SaaS Mastery

The Simple SaaS SDK That Monetizes Users Who Don’t Convert | Michael Gants

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:27:31 +0000

Monetize the users who said no at your paywall: https://www.encorekit.com?ref=saas (paid promotion)

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In this episode, Michael Gants explains how to turn paywall rejections into revenue using a completely different approach to SaaS monetization. Instead of discounts, he shows how to use brand-funded trials and better timing to convert SaaS users who already said no. This conversation breaks down:

How to increase SaaS conversion rates without discounts
How to monetize freemium users effectively
Why most SaaS onboarding flows fail
The best time to convert SaaS customers inside your funnel
How to use SaaS pricing strategies that actually work
How to improve retention and reduce churn
How B2B SaaS can use the same playbook

If you're building or scaling a SaaS, the strategies Michael shares in this episode will help you generate more revenue.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Why 99.95 of Your Freemium Users Won't Pay
(00:01:39) - The Secret to Convincing a User to Pay
(00:03:08) - Peter Thiel on Why Paywall Deserves a Promotion
(00:04:24) - The Biggest Uncovering Opportunity Within Apps
(00:08:53) - How To Offer a Pro- or Trial Offer to a Dropped
(00:11:37) - How Auto-Conversion Works
(00:16:15) - How to Sell a Breakup Bundle
(00:19:48) - Free to Pro: Where Should Companies Put Their Software?
(00:21:03) - Microsoft on B2B Sales Partners
(00:22:35) - Is SaaS Good for B2B or Consumer?
(00:24:17) - How to Win Over a Canceling Customer?
(00:25:54) - How Sales Apps Work With Businesses
(00:27:52) - What's the First Experiment to Get People to the Paywall?
(00:30:43) - The A B Test of Onboarding
(00:33:40) - 3 Takeaways From Building a Profitable SaaS

Best SaaS Marketing Strategy to get your first 100 Customers Without Ads

SaaS Mastery — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 18:30:45 +0000

Turn your idea into a launched, profitable MVP in 2-6 months: https://www.saasmastery.com/?video=67MX3_N4Lfo

Or prefer a one-off advisory call? Here's my calendar: https://www.saasmastery.com/call?video=67MX3_N4Lfo

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Most founders struggle to get their first 100 customers for their SaaS, not because their product is bad, but because their GTM is.

Today, I sit down with Margo, who has been helping B2B SaaS founders with marketing and customer acquisition for the last 8 years.

If you're in the process of building a SaaS, then this video will give you a working Go-To-Market strategy that works in 2025 and beyond.

Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
0:48 - 3 big mistakes to avoid
3:22 - How to get the first 10 customers
4:45 - 5-step Go-to-market strategy (First 100 customers)
11:36 - Scaling beyond the first 100 customers
13:26 - Ending

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Resources: Enhance decision-making in software development and product management with the right leadership - https://saasmastery.com/call
▸▸ SaaS Mastery website - https://www.saasmastery.com/
Get in touch with us, and let's talk about your project! https://saasmastery.com/call
#SaaS #MVP #SaaSMastery

Chapters

(00:00:00) - How to Find Your First 100 Customers
(00:00:42) - 3 Mistakes SaaS Startups Make to Get Their First
(00:03:22) - How do we get our first 10 customers?
(00:04:54) - How to Find and Convert Early Adopters: My Core Go
(00:07:19) - 3 Creative Outreach Strategies for Early Adopters
(00:10:10) - 4 Steps to Your Landing Page
(00:11:22) - 5 Steps to Scaling Beyond The First 100 Customers
(00:13:26) - How to Win Your First 100 SaaS Customers Fast

How to Build Million Dollar SaaS Ideas from your Service Business

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 17:35:00 +0000

If you need my help building your SaaS - whether it’s a complete roadmap or instant developer access, just go to this link: https://saasmastery.com/?video=e_mKQEtT1xI

Or prefer a one-off advisory call? Here's my calendar:
https://www.saasmastery.com/call?video=e_mKQEtT1xI

Workbook from this video:
https://pages.saasmastery.com/service-to-saas-blueprint?video=e_mKQEtT1xI

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Generic SaaS ideas are crowded

The real opportunity is building software around problems you already understand.

In this video, I share a complete framework for turning a service business into a million-dollar SaaS.

You’ll learn:

0:00 - Intro
0:25 - Service to opportunity
4:59 - How to extract SaaS ideas from your agency or service business
12:36 - Validating SaaS idea 16:34 - Building a SaaS prototype
21:17 - Pre-selling a SaaS product to early adopters
22:11 - Building an MVP that’s ready for real users
23:37 - How to choose the right developers for your SaaS
26:42 - Getting the first 100 SaaS customers with a simple Go-To-Market Strategy
33:37 Ending

This guide is made for service business owners, consultants, agency owners and operators who want to transform their expertise into a scalable SaaS business.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Service-to-SaaS
(00:01:01) - How to Build a Service-based SaaS
(00:01:47) - Why we're building a SaaS business instead of a Service
(00:03:09) - Why Service Businesses Can Build a Successful SaaS
(00:04:59) - How to Find a Profitable SaaS Idea
(00:06:25) - The 3 Most Important SaaS Patterns
(00:08:38) - How to Go From B2B Sales to Strategic Sales
(00:10:27) - How To Build a SaaS Startup
(00:12:36) - How to Validate Your Idea (
(00:14:42) - How To Validate Your SaaS Idea
(00:16:28) - How to Build a Prototypal in 3 Steps
(00:19:25) - How to Build a Million-Dollar Startup From Day 1
(00:23:33) - How to get your MVP built and scale.
(00:24:34) - Finding the Right Developers for Your SaaS
(00:26:50) - How to Scale Your Startup to 100 Customers in 5 Steps
(00:29:00) - How to Build a Winning Messaging Campaign in 2 Steps
(00:29:36) - 3 Creative Ways To Reach Out To Early Adopters
(00:32:32) - How to Build a Million-Dollar SaaS from Start

Don't Start With an MVP for your SaaS (Build a MVO Instead)

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:23:18 +0000

Launch your MVP in 2-6 months: https://www.saasmastery.com/call

The lean startup dogma says build an MVP fast, iterate, find product-market fit. But that advice is outdated and costly for non-technical founders in 2025. This video exposes why 90% of MVPs fail or stall, how iteration costs kill bootstrapped SaaS during the "Long Slow Ramp of Death," and what to do instead: the Minimum Viable Offer framework with a working prototype to pre-sell and validate before the full build. Real examples from Slack, Airbnb, and Atlassian, plus the roadmap that turns raw SaaS ideas into launched products in 2-6 months

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Why 90% of MVPs Fail
(00:01:49) - Why Most MVPs Fail and Why They're Not Worth It
(00:07:10) - Non-Technical Software Founders: What They Need to Know
(00:08:41) - The broken MVP model

How To Manage a Tech Team as a Non-Technical Founder in 2026

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 21:40:03 +0000

Non‑technical CEOs don’t fail for lack of code, they fail for lack of control. This video breakdown how to manage a tech team, from grooming a backlog that kills developer idle time to separating Product Lead vs Tech Lead so every sprint ships value on schedule. If hiring is stalled or junior devs are slowing everything down, this playbook also covers force‑multiplier hiring, quarterly fractional CTO audits, and a simple system to maximize engineering velocity and hit MVP timelines.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - How to Manage a Dev Team on Time
(00:02:33) - Hiring a Junior Developer is Stupid
(00:04:39) - 3 Mistakes All Tech Companies Make
(00:07:21) - 3 Tips for Non-Technical Founders
(00:11:51) - The 5 Biggest

The 5 Most Costly Non-Technical Founder SaaS Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:11:19 +0000

Building a SaaS as a non-technical founder? You’re probably one decision away from burning months of time, thousands of dollars, or a painful chunk of equity. In this episode, we break down the most common non-technical founder SaaS mistakes we see over and over again—from choosing the wrong tech lead to building in silence, over-engineering too early, and falling in love with software instead of the business. If you want to avoid the traps that quietly kill most SaaS startups before they ever get traction, this is a must-listen.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - 5 Mistakes All Non-Technical Startups Make
(00:00:52) - 7 Startup Mistakes You're Making
(00:03:57) - The Tech Lead Nightmare
(00:05:12) - The 2 Biggest Mistakes Startup Founders Make
(00:06:56) - 3 Mistakes of Over Engineering and Under Engineering
(00:09:41) - 3 Reasons Why You're Building Something Nobody Will Want
(00:11:31) - 3 Mistakes All Startups Make
(00:13:46) - 5 Most Common Mistakes First-Time SaaS Founders Make

I've Built 100+ MVPs, Here’s the Winning Framework for 2026

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 12:49:36 +0000

Most non-technical founders burn cash on development teams or give away half their company. I’ve helped dozens avoid this trap using a completely different approach. In this video, I breakdown the 5-step framework that gets you paying customers before you write a single line of code. From problem validation to hiring developers - this is the exact playbook that works.

Will AI Replace Software Developers? The Truth About AI Coding

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 06:46:46 +0000

Video Description In this episode, we dive deep into the transformative impact of AI on the world of software development, exploring the current state and future prospects as of 2025. We’ll discuss how AI is reshaping the roles of developers at all levels—from senior engineers who can leverage AI to boost their productivity, to junior […]

How to Take Advantage of Cultural Diversity to Build a Great Team

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 08:52:38 +0000

Video In this video, Victor discusses when and how to leverage cultural diversity in software development teams, sharing real insights from managing teams across Pakistan, Latin America, and other global regions. Learn about: 1. The right timing to introduce cultural diversity in your team. 2. How to avoid common pitfalls in cross-cultural team […]

Is Offering Equity to a Software House Worth It?

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 11:20:10 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor talks about a common consideration by SaaS Founder, which is – Should I give equity to my software house? This video takes a look a the two primary considerations that you should take a look at when deciding whether or not to give equity to […]

Everything You Need to Know About Working With Software Development Agencies

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 06:36:26 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor talks about how software houses or software agencies work. What do they excel at when you should choose a software house to develop your software, and what do they struggle with? Having worked with software houses for years, this video takes an objective view to […]

The COMPLETE Guide to Hiring & Leading Your First 5 Developers | SaaS Academy

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 09:54:45 +0000

Today’s video is from this year’s SaaS Academy Intensive in Chicago, which took place in October 2024. Victor and Miguel hosted a lunch-and-learn session about the hidden strategies for leading and hiring your first one to five developers. Miguel breaks down what developers look for when considering working for a company, how […]

Overwhelmed SaaS Founder? Learn to Delegate Responsibility Strategically

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 07:36:36 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor discusses a common problem faced by most founders and even managers: how to delegate effectively and start delegating responsibility in your company, allowing you to focus on the areas that matter most in your business. Here are other videos you might like! Do Small […]

How AI Could Potentially Kill Your SaaS Business

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 07:05:12 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor answers one of the most burning questions in every SAAS Founder’s mind right now: Will AI kill my business? What impact will it have on our business model, and how can we adapt? Victor also looks at the latest trends and trajectory and which SAAS […]

Everything You Need to Know to Succeed at Remote Hiring!

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 13:38:57 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor talks about the things you need to pay attention to, clarify, and align when hiring remotely in order to succeed with remote hiring, hire the right people and of course have a smooth onboarding process. This will also allow your new hires to understand how […]

The 4 Crucial Things Buyers Look For When Buying a SAAS

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 07:56:58 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor answers one of the most common questions about how to prepare for an acquisition and what buyers and investors look for in terms of tech due diligence. How can you prepare your business so that you get the best possible valuation, don’t leave money on […]

Do Small Development Teams Need a Product Roadmap?

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 06:22:16 +0000

In this episode, Miguel answerers one of the most common questions we receive from our clients which is - If we have a small development team, do we still need a product roadmap? The short answer to this is yes. Every time, regardless of the size needs a product roadmap. It will just be tailored to meet the capacity of the team

How to Protect Your Startup Idea From Being Stolen

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 06:44:09 +0000

Learn how to really protect your startup idea from being stolen.

Remote Developer Hiring Secrets You NEED to Know

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 06:55:34 +0000

Video In today’s video, episode 3 of a four-part series, we sat down with Omeed Tabiei to discuss hiring and working with remote software developers and everything you need to know about contracts and jurisdiction. Omeed is the Managing Partner at Optimist Legal, a law firm focusing solely on SaaS businesses. The firm helps founders […]

The Equity Distribution Checklist Every Founder Needs.

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 06:19:58 +0000

Video In today’s video, which is episode 2 of a 4 part series, we sat down with Omeed Tabiei to talk about equity distribution and everything you as a founder need to know about setting up your business in a way that allows you to distribute equity to your employees easily and appropriately. Omeed is […]

Are You Making This Common Intellectual Property Mistake in Your SaaS?

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 05:38:21 +0000

Video In today’s video, we sat down with Omeed Tabiei, the Managing Partner at Optimist Legal, a law firm specializing on SaaS, helping founders set up their business, handle all things legal even up to the point of exiting and selling your business. In this first episode, which is part of a 4 part series, […]

Fractional CTO Explained: Maximize Your Tech Strategy Without Full-Time Overhead

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 06:11:13 +0000

Video In today’s video, part of a multi-part series, Miguel talks about Fractional advisors and what these seasoned professionals bring. In this first episode, we’ll talk about the Fractional CTO. We’ll define who they are, the roles and responsibilities of a Fractional Chief Technology Officer, and how you can maximize […]

SaaS Founder Guide: How to Coach Product Managers to Success

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 07:01:47 +0000

Video In today’s video, part of a multi-part series, Miguel talks about product management, what it entails today, and how you can start to coach your product manager to become successful. If you’ve recently hired a new product manager or promoted one, this episode will show you how to get […]

How We Are Using AI to Grow Our $10M ARR SaaS

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 07:08:58 +0000

Video In this video, which is the final episode of a multi-part series, Saravana Kumar, the founder and CEO of Kovai talks about how the $20m ARR SaaS uses artificial intelligence within their products to scale, as well as the key metrics businesses should be tracking and how founders can continue to upskill and grow […]

How to Avoid a Hostage Crisis with a Software Agency

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 07:19:30 +0000

Video In this video, Victor talks about the steps you need to take in the rare case that a software house or software agency decides to hold you hostage. This can happen due to a dispute over payments where the software agency or software house can lock you out of your […]

Working Remotely: Conducting Effective Stand-up Meetings

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 12:49:36 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor talks about a common problem that most remote teams face which is how to effectively communicate as a remote team and have effective stand-up meetings. Victor has been helping saas businesses to build, launch, and scale with the help of remote development teams for over […]

Hiring developers in Eastern Europe (Warsaw, Poland)

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:39:13 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor talks about a common question he often gets from SaaS founders and that is where should you hire developers abroad, especially in Eastern Europe. Victor was in Warsaw, the capital of Poland and he talks about Warsaw and the opportunities and options you have as a […]

Whose Job Is It to Develop the Product Roadmap?

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 13:28:44 +0000

Video In the second episode of this multi-part series, Miguel answers the question – Who’s job is it to build or develop the product roadmap?

7 Common Software Development Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:25:32 +0000

In today's episode, we talk about the 7 most common software development mistakes we've seen from the last 10 years and how to avoid them.

What is a Product Roadmap?

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 08:34:15 +0000

Video In this video, Miguel breaks down exactly what a product roadmap is and the signs of a failing or ineffective product roadmap Here are other episodes you might like Effective techniques to prioritize your product roadmap Solving common dev problems by doing SCRUM […]

The Secret to Sustaining Your SaaS Growth as You Scale

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 13:50:42 +0000

Video In part 3 of our multi-part series, Saravana Kumar, the founder and CEO of Kovai talks about how the company maintains innovation, especially in today’s AI era, giving you some insights on how to position your SaaS for growth today. He also talks about how a multi-product saas company sells its products to different […]

The Feedback Loop and Productivity Metrics that Drive Our SaaS Growth

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:52:02 +0000

In this video, Saravana Kumar, the CEO and Founder of Kovai.co, takes us through the importance of customer feedback in building and scaling a multi-product SaaS, the feedback loop that guides their roadmap as well as the productivity metrics and how they measure team performance at Kovai to drive saas growth! We also talk about […]

Bootstrapped vs Funding: Which Is Better for Your Startup?

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 10:01:33 +0000

Video Summary Is it better to bootstrap your startup or seek funding? Let’s hear from Saravana Kumar, who was able to scale his bootstrapped business to $10 million ARR. This is the first part of a series of videos from our conversation with Saravna Kumar, the CEO and Founder of Kovai.co a multi-product SaaS Company. […]

Everything You Need to Know About Developer Recruitment

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 14:52:21 +0000

Video In this video, Victor breaks down what the software developer recruiting process looks like, what companies do differently, and how you can start recruiting in-house using these processes and tips. Victor also talks about the use of AI in the recruiting process, how to use it as well as how […]

What Makes a Job Attractive to a Software Engineer?

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 07:55:53 +0000

Video In today’s video, Victor talks about the factors that make a job attractive to a software engineer, giving you insight into how to attract top engineering and product talent without competing on salary. Another video you might like Everything you need to know about the developer recruitment process

How to Hire a CTO or CPO for a SAAS Without Breaking the Bank

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 17 May 2024 11:36:47 +0000

Video Today, we’ll be sharing a trick and showing you how to optimize your SaaS team with fractional leadership and avoid or rather save on the outrage fees that you’d normally pay to hire a CTO or CPO full-time which, especially in the United States can range anywhere between $200,000 – $500,000 a year with […]

Are You Making It Hard for Developers to Work With You?

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 08 May 2024 14:32:28 +0000

Video Are you making it difficult for your developers to work and collaborate with you? Most of the time when clients come to us, they are normally looking to improve the productivity of their development teams. Sometimes what’s missing is the right mix of seniority within their teams, other times, they just need the missing […]

Essential SaaS Security: The 2 Pillars of Protecting Your Business

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 19:21:31 +0000

Video In today’s video, we’ll take a look at the two pillars of SaaS security, and how to go about implementing them to secure your business. Failure to do so could mean the end of your business. You’d be surprised how SaaS companies may fail even to consider password updates once they stop cooperating with […]

Moving Your MVP to the Next Stage of Growth

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 12:54:14 +0000

Video Has your MVP started to show some cracks? Have you started to have issues like poor estimates, communication breakdowns, and a chaotic development process? Today, we’ll be talking about how to move your MVP to the next stage of growth. At the beginning, an MVP is very capable of handling even a couple hundred […]

What Makes Software Development Expensive and Unpredictable?

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 13:44:37 +0000

Video In today’s video, we look in-depth at what makes software development expensive and unpredictable. Have you ever found yourself marveling at the price disparity between software projects, wondering why some bear the price tag of a hypercar while others resemble the cost of a used Volkswagen? Well, here’s why!

The 6 Characteristics of High Performing Development Teams

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 11:17:13 +0000

Video We’ve been privileged to work with some amazing software engineers and dev teams and today we’d like to share the 6 characteristics that make up the very best high-performing dev teams. What are they? – Small size team – High seniority makeup – Similar language and culture – Dedicated full-timers- Versatility of Full Stack […]

The Two Fundamental Rules of HIPAA You Need to Know

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 08:11:14 +0000

Video At its core, HIPAA revolves around two main rules – The Privacy Rule and The Security Rule. We already looked at what HIPAA is and the penalties involved. In this second episode, David we’ll break down everything about the two fundamental rules of HIPAA that you need to know! The HIPAA Privacy Rule provides […]

What is HIPAA? [HIPAA + Violation Penalties Explained

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:47:45 +0000

Video Today, we’ll be learning all about HIPAA compliance and the consequences of breaching the regulations, with our very own David Lee! He has more than 5 years in the Health and IT space and was the CPO at Point Health which was acquired by its sister […]

Migrating Your Traditional App to a Modern SAAS

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 13:32:33 +0000

Video How can you efficiently and effectively migrate your traditional desktop software to a modern app or a saas? Software as a service (SaaS) offers a compelling opportunity to businesses or individuals looking to migrate or port their old software to a modern application. This transformative shift modernizes applications and introduces numerous benefits, from simplified […]

Aligning Your Tech and Product Team to Reach Your Goals

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:39:43 +0000

Video How can you align your tech and product team to one goal? Have you been sensing a lack of clarity in your product development process? Today, we’ll be sharing one of the simplest ways to align your tech and product teams to a single goal – The 1-page product roadmap Learn how you can […]

Collecting Customer Feedback for Enhanced Product Decisions

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 16:59:53 +0000

Video In today’s video, we talk about how to collect customer feedback in order to give you the best possible insights into how your customers are interacting with your product. We talk about the two bases of user feedback collection – Qualitative and quantitative methods, and how you can leverage them to help steer your […]

Unraveling the Complexity of API Integrations

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 15:59:51 +0000

Video What are API integrations and how can they help you expand and enhance your product offerings? Today, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) serve as the backbone of software interaction and integration, enabling businesses to expand their services and enhance customer experience. For founders of software businesses looking to expand and enhance their offerings, understanding the […]

Crawling Websites: A Guide for Non-Technical Founders

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 17:53:51 +0000

Video Crawling websites is the process of gathering data from unstructured web sources that are not primarily made to be read by machines. Basically what Google does when it’s trying to index sites but at a much smaller scale. The crawling robot uses a browser framework to act like a user and reads data This […]

4 Things You Need to Know When Switching Development Teams

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 15:16:39 +0000

Video Preparing to switch your development team? In today’s video, I break down the 4 crucial things you need to know to have a smooth transition if and when you decide to change your development team. Switching development teams can be quite tedious especially when you are not prepared or you are in the middle […]

How to Avoid Developers Stealing Your Code: Code Security

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 13:38:25 +0000

Video Are you concerned about your SaaS idea getting stolen by software developers? Bottom line? It’s not easy for a software developer, or engineering team to steal your code and launch your SaaS Idea as their own. In today’s video, I explain why that is, and also talk about the very rare occasion where a […]

The Fractional CPO: The Secret Sauce to SaaS Success

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 11:37:22 +0000

Video Who is a fractional CPO and why are they one of the best-kept secrets in SaaS success today? I believe that this is one of the most underestimated roles in tech or SaaS companies. The Fractional CPO allows you to make the important tech decisions on what to build, how to build it, […]

Everything You Need to Know About Blockchain Software Development

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 11:20:36 +0000

Video While Bitcoin continues to dominate headlines in the world of blockchain, a bigger question continues to loom – Why are there not so many blockchain startups yet? We’ve seen a lot of technology gain a wide range of adoption all over the world today like AI, with a lot of AI-based startups and apps, […]

AI-Powered SaaS: Everything Founders Need to Know to Transform Their Businesses Today!

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 07:08:46 +0000

Video Have you heard about all the new AI-powered SaaS solutions popping up? Maybe you’ve been wondering how they work and how you can take advantage of this new AI age to power your business Learn why launching fast, efficient, and simple AI products can be a game-changer, giving you a significant edge over the […]

Hiring Software Developers Remotely: How to avoid scams

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 09:32:58 +0000

Video Remote hiring has opened up huge opportunities for companies to access a wider pool of talent at an affordable cost. However, this has also come with its risks, and we’ve seen some of those in the software development space. In today’s video, I share some of my experiences hiring remote developers, to give you […]

The Scrum Trap: How Misusing Agile Can Stall Your SaaS Development

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:36:10 +0000

Video A lot of development teams and software houses have forgotten what it actually means to develop in an agile way. In this video, I use Google’s Gmail as an example of how to move from sprint to sprint, and how to prioritize and ship features! Discover how to properly leverage Agile for efficient, goal-oriented […]

How Can You Maintain Your Software After Launch?

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 13:07:53 +0000

Video Every software system requires maintenance and evolution throughout its lifecycle. So what are the strategies for software maintenance especially if you’ve got a small startup? In some cases, startups find themselves with products that don’t really need much development after a while or rather don’t need to add any new features. However, just like […]

Software Agencies vs. In-House Tech Teams: Which Is Better? When Should You Switch?

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:08:40 +0000

Video When should I switch from an agency to an in-house tech team? Should I even consider it, and if so when? This is another very common question that I normally get. The main thing to understand is that an agency is a single point of responsibility but also a single point of failure when […]

How Can You Quickly and Cheaply Onboard Users for Your SaaS?

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:00:04 +0000

Video Getting users to quickly start on your app by importing their data, can massively increase your retention! User onboarding is one of those things that every software company and business knows is critical but struggles to get right. I’d like to share with you a quick hack on how to quickly and cheaply get […]

Is It Better to Get a Technical Co founder, Hire a CTO, or Go At It Alone?

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 15:30:41 +0000

Should you get a technical co founder, hire a CTO or go at it alone? Every time I get asked this question, I normally like to advise founders to think about the stages that every startup moves through and the type of tech lead they need for each stage.

What Programming Language Would I Choose if I Was to Start All Over Again?

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:30:54 +0000

I got asked a very interesting question about programming languages and which one I would choose if I was to start all over again. The short answer is JavaScript. Why? Lets talk about it

Project Estimations: How to do it the right way.

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:30:32 +0000

When it comes to project estimations today, the huge debate in the software industry normally revolves around estimation techniques and which technique is better. While the estimation techniques matter, the biggest problem today is forgetting that these estimations need to be analyzed deeper. In this episode I talk about how to open up that much needed dialogue, to help you get better estimations from your developers.

How Can a Non-Technical Founder Judge Code Quality?

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:30:06 +0000

Every founder of a saas business wants to know that the development work being done either by their in house team or an outsourced agency is of the highest quality. In this video I discuss how founders can judge the quality of their code base, as well as the 3 traits of excellent code!

How Much Does It Cost to Build Software or an App?

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:27:47 +0000

One of the most common questions in the software development today is what it costs to build a certain app or a software that does x. In this short video, I discuss the true cost of software and what you should be thinking about when you start to build.

How to run and operate multiple SaaS businesses

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 11:20:36 +0000

There’s more than one way to get into the SaaS field. Whether you already have a SaaS or are just considering it, you may be interested in becoming an investor, running multiple SaaS products instead of building one from scratch. How can you do that? How do you decide what to buy and when to sell?

SaaS Pricing done right – Analyses from 250 Pricing Pages

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 12:14:28 +0000

Pricing is an important issue for any SaaS company, and it’s not always easy to understand how to best use pricing to your company’s advantage. Today you’ll hear from Dor Sassoon, the co-founder of Stigg. Stigg is a platform that enables developers to ship pricing plans faster and introduces end-to-end self-service solutions for SaaS.

Compliance for Working with Enterprise Customers (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2, DPA)

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 16:46:52 +0000

Video Summary: Are you looking for a way to understand GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2, DPA, and others so that you can sell to enterprise customers? Today’s guest is Girish Redekar from Sprinto. He knows all about compliance with these certificates because he’s gone through the process dozens of times, and his company works with these compliances. […]

Chargebacks, Fraud & Internationalization: Top tips from Paddle!

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 19:20:44 +0000

Video Summary: What do you need to know about chargebacks, fraud, and internationalization? How can you recognize fraud? What do chargebacks cost? What do you need to know about rolling out software globally when it comes to taking payments? Today we are joined by Danielle Keeven, who is the VP of Finance at Paddle. In […]

Understanding and working with developers as a non-technical founder

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 14:46:49 +0000

Video Summary: Should you hire a CTO or get a technical co-founder? How can you hire a great engineer? Why are estimations such a mess? Today’s guest is Aman Agarwal, author of Tech Fluent CEO. Aman is exceptional at explaining tech to non-technical people. Aman shares the most common questions he gets from non-technical founders. […]

How to innovate fast by staying small until PM-fit – Founder Story with Blake Folgado from Outside

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 08:37:57 +0000

Video Summary: Go big or stay small? Implement the best from both worlds. Today’s guest is Blake Folgado, CEO and Co-Founder of Outside. Blake has seen it all and shares his insights on how to innovate fast by staying small until the ability to achieve product market (PM)-fit. Episode Highlights/Topics: Parental Influence: How Blake started […]

How to make customer feedback accessible

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 20:13:01 +0000

Video Summary: Are you overwhelmed with customer feedback? Do you want to know how to structure user research and distill the right insights? Today’s guest is Ferdinand Goetzen, Co-Founder and CEO of Reveall, an all-in-one customer insights platform. Ferdinand guides listeners through his framework for gathering data, structuring and interpreting it, distilling and validating the […]

Turning user feedback into useful features with Toms Blodnieks from DeskTime

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 06:27:15 +0000

Video Summary: Are you struggling to collect, enter, print, and validate user feedback to ship new features that people actually want and will use? Today’s guest is Toms Blodnieks, COO and Head of Product and Business Development at DeskTime, a time-tracking SaaS for teams. Toms shares how DeskTime’s framework inspires and turns user feedback into […]

What is technical debt, how to use it, and how to avoid it with Alex Omeyer from Stepsize

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 06:12:55 +0000

Video Summary: There is one investor that will always lend you money, but it comes at a very high price. Technical debt—what is it, how do you borrow against it, how big is the interest, and how do you pay it back? Today’s guest is Alex Omeyer, founder of Stepsize. Technical debt comes in different […]

From Amazon engineer to remote startup founder with Marin Smiljanic from Omnisearch

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 11:45:32 +0000

Video Summary: What does working at Amazon teach you for your life as an entrepreneur? Why get a CTO co-founder, even though you are technical yourself? How can you build a remote team? Today’s guest is Marin Smiljanic, CEO of Omnisearch, who tells his story of going from being an Amazon engineer to a remote […]

Software quality and bugs within startups with Maximiliano Contieri from Avature

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 07:30:36 +0000

Video Summary: Everybody knows and hates bugs in software. You can’t fully avoid them, yet every single one is one too many. What can you do to have fewer bugs in your software? Today’s guest is Maximiliano Contieri, engineering project manager at Avature and computer science teacher at the University of Buenos Aires. He talks […]

QA – how to create impeccable software, fast with David Burns from BrowserStack

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 06:48:06 +0000

Video Summary: Why is my app so buggy, and what can I do about it? Why can’t developers just test their own code? Who’s fault is it and who is to blame? Today’s guest is David Burns, Head of Open Source at BrowserStack, a popular platform for testing apps and websites in different browsers. David […]

DevOps for Non-Technical Founders with Alex Becker from Prioneer.io

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 18 May 2022 09:34:13 +0000

Video Summary: Is your app slow or releases a pain that produces bugs or downtime? Are AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD just techie talk? What are DevOps and current server setups that ensure smooth releases and scalability of applications? Today’s guest is Alex Becker, founder of Prioneer.io, a SaaS tool that prioritizes customer requests. Alex […]

What does it take to attract enterprise SaaS clients with Alexander Baron from Top.Legal

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 05 May 2022 08:50:48 +0000

Video Summary Attracting enterprise clients often involves an entirely different approach than for smaller clients. What does it take to lure the big fish? Today’s guest is Alexander Baron, co-founder of Top.Legal, a SaaS tool that helps with smart collaboration on contract frameworks and negotiating agreements with clients. Episode Highlights/Topics: Automation: How and why Alexander […]

Solving common dev problems by doing SCRUM right with Sohrab Salimi

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 04 May 2022 06:17:23 +0000

Video Summary Have you lost control over your development sprints? Is SCRUM just a wild theory for you, and you’re not sure if you’re doing it right? Today’s guest is Sohrab Salimi, founder of SCRUM Academy and a certified SCRUM coach. He will guide us and give us helpful advice. Through the most common mistakes […]

Building a SaaS now and 20 years ago with Alister Esam from Process Bliss

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 06:38:52 +0000

Video Summary How has the SaaS industry changed and evolved over 20 years? What is the best way to manage people with process? Today’s guest is Alister Esam, Founder of Process Bliss. Despite being a non-technical founder, Alister is a SaaS veteran. He launched his first SaaS in 2003 and then sold it to a […]

Effective techniques to prioritize your product roadmap with Rajesh Nerlikar from Prodify Group

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 07:11:34 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Rajesh Nerlikar, Co-Founder of Prodify, which helps SaaS startup founders, entrepreneurs, recruiters, executives, and product team leads become more product-driven by offering advising, coaching, hiring, and product management services. Episode Highlights/Topics: What made Rajesh go into product? Interest in customer problem space and […]

How to avoid API troubles with Vedran Cindrić of Treblle

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 08:14:17 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Vedran Cindrić, Founder of Treblle. If you’ve ever wanted to integrate with another software, had to use an existing integration, built various frontends, or use microservices, then you have or will deal with application programming interfaces (APIs). Episode Highlights/Topics: API Definition: Mechanism that […]

Successful Patterns in User Onboarding with Mark Colgan

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 08:37:36 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Mark Colgan, Founder of The Product Onboarders. Mark has audited more than 60 onboarding flows of SaaS companies and shares some of the costliest mistakes made as well as how to avoid them Episode Highlights/Topics: Why audit user onboarding flows? If it’s bad, […]

How Perry Zheng leveraged his experience from working at Amazon, Twitter and Lyft to kickstart a successful SaaS company in the real estate space

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 07:05:20 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Perry Zheng, a former Amazon, Twitter, and Lyft engineer and founder of Cash Flow Portal. Perry shares how he leveraged his experience working at such successful companies to start his own business building software for real estate syndicators. Episode Highlights/Topics: Cash Flow Portal: […]

How Anthony Joiner validated his SaaS idea and won $120k at a startup competition

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 07:56:43 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Anthony Joiner, author, coach, entrepreneur, and founder of Blooksy, a Web-based book writing and publishing platform. He explains how he validated his SaaS idea and won $120k in a startup competition. Anthony shares how he came up with the idea, pre-sold the product, […]

Improve Onboarding, Activation and Retention with a better UX with Peter Loving from UserActive

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 07:50:37 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Peter Loving, Founder of UserActive, about ways to improve onboarding, increase activation and retention, and when redesign flows, features, or your entire product. Episode Highlights/Topics: UserActive: UI/UX product design agency for software as a service (SaaS) Technical Side: Understanding frontend programming, and how […]

Secrets from 15 years of managing remote-first engineering teams with Hannes Kleist, from Stanwood

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 07:06:58 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Hannes Kleist, Founder of Stanwood, a German-based but completely remote-first software house. Hannes shares some tips and tricks he uses for remote work, including how to brainstorm as well as align people and hold them accountable. Episode Highlights/Topics: Squads: 3 decentralized, autonomous teams […]

The journey of becoming a product manager and building software to improve your industry with Shruti Bansal

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 07:04:09 +0000

Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Shruti Bansal, Principal Product Manager at Kpler. Shruti shares her journey of becoming a product manager to build software from scratch that improves commodity trading in the freight industry. Episode Highlights/Topics: Before/After Kpler: From end user building small internal tools to product manager Data […]

How a strong product vision improves both your product and marketing efforts with Aggelos Mouzakitis from Growth Sandwich

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 06:00:34 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Aggelos Mouzakitis, Growth Product Manager and Customer Researcher at Growth Sandwich, about how a SaaS company’s growth problems – whether it’s customer acquisition, conversion, or retention – might be coming from a weak product vision. How can you improve it to impact your […]

From funding to exit – pivots, flexible engineering, and B2C marketing with Idan Yalovich from Zest

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 07:04:50 +0000

Video Summary In this episode, Victor talks to Idan Yalovich, co-founder of Zest.is, an information enablement tool. Idan shares lessons learned and strategies used to take his company from funding to exit and pivoting from flexible engineering and B2C marketing. Episode Highlights/Topics: What is Zest? Search engine tool to find info […]

How good design drives sales, saves on development, and increases life-time value with Lukas Klement and Laure Joumier

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 06:53:17 +0000

Video Summary What if there was one thing that would help align your developers, save time and money on engineering, and increase customer satisfaction? It’s real, and it’s called good design. Learn how to use the secret weapon of bootstrapped SaaS founders Lukas Klement and Laure Joumier in today’s episode of Product Stories! Episode Victor: […]

Build better products faster by learning the basics of product management with Enzo Avigo from Junedotso

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 07:14:27 +0000

Video Summary If you want to know how to build better software products faster and haven’t learned product management or hired a product manager yet, this episode with Enzo Avigo is for you. We debunk some myths and give you an overview of how product management increases the speed and accuracy of the solutions you […]

How to validate and bring SaaS ideas to $1k MRR with Shane White

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 18:01:11 +0000

Video Summary How can you validate a SaaS quickly? What’s a good approach to find new SaaS ideas in various niches? Why do some people think too much about SaaS when trying to build a SaaS? Shane White is a developer who runs an entire portfolio of businesses with various cofounders and walks us through […]

Improve the user experience and optimize conversions using UX testing with Quinn Zeda from Conversion Crimes

SaaS Mastery — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 10:49:04 +0000

Video Summary What’s a definitive way to really test your product or landing page hypothesis, see if users understand your value proposition and actually get your onboarding flow? UX testing sounds complicated, but it can be super simple yet very effective. In this episode, Quinn Zeda from Conversion Crimes speaks about why, when, and how […]

How product-led growth enables you to build a better product and onboard people faster with less support overhead

SaaS Mastery — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 06:09:52 +0000

Video Summary How can your product drive growth, adoption, and market itself? That’s the idea behind product-led growth. Esben Friis-Jensen from San Francisco-based Userflow explains what it means, how it works, and how user onboarding plays a large part in it. Ready to grow your SaaS?

The challenges and benefits of building an entire startup team in Eastern Europe with Nick Jordan from ContentDistribution

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:45:00 +0000

Video Summary Have you ever wondered what running an entire team in Eastern Europe is like? Nick Jordan from ContentDistribution is running a 25 people team in Serbia and he is speaking about cultural differences, English fluency, and other things that are good to know when considering hiring in Eastern Europe. Another episode you might […]

How to scale fast by building the right solutions with Customer Journey Mapping with Jochem van der Veer from TheyDo

SaaS Mastery — Mon, 31 May 2021 13:10:34 +0000

Video Summary If you’re trying to better understand your customers, better align your internal team and build better products that sell, understand customer journey mapping. Jochem Van der Veer from TheyDo explains how to create and use customer journey maps in the right way. TheyDo is a modern Customer Journey Management Platform that centralizes your […]

How to turn an internal software tool into a SaaS with $100k MRR with Amar Ghose from ZenMaid

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 14 May 2021 09:34:41 +0000

Video Summary If you’re an industry expert wondering how to build a successful SaaS within your niche – get inspired by Amar Ghose who is a non-technical founder sharing the strategies he used to bootstrap a remote-first SaaS with over $100k MRR. Let’s dive in! Episode Victor [00:10] Welcome to Product Stories where we explore […]

How to massively scale a SaaS using partnerships and integrations with David Henzel, CEO of Upcoach

SaaS Mastery — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 07:06:25 +0000

Video Summary Partnerships and integrations can be the most powerful acquisition channel for any business. David Henzel, who exited MaxCDN a few years ago and is the CEO of Upcoach as well as running a portfolio of various businesses. The fast growth of his businesses has always relied heavily on partnerships and integrations – and […]

Throwing spaghetti at the wall: building quick 6-week prototypes to find a product that sticks with Robin Warren from Corrello & Blue Cat Reports

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 07:17:51 +0000

Video Summary How to validate SaaS ideas without access to any specific market? By iterating fast and finding an audience through first prototypes. Robin Warren is running a successful suite of Trello integrations for teams and shares his story of gaining early traction without having an audience or market insights. Episode Victor 00:04 Welcome to […]

From prototype over MVP to scalable software – the right developers for every stage with Upile Chasowa from WorkClub

SaaS Mastery — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 07:15:13 +0000

Video Summary Learn from an experienced startup CTO how to build, validate, and iterate software products FAST. Whether avoiding premature scaling, creating value as soon as possible, and then using the right tools to build scalable software at the right time – Upile Chasowa is sharing the step-by-step approach he used to validate his idea […]