The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

Welcome to Episode 15 of The Official Saastr Podcast. Joining me today, I am delighted to welcome, Nicolas Dessaigne. Nicolas is the CEO and Co-Founder of Algolia, Algolia are a brilliant case study for the successful pivot, having started off life as an offline search engine for mobiles but really took off by helping companies deliver an intuitive search-as-you-type experience on their websites and mobile apps. They participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2014 batch and raised $18.3M in May 2015 from the likes of Accel Partners, Point Nine Capital, Storm Ventures and many more incredible investors. and in today's show with Nicolas we discuss:

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

On the show today I am thrilled to welcome Russell Glass, Head of Products For LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. Formerly founder, president and CEO of Bizo, a B2B audience marketing and data platform which he, from founding in 2008 to $50mm+ revenue run-rate and over 150 employees before being acquired by LinkedIn for $175mm in August of 2014 he really is a Serial technology entrepreneur, having founded or held senior positions at four venture-backed technology companies. If that wasn’t enough he is also the Co-author of The Big Data-Driven Business: How to Use Big Data to Win Customers, Beat Competitors, and Boost Profits

In today's show with Russell we discuss:

• What did Russ and the Bizo team do effectively that allowed them to scale, leading to their acquisition by Linkedin?
• Is customer focus a constraint on long term growth and how can you communicate this long term vision to your investors?
• How important a role will data play in the future of content marketing?
• How can SMB marketers determine which platforms will be most effective for them?
• To what extent can content marketing reduce customer acquisition? What are the other benefits?

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

1. Who Is Doing SMB Marketing Most Impressively At The Moment?
2. The Biggest Leanring Curve From Being Acquired By LinkedIn?
3. What SaaS resource or blog is a must for Russell?

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

• Jason Lemkin
• Harry Stebbings
• Saastr
• Russell Glass

On the show today I am thrilled to welcome Russell Glass, Head of Products For LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. Formerly founder, president and CEO of Bizo, a B2B audience marketing and data platform which he, from founding in 2008 to $50mm+ revenue run-rate and over 150 employees before being acquired by LinkedIn for $175mm in August of 2014 he really is a Serial technology entrepreneur, having founded or held senior positions at four venture-backed technology companies. If that wasn’t enough he is also the Co-author of The Big Data-Driven Business: How to Use Big Data to Win Customers, Beat Competitors, and Boost Profits 

In today's show with Russell we discuss:

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

Joining us today, I am delighted to welcome Mark Woodward CEO @ Invoca - software that helps marketers drive revenue with call intelligence. Invoca has built a platform that addresses the top concern for enterprise CMOs today — delivering personalized customer experiences across devices and channels. They have backing from the likes of Upfront Ventures who wrote this on Invoca's recent $30m raise (http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2016/03/30/inside-scoop-funding-environment-might-mean/) and in today's show with Mark we discuss:

• Question from Mark Suster: How does Mark feel taking the contrarian approach that phone calls are alive and growing?
• How was Invoice's journey to raising $30m in funding? What were the challenges? What was unexpected?
• What all new CEOs must know coming into a new role?
• How can a new CEO implement a new company culture and management style without disrupting the existing one?
• What does IPO ready look like in a company? What are the requirements before you consider that newt step?

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

1. The most crucial characteristic of all good CEOs?
2. Biggest lesson from being a 3 time CEO?
3. If Mark could start the process again, what would he do differently?

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

• Jason Lemkin
• Harry Stebbings
• Saastr
• Mark Woodward

Joining us today, I am delighted to welcome Mark Woodward CEO @ Invoca - software that helps marketers drive revenue with call intelligence. Invoca has built a platform that addresses the top concern for enterprise CMOs today — delivering personalized customer experiences across devices and channels. They have backing from the likes of Upfront Ventures who wrote this on Invoca's recent $30m raise (http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2016/03/30/inside-scoop-funding-environment-might-mean/)  and in today's show with Mark we discuss:

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

Joining us today, I am delighted to have Daniel Chait, Founder & CEO @ Greenhouse - software that gives people the power to build great companies. Greenhouse automates and simplifies the best practices for recruiting top talent, continuously monitors your recruiting activity, and automatically suggests improvements. They have backing from the likes of Social Capital, Benchmark and Felicis Ventures and in today's show with Daniel we discuss:

• How Daniel views the hiring funnel and how you can get a consistent stream of high quality incoming candidates?
• How can individuals breach the knowledge gap of not knowing what to look for in a iOS developer, for example?
• How important is a strong company culture when interviewing candidates?
• How can recruiters test candidates to ensure that their culture and skills align with the company?
• When did Daniel hire his first Head of Sales and what was the catalyst for causing this hire?

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

1. The Candidate Experience: How Can We Optimise It?
2. Who Does Daniel Most Respect & Admire With Regards To Their Recruitment?
3. What Is Daniel's Fave Hiring Blog Resource or Newsletter?

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

• Jason Lemkin
• Harry Stebbings
• Saastr
• Daniel Chait

Joining us today, I am delighted to have Daniel Chait, Founder & CEO @ Greenhouse - software that gives people the power to build great companies. Greenhouse automates and simplifies the best practices for recruiting top talent, continuously monitors your recruiting activity, and automatically suggests improvements. They have backing from the likes of Social Capital, Benchmark and Felicis Ventures and in today's show with Daniel we discuss:

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

I am thrilled to welcome, Ajay Agarwal, Managing Director @ Bain Capital Ventures, where he focuses on early stage application software and SaaS investing. Included in his immense portfolio are the likes of Optimizely, SendGrid and GainSight, just to name a few and prior to crushing the world of investments, Ajay was an early employee at Trilogy, where as Head of Sales and Marketing he was instrumental in growing their annual revenue to $300m.

Discussed In Today's Show:

• What is the difference between SaaS and Enterprise Software? (there is one!)
• How does the introduction of cloud software affect the sales cycle for startups?
• How can startups know when is the right time to release their MVP without having significant issues with churn?
• What does product market fit really look like for SaaS startups?
• Once product market fit is achieved, is it merely a case off during money into the machine?
• Why has customer success become such an integral part of SaaS and what can startups do to optimise customer success?

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

• Why is the system of record the easiest way to build a $bn company?
• The $10bn opportunity in marketing?
• The future of zenefits?

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

• Jason Lemkin
• Harry Stebbings
• Saastr
• Ajay Agarwal

I am thrilled to welcome, Ajay Agarwal, Managing Director @ Bain Capital Ventures, where he focuses on early stage application software and SaaS investing. Included in his immense portfolio are the likes of Optimizely, SendGrid and GainSight, just to name a few and prior to crushing the world of investments, Ajay was an early employee at Trilogy, where as Head of Sales and Marketing he was instrumental in growing their annual revenue to $300m. 

Discussed In Today's Show:

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

Welcome to Episode 10 of The Official Saastr Podcast. To celebrate this milestone, we have a very special guest: Mathilde Collin. Mathilde is the CEO and Co-Founder of Front, one of the world's most innovative young SaaS startups working in the space of email collaboration and in today's show with Mathilde we discuss:

• Mathilde's experience as a young founder and CEO in the enterprise space?
• How did Mathilde manage to attract some of the world's top talent and hire effectively?
• What were her biggest takeaways from her time at YC?
• Why did Mathilde decide to raise US funds rather than European?
• How has the evolution of content marketing altered Front's sales strategy?

In a round we call the 60 Second Saastr, we also hear:

1. Hiring Your First VP of Sales: When and What Questions To Ask?
2. Mathilde's favourite SaaS resource?
3. Compare UK to US investor mindsets?

If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented you can follow us on Twitter here:

• Jason Lemkin
• Harry Stebbings
• Saastr
• Mathilde Collin