SaaS

Our Guest: Dave Yuan is the Founder of Tidemark, a growth equity firm focused on helping companies scale. With over 20 years of experience, Dave has invested in twelve companies that have gone public, eight that have been acquired.

Episode Topics:

• Dave and Tidemark’s investment criteria.
• Ideal qualities for vSaaS founders.
• Dave's viewpoints on overspending in R&D, product risk, and product development in vertical SaaS.
• What does good multi-product sequencing look like?
• Is AI an opportunity, neutral, or a threat in vertical SaaS? 
• The supply/demand imbalance between private investors and scaled vertical SaaS companies.
• A framework for determining when to raise more capital or pursue a capital-efficient path.
• What SaaS company does Dave admire the most?
• Dave’s learnings from starting a new fund.

Resources:

Tidemark Vertical SaaS Knowledge Project: https://www.tidemarkcap.com/vskp

Tidemark 2024 Vertical SaaS Benchmark Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5CFVSHQ

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

If you're operating a SaaS, software, or digital product business, you're likely optimizing your Customer Success strategy for things like ticket response times, NPS scores, and any number of KPI and tactics that help you move your business forward. But what if you could zoom out and see what customer success really means in your business? What if you could use those observations to help you drive even more meaningful revenue growth and success for your customers?

In this episode of Growth Stage, host David Vogelpohl interviews Jake Dipple, Head of Customer Success at Sideways6, about his thoughts on:

• What Customer Success is at a high level.
• How CS impacts your ARR, product value, and marketing.
• And much more!  

Jake also shares unconventional tips for driving customer success that can boost the LOVE your customers have for your product and your company.

If your CS strategy starts and stops with good support, it's time to think about how full funnel Customer Success can help you move your business forward faster. Listen now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for SaaS and software, FastSpring lets you reduce your payments, subscriptions, entitlements, fulfillment, and tax management stack down to one. We manage all the hard parts of transacting globally, allowing you to focus on moving your business farther, faster.

Our Guest: Akash Bajwa is an investor in fintech and B2B SaaS at Earlybird Venture Capital, a European venture capital firm with 2 billion Euros in assets under management (AUM).

Episode Topics:

• Akash and Earlybird’s investment criteria 
• Areas in early-stage native AI that Akash and Earlybird are excited about
• Akash discusses the unique skill sets needed for native AI founders.
• Is building an AI-focused business similar to the well-established SaaS playbook?
• Akash’s views on investor returns if gross margins decrease to 50% in AI-driven software.
• How are software pricing models going to evolve in an AI world?
• Methods for assessing a founder's execution ability during early-stage fundraising.
• Akash’s views on vertical software and implications of AI lowering barriers to software creation.
• Akash's view on AI's capital intensity +  its implications of this for investors.

Resources:
https://substack.com/@akashbajwa

https://www.earlybird.com/

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Conversation with WP Engine Director of Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Carl Hargreaves.

As you build out your software, SaaS, or digital product business, you may be wondering what form your eventual exit might take. One potential exit is that your company is acquired by a competitor or brand with complimentary technology in your space — but what do brands look for with these types of acquisitions, and how might that affect how you operate, grow, and set the direction of innovation within your business?

In this episode of Growth Stage, co-host David Vogelpohl interviews Carl Hargreaves of WP Engine’s corporate development and strategic partnerships team about his experience running acquisitions of SMB software businesses, including:

• His thoughts on what makes a software company a good target for an acquisition by a brand.
• What factors beyond financials makes a target even more valuable.
• Common operational pitfalls founders should avoid that can make acquisitions more difficult.
• How you should think about building a sellable business.

If you're looking for insights on how to get the most of your eventual exit, don't miss this episode of Growth Stage. Listen now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for SaaS and software, FastSpring lets you reduce your payments, subscriptions, entitlements, fulfillment, and tax management stack down to one. We manage all the hard parts of transacting globally, allowing you to focus on moving your business farther, faster.

Our Guest: Nick Tippman, former Chief Marketing Officer at Greenlight Guru, a category-leading provider of regulatory software for the MedTech vertical. He is now an angel investor, investing in exceptional Vertical/SMB SaaS, AI, Fintech, and B2B Marketplace founders and companies at the pre-seed/seed stage alongside other leading investors.

Episode Topics:

• Nick’s current investment criteria for a vertical SaaS company.
• Nick’s minimum TAM + how he looks at take rates.
• How important are fintech and payment opportunities in evaluating vertical software markets?
• How embedded APIs - like embedding payroll into your app - are changing opportunity sets for seed-stage vertical SaaS
• What constitutes founder market fit?
• Nick’s advice on effectively demonstrating founder-market fit in a pitch deck.
• Nick’s views on the increased venture capital flow into niche vertical markets.
• The impact of Generative AI in breaking through to categories that have been resistant to digital transformation
• Is AI an opportunity, neutral, or a threat? 
• Eli Dukes Question: What's the primary challenge in vertical SaaS: Is it GTM or product? Why?
• How to assess founders and their teams' product management skills in this changing landscape?
• Understanding operator funds + Nick’s perspective as a Limited Partner (LP) in 11 funds.
• Nick’s recommendations and tactical advice for potential emerging managers.

Resources:

Eli Dukes Vertical SaaS Substack - https://verticalized.co/

Nick’s Google Doc - “Ultimate List of 37+ VC & PE Firm Theses & Market Updates on Vertical SaaS”

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Conversation with Browser to Buyer founder and director of conversion Dave Gowans about how CRO is even more powerful when we move beyond just top-of-funnel website visits and sign-ups.

Listen for the full insights into:

• Why SaaS and subscription businesses especially need to consider the entire customer relationship when optimizing the sales funnel.
• Two key research and testing techniques that can capture valuable info quickly.
• Why it’s worth taking some of the harder steps to optimize your sales funnel, because it can get the biggest results.

Transcript available here.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for SaaS and software, FastSpring lets you reduce your payments, subscriptions, entitlements, fulfillment, and tax management stack down to one. We manage all the hard parts of transacting globally, allowing you to focus on moving your business farther, faster.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Join scientist and mindset & high-performance coach Claudia Garbutt and co-founder of Blinkist Holger Seim as they talk about what it took to build Blinkist into a 9-figure business.

In this episode, we talk about: 

- Lessons from building a 9-figure SaaS company

- What’s happening behind the scenes of Blinkist

- Effective marketing, incorporating feedback & dealing with criticism

EPISODE NOTES

Holger Seim is the co-founder of Blinkist, a book-summarizing app that offers key insights from over 6ooo – mainly nonfiction books. 

Blinkist was recently acquired by Go1, a leading learning and development platform whose goal it is to reach 1 billion learners worldwide, and Holger continues his mission to support lifelong learners in his new role as COO at Go1.

Links:

www.blinkist.com

https://www.go1.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/holgerseim/

Click this link to listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast player and if you enjoy the show, please leave a rating & review:

https://linktr.ee/wiredforsuccess.

Help me keep this show ad-free and awesome: Hit subscribe and join the tribe! THANK YOU for your support! 🙂

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wiredforsuccess/subscribe

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Music credit: Vittoro by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

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 www.wiredforsuccess.solutions

Disclaimer: Podcast Episodes might contain sponsored content.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Join scientist and mindset & high-performance coach Claudia Garbutt and serial entrepreneur David Heinemeier Hanson, as they discuss optimizing your life and business.

In this episode, we talk about:  

- How to optimize for the RIGHT things

- Escaping the perfectionism trap

- How to motivate yourself & your team

- Deciding which risks are worth taking

EPISODE NOTES

David Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of Ruby on Rails, cofounder of Basecamp & HEY, best-selling author of “REWORK”, “It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy At Work”, “Remote: Office Not Required” and “Getting Real”.

He's also a Le Mans & WEC class-winning racing driver, antitrust advocate, and investor in Danish startups.

Links:

https://dhh.dk/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-heinemeier-hansson-374b18221/

https://www.instagram.com/dhhdrives/

Twitter: @dhh

Click this link to listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast player and if you enjoy the show, please leave a rating & review:

https://linktr.ee/wiredforsuccess.

Help me keep this show ad-free and awesome: Hit subscribe and join the tribe! THANK YOU for your support! 🙂

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wiredforsuccess/subscribe

------------------

Music credit: Vittoro by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

-----------------

 www.wiredforsuccess.solutions

Disclaimer: Podcast Episodes might contain sponsored content.

Brought to you by Ezra—The leading full-body cancer screening company | Coda—Meet the evolution of docs | Attio—The powerful, flexible CRM for fast-growing startups

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Geoff Charles is VP of Product at Ramp—the fastest-growing SaaS startup of all time, Fast Company’s #1 Most Innovative Company in North America, and a company I believe we should all study for how they operate, execute, and hire. At Ramp, Geoff has led the product team from the early days, including the development and release of 60+ products and features in the past year alone. He has been building financial services for over a decade, and his interview in Lenny’s Newsletter quickly became one of the most widely read newsletter issues of all time. In today’s podcast, we will discuss:

• How velocity is at the heart of Ramp’s culture and success

• How writing can unlock clarity, creativity, and rapid problem-solving

• How to empower your product team through context sharing

• How to practically approach problems from first principles

• How Ramp approaches hiring in a unique way

• Suggestions for breaking into the world of product management

—

Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/velocity-over-everything-how-ramp-became-the-fastest-growing-saas-startup-of-all-time-geoff-charl/#transcript

—

Where to find Geoff Charles:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/geoffintech

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrey-charles/

—

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

—

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Geoff’s background

(04:49) An overview of Ramp

(06:20) The importance of velocity at Ramp

(08:50) Single-threaded goals and how to keep teams away from distractions

(13:20) Setting lofty goals

(15:17) How Ramp empowers teams

(17:37) How Geoff’s management style has evolved at Ramp

(19:55) The product design process at Ramp

(21:19) Ramp’s system for sharing feedback

(23:07) How Ramp handles bug fixes 

(24:15) Advice for PMs who want to move faster

(29:29) Why velocity and impact can help protect against burnout

(32:33) Planning vs. doing

(37:54) Ramp’s strategy documents 

(40:55) Finding your unique positioning

(42:46) OKRs

(44:53) The importance of first-principle thinking

(48:53) How to use writing to think through problems 

(51:46) How Geoff carves out time for deep work

(54:05) How Geoff manages tasks and stays organized

(57:15) Why other roles share the PM load at Ramp

(1:00:30) PM responsibilities at Ramp

(1:01:46) Identifying A+ talent

(1:06:02) The skills Ramp looks for when hiring

(1:07:33) Advice for people wanting to break into product management 

(1:10:37) Lightning round

—

Referenced:

• How Ramp builds product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-ramp-builds-product

• Bill: https://www.bill.com/

• Expensify: https://www.expensify.com/

• Concur: https://www.concur.com/

• Coupa: https://www.coupa.com/

• Nicole Forsgren on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-measure-and-improve-developer-productivity-nicole-forsgren-microsoft-research-github-goo/

• Sheryl Sandberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652/

• Getting Things Done: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0143126563

• When Breath Becomes Air: https://www.amazon.com/When-Breath-Becomes-Paul-Kalanithi/dp/081298840X

• The Bear on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f

• Whoop: https://www.whoop.com/

—

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

—

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

Our Guest: Brian Parks is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bigfoot Capital, a non-venture debt lending firm, that provides growth and bridge debt facilities to SaaS companies with $2+ million in annual recurring revenue. 

Episode Topics:

• Current access to capital environment - “2/3 of equity investors and lenders expect to be more active over the next 12 months”
• Disconnects after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)
• Unique financing opportunities after disruptions like SVB
• What are the table stakes - like data rooms and timelines - for non-venture-backed software company founders when raising debt capital?
• Bigfoot’s core loan investment criteria (loan size, typical revenue size, and facility size)
• Brian expounds on “being frivolous with equity” quote - “I'm anti-frivolity with equity and think a lot of people are extremely frivolous with their equity, selling too much of their company too early."
• Brian’s perspective on the changing dynamics of whether to bootstrap + the increasing presence of VC in typically bootstrapped categories 
• Understanding Bigfoot’s underwriting - lending three to six times MRR - from a credit support perspective
• The absence of equity warrants in Bigfoot's lending model

Resources:
https://bigfootcap.com/

https://bigfootcapital.substack.com/ 

https://bigfootcapital.substack.com/p/capital-provider-sentiment-survey-17d

https://calendly.com/bigfoot

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Sales Engagement Software, Sales Conversation Intelligence Software, Sales Compensation Software, and Digital Sales Room Software

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Our Guest: Patrick McGovern from Bowery Capital,  an early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on founders looking to modernize business through technology. 

Episode Topics:

• Common patterns emerge when seed-stage companies sell into enterprises.
• Pat's insights on investment criteria for early stage vertical SaaS - can you reach $50m in ARR in a short period of time
• Pat's viewpoints on the dynamic of founders who choose verticals that are too narrow in relation to the requirements of raising venture money
• How should vertical SaaS companies evaluate their metrics using compared to broader, horizontal-oriented  benchmarks?
• Pat's viewpoint on AI in vertical SaaS
• Bowery Capital's typical check sizes + three types of deals
• Pat's perspective on an ideal founder
• The rationale behind a vertical SaaS founder opting for VC funding instead of bootstrapping

Resources:

https://bowerycap.com/blog

twitter.com/pw_mcgovern

https://bowerycap.com/blog/insights/artificial-intelligence-in-vertical-software-a-map-of-the-market
https://breakingsaas.substack.com/p/vertical-saas-bowery-capital

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Subscription Management Software, Session Replay Software, Sales Compensation Software, and Digital Sales Room Software

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

You can calculate churn however you want. The problem? Churn as a metric will start to lose meaning.

Toni and Mikkel discuss the different options to make it useful.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:58) - What churn was used for
• (04:35) - The intention behind churn
• (07:36) - Churn definitions from public companies
• (10:46) - The most brutal churn
• (12:42) - So what do you do with churn?
• (18:43) - Collateral damage
• (21:19) - Churn defined, now what?
• (23:11) - Vintages of customers
• (25:09) - Creating future churn
• (26:45) - But.. How to improve it?

Something you want us to cover? Drop us a note on podcast@growblocks.com

In this new age of automated talent platforms, staffing technology, and AI, recruiting firms are scrambling to find the most impactful ways to digitally transform their agencies to future-proof their businesses. Yet, despite millions of dollars spent on technology investment, many agencies are still facing the same struggles – meeting difficult client demands with sparse talent resources. And many companies are starting to realize that digital investment does NOT always equal digital transformation. So how do firms unlock the riddle of digital transformation for staffing? In this interview, Chris Johnson, Avionté’s VP of Professional Services, talks with our Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, Christopher Ryan, about what staffing leaders and professionals should know to successfully transform their businesses in today’s digital landscape.

Conversation with Dopple founder and CEO Justin Scott about building a business that is not just growing with its market — it's helping define it. Listen to the full interview for insights into:

• Why partnerships are key for building out your positioning.
• Why launching with a robust offering won out over launching early with only a few features.
• Why it's important to prioritize some users' feedback over others.

Transcript available here.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for SaaS and software, FastSpring lets you reduce your payments, subscriptions, entitlements, fulfillment, and tax management stack down to one. We manage all the hard parts of transacting globally, allowing you to focus on moving your business farther, faster.

The age of artificial intelligence is here – and is set to change many aspects of the recruiter’s day-to-day role, including the way he or she sources, hires, and places talent! With all the recent buzz surrounding AI, automated talent platforms, and staffing technology, one question remains top of mind for many recruiters: Are robots coming for my job? Could artificial intelligence simply replace the "special sauce" or human element in staffing, namely the recruiter's ability to find, coach, and develop the right talent for their employer? And how is the traditional role of the recruiter going to change due to technological innovation?

Join series host and Avionte’s Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Christopher Ryan, as he sits down with Tom Erb,  President and CEO of Tallann Resources, LLC,  a consulting firm that provides strategic and tactical guidance to staffing, to discuss how the recruiters’ role will most likely evolve in the new age of AI and digital recruiting.

Conversation with Narrator Cofounder Cedric Dussud about building WeWork's billing platform and how it led to Narrator. Listen to the full interview for insights into:

• Why metrics often don’t add up.
• What happens when there’s not a single source of truth.
• Why you should be skeptical about internal data.
• When you need a data scientist to help you (and when you don’t).

Transcript available here.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for SaaS and software, FastSpring lets you reduce your payments, subscriptions, entitlements, fulfillment, and tax management stack down to one. We manage all the hard parts of transacting globally allowing you to focus on moving your business farther, faster.

Our industry has reached an inflection point, where labor and workforce trends, the development of gig work, and mobile phone applications are coming together to create new opportunities for the innovative, but also risks for technology laggards. From recruiting, hiring, scheduling, tracking time, paying, and redeploying talent, newly emerging technologies allow us to consumerize the entire employment experience, and enable it remotely– all from the convenience of a smartphone. The technology decisions you make today will have a direct impact on your ability to keep your business safe and secure, while remaining competitive in the future. Join host Christopher Ryan, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Avionté, as he sits down with our very own CTO Odell Tuttle, to gain insights on topics such as software selection and development, emerging technologies, and the digitization of employment practices. He will also provide an overview of the Avionté software platform.

Out of the Park Developments quadrupled sales in South Korea — the fourth-largest video game market in the world — by localizing its benchmark game into Korean.

EJ spoke to Richard Grisham, past COO of Out of the Park and current Director of Business Development at Com2Us — a Korean development company that acquired Out of the Park in 2020.

Stream their conversation below for insights into:

• How to successfully roll out a localized version of a game
• Running “micro-campaigns” for better ROI on your global marketing efforts
• Cultivating brand ambassadors and future employees from your user base.

Full transcript available here.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for SaaS and software, FastSpring lets you reduce your payments, subscriptions, entitlements, fulfillment, and tax management stack down to one. We manage all the hard parts of transacting globally allowing you to focus on moving your business farther, faster.