How to Win podcast with Peep Laja

Latest Episodes:

Diversifying your product offering with Kovai.co's Saravana Kumar Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

Summary:

This week on How To Win: Saravana Kumar, CEO of Kovai.co, a software company offering multiple enterprise and B2B SaaS products including, a customer success product, a self-service knowledge base product, and enterprise software for Microsoft BizTalk and Azure Serverless platforms. Founded in, 2011, Kovai.co has over 240 employees across the UK and India. This year Kovai.co's annual revenue has topped $10 million. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of true thought leadership, diversifying your product offering, and winning in your niche. I give my thoughts on the benefits of hiring T-shaped people, the concept of mental availability, and finding riches in the niches.

Key Points:

Saravana talks about the beginnings of Kovai.co (01:01)
How did Saravana use his blog to acquire his first customers? (03:11)
Saravana reflects on becoming a Microsoft MVP (04:50)
I weigh in on true thought leadership with a quote from Orbit Media Studios' Andy Crestodina (06:07)
How did Saravana scale customer acquisition beyond the first million? (07:27)
Why did Kovai.co become a multi-product company? (09:15)
Saravana discusses the need to launch products for different ICPs (13:08)
I give my thoughts on the concept of T-shaped people with a quote from author Mike Clayton (14:02)
Saravana breaks down his strategy to stay ahead of the copycats (16:00)
I stress the importance of understanding customers' mental availability with a quote from Will Leach, author of Marketing to Mindstates (18:51)
What were some of the strategic decisions that paid off for Kovai.co? (21:15)
I lay out Animalz VP Ryan Law's five content marketing strategies for niche industries (22:54)
Saravana gives three pieces of advice to fellow SaaS founders (22:36)
Wrap-up (25:18)

Mentioned:

Saravana Kumar LinkedIn

Saravana Kumar Microsoft MVP Profile

Saravana Kumar Blog

Kovai.co LinkedIn

Kovai.co Website

Kovai.co Integrate Summit Page

MVP Global Summit

Andy Crestodina Bio

Mike Clayton Website

Will Leach's Marketing to Mindstates

My Links:

Content, community, and customer acquisition with Mutiny's Jaleh Rezaei Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

Summary:

This week on How To Win: Jaleh Rezaei, CEO and co-Founder of Mutiny. Mutiny is a no-code AI and personalization platform for marketers. Mutiny launched in 2018, raised their Series A in 2021 with Sequoia Capital, and their Series B this year with Tiger Global. They now have over 70 employees. In this episode, we discuss how they carved out and dominated their niche, the benefits of building a community around your product, and why continually innovating to add value should be part of your long-term strategy. I weigh in on building a great business in an existing category, increasing your customer value footprint, and competing to be unique.

Key Points:

Jaleh talks about how she spotted a gap in the market during her time at Gusto (01:03)
How does Mutiny go beyond A/B Testing? (04:30)
What is Mutiny's go-to-market strategy? (05:50)
I discuss building a business in an existing category with a quote from Professor Jonathan Byrnes (09:09)
Jaleh breaks down Mutiny's unique customer acquisition-focused marketing (10:50)
I weigh in on the importance of new customer acquisition with a quote from Professor Byron Sharp (11:52)
Jaleh lays out Mutiny's long-term strategy (13:02)
I stress the importance of adding customer value with a quote from Unbounce's Tamara Grominsky (15:38)
Jaleh discusses Mutiny's strategy to differentiate faster (16:48)
I weigh in on competing to be unique with a quote from business strategist and Harvard Professor Michael Porter (18:38)
Jaleh gives three pieces of advice to fellow SaaS founders (20:15)
Wrap-up (25:02)

Mentioned:

Jaleh Rezaei LinkedIn

Jaleh Rezaei Twitter

Mutiny LinkedIn

Mutiny Website

Professor Jonathan Byrnes and John Wass' Choose Your Customer

Professor Byron Sharp's How Brands Grow

Tamara Grominsky on how Unbounce are pairing marketer and machine to create a new category and fend off the competition

Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors

My Links:

Identifying the ICP with the greatest need with Aircall's Jonathan Anguelov Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

Summary:

This week on How to Win: Jonathan Anguelov, co-founder & CSO at Aircall, a cloud-based call center and phone system that seamlessly integrates with common productivity and help desk tools. Since its founding in 2014, Aircall has raised over $226M in funding and now sits at over $100M ARR with over 700 global employees. In this episode we discuss the massive opportunity Aircall saw in the market, how they got an early leg up on the competition by being specific about their ICP, and why innovation remains a core part of their strategy. I share my thoughts on the wisdom of entering a market with lots of demand, how to choose which JTBD to focus on when your product support multiple, and why there is so much value in hiring folks with deep expertise (even if they come with a higher price tag).

Key Points:

Jonathan explains the opportunity Aircall saw in the market (01:13)
Jonathan describes the competitive landscape that Aircall initially entered (03:16)
I explore the benefits of entering a high-demand market with a quote from Terminus' Sangram Vajre (05:13)
Jonathan maps out Aircall's go to market strategy (06:53)
I take a look at choosing a job to be done to focus on with a quote from Olivine Marketing's Raechel Lambert (09:27)
How Aircall nailed their ICP and identified their greatest need (10:43)
I unpack what a go to market strategy is with a quote from DemandMaven's Asia Matos (13:20)
How does Aircall allocate their funding strategically? (16:42)
I discuss the value of hiring for experience with a quote from Malcolm Gladwell on the ten thousand hour rule (18:30)
What advice does Jonathan have for fellow founders? (21:48)
Wrap up (24:59)

Mentioned:

Jonathan Anguelov LinkedIn

Jonathan Anguelov Twitter

Aircall Website

Aircall LinkedIn

Marketing a movement over a product with Terminus' Sangram Vajre

Raechel Lambert LinkedIn

Asia Matos LinkedIn

Malcolm Gladwell Website

My Links:

Making the jump to a 'professional CEO' with Maxio's Randy Wootton Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

Summary:

This week on How to Win: Randy Wootton, CEO of Maxio, a platform offering subscription and revenue management solutions to SaaS companies. Founded in 2022, Maxio is the product of a merger between SaaSOptics and Chargify, brought together by private equity investment firm Battery Ventures. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of transitioning to a non-founder CEO, how assessing your business honestly is essential, and the idea of competing against non-consumption. I share my thoughts on the benefits of hiring a 'professional CEO' and how developing a core focus builds resilience.

Key Points:

Randy talks about the merger that formed Maxio (01:11)
Randy breaks down the art of choosing companies for a merger (04:01)
I weigh in on the uniqueness of every merger with a quote from Seismic's Doug Winter (06:48)
Randy talks about the experience of being a 'professional CEO' (08:06)
I explore the differences between a founder and professional CEO (09:14)
Randy maps out Maxio's strategy (10:28)
I lay out some of the key aspects of a successful strategy with a quote from Roger Martin (13:28)
Randy describes how he shares his strategic vision with his leaders and teams (14:40)
I break down the V2MOM with a quote from Salesforce's Marc Benioff (16:44)
How is Maxio going to win? (18:14)
A quote from Clayton Christensen about his theory of non-consumption (19:36)
Randy reflects on the importance of understanding client growth stages (21:44)
I discuss how having a core focus is linked to resilience (24:28)
What are the strategic trade-offs that Maxio is making? (25:31)
Wrap up (28:24)

Mentioned:

Randy Wootton LinkedIn

Maxio Website

Maxio LinkedIn

Battery Ventures Website

Playing to your strengths and strengthening your brand identity with Seismic's Doug Winter

Roger Martin's Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

Marc Benioff's V2MOM

Clayton Christensen's Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice

My Links:

Engineering the product mindset with 3Pillar Global's David DeWolf Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

Summary:

This week on How to Win: David DeWolf, President and CEO of 3Pillar Global, a software product development company. 3Pillar Global was founded in 2006 and now has over 2000 employees with annual revenue of over $100M. In this episode, we discuss going beyond a great product offering, why leaders should regularly reinvent themselves, and why scaling company culture is key to successful growth. I weigh in on innovating for customer value, why you should always be generous with your knowledge, and why success depends on being clear when it comes to your obstacles.

Key Points:

How David created his own software product niche based on client satisfaction (01:04)
I share my thoughts on innovating for customer value with a quote from Nest's Tony Fadell (03:17)
David breaks down the problem of commoditization in software development and how 3Pillar Global sets itself apart (07:19)
I discuss what makes a great product team with a quote from the Silicon Valley Product Group's Marty Cagan (09:03)
How 3Pillar Global communicates its market niche (10:22)
I stress why you should always be generous with your knowledge with a quote from Seamless.AI's Brandon Bornancin (12:27)
David talks about some of the strategic trade-offs that 3Pillar Global has made (15:58)
I explain why to be successful, you need to understand your obstacles (17:40)
David discusses how he managed to scale to over 2000 employees (18:47)
I weigh in on hiring people that can solve your business's problems with a quote from Scaling Up's Verne Harnish (21:03)
How David has positioned himself and 3Pillar Global as thought leaders (23:52)
Wrap up (27:44)

Mentioned:

David DeWolf LinkedIn

David DeWolf Bio

3Pillar Global Website

3Pillar Global LinkedIn

Tony Fadell Twitter

David DeWolf and Jessica S. Hall's The Product Mindset

Marty Cagan Twitter

CES Website

Focus-fueled growth with Seamless.AI's Brandon Bornancin

Verne Harnish Twitter

My Links:

Going after greenfield opportunities with FullStory's Scott Voigt Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

Summary:

This week on How to Win: Scott Voigt, founder and CEO of FullStory, a digital experience intelligence platform that combines quantitative and qualitative data to drive digital growth. Founded in Atlanta in 2014, FullStory now serves over 3200 customers and has consistently increased their ARR by over 70% year over year. In August, the company wrapped up a $25M funding round bringing their total amount raised to around $200M. In this episode, we discuss how FullStory repositioned early on when they found a better-fit customer segment, why a focus on enterprise clients has been essential to their growth, and how an excellent user experience is creating a strong flywheel for them. I share insights on the theory of the flywheel effect, the importance of repetition in marketing, and how to stay ahead of copycats looking to clone your product.

Key Points:

How FullStory pivoted on their original marketing tool when they caught sight of a stronger opportunity (01:19)
I weigh in on the advantages of changing up your strategy when you're not seeing the growth you want (05:35)
Scott describes FullStory's initial, highly personalized outbound strategy (07:04)
How FullStory's shift upmarket influenced their strategy (09:46)
My take on why to consider going after enterprise clients early, with a quote from Seismic's Doug Winter (13:44)
How FullStory made the leap to become more than just a point solution (16:10)
I explain how to develop messaging that will serve you now, and as you grow (18:00)
Why FullStory's flywheel hinges on its user experience (19:10)
I define the term "flywheel effect," with a quote from Jim Collins (21:14)
My thoughts on why repetition is essential to any marketing strategy, with a quote from Dan Kennedy (23:41)
How FullStory is maintaining their lead on clones (25:57)
Wrap up (31:00)

Mentioned:

Playing to your strengths and strengthening your brand identity with Seismic's Doug Winter

Jim Collins' "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't"

Dan Kennedy's "Magnetic Marketing"

My Links:

Focus-fueled growth with Seamless.AI's Brandon Bornancin Sep 06, 2022

Show notes

Summary:

This week on How to Win: Brandon Bornancin, founder and CEO of Seamless.AI, a platform focused on sales, lead generation, and prospecting via an advanced search engine. Launched in 2018, Seamless.AI grew out of a list-building agency called Seamless Contacts founded three years earlier. Seamless.AI recently completed a nearly $100M funding round, and in under four years has earned a billion dollar valuation. In this episode, we take a look at Seamless' decision to stay focused on their core product, the outbound sales strategy that has allowed them such rapid growth, and the upside of entering a big category with a lot of competition. I weigh in with the model I used to grow a SaaS company from an agency, winning through relentless focus, and the importance of thought leadership in today's marketing strategies.

Key Points:

Seamless.AI's early days as a list building agency (01:13)
I weigh in on the benefits of starting a SaaS company by offering a manual service, and the model I've used to grow from there (03:34)
Brandon describes the competitive landscape Seamless entered into, and why they weren't afraid to compete in a big category (08:15)
I share my thoughts on the advantages of tapping into pre-existing demand, with a quote from Drift's David Cancel (10:14)
Brandon explains how staying focused led to early success for Seamless (11:56)
My advice on winning through relentless focus, with a quote from Qualtrics' Ryan Smith (14:04)
Brandon takes us through Seamless' main competitive advantage (15:47)
How a robust content marketing strategy has been key to Seamless' success (19:22)
My thoughts on creating demand and awareness through thought leadership (20:50)
Brandon unpacks Seamless.AI's targeted outbound sales strategy (21:33)
Wrap up (27:45)

Mentioned:

Brandon Bornancin LinkedIn

Brandon Bornancin Twitter

Seamless.AI Website

Seamless.AI LinkedIn

Category creation and product-led differentiation with Drift's David Cancel

My Links:

Industry experience as a competitive advantage with Spryker's Alexander Graf Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

Key Points:

How Alexander and his co-founder got their start with Spryker (01:20)
How Spryker adjusted to marketing to multiple decision makers after they passed the $1M ARR mark (05:06)
My advice on managing your marketing while addressing a large stakeholder base, with a quote from Ismail Madni (08:21)
Alexander discusses Spryker's different competitive strategies for addressing incumbent companies vs. up-and-comers (09:48)
How Spryker is competing on brand to become the "Tesla of the commerce industry (11:15)
I weigh in on the importance of branding, with a quote from Lattice's Alex Kracov (12:48)
Alexander explains why experience and years in the industry are such a powerful moat for Spryker (14:34)
Alexander discusses how difficult it is to pin down which sales efforts are working most effectively (16:04)
I explain why it is nearly impossible to identify the causal factors of success, with a quote from Les Binet (18:08)
Alexander explains why Spryker benefitted from getting their start in Germany (22:13)
My advice on how to hire the best team members (24:14)
Wrap up (28:05)

Mentioned:

Alexander Graf LinkedIn

Spryker LinkedIn

Spryker Website

Ismail Madni Twitter

How Alex Kracov made Lattice a go-to name for HR professionals "The Long and the Short of it: Balancing Short and Long-Term Marketing Strategies" byLes Binet and Peter Field

Big 5 personality test

My Links:

Developing a distinctive marketing tone with CB Insights' Anand Sanwal May 30, 2022

Show notes

Key Points:

How CB Insights got its start (01:13)
Anand explains when he realized the target market for CB Insights had shifted (03:33)
My thoughts on the transient nature of the market, and why successful companies should be prepared to adapt with a quote from Bridgefy's Jorge Rios (05:03)
Anand explains CB Insights' unique approach to content marketing (07:00)
I discuss the need for more creativity and more hard work in marketing (09:40)
Anand describes the competitive landscape CB Insights in playing in (10:30)
Why Anand believes experience and pain tolerance gives them a competitive advantage (12:36)
I explain how excellence and mediocrity are both habits that are developed over time (15:00)
Anand explains why figuring out your priorities as a company is key to success (16:19)
My take on the importance of knowing where to focus resources, with a quote from Steve Jobs (18:23)
Anand talks through the moats CB Insights is developing (20:31)
I describe the law of increasing returns with a quote from Prof. Brian Arthur (22:29)
Anand explain how content is still the anchor of CB Insights' marketing strategy (24:16)
Why a personalized newsletter from Anand tested better than a more generic option (25:49)
Anand's advice for other founders and CEOs (28:20)
Wrap up (31:09)

Mentioned:

Anand Sanwal LinkedIn

Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight

My Links:

Getting more accurate customer feedback with Attentive's Brian Long May 23, 2022

Show notes

Key Points:

How Brian got started with Attentive (01:04)
My thoughts on the advantages of being vertical-specific with a quote from Steve Blank (02:52)
Brian explains the competitive landscape Attentive was playing in at the start (04:23)
Why selling should start with identifying the major problems facing your target customers (05:30)
I discuss how to identify your customer's pain points and use that knowledge to outsell your competitors (06:15)
Brian shares how Attentive saw early success with their outbound sales efforts (07:21)
My thoughts on staying relevant to your customers (10:39)
How Attentive is approaching a competitive landscape that is changing faster than ever before (13:49)
I explain the importance of keeping up with an ever-evolving competitive landscape with a quote from LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner (15:04)
Brian explains his strategy for getting accurate customer feedback (19:10)
I unpack why customer feedback is so important in the era of saturated markets with a quote from Databox's Peter Caputa (22:51)
Brian describes Attentive's website messaging strategy, and where he thinks others go wrong (24:53)
My advice on choosing your website messaging strategy, and why you should test your messaging (26:14)
Brian's advice for other founders and CEOs (27:25)
Wrap up (28:56)

Mentioned:

How building methodically is helping Peter Caputa and Databox disrupt the business marketing analytics industry

My Links:

Twitter

Website

Wynter