The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors - podcast cover

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

The Official SaaStr Podcast is the latest and greatest from the world of SaaStr, interviewing the most prominent operators and investors to discover their tips, tactics and strategies to attain success in the fiercely competitive world of SaaS. On the side of the operators, we center around getting from $0 to $100m ARR faster, what it takes to scale successfully and what are the core elements of hiring. As for the investors, we learn what metrics they hone in on when examining SaaS business, what type of metrics excites them and what they look for in SaaS founders.

Episodes

SaaStr 690: From $5M to $100M: How to Scale a Multi-Product Startup with Lattice CEO Jack Altman

One of the open secrets behind a lot of great companies is going multi-product. Jack Altman, CEO and co-founder of Lattice, firmly believes that many more companies should be multi-product, and many should go multi-product earlier than they think. Lattice has launched four product suites in the last eight years, and the ideas that drove their growth apply to most companies today.

Oct 02, 202325 min

SaaStr 689: The Latest 2023 Napkin Reveal: What it Takes to Raise Capital with Christoph Janz, General Partner of Point Nine Capital

Given the massive downturn that started 18 months ago, many SaaS founders are nervous about what it takes to raise capital in SaaS in 2023. Christoph Janz, General Partner of Point Nine Capital, shares some answers about what it takes to raise capital in SaaS, overall investment activity in 2023, and how to develop a convincing AI strategy.

Sep 27, 202325 minEp. 689

SaaStr 688: The State of the Cloud 2023 with Bessemer Venture Partners

Discover Bessemer Venture Partners’s annual State of the Cloud report, going through trends, benchmarks, and metrics that underpin the Cloud economy. Presented by: Mary D'Onofrio, Partner @ Bessemer Venture Partners Janelle Teng, VP @ Bessemer Venture Partners Caty Rea, VP @ Bessemer Venture Partners The past twelve months have been relatively turbulent for Cloud founders. SVB collapsed, market multiples are down, yet the IPO window is re-opening, and we have a platform shift to AI that’s exciti...

Sep 25, 202327 min

SaaStr 687: Building a Global SaaS Empire: Freshworks Founder & CEO Girish Mathrubootham on His Biggest Bets

Freshworks is a successful public SaaS company that has a humble beginning in the small town of Chennai, India. Founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham shares five big bets that paid off as he scaled this multi-product company. Listen to discover Mathrubootham’s key decisions in launching and scaling a company, which include: *Betting on inbound while going global *Hiring talent when talent is hard to find *Going multi-product early on *Layering a sales-led motion on top of a product-led motion *Be...

Sep 18, 202331 min

SaaStr 686: What the Future of SaaS Holds for 2024 with David Sacks, Founder & General Partner, Craft Ventures, and Jason Lemkin, Founder & CEO, SaaStr

Are you curious to learn what the future of SaaS will look like in 2024? Well, look no further. In this informative interview, two of the biggest pioneers of SaaS, David Sacks, Founder and General Partner of Craft Ventures and Jason Lemkin, SaaStr Founder and CEO, team up to discuss the potential landscape for AI-focused SaaS over the next five years. From understanding what it takes to raise a Series A these days to discovering how AI will shape the industry, get a unique insight into the world...

Sep 15, 202341 min

SaaStr 685: Why Investors Love SaaS with SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin and QED Partner Amias Gerety on Fintech Beat

SaaStr Founder and CEO Jason Lemkin and Partner at QED Investors Amias Gerety chat on the Fintech Beat podstream about all things SaaS, money, and what makes a great founder. Some topics covered include: What makes SaaS so great How SaaS is fairing in the “macro” economy Perspectives on fintech and SaaS and how they overlap How an investor chooses what to invest in and when it’s time to walk away Fintech Beat is all about the intersection of finance, tech, and policy, and now they’re touring out...

Sep 02, 202335 min

SaaStr 683: How To Live Your Values While Building A Unicorn with Notion, Motive, and Incredible Health

Discover how three breakout SaaS companies scaled from an idea to hundreds of employees and $1B+ valuations, all while living their values along the way. Notion COO Akshay Kothari, Motive CEO and Founder Shoaib Makani, and CEO and Co-Founder of Incredible Health Iman Abuzeid share the secrets of ensuring their company-centered values and purpose remained an anchor amidst hypergrowth. Moderated by Laura Weidman Powers, Operating Partner at Base10 Partners. As we dive into these three highly succe...

Aug 28, 202342 min

SaaStr 682: The Top 10 Worst Pieces of SaaS Advice to Avoid with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin

10 Terrible Pieces Of SaaS Advice To Avoid If You Want To Succeed with SaaStr Founder Jason Lemkin Bad advice is everywhere these days. Hundreds of thousands of experts are telling you how to succeed in SaaS. Many of those voices are incredible, yet terrible bits of advice pops up again and again. On top of that, founders are full of excuses preventing them from scaling. SaaStr Founder and CEO Jason Lemkin shares the 10 worst pieces of SaaS advice, excuses, and mistakes founders make, and what t...

Aug 25, 202322 min

SaaStr 681: Scaling to $5B with Cockroach Labs' CEO Spencer Kimball's Formula for Sustained Growth and Resilience

Whether you’re going from nothing to something or already scaling and thriving beyond $10-100M, healthy, sustainable growth in SaaS is on every founder’s mind. Cockroach Labs’ CEO Spencer Kimball shares hard-won lessons from scaling from $0 to $5B and his time as an angel investor for more than 80 different startups. He’ll walk you through the three stages of growth: 0-$1M — From nothing to something $1M-$10M — Building, innovation, and customers $10M-$100M+ — Scaling and thriving And what susta...

Aug 09, 202339 min

SaaStr 680: The Most Important SaaS Metrics of 2023 with monday.com Co-Founders and SaaStr Founder Jason Lemkin

Learn about the most important SaaS metrics for founders in 2023 with the CEOs of the most metric-oriented company, monday, and the founder of SaaStr. The godfather of SaaS and founder of the world’s largest community for business software sits down with one of the most metric-oriented companies today to discuss the most important SaaS metrics for founders in 2023. Jason Lemkin, Founder of SaaStr, and co-founders and CEOs, Eran Zinman and Roy Mann of the wildly successful monday.com chat with St...

Aug 06, 20231 hr 2 min

SaaStr 679: Scalable, Low CAC Growth Tactics with Hypergrowth Partners Co-Founder Guillaume Cabane

Are you trying to unlock sustainable low customer acquisition costs (CAC) growth for your SaaS company? Then you need to hear what Guillaume Cabane, Co-Founder and President of HyperGrowth Partners, has to say on the subject. In this podcast, Guillaume shares the formula he used at Ramp, Gorgias, and Drift to reach explosive saas growth - showing you the secrets of smart scaling. Don't miss out - listen now now for groundbreaking advice on generating fast CAC growth success!...

Jul 31, 202321 min

SaaStr 678: Raising Capital in 2023: What You Really Need To Know with Creandum Partner Peter Specht

Founders of 2023 ask themselves, “What does it take to raise money right now in this uncertain market environment?” Peter Specht, Partner at Creandum, shares a data-driven perspective and real-time insights into the market of very recent rounds and current VC expectations. Unfortunately, raising money isn’t the same as raising in 2021. Specht walks you through what has happened in the last 12 months and the best practices for today.

Jul 26, 202336 min

SaaStr 677: MongoDB at $1.5 BILLION in Revenue: An Epic Growth Story

Some SaaS and Cloud leaders have seen big impacts from the post-Covid hangover, but others keep accelerating. MongoDB is one of those that has never stopped. Instead of looking at those who are struggling, let’s take a look at the epic growth story of MongoDB, a company crushing it in 2023. MongoDB is at a stunning $1.5B in ARR, 29% overall growth, and is worth $29B. That’s about as good as it gets in SaaS and Cloud! While many less efficient public SaaS companies are trading at tough multiples ...

Jul 22, 202317 min

SaaStr 676: CRO Confidential: How to Grow Revenue Faster in the Second Half of 2023. Hosted by Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund

2023 has been a difficult year for many tech companies. Markets have been all over the place, layoffs occurred, and investors weren’t funding as much as usual. However, Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund & Host of the SaaStr CRO Confidential Podcast, believes there are reasons to be optimistic for the rest of 2023. In a special workshop, Sam shares advice on how to spot bottlenecks, reallocate the right resources, and grow revenue in 2023. SaaStr Workshop Wednesdays are LIVE every Wednesday. Si...

Jul 19, 202330 min

SaaStr 675: Why You're Unfundable in 2023: The Cold, Hard Truths About SaaS Part 2 with SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin

Many people at this year’s SaaStr Europa wondered about the future of customer success, motivation during hard times, and how to grow in this new era of efficiency. SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin sat down with the audience for an Ask Me Anything session to answer some of the most pressing questions from the audience. If you missed part 1, catch that here . First up is a bootstrapped founder looking for advice in today’s market....

Jul 15, 202324 min

SaaStr 674: The Cold, Hard Truths About SaaS In 2023: Part 1 AMA with SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin

Startups come in all shapes and sizes on various stages of a timeline, yet it’s not surprising how many have the same questions and concerns about how to scale from x to y to z, the right time to hire and fire, and how to keep a team motivated during hard times. At this year’s SaaStr Europa, Jason Lemkin, CEO and Founder of SaaStr, took the stage to answer the audience's most pressing questions about the present and future of startups. His answers didn’t disappoint....

Jul 12, 202316 min

SaaStr 673: How To Boost Your Net Retention Revenue (NRR) to Over 140% with Insider's CEO and CMO

Retention is the new acquisition. This paradigm shift has placed Customer Marketing in the spotlight as a pivotal function that helps companies achieve robust NRR metrics. Despite the revenue impact, Customer Marketing teams remain relatively lean and often struggle to secure the necessary support from cross-functional teams. Companies that have successfully unlocked the potential of Customer Marketing have seen a substantial increase in revenue. Join Insider's Co-founder and CEO, Hande Cilingir...

Jul 07, 202331 min

SaaStr 672: Go to Market Strategies That Led To Divvy's $2.5B Exit with Divvy’s Former CRO, Sterling Snow

Struggling to find product market-fit? Join former Divvy CRO, Sterling Snow, and learn how the company went from 0 to a $2.5B exit in just four years using effective go-to-market strategies. Find out what the team did differently that set them apart from their competition and get your product off the ground in no time! There are 6 primary operating models Divvy used to fuel incredible growth, culture, and results. The best part is they're dead simple and every team should be using them. Don't mi...

Jul 05, 202323 min

SaaStr 671: From Uncertainty to +$400M: How Braze Found Opportunity in Headwinds with Braze's Co-Founder & CEO Bill Magnuson

It’s not an easy time to be a startup entrepreneur. Even as generative AI and LLMs present the potential for a technical paradigm shift, startups today must also grapple with the realities of financial market upheaval, ominous global power shifts, uncertain economic indicators, and disruption up and down the supply chain: It may feel as though “hunkering down” is the best that a founder can do. Bill Magnuson, Co-founder and CEO of Braze, has a different take, in which there’s no time like the pr...

Jun 30, 202340 min

SaaStr 670: CRO Confidential: Why The First Rule You Know About Building Software is Wrong. Rippling CEO Parker Conrad's Theory of the Compound Startup. Hosted by Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund

The First Rule You Know About Building Software is Wrong. Discover why with Rippling CEO and Co-Founder, Parker Conrad, and Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund. In this session, Parker will explain step-by-step his theory of the compound startup and how it can help you scale your SaaS company. ***** Shipping projects doesn’t have to be a mess. Notion combines project management with your docs, knowledge base, and AI. So you can stop jumping between tools, and stop paying too much for them too. G...

Jun 28, 202340 min

SaaStr 669: From 2 Weeks of Runway to a $1.5B Valuation: The Founder Playbook with Loom Co-Founder and CEO Joe Thomas

June 2016: Loom was on its last legs. With more than one failed launch + fundraising attempt behind them, the co-founders were maxing out credit cards and had about two weeks of runway left before calling it quits. One idea changed everything: they took a chance on a single piece of their product — the video recorder. They decoupled it from the broader platform they’d been developing, launched it as a standalone offering on Product Hunt, and saw more signups in one day than the past six months c...

Jun 23, 202327 min

SaaStr 668: Top 10 Mistakes Getting to $100M ARR with LaunchDarkly Co-founder and Executive Chair Edith Harbaugh

Learn directly from Edith Harbaugh, Co-founder and Executive Chair of LaunchDarkly, about the top 10 mistakes to avoid when scaling your SaaS company. Edith is an experienced startup executive and has firsthand insights into how to grow any SaaS business quickly and successfully. Don't miss this opportunity to get valuable guidance for scaling to 100 million in ARR! We'll cover how: *Everything is up & to the right if you zoom out Big changes every 6-18 months Revenue is it’s own funding Hiring ...

Jun 21, 202329 min

SaaStr 667: The 2023 Mid-Year State of the Markets: Why Efficient Growth is Key with SaaStr CEO & Founder Jason Lemkin

Why are things in SaaS so different in 2023 than in 2022? And extremely different than 2021? “I think for most of us during the crazy lockdown era, it was just nuts,” Lemkin explains. “And this is, I know this sounds obvious, or maybe it doesn’t, but as someone’s been doing SaaS since 2005, this is the first time in the last 10 years that SaaS has gotten harder.” Watch the video: https://youtu.be/h1Hpag6gnOI ****** Shipping projects doesn’t have to be a mess. Notion combines project management w...

Jun 16, 202340 min

SaaStr 666: Scaling a SaaS Startup to $1B+ ARR: Insights from UiPath's CEO and Founder Daniel Dines

Discover the secrets to scaling a SaaS business with UiPath's CEO & Founder Daniel Dines, and Philippe Botteri, Partner at Accel. Learn 10 interesting lessons for driving a new category in SaaS to over a billion dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sharing the learnings from the founding of UiPath in 2005 to its present-day success with over a billion dollars in revenue, watch to learn insights into how UiPath has achieved its monumental growth, and how you can apply these strategies to your ow...

Jun 14, 202340 min

SaaStr 665: CRO Confidential: Principles that Drove Wiz’s $0 to $100M Journey with Wiz CRO Colin Jones

In 2020-2021, many SaaS startups faced a unique challenge. With teams spread across the globe, they had to find new working patterns to scale their businesses in a distributed environment. Wiz, one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies focused on security solutions, was one of them. The company helps enterprises internationally with contextual and actionable insights to secure their cloud infrastructure. Today, Wiz is one of the highest-valued private tech companies, at $10 billion, as announced...

Jun 02, 202344 min

SaaStr 664: What You Need to Change at $10M to Scale to $100M with Sameer Dholakia, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners

Building a company for $0-$1M in revenue differs wildly from $1-10M ARR. And scaling from $10M to $100M is wildly different still. Sameer Dholakia, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners with decades of operational experience, shares what you need to change as you scale from $10M to $100M ARR. The short answer is almost everything. Keep an open mind as you move into the next chapter of your company. “Everything that got you to where you are isn’t going to get you where you want to be,” says Dholak...

May 31, 202321 min

SaaStr 663: 9 Things I Wish I Would Have Told My 2013 Self: Lessons Learned from 9 Years with Heap's Former CTO, Dan Robinson

You’ll never truly understand how to lead a SaaS company until you’ve done it firsthand. But it always helps to get advice from someone with experience. Dan Robinson, current Advisor and former CTO at Heap , shares nine essential learnings from nearly a decade of building a SaaS business. Watch the video: https://youtu.be/FXdPe6tGE3A ***** 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, 202...

May 26, 202326 min

SaaStr 662: Things You Think as a First-Time Founder That Just Ain’t So With Lattice Co-Founder & CEO Jack Altman and Saastr Founder & CEO Jason Lemkin

At nine figures in revenue and 550 people, the CEO of Lattice, Jack Altman, has seen every stage of building a startup. In this week’s Workshop Wednesday — held every Wednesday at 10 a.m. PST — Altman talks more in-depth about his viral tweet storm, sharing the eight things you think as a first-time founder that usually aren’t true. This episode is an excerpt of Jack and Jason's conversation. Watch the full video, including Q&A: https://youtube.com/live/2sNsZdFjWOE?feature=share ***** SaaStr Eur...

May 24, 202322 min

SaaStr 661: VC AMA with SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin and Black Mangroves MD Arnaud Bonzom at SaaStr APAC 2023

People keep asking when we’ll get out of this downturn in venture. The truth is: It’s not a downturn—only a reset. For the people who haven’t been raising capital or haven’t seen this side of things since, say, 2018, they’ll probably think this is a terrible time. Black Mangroves Founder and Managing Director Arnaud Bonzom, and SaaStr Founder and CEO, Jason Lemkin answer some of the bigger questions about venture investing in 2023. This episode is an excerpt of Jason and Arnaud's AMA at SaaStr A...

May 19, 202322 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android
Open in Metacast