SaaS Sessions

Disrupting Travel with Spotnana: Sarosh Waghmar on Building the AWS for the Travel IndustryIn this episode, we hosted Sarosh Waghmar, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Spotnana.Sarosh shares his journey of over two decades in the travel tech industry and discusses Spotnana's mission to transform travel by creating an 'AWS for the travel industry.'The conversation delves into the challenges and innovations of building a platform that emphasizes trust, transparency, and a seamless user experience.We also discussed the impact of AI and the future of travel tech.Key insights include the importance of building a platform that allows others to innovate, the role of cloud-native architectures, and the significance of standing on the shoulders of giants to drive industry-wide change.Connect with Sarosh on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/swaghmar/00:00 Introduction00:40 Sarosh Waghmar's Background and Travel Industry Insights01:33 Challenges and Innovations in Travel Tech03:04 Spotnana's Vision and Platform Approach04:00 Building During COVID and Overcoming Obstacles07:31 Creating a New Category: Travel as a Service20:18 Future of Travel Tech and AI Integration29:51 Lightning Round: Personal InsightsVisit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode of the SaaS Sessions podcast, we hosted Bill Macaitis who is currently the founder & CEO of SaaS CMO Pro.SaaS CMO Pro helps you learn B2B SaaS and AI marketing with fun and easy-to-understand videos.Previously, Bill was the CMO at Slack and Zendesk. Before that, he held the title of SVP of Marketing at Salesforce.Bill shares his rich career journey from media companies to leading roles in SaaS giants like Salesforce, Zendesk, and Slack.The discussion covers essential strategies for building a marketing career, navigating career pivots, and capitalizing on emerging opportunities like AI.Bill emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, staying employable, and managing stakeholder relationships.This episode concludes with practical advice for aspiring marketing leaders, including managing work-life balance, leveraging career opportunities, and understanding AI in modern marketing.Connect with Bill on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bmacaitis/Subscribe to SaaS CMO Pro Newsletter - https://www.saascmopro.com/Subscribe to SaaS CMO Pro YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@SaaSCMOPro/00:00 Introduction00:46 Bill Macaitis' Career Journey05:28 Transitioning to B2B SaaS11:12 The Importance of Career Pivots13:59 From Individual Contributor to Director21:09 Building Relationships with Stakeholders21:52 The Visibility of Marketing22:18 Climbing the Marketing Ladder23:58 The Importance of Continuous Learning29:00 Navigating Career Choices in B2B Marketing34:14 Lightning Round: Quick Tips and RecommendationsVisit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode of SaaS Sessions, we sit down with Dan Herd, VP of Customer Success at Outreach, one of the most popular sales engagement platforms.We dive deep into how Outreach leverages a "Desired Business Outcomes" (DBO) framework to align customer success strategies with the business goals of their clients.Dan also offers invaluable insights into driving adoption, improving customer retention, and maintaining a seamless handoff between sales and customer success teams.Whether you're a SaaS leader, founder, or working in customer success, this episode provides practical strategies and best practices to help your customers succeed and ensure long-term growth for your company.All this and more with Dan in this episode.Connect with Dan on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-herd1/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, Thejo Cote, founder and CEO of Airbase, shares his entrepreneurial journey, which spans over 15 years. From his early days in India to moving to the US in 2009, Thejo discusses how he founded Airbase, a procure-to-pay solution that simplifies corporate purchasing.He highlights the challenges and successes of growing a business in a new country, the importance of building networks, and how to adapt a product for different markets.Thejo also provides insights into finding product-market fit, the nuances of selling in the US versus India, and early-stage customer acquisition and validation strategies.00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome00:44 Thejo's Background and Early Career02:42 Journey to the US and Founding Airbase04:04 Target Market and Initial Challenges07:35 Building a Network and Getting Early Customers18:16 Product Customization and Market Adaptation23:00 Metrics, Milestones, and Scaling29:18 Lightning Round: Personal Insights36:39 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsConnect with Thejo on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejo/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode of the SaaS Sessions podcast, we hosted Andy Ramirez, the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Docker to explore the complexities of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) within a Product-Led Growth (PLG) context.Andy shares his journey from a 'recovering engineer' to a seasoned marketing leader at top companies like AWS, Amazon Prime, Smartsheet, and New Relic.We discussed the synergies between PLG and ABM, strategies for using first-party and third-party data to target accounts efficiently, and practical advice on tailoring messaging for different buyer personas and stages of the customer journey.Andy also emphasizes measuring success without overcomplicating analytics and leveraging qualitative feedback from sales teams to refine marketing campaigns. This episode offers valuable insights for companies looking to integrate ABM within their PLG models.Connect with Andy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyramirez/00:00 Intro00:30 Andy's Career Journey and Passion for Technology02:42 Docker and Kubernetes: A Historical Insight04:56 Navigating Enterprise ABM with PLG11:00 Leveraging Data for ABM Success17:07 Tailoring Content for ABM Campaigns29:57 Metrics and Feedback Loops in ABM36:10 Lightning Round: Personal Insights39:15 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsAll this and more in this episode with Andy.Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode of the SaaS Sessions Podcast, we hosted Joe Aurelia, Senior Vice President of Operations at Cyware, who shares his extensive journey in scaling businesses globally.Joe discusses his transition from heavy applications to SaaS, his role in growing Cyware from two to seven countries, and the challenges and strategies in managing remote teams.He emphasizes the importance of process standardization, continuous learning, and risk mitigation in business operations. Joe also sheds light on the balance between speed and perfection, and the importance of allowing team autonomy for growth.He concludes with insights on leveraging external resources, documenting processes, and maintaining a proactive approach to risk management.All this and more in this episode with Joe Aurelia.Connect with Joe on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephauriliajr/00:00 Welcome to the SaaS Sessions Podcast00:49 Joe Aurelia's Journey into SaaS03:05 Scaling Cyware: From 2 to 7 Countries05:55 Navigating Remote Work13:55 Standardizing Processes Across Regions17:30 Process Standardization and Scalability17:53 Documenting and Sharing Processes20:12 Balancing Speed and Perfection25:05 Mitigating Risks in Business30:19 Lightning Round: Quick Insights35:16 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsVisit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, Anupam Rastogi, General Partner at Emergent Ventures, shares his extensive experience investing in SaaS companies.Anupam discusses his journey from an engineer to a venture capitalist and provides insights into the challenges and mistakes SaaS founders often face when entering the US market.Key topics include the importance of spending time in the US, the balance between science and art in building SaaS products, pricing strategies, and why Indian SaaS companies need to find a distinct product-market fit for the US.Anupam also emphasizes the need for founders to integrate into local ecosystems and learn from various communities to ensure success.00:00 Introduction01:07 Anupam's Journey in the SaaS World02:11 Building Emergent Ventures03:30 Common Mistakes in Setting Up GTM for the US Market04:56 When to Move to the US as a Founder16:51 Navigating the US-India Founder Community21:44 Pricing Strategies for the US Market28:39 Determining Product-Market Fit in the US34:16 Lightning Round and ConclusionAll this and more in this episode with Anupam.Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Krati Seth, Head of Global Sales Enablement at Whatfix to discuss how companies can build a sales enablement function to support sales teams and drive business impact.With over a decade of experience across different roles, Krati is Currently the head of global sales enablement at Whatfix.Before Whatfix, she spent 8 long years at Zycus - starting as a Business Development Associate and leaving as a Senior Sales Enablement Manager. Krati shares that there are 3 types of companies in India - those who are aware and convinced about enablement, those who are aware but are not convinced, and those who are unaware of enablement.She shares her insights on helping build enablement functions at Zycus and Whatfix, plus all the other companies she has consulted.She also talks about the problems that enablement will solve and the impact it drives.All this and more with Krati in this episode.Connect with Krati on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kratiseth/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, Peter shares the whole playbook behind running the newsletter.Right from WHY they started, the process of finding insights, how to get executive buy-in, measuring impact, and more.If you are exploring a similar practice in your industry at your organization, then this playbook will be very helpful.All this and more in this episode with Peter.Subscribe to Carta Data Minute - https://carta.com/subscribe/data-newsletter-sign-up/Connect with Peter on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Puneet Lamba, CEO and co-founder of Aspiro.Aspiro helps sales managers prepare reps for selling to technical buyers with interactive situational roleplays & playbooks.We delved into the specifics of discovery calls, including the average number of calls required to close a deal and the significance of each call in different pipeline stages.Puneet also shared the challenges faced in discovery calls, the changing dynamics of the market, and the need for sales process optimization in the AI era.All this and more with Puneet in this episode.Connect with Puneet on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/puneetlamba17/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Jugal Anchalia, Co-founder & CEO at Cobalt to talk about how to use integrations as a growth lever.We start with addressing WHY companies should solve the problem of integrations.Jugal explains the current solutions and the challenges with them.We then discussed how we can use integrations as a growth lever - like unlocking new revenue streams, enhancing user experience, and expanding overall reach and visibility.All this and more in this episode with Jugal.Connect with Jugal on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jugal-anchalia-0a2ab220/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Luke Diaz, Director of Customer Success at AppZen.Luke is passionate about building and leading high-performance customer-success orgs.We explored strategies for achieving best-in-class gross and net retention, emphasizing the importance of customer onboarding, churn post-mortems, and aligning compensation plans.We also discussed how to use the voice of the customer to prevent churn.All this and more with Luke in this episode.Connect with Luke on LinkedIn.Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Phil Putnam, VP of Sales Enablement at Notified to talk about Sales Enablement.Phil has spent over a decade working in SaaS in various roles.Phil talks about his responsibility as a sales enablement leader at Notified and what exactly he does in his role.He also shares how you can build a new enablement practice in your org. Phil shares about what you should do, what you shouldn't do, and some must-haves. We also discussed elevating an existing enablement practice in your org. Especially in cases where it's difficult for you to show the impact. All this and more with Phil in this episode.Connect with Phil on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/philputnammusic/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Abby Hehemann, Director of Product Marketing at GetResponse to talk about setting up a customer marketing framework. With over 14 years of experience, Abby is a specialist in strategic product positioning and value-driven messaging.Abby shares the customer marketing framework that she and her team use at GetResponse and how you can build on yourself.She also shares her thoughts on what makes customer marketing different than customer advocacy.Abby points out the metrics for success while implementing such a framework. All this and more in this episode with Abby.Connect with Abby on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-hehemann/https://www.linkedin.com/in/abby-hehemann/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Ankit Chaturvedi, VP & Global Head of Marketing at RateGain.RateGain is India’s first publicly listed SaaS company. They help Hotels and Travel companies accelerate their revenue through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion. If you’ve ever booked travel online, you’ve experienced RateGain. Ankit has over 15+ years of experience, and he shares his thoughts on marketing teams having Revenue targets.He also shares how to ensure the alignment between marketing targets and overall company goals. Ankit also shares his secrets about collaborating with other departments to ensure the marketing initiatives are aligned with revenue targets.All this and more with Ankit in this episode. Connect with Ankit on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankitchaturvedi85/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Semir Jahic who is a Global Expansion Leader at Clari. He is also an LP at Stage 2 Capital.Semir was the first hire for Clari in Europe and helped them expand into the region. Since then, he's helping Clari expand its operations globally.Expanding your SaaS business globally is a challenge. And Semir points out the traits of the right market for expansion.He also talks about some delaying factors that you should account for while entering a new market - like localization, regulation, competition, etc.There are always surprises, and Semir doesn't like surprises. He talks about how he encountered some unexpected obstacles while leading a market entry and expansion initiative at Clari. And how did their team overcome it?Connect with Semir on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jahic/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Aditi Sinha, Co-founder of Locale.ai to talk about pivoting at an early stage.Aditi talks about the story behind building Locale and how over time they decided to pivot their original product.She also shares how they go the idea for the pivot and why it was necessary for the growth. And how they communicated it to their internal employees, customers, and investors. Pivots come with new challenges - and Aditi shares how their team overcame the new challenges. And shares the learnings she has got through the entire process.Connect with Aditi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditisinha1002/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Erik Newton, CMO at Hubilo to talk about the art of lead nurturing.Erik points out that the average marketing touches required to win a deal in B2B have gone up significantly. And hence lead nurturing has become more important than ever.We discussed what constitutes a lead nurture program. How to build one? And what role does marketing automation play in these programs?Erik also shares his successful lead nurture program example. And I've shared one too.All this and more in this episode with Erik.Connect with Erik on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eriknewton/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, I hosted Vikram Bhaskaran, Fractional CMO (former VP of Marketing, Chargebee). He has over a decade of experience in B2B SaaS Marketing at companies like FusionCharts, Freshworks, and Chargebee. I spoke to Vikram about marketing funnels and what role they play in a marketing function of a B2B SaaS. Discussed the full-funnel breakdown and different stages involved in a sales-led model and a PLG model.Vikram also shares how to align goals to different stages of the funnel along with some examples. Also, why it's important for any marketer to be aware of the entire funnel journey.All this and much more with Vikram in this episode.Connect with Vikram on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markalive/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

In this episode, we hosted Kanika Khurana, Chief of Staff - Driving Strategic Priorities at Chargebee.As a Chief of Staff, Kanika shares the roles and responsibilities that are required for anyone who wants to get into this role.From her experience, she shared when should a company actually hire for this role? And also how do you measure success for it?For someone who is trying to get hired as a Chief of Staff, you will learn the pros & cons of the role, about the scope, and be able to determine if you are a perfect fit to take this up. Even if you're not now, Kanika shares the imp skills required to get hired.All this and more with Kanika in this episode.Connect with Kanika on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanika-khurana-69426844/Checkout Chargebee - https://www.chargebee.com/Visit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/