Growth Leap

I had the pleasure of speaking with Kjael Skaalerud, seasoned sales executive, investor, and President of Skaling Ventures. He has found success in acquiring and growing micro SaaS companies.

Kjael's contrarian approach focuses on small, profitable, and enduring businesses rather than chasing larger, venture-backed companies that often prioritize growth over profitability.

Kjael shares his insights on why micro SaaS companies can be just as safe and stable as their larger counterparts, despite conventional wisdom suggesting otherwise. With lower valuations and less competition from institutional players, these businesses present a unique opportunity for investors like Kjael.

We dive into his first acquisition, a vertical niche SaaS for photographers and creative professionals that had been profitable for years and boasted impressive retention rates - a clear indication of the product's usefulness and the founder's deep understanding of their target market.

Key Takeaways:

1. Micro SaaS companies can be just as safe and stable as larger businesses, offering lower valuations and less competition from institutional players.
2. Founder-product fit is crucial, as founders solving their own problems often create useful products with great retention.
3. Founder burnout can be a buying signal, indicating a solid business with a founder ready to move on.
4. The first 90 days post-acquisition should focus on visibility, documentation, transition, and validating diligence assumptions before pursuing growth.
5. Building transparently and maintaining open communication with users post-acquisition helps preserve the human element and avoid the pitfall of going silent.
6. Simplicity equals mastery - if it takes a complex explanation to justify an acquisition, you probably don't fully understand the business.
7. Establishing reasonable incremental growth goals based on baseline performance (systems over goals) is more effective than setting arbitrary targets.
8. Fostering a culture of care and respect enables honest feedback and allows teams to move faster through a shared commitment to truth-seeking.

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• Do you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast or feedback to share? Leave me a message here.
• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

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In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Brandi Susewitz, the founder and CEO of Reseat, a groundbreaking marketplace that aims to solve the pressing issue of office furniture waste. Brandi's journey from industry expert to tech entrepreneur is a testament to her passion for sustainability and her commitment to driving positive change.

After being laid off during the pandemic, Brandi recognized two key problems plaguing the office furniture industry: the lack of a plan for existing furniture when companies move or renovate, and the staggering statistic that 98% of all contract furniture ends up in landfills, with less than 2% being properly recycled or given a second life.

This realization sparked the idea for Reseat, a platform that connects companies with excess furniture to those in need, fostering a circular economy and reducing waste. As Brandi eloquently stated, "I really believe with all of my heart and soul that reuse is the future. It's the only way to really save this planet."

Building Reseat from the ground up was no easy feat, but Brandi's determination and industry expertise paved the way. By leveraging technology and forging strategic partnerships, Reseat has become a driving force in the circular economy, enabling companies to track their carbon emissions and make informed decisions about their furniture assets.

Brandi's journey from industry expert to tech entrepreneur is a testament to her resilience and unwavering commitment to sustainability. As she navigates the challenges of scaling Reseat, her vision for the future is clear: a world where every piece of furniture has a unique identifier, enabling companies to track their assets and make informed decisions about their environmental impact.

In this episode, we delve into the intricacies of Reseat's business model, the role of technology and partnerships in enabling a circular economy, and Brandi's insights on the future of sustainable office furniture solutions.

Key Takeaways:

• Addressing Office Furniture Waste: Reseat tackles the critical issue of office furniture waste, providing a platform for companies to repurpose excess furniture and reduce their environmental impact.
• Enabling a Circular Economy: By connecting buyers and sellers, Reseat fosters a circular economy, giving furniture a second life and reducing the strain on landfills.
• The Power of Technology: Leveraging technology and partnerships, Reseat enables companies to track their carbon emissions and make informed decisions about their furniture assets.
• Brandi's Entrepreneurial Journey: From industry expert to tech entrepreneur, Brandi's story is a testament to the power of passion, resilience, and a commitment to driving positive change.
• Envisioning a Sustainable Future: Brandi's dream of a world where every piece of furniture has a unique identifier highlights the potential for technology to revolutionize sustainable practices.

Support the show

• Do you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast or feedback to share? Leave me a message here.
• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

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In this episode, I had the opportunity to speak with Matt Wolach, a seasoned SaaS sales coachand entrepreneur. With roles as CEO of ToroWave and Chief Revenue Officer at RingBot, alongside his B2B sales coaching at Xsellus, Matt brings a wealth of experience in dramatically scaling SaaS businesses. His insights into shortening sales cycles are critical for any SaaS company looking to accelerate growth.

Matt shared his journey from a hospitality management background to becoming a SaaS sales expert, highlighting the pivot points that led him to discover and refine his sales strategies. His DEAL process, centered around understanding customer pain points rather than pushing product features, will help you improve your close rate and shorten your sales cycle.

We cover:

• Understanding Customer Pain Points
• Mastering Discovery Calls
• Creating Urgency
• AI and Personalized Communication
• Fostering Cross-department Collaboration
• Building a Strong Brand
• Matt's D.E.A.L. Process
  
  

Tune in for a comprehensive guide on drastically improving your SaaS sales strategies.

Where to find Matt:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwolach/
• Website: https://mattwolach.com/scale-time
• ToroWave: http://www.torowave.com/
• Matt's podcast: Scale Your SaaS
• RingBot (text widget): https://www.ringbot.io/

Where to find Michel:

• Newsletter: https://www.stunandawe.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheljgagnon/
• X: https://twitter.com/michelgagnon

• Do you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast or feedback to share? Leave me a message here.
• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

Follow us:

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I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Luis Valente, the CEO and co-founder of iLoF, for an enlightening conversation about his journey in the deep tech world and the pioneering work iLoF is doing in personalized medicine. Luis, who has been honored in the Forbes 30 under 30 list, shared the story behind iLoF, a company at the forefront of using AI to transform our approach to treating complex diseases.

During our chat, Luis opened up about the passion driving him and his team to tackle some of the healthcare sector's most pressing challenges. He detailed how iLoF is making it easier and faster for pharmaceutical companies and researchers to develop personalized medicines, ultimately aiming to deliver more effective treatments to patients. Luis didn't shy away from discussing the hurdles they've faced, including sourcing the right talent, navigating unforeseen challenges, and the ongoing quest for funding.

We also delved into some of the technical and strategic aspects of iLoF's work, from their approach to personalized medicine and data handling to their innovative strategies for patient selection in clinical trials. Luis even shared insights into the startup's business model and their 'foot in the door' strategy, which has been pivotal in navigating the complex regulatory landscape of the healthcare industry.

Tune into this episode of Growth Leap to hear our deep dive into the story of iLoF and Luis Valente's entrepreneurial journey, and learn about the exciting potential of AI in revolutionizing personalized medicine.

Where to find Luis:

• LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/luisvalente28
• Website: https://ilof.tech/

Where to find Michel:

• Newsletter: https://www.stunandawe.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheljgagnon/
• X: https://twitter.com/michelgagnon

• Do you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast or feedback to share? Leave me a message here.
• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

Follow us:

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Double Your Revenue in 90 Days with Strategy Sprints CEO, Simon Severino

Imagine doubling your revenue in just 90 days—sounds too good to be true? Our guess doesn't believe so. In fact, he has done that repeatedly with his clients.

Simon Severino is CEO of Strategy Sprints, a seasoned B2B advisor who developed a simple approach to growing revenues and building businesses.

In this episode of Growth Leap, Simon explains his agile business strategies, his focus on marketing, sales, and operations, and his tireless emphasis on simplification.

We cover:

• Doubling Revenue in 90 Days: Uncover the secret that's driving growth for many businesses
• Discover the benefits of staying nimble and responsive in a dynamic marketplace
• Pipeline Management: Keep track of your leads and never let another opportunity slip
• Stay on top of your game by monitoring the right data and performance
• Understand the importance of choosing the right KPIs and how it affects your growth
• Learn the importance of crafting offers that are simply too good to resist
• Keep a finger on the pulse of your business with real-time updates
• Strengthen your daily and weekly routines to drive consistent progress
• Meaningful Business: See how agile methods improve not just your bottom line, but your overall quality of life

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You can download Simon's Strategic Value tool at https://www.strategysprints.com/tools

Where to find Simon:

• X: https://twitter.com/simonseverino
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonseverino/
• Website: https://www.strategysprints.com/

Where to find Michel:

• Newsletter: https://www.stunandawe.com/
• X: https://twitter.com/michelgagnon
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheljgagnon/

In this episode, we cover:

00:27 Intro

03:22 How Simon doubles his clients' revenue in 90 days

05:48 The top mistakes Simon finds in underperforming businesses

07:14 The three key numbers Simon puts in his dashboard

11:05 Simon's strategy to simplify and have a better life

15:28 Why Simon believes niching down doesn't work

17:16 How to build an irresistible offer

22:10 Simon's take on AI and automation

25:55 What Simone borrowed from his triathlon coach

29:16 Measuring inputs to get real time data and successful projects

31:47 60% of what you do is not important

• Do you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast or feedback to share? Leave me a message here.
• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

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Would you turn down a great Sales Executive job to start your own startup? That’s exactly what our guest did.

We're launching our new podcast season with the driven and generous Frank Sondors, co-founder and CEO of Salesforge, an AI-powered app that enables salespeople send personalized cold emails at scale.

Frank believes sales tech is in for a massive disruption, and he's keen on being in the driver's seat.

We talk about his thought process, decision-making, and reasons behind transitioning from a sales expert to a tech entrepreneur. We delve into how he plans to disrupt the sales tech space with Salesforge.

He shares tons of tips including:

• His multi-thread approach to winning new accounts
• How he found early customers in a coffeeshop in Berlin
• Consumption-based pricing
• And more

• Do you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast or feedback to share? Leave me a message here.
• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

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Imagine a world where we could significantly reduce our carbon footprint, effectively giving our planet a much-needed breather. What if I told you that is the goal of my guest, Carla Glassel, the co-founder and CTO of Ucaneo Biotech?

With an ambitious target to extract 1 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2030, Carla joins us today to explain the cutting-edge technology and innovative methods her startup uses to combat the climate crisis.

In this fun and enlightning conversation, we talk about the intricate world of climate tech, exploring the challenges of bringing a hardware product to market. Carla shares a ton of advice and anecdotes about the importance of assembling a World Cup-level team, hacks to reduce experiments timelines with hardware, her plan to scale a hardware tech, and the secret to get to the finish line. And she doesn't shy away from sharing some of the mistakes she's made.

We conclude with a deep dive into the investor landcape for climate tech and the expected timeline for Ucaneo's product development. Plus, Carla shares her outlook on climate tech, why putting a value on CO2 is critical, and emphasizes the need for multiple solutions to tackle the climate crisis.

If you're a tech entrepreneur interested in fighting climate change, building a meaningful business, or getting into a hardware tech, this is the perfect episode for you!

• Do you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast or feedback to share? Leave me a message here.
• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

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Andrew Gazdecki is a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Acquire.com. After going through two successful exits, he decided to build the world’s number-one startup acquisition marketplace.

If you're thinking about selling your startup or are building a venture with an exit in mind, you'll find the episode rich in actionable insights and pitfalls to avoid.

Andrew shares all his secrets:

• The mistakes he made when selling a company for the first time
• His preferred marketing strategy, and why it's the most defensible approach
• How Andrew builds teams as a non-tech founder and the three attributes in he looks for
• What types of businesses sell better than others
• What types of buyers are buying companies on Acquire.com
• What Andrew focuses on to run a successful marketplace
• What can you expect if you want to sell your company on Acquire.com

• Do you have a question you'd like me to answer on the podcast or feedback to share? Leave me a message here.
• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

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Are you worried about the impact of generative AI on the job market? In this episode of "Growth Leap", I discuss the importance of becoming AI literate and adapting to the transformation. 

I cover three AI marketing tools that can help with content creation, image generation, and video editing, including Copy.ai, Midjourney, and Runway. But the most valuable lesson is the need to stay ahead in the marketing and growth game by embracing the opportunities presented by AI technology. 

Don't miss out on the chance to learn how to effectively use these tools to drive customer acquisition, create content, and generate sales by signing up for the paid AI marketing workshop mentioned in the episode.

• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

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In our latest podcast episode, we had a blast chatting with Henning Heinrich, a seasoned product growth expert who's driven millions in incremental revenue for companies across the globe. As the Group Product Manager at Hootsuite, Henning knows a thing or two about creating disruptive and meaningful products.

Product-led growth is all about putting the product front and center of your growth strategy. This means creating a product so damn good that customers will want to shout it from the rooftops and bring their friends along for the ride. It's all about using data, feedback, and experimentation to inform product development and drive growth.

• You'll find all the show notes, transcripts, and past guests at stunandawe.com
• Up your growth game with our hands-on Growth Marketing Course
• For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].
• Support the show on Patreon

Follow us:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter