In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Denis Mosolov, Managing Partner Venture Debt at Flashpoint, as he discusses what’s out there (from a founder’s perspective) if you don’t want to dilute.

 

“It’s a big challenge for us, because you know if your company’s really going to take-off and show growth levels that are exciting for the VC community, you do need to invest and you do need to know how to raise capital. That’s a skill that the founders need to have and so it is a red flag for me if something is like 100% bootstrapped, because there’s a big question mark – ‘are you guys actually able to raise capital?’.“

 

Denis shares:

• Humble beginnings, half a billion under management, and three product lines later: Flashpoint’s founding story
• The current state of venture debt: from ‘flight to brand’ to extension rounds
• Different sources of capital and their requirements – asset backed debt, convertibles, government subsidies, revenue-based financing, venture debt and more
• When a founder would want to borrow against inventory vs seek out flexible non-dilutive capital, to non-dilutive expensive ‘royalties’
• His advice to ‘hustle, scramble, make quick decisions, and be proactive’

and more!

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

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In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Matthijs Welle, CEO at Mews, who shares his lessons building Mews to unicorn status and $100M ARR.

 

“Recognise when we’ve got a challenge and address it. And I surround myself with phenomenal people, I’m not afraid of hiring people that are smarter than me around me, because I’m not always the smartest person. I have more context than anyone else, but these people lift me, and I think the best managers do that – they just find phenomenal talent and then trust that they are not going to be fighting, but showing up for the job and lifting you for the manager that you are.“

 

Matthijs shares:

• Mews’ founding story – from frustrations with a big marble block to building the next generation infrastructure system for hotels
• The company’s growth path (including 40 new hires MoM!)
• From eight acquisitions to receiving $110M on top of raising a round – the pivotal moments speed and drive overlapped with opportunity
• The ONE role that helped get them to the $10M ARR mark
• Why someone giving them sh*t was a ‘wake up call’ to professionalise the business
• When to pull away from entrepreneurial tendencies (including the micromanagement trap…)

plus the best hotel he’s *ever* stayed in and how much they had to offer a Maine restaurant for the Mews.com domain

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

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If you want similar tips and are looking to achieve success all year round, check out the SaaStock Founder Membership:

A private community of ambitious SaaS founders scaling to $10MM ARR. Get a support network of peers, connect with likeminded founders around the globe, and learn proven strategies from industry experts. Apply now to scale up your SaaS.

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From the SaaStock USA 2023 Stage, Des Traynor (co-founder & CSO Intercom) discusses the ‘Great AI Revolution’, exploring just how epic the disruption could be.

 

“The thing I’ll encourage you to be is learners. This is a massive time of change and in times of change, learners inherit the Earth. The learned people who are so sure they know what’s up, they find themselves perfectly equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists, basically.”

 

After many decades of over-promising and under-delivering, the AI revolution has finally arrived. Like every disruptive wave in software before it, it brings a whole host of opportunities for new market entrants, and threats for market incumbents. This talk is all about how to understand the new capabilities that have landed, think through product opportunities they imply, and ultimately capitalise on them, whether you’re a scrappy startup in its embryonic stage, or an established incumbent paranoid about the future.

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

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If you want similar tips and are looking to achieve success all year round, check out the SaaStock Founder Membership:

A private community of ambitious SaaS founders scaling to $10MM ARR. Get a support network of peers, connect with likeminded founders around the globe, and learn proven strategies from industry experts. Apply now to scale up your SaaS.

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Want to join the pioneers at the forefront of The SaaS revolution? Subscribe to our newsletter today to get exclusive content, receive actionable value-based insights and create your Rocketship SaaS.

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And if you can’t wait another week for our next podcast, listen to our previous two here:

In an increasingly competitive market, we’re on a mission to showcase and connect the SaaS businesses delivering solutions that change the way we do business. 

We do this by championing networking at our events and through our Founder Membership, connecting founders with the investors that can help take their business to the next level, and showcasing the best minds in SaaS at our conferences and all over the world with local meetups.  

At this year’s SaaStock USA, we’re taking things a step further with the SaaS Revolutionaries. A set of awards that will spotlight North American SaaS disruptors in six categories across business growth, go-to-market, entrepreneurship, and product.  

Apply now or read on to find out more.

Celebrating SaaS disruptors amongst rising competition

It’s no secret that the SaaS industry continues to move at a rapid pace – with Gartner predicting it to grow by 18% in 2024 to a whopping $232 billion a year. Despite hubs across the globe gaining momentum, North America still dominates. And it goes way beyond Silicon Valley. 

Following years of unprecedented SaaS growth and an influx of new entrants in the wake of the pandemic, Silicon Valley lost its monopoly and growing tech hubs cemented their place in the region. This includes Boston, Chicago, and Austin in the US and Vancouver, and Calgary in Canada – to name just a few.    

Just last year, we chose Austin as our US home because of its thriving SaaS community. Dubbed “The Silicon Hills” it now houses over 900 SaaS companies, including SaaS AI unicorn Jasper AI and NASDAQ listed ecommerce platform, BigCommerce. 

While this vibrant tech scene makes for exciting product innovation, it also brings with it a turbulent, more competitive market than we’ve seen before.

The winners in this climate? The products that change the way we do things – that increase productivity, power collaboration, or deliver smart business insights. The organizations with business models crafted for scale and vast market potential that entices investors. And the innovators that harness new tech to differentiate their solution and silence the competition.

It’s these we will be showcasing at SaaStock USA – the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators, and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. 

Introducing: The SaaS Revolutionaries

This year’s SaaStock USA marks the first SaaS Revolutionaries – a series of awards, in which, we’ll celebrate the best in North American SaaS. 

If your SaaS business is headquartered in North America, has 30+ employees, and over $3M ARR, then you can nominate your company in any of our six categories: 

• North America’s fastest growing startup: Celebrating the NA SaaS company with the largest YoY revenue growth. 

• Best AI startup: Recognizing the SaaS company best leveraging AI to power product innovation. 

• Austin’s rising star: Honoring the most promising Austin-based SaaS startup. 

• Best bootstrapped startup: Spotlighting the most impressive SaaS company, built without VC funding. 

• Best female founder: Showcasing the leading SaaS startup founded by a female entrepreneur. 

• Best enterprise software product: Distinguishing the SaaS solution that delivers the most value to enterprise business customers. 

Winners and runners-up will receive exclusive promotional and networking opportunities at the event, such as interviews, podcast promotion, badges, and a feature in our top startups blog post.

So, what are you waiting for? Apply now

We can’t wait to hear from you!

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Todd Olson, founder & CEO of Pendo, who shares his lessons in building Pendo well past $100M ARR.

 

“I would say we’re more aggressive than the average company. First off, there’s rules. We are not a custom software shop, I do not build things for one customer. However, if there’s something on our roadmap anyway and it’s, I don’t know, let’s say, 12 months from now, and this prospect needs it now or sooner, I am willing to rearrange things. As I tell my prod teams “don’t get married to your roadmap”, married means you have emotional attachment to it and that you can’t move things around, because what better proxy for prioritisation than speaking with the customer and them saying “I will buy now if you have it now”.“

 

Todd shares:

• Pendo’s founding story
• The greatest signal of prioritisation a business can have
• His philosophy of ‘hiring for pain’
• The impact active coaching had on his team
• Their two year journey from $1M-$10M ARR: tripling growth rates and a high percentage of inbound demand
• The three strategic anchors Pendo uses to make decisions, incl. being ‘bold by choice’
• How they’ve dealt with company growth often outpacing human and professional growth

and more!

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

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If you want similar tips and are looking to achieve success all year round, check out the SaaStock Founder Membership:

A private community of ambitious SaaS founders scaling to $10MM ARR. Get a support network of peers, connect with likeminded founders around the globe, and learn proven strategies from industry experts. Apply now to scale up your SaaS.

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And if you can’t wait another week for our next podcast, listen to our previous two here:

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Guillaume Moubeche,

 

“I was not ambitious enough, for me my ambition was to get a salary so I could help my girlfriend at the time paying the rent. Eventually, having someone, you know, who sees things 10 to 20x bigger for yourself than you, is actually amazing and I think that was the biggest helper that basically forced me to think of things at a way bigger and larger scale.“

 

Guillaume shares:

• Why achieving PMF doesn’t mean everlasting success
• Understanding the ‘S curve’ and its implications on a business
• How his upbringing encouraged the bootstrapped mindset
• If de-risking and ambition go hand in hand – The ultimate founder hack (bank loans up to 7x of your EBITDA)
• Fostering motivation within the team

and more!

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

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If you want similar tips and are looking to achieve success all year round, check out the SaaStock Founder Membership:

A private community of ambitious SaaS founders scaling to $10MM ARR. Get a support network of peers, connect with likeminded founders around the globe, and learn proven strategies from industry experts. Apply now to scale up your SaaS.

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Want to join the pioneers at the forefront of The SaaS revolution? Subscribe to our newsletter today to get exclusive content, receive actionable value-based insights and create your Rocketship SaaS.

Plus – follow us on social! Check out our profiles on , X, , , Instagram, and TikTok.

And if you can’t wait another week for our next podcast, listen to our previous two here:

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Peter Berg, Managing Partner at M12 and ex-Visa, who shares how AI will be used in the software industry.

 

“It’s definitely changing, I think, the dynamic of the way software gets built, the speed at which it can get built. There are a lot of amazing tools. I mean, GitHub, obviously is one in the Microsoft ecosystem. GitHub copilot has been transformative, I think for developers, we’ve heard that from them directly, and I think that’s only going to continue in the way software both gets built and as also the notion of what software is might potentially change as well.“

 

Peter shares:

• His journey scaling Visa Ventures into a global program
• How M12 source deal flow opportunities
• The net new experiences and possibilities that are going to be created as a result of AI
• Modernising legacy infrastructure with AI
• The unintended consequences that may be on the horizon

and more!

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

 

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If you want similar tips and are looking to achieve success all year round, check out the SaaStock Founder Membership:

A private community of ambitious SaaS founders scaling to $10MM ARR. Get a support network of peers, connect with likeminded founders around the globe, and learn proven strategies from industry experts. Apply now to scale up your SaaS.

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Want to join the pioneers at the forefront of The SaaS revolution? Subscribe to our newsletter today to get exclusive content, receive actionable value-based insights and create your Rocketship SaaS.

Plus – follow us on social! Check out our profiles on , X, , , Instagram, and TikTok.

And if you can’t wait another week for our next podcast, listen to our previous two here:

From the SaaStock USA 2023 Stage, Thomas Smale (Founder and CEO of global M&A advisory firm FE International) shares what he’s learned from more than $1 billion in closed deals.

 

“You don’t always get everything you want in a deal. If you go into something looking for ten things you specifically want – and this just really falls back into the first lesson which is ‘decide what you want’ – if you have ten things you need from a deal, the buyer probably has ten things they need. You have to meet in the middle and find things that you care most about and they most about, and where you can align them.”

 

Thomas shares:

• Behind-the-scenes insights into which business models lead to the biggest exit prices
• The business types that are most popular with buyers
• How you can build a high-value business poised for a smooth exit

and more!

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

---

If you want similar tips and are looking to achieve success all year round, check out the SaaStock Founder Membership:

A private community of ambitious SaaS founders scaling to $10MM ARR. Get a support network of peers, connect with likeminded founders around the globe, and learn proven strategies from industry experts. Apply now to scale up your SaaS.

---

 

Want to join the pioneers at the forefront of The SaaS revolution? Subscribe to our newsletter today to get exclusive content, receive actionable value-based insights and create your Rocketship SaaS.

Plus – follow us on social! Check out our profiles on , X, , , Instagram, and TikTok.

And if you can’t wait another week for our next podcast, listen to our previous two here:

In this episode of the SaaS Revolution Show our host Alex Theuma is joined by Barb Hyman, founder & CEO at Sapia.ai, who shares how she overcame three big challenges to build an enterprise AI SaaS and raise $25M.

 

“So we tried and we didn’t succeed in building a new category. We had this concept a couple of years ago when we rebranded to Sapia that we were going to build this category around smart interviewer. And reality is it takes a lot of money, it takes a lot of commitment, consistency, and focus. And we realised that we were too insular, we were too leading with our product rather than really leading with your problems. And so we’ve really pivoted now to focus less on the category and much more on “here’s the value that you get”.

 

Barb shares:

• The pervasive bias in tech companies and tackling mirror hiring
• Why she believes the resume should’ve died a long time ago
• How Sapia have scaled the science of a structured interview
• Raising their $25M series A (incl having their largest customer invest in them!)
• How they’re solving turnover through machine learning
• Why having integrity with customers means having integrity with VCs

and more!

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

 

 

---

If you want similar tips and are looking to achieve success all year round, check out the SaaStock Founder Membership:

A private community of ambitious SaaS founders scaling to $10MM ARR. Get a support network of peers, connect with likeminded founders around the globe, and learn proven strategies from industry experts. Apply now to scale up your SaaS.

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Want to join the pioneers at the forefront of The SaaS revolution? Subscribe to our newsletter today to get exclusive content, receive actionable value-based insights and create your Rocketship SaaS.

Plus – follow us on social! Check out our profiles on , X, , , Instagram, and TikTok.

And if you can’t wait another week for our next podcast, listen to our previous two here:

From the SaaStock 2023 Bootstrap Stage, Jonathan Klahr (Managing Director at Susquehanna Growth Equity) is joined by Gregory Galant (Co-founder & CEO at Muck Rack) as he shares his journey of bootstrapping to $50M ARR and then raising a $180M Series A.

 

“For the first, I’d say up until $10M ARR, all I cared about was cash flow. I tried to not even remember what EBITDA stood for, and I would always just have this cash forecast showing when the cash comes in and when it goes out, and just making sure that it never ran down to maybe more, you know, having less than like 2-3 months worth of expenses in the bank.“

 

Gregory shares:

• Top lessons learned
• Key moments and changing challenges on his way to bootstrapping to $50M ARR
• When the turning point was when deciding to become VC backed

and more!

 

Listen to the full episode, watch the video below and subscribe to the SaaS Revolution Show podcast today.

Watch now, or listen to the audio-only version below:


 

Listen to the audio now:

 

 

---

If you want similar tips and are looking to achieve success all year round, check out the SaaStock Founder Membership:

A private community of ambitious SaaS founders scaling to $10MM ARR. Get a support network of peers, connect with likeminded founders around the globe, and learn proven strategies from industry experts. Apply now to scale up your SaaS.

---

 

Want to join the pioneers at the forefront of The SaaS revolution? Subscribe to our newsletter today to get exclusive content, receive actionable value-based insights and create your Rocketship SaaS.

Plus – follow us on social! Check out our profiles on , X, , , Instagram, and TikTok.

And if you can’t wait another week for our next podcast, listen to our previous two here: