The SaaS Revolution Show – Details, episodes & analysis

This week, we’re running it back to one of our most popular episodes from 2023. Host Alex Theuma is joined by Mike Tessler, Managing Partner at True North Advisory and founding CEO at BroadSoft. Mike shares: - The BroadSoft journey: from its founding in 1998 , to going public on Nasdaq in 2010, and being acquired by Cisco in 2018 for +$1.8B - The process behind the decision to sell BroadSoft to Cisco - Three key lessons from scaling the business to +$500M ARR - How to build a realistic execution plan and hold teams accountable - Why senior leaders have to act as ambassadors as a company grows - BroadSoft’s secret to success with go-to-market partners - The biggest partner technology challenge the industry is facing - How he handled feelings of loneliness when at the top Guest links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltessler1/ Website: https://www.truenorthadvisory.us/       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

Rahul Vohra (Founder and CEO at Superhuman) joins SaaStock's Alex Theuma to discuss how Superhuman stayed ahead of the generative AI wave, how they’re shaping the future of productivity with autonomous email agents, and why great products that delights users — not flashy marketing — are the key to viral growth. Rahul also opens up about the loneliness of being a CEO, his meditation practices, and the game design principles behind Superhuman’s success.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Nathan Latka, CEO and Chief Investment Officer at Founderpath (and the powerhouse behind SaaSOpen!), as he shares the truth about AI in SaaS ...and why it counters Microsoft's CEOs prediction. "I would get emails from real sales reps all the time that were terribly written and they'd go right to spam. I'd also get emails from CEOs that were really well written and I would click them or I'd reply and I engage. Nothing changes. All that changes now is that people with less resources can maybe get an outbound campaign going faster. But if you don't structure it in a way that captures the recipient's attention and gets them to reply like it's just useless, you're just spraying and praying. You're just paying for ChatGPT and credits that you know got you no value. So this is why the biggest in demand job towers here is going to be prompt marketing." Nathan shares: • His counter to Satya Nadella: how AI is transforming SaaS pricing to usage-based models ...not killing the industry! • While many SaaS companies are rushing to add AI labels to their marketing, the real opportunity lies in using AI to reduce friction points and help users reach value faster • Why ChatGPT and AI tools have replaced review sites as the go-to for software recommendations • The key to appearing in AI tool recommendations (and why it isn't about gaming the system) • The rise of "prompt marketing" - how to stand out in a world of AI-generated content • How domain ratings and SEO fundamentals will remain a crucial part for AI tool visibility and rankings and more!       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show, our host Alex Theuma is joined by Sherrie Fernandes, Vice President of Product Management & User Experience at G-P (Globalization Partners), who shares what makes G-P a product led organisation. In this episode you'll hear: 🚀 Three lessons from G-P's growth over the last two years 🚀 The impact of G-P being female founder led 🚀 Product-led initiatives that have moved the needle at G-P 🚀 How her role drives growth within the business 🚀 The best advice she's ever received & more!       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

From the SaaStock 2022 Scale Stage: Kieran Flanagan, CMO Zapier and ex-SVP Marketing at Hubspot, shares why HubSpot bet BIG on media. "The only difference between traditional media companies and software companies with media offerings within them, is really how they make money, right? Traditional media - ads and subscriptions, not a great business model. The subscriptions I think some media brands are going to do really well with them. Software and media, they make money through products and subscriptions, and the unit economics are much, much better. It does mean you have to think differently about how you measure this." No company becomes a success without doing things differently. To win, you need to make big bets and take hard decisions. This presentation goes behind the scenes on why HubSpot bet big on media by purchasing a media company and how that decision got made. We'll go through the insights and beliefs that drove the decision and our efforts to build a world-class media network.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show, Alex Theuma is joined by SaaStock Founder Member and CSO at Expandi: Stefan Smulders! Stefan shares how Expandi bootstrapped to $7M in just over two years.

"Go hire people, as I was scared to do it, somehow. It was all new for us, but I really feel good now beside all these people in the company call, as they are way more clever than me and are solving things faster... so it's kind of a relief."

In this episode Stefan shares: 
🌟 Expandi's founding story
🌟 Why he joined the SaaStock Founder Membership (SFM)
🌟 How they scaled Expandi so quickly
🌟  Examples of what has worked well for the company
🌟  Their social focus (and why he got booted out of LinkedIn...!)
🌟 The hardest thing about bootstrapping a startup in 2023
🌟 Why he moved from CEO to CSO

and more!

Like what you hear? Join us at SaaStock USA 2023 happening 31 May - 2 June in the silicon-lit hills of Austin, Texas to network with SaaS powerhouses like Stefan in-person! 🇺🇸 Save an additional 10% on tickets using code 'SAASREV' https://ti.to/saastock/saastock-usa/discount/SAASREV

 

 

 

Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland
Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/

🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas
Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/

🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/)

🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show, our host Alex Theuma is joined by Asia Orangio, Founder & CEO at DemandMaven and SaaStock USA speaker extraordinaire, who shares the top growth pitfalls that SaaS companies aren't expecting. "No one will ever care more about your company than you, and that's not because they don't actually care about working for you, it's just the way that it is. You will naturally just simply care more, but that's not to say that you need to find people that care as much as you, it's much more like, you've got to come down a little bit. I've learned over the years, especially when it comes to hiring, it is natural for me to care 100%, maybe even 200%, but not everyone is going to be on that same level and that's actually OK." Asia shares: 🚀 What's shaped her as an entrepreneur 🚀 How the current market is impacting her and her clients 🚀 The top five unexpected growth pitfalls (including KPIs...) 🚀 What one thing has moved the needle the most for DemandMaven 🚀 A sneak peek into her speaking topic for SaaStock USA & more! Like what you hear? Join us at SaaStock USA 2023 happening 31 May - 2 June in the silicon-lit hills of Austin, Texas to network with Asia and other top-tier SaaS experts in-person! 🇺🇸 Save an additional 10% on tickets using code 'SAASREV' https://ti.to/saastock/saastock-usa/discount/SAASREV       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

From the SaaStock 2022 Bootstrap Stage: Sujan Patel, Co-Founder at Mailshake, shares the 5 ways to identify, hire and retain rockstars for bootstrapped startups. Bootstrapped companies have a different DNA, a smaller budget and are competing with well funded startups or Goliaths. They have to do more with less. Sujan has bootstrapped 6 companies over the last 11 years and will share his secrets that will change your recruiting and hiring process forever.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

From the SaaStock 2022 Scale Stage: Tom Lyons, Chief Executive at The Currency is joined by Zeb Evans, founder & CEO ClickUp, who shares how ClickUp grew to over six million users in five years. What does it take for a SaaS company to stand out in a crowded industry and leapfrog over the competition? When ClickUp launched in 2017, it intentionally entered a category full of legacy players and moved full speed ahead by building an industry-leading product. In this session, Zeb Evans, CEO and Founder of ClickUp, will share the secrets behind ClickUp's success, including building a globally recognized brand, developing an innovative product, and cultivating a strong company culture.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)

From the SaaStock 2022 Bootstrap Stage: Patrick Campbell, Founder & CEO Profitwell and CSO Paddle, shares what bootstrappers do better than venture backed companies. Being bootstrapped is a mindset that drives exponential growth. Patrick Campbell, ProfitWell’s Founder and CEO will share his experience bootstrapping ProfitWell to $10M and beyond. He will share the good, bad, and ugly with the essential frameworks to help you leverage maximum lifetime value. Backed by data from over 28.7k SaaS companies, this presentation will pinpoint the most effective retention strategies, agile pricing options and churn-busting tactics that will kick start the growth of your bootstrapped business.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe: 14-15 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland Book tickets: https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: April 2026 | Austin, Texas Book tickets: https://saastock-usa.com/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)