Conversation with Kickbox Director of Operations Hank Hoffmeier about the science of email marketing.

Email marketing is often hailed as the highest-ROI channel — especially for SaaS and digital product companies. But what happens when your emails don’t even make it to the inbox?

In this episode of Growth Stage, we speak with Hank Hoffmeier, email deliverability evangelist at Kickbox, about how authentication, verification, and deliverability impact your bottom line. Listen to learn:

• Why deliverability is no longer a “set it and forget it” process.
• How to fix common mistakes that are silently killing your campaigns.

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for SaaS and software, FastSpring lets you reduce your payments, subscriptions, entitlements, fulfillment, and tax management stack down to one. We manage all the hard parts of transacting globally, allowing you to focus on moving your business farther, faster.

• (00:00) - Intro

In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview payments industry legend and VP of Payments at FastSpring, Jeremy Waxman about his thoughts on what the most common payment stack attacks are, why bad actors choose those particular types of attacks, and what you can do to make your payment stack more secure regardless of who your payment provider is.

With 25+ years of experience spanning Comcast, Fiserv, and Digital River, Jeremy has seen it all — from brazen carding attacks to operationally overwhelming waves of chargebacks. In this discussion, he breaks down how fraudsters operate, the costly mistakes companies make, and what you can do to stay ahead.

Listen for the full insights into:

• Why carding and account takeover attacks remain the most common (and expensive) threats to payment systems.
• How overlooking small data anomalies — like approval rates by BIN — can cost companies hundreds of thousands in decline fees.
• Why payment fraud isn’t just about fines, but also reputational risk, operational overload, and long-term damage to approval rates.

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance — enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

Building a lasting business isn’t easy. 

Knowing what really makes a company succeed long term can be even harder.

That’s why it can be helpful to learn from companies that have stood the test of time.

In this episode of Growth Stage, we celebrate FastSpring’s 20th anniversary with insights from its first CEO, Dan Engel, and current CEO, David Nachman. They share:

• What has helped FastSpring thrive for two decades.
• What mistakes to avoid when building your own business.
• What it really takes to build something that lasts.

Whether you’re planning to exit in two years or fifty, take a moment to step back and think about the long term future of your business. Watch or listen now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for SaaS and software, FastSpring lets you reduce your payments, subscriptions, entitlements, fulfillment, and tax management stack down to one. We manage all the hard parts of transacting globally, allowing you to focus on moving your business farther, faster.

Conversation with Equalize Digital CEO Amber Hinds about making the web more accessible for people with disabilities.

Amber Hinds is the founder and CEO of Equalize Digital, a mission-driven agency focused on digital accessibility. As the creator of the Accessibility Checker plugin for WordPress and lead organizer of the WordPress Accessibility Meetup, Amber is at the forefront of helping companies make their websites and SaaS products usable for everyone — including people who are blind, deaf, or have mobility or cognitive impairments.

In this episode, Amber shares the real-world implications of accessibility, how it intersects with SEO and compliance, and what companies can do right now to improve usability for all.

To learn more about how accessibility impacts business growth, listen for the full insights into:

•  Why accessibility improvements often lead to better SEO, lower bounce rates, and higher conversions
•  What global regulations like the European Accessibility Act mean for SaaS and ecommerce companies
•  How to start testing your website or product today — using free tools, real users, or expert audits

To hear all this and more about making the web work for everyone, listen now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

00:00 Introduction to Accessibility and Equalize Digital
03:05 Understanding Website Accessibility
05:58 The Importance of Accessibility
08:56 Legal Implications of Accessibility
11:45 Barriers to Implementing Accessibility
14:55 Human Testing vs. Machine Testing
17:48 User Testing and Accessibility Feedback
24:57 Effective User Testing for Accessibility
28:32 The Importance of Accessibility in Software Development
32:29 Examples of Accessibility Best Practices
38:42 Getting Started With Accessibility Improvements

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

Conversation with brandiD’s Founder and CEO Rachel Gogos about how SaaS leaders can build personal brands that drive connection, credibility, and growth.

Your personal brand is more than a polished LinkedIn profile — it’s how you stand out, connect with customers, and build long-term credibility as a founder or executive. But how do you create an authentic personal brand that actually works?

In this episode of Growth Stage, we talk with Rachel Gogos — Founder and CEO of brandiD — about her SOULiD framework and how digital business leaders can craft a brand that reflects who they truly are, while supporting their business goals.

Rachel shares:

• What makes up a strong personal brand (and why every founder already has one).
• How personal branding boosts clarity, confidence, and even company resilience.
• Practical ways SaaS leaders can uncover and express their unique identity.
• Mistakes to avoid (like overusing AI or oversharing on social media).
• Why consistency matters more than perfection.

If you're a founder, executive, or thought leader looking to stand out and connect with the right audience — without turning into a personal branding cliché — this episode is for you. Listen now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

Conversation with Nexus CEO Justin Sacks introducing the FastSpring and Nexus web shop integration.

If you're looking for one of the fastest ways to launch your D2C channel, you may be interested in hearing more about the incredibly easy-to-implement solution offered through a partnership with D2C payment platform FastSpring and creator program in a box provider Nexus.

In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview CEO of Nexus Justin Sacks about his thoughts on:

• The core challenges the partnership was established to address.
• How the integration works.
• Exactly how publishers can use FastSpring + Nexus to quickly launch a successful D2C channel.

If you're sitting on your hands worried that launching D2C has to be a massively disruptive project, you may be surprised what is possible for you and your players. Listen now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

Conversation with oeksound CEO Hannes Andersson about taking an audio plugins business global.

When the first oeksound plugin, Soothe, was created in 2016, creator Olli Keskinen and his friend Hannes Andersson were studying music technology to become recording engineers. And as Hannes puts it, they weren’t in the plugin industry or experienced with software ecommerce when Olli’s plugin quickly became popular, thanks to a simple post on a popular online audio forum. 

Today, oeksound is a global software company in the audio and video space, with their plugins used by some hugely recognizable names in the music industry.

To learn more about how they did it, listen for the full insights into:

• How oeksound’s pricing and trial options make their products more accessible to more users.
• Why the user experience and user feedback is so important for improving and marketing plugins.
• Why a frictionless purchase process is such a key focus for oeksound to continue expanding their sales.

To hear all this and more about oeksound’s experience with taking their plugin business global, listen now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

Conversation with Here’s Waldo Recruiting’s Founder and CEO Lizzie Mintus about how to compete with large brands to recruit the best talent.

If you're running a smaller digital business, you may find it challenging to hire great talent. Larger technology companies can pay more, offer more benefits, and provide a more marketable brand on a candidate's resume. So how are smaller companies supposed to compete with large brands for the best talent?

In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview Lizzie Mintus — Founder and CEO of Here's Waldo Recruiting and host of The Here’s Waldo Podcast — about her thoughts on:

• The most effective recruiting strategies for SMBs.
• How to leverage community involvement and content to punch above your weight.
• Insights on why the best candidates say “YES!” to working for smaller brands.

If you're facing challenges winning the best candidates for your roles, or if you have a small number of roles and every hire really matters, then don't miss this episode of Growth Stage. Listen now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

Conversation with Flippa CEO Blake Hutchison about Flippa and selling a SaaS or digital product business.

If you own a SaaS or other digital product business — such as a Slack plugin, Chrome extension, online publishing business, mobile app, or even a blog — and you’re looking to exit, you may have a lot of questions about how best to go about it.

In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview Flippa CEO Blake Hutchison about how Flippa works, as well as insights on what you should know if you're a digital business owner looking to sell your business.

Listen for the full insights into:

• How Flippa.com works to connect for-sale businesses with buyers while managing the complexities of valuation and seller expectations.
• Advice on how SaaS or digital product company owners can prepare for a successful exit, including financial hygiene and knowing what the right time to sell looks like for themselves.
• How selling an investment business is very different from getting VC funding.

If it’s time to sell your SaaS, app, or other digital product business, listen to this episode of Growth Stage now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.

Conversation with Nexus CEO Justin Sacks about earning 50% or more of your game’s revenue via D2C sales.

With changes to legislation in the EU and lawsuits in the U.S., the future of monetizing your game direct to consumer looks brighter than ever. That said, you might be wondering what strategies work within the confines of today's rules and if it's even possible to earn 50% or more of your game's revenue through D2C.

In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview gaming D2C and creator marketing expert Justin Sacks of Nexus about his thoughts on:

• What winning strategies AAA and AA publishers use for D2C in mobile.
• Why these strategies actually can result in >50% revenue coming from D2C.
• How you can pursue these strategies to drive more profitability for your games, while developing a more meaningful relationship with your players.

If you're wondering how to exponentially grow your profits and deliver a better experience for your players, listen to this episode of Growth Stage now!

Transcript available on the FastSpring blog.

This podcast is brought to you by FastSpring. As the leading merchant of record payment platform for digital products, FastSpring delivers an all-in-one solution for payments, subscriptions, and automated tax compliance—enabling digital businesses to expand globally with reduced complexity and lower costs.