This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey to create meaningful global change by making problem creators responsible for solving it together through technology. My guest is Oscar Rundqvist, CEO of eComID. 

Oscar is a tech entrepreneur on a mission. A massive mission. He's founded and led multiple companies since 2010 - and has also gained experience as an investment analyst and head of growth and digital experience in online retail. 

In September 2023 he co-founded eComID - based on negative trend he saw developing after COVID in online retail: A rapidly growing global returns problem.

Their mission: To help the fashion industry reduce online product returns, shrink the environmental footprint, and guide shoppers to discover and buy products they'll truly love.

This inspired me, and hence, I invited Oscar to my podcast. We explore how online shopping is broken and created a massive global retail returns problem - both in cost, waste and emissions. Oscar explains his vision of how to solve this with technology and by getting an entire industry to work together in new ways. He then shares his first principles for building a lean SaaS business that moves the needle impact-wise. Lastly, he elaborates on his lessons learned to stay nimble and avoid making fatal mistakes.

Here's one of his quotes

Coming from the industry, we managed to take the right decisions often. But we did it by taking a lot of bad decisions, but we found them really fast. So, what we do is that we explore a lot of different things. When we have something, for example, a feature idea, let's imagine that we explore 50 different ideas at the same time, but then we always keep the retailers very close. So we have weekly meetings with all of the retailers that we work with right now to always validate and align the need. 

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. How to get an entire industry to collaborate on solving the same problem. 
2. Why he doesn't fear competition, and is actually cheering them to take on the opportunity.
3. His first principle on keeping the focus on moving the needle in the leanest possible way.
4. Different ways to build trust with organizations that are 1000+ times the size of your startup.

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Oscar Rundqvist
• Website: eComID

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This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey to use AI in a way that makes salespeople more human again. My guest is JB Daguené, Founder and CEO of Evergrowth.

JB is tech-entrepreneur on a mission. He's had an impressive career in B2B SaaS Sales and has advised multiple tech companies for well over a decade. 

He's addicted to endurance sports and has finished multiple marathons, ultra-running, ultra-cycling, and IRONMAN races. He also knows what it is to stand out from the crowd. His LinkedIn profile is testimony to that: He eats SaaS for breakfast, B2B Sales for lunch, and AI+Data for dinner. And he likes his food spicy!

In that spirit, he founded Evergrowth in December 2015. It started as a consulting business and turned into a B2B SaaS business, pioneering the Future of Account-Based Sales.

Their mission: To elevate the sales profession by empowering businesses with AI-driven strategies that are as human as they are smart.

And this inspired me, and hence I invited JB to my podcast. We explore how the B2B sales process is deteriorating and what needs to be done to fix it. We explore the big lessons learned from turning a consulting into a SaaS business. JB shares how his first principles as a consultancy helped them create defensible differentiation - and use AI to further expand that. He also explains how he's positioning his business to attract the right deals - and why everything in his business is designed around one customer success template.

Here's one of his quotes

Salespeople never had a good reputation. And I think it didn't get better because of the noise that was created by all the tools-driven approaches. So they need to acknowledge this and understand that in order now to have meaningful conversations and create meaningful pipelines, they need to understand how to speak their customer's language better than their competitors and better than their customers themselves. I'm super biased on having that opinion, but that's really the only way to win in 2024.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. How JB managed to create defensible differentiation - and how he's using AI to grow it.
2. How to avoid your SaaS business ends up in the graveyard of the market.
3. How to turn engineering, marketing, sales, business operations, and customer success into an unbeatable engine for your business.
4. How endurance training helps you become a high-performing leader that doesn't break down.

For more information about the guest from this week:

• JB Daguené
• Website: Evergrowth

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This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey to turn a Defense Contractor product spin-off into a scalable SaaS business. My guest is Masha Petrova Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of Nullspace

After receiving her PhD in aerospace engineering, Dr. Petrova spent 15+ years in the engineering simulation and design software industry, including holding global marketing executive roles at Ansys, Altium LLC, and  IncMSC Software. She also worked at three simulation software start-ups, all of which were acquired by Ansys Inc. in the last 10 years.

In January 2023 she co-founded Nullspace - a spin-off from a Defense contractor business. Their mission: To solve the fast-worsening shortage of electromagnetic engineers needed to meet today’s radiofrequency technology demands.

And this inspired me, and hence I invited Masha to my podcast. We explore the lessons learned from spinning off a software product from a Defense Contractor business and to build a SaaS business. Masha emphasizes the importance of co-founder chemistry, and shares the unexpected lessons learned from her fund-raising process. She shares her insights on how to adapt sales and marketing strategies for the conservative engineering fields. Last but not least she elaborates why solving a highly valuable problem through product innovation alone is not enough to succeed. 

Here's one of her quotes

Sure we could have grown by sales only, or by raising angel funding. But what we really want is, because we know that our solution is viable and Product Market Fit has already been tested, we really want to push the button on sales and marketing. 

And right now this space is very hot. There's been a whole bunch of unprecedented acquisitions and engineering software that happened recently. There is a company that just announced coming out of stealth with 115 million in VC funding. Not series A or Series B, out of stealth …. in this engineering software space that no one usually talks about unless you're an engineer.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. How to navigate Fundraising successfully by embracing some valuable lessons in communication and resilience.
2. How to win over conservative, facts-oriented engineers when marketing your SaaS product and optimally enable your team.
3. How to use pricing as a key element of differentiation for your SaaS offering.
4. How to avoid having to pivot at the moment of launching your SaaS product because of missing some technical details.

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Masha Petrova Ph.D.
• Website: Nullspace

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This podcast interview focuses on do's & don'ts that matter if you want your Service business to become successful in SaaS. My guest is Slava Libman, CEO of FTD Solutions.

Slava is a driven innovator with +25 years of international experience and thought leader in the space of environmental sustainability in industrial facilities. He has a PhD in Environmental Engineering, and has spent his entire career focused on water technology and its impact on the industry. 

He leads teams in Ultra Pure Water, industrial water treatment, and facilities technology development, thereby challenging conventional thinking to drive progress.

In May 2017 he founded FTD Solutions - a Digital Twin platform with embedded expertise to enable new standards of sustainability in industrial facilities

Their mission: To redefine the way these industrial facilities approach solving problems and drive sustainability performance.

And this triggered me, and hence I invited Slava to my podcast. We explore the seven-year journey of transitioning from a consulting firm to a pioneering B2B SaaS company. Slava shared his big lessons learned on the importance of aligning product development with market needs and the sequencing and focusing of his go-to-market strategy. He elaborates how traction changed when they shifted from a transaction-oriented approach to a value-/outcome based approach. Last but not least he shares how emphasizing mission, principles, and value helped with alignment and keeping the organization lean.

Here's one of his quotes

When we try to help companies minimize their expenses, they ask the question, 'Okay, so what does your enrollment mean from the expense point of view?' 

So, our focus is on value creation. We believe that if we can create significant value for our customers, then the question of monetization and expenses will not be a roadblock. And in reality, that's the case.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. Why he decided to focus the business on the most complex type of customer segment first and how that paid off.
2. Why it's so beneficial to search for unique dynamics at your customers when seeking ways to differentiate your SaaS product.
3. What approach he's using so that everyone in the company lives the company values - every single day. 
4. Why he does't deal with weaknesses in his business.

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Slava Libman
• Website: FTD Solutions

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This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey to solve the growing issue of knowledge worker unproductivity. My guest is Pete Christothoulou, CEO of Xembly.

Pete Christothoulou is a serial entrepreneur. In 2003, he co-founded Marche, a publicly traded conversational analytics business. 

In November 2020 he founded Xembly - The first automated chief of staff.

Its mission: Ensure your company isn't left behind as we're entering a new era of productivity.

This inspired me, so I invited Pete to my podcast. We explore what's broken in the world of increasing knowledge worker productivity. Pete shares his vision for reclaiming 44 billion hours annually in the US alone. He elaborates on how he accelerated his way to product-market fit and, from there, predictable traction. Last but not least, he shares what he'd do again if he ever started another Startup.

Here's one of his quotes

I agree with everyone that we have a transformative opportunity. So I think that's obvious. Where I don't agree is here: if we're not careful, AI will actually create more distraction for us and more pain as consumers, if we're not mindful.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. How to gather crucial feedback, even if your product isn't fully developed.
2. Why he chose to focus on enterprise customers instead of a potentially much larger SMB market.
3. What single metric he's staring at all day to see whether they make a difference
4. What's the difference between a co-pilot and an auto-pilot, and why this distinction could also affect your SaaS business?

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Pete Christothoulou
• Website: Xembly

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This podcast outlines key strategies for SaaS CEOs to explore in 2024 to optimally prepare for 2025. My guest is Vinnie Mirchandani, Founder of Deal Architect. 

Vinnie has become a regular guest on my podcast. This is the fourth time over the past 7 seasons. He’s the founder of Deal Architect – a Technology strategy and negotiation firm, a former Gartner analyst, and the author of Silicon Collar, SAP Nation, The New Polymath, and The New Technology Elite - which emphasize technology-enabled innovation using lots of case studies and use cases across industries and countries 

He's also the prime interviewer/curator of thought leadership books for C-level executives at technology vendors SAP, Software AG, and IFS 

In this podcast, we explore the evolving landscape of SaaS businesses together. We delve into the future of SaaS for 2024, discussing optimistic and rational viewpoints on market trends, highlighting the most important metrics to give extra focus, and discussing the shift towards customer-centric revenue models over traditional funding avenues. 

We also address the untapped potential of generative AI and operational automation to enhance productivity and innovation in the B2B SaaS space. Furthermore, we explore what muscles to build to stay relevant in this rapidly changing and evolving market of Software as a Service. 

Here's one of Vinnie's quotes

Investors are sometimes fashion-driven. They follow what their colleagues tell them is predictable. So you don't often get the best advice by listening to investors. You have to go to the edge of the enterprise, to the remote parts of the world, sometimes to find opportunities.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. Why creating Funding freedom is essential for long-term SaaS success.
2. Which metrics to embrace to keep your SaaS business healthy as customer expectations evolve.
3. What routes to consider to access new technologies and markets with more speed.
4. Where to focus to seize growth opportunities beyond traditional markets

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Vinnie Mirchandani
• His blog: New Florence. New Renaissance
• Website: Deal Architect 

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This podcast interview focuses on the resilience lessons learned from running a successful business software company for +34 years. My guest is Dean Guida, CEO of Infragistics.

Dean has over 34 years of experience as a CEO and founder of Infragistics, a user interface development tools platform, and an expert in User-Centered Design. 

He scaled the business globally across 6 countries with a client roster that includes 100% of the S&P 500. 

What is special is that he guided Infragistics to withstand a series of tumultuous moments in the Internet’s ongoing evolution (think: the dot-com tech bubble of the late 90s, the explosion of the Internet, and the 2008 recession). 

Not that he got lucky– or happened to be in the right place at the right time, or worked harder than the next guy. He did it by crystallizing the insights at each key moment along the way–from common growing pains to completely unpredictable challenges–into a hard-won philosophy.

All his lessons are now bundled in his new book, “When Grit is Not Enough.”

And this inspired me, and hence I invited Dean to my podcast. We explore an inspiring journey of resilience of running a successful software business for +34 years. Dean talks about his near failures and shares the big lessons he learned to come out stronger, again and again. He digs into the fundamentals to build a resilient software business and how he's incorporating that into the day-to-day work, so it's lived to the fullest.

Here's one of his quotes

There's nothing like the fear of going out of business to sit in your brain, "how can you do this better next time?" And, what it comes down to is really early investment is making bets on the future where you think the future is, and spending your money there. Even though if you report to others who want to have better financial performance, you have to always keep investing in the future and refreshing your technology. And like there's this great analogy that software's like lettuce it, as soon as you have it, it's already wilting.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. How to achieve the Financial resilience to be able to don't fall behind.
2. What to prioritize to ensure culture stays healthy and everyone stays on track with the direction?
3. What two simple instruments Dean uses to navigate tough times.
4. How to build trust in periods where you have to lay off people.

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Dean Guida
• Website: Infragistics
• Deans' book: When Grit is Not Enough

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This podcast interview focuses on the journey to take a SaaS business to $1M+ . My guest is Justin Chen, Co-founder and CEO of PickFu.

When Justin and his co-founder John Li were working on another business they disagreed and wanted a fast, informed way to break the tie. 

Being software engineers, they built it - and that is what sparked the big idea behind PickFu.

Although it stayed on the back burner for years, like all the best treasures on the internet, people discovered it. Customers used the polling platform and shared it with their friends. Then, in 2018 they started to see increased attention from e-commerce conferences and podcasts, which is where they realized they had built something truly useful.

And this inspired me, and hence I invited Justin to my podcast. We explore what's broken in consumer research. Justin takes us through his journey to the moment they decided to go all in. He explains why he decided to niche down - and what criteria appeared to be really important to get traction. He elaborates on how they're creating defensible differentiation. Last but not least he explains how they're designing for stickiness across product, customer success, and marketing. 

Here's one of his quotes

The focus on industries is super important. Because it's really hard to market a general-purpose tool. But when you're able to speak directly to people about their problems, and their use cases, it resonates so much more quickly. So for E-commerce and gaming, doing the marketing and starting to tailor the product much more specifically to those industries has been really important to getting our traction

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. How often the best solutions are not the ones that help you do the task correctly, but giving confidence to even consider doing the task at all.  
2. That even if companies have sorted your problem higher in the organization, it doesn't mean everyone has access to that.
3. How focusing on habit building helped to make the product mission critical for some verticals - and reduce churn.
4. What adjustments he's making to make NRR calculation more reliable and relevant. 

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Justin Chen
• Website: PickFu

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This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey to become a trusted brand in a heavily competitive and unsexy market. My guest is Rory Codrington, Founder of Trust Keith. 

Rory is a Serial entrepreneur. He cofounded Flixtremein in 2013. Founded Slyce Tech in 2015 and WeDelight in 2018. 

In October 2019 he founded Trust Keith, a company that's dedicated to helping companies effortlessly manage their data protection and data compliance.

Their mission: to change the "boring" and "unsexy" stereotypes of data compliance to make data protection simple, easy to understand, and an enabler for businesses.

And this inspired me, and hence I invited Rory to my podcast. We explore what it takes to build a B2B SaaS business that stands the test of time. Rory elaborates on his big lessons from founding 3 other companies - and in particular what must be true. He shares the reasoning to shift focus from a product strategy perspective and how that strengthened their position. Last but not least he shares how to turn even the most boring domain into something you can stand out and proudly own.

Here's one of his quotes

By being high touch right now, we're just pulling so much better insights from our customers. I don't want to go and rush this, like 'Let's sprint to get arm's length away from our customers so that we can talk having a plg motion. We're not solving for investment. We're solving for customer retention, customer value, and revenue growth.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. What questions to ask to build a business that has the foundation to last.
2. What product strategy battles you should have internally to become mission critical to the right segment of the market?
3. How to optimize your company for benchmark gross margin - without cutting corners.
4. How to align every aspect of your business to become 'the one' in your segment of the market.

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Rory Codrington
• Website: Trust Keith

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This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey to create a serious business by daring to focus on some fundamental flaws of one enterprise platform. My guest is Ron Gidron, Founder and CEO of Xtype.

Ron's a tech entrepreneur on a mission. He's got close to 3 decades of experience in sales, product management, and marketing of highly technical software products. He's worked for Mercury Interactive, Symantec, and Automic Sofware (acquired by CA)

The technical scaling challenges he experienced on his journey inspired him to start xtype in April 2021. Their mission: to help ServiceNow development teams to deliver at speed the business demands without compromising quality or compliance.

And this inspired me, and hence I invited Ron to my podcast. We explore what's broken when it comes to scaling and building large enterprise systems. Ron explains why he decided to bet on ServiceNow (instead of staying platform agnostic). He elaborates on why he decided to target the largest organizations in the world first. He shares some big lessons on becoming a platform player that gets noticed and what he had to do differently to gain the traction he aspired to.

Here's one of his quotes

Coming from that space, you think, 'Hey, I can retrofit the toolchain and just build some integrations from Salesforce from ServiceNow. And I'll just run the tools that already exist. That is a huge mistake. Not because it doesn't work technically, technically you could probably do it, but because that overlooks the power of the ecosystem itself. There is a reason why Salesforce folks love Salesforce. There is a huge reason why ServiceNow folks love ServiceNow.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. What it takes to build traction momentum in a platform-centric eco-system.
2. How to get attention from the largest companies in the world when you're building a new product.
3. What to never do when you're building a product that's dedicated to one specific platform.
4. Ron's first principles when it comes to funding or no funding.

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Ron Gidron
• Website: Xtype

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This podcast interview focuses on the entrepreneurial journey to build a business that lasts and creates funding freedom. My guest is Jason Cohen, Founder of WPEngine.

Jason built four technology startups, both bootstrapped and funded, both alone and with co-founders. He grew all of them to more than $1M in annual revenue and has sold two. 

Beyond that, he's been an angel investor and a founding member of Capital Factory, an Austin-based incubator and co-working space since 2009.

Since 2007 he's been documenting his experiences and thoughts about early-stage startups on his blog: A Smart Bear. 

Based on his experiences and the challenges he faced as the blog grew, he founded WPEngine in 2010. It's a platform that provides brands with the solutions they need to create remarkable sites and apps on WordPress that drive their business forward faster. 

Their mission: To help customers win online.

And this inspired me, and hence I invited Jason to my podcast. We explore his lessons in building successful companies. He elaborates on the importance of getting the problem definition right and understanding what moves potential customers to buy. He shares his views on how to select your market and betting a super-specific niche. He talks in detail about his rules for attracting funding (or not) - and what WPEngine did during COVID-19 to keep growing. 

Here's one of his quotes

The question is, what can you learn from customer interviews? I don't think you can use customer reviews to know, 'Can I build this? Would you buy this feature?' 

But I do think you can use customer interviews for stuff like: What is their life like? What do they care about already, or not? What do they do? What are their workflows? Do they see this problem? Or don't they? Are these compelling? 

These are things where if you build the product, you don't learn those things. Ask the customer, they actually can tell you because they're not solving the problem for you. They're not building the product for you. They're just telling you about themselves. That they can do.

During this interview, you will learn four things:

1. What questions to ask to start your business with a solid foundation for long-term success
2. What makes hyper-specific SaaS companies grow faster
3. His first principle for thinking about raising funds that helps you to stay in control.
4. What he's looking for when making big bets when it comes to profitability.

For more information about the guest from this week:

• Jason Cohen
• Website: WPEngine
• Blog: A Smart Bear

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