The Remarkable SaaS Podcast

Ton Dobbe
  • 5.0 (18)
  • Technology
  • Updated Weekly

For B2B SaaS founders who are done blending in. The Remarkable SaaS Podcast features unfiltered conversations with SaaS founders navigating the real challenges of building software that matters. Hosted by Ton Dobbe, author of The Remarkable Effect, each episode zooms in on one of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies—like offering something truly valuable and desirable, and aiming to be different, not just better. Some guests are scaling fast. Others are still in the trenches—but all share hard-won lessons about what it really takes to create pull, shorten sales cycles, and become the only logical choice in their market. Expect: Honest conversations—no hype, no theory Tactical insights from sales-led SaaS founders Practical ideas you can apply to sharpen your product and your positioning If you're building a SaaS business that deserves attention—not just more noise—this podcast is for you.

  1. 4d ago

    #413 – How Cyril Golub chose the ground Amazon can never stand on

    A story about picking a fight your biggest competitor cannot win. This episode is for founders who believe the only answer to a bigger player copying them is to build faster. Most founders fear the day the giant copies them. It happened to Cyril Golub, CEO of Jinnify — Amazon shipped what they'd built within months. He'd spent twenty years inside e-commerce, long enough to know how marketplaces actually make their money. So, his answer wasn't to beat them by building faster. This inspired me to invite Cyril to my podcast. We explore why the strongest position isn't the one you defend, but the one your competitor cannot afford to take. Cyril shares what twenty years inside e-commerce taught him about reading a competitor. You'll discover what he saw in Amazon's business model that decided how he competes. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: Master the art of curiosity Aim to be different, not just betterBoth are chapters in The Remarkable Effect. Cyril's story proves that remarkable companies don't out-build the giant. They choose ground the giant cannot take without damaging itself. Here's one of Cyril's quotes that captures how he thinks about growth: "The company should be ready to change, probably completely change level by level, and the main limiter here is the mindset of the founder and CEO." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why the real limit on scaling sits in the founder's head, not the marketWhy two founders make better decisions than threeWhy the safest position is one your competitor can't copy without hurting itselfWhat to study when a platform starts building what you builtFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Cyril Golub, Founder and CEO of Jinnify Website: jinnify.ai

    #413 – How Cyril Golub chose the ground Amazon can never stand on

  2. Aug 12

    #412 – How Martin Payne turned a flatlined company from $7M to $20M

    A story about what he kept, and what he cut. For SaaS founders whose growth has stalled and who can't tell whether the problem is the company or the plan. Most new CEOs tear down what they inherit. Martin Payne, CEO of TextUs, took a different path. He replaced the founder CEO in April 2020. Growth had flatlined, cash was burning, and he laid off a third of the company in his first year. The business is now at $20M. He'll tell you most of what got it there was already in the building. And this inspired me to invite Martin to my podcast. We explore why a stalled company has more going for it than anyone inside can see. Martin shares what he found in his first months, the hardest call he had to make, and a culture his employees wrote. You'll discover the one thing he did twice, six years apart, for the same reason. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: Master the art of curiosity Offer something valuable AND desirableMartin's story proves that remarkable companies read the signs others stopped noticing. Here's one of Martin's quotes that captures how he sized up what he inherited: "I came into the company thinking this is not a turnaround situation. This is a fine-tune, refine situation. And so I just went in with the mindset of there's goodness here. Now let me understand more specifically where the goodness is. Let me understand where specifically things need to be removed or changed." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why a stalled company rarely needs the rebuild everyone assumesWhat intellectual honesty looks like when you inherit someone else's companyWhen retention tells you more about growth than new revenue doesHow to make culture stickFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Martin Payne, CEO of TextUs Website: textus.com Nice surprise this week: Feedspot ranked The Remarkable SaaS Podcast 17th in their Top 70 Tech Startup Podcasts. Thanks for listening — that's the only reason it's there.

    #412 – How Martin Payne turned a flatlined company from $7M to $20M

  3. Jul 8

    #411 – Alex David: The question AI made everyone forget

    A story about thinking harder while everyone builds faster. This episode is for founders wondering why shipping faster with AI hasn't made their product any better. Building has never been easier. That's exactly the problem. Alex David spent a decade in pricing — Simon-Kucher, then Segment — before founding unSurvey, an AI company G2 acquired last year. Today, he leads AI Solutions there. His worry is simple: the tools got cheap, but good judgment didn't. While everyone rushed to build, he kept asking the question most people skip ”Is this even worth building?” This inspired me, hence I invited Alex to my podcast. We explore why the founders who win aren't the ones building fastest — they're the ones who know what's worth building. Alex shares why he walked away from a company that was working to start another and what a decade in pricing taught him about worth. You'll discover why the price was never yours to set — and what that changes about everything you build. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: Master the art of curiosity (trait 4)Create momentum (trait 8)Alex's journey is an excellent example of the mindset that goes behind how remarkable software companies build something people just keep talking about. Here's Alex's approach to deciding what to build and what not: "The price is what the price is to the customer; that's what it's worth to them. You have two options: You build a product that is profitable within that constraint, or you have to spend a lot of marketing dollars to educate the customer on why they're wrong, and why it should be worth more." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why asking why matters more now that building costs almost nothingWhat real momentum is made of — and why founders manufacture itWhy hope is what stops founders from pivoting in timeWhy acquisitions live or die on people, not termsFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Alex David, Founder and CEO of unSurvey. Today, GM of AI Solutions at G2 Website: g2.com (and g2.ai)

    #411 – Alex David: The question AI made everyone forget

  4. Jul 1

    #410 – How Mazy Dar found room in Google and Microsoft's market — and won the world's biggest banks

    A story about the market everyone assumed was taken. This episode is for founders wondering how to find room in a market owned by giants. The biggest software market in the world looked fully taken. Mazy Dar, CEO of Here, found room in it anyway. He spent 26 years on one pain the giants' browsers aren't built around — a browser made for work, not the public internet. The world's biggest banks now run mission-critical work on it. And this inspired me to invite Mazy to my podcast. We explore how you find room in a category owned by Google and Microsoft — and why the slice they leave open turned out to be sizeable. Mazy shares why he named the company after an idea rather than a product, and what he learned serving the most locked-down desktops in the world. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: Acknowledge you cannot please everyone Sell the idea, not the productMazy's journey proves that remarkable companies don't fight the giants head-on. They find the ground where they can become the only logical option. Here's one of Mazy's quotes that captures how he thinks about a problem hiding in plain sight: "This is not like a crazy concept. What's crazy is that in this one category of product, the web browser that's the most widely used in the world, it's the one area where the one size fits all seems to be the thing that everyone assumes is the correct answer." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why holding one problem for years can beat chasing the next trendWhat it really costs to let big customers design your product for youWhen to stop building only what your founding segment demandsWhy selling the idea outlasts selling the productFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Mazy Dar, co-founder & CEO of Here Website: here.io Mazy's email: mazy@here.io

    #410 – How Mazy Dar found room in Google and Microsoft's market — and won the world's biggest banks

  5. Jun 24

    #409 – How Renaud Charvet chose ownership over speed — and made Ringover impossible to copy

    A story about what compounds when you don't take the shortcut. This episode is for sales-led SaaS founders who invested to grow fast but now realize they forgot to grow their differentiation. Most software companies buy speed — they build on someone else's foundation — and never count the cost. Renaud Charvet, co-founder and US CEO of Ringover, took the opposite path. He started in 2005 selling cheap international calls, watched Skype and WhatsApp kill that business, and built something new from scratch. Bootstrapped for fifteen years, then raised to expand — and moved his family to the US to make it work. He's never once taken the shortcut. And this inspired me to invite Renaud to my podcast. We explore how choosing ownership over speed creates an edge competitors can't copy. Renaud shares how he thinks about what's worth owning, where to focus, and what actually makes customers stay. You'll discover why the slow, expensive choice compounded into something no shortcut could match. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Aim to be different, not just better – Acknowledge you cannot please everyone Renaud's journey proves remarkable companies don't copy the playbook — they own what others rent and let the advantage compound. Here's one of Renaud's quotes that captures how he thinks about building an edge: "Focus — it might feel slower in the short term, but it compounds much faster in the long term." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: What you give up the day you build on someone else's stackWhat changes when you stop selling features and start selling outcomesWhat he did when the US market ignored himWhy the customers easiest to win are the ones who leaveFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Renaud Charvet, co-founder and US CEO of Ringover Website: ringover.com

    #409 – How Renaud Charvet chose ownership over speed — and made Ringover impossible to copy

  6. Jun 17

    #408 – How Stan Markuze refused the me-too game and made buying a no-brainer

    A story about choosing the one thing no competitor would copy. This episode is for sales-led SaaS founders stuck in a crowded category, wondering how to escape the price-and-features war In a crowded category, most founders just try to win it. Stan Markuze, CEO of Balance, did something else. Five companies in, with two auto-tech exits and a decade in real estate, he'd seen what a price war looks like. So when seven companies were selling the same treasury tool, he refused to be the seventh. And this inspired me to invite Stan to my podcast. We explore how refusing to compete on everyone else's terms creates an edge no rival can copy. Stan shares why he walked away from a feature-and-price war, and what turns a quiet user into a vocal one. You'll discover what happened to his sales cycle once buying his product stopped being a debate. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Aim to be different, not just better – Turn customers into fans Stan's story proves remarkable companies don't fight harder inside the category—they change what they get measured on. Here's one of Stan's quotes that captures how he thinks about the standard SaaS model: "We turned the business model upside down. Usually, you pay an annual SaaS fee for a treasury management product. What we do is, if people sweep cash through our platform, for those who sweep a certain threshold, we would actually give them the treasury management system at no cost, because we're able to monetize the automatic sweeps." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why removing friction you can't see beats chasing growth you canWhat makes an ROI concrete enough to close on the first callWhy the metric you stop tracking matters as much as the one you keepHow a tight niche turns happy customers into a referral flywheelFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Stan Markuze, CEO of Balance Website: balancecash.io

    #408 – How Stan Markuze refused the me-too game and made buying a no-brainer

  7. Jun 10

    #407 – How Martin Gourdeau refused the commodity race and added $1M ARR in 9 months

    A story about choosing the harder fight on purpose. This episode is for SaaS founders wondering why adding more features to their niche product isn't creating the edge it used to. Most niche SaaS races to add features—and wonders why margins shrink. Martin Gourdeau, CEO of Vacation Tracker, took a different path. After running Workleap as President and GM, he took a year off to study what's actually changing in software—then chose a 22-person bootstrapped company over another large stage. And he didn't pick Vacation Tracker by accident. He picked it because he believes the next wave of software will be won by a very different kind of company. And this inspired me to invite Martin to my podcast. We explore what he saw in that year off—and why it shaped a very different bet on what wins next. Martin shares why a small bootstrapped company now has an edge most large companies will never get back, why he changed the one number that decides when his whole team gets a raise, and what kind of SaaS he thinks AI will quietly destroy. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Aim to be different, not just better – Create NEW value possibilities Martin's journey proves that the next wave of remarkable software companies won't look like the last. Here's something Martin observed that explains where he thinks the real opportunity sits: "High performers are notoriously bad at managing their energy levels because of this obsession to perform." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why most SaaS companies are competing in the wrong layerWhy ARR-per-head changes the behavior of every employeeWhat high performers get wrong about their own energyWhy delegation to agents is the skill most leaders lackFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Martin Gourdeau, CEO of Vacation Tracker Website: https://vacationtracker.io

    #407 – How Martin Gourdeau refused the commodity race and added $1M ARR in 9 months

  8. Jun 3

    #406 – How Chad Gaydos chose fit over TAM and doubled deal sizes in 12 months

    A story about asking the question many CEOs avoid—and finding real money. This episode is for SaaS CEOs with a nagging feeling that their growth isn't compounding the way it should. Most CEOs chase market size. And miss what actually matters. Chad Gaydos, CEO of Procurify, took a different path. With 30 years across SAP, Skillsoft, Talkdesk, and Total Expert, he's learned that growth isn't about how big the market is—it's about how well you fit it. When he took the CEO seat in January 2025, he asked a question most operators skip: Is there a real use case here—or just a big number? And this inspired me to invite Chad to my podcast. We explore why use-case fit—not market size—is what actually compounds growth. Chad shares why his first move was repositioning the entire company, why the product was being sold to the wrong customers, and why saying yes to the wrong customer is more expensive than saying no. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Master the art of curiosity – Acknowledge you cannot please everyone Chad's journey proves that remarkable companies don't grow by chasing markets—they grow by reading them differently than everyone else. Here's one of Chad's quotes that captures how he reads markets: "What drew me wasn't procurement per se. It was really what was going on in this last category of the Office of the CFO. I felt like it hadn't been written yet." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why use-case fit beats TAM sizeWhat happens when pricing finally matches the value you deliverWhen the first 90 days demand subtraction, not additionHow to make hard decisions without committee paralysisFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Chad Gaydos, CEO of Procurify Website: https://www.procurify.com

    #406 – How Chad Gaydos chose fit over TAM and doubled deal sizes in 12 months
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5
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About

For B2B SaaS founders who are done blending in. The Remarkable SaaS Podcast features unfiltered conversations with SaaS founders navigating the real challenges of building software that matters. Hosted by Ton Dobbe, author of The Remarkable Effect, each episode zooms in on one of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies—like offering something truly valuable and desirable, and aiming to be different, not just better. Some guests are scaling fast. Others are still in the trenches—but all share hard-won lessons about what it really takes to create pull, shorten sales cycles, and become the only logical choice in their market. Expect: Honest conversations—no hype, no theory Tactical insights from sales-led SaaS founders Practical ideas you can apply to sharpen your product and your positioning If you're building a SaaS business that deserves attention—not just more noise—this podcast is for you.

Information

  • Creator
    Ton Dobbe
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    413
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved 2022-25
  • Show Website
    The Remarkable SaaS Podcast