The SaaS Academy Podcast

"The magic is creating the container for relationships."

📖 Join the Wait List for our new book!

➤ https://softwarebook.com/

Join Dan Martell, Johnny Page, and Matt Verlaque as they sit down to discuss the launch of their new book, what running a 10/10 event looks like, and the future of SaaS Academy.

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Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to the New Book Launch

00:47 The Importance of Customer Conferences

05:52 Strategies for Successful Event Planning

11:50 Leveraging Customer Experiences for Content

18:03 Creating Community and Connection

23:51 Common Mistakes in Event Planning

29:51 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

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Check out Matt on:

➤ Personal Website: https://www.mattverlaque.com/

➤ Twitter/X: https://x.com/mattverlaque

➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattverlaque/

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-verlaque/

Check out Johnny on:

➤ Personal Website: https://www.thejohnnypage.com/

➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnypage13/

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnypage/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube  @SaaSAcademy 

➤ Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ )

➤ [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy)

➤ [Twitter / X] (https://x.com/saasacademy)

➤ [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/)

➤ [Website] (https://www.saasacademy.com/)

➤ [Apple] (https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...)

➤ [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

"If you talk to an outsource company and they can kick off development for you or kick off a project next week, that's a massive red flag for me."

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

Join Johnny Page and Graeme Barlow, Founder and CEO of Iversoft, a world-class software development agency that specializes in mobile and emerging technologies.

This episode dives deep into 🚀

- The good, bad, and best practices of Outsourced Development.

- How a founder’s job is to find the people who will solve the problems, not to solve it themselves.

- How to clear product ownership and spend time on preparation before starting development.

- The best way to build a network of trusted technical advisors.

...and more.

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Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and Setting the Stage

02:10 The Good, the Bad, and Best Practices of Outsourcing Development

03:36 When to Consider Outsourcing and Different Engagement Models

08:21 Choosing the Right Engagement Model

16:57 Building a Successful Relationship with an Outsourced Development Team

24:08 Beware of Agencies Promising Quick Turnaround Times

25:06 Learning from Mistakes

25:25 The Importance of Outsourced Development Teams

28:15 The Current State of AI and Its Impact

32:42 Building with No Code Solutions

38:56 Avoiding the Linchpin Trap

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Check out Graeme on:

➤ Personal Website: https://www.graemebarlow.com/

➤ Twitter/X: https://x.com/graemebarlow

➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graemebarlow/

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graemebarlow

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube  @SaaSAcademy 

➤ Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ )

➤ [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy)

➤ [Twitter / X] (https://x.com/saasacademy)

➤ [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/)

➤ [Website] (https://www.saasacademy.com/)

➤ [Apple] (https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...)

➤ [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

"You're going to have to hire great people."

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

Join Matt Verlaque and Geoff Roberts, CEO and founder of Outseta, The all-in-one platform to build SaaS and membership businesses.

This episode dives deep into 🚀

- How staying small allows for less bureaucracy and politics in a company.

- How they manage a remote and asynchronous team.

- How Outseta is able to pay their team $210,000/yr while allowing the team to work between 1 and 5 days a week.

...and more.

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Timestamps

00:00 Staying Small and Hiring Great People

11:06 Outseta's Unique Compensation Model

19:03 Supporting Early-Stage SaaS Businesses

26:28 The Power of Ownership

28:37 Enriching Lives and Operating with Minimal Meetings

32:48 Rhythms and Asynchronous Work

36:56 Pricing Model and Challenges

41:35 Bootstrapping and Near-Death Experiences

53:43 Success: $10 Million Business and Impact

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Check out Geoff on:

➤ Company Website: https://www.geoffsmarketingexperiments.com/

➤ Marketing Experiments: https://www.geoffsmarketingexperiments.com/

➤ Personal Website: https://geoffrobertswrites.com/

➤ Twitter/X: https://x.com/geofftroberts

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrobertsmarketing/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube  @SaaSAcademy 

➤ Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ )

➤ [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy)

➤ [Twitter / X] (https://x.com/saasacademy)

➤ [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/)

➤ [Website] (https://www.saasacademy.com/)

➤ [Apple] (https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...)

➤ [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

"I think you can do more with less these days."

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

Join Johnny Page and Scot Chisholm, CEO and Founder of Classy, a fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations that got acquired by GoFundMe in 2022. Over the course of 10 years as CEO, he grew the company from $0 to $1B+ in valuation; managed a 300 person team, and raised over $200M from investors.

Timestamps

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Check out Scot on:

➤ Website: https://joinhighland.com/

➤ Personal Website: https://scotchisholm.com/

➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scotchisholm/?hl=en

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotchisholm/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube @SaaSAcademy

➤ Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ )

➤ [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy)

➤ [Twitter / X] (https://x.com/saasacademy)

➤ [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/)

➤ [Website] (https://www.saasacademy.com/)

➤ [Apple] (https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...)

➤ [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

"Let the market pull you. You have to be so nimble. You're lucky if you can block a punch in the beginning."

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

Join Matt (@mattverlaque) and Dan Uyemura, CEO and Founder of PushPress, a complete gym management platform built by gym owners, for gym owners. At PushPress, they're sole focus is providing painless member management and billing solutions to CrossFit gyms, boutique gyms, and personal trainers.

Timestamps

00:00 The Journey of Pushpress

07:31 The Challenges of Being a Founder

19:03 Building Trust and Providing Value

25:19 The Process of Evaluating Ideas

31:35 Pricing and Packaging Strategy

33:33 Pricing Strategies for Customer Retention

36:52 Building a Strong Team and Culture

37:51 The Keeper Test: Identifying Valuable Employees

45:45 Building Long-Term Value: The Key to Success

51:31 Finding the Right Investors: Alignment is Key

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Check out Dan on:

➤ Website: https://www.pushpress.com/

➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielsan/

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danuyemura/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube  @SaaSAcademy  | Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ ) | [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy) | [Twitter / X](https://x.com/saasacademy) | [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/) | [Website](https://www.saasacademy.com/) | [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...) | [Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

"Great writing starts from a great brief, which starts from great strategy."

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

Join Matt (@mattverlaque) and John Doherty, founder of EditorNinja, a content editing agency that edited 3,000,000+ words in its first 18 months on how to write copy that makes MILLIONS of dollars.

Timestamps

00:00 The Importance of Strategy and Briefs in Great Writing

05:44 Finding the Right Pricing Model for Agencies

06:13 The Key to Entrepreneurial Success

09:07 Managing Performance and the Person

19:23 The Power of Storytelling and Vivid Language in Writing

22:50 Crafting Captivating Headlines

25:17 Effective Call-to-Action Language

33:10 The Importance of a Great Brief and Strategy

34:57 Hiring and Managing Writers

36:45 The Value of Paid Test Projects

38:06 The Misconception of Ready-to-Publish Content

41:36 The Cost of Hiring Writers

43:03 When to Hire a Dedicated Writer

44:22 The Role of a Marketing Manager in a Small SaaS Company

48:37 Budgeting for Marketing

50:03 The Need for a Cash Buffer

53:19 The Significance of Gross Profit in Pricing Decisions

54:42 The Drawbacks of Hourly Pricing

55:12 The Benefits of Project-Based Pricing

57:30 Using Pricing as a Funnel Filter

01:03:07 Considerations for Offering Services in a SaaS Business

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Check out John on:

➤ Twitter: https://x.com/dohertyjf

➤ Website: https://editorninja.com/

➤ Personal Website: https://www.johnfdoherty.com/

➤ LinkedIn: https: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfdoherty/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube/ @SaaSAcademy | Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ ) | [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy) | [Twitter / X](https://x.com/saasacademy) | [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/) | [Website](https://www.saasacademy.com/) | [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...) | [Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

"When you get clear on what a dream buyer looks like, now you have a filtering mechanism for who would I even entertain because it has to look like X."

--

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

--

Join Johnny Page (@johnnypage13) and Matt (@mattverlaque) as they sit down with Kevin McArdle, Co-Founder & CEO of Big Band Software: a holding Company acquiring excellent B2B SaaS businesses.

📌 In this episode we dive deep into a few things like...

➡ The drivers of enterprise value include things like profitability, net negative churn, and the rule of 40.

➡ How businesses take on the personality of their founders, making cultural alignment between the buyer and founder crucial in acquisitions.

➡ How Big Band Software operates as a holding company that buys and holds software companies, providing flexibility and optionality for long-term growth.

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Timestamps:

00:00 The Importance of Cultural Alignment in Acquisitions

09:19 The Flexibility of a Holding Company Model

18:25 Drivers of Enterprise Value in SaaS

29:56 The Need for Annual Exit Planning

36:11 The Importance of Annual Exit Planning

41:47 Finding the Dream Buyer

45:36 Understanding Different Types of Compensation

53:25 Navigating the Emotional Aspects of Selling

56:42 Managing Stress and Expectations

Check out Kevin on:

➤ Twitter: https://x.com/kevin_mcardle

➤ Website: https://bigbandsoftware.com/

➤ LinkedIn: https: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mcardle-6bbb296/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube/ @SaaSAcademy | Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ ) | [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy) | [Twitter / X](https://x.com/saasacademy) | [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/) | [Website](https://www.saasacademy.com/) | [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...) | [Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

--

Join Matt (@mattverlaque) as he sits down with Travis Janko, CEO and founder of GSD Coach & Recruiting where he helps growing sales organizations hire the top 5% of sales talent, FAST!

📌 In this episode we dive deep into...

➡ How to build top performing sales teams.

➡ What questions to ask during the interview for sales reps.

➡ The qualities of a top performing sales professionals.

Check out Travis on:

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisjanko/

➤ Website: https://gsd-coach.com/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube/ @SaaSAcademy | [Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ ) | [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy) | [Twitter / X](https://x.com/saasacademy) | [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/) | [Website](https://www.saasacademy.com/) | [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...) | [Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

--

Join Matt (@mattverlaque) as he sits down with Adii Pienaar (@adii), founder of WooCommerce, Conversio and Cogsy, which led to multiple successful exits.

📌 In this episode we dive deep into...

➡ How the e-commerce industry has gone through phases of platform development, marketing and acquisition, and is currently focused on operational challenges and logistics.

➡ How finding the right co-founder involves aligning values and creating a space for open communication and growth.

➡ The future of e-commerce may involve more personalization through AI and LLMs, as well as the potential for self-hosted solutions to address privacy concerns.

Timestamps

00:00 The Story Behind 'Adii Rockstar' and WooThemes

04:18 Democratizing the Power of WordPress in E-commerce

11:37 The Evolution of the E-commerce Industry

23:14 The Future of E-commerce: Personalization and Self-Hosted Solutions

29:53 Changing Consumer Behavior and the Rise of Conscious Consumption

35:24 Bundling and Unbundling in Business

37:25 The Importance of Team and Culture

45:30 Finding the Right Co-founder

54:46 Creating a Transparent and Asynchronous Work Environment

01:01:38 Achieving Life Profitability

Check out Johnny on:

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnypage/

➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnypage13/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube/ @SaaSAcademy | [Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ ) | [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy) | [Twitter / X](https://x.com/saasacademy) | [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/) | [Website](https://www.saasacademy.com/) | [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...) | [Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS?

Book a FREE growth session (https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?...)

--

Join Matt (@mattverlaque) as he sits down with our very own Johnny Page(@johnnypage13), CEO at SaaS Academy.

📌 In this episode we dive deep into...

➡ Johnny's unusual upbringing

➡

➡ When & why founders should consider venture studios.

➡ Building vs buying — how to know when to invest in-house or acquire.

00:00 Johnny's Childhood and Upbringing

12:37 From Golf to Entrepreneurship

19:52 Transition to the Tech Industry

27:40 Lessons in Leadership & Negotiation

30:18 Selling Silvertrac

31:16 The Journey of an Entrepreneur

36:45 The Value of Hiring a Business Coach

45:21 The Challenges of Customer Success

51:07 The Importance of Leadership

53:28 Dealing with Overcommitment

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Check out Johnny on:

➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnypage/

➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnypage13/

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ YouTube/ @SaaSAcademy | [Instagram] (https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/ ) | [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy) | [Twitter / X](https://x.com/saasacademy) | [Facebook] (https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy/) | [Website](https://www.saasacademy.com/) | [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast...) | [Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHh...)