Nick discusses early days of Gainsight and how they were able to build a new product category - Customer Success - that since has become inseparable from SaaS.

BIO

Nick Mehta has been Chief Executive Officer of Gainsight, a leading customer success SaaS platform provider since February 2013. Prior to Gainsight, he served as Chief Executive Officer of LiveOffice, which was acquired by Symantec in January 2012. Before joining LiveOffice, Mr. Mehta served in several product management and engineering leadership roles at Symantec.

TIMESTAMPS

01:10 The Song

01:45 Jbarra

04:00 The Rise of Customer Success

08:20 CSM Role: Then and Now

11:00 The Book as Marketing

13:50 The 10 Laws of Customer Success 

15:25 Gainsight’s Customer Success Structure

20:00 How has Reduction in Force affected CS

21:00 Expansion of CS beyond Software

24:20 AI vs CSM jobs 

26:35 Hiring your First CS Person

30:55 Types of Software that Doesn’t Need Customer Success

33:30 Future of Customer Success

Rob discusses the benefits and typical terms of Venture debt.

BIO

Rob is the managing director SaaS Capital, a financial institute that offers debt-based growth financing as alternative, non-dilutive capital for SaaS companies.

Prior to SaaS Capital Rob held senior executive roles at Lighter Capital, an alternative lender to small technology companies.

TIMESTAMPS

01:00 Rob and SaaS Capital

05:30 Recurring Revenue Lending Model

13:55 Retention as part of covenants

16:20 Borrowers’ Diligence items 

22:30 Benefits of the Venture Debt

26:55 Venture Debt market over time

29:55 Challenges to grow SaaS companies

32:35 SaaS Capital’s GTM

Tracy discusses changes in marketing over the past several years and the first things she did after joining OpenSesame as CMO.

BIO

Tracy Eiler has driven marketing strategy for companies with a variety of revenue models including freemium, high velocity/small business, mid-market, enterprise, and OEM. She has start-up, public company, and M&A experience, and has marketed to line-of-business executives, end users, IT, and C-suite.

Over her career, Tracy also held CMO positions at Alation, InsideView, MarkLogic, and senior marketing roles at Ingres (now Actian), Postini (acq. by Google), and Business Objects (SAP company).

TIMESTAMPS

01:15 Making changes after joining a new company as a CMO

04:35 Evaluating Marketing strategies from the outside

09:35 Measuring contents’ ROI 

12:15 What is OpenSesame?

19:35 Go-to-Market Strategy, and Role of Partnerships

24:25 Building a Pipeline

29:25 KPIs to measure Product Marketing 

38:50 Changes in SaaS marketing over the years

42:40 ChatGPT and AI in Marketing

Pablo discusses the role of operating partners, sales orgs, and his book What a Unicorn Knows.

BIO

Pablo Dominguez focuses on partnering with Insight’ Partners' portfolio companies to build and scale effective commercial teams through the application of proven and repeatable go-to-market and operational best practices. He brings over 20 years of experience working on Salesforce effectiveness engagements across startups and various global 2000 companies.

Prior to joining Insight, Pablo was the Vice President of Global Business Operations and Customer Experience at NYC-based startup AppNexus. AppNexus is a leading independent ad tech company which was acquired by Xandr (division of AT&T) in 2018 for approximately $2B. Pablo joined AppNexus in 2014 and was responsible for building a Business Operations organization which provided support for Sales, Services, Marketing, and Product Line teams as well as driving annual strategic planning and key initiatives across AppNexus.

TIMESTAMPS

01:15 Intro

06:05 Main issues Pablo sees post-acquisition

07:55 Dynamics between Operating Partners and Management

09:45 Go-to-Market Fit

12:15 KPIs based on the company stage

13:15 Coming up with a quota

18:35 Failures: Leadership or Talent fault?

22:55 Industry Changes over the past 5 years

25:15 Sales Teams Going Through Layoffs

28:00 Product disruption

29:15 What a Unicorn Knows

31:15 Strategic Speed

33:55 Pablo’s tech stack

Craig discusses the stages SaaS companies go through on their way to $150M in revenue.

BIO

Craig Powell serves as the CEO of Autura, the leading SaaS solution focused on vehicle management, traffic flow, and law enforcement productivity. He is the former CEO of Motus, a PE-backed SaaS company focused on mobile workforce solutions. At Motus, Craig drove revenue from $7 million to $150 million and executed several acquisitions, including the nine-month integration of $62 million of revenue into the Motus platform. 

Additionally, Craig was the Founder and CEO of ConnectEDU, market leader in providing technology solutions for students seeking educational and career-oriented opportunities. 

TIMESTAMPS

01:20 Craig Powell

03:30 Growing Motus from $7M to $150M

06:30 Why do founders get stuck?

10:00 Founders thinking 

16:40 Phases of Growth: 10-25MM Revenue

21:40 $25MM+  20:50 Selling software is not a mystery

27:30 Autura

31:40 Metrics

34:20 Team structure

37:20 KPIs

38:10 Joining as CEO 

Matt discusses M&A the environment, SaaS valuation and its drivers, and what buyers and sellers of software companies need to know.

BIO

Matt Lynch is a Managing Director of District Capital Partners and Sundance Partners. Prior to founding DCP, Matt led Corporate Development at Blackboard, where he managed the successful completion and integration of 9 acquisitions, as well as Blackboard's sale process and $1.7 billion take-private transaction in 2011.

Matt began his career at Salomon Smith Barney (now Citi), advising on M&A transactions in the technology sector, with a specific focus on software. Over the course of his 11 years at Citi, Matt advised on over $300 billion of M&A transactions.

TIMESTAMPS

01:30 Matt Lynch

05:50 Market Environment 

08:20 Valuations in 2021 

11:40 Main Drivers of Valuation

14:10 Rule Of X

16:50 Customer Success and Gross Margin

20:20 Shift to Platforms

22:20 Consolidating verticals 

26:20 Preferred verticals

29:35 Working with Sellers

31:20 Size of Companies that hire Investment banks 

34:50 Most common issues with Bootstrapped companies

36:00 Strategic vs Sponsor

Dave discusses Squire’s product, the history of the company, how Squire successfully navigated through the early days of COVID, and the role institutional and celebrity angel investors play in the Company. 

BIO

Dave Salvant is a Co-Founder and President of Squire Technologies, a provider of an all-in-one barbershop management platform. Prior to Suire, Dave was a sales associate at AXA and private banking at JP Morgan. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University at Albany (SUNY) and MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

TIMESTAMPS

00:50 Dave and Squire

03:40 Go-To-Market

07:32 Marketing in Squire

08:16 Company size / Global Remote-first company

08:57 Quick product release help barbers navigate COVID (incredible response to COVID)

11:00 Creating new products

12:15 First Investors

14:45 Celebrity Investors

16:11 Involvement of investors

16:44 Vision for Squire Technologies

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Barb discussed Sapia’s unique product, the role of artificial intelligence in unbiased hiring, the Sapia data set based on a billion words and 2 million candidate profiles, the initial dataset that Sapia utilized, its first client, go-to-market strategy, and many other things. 

BIO

Barb Hyman is the Founder and CEO of Australia-based Sapia. Prior to Sapia, Barb was a Head of HR and Marketing at Boston Consulting Group. She received her Bachelor's degree from Monash University and MBA from Melbourne Business School.

TIMESTAMPS

01:00 Barb and Sapia

04:20 Five questions to select a candidate

07:50 Artificial Intelligence vs. Machine Learning

10:25 Getting the initial data set

13:25 When your first client is Enterprise…

17:30 Pricing model

24:00 Sapia’s Go-To-Market strategy

29:30 Hiring on values

33:30 KPIs

35:00 Raising capital

37:50 On biases 

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Sean discussed the financial diligence process of SaaS companies, common mistakes in ARR, Gross Profit, and EBITDA calculations, the effects capitalized software and capitalized commissions have on cash EBITDA, and many other things. 

BIO

Sean St. Germain is a Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal. He focuses on transactions in the software and technology industry. He has advised clients on domestic and cross-border transactions, including traditional buy-side transactions, portfolio company add-on transactions, public-to-private acquisitions, asset purchases, and sell-side divestiture processes, including carve-outs. Sean is an expert in software revenue recognition, including the new revenue recognition standard (ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers).

TIMESTAMPS

01:00 Sean and Alvarez & Marsal

05:30 Unique aspects of SaaS businesses

09:00 Recurring vs Re-occurring revenue streams

12:20 Mistakes companies make in ARR calculation

15:35 Cost of Sales

17:35 EBITDA Adjustments 

22:00 Confirmation of synergies 

23:15 Capitalized commissions

25:30 Capitalized software

29:05 What is Cash EBITDA?

33:30 Preparing your company for financial diligence 

37:00 Findings that can derail transactions

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Francois shared his experience of bringing the Norway-based Cognite to the US market, discussed the most significant challenges he has faced along the way,  and compared corporate cultures in the US and Europe. 

BIO

Dr. Francois Laborie is the President of Cognite North America, overseeing Cognite’s expansion and operations in the US, Canada, and Latin America. He has had an extensive career in the technology industry, serving in both research and executive roles. Francois has been at the heart of the transformation of the media industry through technology. He spent 11 years as COO and CCO of Vizrt, where he focused on disrupting journalism by empowering media content creators with visual storytelling tools. Before that, Francois managed research projects on collective decision-making and human-computer interfaces at the Airbus Group Corporate Research Center. 

TIMESTAMPS

01:00 Francois and Cognite

06:15 Competition with internally built systems

08:40 Go-To-Market Strategy

11:40 Reception of Cognite by US and EU clients

15:35 Selecting sales personnel

19:30 Comparing corporate cultures in the US and Europe

20:20 Involvements of investors

23:30 Long-term vision for Cognite

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Diamond discussed SaaS valuation and how multiples have changed over the past several years, the main drivers of multiples, and M&A market trends.

BIO

Diamond Innabi is a Vice President at Software Equity Group, a boutique investment bank focused on B2B software companies. Over her nearly a decade career at SEG, she was instrumental in numerous M&A transactions involving public and private companies as well as private equity funds.

TIMESTAMPS

1:45 Why are SaaS companies valued at a multiple of revenue or ARR?

4:00 Drivers of SaaS Valuation and how they have changed in the current environment

6:30 Mission-critical software

7:50 Multiples over 5 years

9:05 SaaS valuation during COVID

10:00 Comps contribution to assigning multiples

11:25 On-prem vs cloud valuation

14:20 Buyers and Sellers

16:20 Most durable SaaS categories

17:15 Recommendation to sellers

19:30 Calculation of Gross Margins

Click the following links to "double-click" on Diamond's comments about M&A Update, The Rule of 40, Gross Margin impact, and COGS

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Marion shared her experience of being a serial entrepreneur, the challenges of raising funds, as well as founding and growing Govenda. We discussed the company’s product, customer base, go-to-market strategy, and everything in between.

BIO

Marion Lewis is a serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Govenda, a board management platform that enables effective corporate governance. Prior to Govenda, she was a co-founder and CEO of Tachyon Solutions, a custom application development and interactive marketing firm.

TIMESTAMPS

01:05 Marion – serial entrepreneur

04:00 Govenda and its target markets

11:10 Locking in the first client

12:55 Raising capital

16:25 Govenda during and after COVID

17:45 Go-To-Market strategy

19:40 Org structure and hiring first employees

21:50 Role of investors

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Miguel discusses the story of Capchase, typical profile of SaaS clients, terms of financing they provide, and how investors and lenders view such financing. 

BIO

Miguel Fernandez is a Co-Founder & CEO of Capchase, an alternative finance provider that enables SaaS companies to access their future contract payments upfront. Prior to launching Capchase, Miguel worked in management consulting and then moved into SaaS. He headed sales and customer success at Geoblink, a Location Intelligence SaaS and scaled it from 0 to $2m in ARR.

TIMESTAMPS

01:10 Mguel and the story of Capchase

04:35 Use cases for Capchase

07:05 Comparing Venture Capital, Venture Debt, and Alternative financing

09:35 Who can use Alternative finance

11:30 Terms of financing - price, covenants, etc.

14:25 Revenue-based financing players

17:15 VCs' and lenders' take on Alternative financing

20:15 Vision for Capchase

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Scott discusses the rise of Customer Success, Gainsight Essentials, its GTM strategy, and the most common mistakes by SMBs when it comes to CS.

BIO

Scott Salkin is SVP & GM, Gainsight Essentials at Gainsight. He is a seasoned entrepreneur, CEO, and senior B2B sales and marketing executive. Prior to joining Gainsight, Scott was the founder and CEO of Allbound, a B2B SaaS platform dedicated to helping businesses accelerate revenue through channel partners and ecosystems.

TIMESTAMPS

01:20 Scott's path to Gainsight

04:15 Rise of Customer Success

06:50 Changes in Customer Success

09:00 Gainsight Essentials

12:45 Essentials' GTM strategy vs the Gainsight's GTM

14:40 Customer Success KPIs for SMBs

17:10 Most common mistakes by SMBs

18:20 Vision for Gainsight Essentials

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Mark discusses Alpine Investors and Alpine Software Group, a unique holding company they have built by acquiring SaaS companies within several verticals. He also shared Alpine's take on talent, the profile of companies the firm invests in, and SaaS 2.0.

BIO

Mark Strauch is a founding partner at Alpine Investors and Chairman of Alpine SG, the firm's vertical SaaS aggregation platform. Prior to Alpine, Mark served as CEO of EDC, a financial technology company that was acquired in 2011. Previously, he served as CEO of Business Engine, a venture-backed software company that was acquired in 2007.

TIMESTAMPS

00:35 Intro

03:15 Alpine and CEO-in-Training program

05:35 The reason why Alpine is the most sought-after firm for top MBA programs

06:50 Investing in SaaS and building Alpine SG

13:20 Valuations of private SaaS companies

15:40 Competing for the deals with other PE funds

21:20 Acquisition process and deal structuring

26:25 Investor vs Operator mindsets

28:30 Areas of improvements in bootstrapped companies

32:40 A vision for Alpine SG

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Geoffrey Moore, the author of numerous marketing books (including the all-time classic – Crossing the Chasm), discusses how COVID affected the Chasm and how SaaS companies should apply the blueprint to SMB and Enterprise target markets. He also speaks about Geoffrey’s newest book, Zone to Win, written for later-stage technology companies. 

BIO

Geoffery Moore is a best-selling author, speaker, and advisor who splits his consulting time between start-up companies in the Wildcat Venture Partners portfolios and established high-tech enterprises, most recently including Salesforce, Microsoft, Autodesk, Gainsight, Google, and Splunk.

TIMESTAMPS

03:08 Crossing the Chasm in a few words

08:10 COVID’s effect on Chasm 

11:02 Chasm’s blueprint for SaaS companies 

13:55 SMB vs Enterprise approach to Chasm

15:27 Case Study

19:58 Geoffrey’s most important books

Season B is Sponsored by CELIGO, IPaaS for Mid-Market companies.

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Bruno discusses the evolution of the Data Analytics space, its current trends, and shares his view on what lies ahead.

BIO

Bruno Aziza is a recognized authority on Business Intelligence and Information Management. He is a Data & Analytics industry veteran with more than two decades of experience in leading technology companies of various sizes - from startups (Alpine Data) to behemoths (Oracle, Microsoft, and now Google).

If you are in the Data & Analytics space be sure to check out:

Bruno's book: Drive Business Performance: Enabling a Culture of Intelligent Execution

Bruno's educational series: Data Journeys

TIMESTAMPS

00:35 Bruno's background

02:25 What is Data Analytics 

05:40 Evolution of the Data Analytics space

07:50 Data Lakes and Data Warehouses 

10:10 Crowded Data Analytics space explained

12:45 Tailwinds for Data Analytics

14:40 Data Analytics tools in a modern organization

16:15 Bruno’s Tech Stack

17:35 How mature is the Data Analytics space 

19:15 Parting thoughts 

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Jan shares the story of Celigo, discusses iPaaS, speaks on the Company’s Org structure and functions, and how he manages the fast-growing company with an exceptional retention profile.

BIO

Jan is a veteran of the software industry with more than 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, product development, and customer success. He founded Celigo with the goal of simplifying how companies integrate business applications together for a connected enterprise. Prior to Celigo, he worked at NetSuite and Cambridge Technology Partners.

TIMESTAMPS

00:40 Jan and Celigo

06:00 Target Customers (Market)

07:25 Basis for Pricing

09:25 Competition in iPaaS

16:55 Retention

18:20 Go-to-Market

20:00 Rebuilding the platform from scratch

21:00 Size and Growth

23:55 Team and Structure

30:30 Relationship with investors

31:30 Long Term Vision

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Vlad discusses lower-middle market SaaS space, competition in the field, Nexa's deal sourcing, due diligence process, deal structures, and exit strategies. He shares a case study about Nexa's acquisition of AutoReturn, whose software connects law enforcement and towing companies.

BIO

Vlad Besprozvany is a Founder and Managing Partner of Nexa Equity, a private equity firm that invests in lower-middle market software and fintech companies. Prior to founding Nexa, Vlad was a Managing Director at Greater Sum Ventures, where he focused on investments in software companies. Previously, he was a software and fintech investor at Insight Partners and Thoma Bravo.

TIMESTAMPS

00:40 Vlad and Nexa

05:45 Competition in Lower-Middle Market

07:35 Nexa's Investment Criteria / Valuations in the space

13:50 Sourcing deals

19:38 Winning competitive deals 

21:30 Typical deal structures

29:20 Case Study: Investing in AutoReturn

35:30 Exit Strategies

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Erinn Tarpey is a CMO at Visual Lease, a software provider that helps companies stay compliant with lease accounting standards. In this episode, Erinn discussed her role as a marketer, the structure of her team, how she measures the effectiveness of different marketing functions, her take on NPS, and many other things. She also shared a case study – Visual Lease’s call-to-action with a 65% conversion rate.

BIO

Erinn has expertise scaling up organizations in SaaS companies during periods of high growth and has driven marketing efforts around proprietary research development, mergers and acquisitions, and channel sales.

Before joining Visual Lease, Erinn served as a member of the senior leadership team at iCIMS. Prior to joining iCIMS, Erinn directed marketing efforts at Aquiire and PurchasingNet, Inc., both of which provide SaaS solutions designed to streamline procure-to-pay processes at global Fortune 1000 organizations.

TIMESTAMPS

00:35 Erinn and Visual Lease

03:50 Clients

05:20 Pricing

06:05 Solving the lease problem

09:20 Tailwinds from the regulatory environment

12:10 Top objectives of Marketer 

14:35 Marketing team structure

16:05 Measuring effectiveness of Marketing functions

22:25 Internal use of NPS 

26:45 Tech Stack 

29:25 Case study 

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