Bringing ‘No-code’ development to the Fortune 500, with Nanxi Liu of Blaze

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

Recent Episodes from The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator Podcast

This NLP startup went from research project to millions in funding

In this episode of The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, we had the opportunity to host Patricio Utz, founder of Abstract. Abstract provides NLP tools to help lobbyists and companies understand how government policies and legislations impact their business.

Patricio talks about Abstract’s journey from a research project to a VC-backed SaaS with millions in funding. He also shares how they’re using AI to grow their product, Abstract’s early challenges, and his vc rejection story.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ Best way to retain employees.

~ Integrating Sales & Marketing Teams.

~ GTM strategies for enterprise sales.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:30) - How Abstract.us started and what’s its mission.
(01:07) - How Patricio realized the business use case of Abstract.us.
(03:51) - Using B2C customers to reach B2B customers.
(05:44) - How is Patricio leveraging AI to expand Abstract’s use case.
(07:38) - Abstract’s funding history, team growth, and milestones.
(10:52) - Paricio’s approach to Go-to-Market strategy in enterprise sales.
(13:41) - Team composition of Abstract.
(15:32) - Integrating marketing and sales into a growth team.
(19:10) - Challenges and focus areas for the year ahead.
(21:31) - Maintaining company culture and employee retention strategies.
(23:40) - Key lessons learned in 2023 and strategy moving forward.
(25:45) - Where can you find Patricio and Abstract.
(26:24) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Patricio Utz:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-utz/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatricioUtz

Mentioned In The Episode

Abstract - HR Platform for distributed workforces.

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

enMarch 09, 2024

Leading a billion dollar company with Tony Jamous, Founder & CEO of Oyster.

In this episode of The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, we had the opportunity to host Tony Jamous, founder and CEO of a billion dollar HR platform Oyster. Oyster provides tools to help with hiring, onboarding, benefits and salary management for both contractors and full-time remote employees all around the world.

Tony talks about his motivation behind starting Oyster and how he led it to unicorn status. He also shares his thoughts on becoming a better leader, creating a supportive work environment, and his life as a CEO of a billion dollar company.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ How to become a better leader.

~ Best way to lead a fast growth billion-dollar startup.

~ How to create a work environment that helps people to be their true selves.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:32) - What Oyster is and what problem does it solve?
(01:04) - Typical customer profile for Oyster.
(02:05) - How much is OysterHR worth? Its mission and growth details.
(04:00) - Flexibility and leadership during hyper growth.
(05:14) - Advice for first-time founders on maintaining flexibility and leadership.
(07:34) - Tony's motivation for starting another company after Nexmo exit.
(09:55) - Motivation behind building a mission-driven company.
(11:58) - How to be intentional about creating an impactful, high-growth business.
(13:58) - Criteria for selecting early executives for Oyster.
(16:08) - Creating psychological safety within the company.
(19:22) - A typical day for the CEO of a billion-dollar company.
(21:55) - The role of asynchronous communication and video in managing Oyster.
(25:52) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Tony Jamous:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teljamou/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamingo

Mentioned In The Episode

Oyster - HR Platform for distributed workforces.

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

enFebruary 29, 2024

Marketing, hiring, and monetization for early-stage startups with Lindsay Liu, founder of Super

In this episode of The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, we dive into the entrepreneurial journey of Lindsay Liu, founder of Super. Super is a productivity software for property managers. Lindsay shares the story behind Super, from her pivotal shift towards monetization and customer-driven development to her take on hiring developers as an early-stage startup.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ When to start charging as an early-stage startup.

~ An incredible way to A/B test your messaging on a low budget.

~ How to start hiring developers as a non-technical founder? – Agency vs In-house team.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:28) - How Super got its name and domain
(01:19) - What Super is and who it's for.
(02:43) - Origin of the idea for Super.
(04:44) - Company size and revenue.
(06:02) - Shift from beta phase to monetization.
(12:30) - Hiring technical team as a non-technical founder.
(18:53) - Lindsay's marketing background and its influence on building Super.
(24:49) - Marketing tactics and specifics for early-stage startups.
(28:55) - Long-term vision for Super.
(30:33) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Lindsay Liu:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsayliu/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindsayliu

Mentioned In The Episode

Super - A Productivity software for property managers.

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

enFebruary 21, 2024

Go-to-market strategy and enterprise sales in EV space with Bhaskar Deol, founder of eDRV

In this episode of The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, we had the pleasure of hosting Bhaskar Deol, co-founder of eDRV, a company providing enterprise SaaS software to power electric vehicle charging operations. From the initial stages of founding eDRV to navigating the complexities of international expansion and fundraising, Bhaskar shares invaluable insights into running a successful startup in the rapidly evolving EV charging sector.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ Why product-market fit is important.

~ Strategies for customer acquisition in a niche market.

~ Tips for first-time founders on the challenges of enterprise sales.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:30) - What eDRV does and its target customers.
(01:25) - Decision to move the company to the US.
(02:53) - Differences in doing business in the US vs. Europe.
(04:37) - Fundraising & Customer acquisition strategy in the US and Europe.
(06:44) - Bhaskar's journey to becoming a founder.
(08:34) - Motivation and transition to entrepreneurship.
(11:54) - Current state of eDRV: Revenue and team size.
(12:38) - Team composition and roles.
(14:04) - Approach to Go-To-Market (GTM strategy).
(17:27) - First step in enterprise sales and efficiency in customer acquisition.
(21:15) - Learning from first startup to now.
(23:20) - How to find and contact Bhaskar and eDRV online.
(23:55) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Bhaskar Deol:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhaskardeol/

Mentioned In The Episode

eDRV - API Platform for developers of EV charging apps.

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

enFebruary 15, 2024

venture capital

saas

saas software

Starting and Growing Venture-Backed Startups with Veteran Founder Shay David, Founder of RetrainAI

In this episode of The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, Shay David, founder of RetrainAI, shares his journey of starting and growing three VC backed startups. He also discusses how his latest venture, RetrainAI, makes it easy for companies to hire and retain the right people.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ How to lead a vc-backed startup?

~ When is the best time to hire new employees?

~ Most important thing to know as a first-time vc-backed founder

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:32) - What is RetrainAI and who is it for?
(01:28) - Shay's journey as a venture-backed entrepreneur.
(03:53) - How did Shay start RetrainAI?
(10:43) - User types & user journeys for RetrainAI.
(16:27) - Shay's leadership advice for first-time vc-backed founders.
(19:40) - Is pre-hiring a good strategy?
(22:22) - How to get more work done without burning out employees?
(26:26) - How to know if you have a product-market fit?
(28:42) - How to keep your team aligned on customer value proposition?
(30:47) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Shay David:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaydavid/

Mentioned In The Episode

RetrainAI - Skills-based AI to hire and retain the right people.

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

enFebruary 09, 2024

Building a SaaS startup as a sales expert with Paul Dudley, founder of StreamKap

In this episode of The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, Paul Dudley, founder of StreamKap, shares his journey of running a data streaming platform with extensive experience in sales. He also discusses the problems he faced, his best tips on hiring a sales team, and the sales process at StreamKap.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ How to choose the verticals to target?

~ When is the right time to hire a sales team?

~ How to lead a technical startup as a non-technical founder?

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:30) - What is StreamKap?
(02:38) - Why did Paul become an entrepreneur and the challenges he faced?
(06:47) - How big is StreamKap?
(07:21) - What does StreamKap customer base look like?
(08:57) - Problems StreamKap is facing while scaling.
(09:50) - How big can StreamKap be according to Paul?
(10:54) - How did Paul make the decision to target specific verticals?
(12:55) - How StreamKap handles the sales process?
(15:34) - Team structure of StreamKap.
(16:54) - When is the right time to hire a sales team?
(19:31) - 3 Quick Tips on hiring a sales team.
(21:07) - What's one thing StreamKap or Paul is struggling with?
(23:37) - What Paul learned in the last few years that helped him as a founder?
(27:00) - Where can you find Paul & StreamKap?
(27:36) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Paul Dudley:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauldudley/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaulFDudley

Mentioned In The Episode

StreamKap - Real-time data syncing platform

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

enJanuary 31, 2024

Helping startups spend wisely with Noah Wittman, Founder of Priviom

In this episode of The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, Noah Wittman, founder of Priviom, talks about the challenges of managing SaaS spend and renewals at scale. He shares how Priviom's platform helps companies gain visibility into their SaaS usage, identify underutilized tools, and optimize their spending.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ How Priviom helps companies make data-driven decisions about their SaaS investments.

~ The challenges of managing SaaS sprawl and the importance of visibility into usage.

~ Noah's journey from enterprise sales to SaaS founder.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:29) - Problem Priviom Solves for its Customers
(02:29) - Target Customer Base of Priviom
(04:03) - Clarifying the Mid-Market Range for Priviom's Customer Base.
(06:39) - Origin of the Problem Priviom Aims to Solve and Noah's Transition from Sales to Founder
(13:20) - Early Stages of Priviom, Funding, and Challenges and Decisions Faced
(18:13) - Navigating the Lack of Technical Co-founder
(20:28) - Advice for Non-Technical Founders in Search of a Technical Lead
(28:43) - The Challenges and Learnings of Hiring for Critical Roles
(31:20) - Lessons Learned and What Noah Would Do Differently If Given the Chance to Start Anew
(35:42) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Noah Wittman:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahdwittman/

Mentioned In The Episode

Priviom - Renewal Intelligence for SaaS

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

enJanuary 17, 2024

Raising funds in bearish tech market with Matt Ford, Founder of Prism.fm

In this episode of the Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, Matt Ford tells us about his journey from becoming a programmer in college to starting his own music festival as well as launching his live music management software, Prism. He also goes over how Prism survived the pandemic and why fundraising wasn’t as tough for Prism as for other tech startups.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ How to find a market that’s right for you.

~ Benefits of having experience in your target market.

~ How to get through a rough patch in your founder journey.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:10) - What problem does Prism solve?
(01:11) - What pushed Matt to start Prism?
(04:06) - Fundraising journey of Prism.fm.
(09:47) - Team structure of Prism.fm.
(10:36) - What's the team split Matt has in mind for Prism?
(12:49) - Does Prism rely more on PLG?
(14:17) - How does working in your target industry benefit you as a tech founder?
(16:39) - A rough patch for Matt Ford as a founder.
(19:54) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Matt:

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mford3/

On X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MattFordPrism

Mentioned In The Episode

Prism - Live Music Management Software

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups.

Nikolas Chapoupis

On X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/nikolas_chap

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/EarlyNode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

enJanuary 11, 2024

How Michael Haughton Helps Research Foundations Attract, Grow, and Retain Large Donors with Kernls

In this episode of The Venture-Scale SaaS Operator, Michael Haughton talks about Kernls, a company specializing in facilitating donor engagement for medical research organizations. He also talks about his deeply personal journey from founding the Pancreatic Cancer Foundation of Canada to creating Kernls, along with the company's strategic shift to a SaaS model for more efficient scalability.

Tune in to learn more about:

Tune in to learn more about:

~ The challenges of operating in the nonprofit sector and how Kernls addresses these issues

~ The pivotal role Kernls plays in connecting donors with impactful outcomes in the medical research sector

~ How Kernls is making a substantial difference in improving donor retention and engagement

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Intro
(00:29) - What problem does Kernls solve?
(06:03) - Value proposition of Kernls.
(07:19) - What is it like as SaaS business in Non-Profit market?
(13:31) - When did Kernls became a SaaS?
(14:26) - How does Michael approach sales for Kernls?
(18:26) - How big is the market for Kernls?
(19:57) - Future plans for Kernls.
(24:07) - Where can people find Kernls online?
(24:58) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Michael Haughton

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-haughton-6ba395156

Mentioned In The Episode

Kernls - A Giving Platform that Helps Fund Medical Science

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

Nikolas Chapoupis

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis