Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with Rob Rawson, the CEO and Co-Founder at Time Doctor and Staff.com. In our chat, Rob shares the strategies he and his team used to build a multi-million dollar SaaS business, but where we really focus is on the future. So many companies forget the problem their software is ultimately trying to solve for it’s users. Rob’s customers don’t just want time tracking tools, they want to be able to measure and improve their team’s productivity. To truly provide that solution for them, Rob and his team need to solve some hard problems, and today he shares how they are doing that. If you’re worried about increasing competition in your space, then this is the episode for you.

Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with , the Conference Director at where she is in charge of pulling together their incredibly popular every year. Back in , I talked with Jordan Muela about why hosting a conference appealed to him as a founder and today Julie builds on that by offering the perspective of somebody more behind the scenes. If you’re curious what exactly goes into running a conference, how to make your event stand out, or just want some advice for how to get started with live events, then this is the episode for you.

Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with , the co-founder of , a SaaS tool that looks at browser, email, and other data to make it easy for you to personalize your marketing to give every user the right message. In our chat, we dive into why personalization is so important, how to get started, and Shai shares some advanced tactics he has experimented with that are sure to improve your conversion rates. If your website is serving all of your visitors the same, generic content, then this is the episode for you.

Today, on The Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with , the co-founder and partner at , a venture capital fund that rolls up their sleeves and partners with their portfolio companies for success. Zelkova has an impressive portfolio including companies like , , as well as 17 exits from companies like and . In our chat, Jay covers why Zelkova was drawn to the B2B SaaS arena, the framework they use for evaluating potential investments, and unravels some of the common BS you hear so often in the startup and VC world. Where we really dive in, though, is the power of building relationships when it comes to raising money. Whether or not you are considering pursuing investment or maybe already have taken on investors, this episode is packed with actionable advice you can use to build a better business.

Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with , co-founder and COO of , a SaaS startup that helps their users nurture leads, generate referrals, and unleash passionate advocates in minutes a day. As Contactually grew, Tony realized that the skills he and his co-founders used to grow the company in the beginning were much different than those needed as the headcount started to grow. Instead of just worrying about getting shit done, he and his co-founders needed to become true leaders. In our chat today, Tony explains why leadership is such an important quality for scaling a startup, what this looks like in practice, and how you can develop this skillset even if you don’t see yourself as a natural leader. If your headcount is growing and you find yourself a bit too stuck in the weeds, then this is the episode for you.

Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with Mark Faggiano, the founder and CEO at TaxJar, a SaaS startup that automates your sales tax calculations, reporting, and filings in minutes so you can spend time on your business. As a startup founder you need to be versatile and prepared to wear dozens of different hats in order to get things done, but if you let the company itself get pulled in too many directions, it’s going to be hard to make progress. In our chat, Mark dives into the importance of focus in early-stage startups, how their own focus has given them a competitive advantage, and how you can figure out what really matters in your startup. If you feel like there are dozens of paths you could take but are unsure what one is best, then this is the episode for you.

Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m doing something a little bit different. Instead of bringing a guest on, this episode will be just me and I’m going to talk about how I used podcasting with a previous client, Hubstaff, to help them expand their audience and accelerate their growth. A lot of people have been asking me about how podcasting works and I gave a short talk on this at MicroConf, but I wanted to go a bit deeper than I was able to before and share it with the listeners of this show. In this episode, I’ll cover why podcasting was such a good fit for Hubstaff, how we actually launched it, the challenges we faced along the way, and I’ll even share something that almost every podcaster out there could implement to dramatically accelerate their content marketing efforts. While a lot of this content is obviously going to be specific to podcasting, if you spend time interviewing anybody at your startup, whether it’s for case studies or customer development then you’ll learn a few tips to make the most out of those interviews.

Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with who runs , a design consultancy that uses research-driven A/B tests to generate revenue for online businesses. In 2017, there are very few founders out there who aren’t familiar with the concept of A/B testing, but even with that awareness, very few have actually established a consistent testing process in their own startup. A big reason for that is it can be hard to know where to start and what to actually test. In our chat, Nick lays out the exact process he follows to use A/B testing to make more money for his clients and he also shares lessons you can apply even if you don’t have a lot of traffic. If you’re growing but you feel like you could be growing faster, then this is the episode for you.

Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with , the Senior Marketing Manager at where he is responsible for driving new acquisition growth via podcast partnerships, digital sponsorships and affiliates. Robb and his team have used these channels to drive impressive growth for Freshbooks and in this interview, he shares how you can do the same in your startup. It seems like I’m constantly hearing how great sponsorships and affiliate programs can be for a startup, but if you ask anybody that actually has had success with those channels, you know it isn’t as easy as people make it seem. Luckily for us, Robb breaks everything down for us from how they find potential partners, to the specific ads they run, to how he and his team manage all of these relationships. If you’re interested in pursuing partnerships for your startup but aren’t sure how to get started, this is the episode for you.

Today, on the Early-Stage Founder Show, I’m talking with and , co-authors of , a book that lays out how today’s fastest-growing companies drive breakout success. It also happens to be available in stores today. Morgan and Sean both have extensive, hands-on experience helping startups accelerate their growth and are the co-founders of , the top online community for growth hackers. I’ll be honest, before this interview the term “growth hacker” rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed a bit to me like marketing’s equivalent of “rockstar developer” and was little more than silicon valley hype without much substance. After reading their book and talking with them, however, I can unequivocally state that my initial impression of growth hacking was off the mark. If you want to hear what growth hacking really is all about and how you can use it to dramatically accelerate the growth of your startup, then this is the episode for you.