The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

Seth Besmertnik is the Co-Founder & CEO @ Conductor, the company that boasts the biggest customer list in their category including more than 500 Fortune and Internet Retailer 500 brands like Under Armour, Citi and FedEx with their web presence management and SEO. With this incredible success, the company has been ranked 13th fastest growing software company in the US and the 3rd Best Place To Work in NYC. They have also raised funding over $60m from some of the best investors on the east coast in the form of Matrix Partners and FirstMark Capital just to name a few. I would like to say a huge thanks to Fayez @ Bluecore for the intro to Seth today.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

• How did Seth make his way into the world of SaaS? What was the a-ha moment for Conductor?
• What does Seth mean when he says, 'B2B companies need to build a weapon in their marketing'? How does this look in his approach? How does this differ according to differing startup budgets?
• Previously, Meaghan Eisenberg @ MongoDB has said 'the largest lift you are going to see is from your site'. Does Seth agree with this? How should we prioritise the site? What are the fundamentals to consider in terms of optimising conversion?
• With the proliferation of content today, to what extent should B2B companies look to alternative platforms such as Snapchat, Youtube and Instagram for content differentiation? What are the fundamentals to consider with platform diversification?
• How does Seth suggest creating a culture of content creation in previously segmented cultures? How can this be done with actionable strategies to encourage non-marketing professionals to produce content?

60 Second SaaStr

1. What does Seth know now that he wishes he had known before?
2. Biggest advice on content creation for B2B SaaS companies?
3. Fave SaaS reading material?
4. Being a CEO vs Being a Founder

Jason Lemkin

Harry Stebbings

SaaStr

Seth Besmertnik

Seth Besmertnik is the Co-Founder & CEO @ Conductor, the company that boasts the biggest customer list in their category including more than 500 Fortune and Internet Retailer 500 brands like Under Armour, Citi and FedEx with their web presence management and SEO. With this incredible success, the company has been ranked 13th fastest growing software company in the US and the 3rd Best Place To Work in NYC. They have also raised funding over $60m from some of the best investors on the east coast in the form of Matrix Partners and FirstMark Capital just to name a few. I would like to say a huge thanks to Fayez @ Bluecore for the intro to Seth today.  

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

• How did Seth make his way into the world of SaaS? What was the a-ha moment for Conductor?
• What does Seth mean when he says, ‘B2B companies need to build a weapon in their marketing’? How does this look in his approach? How does this differ according to differing startup budgets?
• Previously, Meaghan Eisenberg @ MongoDB has said ‘the largest lift you are going to see is from your site’. Does Seth agree with this? How should we prioritise the site? What are the fundamentals to consider in terms of optimising conversion?
• With the proliferation of content today, to what extent should B2B companies look to alternative platforms such as  Snapchat, Youtube and Instagram for content differentiation? What are the fundamentals to consider with platform diversification?
• How does Seth suggest creating a culture of content creation in previously segmented cultures? How can this be done with actionable strategies to encourage non-marketing professionals to produce content?

60 Second SaaStr

1. What does Seth know now that he wishes he had known before?
2. Biggest advice on content creation for B2B SaaS companies?
3. Fave SaaS reading material?
4. Being a CEO vs Being a Founder

Jason Lemkin

Harry Stebbings

SaaStr

Seth Besmertnik

Kathryn Minshew is the Founder & CEO @ The Muse, named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Media and Inc.'s 15 Women to Watch in Tech. Before founding The Muse, Kathryn worked on vaccines in Rwanda and Malawi with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and was previously at McKinsey. Kathryn has spoken at MIT and Harvard, appeared on The TODAY Show and CNN, and contributes on career and entrepreneurship to the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

• How Kathryn came to found The Muse? What was the a-ha moment for her?
• Why did Kathryn introduce a SaaS business model into the traditionally, transactional model of recruiting? What were the benefits and how did it alter her go to market?
• With no prior sales experience, how did Kathryn find the experience of running the sales team? What were the core takeaways? At what stage should the founder stop selling the product and hire a sales team?
• Why does Kathryn believe you have to make the customer feel slightly uncomfortable to be successful? What did Kathryn look for in her initial sales hires? Why did Kathryn hire 3 reps to start with and not 2, as usually suggested?
• How does Kathryn approach the customer success field at The Muse? When did Kathryn hire her first CS rep? What is Kathryn's take on CS being involved in the sales process?

1. What does Kathryn know now that she wishes she had known when she started?
2. Biggest mistake SaaS companies are enacting with their recruiting process?
3. Productivity tips and hacks?

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

Kathryn Minshew

Kathryn Minshew is the Founder & CEO @ The Muse, named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Media and Inc.’s 15 Women to Watch in Tech. Before founding The Muse, Kathryn worked on vaccines in Rwanda and Malawi with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and was previously at McKinsey. Kathryn has spoken at MIT and Harvard, appeared on The TODAY Show and CNN, and contributes on career and entrepreneurship to the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

• How Kathryn came to found The Muse? What was the a-ha moment for her?
• Why did Kathryn introduce a SaaS business model into the traditionally, transactional model of recruiting? What were the benefits and how did it alter her go to market?
• With no prior sales experience, how did Kathryn find the experience of running the sales team? What were the core takeaways? At what stage should the founder stop selling the product and hire a sales team?
• Why does Kathryn believe you have to make the customer feel slightly uncomfortable to be successful? What did Kathryn look for in her initial sales hires? Why did Kathryn hire 3 reps to start with and not 2, as usually suggested?
• How does Kathryn approach the customer success field at The Muse? When did Kathryn hire her first CS rep? What is Kathryn’s take on CS being involved in the sales process?

1. What does Kathryn know now that she wishes she had known when she started?
2. Biggest mistake SaaS companies are enacting with their recruiting process?
3. Productivity tips and hacks?

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

Kathryn Minshew

Michael Sharkey is CEO & Co-Founder of Autopilot, the startup that allows you to automate customer journeys as simply as drawing on a whiteboard. Autopilot has funding from some of the best investors both in Australia and in SaaS with backing from the likes of Salesforce Ventures and Blackbird Ventures. Prior to founding Autopilot with his two brothers, Michael joined his brother Chris to grow start-up Stayz into a top Australian rental booking site which was acquired by FairFax Digital in 2006 and again by HomeAway for $225M in 2013. Michael also co-founded digital marketing agency Sharkey Media where he helped grow Australian startups. I would love to say a huge thank you to Matt Garratt @ Salesforce Ventures for the intro to Michael today.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

• How did Michael come to co-found Autopilot with his two brothers? What was the a-ha moment for him?
• Why did Michael choose a self service model with Autopilot? How does this model affect their CAC? How does this model alter the outbound marketing strategy?
• How does Michael approach the dilemma of variable or fixed pricing? Has Michael found that the lack of reliability around variable pricing causes customers concern?
• With Michael interest in unit economics, why are we seeing many SaaS startups, Marketo and Eloqua, exiting with losses? What can founders do to adopt the unit economics first mindset? How does this attitude to unit economics affect attitudes to aggressive growth?
• Michael focuses on 100% net retention, what does that process and strategy look like in practice? How does this commitment to 100% retention affect Michael's management style and work processes?

60 Second SaaStr

1. Biggest mentor to Michael and how it came about?
2. What does Michael know now that he wishes he had known in the beginning?
3. The biggest mistakes SaaS companies make with their email marketing processes?

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

Michael Sharkey

Michael Sharkey is CEO & Co-Founder of Autopilot, the startup that allows you to automate customer journeys as simply as drawing on a whiteboard. Autopilot has funding from some of the best investors both in Australia and in SaaS with backing from the likes of Salesforce Ventures and Blackbird Ventures. Prior to founding Autopilot with his two brothers, Michael joined his brother Chris to grow start-up Stayz into a top Australian rental booking site which was acquired by FairFax Digital in 2006 and again by HomeAway for $225M in 2013. Michael also co-founded digital marketing agency Sharkey Media where he helped grow Australian startups. I would love to say a huge thank you to Matt Garratt @ Salesforce Ventures for the intro to Michael today.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

• How did Michael come to co-found Autopilot with his two brothers? What was the a-ha moment for him?
• Why did Michael choose a self service model with Autopilot? How does this model affect their CAC? How does this model alter the outbound marketing strategy?
• How does Michael approach the dilemma of variable or fixed pricing? Has Michael found that the lack of reliability around variable pricing causes customers concern?
• With Michael interest in unit economics, why are we seeing many SaaS startups, Marketo and Eloqua, exiting with losses? What can founders do to adopt the unit economics first mindset? How does this attitude to unit economics affect attitudes to aggressive growth?
• Michael focuses on 100% net retention, what does that process and strategy look like in practice? How does this commitment to 100% retention affect Michael’s management style and work processes?

60 Second SaaStr

1. Biggest mentor to Michael and how it came about?
2. What does Michael know now that he wishes he had known in the beginning?
3. The biggest mistakes SaaS companies make with their email marketing processes?

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

Michael Sharkey

Robert Siegel is a Partner at XSeed Capital, one of the leading seed funds in the valley. At XSeed, Rob specialises on, you guessed it, all things from the wonderful world of SaaS and he sits on the Board of Directors of Cape Productions and Caller Zen. Robert is currently on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he teaches an array of topics that he led to His role as the Co-President Emeritus of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs. Prior to joining XSeed, Robert was General Manager of the Video and Software Solutions division for GE Security, with annual revenues of $350 million. Before that, Robert was Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Weave Innovations Inc. (acquired by Kodak). If that was not enough Robert also served in various management roles at Intel Corporation, including an executive position in their Corporate Business Development division, in which he invested capital in startups that were strategically aligned with Intel's vision. I would also like to say a huge thanks to Tien @ Zuora for the intro to Robert today.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

• How did Robert make his way into the world of SaaS? What was it about XSeed that made him want to make the transition from operations to VC?
• We have seen many big SaaS exits in the last year with Marketo and Nutanix, does Robert think the time for big SaaS exits has come and gone? Have we moved to a world of consolidation?
• How do companies both large and small need to react to this shift on a strategic level? How does this affect the internal infrastructure of larger companies?
• For smaller startups, how should their attitude to competition change? How does this change Robert's search process as an investor? How can smaller startups make themselves attractive acquisition targets?
• How does Rob's view of consolidation affect his excitement for mega returns in SaaS? How does it impact how Rob approaches valuation? How does this change Rob's expectations of unit economics?

60 Second SaaStr

1. Strategic investors: Good or Bad?
2. What does Rob know now that he wishes he had known when he started?
3. Fave SaaS resource or reading material?
4. Greenfield opportunity in SaaS?

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

Robert Siegel

Robert Siegel is a Partner at XSeed Capital, one of the leading seed funds in the valley. At XSeed, Rob specialises on, you guessed it, all things from the wonderful world of SaaS and he sits on the Board of Directors of Cape Productions and Caller Zen. Robert is currently on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he teaches an array of topics that he led to His role as the Co-President Emeritus of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs. Prior to joining XSeed, Robert was General Manager of the Video and Software Solutions division for GE Security, with annual revenues of $350 million. Before that, Robert was Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Weave Innovations Inc. (acquired by Kodak). If that was not enough Robert also served in various management roles at Intel Corporation, including an executive position in their Corporate Business Development division, in which he invested capital in startups that were strategically aligned with Intel’s vision. I would also like to say a huge thanks to Tien @ Zuora for the intro to Robert today.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

• How did Robert make his way into the world of SaaS? What was it about XSeed that made him want to make the transition from operations to VC?
• We have seen many big SaaS exits in the last year with Marketo and Nutanix, does Robert think the time for big SaaS exits has come and gone? Have we moved to a world of consolidation?
• How do companies both large and small need to react to this shift on a strategic level? How does this affect the internal infrastructure of larger companies?
• For smaller startups, how should their attitude to competition change? How does this change Robert’s search process as an investor? How can smaller startups make themselves attractive acquisition targets?
• How does Rob’s view of consolidation affect his excitement for mega returns in SaaS? How does it impact how Rob approaches valuation? How does this change Rob’s expectations of unit economics?

60 Second SaaStr

1. Strategic investors: Good or Bad?
2. What does Rob know now that he wishes he had known when he started?
3. Fave SaaS resource or reading material?
4. Greenfield opportunity in SaaS?

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

Robert Siegel

David Thompson is CMO at Domo, the company that allows customers to turn data into opportunities. David is a highly accomplished branding expert and recognized leader in demand generation, having served as longtime CMO of WebEx, where he named the company, helped create the cloud-based conferencing category and positioned the company for its IPO and subsequent buyout by Cisco. He also co-founded and served as chief executive officer of Genius.com, a leading SaaS marketing automation company, and he launched the Sales 2.0 Conference.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

• How did David make his way into the world of tech and SaaS pre-bubble? How did the bubble affect how David approached company building going forward?
• What should all SaaS startups consider pre spending big on marketing? What should their core gating factors be? Is it always right to have an internal marketing team?
• What are the must haves and the nice to haves in B2B marketing? Why is Facebook a must have or business branding today?
• How can businesses accurately measure the success of their marketing and branding efforts? Is it all about revenue or is there external reputation metrics to consider?
• On the whole, would David consider successful B2B branding closer to consumer or closer to enterprise marketing? What do the best in the enterprise class do?

60 Second SaaStr

1. What are David's favourite marketing tools?
2. If David could recommend one book to SaaS founders what would it be?
3. With the martech explosion: are we entering a world of consolidation?

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

David Thompson

David Thompson is CMO at Domo, the company that allows customers to turn data into opportunities. David is a highly accomplished branding expert and recognized leader in demand generation, having served as longtime CMO of WebEx, where he named the company, helped create the cloud-based conferencing category and positioned the company for its IPO and subsequent buyout by Cisco. He also co-founded and served as chief executive officer of Genius.com, a leading SaaS marketing automation company, and he launched the Sales 2.0 Conference.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

• How did David make his way into the world of tech and SaaS pre-bubble? How did the bubble affect how David approached company building going forward?
• What should all SaaS startups consider pre spending big on marketing? What should their core gating factors be? Is it always right to have an internal marketing team?
• What are the must haves and the nice to haves in B2B marketing? Why is Facebook a must have or business branding today?
• How can businesses accurately measure the success of their marketing and branding efforts? Is it all about revenue or is there external reputation metrics to consider?
• On the whole, would David consider successful B2B branding closer to consumer or closer to enterprise marketing? What do the best in the enterprise class do?

60 Second SaaStr

1. What are David’s favourite marketing tools?
2. If David could recommend one book to SaaS founders what would it be?
3. With the martech explosion: are we entering a world of consolidation?

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

David Thompson