The SaaS Podcast - AI, Growth & Product-Market Fit for SaaS Founders

Mike Muhney co-invented ACT contact management software and sold it for $47 million. Two decades later, he launched VIP Orbit, raised $6.5 million, and watched his failed software startup collapse. 2.5 years of outsourced dev delays, Apple platform lock-in, and no path to cloud subscription pricing killed the business. Finding product-market fit was never the real problem. VIP Orbit had demand from people who wanted better contact management. But the product never reached them fast enough. The first outsourced dev firm took a year on a 6-week sync engine. A second team added 1.5 more years. And Apple's App Store policies prevented subscription pricing entirely. Mike Muhney is the co-inventor of ACT, one of the earliest contact management products. He launched VIP Orbit in 2010 to modernize contact management for mobile. In this episode, he shares the painful lessons of a failed software startup and what he would do differently when finding product-market fit next time. 🔑 Key Lessons 📉 Outsourced dev delays destroy runway before finding product-market fit: VIP Orbit's first dev firm took a year on a 6-week sync engine, and a second team added 1.5 more years - totaling 2.5 years of lost time and burned capital. 🧠 Never let your investor serve as part-time CTO: Mike's primary investor doubled as acting CTO and board member, creating accountability gaps where developers had no clear manager and product decisions went unchecked. 📉 Platform lock-in blocks finding product-market fit at scale: VIP Orbit invested so heavily in Apple's native ecosystem that when iOS 7 forced a re-architecture, they rebuilt for Apple instead of pivoting to cloud. 💰 One-time pricing without subscriptions starves a startup: Apple banned subscription pricing for non-content apps, forcing $10-$20 one-time purchases while competitors offered free alternatives. 🏢 Build enterprise licensing before you need it: VIP Orbit could not sell to companies because each employee had to purchase separately - blocking the business market they were targeting. Chapters Introduction Mike's favorite quotes and mindset The origin story of ACT contact management How ACT was born from a failed startup with $15K left Selling ACT for $47 million Launching VIP Orbit in 2010 Apple's pricing restrictions and one-time purchase problem Outsourced development delays - 6 weeks became 1 year The free-app culture and App Store review damage Why VIP Orbit did not pivot to the cloud Investor as part-time CTO - finding product-market fit without leadership Communication breakdowns with Austrian dev team What Mike would do differently What is next - professional speaking Lightning round Where to find Mike Muhney Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/169 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

Jon Ferrara built an enterprise SaaS partnership that turned Nimble CRM from a struggling startup into a Microsoft reseller partner. His first company started with $5,000 and sold for $125 million. His second startup has been a much harder ride - pivoting multiple times after LinkedIn cut off API access and Facebook restricted theirs. Jon's biggest play was not a product feature. It was a multi-year enterprise partnership with Microsoft that made Nimble one of only 8 ISVs selected for their third-party offers program. He built those SaaS partnerships by identifying how Nimble could help individual Microsoft team members succeed - and by using his own CRM to navigate a company with 200,000 employees. Jon Ferrara is a serial entrepreneur who started Goldmine CRM in 1989 with $5,000 and sold it for $125 million. He launched Nimble in 2009 to build the simple CRM for Office 365 and has grown it to nearly $4 million in revenue with 10,000 paying companies. 🔑 Key Lessons 🤝 Enterprise SaaS partnerships take years, not months: Jon built relationships across Microsoft's product, marketing, channel, and biz dev teams over several years before being selected as one of 8 ISVs for the third-party offers program. 🎯 Position your product as a gateway for enterprise SaaS channel sales: Nimble positioned itself as the simple CRM that makes Office 365 stickier and introduces customers to Dynamics and Power BI - making Microsoft's first-party products more valuable. 🔄 Pivot from destination product to embedded widget: After realizing users would always return to Gmail and Office 365, Nimble built a browser widget that brings CRM context everywhere users already work. 🤝 Use your own product to navigate enterprise partnerships: Jon imported 3,500 WPC speakers into Nimble, segmented 150 targets, sent personalized emails, got a 50% open rate, and scheduled 25 meetings that led to the Microsoft deal. 🧠 Help each person succeed at their own goals: Jon's secret for building SaaS partnerships at Microsoft was never selling Nimble - he asked each team member how he could help them, then connected them to others inside the company. Chapters Introduction Jon's background and Goldmine origin story Pivot from destination app to browser widget The vision for Nimble as a relationship platform How Nimble builds itself from email, social, and business apps Losing LinkedIn and Facebook API access Going all-in with Office 365 integration Using Nimble to navigate Microsoft's enterprise SaaS ecosystem Landing the Microsoft third-party offers deal Building relationships across enterprise SaaS teams Becoming a reseller and channel strategy Why SaaS companies should build a partner channel Nimble's revenue and growth metrics Lightning round Where to find Jon Ferrara Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/168 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

It took four co-founders 10 years to save up enough money and find the courage to quit their jobs in Chennai, India. Then they spent over a year building an MVP with too many features before launching Chargebee, a SaaS subscription billing platform. Their pricing strategy journey through 4 iterations nearly killed the business before saving it. Today Chargebee processes over $750 million in customer revenue annually, serves 6,000 companies in 53 countries, and generates 75% of its leads through organic content marketing. Krish Subramanian shares the pricing strategy mistakes: their freemium model offering 10 free invoices attracted consulting businesses who never intended to pay. When they raised the entry price to $49, conversion rates stayed identical - proving the free users were never going to convert. How to price SaaS correctly is the central question of this episode. Chargebee tested raising their scale plan from $399 to $900 while adding more features - confirming their SaaS pricing model target segment was not price sensitive. The pricing strategy page is the second most visited page after the homepage. Krish turned support conversations into blog content that still drives traffic years later, building a 75% organic lead engine from India without Silicon Valley networking. SaaS subscription billing requires trust, so Chargebee wrote a business continuity plan for skeptical early customers. 🔑 Key Lessons 💰 Your pricing strategy is your strongest lead quality filter: Chargebee learned that too-low pricing attracts the wrong customers - their freemium plan drew consulting firms seeking free invoicing instead of growing SaaS companies willing to pay. 📉 Shutting down freemium improved conversions: Chargebee removed their free tier for new signups and conversion rates stayed identical, proving the free users were never going to become paying customers. 🚀 Turn support into your content marketing engine: Krish used questions from support conversations as blog topic ideas, writing about real problems like payment gateway options by country - content that still drives traffic years later. 🎯 Your pricing strategy requires early proof of stability: Chargebee wrote a business continuity plan, incorporated as a Delaware C Corp, and showcased 100% uptime to convince skeptical customers that an Indian startup could handle their billing. 💰 Test price elasticity by raising price and value together: Chargebee increased their scale plan from $399 to $900 while adding features, confirming their segment valued the product enough to pay a premium. Chapters Introduction Krish's background and motivation Waiting 10 years to start a business The four co-founders and first year bootstrapping Building the MVP with too many features First customers and early traction Overcoming trust objections as an Indian startup Business continuity plan for early customers Pricing strategy journey - 4 iterations Why freemium attracted the wrong customers Pricing strategy as a filter for lead quality Testing price elasticity on the scale plan Content marketing driving 75% organic leads Using support conversations for content ideas Growing the team after raising $6 million Reflection on the journey Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/167 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

Nathan Kontny is one of the most prolific SaaS serial entrepreneurs you will meet. He co-founded two YC companies, built the writing app Draft as a solo founder, and then became the CEO of Highrise - the CRM that Basecamp spun off. His bootstrapped SaaS growth secret: 3-week shipping cycles that force product momentum. Nathan committed to sending a newsletter every 3 weeks with at least 3 new features for bootstrapped SaaS growth. This created a forcing function that eliminated perfectionism - if a big feature was not ready, he shipped smaller wins. He published one blog article per week for years, building an audience that drove Draft signups without paid advertising. This SaaS serial entrepreneur approach works for any bootstrap growth stage. Nathan met Jason Fried through a loose connection maintained over years - occasional emails that eventually led to the Highrise CEO role. After Highrise spun off from Basecamp, it lost the marketing halo. Competitors spread rumors it was shutting down. Nathan rebuilt trust through bootstrapped startup growth tactics: shipping features fast, keeping the product simple, and proving the product was alive through consistent momentum. 🔑 Key Lessons 🚀 Ship on a fixed cycle for bootstrapped SaaS growth: Nathan committed to a 3-week newsletter at Draft with at least 3 new features each time, creating a forcing function that kept momentum even when bigger projects were not ready. 📉 Every SaaS serial entrepreneur fails more than they succeed: Nathan co-founded two YC companies, one failed completely, and even Reddit's founders slept on his couch before their product took off. ✍️ Weekly blogging drives bootstrapped SaaS growth without paid marketing: Nathan published one article per week for years, building an audience that drove Draft signups without any advertising. 🛠️ Strip features to what one person can build and ship: Nathan used Bootstrap but customized it heavily, proving a solo founder can ship a well-designed SaaS product. 🤝 Maintain loose connections for career-changing opportunities: Nathan kept a casual relationship with Jason Fried alive through occasional emails, which directly led to becoming CEO of Highrise. Chapters Introduction Nathan's background and favorite quote Co-founding Inkling at Y Combinator Why Cityposh failed Building Draft as a solo founder for bootstrapped SaaS growth Using blogging to get customers for Draft The Airbnb cereal story and scrappy entrepreneurship Law of large numbers - why persistence matters 3-week shipping cycles as a bootstrapped SaaS growth forcing function How Nathan prioritized as a solo founder Tools and services for solo founders Current state of Draft Draft's monetization model Design philosophy for solo founders Joining Highrise and meeting Jason Fried The power of loose connections Highrise's challenges after spinning off from Basecamp Starting a daily YouTube vlog Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/166 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

Luke Swanek put Dropbox and Zenefits logos on a landing page before either company had agreed to use GrowSumo. That fake-it-till-you-make-it move got the first SaaS distribution channel managers to sign up. Three YC rejections later, the team was accepted - not because YC saw a unicorn, but because they saw cockroaches who would not die. Luke reveals how GrowSumo built a SaaS distribution channel platform that landed enterprise customers like Evernote, Intuit, and Samsung. The SaaS reseller program was validated in 24 hours with a landing page and 250 cold calls. Evernote's community program became their first enterprise account, shaping the product toward relationship management over simple affiliate tracking. GrowSumo's distribution strategy SaaS creates a built-in flywheel: every B2B SaaS customer launches a partner program and invites their customer base. Those customers are also B2B SaaS companies that become new GrowSumo leads. But Luke learned the hard way that chasing growth before customer success costs months - they lost key accounts by prioritizing new sales over making existing integrations work. This growth channel SaaS approach requires patience. 🔑 Key Lessons 🎯 Validate a SaaS distribution channel idea in 24 hours: Luke built a landing page and cold-called 250 partner managers in one day. Adding logos before companies agreed solved the "nobody wants to be first" marketplace problem. 📉 Chasing growth before customer success costs months: GrowSumo lost key accounts three to five months after closing them because they prioritized new sales over making integrations successful. 🤝 Build for relationships, not just tracking in a SaaS distribution channel: Evernote's community program shaped GrowSumo into a relationship management tool with tiered rewards and certifications - beyond simple commission payouts. 🧠 YC invests in cockroaches, not unicorns: GrowSumo applied three times. YC accepted them because the founding team demonstrated they would not die - persistence mattered more than the pitch. 💰 Performance-based pricing aligns SaaS distribution channel revenue with success: GrowSumo charges a monthly fee plus a commission when partners get paid, ensuring they only make money when customers succeed. Chapters Introduction Luke's favorite quote - it's not better or worse, just different What GrowSumo does - SaaS distribution channel management How Evernote uses GrowSumo's community program The first startup - building Slack at the same time as Slack The pivot from task management to SaaS distribution channel marketplace Validating the idea in 24 hours with fake logos Building the first version and picking the supply side Talking to customers and understanding partner management pain First paying customers through managed services How long it took to build the product Growing through marketplace flywheel virality Automated email outreach using Clearbit and LinkedIn Customer success failures - chasing growth over success Pricing model - monthly fee plus performance commission Enterprise integration challenges with payment gateways Three YC applications - cockroaches over unicorns Advice to past self - focus on customer success earlier Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/165 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

Josh Haynam wrote 100 blog posts before his SaaS content marketing finally worked. Then it stopped working entirely. After a year of failed outbound sales and letting go of four salespeople, he discovered influencer marketing SaaS as the strategy that nearly tripled Interact's MRR from $15K to $40K+. Josh shares why the first 50 niche articles drove all customers but the next 50 generated zero signups. Outbound sales failed because selling a brand-new category requires too much education. The influencer marketing SaaS breakthrough came from offering marketing bloggers free access to Interact in exchange for writing about their quiz-building experience - modeled after how Adidas sends shoes to influencers. A two-week vacation to Morocco with no cell reception gave Josh clarity to abandon failed sales. During 2.5-hour screen share sessions, he discovered embarrassing UX flaws his team had missed for years. The right blogger outreach partners were people already reviewing marketing tools - not travel bloggers who needed the same education as cold outbound prospects. SaaS content marketing evolved into influencer outreach SaaS growth. 🔑 Key Lessons 🎯 Niche SaaS content marketing works until the niche is exhausted: Josh's first 50 quiz-specific articles drove all customers, but the next 50 reached zero new audience because nobody else was searching for those topics. 📉 Outbound sales fails when selling a new category: Interact hired and let go four salespeople in a year. Selling a brand-new concept requires multiple calls just to explain how it works. 🤝 Influencer marketing SaaS partnerships replace dried-up content: Modeled on Adidas, Josh offered bloggers free Interact access. Their articles reached audiences who would never search for quiz tools, driving growth to $40K+ MRR. 🧠 Watch real users to find UX flaws your team cannot see: 2.5-hour screen share sessions revealed there was no "next step" button after the first quiz page - something the team missed after building thousands of quizzes. 🔄 Pick the right influencer marketing SaaS partners: Marketing bloggers who already review tools worked. Travel and food bloggers produced the same failed education problem as cold outbound. Chapters Introduction Josh's favorite quote on consistency What Interact does - quiz-based lead generation Target customer and core problem The original SaaS content marketing breakthrough after 100 blog posts How to keep going when nothing is working Growth from $15K to $40K+ MRR since last interview The year of failed outbound sales Why outbound sales fails for a new product category Takeaways from failed sales - selling an idea vs a solution When Josh finally decided to stop outbound sales Pivoting to influencer marketing SaaS with a new approach How influencer marketing SaaS partnerships work - the Adidas model Identifying the right influencer partners The outreach process and consultative approach Improving the product through user experience testing Embarrassing UX flaw - no "next step" button Competitors copying product screenshots Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/164 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

Dan Faggella is a 125-pound former MMA fighter who submitted a UFC fighter in 12 seconds. He used that viral moment to build Science of Skill into a recurring revenue business generating over $2M a year - then sold it for seven figures to fund his AI research company. Dan's SaaS monetization playbook works for any subscription business. Dan shares the SaaS monetization approach that took him from $1,200 in first-week sales to a multimillion-dollar subscription business. He paid affiliates 70-80% of front-end revenue to build his list, modeled his monetization strategy on Sports Illustrated's segmentation approach, and applied revenue model SaaS metrics like customer lifetime value and churn dashboards to cap acquisition costs at half of CLV ($55 on $110 LTV). Segmented email marketing increased open rates from 18% to 25% and click rates from 15% to 22%. Science of Skill plateaued at $450K/year in the jiu jitsu niche before Dan pivoted to self-defense. He spent two weeks calling random buyers and discovered his real customer was a 41-year-old male - not the young competitors he had assumed. That SaaS monetization insight reshaped everything. 🔑 Key Lessons 💰 Pay affiliates generously to build recurring revenue fast: Dan paid 70-80% of front-end sales to affiliates, keeping email addresses and converting subscribers to $37/month memberships with $110 average lifetime value. 🎯 Apply SaaS monetization metrics to any subscription business: Dan capped customer acquisition costs at half of lifetime value, built churn dashboards, and modeled growth - all frameworks borrowed from SaaS founders. 📉 Starting in a niche too small caps your recurring revenue ceiling: Science of Skill plateaued at $450K/year in jiu jitsu. Dan spent 14 months pivoting to self-defense before reaching seven figures. 🧠 Segment email lists like Sports Illustrated segments sports fans: Dan created four to five audience segments and sent targeted messaging, lifting open rates from 18% to 25% and click rates from 15% to 22%. 🤝 Customer calls reveal who actually buys your product: Dan called random buyers and discovered his real customer was a 41-year-old male who trained once or twice a week - not the young competitors he assumed. Chapters Introduction Dan's motivation - AI, moral purpose, and team camaraderie What is TechEmergence and how it started Science of Skill - the sacrificial lamb to fund AI dreams Why an e-commerce business matters to SaaS founders Origin story - from MMA fighter to online business The 12-second UFC fighter submission that went viral Starting Science of Skill as a blog First product sales - $1,200 in the first week Moving to a recurring revenue SaaS monetization model Customer research - calling random buyers to learn who they are Marketing automation with Infusionsoft Building the email list and content strategy Pricing the membership at $37/month Traffic generation - guest writing and affiliate partnerships Segmenting email lists like Sports Illustrated SaaS metrics applied to subscription business Building metrics dashboards and churn projection models Mistakes - starting in a market too small Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/163 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

Erik Christiansen and his co-founder Travis did not take a paycheck for four years. They ran three companies simultaneously and built Justuno to over $2M ARR with a zero marketing budget. On the day of Erik's wedding, the company was bankrupt. This is the story of growing a SaaS with no marketing budget at all. Erik reveals how Justuno grew from a simple coupon widget to a conversion optimization platform serving 55,000 websites - all with a zero marketing budget. App store integrations across BigCommerce and Shopify drove 60% of signups. Organic SEO on terms like "email pop ups" handled the rest. Even trade shows cost under $100 - Erik flew solo with marketing with no budget for booths, focusing entirely on relationship building. The aha moment came when BigCommerce added Justuno to their app store and they got 10 signups in a single day. Justuno killed its $9/month pricing tier after discovering sub-$10 customers had the highest support costs and highest churn. Revenue-based financing from Lighter Capital saved the company when Erik had $20,000 in personal credit card debt on his wedding weekend. Free marketing SaaS growth is possible, but it takes years of patience. 🔑 Key Lessons 💰 A zero marketing budget forces creative distribution: Erik grew Justuno to $2M ARR by focusing on app store integrations and organic SEO rather than paid acquisition, proving partnerships can replace marketing spend. 📉 Sub-$10 pricing attracts high-churn, high-cost customers: Justuno eliminated its $9/month plan after discovering these customers required the most support while churning the fastest. 🎯 App stores are high-leverage channels with zero marketing budget: BigCommerce's app store generated 10 signups on day one, eventually driving 60% of all signups across platforms without any marketing spend. 🧠 Running multiple companies delays product-market fit: Erik and Travis ran three companies simultaneously for two years before their aha moment. Going all-in would have accelerated growth. 🤝 Trade show ROI comes from relationships, not booths: Erik attended conferences solo, spending under $100 while competitors spent $10,000-$30,000 - generating more partner connections through face-to-face relationship building. Chapters Introduction Erik's favorite quote on facing challenges What Justuno does - conversion optimization for e-commerce Traveling the world in his 20s before starting up Sierra Snowboard - from $0 to $24M in sales How the idea for Justuno was born from coupon code insights Building the first widget in under a month Launching as a freemium product in late 2010 Getting first customers through personal network and BigCommerce Coming out of beta and asking customers to pay Why Justuno killed the $9/month pricing tier Revenue milestones - $100K, $1M, targeting $10M Growing with a zero marketing budget - SEO and content App store integration strategy - the 60% growth driver The partnership strategy shift from shotgun to tiered What growth strategy did not work - paid lead generation Four years without a paycheck and near-bankruptcy Lighter Capital - revenue-based financing that saved the company Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/162 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

Jim Brown helped two companies grow from $1M to over $10M in revenue. Then he raised a million dollars for his own startup and burned through it in 11 months. His hard-won startup sales lessons could save you from making the same mistakes. Jim walks through a simple but powerful 4-step startup sales process that turns a $100K revenue goal into just 5 daily prospecting actions. At a $5K average contract value, you need 20 closed deals, which requires 40 proposals, 120 discovery calls, and 1,200 prospects - just 5 outreaches per day. This SaaS sales process framework works for any early-stage sales team. Jim also shares the Skeptical Selling Method - instead of leading with features, reveal problems similar companies face and ask if the prospect experiences them. His founder sales experience at Haven taught him that investor checks are not market validation. Jim sent 50 autographed baseballs to ideal prospects, generating 17 discovery calls and 3 closed deals. 🔑 Key Lessons 🧠 Investor money is not startup sales validation: Jim raised $1,025,000 in 57 days for Haven but treated the funding as proof of product-market fit, leading to 11 months of building without real customer feedback. 🎯 Break revenue goals into daily startup sales actions: Jim's 4-step SaaS sales process converts a $100K goal into 5 daily prospecting activities by working backward through conversion rates at each funnel stage. 🤝 Lead with problems, not product features: The Skeptical Selling Method creates conversations by describing problems similar companies face and asking if the prospect experiences them - no hard pitch. 📉 Confirmation bias kills early-stage sales development: Jim's team surveyed nearly 1,000 homeowners but only heard what confirmed their assumptions, missing signals about what the market actually wanted. 💰 Customize prospecting by client tier in your startup sales process: Jim segments prospects into ideal, typical, and acceptable tiers, investing more creative effort in top prospects - like autographed baseballs that yielded a 34% discovery call rate. 🚀 Demos should solve business problems, not show features: Most founders waste demos by clicking buttons. The demo should map to the gap between where the prospect is today and where they want to be. Chapters Introduction Jim Brown's favorite quote on continuous learning The story of Haven - from $1M funding to zero What Haven was trying to build Raising $1M in 57 days with a PowerPoint deck Lessons from a failed startup sales experience The simpler business model they discovered too late The Skeptical Selling Method for startup sales Overview of the 4-step SaaS sales process Step zero - setting clear revenue goals Using conversion rates to identify weak points Prospecting tactics - cold calls, email, social selling Running effective discovery calls Qualifying prospects with BANT and GPCT The proposal stage - proposed solutions, not documents Closing deals and following up Where most SaaS founders get stuck Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/161 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email

Steve Benson was named Google Enterprise's top performing salesperson in the world. Then he left to build Badger Maps, a SaaS product for field salespeople priced at just $9 to $35 a month. His SaaS sales strategy of founder-led sales and land-and-expand grew it to 6,000 customers and a 50-person team. Steve's SaaS sales strategy starts with a $9 individual seat. One salesperson signs up. Their manager notices 20% more meetings and 20% more closed deals. The regional VP rolls it out nationally. That sales playbook turned individual seats into six-figure annual contracts with Fortune 500 companies. One enterprise deal closed in nine days through top-down buying. Another took a full year through bottoms-up adoption. Both worked. Before building anything, Steve talked to 50+ prospects using founder-led sales conversations. He asked "Would you buy this?" - people who said no revealed real objections that shaped the product. Steve's SaaS selling approach was built on solving a measurable pain point: field salespeople who drove less and sold more after adopting Badger Maps. 🔑 Key Lessons 🤝 The best SaaS sales strategy starts with "Would you buy this?": Steve talked to 50+ prospects and specifically asked if they would pay. People who said no revealed critical objections that shaped the product direction. 💰 Price low to enable land-and-expand in your SaaS sales strategy: Badger Maps kept pricing at $9-$35/month for five years so individual salespeople could buy without approval, creating a bottoms-up path to six-figure enterprise deals. 🎯 Founder-led sales works when you solve a measurable pain point: Badger Maps customers drive 20% less and sell 20% more - making ROI impossible to ignore during sales conversations. 🚀 Land-and-expand turns one seat into a company-wide rollout: One salesperson's success triggered team adoption, then regional rollout, then Fortune 500 contracts - all starting from a $9/month plan. 📉 Hiring impressive resumes instead of startup-ready people costs months: Steve hired talented people from big companies who had never failed at anything, and they could not handle startup uncertainty. Chapters Introduction Meet Steve Benson and the Badger Maps story What Badger Maps does for field salespeople How the idea came from selling Google Maps API Scratching your own itch as Google's top salesperson Funding the startup with personal savings and friends-and-family Building the first version in six months Charging $35/month from day one 6,000 customers and the SaaS sales strategy behind pricing Land-and-expand SaaS sales strategy from individual seats to enterprise How to start founder-led sales with outbound prospecting Finding your perfect customer and talking to 50+ prospects Shifting from feedback conversations to selling the product Biggest mistakes - hiring the wrong people for startup life Team of 50 people and getting the train out of the station Lightning round Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/160 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email