The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

SaaStr
The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

The Official SaaStr Podcast is the latest and greatest from the world of SaaStr, interviewing the most prominent operators and investors to discover their tips, tactics and strategies to attain success in the fiercely competitive world of SaaS. On the side of the operators, we center around getting from $0 to $100m ARR faster, what it takes to scale successfully and what are the core elements of hiring. As for the investors, we learn what metrics they hone in on when examining SaaS business, what type of metrics excites them and what they look for in SaaS founders.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    SaaStr 764: State of the Cloud 2024: The Cloud AI Era with Bessemer Venture Partners, Anthropic, Jasper, Abridge and EvenUp

    SaaStr 764: State of the Cloud 2024: The Cloud AI Era with Bessemer Venture Partners, Anthropic, Jasper, Abridge and EvenUp Bessemer Venture Partners is committing $1 billion in capital to back AI-native companies and founders at the bleeding edge. Sameer Dholakia, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners speaks with Julia Chapin, COO at Abridge, Kate Jensen, Head of Revenue at Anthropic, Rami Karabibar, CEO and founder at EvenUp, and Timothy Young, CEO at Jasper, on the impacts of AI on the State of the Cloud.  The discussion delves into the integration of AI into SaaS, marketing, healthcare, and legal industries, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities of implementing AI solutions. Key topics include building defensible business models, embracing multimodal capabilities, and strategizing change management for successful AI adoption. Gain valuable insights into the importance of trust, partnerships, and user-centric applications in leveraging AI for sustainable business growth. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code jason50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: remote.com When the right person for the job is a world away, Remote Talent brings the world to you. As the top job board for remote-first companies, we give you powerful tools to post your listings and reach the world's top candidates and remote professionals. Start building your dream team from anywhere—visit Remote.com/jobs today. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Anrok A question for SaaS finance leaders, do you know where your customers are? Anrok tracks where your sales are creating exposure, and automates tax calculation and filing worldwide. Built for high-growth software companies, Anrok protects your revenue and saves you time. Visit anrok.com/saastr to learn more.

    33 min
  2. 6 DAYS AGO

    SaaStr 763: The Secrets to Selling and Scaling in Vertical SaaS with Slice's CRO Loren Padelford

    SaaStr 763: The Secrets to Selling and Scaling in Vertical SaaS with Slice's CRO Loren Padelford Loren Padelford, CRO of Slice and previously SVP and GM of Shopify Plus, does a deep dive with the SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin on the top learnings selling to SMBs and within Vertical SaaS. The conversation dives into Slice's approach of helping independent pizzerias by offering integrated software and services, comparing it to the approach of Domino's. Lauren offers lessons learned during his career in SaaS, with inspirational views on growth strategies, customer focus, and building trust with SMB entrepreneurs. This discussion is ideal for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of vertical SaaS and its impact on the business ecosystem. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code jason50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: remote.com When the right person for the job is a world away, Remote Talent brings the world to you. As the top job board for remote-first companies, we give you powerful tools to post your listings and reach the world's top candidates and remote professionals. Start building your dream team from anywhere—visit Remote.com/jobs today. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Anrok A question for SaaS finance leaders, do you know where your customers are? Anrok tracks where your sales are creating exposure, and automates tax calculation and filing worldwide. Built for high-growth software companies, Anrok protects your revenue and saves you time. Visit anrok.com/saastr to learn more.

    43 min
  3. 4 OCT

    SaaStr 762: How to Build a Product Customers Love and Drive Nearly $1B in Revenue Along the Way with Klaviyo CEO Andrew Bialecki and SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin

    SaaStr 762: How to Build a Product Customers Love and Drive Nearly $1B in Revenue Along the Way with Klaviyo CEO Andrew Bialecki and SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin Klaviyo is the most awesome SaaS company you don't know enough about yet. :) Join SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin and Klaviyo CEO and Co-Founder, Andrew Bialecki as they discuss Klaviyo's rise as a leading marketing and customer data platform for B2C businesses. Discover the strategies behind its growth, the challenges faced in expansion, the pivotal partnership with Shopify, and insights into successfully navigating the journey from SMBs to enterprise markets. Learn about the company's IPO experience, the impact of strategic product development, and how Klaviyo became an indispensable tool for e-commerce businesses that has millions of raving customers and nearly $1B in revenue. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Join us at SaaStr Annual 2025:  Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code jason50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: remote.com When the right person for the job is a world away, Remote Talent brings the world to you. As the top job board for remote-first companies, we give you powerful tools to post your listings and reach the world's top candidates and remote professionals. Start building your dream team from anywhere—visit Remote.com/jobs today. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Anrok A question for SaaS finance leaders, do you know where your customers are? Anrok tracks where your sales are creating exposure, and automates tax calculation and filing worldwide. Built for high-growth software companies, Anrok protects your revenue and saves you time. Visit anrok.com/saastr to learn more.

    50 min
  4. 2 OCT

    SaaStr 761: How to Build Pipeline and GTM Alignment with Datadog’s CMO Sara Varni

    SaaStr 761: How to Build Pipeline and GTM Alignment with Datadog’s CMO Sara Varni Sara Varni, Datadog‘s CMO, shares how to build pipeline and create alignment across sales and marketing. The CMO role at Datadog covers the usual aspects of marketing, including product marketing, corporate communications, events, partnership marketing, and solutions marketing. While these insights seem like pipeline 101, they aren’t always implemented. Let’s look at some quick facts about Sara’s experience. She spent a decade at Salesforce before moving on to Twilio as CMO when they were at about $400M ARR with 30 sales reps. They had a healthy self-service motion, but growth was flattening. About four years later, she joined Attentive as CMO, a late-stage startup in the SMS marketing space. Now, she’s the CMO at Datadog. Each of these companies had different GTM motions.   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey everybody - thanks to the 10,000 of you who came out to SaaStr Annual. We had a blast and big news -- we'll be back in MAY of 2025. That's right, the SaaStr Annual will be a bit earlier next year, May 13-15 2025. We'll still be back in the same venue, in the SF bay area at the 40+ acre sprawling san mateo county events center. Grab your tickets at saastrannual.com with code jason50 for an extra discount on our very best pricing. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: remote.com When the right person for the job is a world away, Remote Talent brings the world to you. As the top job board for remote-first companies, we give you powerful tools to post your listings and reach the world's top candidates and remote professionals. Start building your dream team from anywhere—visit Remote.com/jobs today. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Anrok A question for SaaS finance leaders, do you know where your customers are? Anrok tracks where your sales are creating exposure, and automates tax calculation and filing worldwide. Built for high-growth software companies, Anrok protects your revenue and saves you time. Visit anrok.com/saastr to learn more.

    30 min
  5. 27 SEPT

    SaaStr 760: CRO Confidential: Rippling’s Top 3 Growth Tactics for Driving Revenue at Scale with Rippling CRO Matt Plank and Former CRO at Brex Sam Blond

    SaaStr 760: CRO Confidential: Rippling’s Top 3 Growth Tactics for Driving Revenue at Scale with Rippling CRO Matt Plank and Former CRO at Brex Sam Blond  At this year’s SaaStr Annual, Rippling’s CRO, Matt Plank, chats with Sam Blond, host of the SaaStr CRO Confidential and former CRO at Brex, about Rippling’s top 3 growth tactics, which have led to the Rippling becoming a $14B company with several hundred million of ARR. A few years ago, Matt was making cold calls from CEO Parker Conrad’s basement, and he’s helped bring Rippling to where it is today. The three growth tactics that worked for Rippling can be categorized into three different stages: Outbound Increasing closed-won revenue rates Serving customers and expanding revenue in the base -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Join us in 2025 at: SaaStr Annual: May. 13-15 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Get your early bird tickets TODAY. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Pendo This episode is sponsored by our good friends at Pendo the all-in-one product experience platform. Pendo brings together product analytics. Guides discovery and replay. So you can improve your product experiences for every customer and employee try Pendo for free at Pendo.io/saastr. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: remote.com Ready to expand into new markets with confidence? Remote's comprehensive HR suite propels your growth from the ground up. From setting up new entities and managing intellectual property, to overseeing contractor compliance Remote makes scaling effortless.With their platform and partnership, your business grows not just bigger, but smarter. Transform your growth today with remote at Remote.com.

    40 min
  6. 25 SEPT

    SaaStr 759: 5 Metrics that Matter When Raising Your SaaS Series A and Series B Round with Christoph Janz, Partner at Point Nine Capital

    SaaStr 759: 5 Metrics that Matter When Raising Your SaaS Series A and Series B Round with Christoph Janz, Partner at Point Nine Capital  What data and metrics do you need to convince SaaS investors you’re in good shape and aligned with what they care about? Christoph Janz, Partner at Point Nine Capital, shares 5 key insights during this year’s SaaStr Annual. These metrics are more targeted to those preparing for a Series A or B round and could make the difference between an excited-to-invest-in-you investor and a pass. Why should you spend the time getting your act together before fundraising? If your data is self-explanatory, in good shape, easy to understand, and aligned with what investors care about, you avoid a lot of unnecessary back and forth. Less time clarifying what your metrics mean results in more time to talk to more investors in parallel and increased confidence with each of those investors. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Join us in 2025 at: SaaStr Annual: May. 13-15 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Get your early bird tickets TODAY. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Pendo This episode is sponsored by Pendo, the all-in-one product experience platform. Pendo helps your users do the things you really want them to do. You can try Pendo for free at Pendo.io/saastr and check out Mind The Product, the community for product people like… us. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: remote.com Big things start like this. Every industry leader began with a simple idea and the courage to dream big. At Remote, we’re here to help you turn your vision into reality. From onboarding top talent to managing payroll worldwide, our tools and expertise support your journey from initial start to impressive growth worldwide. Start anywhere. Grow everywhere. Forge your path to success at Remote.com.

    29 min
  7. 20 SEPT

    SaaStr 758: Avoid These Common Founder Mistakes to Hire a Great VP of Sales in 2024 with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin

    SaaStr 758: Avoid These Common Founder Mistakes to Hire a Great VP of Sales in 2024 with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin In this episode of the official SaaStr podcast, we delve into the common pitfalls founders encounter when hiring a VP of Sales. SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin kicked off the SaaStr Annual by reflecting on twelve years of hiring lessons, sharing critical insights into why sales leaders fail and how founders can avoid these mistakes. The discussion covers the importance of due diligence, understanding the product, embracing sales involvement post-hire, and recognizing the signs of jaded or broken candidates. The episode emphasizes the need for rigorous hiring processes and the impact of a bad hire on startup growth. Tune in for practical advice to ensure your next critical hire drives success.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet. Join us in 2025 at: SaaStr Annual: May. 13-15 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Get your early bird tickets TODAY. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: Pendo This episode is sponsored by Pendo, the all-in-one product experience platform. Pendo helps your users do the things you really want them to do. You can try Pendo for free at Pendo.io/saastr and check out Mind The Product, the community for product people like… us. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This episode is sponsored by: remote.com Big things start like this. Every industry leader began with a simple idea and the courage to dream big. At Remote, we’re here to help you turn your vision into reality. From onboarding top talent to managing payroll worldwide, our tools and expertise support your journey from initial start to impressive growth worldwide. Start anywhere. Grow everywhere. Forge your path to success at Remote.com.

    45 min
  8. 31 AUG

    SaaStr 757: 10 Cheat Codes I Learned While Scaling to $400M with Yext and Roam Founder Howard Lerman

    SaaStr 757: 10 Cheat Codes I Learned While Scaling to $400M with Yext and Roam Founder Howard Lerman Dive into a unique and tactical journey with Howard Lerman, Founder at Roam, sharing unconventional yet effective strategies drawn from personal experiences and notable figures like John Lennon. Learn the importance of mastering storytelling, the art of live demos, the controversial take on one-on-one meetings, and the benefits of Sunday night executive meetings. Discover how leveraging your cap table for strategic advisors can accelerate your business and understand the significance of maintaining product market fit. Embrace the philosophy of doing things your way and making your company an extension of your vision. This episode is packed with practical advice for startup founders looking to navigate the complexities of building and scaling their companies. Howard's 10 cheat codes: Memorize Your Lines: Master storytelling by memorizing your company's story. The Live Demo: Take the risk with live demos. 1:1 Meetings Are Terrible: Avoid scheduled one-on-one meetings. Sunday Night Meetings: Start your week with Sunday night exec meetings. Advisor-Led Growth: Use stock options to bring on influential advisors. 5-Minute Meetings: Hold short, effective meetings. Meet with Customers: Meeting customers lifts spirits. Board Chair: Have a powerful chairperson. Do Not Delegate: Retain control over critical functions like product-market fit. Have Fun: Make your company your creative canvas.

    33 min

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About

The Official SaaStr Podcast is the latest and greatest from the world of SaaStr, interviewing the most prominent operators and investors to discover their tips, tactics and strategies to attain success in the fiercely competitive world of SaaS. On the side of the operators, we center around getting from $0 to $100m ARR faster, what it takes to scale successfully and what are the core elements of hiring. As for the investors, we learn what metrics they hone in on when examining SaaS business, what type of metrics excites them and what they look for in SaaS founders.

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