Growth Stage by FastSpring

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A podcast featuring insightful conversations with diverse digital product industry leaders from around the world who share key lessons from every stage of their business journey. Listen to compelling stories from bootstrapped and VC-funded founders, C-suite executives, and developers across SaaS, software, video gaming, and mobile apps. Discover actionable growth strategies to elevate your own business. This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

  1. Act Global, Play Local: What it Takes to Build Global Payments for Games with Lindsay Walker

    FEB 3

    Act Global, Play Local: What it Takes to Build Global Payments for Games with Lindsay Walker

    Are you wondering what it takes to deliver an exceptional experience for your players when it comes to payments and D2C, but don't know where to start? In this episode, we interview payments veteran Lindsay Walker about her thoughts around what it takes to build a global payment offering that players will love. Lindsay shares her thoughts on what good looks like, what really matters when it comes to local payment methods, and how you can think about your payment strategy based on the kinds of games you're making. If direct payments outside of app stores or marketplaces is a new topic for you, and you're wondering how you'll take full advantage of the new trends in D2C, don't miss this episode of Growth Stage. Watch or listen now! This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance — enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

    52 min
  2. In-Game Steering That Actually Works with Mike DeLaet (Live from GamesBeat Next)

    2025-12-23

    In-Game Steering That Actually Works with Mike DeLaet (Live from GamesBeat Next)

    With the rise of in-game steering in the US, many publishers are left wondering: What actually works, and what is even allowed? While most studios keep their steering strategies close to their chest, there’s a massive opportunity for those who can navigate the "crawl, walk, run" approach to D2C. If you’ve been waiting for a peek behind the curtain of real-world implementation, this episode is for you. In this special live recording from GamesBeat Next, FastSpring CMO David Vogelpohl sits down with gaming veteran Mike DeLaet of Ares Interactive to break down the mechanics of steering. They discuss anonymized but real-world examples of in-game steering for games currently live in the app stores, offering a rare look at what other publishers are doing to successfully (and safely) leverage D2C strategies. If you’re looking for actionable insights to inform your own steering strategy and drive more revenue to your web store, don’t miss this episode of Growth Stage. Watch / Listen now! This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance — enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

    28 min
  3. D2C Without a Tax Degree: How to Sell On a Web Shop Without Becoming a Tax Expert

    2025-12-10

    D2C Without a Tax Degree: How to Sell On a Web Shop Without Becoming a Tax Expert

    You didn’t build a game studio to become an expert in global tax law. But as more publishers move from marketplaces to direct-to-consumer (D2C) web shops, the burden of tax compliance shifts from Apple and Google directly to you. In this episode, we sit down with Rachel Harding, Senior Director of Tax at FastSpring, to demystify the complex world of digital goods taxation. Rachel breaks down exactly what developers need to know about selling skins, battle passes, and currencies globally—without needing a finance degree. Tune in to learn how to navigate the biggest compliance risks and keep your studio focused on what matters most: making great games. This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance — enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

    25 min
  4. How to Scale Playable/Interactive Ad Strategies with Elina Arponen of Quicksave

    2025-12-03

    How to Scale Playable/Interactive Ad Strategies with Elina Arponen of Quicksave

    Thanks to technologies like WebGL, mobile UA teams now have powerful tools for building incredibly interactive and playable ads that take what is possible to an entirely new level. While many of us have embraced this trend, there still remains one huge problem. TIME. Producing playable/interactive ads can bring our creative teams to their knees while our best ideas get stuck in backlog jail. Yuck! What if there was a better way? In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview Elina Arponen the CEO of Quicksave about her thoughts on why playable/interactive ads are so compelling, what makes them so hard to produce, how creative teams can accelerate production, and other insights into how WebGL is revolutionizing ad production, publisher websites, web stores, and beyond. If you're wondering how you'll scale compelling player and user experiences across UA, your website, and your games or apps, don't miss this episode of Growth Stage. Watch / Listen now! This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance — enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

    31 min
  5. The Dramatic Rise of Web in Gaming: How Top Publishers & Studios Are Building Innovative Web Teams With Caleb Brown of X-Team

    2025-10-27

    The Dramatic Rise of Web in Gaming: How Top Publishers & Studios Are Building Innovative Web Teams With Caleb Brown of X-Team

    There are few moments in an industry's history where a trend or emerging technology introduces a step function that unlocks an entirely new level of growth. With the rise of D2C and other web based experiences, game publishers are experiencing a rare opportunity to increase profits and establish better long term relationships with players. But how can an industry often reliant on gatekeepers and walled-garden ecosystems build out innovative web teams that quickly and effectively take advantage of this historic opportunity? In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview Caleb Brown of X-Team, a provider of technology talent as a service for top game publishers, about his thoughts around the drivers behind the rise of web experiences in gaming, the key challenges of building an innovative web team from scratch, and how top game publishers & studios are approaching building out their own innovative web teams. If you're wondering how you'll develop your own web strategy to take advantage of this historic opportunity, don't miss this episode of Growth Stage. Watch or listen now! 00:00 Introduction to the Rise of Web in Gaming07:32 Understanding X-Team and Its Role14:18 The Shift Towards Direct-to-Consumer Models15:51 Building Innovative Web Teams27:43 The Product vs. Marketing Dynamic This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance — enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

    36 min
  6. Pricing & Packaging for Game Web Stores with Chip Thurston of FastSpring

    2025-10-07

    Pricing & Packaging for Game Web Stores with Chip Thurston of FastSpring

    If you've recently launched a web store to take advantage of new steering rules on iOS in the US or even if you're an old pro at web store monetization, you may be wondering what is the best way to price and package my in-game items or subscriptions on my web store vs. what I offer in-game through app stores. In this episode of Growth Stage we interview Chip Thurston, Head of Gaming at FastSpring and former monetization leader at Scopely and SciPlay, about his thoughts around how pricing and packaging strategies differ in-game vs. on a web store, what are the top considerations, the role of creators in driving web store value, and how to strike the right balance in rewarding players and increasing your profits. If you're scratching your head wondering what the best pricing and packaging strategies are for your game and web store, don't miss this episode of Growth Stage. Watch or listen now! Transcript available on the FastSpring blog. 00:00 Introduction to Pricing and Packaging Strategies05:12 Understanding Game Economy and Player Empathy09:54 Direct-to-Consumer: Web Store vs. App Store15:09 Balancing Player Choices and Monetization20:13 The Role of Creators in Driving Web Store Traffic25:07 Attribution and Incremental Purchases30:04 Key Takeaways for Web Store Success This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance — enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

    32 min

  7. 2025-07-31

    The Hidden Science of Email: Authentication, Deliverability, and Trust With Hank Hoffmeier of Kickbox

    Conversation with Kickbox Director of Operations Hank Hoffmeier about the science of email marketing. Email marketing is often hailed as the highest-ROI channel — especially for SaaS and digital product companies. But what happens when your emails don’t even make it to the inbox? In this episode of Growth Stage, we speak with Hank Hoffmeier, email deliverability evangelist at Kickbox, about how authentication, verification, and deliverability impact your bottom line. Listen to learn: Why deliverability is no longer a “set it and forget it” process.How to fix common mistakes that are silently killing your campaigns.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. (00:00) - Intro (03:07) - Recent major changes in email marketing (07:10) - Important email marketing terminology and tools (14:30) - Key times to reverify or reauthenticate your email settings and tools (16:28) - How open rate validity has changed (20:50) - List hygiene (24:47) - How mobile apps and AI are affecting opens (26:47) - Long-form content in emails (29:10) - Regulatory changes and “permission marketing” (34:26) - One thing Hank would fix for all SaaS and digital companies’ email programs (35:19) - Special offer from Kickbox for listeners

    40 min
  8. Payment Horror Stories: The How and Why Behind the Most Vicious Attacks on Your Payment Stack With Jeremy Waxman

    2025-07-03

    Payment Horror Stories: The How and Why Behind the Most Vicious Attacks on Your Payment Stack With Jeremy Waxman

    In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview payments industry legend and VP of Payments at FastSpring, Jeremy Waxman about his thoughts on what the most common payment stack attacks are, why bad actors choose those particular types of attacks, and what you can do to make your payment stack more secure regardless of who your payment provider is. With 25+ years of experience spanning Comcast, Fiserv, and Digital River, Jeremy has seen it all — from brazen carding attacks to operationally overwhelming waves of chargebacks. In this discussion, he breaks down how fraudsters operate, the costly mistakes companies make, and what you can do to stay ahead. Listen for the full insights into: Why carding and account takeover attacks remain the most common (and expensive) threats to payment systems.How overlooking small data anomalies — like approval rates by BIN — can cost companies hundreds of thousands in decline fees.Why payment fraud isn’t just about fines, but also reputational risk, operational overload, and long-term damage to approval rates.Transcript available on the FastSpring blog. This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance — enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

    43 min
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A podcast featuring insightful conversations with diverse digital product industry leaders from around the world who share key lessons from every stage of their business journey. Listen to compelling stories from bootstrapped and VC-funded founders, C-suite executives, and developers across SaaS, software, video gaming, and mobile apps. Discover actionable growth strategies to elevate your own business. This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

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