hyper growth

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 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 Twitter: https://twitter.com/EarlyNode

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

On Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/earlynode

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@earlynode

On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earlynode

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 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 Twitter: https://twitter.com/EarlyNode

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

On Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/earlynode

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@earlynode

On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earlynode

​​John Roman, the visionary CEO of Battlbox, guides us through their ingenious approach to harnessing the full potential of ecommerce. Their secret? The art of forging genuine connections with both their loyal subscription users and prospective customers. In addition to this, they've successfully constructed a vibrant and thriving community that revolves passionately around their exceptional product.

Jennie Yoon, Founder of Kinn Studio walks through how she built her brand from the ground up. Kinn Studio is a Southern California-based jewelry brand that makes modern heirlooms to last a lifetime. She shares her formula on how to make business decisions using a combination of natural gut feelings and real-life data. 

Danny Taing, Founder and CEO of Bokksu takes us through his journey of building his subscription business. Bokksu delivers authentic Japanese and lifestyle products to customers all around the world. Danny shares what inspired his business, to tips and strategies on creative, customer acquisition and KPIs that have scaled Bokksu into the successful brand it is today. 

Yuki Kinoshita, co-founder of Plufl shares how they went from an idea in a college dorm room to growing a 7 figure e-commerce brand. Plufl is the world's first human dog bed designed to give you the coziest naps. Yuki discusses the challenges they face, gives insight into retention strategies, and offers advice for growing e-commerce brands. (He even gives his opinion on a "recession-proof" industry)

Arjun sits down with Ray Li, co-founder of Sene, a  fashion brand that is using AI to make custom clothing accessible for all people. Ray shares his sink-or-swim moment and how he overcame his struggles in creating a highly successful brand. He discusses his key to growth and where he is putting his focus in 2023. 

Arjun sits down with Katie Hughes Olson, Senior Partnerships Manager at Tydo, who uses her extensive experience on the brand and technology provider side to help e-commerce brands aggregate their data, build customizable playbooks and unlock their true potential. 

We sit down with Michelle Schroeder, CMO of Ometria, to take a deep dive into customer data management platforms and discuss how they're used by the largest e-commerce brands to personalize and scale their businesses.

COO and co-founder of adQuadrant Arjun Jolly sits down with Shopify's Robert Brown (Senior Strategic Product Partnerships) to give you the inside scoop on the Shopify Apps that will help you successfully grow your e-commerce business.

Arjun and Robert discuss a carefully vetted selection of Shopify Plus Certified App Partners who've proven that their solution is best-in-class. Each of these Apps must go through a separate review process to achieve Plus Certified status. And, they maintain and uphold a level of service that your e-commerce brand needs in a high volume and highly scalable environment.

In short, these Apps are designed to help you scale your $10MM e-commerce brand and take it to the next level.

From customer acquisition and marketing to boosting content on your website and customer service, Robert leaves no stone unturned. He unpacks the rhyme and reason behind each of his Shopify App recommendations, and even dives into shipping and fulfillment. 

This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.
gotopia.tech

Read the full transcription of this interview here

Lena Reinhard - Leadership Coach & Consultant
Blake Walters - Senior Director of Engineering at CircleCI

DESCRIPTION
While hypergrowth means that a company is on the right track, this phase comes with challenges at all levels of the organization. Lena Reinhard, leadership coach & consultant, and Blake Walters, senior director of engineering at CircleCI, share best practices based on their own experiences, navigating the ambiguity that comes along with these hypergrowth phases in a company's life cycle. Learn how to get through this phase successfully, what tools and tips can support the company and what hypergrowth means for the software engineering team.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Frank Slootman • Amp It Up
Aaron Ross & Jason Lemkin • From Impossible to Inevitable
Scott Hallman • The 7 Success Drivers to HyperGrowth
Aino Vonge Corry • Retrospectives Antipatterns
Lee, Wickens, Liu & Boyle • Designing for People
Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais • Team Topologies

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LinkedIn
Facebook

Looking for a unique learning experience?
Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket: gotopia.tech

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL - new videos posted daily!

As the growth mind behind Mention, Segment, and Drift, Guillaume Cabane has helped scale some of the most successful B2B brands in the world. In our interview, Guillaume dives into the value of creating new growth strategies rather than just copying what everyone else in the market is doing. We’ll learn about how Guillaume’s network of peers help him evaluate his new ideas and verify different growth strategies before they’re launched to market.

Find out why the future of marketing is less about a spray and pray mentality, but more about creating a great experience. Guillaume is a proponent of looking at the customized personal experiences that B2C companies provide and bringing them into the B2B world. You don’t want to miss this one...

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

1:24 Learn about Guillaume’s unique philosophy on growth
5:32 What creates customer satisfaction?
10:07 Insider secrets to growth strategies
17:32 Big trends for B2B Marketing over the next 5 to 10 years
22:35 The Salty Six

This is an actionable episode — we hope you enjoy! Get ready to #ScaleOrDie...

We're excited to have you along for Season 1 of #ScaleOrDie. Before you leave, be sure to leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, post a comment, or share with your friends! Tune into more episodes at useproof.com/scaleordie and read more stories at blog.useproof.com. Follow Dave & Proof on Twitter — @DaveRogemoser and @UseProof. We publish episodes every week so be sure to check back often for more interviews with the internet’s best minds in growth!