How do you take your product global?

You make your product accessible to a global audience. There’s another word for this: localization. In this episode, Georg Ell, CEO at Phrase, uncovers how localization helps SaaS companies to reach a wider market and become a globally recognized brand.

But that’s not all in this far-reaching discussion, we also aim to explore new SaaS technological developments, demystify artificial intelligence, and ultimately, we look to the future of SaaS technology.

Watch it here 👇

Key talking points

This discussion went deep! But here are the most tantalizing points of discussion:

✅ Georg's background: What does he love about the world of SaaS?

✅ Localization: What is it and how's it going to help you to grow

✅ What are some of the newer trends set to catch fire in the SaaS world?

✅.What is the real impact of AI on SaaS

All this and so much more. If you prefer to get your podcasts on the go, listen here. 📣

‎SaaScast: Embracing the future of SaaS tech on Apple Podcasts

‎Show SaaScast, Ep Embracing the future of SaaS tech - 8 Feb 2024

Apple Podcasts

Get involved

Want to learn more about scaling your SaaS org, or share your knowledge?‌‌ Why not be a guest on SaaScast? Simply drop our Content Creator, Anthony Witherspoon, a line here: anthony@futureofsaas.io.

A no-brainer: SaaS companies must adapt to these changes to stay relevant and competitive.

A pivotal aspect of this is evolving tech stacks. Simply put, businesses can introduce new features, functionalities, and user experiences that align with the evolving market needs.

But introducing changes to your tech stack can come with complications. Luckily, here to help you navigate these choppy waters, we have a real veteran in the field of tech thought leadership in the form of David Howell, Owner of Nexus publishing and Editor-in-Chief at Silicon UK.

‎SaaScast: What does the future of SaaS tech stacks look like? on Apple Podcasts

‎Show SaaScast, Ep What does the future of SaaS tech stacks look like? - 14 Jul 2023

Apple Podcasts

About this episode

In this episode, we delve into the fascinating topic of the future of SaaS stacks and explore key insights shared by David Howell. Join us for an informal yet insightful conversation that sheds light on the evolving landscape of SaaS and its impact on businesses globally.

Key talking points include:

• How tech stacks are evolving
• Why they need to evolve
• The trouble with legacy system integration
• The role of AI software in tech stacks

All this and so much more, don't miss it.

About David

David Howell has been a writer and journalist specializing in technology and business for the past 35 years. As someone who has been writing since the very early days of personal computing, he brings with him unique insights on how technology evolves to meet market demands and how businesses can pivot to remain competitive.

Get involved

Want to learn more about scaling your SaaS org, or share your knowledge?‌‌ Why not be a guest on SaaScast? Simply drop our Content Creator, Anthony Witherspoon, a line here: anthony@futureofsaas.io.

Or, in other words, have you thought carefully about the tangible benefits of your product that will help draw customers in?

That’s where vertical SaaS comes to the rescue. By specializing your product messaging towards a more niche market, the purpose and identity of your product is more clearly defined.

And someone who knows that better than anyone is Alan Gleeson, an experienced former CMO and current CEO at Contento.

‎SaaScast: Scaling new heights with vertical SaaS on Apple Podcasts

‎Show SaaScast, Ep Scaling new heights with vertical SaaS - 1 Jun 2023

Apple Podcasts

In this probing discussion, he shares his own first-hand successes with a vertical marketing strategy, as well as the following:

🌍 Why we should be talking about vertical SaaS in 2023

💪 How do we lay out a vertical strategy in practical terms?

❓ Which SaaS products should adopt a vertical strategy?

Don’t miss it.

Join the conversation

Want to learn more about scaling your SaaS org, or share your knowledge?‌‌ Why not be a guest on SaaScast? Simply drop our Content Creator, Anthony Witherspoon, a line here: anthony@futureofsaas.io.

And believe us, that’s a real headache.

How many costly hours and resources are wasted because startups don’t have a rigorous process in place for closing contracts? According to Mark Sherwood Edwards of Clearview legal, a heck of a lot. Listen to this riveting new discussion to find out how you can:

🛠 Establish a process for contract negotiation

✅  Create a frictionless process

🤝 Prepare your org for contract negotiation

Say goodbye to messy contracts, listen here. 👇

‎SaaScast: SaaScast | Negotiating SaaS Contracts on Apple Podcasts

‎Show SaaScast, Ep SaaScast | Negotiating SaaS Contracts - 28 Mar 2023

Apple Podcasts

A bit of background on Mark

Mark has run his own legal business, Clearview Legal, helping companies negotiate smarter, more profitable, contracts. He is valued for his blend of commercial and legal analysis, and for his ability to keep things simple and get things done quickly.

He publishes a weekly email called Oh Lawdy! It looks at the intersection of SaaS businesses and law, provides insight and commentary about contracts, IP, data and other legal/commercial issues. If you want to subscribe to Oh Lawdy! send an email to mark@clearviewlegal.co.uk with Subscribe Me! in the subject header.

Get involved

Want to learn more about scaling your SaaS org, or share your knowledge?‌‌ Why not be a guest on SaaScast? Simply drop our Content Writer, Anthony Witherspoon, a line here: anthony@futureofsaas.io.

Recent studies conducted by Nielsen, show that 88% of customers trust reviews from existing customers online as much as they would a recommendation from a friend. What if you could leverage those vocal supporters to boost your retention of existing customers and accelerate your customer acquisition?

Sounds pretty good, right? Well to find out more, we turned to a customer operations veteran, Ryan O’Connell, Customer Operations Officer at THRIVE.

‎SaaScast: SaaScast | Ryan O’Connell, THRIVE on Apple Podcasts

‎Show SaaScast, Ep SaaScast | Ryan O’Connell, THRIVE - Feb 28, 2023

Apple Podcasts

In this informative discussion, Ryan detailed how to roll out a successful program: the essential steps you need to take to make it a reality:

🔎 How to select customers as advocates

🤝 How to keep them engaged

📈 How to leverage them for growth

About Ryan

Ryan is the Customer Operations Officer at THRIVE, a learning and skills development platform for businesses.

Ryan specializes in running customer operations teams, focusing on growing levels of customer advocacy. He has ample experience with both startup and scale-up SaaS, as well as having worked with large enterprises like BP and Barclays.

Over time, Ryan has cultivated a skill for implementing SaaS learning and skill development  platforms, seeing incredible results, with a massive increase in revenue, and 127% NRR over the past year.

Get involved

Want to learn more about scaling your SaaS org, or share your knowledge?‌‌ Why not be a guest on SaaScast? Simply drop our Content Writer, Anthony Witherspoon, a line here: anthony@futureofsaas.io.

Enjoyed this podcast? Why not listen to more of our podcast series right here?

SaaScast—the only SaaS podcast you need | Future of SaaS

SaaScast is here to talk you through the future-proofing tactics you need—one guest at a time. Learn how to grow your product, scale up, and work smarter.

Future of SaaSFuture of SaaS

So, the question is: how do you prepare your org and your product for times of crisis? One of our goals with SaaScast is to help you future proof your product.

In other words: how do you steel clad your internal processes, so that your product doesn’t crumble when a crisis shakes the foundation of your org? That’s what we wanted to find out in this episode. 👇

‎SaaScast: SaaScast | Jodie Chan, Chinafy on Apple Podcasts

‎Show SaaScast, Ep SaaScast | Jodie Chan, Chinafy - Feb 9, 2023

Apple Podcasts

Chinafy, a product that specializes in optimizing websites for use in China, experienced considerable growth during the pandemic. We wanted to find out how and why.

So, we asked the person responsible for leading product management, Jodie Chan, SVP of Product and Partnerships. In this episode, she not only drew on her first-hand experience of expertly steering product management through a global overhaul, but also laid out some actionable strategies for how to prepare your org and product for a crisis.

Don’t miss her timely and timeless insights.

A bit of background on Jodie

Jodie’s education was originally in political science and global health. Having initially worked at another social media tech company, she returned home to Hong Kong and began working with Notey, the parent company of Chinafy, and since then has been involved in building multiple products from the ground up, experiencing an expansion of roles within the company.

Jodie has recently been made an ambassador for Google’s Women Techmakers program, which seeks to provide resources and community for women seeking to enter the tech sphere.

Get involved

Want to learn more about scaling your SaaS org, or share your knowledge?‌‌ Why not be a guest on SaaScast? Simply drop our Content Writer, Anthony Witherspoon, a line here: anthony@futureofsaas.io.

How can you make sure your organic marketing efforts are converting users to customers, so that you can take the weight off your paid marketing efforts? 💪

Jon Chang, a digital marketing expert with over 11 years experience leading marketing teams, is here to help you implement sustainable growth within your own org in this dynamic, riveting discussion.

‎SaaScast: SaaScast | Jon Chang on Apple Podcasts

‎Show SaaScast, Ep SaaScast | Jon Chang - Jan 12, 2023

Apple Podcasts

A bit of background on Jon

Already featured on the Forbes Under 30 Marketing & Advertising list, Jon Chang has made a considerable splash in the world of digital marketing, leading organizations as reputable as IBM, Klarner, and Kickstarter to growth success.

He has 11 years of experience as a growth and digital marketer, and global keynote speaker, specializing in creating growth marketing engines for high-growth companies, encompassing search engine optimization, social media (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, Youtube and Reddit), marketing analytics, and product marketing.

His past positions as a professor in digital marketing are a testament to his ability as a SaaS influencer, passing on his strategies and insights and molding the next generation of dynamic digital marketers.

Get involved

Want to learn more about scaling, or share your knowledge?

‌‌Why not be a guest on SaaScast? Simply drop our Content Creator, Anthony Witherspoon, a line here: anthony@futureofsaas.io

Mary discusses how employee engagement affects customer satisfaction, how to identify if you have an engagement issue, and how onboarding can affect your employee’s enthusiasm.

Key talking points

• How to identify an employee engagement problem
• How to create a company culture that encourages employee engagement
• How onboarding can affect employee enthusiasm

A little bit about Mary

Mary Poppen is Glint’s Chief Customer Officer, responsible for driving and scaling the company’s ability to delight its customers. She was previously Global Head of Innovation Enablement at SAP SuccessFactors, and Chief Customer Officer for SAP’s Global Cloud business before that.

Mary holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and has over 15 years of business consulting and leadership experience. She has published research and speaks frequently on the topics of performance and process improvement. In addition, she is a well-recognized customer experience thought leader and presents at global events and conferences on this topic.

Mary is a member of the International Women in Leadership Association.

Get involved in the conversation

Sign up to our Slack community. It's 100% free and features a range of channels for you to take full advantage of; from upcoming events and recommended reading, to job opportunities and recommended tools.

Fancy being part of the podcast? If you’re a Founder, CEO, Investor, or a passionate SaaS advocate, get in touch: Gemma@futureofsaas.io

Gabriella discusses defining sales goals, setting OKRs to support sales and revenue, and why timing is the most important thing when it comes to content.

Key talking points

• Setting OKRs to support sales
• Sales-led approach vs marketing first
• Aligning sales with other teams

A little bit about Gabriella

Gabriella is the CEO and founder of Prelay.

In a past life, Gabriella was an Olympic Trials hopeful and a competitive D1 cross-country & track athlete at the University of Michigan. During her competitive running career, 7 leg surgeries failed to keep her off the D1 stage, reinforcing her core approach to life – persistence and perseverance can lead you to achieve feats that may seem impossible at first.

Gabriella leveraged the same mindset when entering the tech industry, where she discovered a similar spark of excitement and passion in scaling companies. Taking on Silicon Valley, she helped scale core go-to-market at Fountain (YC W15) and at Truework (Sequoia-backed).

Now at Prelay, she is building the future of revenue team collaboration.

Get involved in the conversation

Sign up to our Slack community. It's 100% free and features a range of channels for you to take full advantage of; from upcoming events and recommended reading, to job opportunities and recommended tools.

Fancy being part of the podcast? If you’re  Founder, CEO, Investor, or a passionate SaaS advocate, get in touch: Gemma@futureofsaas.io

Suresh discusses product launches for enterprise customers, the importance of setting goals and what makes a successful product launch.

Key talking points:

• The two crucial points for product launches
• Using customer data to tell a story
• The best way to handle leadership in product meetings

A little bit about Suresh

Suresh focuses on early-stage startups and brings with him a wealth of SaaS, mobile apps, IoT, chatbots, blockchain, and analytics expertise.

Suresh drove product strategy for multiple B2B SaaS and Mobile products and scaled to $100M+ revenue in 5 years with organic growth and acquisitions. The two startups he was part of went through acquisitions by Oracle & Software AG.

Suresh enjoys mentoring and advising early-stage founders & leadership teams building emerging technology start-ups.

Ashutosh discusses scaling a SaaS company at speed, the importance of feedback, and how pricing can change the perception of your product.

Key talking points:

• The metrics that matter when scaling your business
• Balancing customer acquisition with retention when scaling
• The right time to apply for funding and investment

A little bit about Ashutosh

Ashutosh has a Ph.D. in machine learning and AI.

He spent four years at Google as a research scientist where he led all personalization efforts before moving on to create BloomReach.

In 2016, Ashutosh founded Eightfold.ai with the mission of facilitating the right career for jobseekers across the globe.

The company is now used by numerous fortune 500 companies worldwide, to hire, retain and grow a diverse workforce.

Dan discusses encouraging innovation in your CS team, how other departments can feed into new ideas for customer success, and emerging trends in the industry.

Key talking points:

• The importance of creating an atmosphere that encourages innovation within your team
• Common mistakes CS leaders make
• The tools and software that help facilitate innovation

A little bit about Dan

Dan has worked in Customer Success for the past decade.

For the last three years, he’s worked with Seenit, where he leads the entire customer success function, comprising of customer success management, account management, professional services, and support.

Ovi discusses perfecting your product-market fit including key identifiers, Northstar metrics, and the best way to get feedback on your product.

Key talking points:

• The most crucial departments for driving product-market fit.
• The best way to get feedback for your product and how to implement it.
• How to know you’ve achieved product-market fit.

A little bit about Ovi

After 10+ years of experience working in various firms, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, Ovi jumped full time into the startup world with nugget (acquired) and is now focused on SocialBee, a platform that offers social media management tools, training, and teams to help you get more leads with less effort.

He’s passionate about helping startups succeed in finding the appropriate launch sequence and the best levers to grow.

Amir discusses his approach to growth at Papercup, the data that informs his decisions, and the department most crucial to driving growth.

Key talking points:

• The most effective growth engine
• The misconceptions that hold you back from growing your business
• The best ways to measure and track growth

A little bit about Amir

Amir Jirbandy is based in London and has been working in the B2B tech landscape in various marketing roles at fast-growing startups for most of his career.

Most recently as B2B Marketing Director at Treatwell and currently leading marketing and growth at Papercup, a machine-learning startup that enables video translation by creating a synthetic voice-over indistinguishable from the human voice.

Having worn multiple hats when building startups from the ground up, Amir is well placed to discuss best practices to building foundational and scalable growth tracks for any tech company.

SaaScast is back with a brand new host! 🙌

Gemma Davies, Community Manager, here at Future of SaaS is joined by none other than Spencer Coon, COO & Co-founder of Beamer.  

In honor of his guest appearance, Spencer is kindly offering SaaScast listeners 15% off Beamer for the first 6 months - all you have to do is enter the coupon code ‘saascast’.

On this week’s episode, Spencer explains how to better manage the feedback loop for customers, his preferred methods for collecting feedback, tips for creating an effective feedback loop, and how to implement it to full effect.

Key talking points:

• How Beamer manage the feedback loop
• Striking the balance between automated and in-person feedback
• Why there’s no such thing as negative feedback

A little bit about Spencer

Spencer Coon is the COO & Co-Founder of Beamer, a changelog and notification center that helps you notify users in-app about product changes, new features, improvements, and more.

Spencer started his career in finance as an IB Analyst in NYC. He moved to Chile where he co-founded two successful tech businesses. He’s fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

Areas of expertise include building SaaS companies, Latin America finance, fundraising, valuation, and M&A.

One of his main goals is to help incentivize and enable the feedback loop so that SaaS companies can build better products that users love.