SaaS Origin Stories

Phil Alves
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"Every SaaS hero has an origin story" Join Phil Alves, host of SaaS Origin Stories, as he unravels deep conversations with founders as they share how they started their SaaS. You’ll hear first-hand dos and don’ts of building and growing a SaaS as well as inspirational stories to fuel you on your own journey into the world of SaaS.

  1. The End of VC with Rand Fishkin of SparkToro

    EPISODE 1

    The End of VC with Rand Fishkin of SparkToro

    How do you feel about the “succeed on a massive scale or die trying” model? Other unconventional routes to building businesses, including independent funding, crowdfunding, and bootstrapping, are now better alternatives. If you've ever thought about building a profitable company instead of raising cash, stay put… this episode is for you. Today we are joined by Rand Fishkin, co-founder and CEO of SparkToro, former CEO and Founder of Moz, and Author of Lost and Founder. He shares practical advice on how to build a non-venture backed company that is long-term profitable using the lessons he has learned from his experience as the founder of several companies. In this episode, we discuss: How Rand raised funds for SparkToro (HINT: no VC was involved)How SparkToro is different from MozWhat to prioritize for long-term business survivalThe role of audience research for sustainable growthInstructions on how to rate and review SaaS Origin Stories on Apple Podcasts can be found here.

    50 min
  2. Building Your SaaS for the Right Persona with Sujan Patel of Mailshake

    EPISODE 2

    Building Your SaaS for the Right Persona with Sujan Patel of Mailshake

    The best SaaS businesses starts with trying to solve a problem for a specific customer persona. Though your product might be good, it might not fit the the ideal customer persona right. So what can you do about it? Listen to this episode of course… Sujan Patel, Co-Founder of Mailshake, joins the conversation to discuss his experience and mistakes building and growing Mailshake and how to identify product market fit. Sujan is a data-driven content marketer and entrepreneur. He is also the Managing Director at Ramp Ventures, a part-time Board Member of the Entrepreneurs'​ Organization, and the GM and Co-Founder of Web Profits. In this episode, we discuss: How to find the right customerBuilding and growing MailshakeHow Mailshake helps sales reps?How Sujan learns from his mistakes

    46 min
  3. Flyers, Day Jobs & the Green Road to SaaS Growth with Bryan Clayton of GreenPal

    EPISODE 3

    Flyers, Day Jobs & the Green Road to SaaS Growth with Bryan Clayton of GreenPal

    The best SaaS businesses starts with trying to solve a problem for a specific customer persona. Though your product might be good, it might not fit the the ideal customer persona right. So what can you do about it? Listen to this episode of course… Starting a SaaS is hard. Starting a SaaS is harder when both co-founders have full-time jobs. Bryan Clayton, CEO and Co-founder of GreenPal, joins the conversation to discuss how they turned a household errand into an incredibly successful SaaS business... whilst two of the co-founders were working full-time. In this episode, we discuss: How GreenPal got their first customers by handing out flyersWhy software is never completeTreating your SaaS like a brick houseBuilding versus outsourcingProject versus task level thinking

    44 min
  4. From Idea to SaaS with Cody Miles of Ashore

    EPISODE 4

    From Idea to SaaS with Cody Miles of Ashore

    How do you think collaboration can take place smoothly such that the creatives don't get bogged down in meetings or do things counterproductive to their skills because clients are tough to access and provide extremely poor feedback? Discover the innovative strategy used by a marketer and a creative to resolve this issue. Today we have Cody Miles, Founder at Ashore and Creative Director at Brandcave. Join us as we look back on his journey from idea to a ground-breaking company that offers thousands of creatives an environment to work out an effective way to connect with their clients.  Cody Miles is an Austin, TX-based entrepreneur and UX designer. After years of struggling to collaborate with his clients, Cody founded Ashore, an online proofing software for high-velocity creatives. Today, Cody utilizes his background to run both Ashore and his digital marketing agency, Brandcave. In this episode, we discuss: The two main problems of creative peopleDealing with non-creative peopleWhat made Cody become an SaaS entrepreneurDealing with employee attrition as a founder of a creative agency

    46 min
  5. The Perfect SaaS Tool to Manage Your SaaS Stack with Cristina Vila Vives, Founder and CEO of Cledara

    EPISODE 5

    The Perfect SaaS Tool to Manage Your SaaS Stack with Cristina Vila Vives, Founder and CEO of Cledara

    Companies use various SaaS products to manage and grow their businesses. But how do they keep track of these software applications? Cristina Vila Vives found that most either use spreadsheets ineffectively or do not manage them at all. Are there other alternatives? Passionate about bringing a solution, Cristina presents you with the Cledara platform, designed to improve SaaS stack management. In this episode, we discuss: Using Cledara to make better business decisionsFundraising tips that will help you succeedWhy should you first launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to marketWhat should SaaS founders focus on when building a product How to Nail Your Next Fundraising Understand what you want to build in the future and your product vision. Have a clear roadmap on what you want to do with the capital. Prepare well for every investor meeting and explain how you will achieve that vision. I remember that for every half-hour investor meeting, I would spend three hours preparing for all the possible questions they may ask - Cristina Vila Vives Use the Capital Wise After raising your first capital, think of launching the MVP to market. Find the right people to help you build the product and talk to potential customers to understand how they would like it to work. If you lack some business skills, bring a co-founder who can complement your weaknesses, someone strong in the go-to-market and business partnership operations. Then hire the first team members. Make sure that on that first version, you are building something people actually want - Cristina Vila Vives People Want Your Product...Help Them Realize That Finding the right product-market fit is a matter of building a SaaS product that helps your customers solve their problems. Your job is to understand them, develop your product according to their feedback, and help them realize the potential of your solution. You need these people who believe in your vision and are willing to dedicate their time to help you shape your ideas. When I started, I knew that it was just a matter of educating the market and building a product that would truly help companies when companies were ready to recognize that they had that problem - Cristina Vila Vives For more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player!

    37 min
  6. Building a Top-Rated SaaS Product Your Customers Will Love with Matt Barnett, Founder and Papa Bear of Bonjoro

    EPISODE 6

    Building a Top-Rated SaaS Product Your Customers Will Love with Matt Barnett, Founder and Papa Bear of Bonjoro

    Building great products starts with a strong desire to solve a problem you have encountered in your own experience. But there is more to it than that; you have to think about what makes it different, the value it brings to people, your brand's messaging, and much more. Matthew Barnett knows what it takes to build SaaS products that thrive. Matthew is the Founder and Papa Bear of Bonjoro, and today, he shares what SaaS founders need to do to develop products that people will love and help them grow successful businesses. In this episode, we discuss: Why are industry experts more likely to build successful startups?Biggest fears and challenges startup founders experienceHow can you drive customer loyalty?How should founders approach brand building? The Right Founder for the Right Product Industry experts are more likely to succeed when building a business. They are the ones who experience and understand industry problems, thus developing products that solve them is much easier. I think a lot of the most successful startups you see come from people who have a problem in a specific industry - Matt Barnett Prioritize Your Growth Strategy From day one, think about your specific growth mechanism, which depends on your company. Every business is different. Some are sales-driven, marketing-led, or ads-led. What works for one company doesn't mean it will work for you.  I think it's extremely important…you have a mechanism that can do that - Matt Barnett How Can You Drive Customer Loyalty? When people mention loyalty, they think about loyalty cards, discounts, and other benefits. However, loyalty is the ability to increase the lifetime value of your customers and generate advocacy, which leads to net new customers. If you nail loyalty, you increase the lifetime value of every customer. So every customer spends more and stays longer, and then you increase that by basing your customers as its growth channel - Matt Barnett Your Brand is More Than the Logo Many founders don't understand what a brand represents. Most just think about the logo and stop there. Besides visual elements, a brand is also how you talk to customers, what you stand for, your views, values, and people. A brand is basically like the external facing piece of your culture - Matt Barnett For more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player!

    50 min
  7. How to Build a Successful SaaS Product When You Have Zero Experience with Robin Eissler, Founder and CEO of BoosterHub

    EPISODE 7

    How to Build a Successful SaaS Product When You Have Zero Experience with Robin Eissler, Founder and CEO of BoosterHub

    You don't have any technical background, and you have no idea where or how to start building your SaaS product. But there is a problem you want to solve. Should you take on the challenge or leave it for someone else to deal with? This is the exact problem Robin Eissler, the Founder and CEO of BoosterHub faced. When Robin began her SaaS journey, she knew nothing about what developing software products involved.  In this episode of SaaS Origin Stories, Robin shares what you need to start building your SaaS product when you have no experience, how to find the right people and mentors to help you, and how to drive a product-led growth strategy that will boost your sales. In this episode, we discuss: How does BoosterHub enhance booster clubsWhat is a booster clubBuilding a SaaS product with zero experienceHow to transition from sales-led to product-led growthBoosting the Nonprofit SpaceBoosterHub provides infrastructure for nonprofit organizations, specifically high school booster clubs, for their athletic and fine arts programs. It also enables volunteers to jump into the organization and have a ready-made set of tools that help them communicate, manage volunteers and fundraise. BoosterHub popped into my head like Hey, we need to use one tool to do all of this. And I was at a time in my life when it was time to start a new venture. So we decided to jump in and do it - Robin Eissler Building a SaaS Product With Zero Experience Before starting BoosterHub, Robin worked in aviation and was also the Founder and President of Sky Hope Network. She says that running a new business is all about duplicating and adapting the systems and processes of the previous one. If you didn't have to deal with SaaS before, like Robin, a great idea is to find a mentor that will guide you. Also, spend some time learning basic SaaS principles and tools to get started. Running a business is really all about systems and processes and then duplicating those systems and processes - Robin Eissler From Sales-Led to Product-Led Growth The first BoosterHub customers were beta testers. The team adopted a classic SAS marketing strategy of building the funnel, prospecting, looking for contact information, working through the process of nurturing those leads, and selling them. In the beginning, you can start too with a sales-led approach, where you try to find the right people and present your product. As the product develops, you can take on a product-led approach. We're definitely trying to move to as much product-led as we can. I think the nature of our business will always remain some percentage of sales led just because of how booster clubs operate and the relationship model there - Robin Eissler For more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast player!

    39 min
  8. 3x Reduction In Churn with Emily González-Cebrián Lombán, Co-founder and CEO of Froged

    EPISODE 8

    3x Reduction In Churn with Emily González-Cebrián Lombán, Co-founder and CEO of Froged

    One of the most difficult challenges in building a SaaS product is understanding your user and putting yourself in their shoes. But when you are at the same time the user and the developer, the final result might become a hit. Let's see what that looks like in real life. For that, we invited Emily González-Cebrián Lombán, Co-founder and CEO of Froged, to share her story behind building a SaaS product that helps other SaaS subscription businesses succeed. In this episode, we discuss: How does Froged help SaaS businesses solve conversion and churn problems?How can SaaS businesses manage churn?Why should you constantly look for feedback as you develop your SaaS product?What does human power technology mean? A Problem-Solver for Subscription-Based SaaS Businesses Froged is a SaaS product that focuses on customer success and support. The platform solves two main problems. One is converting users from free trials to paying customers, and the second is reducing the churn rate. The economy, in general, has been transformed into a subscription economy. So we are driving super fast towards this subscription economy where all businesses become platforms where they deliver subscriptions - Emily González-Cebrián Lombán Launching, Testing, and Getting Feedback When launching the MVP, Emily and her team wanted to test and receive honest feedback from the market on every functionality they were developing. One way to do that is to launch your product in AppSumo, which can also help you find the product market fit. Whenever you create something like your baby and your own self. And you have to make sure that you don't attach yourself to that idea or to that project so that you're able to receive feedback - Emily González-Cebrián Lombán Managing the Churn Churn is one of the metrics that show how long your business can last. A subscription-based business grows by attracting new clients but also helping the clients you already have grow with you. A high churn rate indicates that you are losing money fast and not delivering what the market expects from you. You don't need to fight against churn, but to work proactively not to have it - Emily González-Cebrián Lombán Powering People People are the most valuable asset you have in your SaaS company. As your business develops, people realize things that allow them to have the lifestyle they want and be surrounded by the desired environment. Address these areas to maintain a positive culture and work environment people will love being a part of.  We always say that we are a human power technology - Emily González-Cebrián Lombán For more interviews from the SaaS Origin Stories podcast, check us out on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!

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"Every SaaS hero has an origin story" Join Phil Alves, host of SaaS Origin Stories, as he unravels deep conversations with founders as they share how they started their SaaS. You’ll hear first-hand dos and don’ts of building and growing a SaaS as well as inspirational stories to fuel you on your own journey into the world of SaaS.

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  • Creator
    Phil Alves
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Phil Alves
  • Show Website
    SaaS Origin Stories