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Ever wonder how to validate a startup idea without hemorrhaging your runway? In this conversation, Bjion Henry—founder of Navreo.ai and former Google strategist—pulls back the curtain on his journey from self-taught web designer to AI automation entrepreneur. 

He shares the brutal truths about idea validation, including why 99% of cold email advice is wrong, the "politics problem" that kills great products, and the exact benchmarks you need to know before spending a dollar on customer acquisition. If you're tired of guru hype and want actionable intelligence from someone who's actually in the trenches, this episode delivers.

Talking points include:

• Why cold calling beats surveys for brutal (but valuable) market validation feedback,
• The exact email metrics that separate working campaigns from deliverability disasters,
• How to spot AI hype from genuine solutions, and why the fundamentals haven't changed.

Listen to find out more about:

• Why Bjion recommends starting with content and cold email before touching paid ads,
• The one interview question that instantly reveals who actually knows cold outreach,
• When you're too early-stage to work with an agency (and what to do instead).

Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct:

[00:02:50] The "aha moment" that got Bjion into AI before ChatGPT existed.
[00:07:20] Why are most people asking the wrong question about AI (hint: it's about money, not magic).
[00:16:00] The dark secret about why agencies push new tactics that don't actually work.
[00:20:00] The exact email benchmarks every founder needs to know before scaling outreach.

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When everyone's hyping the next revolutionary AI tool, Jessi Frey is asking a different question: "What problem are we actually solving?" As Head of AI Innovation at Game Lounge and former product manager at Dyson and Nokia, Jessi brings a ruthlessly practical perspective to cutting through AI noise. 

This episode is not about what AI could do—it's about the 10 tools she uses daily to ship faster, create better, and automate smarter.

Talking points include:

• How startups can spin up products "very quickly without a big team or technical know-how" using AI-driven tools for rapid validation.
• Jessi's curated toolkit of 10 AI solutions organized into everyday assistance, creative production, and custom workflows
• Why mastering one tool beats tool-hopping, and how to avoid the shiny object syndrome plaguing AI implementation

Listen to find out more about:

• Why Jessi runs identical prompts through three different LLMs, and which scenarios demand which tool.
• The specific Make.com + OpenAI automation flow that analyzes content against brand guidelines at scale.
• How an 8-year-old's natural voice interface usage reveals the next platform shift, and which tool is building it.

Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct:

[00:02:60] Why AI fundamentally changes the startup game: build and validate products "very quickly without a big team or technical know-how."

[00:12:10] The three LLMs Jessi uses daily—Claude vs. ChatGPT vs. Perplexity, and exactly when to deploy each one.

[00:17:10] Voice AI and the platform shift: how ElevenLabs is enabling the interface Jessi's daughter already prefers over typing.

Ready to cut through the AI noise with tools that actually ship? 

Subscribe to the SaaSGenius Podcast for more conversations with operators implementing AI in the real world—no hype, just practical frameworks from people building products daily. Follow Our Podcast

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Ines Lourenço leads product growth at Usercentrics, where the team recently achieved a significant milestone of €100M ARR while maintaining profitability.

The reality behind that milestone involves far more failure than success. In fact, most experiments at Usercentrics didn't work. 

This year, the company invested substantial resources into what they considered their most important initiative, only to roll back the entire project within weeks of launch. 

The seemingly smooth growth trajectory often presented in case studies masks six years of continuous transformation, where the company fundamentally restructured itself through approximately 50 distinct iterations.

This episode provides information on the actual challenges of scaling a SaaS company. Inês discusses a critical hiring lesson learned during their growth phase: the significant difference between recruiting leaders who have worked at companies in the next stage versus those who have actively driven companies through that transition. While this distinction appears subtle on paper, it proved to have substantial operational and financial consequences for Usercentrics.

If you're tired of generic scaling advice and want the unfiltered playbook from someone who built a cross-functional growth machine from 20 employees to €100M ARR, this is your episode.

Talking points include:

• Why the transition from generalists to specialists creates dangerous blind spots,
• How Usercentrics structures autonomous growth pods where teams own ARR metrics, build without approval, and kill their own failed experiments,
• The massive unified product bet that failed spectacularly (and the first-principles lesson it taught about user behavior vs. user research).

Listen to find out more about:

• The exact salary structure that ties every growth team member's compensation directly to ARR—and why it works.
• How Usercentrics transitioned from founder-led to sales-led to product-led growth by reading market signals, not following playbooks.
• Why most growth experiments fail (and how to build a culture where teams stay resilient through constant failure).

Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct:

[00:06:00] The critical difference between hiring someone who saw the next stage versus someone who took a company there—and why this distinction changed everything

[00:13:00] Inside the cross-functional pod structure: How PMs, engineers, growth marketers, and data analysts collaborate without approval gates

[00:19:45] The autonomy model: How teams commit to ARR outcomes, run their own experiments, and build without leadership approval

[00:28:00] The unified CMP bet that failed: What happens when user research contradicts actual user behavior at scale

Ready to Scale Smarter?

If Inês's insights resonated with you, this is just the beginning. Follow our SaaSGenius Podcast for more unfiltered conversations with the leaders who are actually building and scaling successful SaaS companies—without the hype, just the hard-won lessons.

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When 60% of your sales messages never reach their target, you're not facing a messaging problem—you're facing an engineering problem. 

Alex Aouad learned this the hard way, transforming a zero-close sales record into a predictable demo-booking machine by completely re-engineering the go-to-market stack. 

In this episode, Alex reveals why generic "best practice" tools waste Ferrari-level products on Fiat-level engines, and how data-driven GTM engineering can turn failing outbound motions into conversion systems.

Talking points include:

• How Alex turned a 40% data quality disaster into 90%+ accuracy and one demo per day per SDR.
• Why the $500K-$5M revenue band is the perfect inflection point for GTM engineering investment.
• The tactical stepping stone strategy: building an agency to validate a marketplace SaaS that will centralize all GTM tooling.

Listen to find out more about:

• The three non-negotiable qualities Alex looks for in co-founders (beyond just complementary skills)
• Why 95% accuracy isn't good enough when chasing perfection kills competitive advantage
• How Alex structures three-month GTM engagements to guarantee data-driven optimization cycles

Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct:

[00:02:50] The 40% data quality disaster costing your sales team 60 out of every 100 prospects before messages even land.

[00:14:00] Why Lemlist plus ruthless AB testing is important for early-stage founders.

[00:21:30] When gut instinct beats data in GTM decisions—and the exact revenue milestone where that flips

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"I love SaaSGenius Podcast." <– If that sounds like you, please give us a 5-star rating here! Taking the time to do that helps us support more SaaS founders and operators in accessing practical, research-driven insights on tool evaluation and growth strategies. Your review allows us to continue connecting our community with founders who've actually solved the problems you're facing.

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When Shira Simmonds scaled her lead generation agency from 100 team members down to just 25 while increasing output, she wasn't following a playbook—she was writing one. As founder of SmartReach.AI, Shira discovered what most SaaS founders miss: AI doesn't replace human connection in outbound; it amplifies it. 

In this episode, she reveals why hyper-personalization alone failed, how intent signals transformed her conversion rates by 5x, and why she refuses to build another faceless AI tool in an industry drowning in them.

Talking points include:

• Why reducing her team by 75% actually solved her biggest scaling problem.
• The "aha moment" that turned 2-3 booked calls into 10-15 per campaign.
• Why ICP targeting isn't enough, and what signals actually predict purchase readiness.

Listen to find out more about:

• The cookie challenge that's blocking LinkedIn follower scraping (and how she's solving it).
• Why combining human-written messaging with AI learning creates better results than pure AI generation.
• How SmartReach.AI's three-tier pricing addresses startups, scale-ups, and legacy enterprise needs differently.

Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct:

[00:02:20] The agency pain point that became a SaaS opportunity—scaling from 100 to 25 team members

[00:07:55] Why LinkedIn scraping requires cookies (and the authentication headaches nobody talks about)

[00:11:00] The two-part breakthrough: personalization + intent signals = 5x conversion increase

[00:17:40] How personal relationships with integration partners (Ocean, HeyReach, Reply.io) create platform advantages

Ready to Transform Your Outbound Strategy?

Shira's journey from agency owner to SaaS founder offers a masterclass in solving real problems with hybrid AI-human solutions. This isn't theory, it's battle-tested strategy from someone who's sent 25 million messages and learned what actually converts.

Want to see how combining intent signals with hyper-personalization can turn your lead generation from guesswork into a predictable revenue engine? 

Try SmartReach AI

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"I love the SaaSGenius Podcast." <– If that sounds like you, please give us a 5-star rating here. Taking the time to do that helps us support more SaaS founders, marketers, and professionals in accessing expert insights on AI, lead generation, and the tools shaping our industry. 

Your review allows us to continue bringing you conversations with innovators like Shira, who are building the future of SaaS.

Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review."

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Jimmy Acton, Chief Digital Officer at Fourth Utility, pulls back the curtain on what most AI evangelists won't admit: your company data might not be as safe as you think. In this brutally honest conversation, he reveals why tech insiders like himself won't plug sensitive business data into AI tools and the three-second test every founder should use before hitting "submit."

If you've ever wondered whether AI will replace your job, steal your competitive advantage, or save your startup from burning cash too fast, this episode cuts through the hype with tactical guidance you can implement today.

Talking points include:

• Why AI's biggest limitation isn't the technology, it's the humans using it (and how one blood test analysis proved doctors aren't always right).
• The "town square test": Jimmy's rule for deciding what company data is safe to feed into AI tools.
• How a one-person unicorn company built entirely on AI isn't just possible—it's inevitable.

Listen to find out more about:

• The make.com automation workflow that saves Jimmy 15 minutes daily (and how his network requested him to replicate it for them).
• Why Google Translate's real-time conversation feature might eliminate the need for language learning—and whether that's actually problematic.
• The healthcare revolution hiding in plain sight: how one person used ChatGPT to catch their doctor's misdiagnosis.

Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct:

[05:20] The courtroom reality check: Why "the AI told me to" is the worst legal defense you could make and what founders must do instead.

[11:00] Website building in under 5 minutes: Find out how to do it.

[23:00] What a CDO who lives and breathes AI refuses to automate—the surprising tasks where human touch still wins.

Thanks for tuning in to the SaaSGenius Podcast. For full transcripts, chapter markers, and additional resources from this episode, visit SaaSGenius Podcast.

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Most SaaS technical founders struggling with revenue growth don't have a sales problem or a product problem; they have a fundamental listening problem that costs them months of runway. 

Richard Blundell scaled Message Labs from zero to £150M ARR and exited for £800M. In this week's SaaSGenius Podcast episode with host Aurelie, he reveals why hiring salespeople before you generate overwhelming inbound demand typically wastes £500K in burned capital, how Message Labs achieved hypergrowth almost entirely through strategic channel partnerships instead of traditional sales teams, and the three distinct go-to-market strategies with radically different speed-to-market timelines that most founders don't even know exist.

For SaaS founders questioning why their technically superior product isn't converting qualified prospects, or those debating when to make their first commercial hire, this conversation delivers the operational insights that separate successful exits from expensive failures.

Key insights you'll discover:

• Why "leads before sales" could save you from a £500K hiring disaster.
• The three GTM strategies founders choose between (and which one gets you to market fastest).
• How to spot when you're solving a problem nobody actually has.

Listen to discover:

• The "usage vs. value" grid that reveals which product features actually matter to customers.
• Why Richard says "I can't see any business gambling their future on AI" for buying decisions.
• The exact moment to transition from founder-led sales to hiring your first team.
• How Message Labs closed a £800M exit literally hours before the 2008 financial crash.

Key moments of this podcast:

[00:01:55] How one friend's push launched a 25-year partnership.

[00:03:50] The lunch that revealed six months of selling the wrong feature.

[00:13:06] Why founders who can't explain their value in one sentence fail.

[00:20:00] The moment founder culture dies and why quarterly boards matter.

Ready to avoid the mistakes that cost Richard and his co-founders months of runway?

Subscribe to the SaaSGenius Podcast wherever you listen. Each episode brings you unfiltered insights from operators who've scaled SaaS businesses through the chaos, so you don't have to learn everything the expensive way.

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"This podcast cuts through the SaaS noise with actual operator wisdom." If that resonates with you, help us reach more founders navigating the chaos. 

Give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts—it takes 30 seconds and helps technical founders discover research-driven guidance instead of generic startup advice.

Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap five stars, and share what resonated most from this episode.

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Most SaaS founders chase the wrong signals. They obsess over user metrics and feature requests while missing the one indicator that actually predicts billion-dollar outcomes: unprecedented demand that feels unmanageable. 

Chris Tottman learned this the hard way after building Message Labs from accidental discovery to £150M exit and then watching hundreds of startups as co-founder of Notion Capital. 

He has decoded the difference between startups that scale and those that burn through millions while still searching for product-market fit. This isn't typical VC wisdom, but it's hard-earned intelligence from someone who's lived through both the creative chaos of building breakthrough companies and the systematic discipline of scaling them.

Talking points include:

• How Message Labs went from a free feature to £150M subscription business in 8 years.
• Why 90% of companies never escape the discovery phase (and the signals that separate winners from wannabes).
• The "agentic revolution" reshaping SaaS development and what it means for human collaboration.

Listen to find out more about:

• Why AI will struggle to replace humanity's "masters of collaboration" advantage
• The mathematical system behind social media growth (hint: it's simpler than you think)
• How Notion Capital spots the next unicorns before they know they're unicorns

Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct: 

[00:02:15] The birth of Europe's first major SaaS company - how Message Labs emerged from chaos

[00:05:30] The 90% revenue miss and why indirect sales strategies fail 

[00:12:00] How to know when you've truly achieved product-market fit 

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This conversation with Chris Tottman is just the beginning. Subscribe to the SaaSGenius Podcast for more unfiltered insights from the operators, investors, and innovators building tomorrow's software landscape. 

Hit follow, share this episode with your network, and join our community of SaaS professionals who refuse to accept conventional wisdom.

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"I love SaaSGenius Podcast." <– If that sounds like you, please give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. 

Taking the time to do that helps us support more people in our community to access expert-led insights from the sharpest minds in SaaS. It allows us to keep bringing you the contrarian strategies, hard-won lessons, and breakthrough frameworks that actually move the needle for growing software companies.

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The SaaS ecosystem is louder than ever. Every week, a dozen “revolutionary” tools launch. Each one promising to change your business forever. But too much choice doesn’t empower you, it paralyzes you. 

Our host Marie Aurelie Rigodin outlines the structure of the first season, which will delve into the impact of AI on SaaS products.

This isn't another tech podcast promising overnight transformation, it's your direct line to researchers who live and breathe this space.

Talking points include:

• Introduction about our team, mission, and approach.
• Why most SaaS selection processes are fundamentally broken (and how to fix yours).
• Why AI isn't just another trend; it's fundamentally rebuilding how SaaS operates.

Beyond Sales Pitches: Truth Over Hype

This team has watched the industry evolve from static, rigid tools to a living, breathing ecosystem shaped by AI. 

They're shifting away from sales pitches and "growth hacks" to bring you conversations about what actually matters when choosing products—when to double down, when to pivot, and when to walk away.

Season 1 tackles the ultimate heavyweight: AI. Not as a passing trend, but as the foundation reshaping how SaaS is built and used.

Building Tomorrow's SaaS Infrastructure

Expect honest conversations with industry pioneers who aren't just talking about the future; they're building it. From seasoned investor Chris Tottman to SaaS scaler Richard Blundell, plus Jimmy Acton, Alex Aouad, Bjion Henry, Jessi Frey, Shira Simmonds, and surprise guests who are actively shaping the space.

Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct: 

[00:35] The research team's unique position in the SaaS and why this matters for your decisions. 

[01:59] Navigating the SaaS and AI Landscape. 

[03:28] Introduction about the industry pioneers building tomorrow's AI-powered SaaS infrastructure.

Ready to cut through the SaaS noise? 

Subscribe to SaaSGenius and join a community that prioritizes research over hype. Tell us what burning SaaS questions you need answered - we're building this for the people navigating these decisions daily.

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