Atisha Banjare’s Post

Topic 35: SAAS Test market versus test pilot versus testing processes. No flash just content Download/save and when you have time give it a read. We often hear of test piloting your product but rarely do I hear from founders talking about test marketing strategies and most of all testing the processes of their company. One of the biggest oversights that leads to failure or at the very least scaling prematurely is that when you have concluded your test piloting you may estimate your product can onboard x amount of customers successfully, however, very rarely do you test whether your company can process this many customers. Your processes such as customer care, after-sales service etc, are what increase the lifetime value (LTV) of your customer and reduce churn, without these processes, you are not a professional or a credible company you are just inventors in a garage. Please refer to these topics in the feature section on my LinkedIn profile: Topic 27: CAC, LTV, Churn, MRR, ARR, NPS-KPI's you need to know Topic 19: Implementing processes in a startup is crucial for survival A test market can help to evaluate the product or service features, pricing, positioning, distribution, promotion strategies, company processes as well as the customer or user feedback and loyalty. The benefits of conducting a test market are: It can help to validate the product-market fit, which is the degree to which a product or service meets the needs and expectations of the target market. It can help to reduce the risk and cost of launching a product or service that may not be well received by the market or may face technical or operational issues. It can help to generate word-of-mouth and referrals from the test market customers or users, which can increase the awareness and visibility of the product or service. It can help to create a loyal and engaged customer or user base, which can provide ongoing feedback and support for the product or service. Some of the challenges of conducting a test market are: It can be difficult to find a representative sample of the target market, especially if the product or service is niche or innovative. It can be time-consuming and resource-intensive to set up and run a test market, especially if the product or service requires a lot of customisation or integration. It can be hard to control the external factors that may affect the test market results, such as competition, market trends, or customer or user behaviour. To conduct a successful test market for a SAAS start up, some of the best practices are: Please read the following doc. Please repost to help fellow founders. Good luck, and remember, we're all in this together! David Slowey Pro Bono, Slowey Start-Up Process Programme. #Founder #entrepreneur #CustomerAcquisition #BusinessGrowth #BusinessEducation #Startup #Startups

Topic 33: How to Scale your SaaS business. No flash just content Download/save and when you have time give it a read. Scaling SaaS refers to the capacity of a business to grow without compromising performance and quality. Warning: Watch out for scaling prematurely. Most companies are so preoccupied with building a prototype into an MVP and launching with the ultimate goal to garner investment, that they neglected their team and company processes. Lifetime value (LTV) and churn becomes your downfall, why? because you are just people in a garage building a product, you are not a credible and professional company which can supporting your product. The most common challenges that hinder SaaS growth are lack of product-market fit, ineffective sales and marketing strategies, customer churn, and long product development cycles and most of all processes. What do I mean by processes I mean customer care, after sales service, please refer to my feature section on my LinkedIn profile: Topic 16: Start-Up Metrics for VC and Founders Topic 19: Implementing processes in a startup is crucial for survival Your SaaS business is ready to scale if you have surpassed your previous goals, know the solutions customers want, have strong cash flows, processes to support your customer and have a team ready to grow with you. Here are the 15 most effective ways to scale your SaaS business: ·   Create a solid customer acquisition strategy. ·   Provide the necessary training for your sales teams. ·   Optimising your marketing strategy to cut costs. ·   Constantly perform market research to identify expansion opportunities. ·   Use content marketing and SEO to educate and attract potential users. ·   Create flexible pricing packages that are aligned with the needs of all customers. ·   Create customer segments to trigger personalised experiences. ·   Trigger interactive walkthroughs to guide and support users. ·   Provide self-service options to reduce pressure on your service reps and offer quicker customer support. ·   Take advantage of AI and customer feedback tools to improve customer satisfaction. ·   Encourage customers to enroll in referral programs to minimise customer acquisition costs. ·   Use webinars to provide additional value to existing customers. ·   Leverage upselling and cross-selling to boost your revenue. ·   Identify drop-off points in your funnel and fix them to streamline the customer journey. ·   Regularly analyse your customer retention to improve your strategy. ·   Optimise your Saas product development team to set your business up for future success. Common challenges that hinder SaaS growth: For further details please read attached Doc. Please repost to help fellow founders. Good luck, and remember, we're all in this together! David Slowey Pro Bono, Slowey Start-Up Process Programme. #Founder #entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #CustomerAcquisition #BusinessGrowth #BusinessEducation #mentorship #Startup #Startups

Let’s talk about SaaS businesses and why so many struggle to grow, even with a solid product. You’ve poured countless hours into development. Your features are innovative. Your team is passionate. But here’s the hard truth: A great product doesn’t sell itself. Here’s where most SaaS businesses go wrong: ↳ The onboarding process is clunky and overwhelming. ↳ Trials end, but the relationship with the customer doesn’t stick. ↳ The churn rate quietly eats away at growth. The good news? These problems aren’t permanent. Here’s how to fix them and scale your SaaS business. 1️⃣ Simplify your onboarding process. First impressions are everything. If your new users feel confused or overwhelmed, they’ll leave. ↳ Create a guided walkthrough for key features. ↳ Use micro-tasks to make the learning curve feel easy. ↳ Follow up with email prompts to keep users engaged. 2️⃣ Don’t just sell features, sell outcomes. ↳ Highlight specific problems your product solves. ↳ Use case studies to show real-life results. ↳ Speak their language, not tech jargon. ↳ Make it crystal clear: “Here’s how our product makes your life easier.” 3️⃣ Build a funnel for free trials that actually converts. ↳ Day 1: Send a welcome email with clear next steps. ↳ Day 3: Share a success story from a similar user. ↳ Day 7: Offer personalized help with their setup. ↳ Day 10: Present a compelling reason to upgrade before the trial ends. 4️⃣ Focus on retention, not just acquisition. Churn is the silent killer of SaaS growth. Fix it by: ↳ Proactively engaging users before they drop off. ↳ Offering regular check-ins to address concerns. ↳ Rewarding loyal customers with exclusive perks. Your growth doesn’t come from how many sign up, it comes from how many stay. 5️⃣ Automate your customer touchpoints. Your team can’t manually nurture every lead, but automation can. ↳ Send behavior-triggered emails (e.g., when a feature isn’t used). ↳ Use data to personalize user experiences. ↳ Automate upsell and cross-sell offers based on usage patterns. Let automation do the heavy lifting while you focus on scaling. 6️⃣ Showcase the ROI of your product. Your users want to know they’re getting value. Help them see it: ↳ Share usage reports with metrics like time saved or cost reduction. ↳ Compare “before and after” data to highlight impact. ↳ Use testimonials from happy customers to back it up. ↳ Show them the numbers that prove your worth. 7️⃣ Build a community around your product. Great SaaS companies don’t just have users, they have advocates. ↳ Host webinars and Q&A sessions to engage your audience. ↳ Create a space (like a Slack group or forum) for users to connect. ↳ Celebrate their wins and showcase their success stories. ↳ A strong community turns customers into lifelong fans. P.S. What’s the biggest challenge your SaaS business is facing right now? Let’s brainstorm solutions in the comments. #SaaSBusiness #CustomerRetention #SaaSOnboarding

Very useful information!

I’ve spent weeks on calls with SaaS leaders with slow growth, while working closely with the fastest-growing SaaS startup in the world ($0 - $3M in 30 Weeks) AT THE SAME TIME. Here’s why I will never see SaaS GTM in the same way again. 1. Most of SaaS has not woken up to the fact that it’s not 2021 anymore - The fastest growing SaaS (Adam Robinson’s RB2B), is running a completely different GTM motion, and grew from $0 - $3M ARR in 30 weeks. - Don’t get me wrong - most SaaS GTM leaders will say that 2023/2024 is a new world and that everything has changed. - But most companies are doing the same things they did in 2021 with only modest changes. 2. Attention is more important than ever before - SaaS wants to compete in a category with a defined line item on a budget. - Adam, on the other hand, is generating more leads and sales than anyone in the market because he has attention.  - Struggling SaaS companies are now realizing that being in a category does not equal discoverability or credibility. 3. You can gain attention by demonstrating a clear, deep understanding of the prospect’s problem - Adam does this with his posts saying that cold outbound is dead, making it hard to build pipeline and grow your business. The audience feels understood. - Struggling SaaS companies start and end with a product message. - If you can describe your prospect’s problem better than they can, they will immediately assume you have the solution. 4. Offer a result, not a product - Adam doesn’t say “Outbound is dead, the solution is RB2B (his product).” He teaches a method called Inbound-Led Outbound as the new way to get the result (pipeline). - RB2B is part of Inbound-Led Outbound - along with knowledge and expertise, skills, and templates. - Struggling SaaS companies are still talking about their product at this stage ...to a room that is either empty or asleep. 5. Results require info and training. This is your chance to excite and indoctrinate your prospect. - Info and training = content. Adam’s content teaches his prospects how to solve their problem and become special in the process. - The webinar we wrote to train and indoctrinate has generated more than $50K in annual subscriptions in 2 hours of delivery time. - Struggling SaaS companies are posting from a company page, writing blog posts about their product, and running webinars about their product. 6. Understanding a problem, offering a result, and providing content to solve that problem allows you to create a High Value Community. - Struggling SaaS companies have user groups built around their product. - Adam has a high-value community that people pay for build around a new identity - founders who bootstrap to $1M ARR, and then to $10M ARR. - Your prospects crave any identity that increases their status, career opportunities, and earning potential. Does this require a change in: - Strategy? - Team structure? - GTM spending? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.

Are you trying to figure out which metrics to track for your SaaS startup? Knowing what to focus on can make or break your business. It’s all in the timing. Different stages of growth call for different metrics. Moreover, what works for one SaaS may not be applicable for another. For example, if you’re a B2B SaaS focusing on large enterprises, then churn isn’t crucial (but contract renewal will be). Having worked with a variety of SaaS in differing stages of maturity, here is what I’ve learnt are the essential metrics for each stage. In the early stages, you’re primarily concerned with proving that your business model works. Here, metrics like Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) are vital. These metrics help you understand the cost of acquiring a customer and the steady revenue you can expect monthly. High CAC or low MRR at this stage can indicate that you need to refine your value proposition or marketing strategies. When you begin to experience significant traction, then the Customer Churn Rate becomes important. This tells you how well you’re retaining the customers you’ve worked so hard to acquire. Early signs of high churn can signal issues with product-market fit or customer satisfaction. As your startup moves into the growth stage, like at Series A, the focus shifts to scaling the business efficiently. Note the word “efficient”. Metrics such as Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Net Dollar Retention (NDR) become more important. ARR helps you plan long-term a clear picture of your growth trajectory. NDR, on the other hand, shows how well you’re retaining and expanding revenue from your existing customer base. Another key metric at this stage is the Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). Understanding the long-term value of a customer helps in planning more effective acquisition strategies. You also need to keep an eye on the CAC Payback Period to ensure that the revenue from customers justifies the acquisition costs in a reasonable timeframe. When your startup reaches the scaling stage, perhaps Series B and beyond, the balance between growth and profitability becomes paramount. This is where the Rule of 40 comes into play, combining your growth rate and profit margin to provide a holistic view of your company’s performance. What never goes out of fashion is monitoring Burn Rate and Runway to help you manage your cash flow effectively, ensuring that you have enough capital to continue operations until you become cash-flow positive. Tracking the right metrics at the right stage of your startup’s growth can remove obstacles, and solve painful problems. Choose your metrics wisely! +++++ P.S. Click on the link in my Featured section to have a free 1:1 office hour chat! P.P.S. Follow me for daily insights on finance, entrepreneurship, SaaS, leadership, and random thoughts

Are you trying to figure out which metrics to track for your SaaS startup? Knowing what to focus on can make or break your business. It’s all in the timing. Different stages of growth call for different metrics. Moreover, what works for one SaaS may not be applicable for another. For example, if you’re a B2B SaaS focusing on large enterprises, then churn isn’t crucial (but contract renewal will be). Having worked with a variety of SaaS in differing stages of maturity, here is what I’ve learnt are the essential metrics for each stage. In the early stages, you’re primarily concerned with proving that your business model works. Here, metrics like Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) are vital. These metrics help you understand the cost of acquiring a customer and the steady revenue you can expect monthly. High CAC or low MRR at this stage can indicate that you need to refine your value proposition or marketing strategies. When you begin to experience significant traction, then the Customer Churn Rate becomes important. This tells you how well you’re retaining the customers you’ve worked so hard to acquire. Early signs of high churn can signal issues with product-market fit or customer satisfaction. As your startup moves into the growth stage, like at Series A, the focus shifts to scaling the business efficiently. Note the word “efficient”. Metrics such as Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Net Dollar Retention (NDR) become more important. ARR helps you plan long-term a clear picture of your growth trajectory. NDR, on the other hand, shows how well you’re retaining and expanding revenue from your existing customer base. Another key metric at this stage is the Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV). Understanding the long-term value of a customer helps in planning more effective acquisition strategies. You also need to keep an eye on the CAC Payback Period to ensure that the revenue from customers justifies the acquisition costs in a reasonable timeframe. When your startup reaches the scaling stage, perhaps Series B and beyond, the balance between growth and profitability becomes paramount. This is where the Rule of 40 comes into play, combining your growth rate and profit margin to provide a holistic view of your company’s performance. What never goes out of fashion is monitoring Burn Rate and Runway to help you manage your cash flow effectively, ensuring that you have enough capital to continue operations until you become cash-flow positive. Tracking the right metrics at the right stage of your startup’s growth can remove obstacles, and solve painful problems. Choose your metrics wisely! +++++ P.S. Click on the link in my Featured section to have a free 1:1 office hour chat! P.P.S. Follow me for daily insights on finance, entrepreneurship, SaaS, leadership, and random thoughts

“ How to build a SaaS business in India " featuring with Kuldeep Dhankar, Co-founder, Last9 Inc.io Hosted by Sandeep Jethwani Co-Founder, Dezerv About the Speaker : Kuldeep Dhankar, Co-founder of Last9.io, with us. With over 20 years of experience across Nokia, Microsoft and CleverTap his journey building brands and solving problems for businesses is a masterclass for those who work in SaaS businesses and sales roles across industries. Don't just trust my notes! 🙅♂️ This video is a hidden gem.  Click the link in the first comment to watch it now! Some of my takeaways 📝 - Indian SaaS market is expected to grow from $13 billion in 2022 to $50 billion by 2030. 1️⃣ Is India a large market for products built in India?  - how a company in India sees India. And companies outside India see India is different Be it sales force They make close to a billion dollars out of India right? When you go to an Indian SAAS company, they all want to go sell in the US. you know, it's the tallest tower in San Francisco and everything, right? one of the largest software companies in the world right? Has massive Indian operations that have been very, very profitable. Indian Saas business grows when people get more expensive and the value of time. SaaS either amplifies the number of people you know, or the potential of a people. 2️⃣ You'll be able to validate faster and cheaper  - you know, there's this brilliant book by Professor Richard Rumelt Good Strategy, Bad Strategy, saying, you know, strategy has essentially You do a good diagnosis, right?  You know how to sell, go to market leaders who have seen and executed, go to market strategies in multiple markets. start with the US because, you know, you will not go crazy. But if you don't even know how to sell, you don't have to go to market leader, don't even have a never experienced product market fit with your first software. India is a friendly market, They will let you down softly.  3️⃣ You can get a great metric by the way, for example, you can get 20x the base pay of a good salesperson in India. You'll be hard pressed to get 4 to 5x of a U.S salesperson. 4️⃣ B2B company ever buys is discovering the intent of the customer. Especially when I'm selling to an enterprise. Right? Enterprises don't advertise what they intend to buy right? They have mid-level managers who seek a certain capability.  Effectively what companies buy they don't buy software, they buy capabilities. Companies are not looking for a particular software, they're usually looking for a capability to buy. Thanks for reading! That's a wrap 🙏 for this Product Rough Note. Share your thoughts in the comments below. What did you think of the video? If you're passionate about product and continuous learning, hit that follow button now! ↗️ Sasikumar Sampath

In recent months, SaaS companies are facing new challenges. As a partner at a VC firm and pricing advisor, I’ve seen firsthand how selling SaaS is becoming more difficult. But is this really "the end of SaaS"? Not quite. The model is evolving, and SaaS leaders need to adapt. Here's why and how: Why SaaS Is Struggling: 1️⃣ Slower Growth 📉: SaaS growth has slowed, with many companies now growing at less than 20% annually(SaaStr 🔗👇). Customers are scrutinizing budgets more carefully, making every renewal a challenge 2️⃣ Commoditization ⚙️: AI and low-code tools have made it easier to replicate SaaS offerings. As a result, software is increasingly seen as a commodity(Forbes 🔗👇) Customers are questioning why they should pay premium prices for something that could be built or bought more cheaply. 3️⃣ Myth of Infinite LTVs 💼: Retaining customers is no longer a given. Competitive pressures and pricing challenges are making customer retention a constant battle What SaaS Executives Should Do: 💣 Deliver Real Value 💡: Companies like Klarna are cutting out third-party SaaS tools in favor of building their own AI-driven solutions (Klarna Plans to ‘Shut Down SaaS Providers’ and Replace Them With Internally Built AI 🔗👇). SaaS companies need to show they’re driving true value—whether through automation, cost savings, or boosting productivity. If your software doesn't demonstrably improve customer ROI, it’s time to rethink your approach 💣 Leverage AI Effectively 🤖: AI is more than hype—it’s becoming essential for driving efficiencies. SaaS companies that incorporate AI in meaningful ways, such as automating processes or enhancing productivity, are staying ahead. Customers expect AI solutions that reduce costs and improve outcomes. 💣 Rethink Pricing Models 💰: Traditional subscription models may no longer cut it. SaaS companies should consider flexible pricing, such as usage-based or value-based models. Klarna’s shift to AI-driven, internally developed solutions highlights the need for cost-effective options 💣 Think Beyond SaaS 🚀: Sam Lessin from Slow Ventures suggests that software isn’t just a product but a strategic tool to improve real-world businesses. SaaS companies should explore how their tools can help optimize and enhance other industries, rather than just selling subscriptions. SaaS isn’t dead, but the landscape is changing. Companies must deliver tangible value, embrace AI, and rethink their pricing strategies to survive. Those that adapt will not only survive—they’ll thrive. Let’s start a conversation—how is your SaaS business evolving? What strategies are you experimenting with? Drop a comment below, and let’s discuss how SaaS can continue to evolve in today’s competitive market! 💬👇 ----- 📢 Curious about navigating the dynamic world of pricing and staying ahead of the curve? Hit the 🔔 icon and follow me to receive timely updates on pricing strategies, industry trends, and more!

SaaS Bloodbath has Begun: I don’t believe in the "SaaS is dying" story; rather, I see a bloodbath for many and rapid growth for a few. SaaS is expected to grow from the current $370B to about $1T over the next 6-8 years! Does it mean 15%+ CAGR from all SaaS companies? NO. Rapid growth for some, and the rest go home. B2B SaaS is evolving rapidly, almost like a metamorphosis - from a caterpillar 🐛 to a beautiful butterfly 🦋. The ones to transform into the butterfly will GROW and capture the market share of all the caterpillars that cannot transform. This is where I suspect a bloodbath - the good taking away the market share from the not-so-good. What separates them? It’s a long list. My top 3 are UGC, Inbound-Led Outbound, and being Collaborative. 1. UGC like Clay : - Clay mastered UGC, moving from the underdogs to the mainstream in a few months. Despite being in business since 2017, they really nailed the UGC game lately. Kareem Amin and Varun Anand - kudos! What seems like overnight success, has years of work, exceptional strategy and meticulous execution behind it. 2. Inbound-Led Outbound like RB2B : - Adam Robinson and Santosh Sharan are B2B content GOATs 🐐 🐐. $0 to $1M ARR in 16 weeks, led by content, driven by leadership, built in public. It’s not for the faint hearted to replicate what RB2B is capable of. 3. Collaborative like Slack : - Slack is part of any and every tech stack. With 39M DAUs, meaningful integrations, and collaborative partnerships, it's part of almost every tech stack. 200,000+ paying logos, can you imagine? Denise Holland Dresser and team - fab job! The fundamental is an exceptional product, couple that with well curated GTM that resonates with your brand! Can every business pull it off? Maybe not all, but you can pull off a few key GTM motions if you are authentic. Don’t try to copy everything that’s happening out there. Trying to copy everything leaves you with nothing. BE AUTHENTIC - I CAN'T SCREAM THIS LOUD ENOUGH! Average number of SaaS subscriptions: 1. Startup: 10 to 20 2. SMB: 20 to 40 3. Enterprise: 150 to 300 SaaS fatigue is REAL, it’s far from IDEAL. Change has already begun! SaaS isn’t dying; it will, in fact, be flying! Flying high, growing tall - Winners take it all. It’s inspiring to watch the space; the best ones will be winning the race. Businesses need to be astute; what separates the winners is their ability to execute. Bottom line: Articulate your GTM and hedge it with your MOAT. Accelerate with UGC, Inbound-Led Outbound, and collaborations where you can. Be authentic in how you stitch them together. What do you think?