The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

SaaStr 781: The RevOps Playbook: Owner.com CRO's Secrets to Scaling Join Kyle Norton, CRO at Owner.com, as he dives into the fundamentals of operating a revenue team with excellence. In this 40-minute session, Kyle outlines his SaaS-focused 'revenue operating system,' inspired by analogies of the Iron Man suit. Learn about the four key components crucial for predictable revenue growth: measuring,...

SaaStr 780: 9 Things You Can Do to Grow Faster this Year with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin Join us for this insightful podcast where SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin discusses the key strategies to differentiate a successful year from a mediocre one. Focusing on 9 practical and effective layers to add to your business, this session covers everything from outbound strategy, customer confe...

SaaStr 789: What to Expect from a New CRO with Kathy Lord, CRO at Zensai and Jason Lemkin, SaaStr CEO and Founder SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin sat down with Kathy Lord, CRO of Zensai (and formerly of Intacct), to talk about what CEOs and CROs should really expect from one another, especially in those critical first 90 days. Kathy shares her journey and insights, and together they discuss th...

SaaStr 788: Going Multi-Product in the Age of AI with Webflow, Rubrik, Zoom, and ProductBoard At SaaStr Annual's AI Summit, we asked product leaders from some of the fastest-growing SaaS companies to share their insights on navigating the AI revolution while scaling multi-product strategies. This panel of product leaders featured Anneka Gupta, CPO at Rubrik, Mahesh Ram, Head of AI Product at Zoom,...

SaaStr 787: 10 Ways Sales is Different in Vertical SaaS with Mangomint's VP of Sales Marchelle Mooney While some might dismiss sector-specific vertical SaaS software as 'too small' or 'too niche', companies like  Veeva  ($40B), Clio ($3B),  Toast  ($1.3B), and  Slice  ($1B) have proven there's massive value in going deep rather than broad. Mangomint has  quietly built an impressive vertical SaaS b...

SaaStr 786: Adding AI to SaaS: Inside the AI Product Strategies of Figma, Cloudflare, GitHub and Ramp At SaaStr Annual's AI Summit , we gathered an all-star panel of product leaders who have built some of the most widely-used AI features in production today. The speakers included Mario Rodriguez, Chief Product Officer at GitHub at GitHub, Diego Zaks, VP of Design at Ramp, Dane Knecht, SVP of Emerg...

SaaStr 785: Usage-Based Revenue Models: Successes and Pitfalls from Checkr COO Lindsey Scrase on CRO Confidential In the latest episode of our  SaaStr CRO Confidential podcast, host Sam Blond sat down with Lindsey Scrase, COO of Checkr (and former CRO), to discuss her tactics for driving growth at the background screening unicorn. Lindsey shares valuable lessons on transitioning from a CRO to COO...

SaaStr 784: What Really Works When Hiring VPs and Executive Teams with HubSpot Co-Founder and Chairman Brian Halligan and SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin The success rate for executive hires at high-growth SaaS companies can be surprisingly low - you're often lucky if 50-60% of your management team works out long-term. In a recent conversation between HubSpot Chairman and co-founder Brian Hall...

SaaStr 783: HubSpot Co-Founder and Chairman Brian Halligan on SaaS Markets and AI (Part 1) SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin recently sat down with  HubSpot  Chairman and co-founder  Brian Halligan , who shared valuable insights on the current state of SaaS, evolving board meeting formats, and how AI is reshaping the industry. Here are the key takeaways from part 1 of this interview. 00:00 Intro...

SaaStr 782: How to Train Your Sales Leaders: Key Learnings from HubSpot and BILL with Michelle Benfer Former Head of Revenue at BILL and HubSpot Americas leader Michelle Benfer recently joined us to share her insights on one of the most critical roles in any SaaS organization: the frontline sales manager. Having led sales teams of 500+ at BILL and 800+ at HubSpot, Michelle has unique insights into...

SaaStr 781: How to Think About Product-Led Growth, Bootstrapping vs VC, and Early Exits with Jason Lemkin At the closing AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) of SaaStr Annual, SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin delves into key topics facing SaaS startups including bootstrapping, private equity (PE) opportunities, and achieving product market fit. With practical advice and real-world examples, the Q&A covers cri...

SaaStr 780: From Outbound to Channel Partnerships: Your Burning Sales Questions Answered by SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin At the closing AMA of SaaStr Annual, SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin shared candid insights about what's really happening in SaaS today. In this Ask Me Anything Part 1, Lemkin answers the questions:   What does SaaStr Annual attendee data tell us about the state of S...

SaaStr 779: 5 Things That Are Actually Working and 5 Things That Aren't in B2B SaaS AI with Ironclad's CEO and a16z Ironclad CEO and co-founder Jason Boehmig joined Seema Amble, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz at SaaStr Annual to share their observations on what's currently working – and what's not quite there yet – for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in SaaS. With Ironclad's journey from an AI-first...

SaaStr 778: How to Leverage Pricing and Packaging to Drive Growth, Revenue, and Profit with Miro, Loom, OpenAI, and Splunk  Pricing is more than just a number on a contract — when used thoughtfully, it can become a strategic tool for your SaaS product that can drive product adoption, customer satisfaction, and business growth. At this year's SaaStr Annual AI Summit, Akshay Sharma, Head of Pricing...

SaaStr 777: The Rise of Vertical SaaS: Achieving 110% NRR from SMBs with Mangomint's CEO Join SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin, and CEO of Mangomint, Daniel Lang, as they dive into the booming world of vertical SaaS. Discover why software tailored for niche industries like salons and spas is gaining traction. Daniel shares insights on the evolution of salon software, the impact of embedded fin...

SaaStr 776: How to Successfully Bring AI Products to Market at Scale with GitHub's CRO Elizabeth Pemmerl Join Elizabeth Pemmerl, Chief Revenue Officer at GitHub, as she shares an in-depth look at GitHub's journey with CoPilot and its growth from an internal tool to a widely adopted AI product. With nearly a decade of experience at GitHub, Elizabeth discusses the importance of customer feedback, it...

SaaStr 775: If You Fall Off the Venture Track, At Least Stay on The PE Track with Andy Wilson CEO Logikcull and SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin In this episode of the SaaStr podcast, Jason Lemkin and Andy Wilson dive deep into the topic of selling your SaaS company to private equity.  From initial discussions in 2012-2013 to strategic exits and lucrative sales, Andy shares valuable lessons learned from hi...

SaaStr 774: The Vertical SaaS Rocketship: Samsara's CEO and Co-Founder Sanjit Biswas and SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin on Samsara's Journey to $1.26 Billion in ARR! SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin has an exclusive conversation with Sanjit Biswas, founder and CEO of Samsara and a two-time entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience.  Sanjit shares insights on the growth of Samsara, a le...

SaaStr 773: CRO Confidential: Moving Beyond Traditional Sales, Clay CEO & Co-Founder Kareem Amin on the Future of AI-Driven Growth CRO Confidential podcast host Sam Blond chats with the CEO and co-founder of Clay, Kareem Amin, about two major topics: The evolution of Go-To-Market systems: where we are today with the incorporation of AI, and where we're headed. How Clay approaches GTM itself and ho...

SaaStr 772: What Really Matters in SaaS in 2025 with Jason Lemkin and Dave Kellogg In this episode, SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin and Dave Kellogg, Executive in Residence at Balderton Capital (+ SaaStr fan favorite) share what really matters in SaaS for 2025. We delve into 5 key topics in SaaS and cloud for 2025, discussing the future of AI in B2B, strategic pricing changes, the impact of mo...

SaaStr 771: The Top Marketing Strategies for 2025 Growth with the CMOs of Snowflake, LinkedIn, and Carta  Right now is one of the hardest times of the year for marketers. Most CMOs will be heads down wrapping up a year-end assessment and figuring out what to pitch for next year's budgetary spend to drive revenue, all while navigating an ever-changing environment of inconsistent metrics, lower conv...

SaaStr 770: How to Avoid a Bad VC Investor with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin In our latest episode, SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin delves into 11 ways you can identify bad investors before signing a term sheet. Use this 11-part test to avoid common pitfalls:  Do reference checks  Ask if they write second or third checks See how many control they want Figure out their long-term goals As...

SaaStr 769: The State of SaaS Go-to-Market with Theory Ventures General Partner Tomasz Tunguz Join us in this insightful episode as seasoned venture capitalist Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner at Theory Ventures shares transformative insights on the current landscape of SaaS Go-To-Market. Six months ago, security was the number one prohibition preventing businesses and software companies from buying...

SaaStr 768: Approaching Half a Million Customers: How to Win in SMB with BILL CEO and Founder René Lacerte Join our in-depth exploration of Bill.com's remarkable evolution, from BILL CEO and Founder René Lacerte and SaaStr CEO and founder Jason Lemkin. Tune in as they share how BILL has reached half a million customers and $1.3B in revenue. Together, Jason and René discuss: How to sell to multiple...

SaaStr 767: The Future of AI in SaaS Sales with Henry Schuck, CEO of ZoomInfo and SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin joined ZoomInfo's Season 2 of its ZI Labs Podcast as the opening guest alongside ZoomInfo CEO Henry Schuck. Along with co-host Ben Salzman, Jason and Henry discuss the transformative power of AI within SaaS and the evolving dynamics that are reshaping the landscape of s...