Episode Summary:
Srikrishnan Ganesan, Founder, and CEO of Rocketlane, joins the SaaS Sessions Podcast to share actionable insights on customer onboarding—a crucial yet often overlooked driver of SaaS success. Sri dives deep into why onboarding sets the foundation for long-term customer satisfaction, retention, and expansion, and offers strategies to optimize this critical phase. This conversation is packed with transformative ideas for SaaS founders and operators, from avoiding common onboarding pitfalls to leveraging AI and standardized processes.

Key Takeaways:
1. Onboarding as a Strategic Driver
- The first 30-90 days are make-or-break: onboarding directly influences churn and Net Revenue Retention (NRR).
- Poor onboarding can result in 25-30% of customers failing to go live, jeopardizing renewals and expansions.
- Early-stage SaaS companies often lack the rigor to drive implementation success, resulting in disengaged customers.

2. Common Onboarding Pitfalls and How to Address Them
- Lack of Rigor: Companies often go at the customer’s pace instead of setting clear timelines.
- Order-Taking Approach: Teams fail to be prescriptive, waiting for customer direction instead of sharing best practices.
- Disorganized Operations: Reliance on spreadsheets and hero-driven processes undermines scalability and consistency.
- Solution: Implement standardized processes, use governance frameworks, and prioritize system-driven operations.

3. The Role of Leadership and Process Design
- Founders often stretch post-sales teams, delaying investments in specialized onboarding leadership.
- Invest in systems that track effort, milestones, and outcomes to scale onboarding.
- Standardize touchpoints like kickoff decks, project plans, and escalation paths to drive a consistent and professional experience.

4. Leveraging Technology and AI for Better Onboarding
- Tools like Rocketlane provide visibility and streamline processes for both customers and internal teams.
- Use AI to automate repetitive tasks, identify early warnings, and enhance follow-up communications.
- Fast and efficient onboarding drives 2x faster expansions and greater advocacy from happy customers.

Lightning Round Insights:
What Sri Wishes He’d Known Starting: How transformative AI would become and its potential to fundamentally reshape product development.

Favorite AI Tools:
- Avoma for sales insights.
- Rocketlane’s own AI-driven features to improve onboarding experiences.

Book Recommendations:
- Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath – Learn to package ideas that resonate and stick with your audience.
- Competing Against Luck by Clayton M. Christensen – Understand the "Jobs to Be Done" framework for product development.

About Rocketlane:
Rocketlane is a leading customer onboarding and professional services automation platform, empowering SaaS companies to deliver seamless and efficient onboarding experiences. By streamlining collaboration, improving accountability, and accelerating time-to-value, Rocketlane helps businesses improve retention and expand revenue opportunities.

Chapters:
00:50 - Sri’s Journey: From Freshworks to Rocketlane
01:47 - The Current State of SaaS Onboarding
04:15 - Key Challenges in SaaS Onboarding
07:39 - Building Rigor and Governance in Onboarding
15:23 - Celebrating Go-Lives and Building Advocacy
19:15 - The Impact of Faster Onboarding on Retention and Expansion
27:27 - Ripple Effects of Poor Onboarding
34:04 - Leadership’s Role in Driving Onboarding Excellence
37:04 - Lightning Round

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Lucas Lovell, VP of Product at Paddle, shares his journey from launching a startup in Australia to scaling a SaaS company in Europe. With a focus on global market expansion, Lucas discusses critical considerations for entering new geographies, leveraging local partnerships, and using payments infrastructure as a growth lever. Packed with actionable insights, this episode is a must-listen for SaaS leaders navigating the complexities of international growth.

Key Takeaways:

1. Market Expansion Strategy
   • Market size and access are key to identifying expansion opportunities.
   • Operational challenges, like legal and regulatory barriers, need thorough evaluation.
   • Localizing for cultural norms and customer expectations is crucial for success.
2. Leveraging Payments as a Growth Lever
   • Offering region-specific payment methods boosts conversions significantly.
   • Partner with payment platforms like Paddle to simplify tax compliance and payment localization.
   • Missteps in payment infrastructure can result in high drop-off rates despite strong intent to purchase.
3. Tactical Entry into New Markets
   • Conduct roadshows and spend time on the ground to understand the local ecosystem.
   • Leverage accelerators, incubators, and local networks for insights and partnerships.
   • Hiring local talent provides essential market expertise and operational efficiency.
4. Balancing Global Consistency with Local Flexibility
   • Use foundational playbooks but adapt pricing, messaging, and distribution strategies to local markets.
   • Understand cultural nuances, such as Germany’s data consciousness or the business formality in Europe.
   • Localization isn't just about language; it’s also about tone, style, and relevance.

Lightning Round Insights:

• Work-Life Balance Tip: Set boundaries with notification management to avoid work distractions during personal time.
• Advice to Past Self: You learn best by doing—don’t hesitate to dive in and experiment.
• Book Recommendation: Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt for mastering strategic thinking.

About Paddle: Paddle simplifies payment infrastructure for SaaS businesses, enabling global expansion by handling tax compliance, payment localization, and more. Their platform helps companies turn operational complexities into growth opportunities.

Connect with Lucas Lovell: LinkedIn | Paddle

Chapters:
00:10 – Introduction
01:00 – Lucas’s Journey in SaaS
06:30 – Choosing France for Market Expansion
10:00 – Operational Barriers to Entering New Markets
15:00 – Using Payments as a Growth Lever
20:00 – Localization Strategies for Success
25:30 – Building Partnerships for Distribution
30:00 – First Principles GTM Strategies for New Geographies
35:00 – Lightning Round Insights

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Krati Seth, Head of Global Sales Enablement at Whatfix to discuss how companies can build a sales enablement function to support sales teams and drive business impact.

With over a decade of experience across different roles, Krati is Currently the head of global sales enablement at Whatfix.

Before Whatfix, she spent 8 long years at Zycus - starting as a Business Development Associate and leaving as a Senior Sales Enablement Manager.

Krati shares that there are 3 types of companies in India - those who are aware and convinced about enablement, those who are aware but are not convinced, and those who are unaware of enablement.

She shares her insights on helping build enablement functions at Zycus and Whatfix, plus all the other companies she has consulted.

She also talks about the problems that enablement will solve and the impact it drives.

All this and more with Krati in this episode.

Connect with Krati on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kratiseth/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

We discussed about Product Led Growth in a couple of episodes in the past. Now in this episode, we're discussing about Product Led Onboarding with Despina Exadaktylou. Despina is a Product-Led Champion and a SaaS consultant at ReinventGrowth. 

In this episode, we talked about:

- what is product led on-boarding?

- what’s the difference between normal on-boarding vs PLO? 

- does it help in optimising other metrics such as activation, churn, etc? 

- why should SaaS companies care about it? 

- how does it affect the end user/customer? 

- has any SaaS implemented it? If yes, what are the results? 

- does it have a direct impact on growth? 

Connect with Despina on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/despinaexadaktylou/

Get in-depth research about Product Led Onboarding by Despina - http://bit.ly/32m3gek

Visit ReinventGrowth's website - http://bit.ly/2JAptwM

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Are you a SaaS who is wondering what type of sales is better for growing your business? Is it inside sales, or is it outside sales?  

I invited Morgan J Ingram, who is empowering sales teams to become prospecting rockstars at JBarrows Sales Training and Prakhar Jain, who is the associate director of Sales at Whatfix, to address this topic.  

In this episode, get to know more about Morgan and Prakhar. How they started their career in sales and reached where they are now.  

Firstly, they both point out the difference between inside and outside sales. (For anyone who doesn't know)  

Are you a SaaS who's just starting out, or you're Product Market Fit? Or you have crossed the Go To Market Fit? And are you wondering which type of sales to use in your stage?   

In this episode, Morgan and Prakhar also addressed which type you should focus on based on what stage your SaaS is in.  Get to know the problems faced in each of these types and also how to solve them.

Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganjingram/

Connect with Prakhar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/learningprakhar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I invited Shruti Kapoor, Founder and CEO of Strings.ai, to talk on how SaaS companies can leverage AI to close more deals. 

Shruti talks about how AI can help increase conversion in each step of the buyer's journey. Also, how does providing contextual help during sales conversation help in increasing conversions? 

Strings.ai is an AI powered On-screen, real-time and contextual battle cards tool for your Account Executives. It allows you to manage call reviews and analytics for every prospect conversation. 

Visit Strings.ai website - https://strings.ai

Shruti's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutikapoor/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode Anupam Bhatt (Architect and Technical Program Management at IBM) takes us behind the scenes and explains how the engineering team plans for growth and scale. Anupam talked about how systems are designed and how planning for scale starts from day 1.

How engineering teams adapt to sudden spikes and how they deal with situations that get out of control. Anupam also went through challenges engineering teams face and shares his learnings based on his experiences.

If you've wondered what happens behind the scenes when a flash sale goes on or when there is sudden traffic for a product, this is a much listen for you as Anupam explains exactly what happens in the background.

You can find Anupam on LinkedIn here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/anupambhatt/ and on Twitter here https://twitter.com/Mr_Bhatt

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

I invited Ravi to talk about his entrepreneurial journey and the journey of Moengage in this episode. Today, Moengage is probably one of the hottest startups in India. 

Ravi talked about how he along with Yashwant and their entrepreneurial spirit, started Moengage and made it a global brand which now serves Fortune 500 companies.

He talked about how SaaS companies can tap international markets and expand globally. We also discussed how Moengage achieved a stage where they decided to raise funds, and how you can achieve that stage as well.

All this and more in an insightful discussion with Ravi. Listen to it and do share your feedback. 

Ravi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rteja

Visit Moengage's website - https://www.moengage.com/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, Kishan Gupta, CEO of UXCam talks about user on-boarding funnel and how does a typical funnel for a SaaS look like.

He also talks about the best practices that SaaS businesses should follow while crafting the on-boarding funnel.

Connect with Kishan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kishangupta/

UXCam website - https://uxcam.com

Deliver the perfect app experience by capturing and visualising user interaction data with UXCam.

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Aniket is the Founder/CEO of Product Bricks Ventures, a product & technology consulting firm with HQ in Dallas. He has been Integral part of product teams that have led to successful acquisition combining over 150 million. He has over 15 years of product development experience with AGILE teams in Internet of Things & Wireless space. He has a PhD in Wireless communication and learnt Entrepreneurship at Stanford.
He loves to teach and mentor through various platforms like Everwise, Product School, LinkedIn etc., and serves on Advisory board for Startups in India. 

In this episode, he talks about, why does a product need a product leader and what are the qualities of a product leader? We also discussed about how a good product leader can make the product successful and a bad product leader can break it. Also, take a dive in to a typical day of a product leader with Aniket. 

Connect with Aniket on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniketmalvankar/ 

Product Bricks Ventures - https://www.productbricksventures.com/ 

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode Kieran gives his perspective on Product Led Growth and why should companies care about this new approach. 

He talks about the downsides of implementing PLG framework and what can go wrong while implementing it. 

Product qualified lead is a very important factor to be considered while implementing this framework. True or False? Kieran will tell you. 

Are you wondering what kind of team you require to implement the product led growth framework? Listen to this episode to find out. 

Connect with Kieran on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieranjflanagan/

Visit his website - https://www.kieranflanagan.io/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Santosh talked about the early days of Explara and how he with his team overcame various growth challenges to make Explara a leading SaaS platform for Events. 

He pinpointed the driving factors behind their 600% hypergrowth in 2012.  He also shared his views on how early stage CEOs should decide what things to focus on to achieve a growth trajectory and many more valuable insights. 

If you're an early stage startup CEO, then you should listen to this episode.

If you want to get connected with Santosh, reach out to me or connect with him on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/santoshpanda/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I invited Phil Strazzulla who is the founder of NextWave Hire, which allows employers to hire the right talent through some effective unconventional ways.

Listen to Phil's opinion on using marketing to land the job of your choice. Then Phil talks about some unconventional methods which you can use to get that job you always wanted.

To close, he reveals a few ways you can use to market yourself to land your dream job.

Connect with Phil on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/philstrazzulla/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Jugal Anchalia, Co-founder & CEO at Cobalt to talk about how to use integrations as a growth lever.

We start with addressing WHY companies should solve the problem of integrations.

Jugal explains the current solutions and the challenges with them.

We then discussed how we can use integrations as a growth lever - like unlocking new revenue streams, enhancing user experience, and expanding overall reach and visibility.

All this and more in this episode with Jugal.

Connect with Jugal on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jugal-anchalia-0a2ab220/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Luke Diaz, Director of Customer Success at AppZen.

Luke is passionate about building and leading high-performance customer-success orgs.

We explored strategies for achieving best-in-class gross and net retention, emphasizing the importance of customer onboarding, churn post-mortems, and aligning compensation plans.

We also discussed how to use the voice of the customer to prevent churn.

All this and more with Luke in this episode.

Connect with Luke on LinkedIn.

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Phil Putnam, VP of Sales Enablement at Notified to talk about Sales Enablement.

Phil has spent over a decade working in SaaS in various roles.

Phil talks about his responsibility as a sales enablement leader at Notified and what exactly he does in his role.

He also shares how you can build a new enablement practice in your org. Phil shares about what you should do, what you shouldn't do, and some must-haves.

We also discussed elevating an existing enablement practice in your org. Especially in cases where it's difficult for you to show the impact.

All this and more with Phil in this episode.

Connect with Phil on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/philputnammusic/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Abby Hehemann, Director of Product Marketing at GetResponse to talk about setting up a customer marketing framework. 

With over 14 years of experience, Abby is a specialist in strategic product positioning and value-driven messaging.

Abby shares the customer marketing framework that she and her team use at GetResponse and how you can build on yourself.

She also shares her thoughts on what makes customer marketing different than customer advocacy.

Abby points out the metrics for success while implementing such a framework. 

All this and more in this episode with Abby.

Connect with Abby on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-hehemann/https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-hehemann/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Ankit Chaturvedi, VP & Global Head of Marketing at RateGain.

RateGain is India’s first publicly listed SaaS company. They help Hotels and Travel companies accelerate their revenue through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion. If you’ve ever booked travel online, you’ve experienced RateGain. 

Ankit has over 15+ years of experience, and he shares his thoughts on marketing teams having Revenue targets.

He also shares how to ensure the alignment between marketing targets and overall company goals.

Ankit also shares his secrets about collaborating with other departments to ensure the marketing initiatives are aligned with revenue targets.

All this and more with Ankit in this episode.

Connect with Ankit on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankitchaturvedi85/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Aditi Sinha, Co-founder of Locale.ai to talk about pivoting at an early stage.

Aditi talks about the story behind building Locale and how over time they decided to pivot their original product.

She also shares how they go the idea for the pivot and why it was necessary for the growth. And how they communicated it to their internal employees, customers, and investors.

Pivots come with new challenges - and Aditi shares how their team overcame the new challenges. And shares the learnings she has got through the entire process.

Connect with Aditi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditisinha1002/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Episode Summary

In this insightful episode of the SaaS Sessions Podcast, we down with Satya Ganni, the CEO and Founder of Userflow and Beamer. Satya shares his journey as a serial entrepreneur, having founded six companies before leading Userflow and Beamer, two innovative platforms revolutionizing user onboarding and product engagement. We dive into how AI is reshaping Product-Led Growth (PLG), strategies for leveraging data effectively, and the future of PLG and Product-Led Sales (PLS).

Key Takeaways

• Satya’s Journey in SaaS:
  • Over two decades of experience in SaaS as a founder, operator, and executive.
  • The mindset of a problem solver is the driving force behind his entrepreneurial success.
• AI's Role in PLG:
  • AI influences every stage of the PLG funnel, from acquisition to engagement.
  • Personalization powered by AI can reduce CAC and improve time-to-value.
  • Examples of effective AI use in PLG include content generation, user segmentation, and in-app personalization.
• The Importance of Data in PLG:
  • PLG's success relies heavily on combining formographic, behavioral, and in-app data.
  • Tools like product analytics, session replays, and experimentation platforms are key to unlocking actionable insights.
  • Challenges arise with inaccurate or incomplete data, but the right systems can mitigate these issues.
• Challenges and Misconceptions in PLG:
  • PLG requires a massive market and some elements of virality to thrive.
  • Many SaaS companies are in the early stages of adopting personalization and leveraging AI to its full potential.
  • Integration of data-driven tools and workflows is critical for success.
• Future of PLG:
  • Hybrid models combining PLG and PLS (Product-Led Sales) will dominate.
  • AI-driven precision will empower sales teams to nudge users toward upgrades and drive conversions.
  • PLG will evolve to emulate the personalization seen in B2C platforms like Instagram and Amazon.

Lightning Round Insights

1. Biggest Lesson: The value of having a mentor or coach early in his career to accelerate growth.
2. Book Recommendation: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman—a must-read for understanding decision-making.

About Userflow and Beamer

• Userflow: A user onboarding and guides platform that simplifies the journey for SaaS and digital-first businesses.
• Beamer: A product adoption and engagement platform designed for product leaders and marketers to drive engagement.

Connect with Satya

• Website: Userflow | Beamer
• LinkedIn: Satya Ganni

Subscribe & Stay Connected

Don’t miss upcoming episodes! Subscribe to SaaS Sessions Podcast on your favorite platform and follow us for more insights from SaaS leaders.

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Erik Newton, CMO at Hubilo to talk about the art of lead nurturing.

Erik points out that the average marketing touches required to win a deal in B2B have gone up significantly. And hence lead nurturing has become more important than ever.

We discussed what constitutes a lead nurture program. How to build one? And what role does marketing automation play in these programs?

Erik also shares his successful lead nurture program example. And I've shared one too.

All this and more in this episode with Erik.

Connect with Erik on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eriknewton/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Vikram Bhaskaran, Fractional CMO (former VP of Marketing, Chargebee). He has over a decade of experience in B2B SaaS Marketing at companies like FusionCharts, Freshworks, and Chargebee.

I spoke to Vikram about marketing funnels and what role they play in a marketing function of a B2B SaaS. Discussed the full-funnel breakdown and different stages involved in a sales-led model and a PLG model.

Vikram also shares how to align goals to different stages of the funnel along with some examples. Also, why it's important for any marketer to be aware of the entire funnel journey.

All this and much more with Vikram in this episode.

Connect with Vikram on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markalive/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Kanika Khurana, Chief of Staff - Driving Strategic Priorities at Chargebee.

As a Chief of Staff, Kanika shares the roles and responsibilities that are required for anyone who wants to get into this role.

From her experience, she shared when should a company actually hire for this role? And also how do you measure success for it?

For someone who is trying to get hired as a Chief of Staff, you will learn the pros & cons of the role, about the scope, and be able to determine if you are a perfect fit to take this up. Even if you're not now, Kanika shares the imp skills required to get hired.

All this and more with Kanika in this episode.

Connect with Kanika on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanika-khurana-69426844/

Checkout Chargebee - https://www.chargebee.com/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Girish Redekar, Cofounder at Sprinto to talk about the importance of security and compliances for SaaS startups whether you're selling to other startups or SMBs or enterprise companies.

Girish is a second time founder with Sprinto. Previously he was the founder of RecruiterBox which saw an amazing exit. Post the exit, Girish worked on several amazing ideas and Sprinto was the one they picked.

Sprinto helps SaaS companies become info-sec complaint. This is extremely imp to unblock your sales deals and pass security reviews easily.

Girish also explains the consequences of not having the right compliances. And how they're directly tied to the revenue.

All this and more in this episode with Girish.

Connect with Girish on LinkedIn - https://in.linkedin.com/in/girishredekar

Check out Sprinto - https://sprinto.com/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

We hosted Abhash Kumar, VP of Marketing at Springworks to talk about building a culture OS in this episode. 

Abhash has nearly a decade of experience at high-growth companies like BYJU's, YourStory, and now at Springworks. Springworks is one of the fastest-growing HR tech companies in India known not only for tech but also for their innovative culture OS.

Abhash shares the playbooks and all the secrets behind the amazing culture at Springworks.

We talked about building the right culture from scratch and how to take the top-down approach to implement it. We also discussed how culture overpowers good/bad leadership.

All this and much more with Abhash in this episode.

Connect with Abhash on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/AabhashK/

Checkout SpringWorks - https://www.springworks.in/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

We hosted Kausambi Manjita, Founder & CEO at Mason, in this episode. She was a guest on the S4E5 of the show previously.

Mason is the no-code automation engine - made for commerce. In the episode, Kaus talks about tapping on the no-code wave focusing on the eCommerce vertical.

She also shares their exciting experience in pivoting from Kubric to Mason.

Connect with Kaus on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmanjita/

Check out Mason - https://getmason.io/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Ruchin Kulkarni, Co-founder of Toplyne.io to talk about product-led growth.

Toplyne helps sales teams at product-led companies convert their freemium users!

Prior to this, Ruchin was with Sequoia overlooking the growth stage investing in SaaS, dev tools, and enterprise software.

While at Sequoia, he worked with a bunch of PLG companies. Ruchin shared about the opportunities he saw in the PLG space in India and later created Toplyne.

He also shares why NOW is the time for PLG companies to shine.

All this and more in this episode with Ruchin.

Connect with Ruchin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruchin-kulkarni-%E3%83%84-b6527395/

Check out Toplyne.io - https://www.toplyne.io/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Praveen Das, Co-founder of Factors.ai, to answer frequent questions about marketing data and analytics.

We start with discussing how B2B marketing has changed over the years, and how the change has affected data capturing. Also, how new types of GTM influence analyzing the data.

Are we in the Data 3.0 world? Data 1.0 was about capturing; Data 2.0 was about stitching it and building relationships. Is Data 3.0 all about delivery? Know more about it in this episode.

Learn more about Factors.ai - https://factors.ai/

Connect with Praveen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/praveen-das/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Arjun Pillai, former Founder & CEO at Insent.ai and currently SVP Products and Growth at ZoomInfo, to talk about Insent's exit to ZoomInfo.

Insent.ai is Arjun's second exit. He exited his first company, Profoundis, to FullContact back in 2016. Post which, he went on to build Insent.ai, which got acquired within three years.

We talked about the entire journey of the acquisition, right from the initial reach out to finalizing the exit. Arjun shared the deciding factors behind the exit.

He also shares how Insent's product will fit into ZoomInfo's suite of products and what's the future of Insent (now ZoomInfo Chat).

All this and more in this episode with Arjun.

Connect with Arjun on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rarjunpillai/

Check out SaaS Jobs here - https://pallet.xyz/list/saas-jobs/jobs

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we invited Sairam Krishnan, Marketer in Residence at Accel, to talk about Storytelling.

Sairam has over a decade of experience in Marketing with companies like Freshworks, Wingify, iMocha, and currently Accel.

We start by talking about what got Sairam interested in storytelling when he joined Freshworks back in 2011.

Sairam talks about how to tell a story for each audience. Whether you're an investor, founder, or executive, you have different needs of listening to stories.

And he also talks about how he's educating people via his newsletter - https://thecmojournal.substack.com/

All this and more with Sairam in this episode.

Connect with Sairam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sairamkrishnan/

Check out SaaS jobs here - https://pallet.xyz/list/saas-jobs/jobs

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Disrupting Travel with Spotnana: Sarosh Waghmar on Building the AWS for the Travel Industry

In this episode, we hosted Sarosh Waghmar, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Spotnana.

Sarosh shares his journey of over two decades in the travel tech industry and discusses Spotnana's mission to transform travel by creating an 'AWS for the travel industry.'

The conversation delves into the challenges and innovations of building a platform that emphasizes trust, transparency, and a seamless user experience.

We also discussed the impact of AI and the future of travel tech.

Key insights include the importance of building a platform that allows others to innovate, the role of cloud-native architectures, and the significance of standing on the shoulders of giants to drive industry-wide change.

Connect with Sarosh on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/swaghmar/

00:00 Introduction
00:40 Sarosh Waghmar's Background and Travel Industry Insights
01:33 Challenges and Innovations in Travel Tech
03:04 Spotnana's Vision and Platform Approach
04:00 Building During COVID and Overcoming Obstacles
07:31 Creating a New Category: Travel as a Service
20:18 Future of Travel Tech and AI Integration
29:51 Lightning Round: Personal Insights

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Sreedhar Peddineni, Co-founder at GTM Buddy.

Sreedhar has been in the SaaS industry for over 2 decades now. He started his first company, Host Analytics back in 2001.

In 2011, he cofounded Gainsight (previously JBara Software) along with Jim Eberlin.

After a great exit with Gainsight, Sreedhar is currently building GTM Buddy where they are enabling the sales team achieve their true potential.

With Sreedhar, we discussed how the SaaS industry has shaped over the past two decades.

And his view of how the SaaS ecosystem is growing especially in India.

Additionally we also talked about the story behind Gainsight and the Customer Success function.

All this and more with Sreedhar in this episode.

Connect with Sreedhar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreedharpeddineni/

Check out SaaS jobs here - https://pallet.xyz/list/saas-jobs/jobs

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Shilpa Singh, Head of GTM/Commercial Strategy at Amazon to talk about creating a GTM playbook for targeting the enterprise segment.

We discuss how a SaaS company can enter the enterprise segment and what are the best practices companies can follow.

Shilpa also shares the building blocks of a GTM strategy required to target the enterprise segment.

Moving upmarket means a lot of change, we discussed all the changes that a company goes through during the process.

All this and more with Shilpa in this episode.

Connect with Shilpa on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shilpalsingh/

Check out SaaS jobs here - https://pallet.xyz/list/saas-jobs/jobs

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Arundhati Balachandran, Senior Director, Customer Success at Chargebee, to discuss being data-driven in the customer success world. 

Arundhati made the shift from Sales to Customer Success at Chargebee and is now leading the team. 

She talks about the imp metrics for CS teams and the less popular but critical metrics they track at Chargebee.

She also emphasizes the Net Retention Rate and its importance.

All this and more with Arundhati in this episode.

Connect with Arundhati on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abalach/?originalSubdomain=in

Check out SaaS jobs here - https://pallet.xyz/list/saas-jobs/jobs

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Ashwin Krishna, Marketing Director at Tact.ai. We talked about building a locally relevant and globally scalable GTM strategy.

Ashwin is a B2B marketing and growth leader with strong commercial acumen and a 15-year track record inspiring teams to deliver hyper-growth in SaaS companies across the Middle East, APAC, and the USA.

We discussed getting to know the marketing before entering, picking the right persona, setting up GTM goals, and more.

Ashwin also shares his best practices to follow while creating a GTM strategy while going behind a particular market.

Connect with Ashwin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashwingkrishna/

Check out Tact.ai - https://www.tact.ai/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Smriti Chopra, Product Marketing at Zapier to talk about building the alignment between the PMM team and other teams.

Smriti was previously managing APAC Partner Marketing at Hubspot and has rich experience in B2B marketing plus taking several products to market over the years.

We discussed the goals of the PMM team and what makes it the catalyst for business growth?

Smriti talks about how to make better-informed decisions by building a solid alignment between the PMM team and other teams.

All this and more with Smriti in this episode.

Connect with Smriti on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/smritichopra/ 

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Steffen Hedebrandt, Cofounder of Dreamdata.io to talk about B2B revenue attribution.

Dreamdata.io is a B2B revenue attribution platform.

We discussed how Steffen started Dreamdata and what piqued the idea in his mind.

We also talked about the GTM strategies and playbooks their team is using to conquer this market.

All this and more with Steffen in this episode.

Connect with Steffen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steffenhedebrandt/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Sandhya Tomer, Director of Customer Success at Whatfix to talk about her experience in Customer Success.

She explains the proactiveness of Customer Success vs the reactiveness of Customer Support. She also believes that consultants can be good at Customer Success.

All this and more with Sandhya in this episode.

Connect with her on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandhya-t-20980b7/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Veekshith Rai, Co-founder, and COO at Finly.io

Finly simplifies accounts payables for businesses.

Veekshith was working on 5 ideas that they directly pitched to the investors. One of them emerged, and it was Finly.

Veekshith talks about this approach and how it helped them build the company.

He also talks about their objectives for 2021 and how they're expanding to middle-east market.

All this and more with Veekshith in this episode. 

Connect with Veekshith on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/veekshith-rai/

Follow Veekshith on Twitter - https://twitter.com/VeekshithCRai

Check out Finly - https://finly.io/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Kausambi Manjita, Founder & CEO at Kubric to talk about her journey with Kubric.

Kubric is an AI-driven automation tool for designers and marketers.

How did she start Kubric? How did they hire their first few people? Kaus also talks about how is Kubric scaling up in India.

All this and more with Kaus in this episode.

Connect with Kaus on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmanjita/

Check out Kubric - https://kubric.io/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Lavanya Gopinath, Director of Operations at Chargebee, to discuss various ops functions in a SaaS company.

Lavanya introduces the ops functions and their roles & responsibilities. She also explains how you can set up the ops functions at your org.

Connect with Lavanya on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lavanyagopinath/

Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/
Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/