive employer:

- What is top talent looking for today?
- What key leadership qualities are key to attracting top talent?
- How do you create a culture that attracts and retains top talent?
- What major challenges have you faced in attracting top talent and how did you overcome them?
- How do you align your organization's vision with the aspirations of the talent you're trying to attract? 

These are some of the many topics we address with Robin. Please tune in to hear his thoughts on what you as a leader and representative of an organization can do to attract and retain top talent.

116. Riika Söderlund, CMO, Katana - How will the SaaS CMO allocate their budget in 2024?

In this episode, we speak with Riika Söderlund, CMO, Katana, the platform that optimizes inventory levels and manages all your sales channels with cloud inventory software that tracks it all and more in real-time.

We talked with Riika about how a CMO should plan her marketing budget for 2024. We are particularly looking into how the structure of the budget shall look:

- What's the guiding principle for setting the 2024 marketing budget in B2B SaaS?
- What are the main changes in your 2024 marketing budget compared to previous years?
- Which marketing trends or channels look promising for B2B SaaS in 2024??
- Are there any strategies you're discontinuing in 2024 that worked before?
- How do you assess the impact of your marketing spend??

These are some of the many topics we address with Riika. Please tune in to listen to her thoughts about how CMOs can distribute their marketing budgets in 2024.