School of Startups

Dan Sallis is a Software Architect and Database Designer. He is an expert in Software Development, E-commerce, Enterprise Software and Strategic Planning. He is also a serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder and CEO of Cynch! (formerly OrderStorm), a global provider of the next generation of ERP.

Cynch is a unified commerce platform that enables small to large enterprises to manage their sales and services both offline and online including online commerce, in-store sales, CRM, inventory, purchasing, and after-sales operations including repair, warranty claims, service contracts, and 3rd party repair operations.

Dan is also the founder of Repair Storm, an all-in-one platform built for growing and optimizing the modern service center and repair business.The application is designed to save time automating tedious tasks and delivering a professional, smooth experience to both workers and customers.

Welcome Dan, really glad you were able to join me and thank you for taking the time to be here today.

In this episode we cover:

- Finding a disruptive product in an industry that others may find boring

- How he previously hired one junior sales rep close 157 stores in 15 months

- His proven model for his sales and and growth process

- Dan's framework on how to uncover new business models that are worth exploring in 2020

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Get in touch with Dan:

Dan's Email

Links and mentions:

Cynch!

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Asia Orangio joins us for a 1-on-1 interview, where her focus is on working with early-stage startups and high-growth technology companies. She is an expert at helping SaaS companies define their go-to-market strategy, craft a data-driven approach to growth, implement marketing strategies and programs that help them win an audience in their market and to beat the "90% of startups fail" statistic.

Asia is currently the CEO and Founder at DemandMaven, a company focused on helping startups either get their first 100 customers, or help them get to the next stage in their growth.

She was also head of marketing at Hull, an Advisor at Atlanta Tech Village, and is currently a mentor at companies like Tinyseed and GrowthMentor.

In this episode we cover:

-Defining demand generation

-Getting your first 10 and 100 customers as a Start-up

-Her recommended SaaS marketing strategies

-The biggest marketing mistakes Startups make

-How to approach conversion optimization in the marketing funnel

-Top underrated growth hacks

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Get in touch with Asia:

Asia's Twitter

Website

More About Akeel:

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Peldi Guilizzoni is the Founder and CEO of Balsamiq, a fully bootstrapped ISV focused on prototyping UI/UX.

After studying Computer Science in Italy he moved to San Francisco, where he worked for a couple of years. Through his experience at adobe systems as an Engineering lead, he discovered an opportunity to develop a tool that could make everyone more productive and help them do a better job, something he describes as a “no going back technology”.

After a series of events that lead to quitting his job at Adobe and focusing on his project, he decided to go back to Italy and found his successful company.

In this episode we cover:

-Early Web Apps and conceiving Balsamiq from the beginning

-Staying bootstrapped & the love of the craft (money as a consequence)

-How to compete as a bootstrapped company vs. VC funded competitors

-Longevity rather than growth

-Building a business in non-VC friendly market

-Specialist product for non-specialized customers

-Usability & customer service as a growth strategy

-How a transparent startup gains customer trust

-Why you can copy technical, but you can’t copy people (the golden puzzle concept for customer output)

-Why is it important for a SaaS company to teach you what to make for dinner (unique customer interactions)

-Who can start wireframing and how can someone like me can get good at it

-Plus policies & investing in people for remarkable results

-The importance of developing company values for a better work culture (to compete with Google, Apple)

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Get in touch with Peldi:

Peldi's LinkedIn

Peldi's Twitter

Links and mentions:

Balsamiq (Use Balsamiq cloud free for 3 months! Enter the code: SAASDISTRICT)

More About Akeel:

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Denis started his career as a qualified CIMA Accountant, working for US multinationals located in Ireland, Eastern Europe, and the US. It was after two and a half years of researching management practices, the behavioral science, and the competitive landscape which led to WorkCompass being founded.

Denis Coleman is the CEO of WorkCompass, a performance management software designed to help organizations to manage their talent through ongoing performance check-ins, The company's software uses artificial intelligence to improve performance appraisal, revenue growth, customer reviews, and domain influence, enabling organizations to set goals for the employees, monitor their progress and give feedback.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:21 - Getting the Best Out of Your Team & Teaching Grit
• 07:47 - Why is Performance Management Important & at What Point Should you Consider Using It?
• 14:12 - How WorkCompass Assess the performance & Team Management
• 15:50 - Why the SaaS Industry is Still Using The Traditional Performance Appraisal Process
• 17:40 - Recommendations to Implement an Efficient Performance Appraisal System (Employees Feeling Helped not Policed)
• 24:41 - Leveraging AI, ML (machine learning) and NPL (Natural Language Processing) to assess the business outcomes
• 31:47 - Recommendations On Improving Employee Onboarding
• 33:48 - What to Look For When Hiring & Screening Top Performers
• 39:22 - Why Your Sales Process should be Your Star Performer

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Get in touch with Denis:

Denis’ LinkedIn

Denis' Email

More About Akeel:

Twitter

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Murali is a strong marketer and storyteller who loves communication and solving problems in the web space. He founded a company, got funded, grew it big, and then had an unsuccessful exit where he left with no money and lots of experience. He used that experience at Freshdesk to help grow their marketplace. Product GTM, Content Marketing, telling great stories, and crafting creative marketing campaigns are some of his many strengths.

He is currently Head of ISV Partnerships and Partner Marketing at Freshworks Marketplace where he handles marketing for the Freshworks Marketplace - one of the hottest horizontals at Freshworks.

Murali is also a standup comedian with a strong theatre background. He was invited to the Short+Sweet Festival in Sydney where he performed.

In this episode we cover:

-The importance of leveraging strategic partnerships and integrations to grow your startup

-How an “unsuccessful exit” was the foundational experience for a successful Marketplace

-The do’s and dont's when creating a product.

-Trying again to start a business VS joining a company

-Why use Freshworks as a leveraging channel for growth

-COVID-19 customer trends and unique approaches to problem-solving

-How can a SaaS founder or marketer validate whether a partner program will be worthwhile for their product

-The 2 best practices to build better products

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Links and mentions:

Freshworks

Get in touch with Murali:

Murali's LinkedIn

Murali's Twitter

More About Akeel:

Twitter

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Isaac has his LinkedIn Industry Top 1% SSI certification meaning. Meaning he is an all LinkedIn Expert. Including marketing, consulting, conversion optimization, and business strategy.

He was the former COO at an online marketing agency, TEV Marketing, where they specialized in LinkedIn, Adwords, and SEO.

Isaac is currently the CEO of Zeeko, a platform that uses LinkedIn to create real, meaningful relationships between clients and customers so that businesses can improve their ROI.

He is also a LinkedIn instructor and educator at Data Driven U, an online training program platform for people who want to master the skills of digital marketing. He has a video course: “LinkedIn Jumpstart”: to teach other business owners how to use LinkedIn to do market research and create relationship-driven leads, which we’ll cover more on today’s interview.

In this episode we cover:

-Running an effective LinkedIn Campaign

-Cold Email Outreach vs LinkedIn

-Engagement through targeted outreach

-Semi Personalized messaging

-Tools for prospecting leads

-The Quad Method

-ROI through lead generation

-Content sharing strategies through LinkedIn

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Get in touch with Isaac:

Isaac's Twitter

Isaac's LinkedIn

Links and mentions:

Zeeko Website

LinkedIn Outreach Bootcamp Course

More About Akeel:

Twitter

LinkedIn

Mark Green (@MarkEGreen) is a Speaker, Author, Strategic Advisor and a Business & Leadership Growth Coach. He facilitates workshops with executive teams to help them stay on track, hit their goals and continue growing.

He coaches CEOs and executive teams all over the world, where he’s worked with thousands of different business leaders, helping them unlock more of their potential and also teaching them how to do the same for their teams.

Mark is also a Certified Behavioral Analyst, a Certified Values Analyst, and a Certified Attribute Index Analyst. He is the founder and president of Performance Dynamic Group, where he helps organizations accelerate their revenue and profit growth. We’ll share Mark’s expertise and advice in today’s interview.

In this episode we cover:

-Being a more effective leader for your team

-Leadership habits

-Inspiring your team

-Accountability practices

-Importance of developing your network

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Get in touch with Mark:

Mark's Website

Mark's Twitter

Mark's LinkedIn

Books:

Activators: A CEO's Guide to Clearer Thinking and Getting Things Done by Mark Green

Creating a Culture of Accountability by Mark Green

More About Akeel:

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Mike Watts is an experienced entrepreneur who has 6 startup companies under his belt including founding three consecutive multi-million dollar companies in the last 10 years. He has successful exits from three companies including one for over $6 million, and he had a business partnership with Shark Tank famous: Daymond John.

He currently serves as Founder and CEO of LoveHandle, a fast-growing American manufacturer of custom smartphone grips. His products which have been featured on Good Morning America, QVC, HSN, The Today Show and sold through major retailers such as Walmart, CVS, Home Depot, Lowe’s, RiteAid, Office Depot and more.

Mike is also a regular keynote speaker for entrepreneur and inventor group, a guest professor at Texas AM University's entrepreneur program in College Station, a 2-time winner of the Aggie 100 Award for fastest growing companies and has been listed on the Fortune 5000. In today’s interview Mike shares his tips and experience on how to overcome the market’s most challenging scenarios.

In this episode we cover:

-Challenges when becoming an entrepreneur

-Sourcing and manufacturing a product during a crisis

-Finding a reliable supplier

-Increasing the odds for success

-Finding a valuable investor/mentor

-Steps on overcoming the “perfect” idea

-Validating your business model

-Dealing with competition or property loss

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Get in touch with Mike:

Mike's LinkedIn

Mike's Twitter

Mike's Instagram

More About Akeel:

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Josh Patrick's specialty is helping private business owners grow and create more value in their business. He has over twenty years of experience as an adviser to private businesses. For nineteen years (1976-1995) he owned a vending and food service company, where he managed to take it from 1.5 to 90 employees before successfully selling the business. During that time he admits to have made a lot of mistakes, but now, he uses that experience as part of his advising strategy, which we share throughout the interview.

In this episode we cover:

-Business sustainability

-Lessons on how to be a better entrepreneur

-Maintaining sustainability in your business during a crisis

-Mistakes when seeking for success and financial freedom

-Setting appropriate expectations for your business

-Setting an appropriate Business strategy

-Effective hiring

-Underrated resources to grow your business

-Overcoming the “finding the right idea” hurdle and taking action

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Josh is the author of his Stage 2 blog: “Creating Value” (http://www.stage2planning.com/blog). He’s also a writer for American Express Open as well as Inc.com, The Huffington Post and Forbes.com.

Josh is also the author of the book: “Sustainable: A Fable About Creating a Personally and Economically Sustainable Business”. (https://www.sustainablethebook.com/)

He’s the host of the podcast called “The Sustainable Business” (https://sustainablebusiness.co/catego..., where he talks with leaders to help his audience think about the future of their business and clients.

The cash flow code: https://thecashflowcode.com

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Praval is an expert at brand, product positioning & messaging, go-to-market strategy, demand generation, and content-led marketing initiatives. He is a serial entrepreneur and has co-founded several start-ups.

He worked as a freelance content marketer for web publishers and blogs in Europe, South-east Asia, and India. Also, he was the Co-Founder of Dokito, an in-house social media analytics tool at Media Redefined; a digital media agency in New Delhi he also Co-Founded.

He is now Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience where he focuses on brand, positioning, messaging, communication, and other marketing initiatives, Praval also works closely with various product teams and helps them with go-to-market strategy and special projects.

As one of the official spokespersons, Praval represents Zoho before media and analysts, as well as at various international conferences and forums.

In this episode we cover:

-The importance of standing out through messaging and positioning for --B2B SaaS companies.

-How using social media helps customer experience for growth

-Working beyond the scope for personal and professional growth

-The marketing strategy approach of large product company VS a SaaS business

-Building an all-in-one SaaS business ecosystem solution as a differentiator from the competitors

-The current value and impact of remote work tools

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Get in touch with Praval:

Praval's LinkedIn

Praval's Twitter

More About Akeel:

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