The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors – Details, episodes & analysis

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.

SaaStr 756: From Challenges and Churn to Triumph - How to Deliver Exceptional Customer Support at Scale with Monday.com's VP of Customer Experience

In this episode of the Official SaaStr Podcast, Natalie Margolin, VP of Customer Experience at monday.com, shares her journey and strategies for enhancing customer experience in a rapidly growing company. From tackling challenges of scale, implementing AI and chatbots, to ensuring customer satisfaction and building an expert support team, Natalie explains the transformative steps and guiding principles that have positioned monday.com as an industry leader in customer experience.

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 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. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

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This episode is sponsored by: Paragon

• Are you constantly saying no to your customers’ integration requests? You’re not alone. That’s why companies like Copy.ai and Sinch use Paragon, an embedded integration platform, to ship integrations 7 times faster. Ready to scale your product’s integration strategy? Visit useparagon.com/saastr to explore how Paragon can help you go-to-market faster with integrations today.

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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.

SaaStr 747: Top 10 GTM Mistakes Founders Make Again … and Again with SaaStr’s CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin

What are the biggest GTM mistakes founders make? SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin shares The Top 10 Mistakes Founders Make Again and Again. Some are decades-old problems, while others have emerged from this new world we’re in. Let’s jump right in.

1. Hire a VP of Sales that can sell or demo the product
2. Hire a VP of Marketing who can do demand generation
3. As a Founder or CEO, stay in sales
4. Don't cut your marketing budgets to almost nothing
5. Jump on the AI bandwagon in a meaningful way
6. Prioritize growth
7. Be cautious when hiring the broken, the bitter, and the fractional
8. Don't hire for the logo
9. ROI isn't always instant, build pipeline
10. Don't eliminate true customer success

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 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. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

This episode is sponsored by: Remote.com

Are international payroll regulations giving you a headache? Remote.com is your solution. With our best-in-class interface and expertise, we consolidate payroll for your employees, whether in one country or a hundred. Trust us with swift, secure payments for your team while you focus on scaling markets and driving business growth.

Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta shares his top 10 mistakes in 10 years of running Gainsight.

This is the second half of a Workshop Wednesday session in which SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin chats with Nick about his top mistakes as a CEO. You can hear the first half in episode 656.

You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/dtdh2Dkhpig

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SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com

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Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.

Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976

Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/

Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh

Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8

Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta shares his top 10 mistakes in 10 years of running Gainsight.

This is the first half of a Workshop Wednesday session in which SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin chats with Nick about his top mistakes as a CEO. You can hear the second half in episode 657, which will air on May 5.

You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/dtdh2Dkhpig

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SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we’re heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com.

*****

Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.

Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976

Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/

Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh

Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8

In this episode of CRO Confidential, Roam Founder & CEO Howard Lerman sits down with Sam Blond to talk about Roam's unconventional approach to acquiring its first customers.

Full video: https://youtu.be/dGj6VZoi0Kw

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What if you could prospect in a single click?And what if that click came with accurate, intent data
you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let’s make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com

Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.

SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com

*****

Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.

Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976

Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/

Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh

Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8

Growing and scaling your customer base requires robust systems, teams, and playbooks that work in lockstep with one another. One of the most impactful teams, yet often least invested in, is customer marketing. From determining the ideal org structure to understanding clear KPIs, the playbook for customer marketing is still being written and is often misunderstood. In this session, we’ll discuss key strategies that can be leveraged to build and scale a high-performing customer marketing team. You’ll walk away with actionable insights and a clear understanding of how you can improve net dollar retention and unlock growth, regardless of your stage or size.

Full video: https://youtu.be/8zgkk0DFQs8

*****

Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.

What if you could prospect in a single click? And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let’s make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com.

SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we’re heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com.

*****

Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.

Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976

Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/

Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh

Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8

If you’re looking for a marketing strategy to grow your SaaS business, SaaStr’s very own Jason Lemkin has five things you can do today, this week, or this month that always work.  

And the great news is that almost everything costs little to no money. 

Most SaaS companies need to spend more on marketing. To save money, many freeze marketing spend, which is cool for a few months, but if it becomes the norm, they won’t have enough pipeline for the rest of the year. 

No matter what, you need to do more marketing in the back half of this year. If you don’t, your teams are going to starve. As the saying goes, “You can’t cut your way to growth.” 

While many of these ideas seem basic, they aren’t done enough. Instead of tackling all five strategies simultaneously, do just one thing better, and you’ll get more leads. 

This episode is the second half of Jason's Workshop Wednesday session. You can listen to the first half in Episode 652. You can watch the full session here: https://www.youtube.com/live/vc0nITbOlos?feature=share

*****

What if you could prospect in a single click?And what if that click came with accurate, intent data
you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let’s make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com

Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.

SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com

Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.

Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976

Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/

Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh

Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8

If you’re looking for a marketing strategy to grow your SaaS business, SaaStr’s very own Jason Lemkin has five things you can do today, this week, or this month that always work.  

And the great news is that almost everything costs little to no money. 

Most SaaS companies need to spend more on marketing. To save money, many freeze marketing spend, which is cool for a few months, but if it becomes the norm, they won’t have enough pipeline for the rest of the year. 

No matter what, you need to do more marketing in the back half of this year. If you don’t, your teams are going to starve. As the saying goes, “You can’t cut your way to growth.” 

While many of these ideas seem basic, they aren’t done enough. Instead of tackling all five strategies simultaneously, do just one thing better, and you’ll get more leads. 

This episode is the first half of Jason's Workshop Wednesday session. We'll share the second half in Episode 653. You can watch the full session here: https://www.youtube.com/live/vc0nITbOlos?feature=share

*****

Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.

What if you could prospect in a single click? And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let’s make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com.

SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we’re heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com.

*****

Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.

Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976

Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/

Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh

Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8

Arnaud Bonzom, Founder and Managing Director @ Black Mangroves moderates a panel with Carmen Yuen, General Partner @ Vertex, Jenny Lee, Managing Partner @ GGV Capital, and Piruze Sabuncu, Partner @ Square Peg Capital on what founders should look out for when raising a Series A.

In this panel, Carmen, Jenny, and Piruze will discuss the lessons learned at Vertex, GGV, and Square Peg on the common pitfalls to look out for when you are raising your Series A. For each pitfall, they will provide tips and tactics on how to overcome them.

This episode is an excerpt of the VC session. You can watch the full video: https://youtu.be/nFUUTXlnaa0

*****

What if you could prospect in a single click?And what if that click came with accurate, intent data
you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let’s make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com

Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.

SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com

Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the 🌎largest community for B2B software.

Subscribe for weekly updates: https://www.saastr.com/subscribeform

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saastr

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2724976

Quora Group: https://www.quora.com/q/cloud

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaaStr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saastr/

Our North American Event: https://bit.ly/2OXeAYh

Our European Event: https://bit.ly/2OZTad8