View Details

Most founders don’t need venture capital — they just need the truth about their options. In this episode, Greg Head, Founder of Practical Founders and Gregslist, shares why most founders don’t need to follow the venture capital path to succeed —and how alternative strategies often lead to better outcomes. Greg draws on three decades of software industry experience and his deep network of over 500 founders and investors to challenge the funding-first mindset.

Specifically, Greg shares:

00:00 Introduction

03:30 Founders should not take VC funding without knowing the risks.

12:00 Startups were once wild bets — now many founders misread VC expectations.

20:06 Software is cheaper now, so VC isn’t needed to launch or grow.

25:09 Investors outside Silicon Valley fund traction, not ideas.

30:09 Practical companies grow with healthier habits and true independence.

35:36 Seven paths to success start with building a profitable company.

40:57 PE firms are buying revenue for faster IPO leverage.

47:29 Every founder can win in their own way with the path that fits them best.

50:16 Founders used to raise millions without taking any money off the table.

59:19 Product-market fit requires focus on the right segment and solution.

Resources Mentioned:

Greg Head

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregheadaz/

Practical Founders | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/practical-founders/

Practical Founders | Website

https://practicalfounders.com/

Gregslist | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/gregslist/

Gregslist | Website

https://gregslist.com/

Practical Founders’ Ebook – “The 7 Success Paths for Practical Founders”

https://practicalfounders.com/7-success-paths-to-win-the-startup-end-game/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

Bootstrapping #SaaSFounders #StartupGrowth #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

If you're building before validating the market, you're not a founder — you’re a hopeful builder. In this episode, Bocar Dia, Partner and GM at Forum Ventures, shares how to build a capital-efficient, scalable sales motion in B2B SaaS, from idea to product-market fit and beyond. Drawing from his early days at Hootsuite and advising 30+ founders annually, Bocar unpacks the frameworks and mindsets for growing to $100M ARR without chasing inflated valuations.

Specifically, Bocar covers:

(03:13) Bocar Dia shifts from engineering to sales at early-stage Hootsuite.

(12:09) Validate real pain, then pinpoint key problems to shape your MVP.

(20:01) Founders often raise before soul-searching — and end up misaligned.

(25:10) Product-market fit is when value drives steady inbound demand.

(30:17) Sales has three phases: product fit, GTM fit and scale.

(36:57) Don’t scale early traction. Prove one repeatable channel first.

(41:57) Hire Customer Success before Sales to drive renewals and growth.

(46:30) Founders who sell first know exactly what kind of leaders and reps to hire next.

(51:00) AI can help sales, but manual validation is needed before scaling.

(57:53) Bocar recommends data-driven, tactical sales books for founders.

Resources Mentioned:

Bocar Dia

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bocardia/

Forum Ventures | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/forumvc/

Forum Ventures | Website

https://www.forumvc.com/

"The Sales Acceleration Formula" by Mark Roberge

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Acceleration-Formula-Technology-Inbound/dp/1119047072

"Founding Sales" by Pete Kazanjy

https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Sales-Go-Market-Handbook/dp/1734505117

Winning by Design

https://winningbydesign.com/resources/books/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

ProductMarketFit #CustomerSuccess #VentureCapital #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Scaling without losing speed is harder than it looks — especially when you're chasing enterprise customers and building an AI-native platform. Lindsey Scrase, Chief Operating Officer of Checkr, Inc., reveals how her customer-first mindset, forged during her tenure at Google Cloud, is driving Checkr’s transformation into a core hiring infrastructure platform while scaling AI across operations. With a track record of building high-velocity GTM motions and a strong commitment to second-chance hiring, she explains what it takes to evolve into an AI-native enterprise.

Specifically, Lindsey covers:

(03:55) Early-stage Google Cloud, then called Google Apps.

(06:46) How a culture of wearing multiple hats inspired continuous improvement.

(10:40) Early execs need curiosity and first-principles thinking over fixed playbooks.

(15:57) A shift from gig-focused roots to strong SMB and mid-market segments.

(21:39) Strong leaders think long-term and dive deep into day-to-day details.

(27:16) Enterprise growth demands tight alignment across GTM, product and CS.

(31:25) AI will become table stakes as true adoption goes beyond branding and hype.

(35:25) Generative AI chat boosts CSAT by delivering instant, contextual responses.

(41:13) Take bigger swings earlier and don’t take things so seriously.

(45:01) Direct feedback builds trust and prevents conflict from turning toxic.

Resources Mentioned:

Lindsey Scrase

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-scrase-0702442/

Checkr | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/checkr-com/

Checkr | Website

https://checkr.com/

Truework

https://www.truework.com/

“Working Backwards” by Bill Carr and Colin Bryar

https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595

“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni

https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

Leadership #GTMStrategy #EnterpriseGrowth #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Most GTM teams are stuck in a 10-year-old playbook — Anthony Enrico, Founder and CEO of LeanScale, shows how to break the cycle. Previously Head of RevOps at Boast.AI, where he helped scale the company past $20M ARR, Anthony now advises and enables dozens of founders and revenue leaders to engineer growth without burning headcount. He also shares how they help high-growth startups scale RevOps with a lean, efficient GTM motion.

Specifically, Anthony discusses:

(05:25) Startups replace brute-force growth with RevOps to boost revenue per FTE.

(15:49) Most teams underinvest in the brand despite its long-term impact.

(20:29) Use a data warehouse — not your CRM — for unified reporting.

(25:18) Clay transforms RevOps with scalable, integrated data enrichment.

(30:48) Default uses AI to route leads and trigger workflows across tools.

(35:42) Amplemarket targets fundraisers and job changes with precise outreach.

(40:28) AI is most effective when humans fine-tune for quality and authenticity.

(44:44) Early days are easiest — scaling means harder niches and messaging.

(54:46) Bootstrapping forced them to hire fewer, better people and build processes early.

(01:03:33) A solo GTM dashboard tracks pipeline, ops and conversion rates.

Resources Mentioned:

Anthony Enrico

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyenrico/

LeanScale | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/leanscale/

LeanScale | Website

https://www.leanscale.team

Amplemarket

https://www.amplemarket.com/

Clay

https://www.clay.com/

Ocean.io

http://ocean.io

Default

https://www.default.com/

ChurnZero

https://churnzero.com/

Riverside

https://riverside.fm/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

RevOps #GTMstrategy #B2Bgrowth #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Crises aren’t just setbacks — they’re strategic moments to elevate customer experience. In this episode, Jeff Titterton, Chief Marketing Officer of Stripe, breaks down why investing in customers during uncertain times is the most resilient path to long-term growth. Drawing from his time as COO at Zendesk and insights from scaling through economic downturns, Jeff highlights how modern businesses can align product, service and marketing to unlock customer loyalty and profitability.

Specifically, Jeff covers:

(02:12) Aligning CS and CX with product and business strategy accelerates growth during tough times.

(03:22) Customer service drives CX and reveals where the business falls short.

(05:44) A crisis is the time to invest in customers and enhance service and product.

(10:19) Many still see CX as a cost, not a growth driver focused on real outcomes.

(12:06) Customers expect to reach you anytime, anywhere, on any channel.

(15:58) Technology brings actions into the service layer, enabling fast, personalized solutions.

(17:27) Aggregating CX data helps fix root issues before customers even notice them.

(21:07) Show compassion to customers and colleagues in challenging times.

Resources Mentioned:

Jeff Titterton

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefftitterton/

Stripe | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/stripe/

Stripe | Website

https://stripe.com

Zendesk CX Trends Report

https://cxtrends.zendesk.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

CustomerExperience #CXStrategy #DigitalTransformation #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Innovation is the driving force behind unlocking better patient experiences and improving access to quality care. In this episode, Derek Streat, Co-Founder and Former CEO at DexCare, shares his journey of transforming healthcare access through innovative technology solutions. Derek dives into how DexCare optimizes the way health systems manage digital demand, making healthcare more accessible and efficient for both providers and patients.

Specifically, Derek discusses:

(03:09) The inspiration behind DexCare and its mission to streamline healthcare access.

(08:52) Find one person who values your product before seeking product-market fit.

(19:08) Use data to improve patient outcomes and efficiency.

(25:22) Overcoming challenges in scaling a health tech startup.

(31:02) Strong value attracts smart investors, even in tough markets.

(36:12) Collaborate with talented people, not just your own ideas.

(40:48) Closing cancer screening gaps improves health outcomes.

(47:53) Digital platforms transform traditional healthcare models.

(53:27) Experiment continuously; capital sustains the journey.

(57:01) Key lessons from Derek’s health tech journey.

Resources Mentioned:

Derek Streat

https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-streat/

DexCare | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/dexcare/

DexCare | Website

https://dexcare.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

HealthcareInnovation #DigitalHealth #HealthTech #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

The venture capital landscape is evolving fast, and founders who don’t adapt will be left behind. Roy Luo, General Partner at ICONIQ, shares insights on the shifting dynamics of startup funding and what it takes to scale in 2025. With investments in companies like Figma, Canva and Ramp, Roy breaks down key trends in fintech, AI-driven business models and the future of venture capital.

Specifically, Roy discusses:

(06:46) TCV provided key lessons in investing, founder relations and tech disruption.

(11:25) How AI is transforming startups and the VC landscape.

(17:00) How to evaluate product-market fit beyond just revenue metrics.

(24:45) The importance of strong investor-founder alignment in building long-term partnerships.

(37:44) Buyer pain points and trends guide investment decisions.

(41:03) Lessons from high-growth investments like Ramp and FloQast.

(53:04) The characteristics of successful startups and the importance of founder-market fit.

(57:06) How identity and anti-fraud solutions are shaping the next wave of fintech.

Resources Mentioned:

Roy Luo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/roybluo/

ICONIQ | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/iconiq-capital-llc/

ICONIQ | Website

https://www.iconiqcapital.com/growth

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

VentureCapital #StartupFunding #Fintech #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Is generative AI rewriting the rules for how startups scale, hire and grow? In this episode, Brian Rothenberg, Partner at Defy.vc, explores how the resurgence of the Bay Area, the rise of generative AI and the future of marketplaces are reshaping the startup landscape. We revisit Brian’s 2017 talk on scaling marketplaces and analyze which lessons still hold true.

Specifically, Brian discusses:

(02:54) Why defy backs early-stage founders with a strong operator mindset.

(03:59) How the Bay Area has re-emerged as the epicenter of AI-driven innovation.

(09:15) Applying AI to the most constrained side of a marketplace can unlock major growth.

(12:37) Training-wheel tools can help onboard more users to AI in a business-friendly way.

(15:46) Generative AI can likely handle 80–90% of tasks that once needed large teams.

(20:11) AI performance may shift ratings to simple yes-or-no outcomes.

(25:40) Verified identities could help filter fake content as trust declines.

(31:55) AI may shift roles but will likely create new kinds of jobs.

(35:00) Data privacy concerns are fueling cautious AI adoption and enterprise solutions.

(40:42) Outcome-based pricing is overtaking traditional per-seat SaaS models.

Resources Mentioned:

Brian Rothenberg

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianrothenberg/

Defy.vc | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/defy-vc/

defy.vc | Website

https://defy.vc/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

StartupGrowth #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #OutcomeBasedPricing #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Building a thriving SaaS community isn’t just about content — it’s about creating real, in-person connections that people keep coming back to. Alex Theuma, Founder of SaaStock, shares how he transformed a simple blog into one of the most influential SaaS conferences in the world. He unpacks the highs and lows of scaling a global event, from bootstrapping early growth to navigating expansion challenges.

Specifically, Alex discusses:

(05:02) Turning a simple blog into a SaaS community.

(10:51)A SaaS community grew through blogs, emails and newsletters before events.

(15:20) The biggest challenges and lessons from launching the first SaaStock conference.

(22:28) The name SaaStock was inspired by Woodstock and came together instantly.

(30:34) The risks and rewards of bootstrapping versus raising strategic capital.

(33:56) How expanding too quickly nearly derailed SaaStock’s growth.

(40:41) A strategic pivot to virtual events positioned the conference as an industry leader.

(44:51) The SaaSop Founder Membership unites 70 CEOs through meetups and retreats.

(49:45) The power of in-person meetups for fostering engaged communities.

(51:48) A decade in, the vision for SaaStock is to 10x its impact and growth.

Resources Mentioned:

Alex Theuma

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alextheuma/

SaaStock | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/saastock/

SaaStock | Website

https://www.saastock.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

SaaS #CommunityBuilding #B2BEvents #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Scaling a company requires more than just great ideas — it demands execution, urgency and adaptability. In this episode, Dan Rogers, CEO of LaunchDarkly, shares how he has built high-performance teams and driven sustained success, drawing from his experience leading growth at Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce and ServiceNow.

Specifically, Dan covers:

(03:24) Dan’s passion for technology led to an early start and a journey to Silicon Valley.

(06:01) Why owning a number early in a career builds strong leadership skills.

(11:28) Technical audiences want guidance, not marketing — stay product-focused.

(25:25) Why customer insights should shape business decisions, not pre-set playbooks.

(27:19) The role of execution in validating strategy and driving competitive advantage.

(30:33) Competition is a sign of success — embrace it as part of growth.

(37:45) AI application releases need control; rolling back and adjusting prompts is essential.

(43:04) The importance of maintaining innovation speed while ensuring software reliability.

(47:50) How feature flagging and controlled rollouts help companies move fast without breaking things.

(51:49) Longevity in business requires discipline — prioritize fitness, diet and personal time with the same intensity as work.

Resources Mentioned:

Dan Rogers

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-rogers-a1717a/

LaunchDarkly | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/launchdarkly/

LaunchDarkly | Website

https://www.launchdarkly.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

Leadership #StartupGrowth #SoftwareDevelopment #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

The companies that win the next decade won’t just adopt AI — they’ll redesign how work gets done from the ground up. Daniel Saks, CEO and Co-Founder of Landbase, returns to share lessons learned from scaling two companies across two major technology waves. Daniel explores how the path from SaaS to agentic AI is not just a shift in tools, but a complete rethinking of how businesses operate, compete and grow.

Specifically, Daniel discusses:

(03:35) Daniel had early conviction in SaaS and saw it reshape business.

(07:48) How his approach today targets SMBs, and not enterprises.

(10:04) The intense competition in AI and how Landbase differentiates through deep talent, data, and execution.

(16:34) Why the infrastructure war in AI mirrors the early cloud era.

(19:53) AI can replace outdated service-based businesses.

(21:24) “Reclaim your day” reflects Landbase’s mission to let humans focus on creative, high-value work.

(23:39) Why value creation and timing still win deals — regardless of the tech wave.

(28:41) Relevance beats personalization in outbound.

(30:36) Why “move fast and break things” doesn’t work in a world demanding trust, values and governance.

(36:26) AI will run on autopilot — with humans in control.

Resources Mentioned:

Daniel Saks

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielsaks/

Landbase | LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/landbase/

Landbase | Website

https://www.landbase.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

AgenticAI #SaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #DataDriven #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Venture capital isn’t just about funding — it’s about making the right bets at the right time. Nick Washburn, Senior Managing Director of Intel Capital, shares insights on founder-investor dynamics, venture capital strategies and the evolving landscape of AI-driven business models.

Specifically, Nick discusses:

(03:34) The move from law to venture capital.

(10:46) Companies are bought, not sold — startups must plan ahead for acquisition.

(15:47) Product-market fit sparks growth, but scaling is the real test.

(19:55) Investing without deep market knowledge leads to failure.

(26:01) Data pipeline optimization is costly but crucial.

(33:20) AI growth looks impressive, but true revenue quality is uncertain.

(44:13) The last mile — packaging, experience and distribution — matters most.

(56:19) There’s no single playbook — success depends on product and buyers.

(01:23:59) Building genuine investor relationships starts with patience and an open mind.

Resources Mentioned:

Nick Washburn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-washburn-32216226/

Intel Capital

https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelcapital/

National Venture Capital Association

https://nvca.org

Kauffman Fellows Program

https://www.kauffmanfellows.org

Intel Capital

https://www.intelcapital.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #CloudInfrastructure #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

The most valuable asset in business today isn’t technology — it’s data. Those who control it, refine it and protect it will dominate their industries. SC Moatti, Managing Partner of Mighty Capital, shares insights on the evolving role of product managers, the impact of AI on product development and how businesses can leverage data to drive innovation and market leadership.

Specifically, SC discusses:

(2:50) Mighty Capital invests in top startups and connects them with 500,000 product managers.

(5:08) Most waves of innovation, from the mobile era to AI and Web3, start with the same type of problem.

(10:25) AI is reshaping patents and copyright laws, but machines will never own intellectual property.

(11:58) Are we at a Napster moment with AI and how will it reshape business models?

(16:04) Product managers will use AI agents to streamline work and decision-making.

(20:05) Why product managers are now at the center of the data revolution.

(24:17 The future of onboarding and why the best experience may require no onboarding at all.

(32:15) The risks and opportunities AI presents in intellectual property, ownership and industry disruption.

(37:08) The rising trend of AI-native companies and their capital-efficient business models.

(40:12) The future of product managers is changing fast, with more growth ahead.

Resources Mentioned:

SC Moatti -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scmoatti/

Mighty Capital | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/mighty-capital/

Mighty Capital | Website -

https://mighty.capital

Products That Count -

https://www.productsthatcount.org

Amplitude -

https://amplitude.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

ProductManagement #TechInnovation #DataDriven #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Building wealth isn’t just about working harder — it’s about working smarter. In this episode, Scott D. Clary, Founder and Host of Success Story Podcast, shares his journey in entrepreneurship, personal branding and wealth creation. He explains how building a personal brand can serve as a competitive advantage in an era where AI is reshaping industries and commoditizing work. With a social media following of over 1.7 million and an extensive email subscriber base, Scott breaks down the frameworks that helped him scale his influence and business.

Specifically, Scott discusses:

(04:09) A personal brand is a product — built on your ideas, experiences and expertise.

(06:48) Shift from stability to agency for financial freedom.

(16:07) Video content fuels organic growth and audience trust.

(19:27) Niche content builds stronger, more engaged communities.

(26:52) Mastery comes from repetition — put in the reps, learn and refine over time.

(36:50) The best entrepreneurs solve niche problems they’ve lived and understand deeply.

(41:00) Wealth grows in four stages: job, freelance, product and system.

(50:26) Growth starts with questioning everything, even yourself.

(01:24:49) Reverse engineer success by studying those who’ve done it.

Resources Mentioned:

Scott D. Clary -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdclary/

Success Story Podcast | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/success-story-podcast/

Success Story Podcast | Website -

https://www.successstorypodcast.com/

Personal.ai -

https://www.personal.ai/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

Entrepreneurship #WealthCreation #ContentStrategy #Product #Marketing #Innovation #Startup #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Building a lasting brand in a rapidly changing digital world requires adaptability, strong insights and an authentic customer connection. Joseph Thompson, Co-Founder and COO of Kits.com, shares insights on building and scaling brands in the evolving digital landscape. As one of the earliest speakers at Traction in 2015, he reflects on how branding strategies have changed over the years and what remains fundamental for success.

Specifically, Joseph discusses:

(02:24) How branding strategies have evolved over the last decade and what remains essential.

(03:31) The role of powerful insights in shaping successful brands.

(04:07) The impact of social media’s rapid monetization on brand building.

(06:05) Why brands that focus on growth hacking without a solid foundation often struggle.

(15:09) The importance of creating an authentic brand experience and engaging customers as influencers.

(20:34) How Kits.com leveraged micro-influencers and social shopping to drive growth.

(25:38) Removing cost barriers encouraged more people to try Kits.com and spread the word.

(29:48) The effectiveness of localized marketing strategies in building community-driven brand awareness.

(36:45) AI helps personalize marketing and optimize inventory, improving efficiency and customer experience.

(38:12) How AI and AR will shape the future of marketing, branding, and eyewear technology.

Resources Mentioned:

Joseph Thompson -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephanthonythompson/

Kits.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

BrandBuilding #DigitalMarketing #EcommerceGrowth #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Think marketing to developers is all about hoodies and hackathons? Think again. As the developer-led economy is poised to grow to a TRILLION dollars, companies that offer products for developers must refocus to a business-to-developer (B2D) model as developers become not only users of products, but key purchase influencers.

In this episode, Nnamdi Iregbulem, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, Joyce Lin, Head of Developer Relations at Viam, and Caroline Lewko, CEO of Revere Communications, reveal actionable insights for building and scaling developer relations programs that drive adoption, loyalty, and growth in a developer-led economy.

Specifically, you’ll learn:

• How to get developers to adopt and build on your platform – from APIs and SDKs to advanced ML and DevOps tools.
• What it takes to deliver an exceptional Developer Experience (DX) – aligning marketing and product teams to meet the unique needs of developers.
• Key ingredients of a winning Developer Relations program – from onboarding to advocacy and retention.
• How to stand out through community engagement – turning developers into loyal evangelists for your platform.

Resources Mentioned:

Nnamdi Iregbulem -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nnamdiiregbulem/

Joyce Lin -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyce-lin/

Caroline Lewko -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinelewko/

Lightspeed Venture Partners | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

Lightspeed Venture Partners | Website -

https://lsvp.com/

Viam | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/viaminc/

Viam | Website -

https://www.viam.com/

Revere Communications -

https://www.reverecommunications.com/

Tyler Jewell’s research on developer-led markets -

https://tylerjewell.substack.com/p/the-developer-led-landscape-20-08-28

Stack Overflow Developer Survey -

https://survey.stackoverflow.com/2024/

GitLab’s “Everyone Can Contribute” philosophy -

https://gitlab.com/

“Developer Relations: How to Build and Grow a Successful DevRel Program” by Caroline Lewko and James Parton - https://www.devrel.agency/book

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada’s Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch’s programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

DeveloperRelations #BusinessToDeveloper #B2D #Product #Marketing #Innovation #Startup #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

Farhan Thawar, VP and Head of Engineering at Shopify, reflects on the evolution of remote work, hiring strategies and the role of artificial intelligence in engineering. Farhan shares insights drawn from his extensive experience, including founding and scaling startups and contributing to shaping Shopify’s engineering culture.

Farhan discusses:

00:00 - Intro

00:35 - The evolution of remote work

05:41 - How Shopify integrates in-person connections

08:03 - Why structured in-office experiences benefit early talent

11:32 - Building trust in remote or hybrid work environments

12:30 - How Farhan leverages the advantages of remote work

13:35 - How to apply Shopify’s best practices to other companies

17:26 - Hiring generalists over specialists in early-stage companies

27:45 - How to set meaningful professional goals

35:18 - Why Shopify is hiring a thousand interns in 2025

38:23 - How Shopify is using AI in hiring

43:30 - How AI is transforming pair programming and coding interviews

48:09 - Cybersecurity today

Resources Mentioned:

Farhan Thawar -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/fnthawar/

Shopify | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopify/

Shopify careers -

https://www.shopify.com/careers

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

RemoteWork #HybridWork #EngineeringLeadership #Product #Marketing #Innovation #Startup #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

The biggest outcomes tend to be founder-led, and building anything great is a long and hard journey. In this episode, Mark MacLeod,, Startup CEO Coach and host of the Startup CEO Podcast, shares his framework for generating long term sustainable results without burning out and without sacrificing company performance.

Mark has spent over two decades helping high-growth technology companies achieve their potential. As a former CFO for industry leaders like Shopify and FreshBooks, a venture capitalist, and the founder of an investment bank, Mark has navigated everything from failures to driving hundreds of millions in financing and exits. Mark balances his professional achievements with his passions as a yoga instructor, CrossFit enthusiast, and electronic music producer.

Specifically, Mark discusses:

• How founders can align personal and professional goals for sustained success.

• The seven personal practices that foster peak performance for startup CEOs.

• Why founders must reinvent themselves to match their company’s growth.

• The importance of building intentional boundaries to balance work and life.

• How to leverage senior leadership to amplify organizational impact.

• Why connecting with peers and advisors is crucial for overcoming isolation.

• The role of fun and personal passions in reducing stress and enhancing creativity.

• Strategies for maintaining mental and physical health in high-growth environments.

Resources Mentioned:

​​Mark MacLeod | Website -

https://markmacleod.me/

Mark MacLeod | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/themarkmacleod/

Ikigai Explained -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai

“Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker -

https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144324

Five Minute Journal -

https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-journal

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

startupleadership #founderjourney #ceoinsights #product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

Marissa Chacko, Former Director of Product Management at Google, kicks off the inaugural episode of “The NextWave Podcast by Traction” with a discussion on the evolution of conversational agents and AI technology. With over a decade of experience spanning companies like Google, Lyft and Foursquare, Marissa examines the shift from clunky bots to sophisticated AI agents, shedding light on the opportunities and challenges within this rapidly evolving landscape.

Specifically, Marissa discusses:

• How conversational agents have evolved from simple bots to AI-driven assistants.

• Why memory and personalization are pivotal to advancing AI capabilities.

• The balance between leveraging creativity and minimizing hallucination in AI models.

• How companies can unlock private data to build tailored AI solutions.

• The ethical considerations and societal impact of integrating AI into daily life.

• The emerging role of AI-native companies in disrupting traditional markets.

• Why collaboration across ecosystems is critical for the next wave of AI innovation.

• The potential for AI to bridge gaps in healthcare, global research and societal challenges.

Resources Mentioned:

Google Assistant - https://assistant.google.com

Foursquare - https://foursquare.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

ConversationalAI #TechInnovation #HumanComputerInteraction #Product #Marketing #Innovation #Startup #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

In this episode, Rafael Loureiro, Co-Founder and CEO of Wealth.com, shares insights from his journey from CTO at Emailage (acquired for $500m by LexisNexis) to Cofounder and CEO at Wealth.com which recently closed a $30m Series A led by Google Ventures. Under Rafael's leadership, the platform has gained recognition as a leading technology provider in the trust category, serving over 500 wealth management firms and earning awards such as the Advisor Choice Award.

Specifically, Rafael discusses:

• How to transition from CTO to a CEO.

• Key lessons from scaling Emailage to a $500m exit, including the value of hiring the right team and setting a culture of ownership.

• Why startups should prioritize progress over perfection and deploy solutions iteratively.

• How to identify and recruit “missionary” talent who align with a company’s values.

• Strategies for pivoting go-to-market approaches based on customer feedback.

• Leveraging AI to enhance products without compromising compliance.

• The significance of building user-centric solutions through customer interviews and advisory boards.

Resources Mentioned:

Rafael Loureiro -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelloureiro/

Wealth.com -

https://www.wealth.com/

Emailage -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/emailage/

Advisor Choice Award -

https://www.wealthmanagement.com/industry-awards/2024-wealth-management-industry-awards-advisor-choice-awards

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

estateplanning #financialadvisors #wealthmanagement #product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode, Aydin Mirzaee, CEO and Co-Founder of Fellow.app, shares his journey from founding his first startup to leading a successful meeting productivity platform. As a seasoned entrepreneur, Aydin highlights lessons he learned through building and pivoting startups and his unique strategies for scaling Fellow.app in the competitive SaaS space.

Specifically, Aydin discusses:

• Lessons learned from early failures and how these shaped his approach to future ventures.

• Strategies for building Fellow.app as a “super manager’s” tool, focusing on productivity and effective meeting management.

• How bootstrapping and navigating pivotal transitions have impacted the development of Fellow.app’s core offerings.

• The value of testing product ideas with potential customers before investing heavily in development.

• Methods for turning user feedback into actionable changes, leading to a more refined product.

• Approaches to founder-led sales and why early customer engagement is essential.

• Insights into the fundraising process, including timing, relationship-building with investors and navigating term sheet negotiations.

Resources Mentioned:

Aydin Mirzaee -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aydinmirzaee/

Fellow App | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/appfellow/

Fellow.App | Website -

https://fellow.app

Super Managers Podcast -

https://fellow.app/supermanagers/

“High Growth Handbook” by Elad Gil -

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=high+growth+handbook&language=en_US&adgrpid=147623364602&hvadid=648027981812&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=20822&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=124458736559167267&hvtargid=kwd-458383828502&hydadcr=21447_13447927&tag=phtxtgostdde-20&ref=pd_sl_1fazbcc4hn_e

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots To Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

supermanager #meetingproductivity #bootstrappingsuccess #product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode,Mada Seghete, Co-Founder, CEO and Marketing at Upside, and Alex Bauer, Co-Founder, Product at Upside, share their journey of rethinking how businesses measure the true impact of their marketing and sales efforts. Drawing on years of experience in the tech industry, they provide insights into how companies can shift their focus from outdated models to more accurate and meaningful ways to track performance.

Specifically, Mada and Alex discuss:

• How marketing teams can move beyond traditional metrics to uncover hidden drivers of growth.

• The importance of understanding the distinction between attribution and credit, and why this matters for long-term success.

• Practical strategies for identifying which marketing and sales activities truly influence decision-making.

• How businesses can foster collaboration across teams by recognizing the contributions of all stakeholders.

• Why accurate attribution data is essential for proving the value of marketing and sales efforts to leadership.

Resources Mentioned:

Mada Seghete -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/madalina/

Alex Bauer -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdbauer/

Upside | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/upsidelabs/

Upside | Website -

https://upside.tech/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

marketingattribution #businessdataanalytics #salesstrategies #product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode, Bruce Wang, Director of Engineering at Netflix, shares his journey from founding startups to leading engineering teams at one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies. With a rich background in tech leadership and a founder mindset, Bruce delves into the lessons learned from both his startup ventures and his time at Netflix.

Specifically, Bruce discusses:

• The importance of adaptability and dealing with change in engineering leadership.

• How a reduced sense of fear and a high risk tolerance can drive success.

• The value of networking skills in building relationships within a company.

• Why psychological safety is key to building trusting and accountable teams.

• Bruce’s framework for seeking excellence and driving customer delight in engineering.

• Lessons learned from working in both startups and large corporations like Netflix.

• The dangers of emulating big company processes in a startup environment.

Resources Mentioned:

Netflix -

https://www.netflix.com/

Plato -

https://www.platohq.com

GitHub -

https://github.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

SoftwareDevelopment #TechLeadership #PlatformEngineering #Product #Marketing #Innovation #Startup #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

In this episode, Sarosh Waghmar, Founder, Co-chairman, and Chief Product Officer of Spotnana, shares his journey from building a self-funded $70-million business to launching venture-backed Spotnana with over $150m in funding. Sarosh dives into his experiences, detailing his passion for creating change and how he has navigated through various challenges to build a platform that redefines the travel ecosystem.

Specifically, Sarosh discusses:

• How his early fascination with frequent flier miles sparked his interest in the travel industry.

• The importance of embracing failures and setbacks to fuel success.

• His approach to launching Spotnana and the vision behind building a platform for travel agencies.

• Why he believes in the difference between becoming rich and creating wealth.

• The importance of staying true to one's values and principles when scaling a business.

• The impact of adopting a customer-first mentality in building a tech platform.

• How focusing on long-term goals and partnerships can drive innovation.

• The significance of discipline in entrepreneurship and the importance of showing up consistently.

Resources Mentioned:

Sarosh Waghmar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/swaghmar/

Spotnana | LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotnanatechnology/

Spotnana | Website - https://www.spotnana.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

travelindustry #traveltech #travelsolutions #product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

Rob Schutz, Co-Founder of Ro and Founder of Snagged.com, shares insights from his entrepreneurial journey, creating successful companies in health tech and beyond. He details his path from healthcare consulting to becoming a key player in the telehealth industry.

Rob also discusses how his ventures have impacted sectors like men’s health, dermatology and mental health. Throughout the episode, Rob offers wisdom on finding opportunities, building audiences and staying nimble in changing markets.

Specifically, Rob discusses:

• How his background in healthcare consulting led him to entrepreneurship.

• The challenges of building and scaling a vertically integrated healthcare company.

• How starting with a taboo topic like erectile dysfunction paved the way for Ro’s success.

• Why bootstrapping Snagged.com is a personal passion project after his time at Ro.

• The importance of building organic email lists and leveraging community for growth.

• His lessons on the power of negotiation in business.

• The impact of transitioning from fast-growing startups to smaller, more personal ventures.

• Why founders should balance family life with career aspirations.

Resources Mentioned:

Rob Schutz - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robschutz/

Ro’s | Website - https://ro.co/

Snagged.com - http://Snagged.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

Entrepreneurship #Healthcareinnovation #Telehealth #Product #Marketing #Innovation #Startup #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

In this episode, TK Kader, Founder of ToutApp, Inc. and TK | Unstoppable, shares invaluable insights on how to build a scalable go-to-market machine that not only drives 3x growth but also sets the foundation for long-term success in SaaS businesses. TK breaks down the essential strategies that can propel startups to $3 million in ARR and beyond.

Specifically, TK discusses:

• The importance of embracing sales and marketing to achieve success in startups.

• Why 96% of startups fail and how to be part of the successful 4%.

• The three core pillars of a successful startup: great product, ripe market and scalable go-to-market strategy.

• How to craft a market strategy by identifying an urgent and important problem.

• The critical role of simplifying your product strategy to make it easy to sell.

• How to avoid common go-to-market traps and focus on the right execution.

• The concept of a “Broadway show” and its importance in consistent go-to-market execution.

• Why founders often underprice their products and how to optimize pricing for net dollar retention.

Resources Mentioned:

TK Kader - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tkkader/

ToutApp, Inc. - https://www.linkedin.com/company/toutapp-inc-/

TK | Unstoppable - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tk-strategies/

TK's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/TKKader

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

SaaS #entrepreneurship #scalingstartups #product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Doug Winter, Founder and CEO at Seismic, talks about how he grew Seismic from a small startup to a major player in sales enablement. Doug shares the key moments and strategies that helped Seismic succeed, including important acquisitions and staying focused on goals.

Specifically, Doug discusses:

• How Seismic started and the tough decisions they made along the way.

• Why they focused on big companies to find their place in the market.

• The reasons behind their Series A funding and staying in San Diego.

• Their approach to acquisitions and how competition played a role.

• How buying Lessonly boosted growth for both companies.

• The importance of company culture and people in making acquisitions work.

• What they learned about the challenges of merging with competitors.

• Why having clear goals is crucial for successful mergers and acquisitions.

Resources Mentioned:

Doug Winter - https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-winter/

Seismic - https://seismic.com/

Jackson Square Ventures - https://www.jacksonsquareventures.com/

Lessonly - https://www.lessonly.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

salesenablement #businessscquisitions #leadershipgrowth #product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode, Prashanth Chandrasekar, CEO of Stack Overflow, shares lessons from growing to over 100 million users..

Specifically, Prashanth discusses:

- 4 key pillars in the journey of scaling SaaS companies

• The importance of assessing the direction of company progress.

• Building with the community, not just for the community.

• The passion required to build a community from scratch..

• Lessons from the entrepreneurial journey.

Resources Mentioned:

Prashanth Chandrasekar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pchandrasekar/

Stack Overflow for Teams - https://stackoverflow.com/teams

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

SaaS #CommunityBuilding #ProductStrategy #Product #Marketing #Innovation #Startup #GenerativeAI #AI

View Details

In this episode, Dave Pickles, Co-Founder of $47 billion adtech behemoth The Trade Desk, shares lessons from building and scaling the company with little to no funding. Dave explains:

• The early challenges and failures they faced, including tech problems and market uncertainties.

• How they kept a lean capital structure to stay focused and efficient.

• Partnering with agencies and aggregators to grow the business.

• The company culture at The Trade Desk, which focuses on contribution, accountability and small-team autonomy.

• The decision to go public and the importance of staying independent.

• Keeping employees motivated and maintaining a strong culture during rapid growth.

Resources Mentioned:

Dave Pickles -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-pickles-3a31bb3/

The Trade Desk | LinkedIn -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-trade-desk/

The Trade Desk | Website -

https://www.thetradedesk.com/us

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

digitaladvertising #adtech #businessgrowth #product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode, Dan Olsen, Author of "The Lean Product Playbook," explores the essentials of crafting effective product strategies. With a background in working with industry giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber, Box and Walmart, Dan offers valuable insights into achieving product-market fit and leading successful product teams.

Specifically, Dan discusses:

• The importance of focusing on the long term rather than the short term in product strategy.

• The Product-Market Fit Pyramid and how each layer contributes to achieving product-market fit.

• The difference between problem space and solution space and why it’s crucial to address customer needs.

• How to use the Kano Model to categorize customer needs and prioritize features.

• The concept of product strategy as saying no to many good ideas to focus on the best ones.

• Practical examples from his experience, including the success of Instagram’s initial product strategy.

Resources Mentioned:

Dan Olsen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danolsen98/

Dan Olsen's book: "The Lean Product Playbook" - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118960874/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

Lean Product Meetup - https://meetup.com/lean-product

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Dan Martell, Founder of SaaS Academy, Founder and CEO of Martell Media and Managing Partner at High Speed Ventures, shares his journey from a troubled youth to becoming a successful entrepreneur and angel investor. Dan’s story is one of resilience, personal growth and the transformative power of software and recurring revenue models.

Specifically, Dan discusses:

• Overcoming a difficult childhood and finding purpose in software development.

• The predictability and consistency of recurring revenue models.

• Building and scaling multiple multimillion-dollar companies.

• The importance of creating value for customers and continuously improving.

• Key components of building a $100 million company, including product-market fit, scalable sales motions, and effective team building.

Resources Mentioned:

Dan Martell -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmartell

SaaS Academy -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy/

Martell Media -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/martellmedia/

High Speed Ventures -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/high-speed-ventures/

High Speed Ventures -

https://www.highspeedventures.com/

NP Digital Website -

https://neilpatel.com/

Ubersuggest -

https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/

Lloyed Lobo’s Book: “From Grassroots to Greatness” -

https://rb.gy/yrcftc

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode, Greg Isenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Late Checkout, shares insights on building successful community-based products and the importance of community in product development. Greg also delves into his journey from the head of product strategy at WeWork to founding Late Checkout, a venture studio based on community and Web3 products.

Greg discusses:

• The organic and low-risk nature of building community-based products.

• The core thesis that community-based products outperform non-community-based products.

• His definition of a community-based product and how it differs from an audience.

• Concrete steps for building and scaling a community from scratch.

• The metrics to track for community engagement and retention.

• Lessons from successful and failed communities.

• The intersection of community and Web3, and the potential of DAOs.

• Examples of successful community-based products and their impact.

Resources Mentioned:

Greg Isenberg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

Late Checkout | Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/late-checkout/

Late Checkout | Website - https://www.latecheckout.studio/

Boast.AI - https://Boast.AI

“From Grassroots to Greatness” - https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Homeroom Club - https://homeroom.club/

Friends With Benefits (FWB) - https://www.fwb.help/join

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Kyle Poyar, Operating Partner at OpenView, delves into the transformative power of community-led growth and its impact on businesses. Kyle shares his expertise on how companies can effectively engage with their users to drive sustainable growth and build strong brands.

Specifically, Kyle discusses:

• The importance of understanding the needs and pain points of your audience.

• How to leverage existing communities for faster results.

• The role of community in creating a new category, as demonstrated by HubSpot’s inbound marketing.

• The significance of connecting users with peers to share best practices.

• Strategies for amplifying the voices of thought leaders within the community.

• The benefits of community-driven support for user activation and value realization.

• How community engagement can drive top-of-funnel growth and reduce customer acquisition costs.

• The dual role of community members in sharing experiences and learning from others.

• The impact of community on overall business metrics and functions.

- Effective ways to build a trusted voice within existing communities.

Resources Mentioned:

Kyle Poyar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

OpenView - https://openviewpartners.com/

Lloyed Lobo’s Book: “From Grassroots to Greatness” - https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada’s Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

Andrew Gazdecki, CEO of Acquire.com, delves into the complexities of startup acquisitions and the entrepreneurial path from startup to sale on this episode. Andrew brings a wealth of experience as a serial entrepreneur with multiple successful exits and offers valuable advice for both acquiring and selling startups.

Specifically, Andrew shares:

• The significance of starting with smaller acquisitions to learn the ropes.

• The impact of a business's current execution on its valuation, highlighting the importance of present achievements over future projections.

• The necessity of aligning potential acquisitions with personal strengths and market opportunities.

• Insights into preparing your startup for an attractive acquisition, emphasizing strategic positioning.

• Understanding and utilizing financial tools to facilitate the acquisition process effectively.

• The critical aspects of negotiation in the acquisition process and how to secure favorable terms.

• Essential considerations for first-time buyers in the startup acquisition market.

• Andrew’s reflections on his entrepreneurial journey, offering lessons on perseverance and strategic growth.

Resources Mentioned:

Andrew Gazdecki - https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki

Acquire.com - https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Manik Suri, Founder and CEO of GlacierGrid, shares his journey from public policy to tech entrepreneurship, exploring the challenges and breakthroughs along the way.

Join Manik as he covers key insights into the startup ecosystem, including:

• Debunking the myth that fundraising equates to success in Silicon Valley.

• Leveraging customer feedback to pivot and refine business strategies.

• Strategies for effective fundraising and managing capital efficiently.

• The significant role of personal global experiences in shaping business strategies.

• The essentiality of aligning product development with real-world problems.

*Since recording the interview, Therma has now rebranded as GlacierGrid

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Rajeev Dham, Managing Director of Sapphire Ventures, delves into the strategies of venture capital investment and the effective scaling of startups. Focusing on the B2B SaaS space, Rajeev highlights how Sapphire Ventures selects startups that redefine their market categories and the methodologies that lead to their success.

Discussion points include:

• The importance of backing companies that redefine their categories within the tech and software industries.

• Developing go-to-market strategies that improve customer experiences and distinguish startups from their competitors.

• Reconsidering the net burn ratio, advocating for a more nuanced financial management approach during growth phases.

• The value of founders’ direct engagement with their top customers.

• The need for startups to be adaptable and tackle unscalable tasks during crucial times.

- The critical role of a founder’s passion and determination in propelling a startup toward success.

Resources Mentioned:

Rajeev Dham - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeev-dham-79332812/

Sapphire Ventures - https://sapphireventures.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada’s Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Ania Wysocka, Founder of Rootd, discusses her journey and the creation of Rootd, an app designed to support those struggling with anxiety. Having experienced firsthand the lack of quality resources for anxiety, Ania embarked on a mission to fill this gap. Through extensive research and determination, Rootd was born, embodying a therapist-approved toolset aimed at empowering individuals to overcome anxiety.

With over 2 million users across 150 countries and achieving the #1 spot on iOS and Google Play, Rootd's impact is undeniable. Ania's story is about entrepreneurial success and creating a meaningful solution that addresses a universal challenge.

Ania highlights:

• The importance of recognizing and celebrating little wins along the journey, underscoring the value of pausing to reflect on achievements before moving on to the next goal.

• The conception of Rootd from a personal need to a global solution, emphasizing the app's development as a lifeline for those battling anxiety.

• The strategic steps taken to scale Rootd to eight figures in revenue with zero employees, showcasing the power of leveraging technology and community to drive growth.

Resources Mentioned:

Ania Wysocka - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ania-wys/

Rootd - https://www.linkedin.com/company/rootd-app/

Rootd App on iOS and Google Play - https://rootd.io/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode, Lloyed sits down with Devo Harris, the Grammy-winning producer renowned for his work with Kanye West and John Legend, who has seamlessly transitioned from the pulsating rhythms of the music industry to the cutting-edge realm of technology.

Join us as Devo shares his inspiring journey to founding and growing Adventr which is reshaping the way audiences interact with commercials, movies, and games, offering viewers immersive "choose your own adventure" experiences like never before.

Key Takeaways:

• Devo's transition from music legend to tech executive: Explore the motivations behind Devo's pivot and the challenges he faced in gaining credibility as an entrepreneur outside the music industry.

• Adventr's diverse client base and unique value proposition: Learn how Adventr attracts major brands like H&M and Paramount while also supporting emerging filmmakers and game developers, and the innovative solutions it offers to clients.

• The future of interactive media: Gain insights into the evolving landscape of content providers, the impact of trends observed by Adventr, and the convergence of music, AI, and technology in shaping connected media.

- Fundraising and entrepreneurial advice: Hear Devo's experience in raising over $5 million in seed funding for Adventr and his valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs navigating the fundraising process.

Resources Mentioned:

Devo Harris - https://www.linkedin.com/in/devoharris/

Adventr’s Website - https://adventr.ai

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode of the Traction podcast, Alice Heiman, Founder, Strategist, and Podcast Host of Sales Strategies for CEOs, shares her expertise in sales, honed from a rich background that spans from teaching in public schools to excelling in corporate sales. Alice’s journey from a public school teacher to a leading figure in complex corporate sales provides a unique perspective on sales strategies and customer relations.

Alice discusses several key points:

• The transition from education to sales and how teaching skills are beneficial in sales.

• Importance of mindset change in sales, especially for CEO founders.

• Utilizing networks and board advisors for business growth and sales strategies.

• Emphasizing the role of sales as a team sport and the importance of a team approach in large deals.

• The concept of No-Sell Selling and preparation before sales calls.

• Challenges faced by sales leaders globally and strategies to overcome them.

• Effective hiring and coaching strategies in sales.

Resources Mentioned:

Alice Heiman -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

Sales Strategies for CEOs -

https://www.linkedin.com/company/alice-heiman-llc/

“Conceptual Selling” by Robert Miller and Stephen Heiman -

https://www.amazon.com/Conceptual-Selling-Robert-B-Miller/dp/0446389064

“Strategic Selling” by Robert Miller and Stephen Heiman. -

https://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Selling-Successful-Americas-Companies/dp/0446386278/ref=pd_bxgy_img_d_sccl_2/135-0551963-3670142?pd_rd_w=1pMvl&content-id=amzn1.sym.7746dde5-5539-43d2-b75f-28935d70f100&pf_rd_p=7746dde5-5539-43d2-b75f-28935d70f100&pf_rd_r=HBETANRAPEWTZA3KVZS9&pd_rd_wg=atzQP&pd_rd_r=e428d300-d512-424f-9219-3b22c6e3f5ef&pd_rd_i=0446386278&psc=1

“Obviously Awesome” by April Dunford -

https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005

“Growth IQ” by Tiffany Bova -

https://www.amazon.com/Growth-IQ-Smarter-Choices-Business/dp/0525534407

“The Experience Mindset” by Tiffany Bova -

https://www.amazon.com/Experience-Mindset-Changing-Think-Growth/dp/059354269X

“Sales Innovation Paradox” by Dr. Howard Dover -

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Innovation-Paradox-Harnessing-Performance/dp/1632996243

Alice Heiman’s podcast -

https://www.youtube.com/@AliceHeiman

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From “Grassroots to Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada’s Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch’s programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Assaf Resnick, Founder and CEO of BigPanda, shares his journey of going from venture capitalist to building BigPanda into a billion-dollar company, diving into the challenges and strategies along the way.

Specifically, Assaf discusses:

• Strategies for scaling a tech company in a competitive market.

• The importance of a strong company culture and continuous innovation.

• Customer feedback as a cornerstone of product evolution.

• Embracing change and innovation to stay ahead of technological advancements.

• Leveraging partnerships to expand business reach and enhance product capabilities.

Resources Mentioned:

Assaf Resnick - https://www.linkedin.com/in/assafresnick/

BigPanda - https://www.linkedin.com/company/bigpanda/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Jason Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Klue, shares top lessons from building a category leader.

Specifically, Jason discusses:



• The challenges and successes in the entrepreneurial journey.

• Generating and refining business ideas, highlighting the value of feedback.

• The importance of selecting the right co-founder, focusing on trust and skill complementarity.

• Overcoming hurdles from initial concept to execution, emphasizing resilience.

• Effective strategies for building a customer base.

• Enhancing product development through customer feedback.

• The transition from self-funding to securing $80 million in venture capital and its impact on business expansion.

• The complexities and considerations involved in evolving a company into a multi-product enterprise.

Resources Mentioned:

Klue’s website - https://klue.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at http://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI #entrepreneurship

View Details

Paul Van Metre, Co-Founder of ProShop ERP, discusses his entrepreneurial journey: from turning a traditional machine shop into a successful software company which recently secured $32 million growth funding after 10+ years of bootstrapping.

Key insights from Paul include:

• The shift from manufacturing to software was driven by customer demand and the realization of a bigger opportunity in software.

• A strong company culture and team unity are vital for growth and employee retention.

• Being process-driven and transparent is crucial, especially during intensive business due diligence.

• Partnering with Mainsail Partners was a strategic choice, influenced by their expertise in vertical ERP and alignment with ProShop's values.

• Sustainable growth and financial security were achieved by bootstrapping and focusing on customer needs.

• Opting for a minority investment was a deliberate strategy to maintain control and find the right partners.

Resources Mentioned:

ProShop ERP

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode, Esben Friis-Jensen, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Userflow, shares lessons from bootstrapping to $5M ARR with a team of 3.

Esben discusses several key points:

• Product growth is a crucial model for business expansion and has been successful at Userflow.

• The effectiveness of search engine marketing in competitive markets and its role in acquiring initial customers.

• The CEO's responsibility to stabilize a company whilst encouraging founders to inject new risks for growth.

• Esben reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, acknowledging the lessons learned and the importance of past ventures in shaping current success.

• Founders should think lean and prioritize gaining paying customers before seeking seed funding.

• The realities of VC-backed startups; building smaller, potentially acquirable companies might be a more practical path to success.

Resources Mentioned:

Userflow website

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode, Sri Batchu, Growth Advisor at Ramp, shares top lessons from helping scale Instacart, Opendoor and Ramp.

Specifically, Sri discusses:

• Product-market fit as a cornerstone for successful growth.

• The critical role of high-quality founders and executives in building a talented team.

• Strategies for identifying and effectively reaching target audiences.

• Advocating for a focus on payback periods over traditional CAC and LTV metrics.

• Insights from Opendoor on managing capital risks and strategic asset management.

• The importance of a human-centric approach in B2B marketing.

• Effective growth hacks, illustrated by Opendoor’s MLS bidding strategy.

• The challenges and tactics of customer acquisition in B2C marketing.

Resources Mentioned:

Sri Batchu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sribatchu/

Ramp Website - https://www.linkedin.com/company/ramp/

Opendoor Website - https://www.opendoor.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup

View Details

On this episode, Spenser Skates, Co-Founder and CEO of Amplitude Analytics, delves into his journey of building and scaling the company from 0 to billion dollar IPO.

Spenser discusses:

• The pivotal role of understanding your product’s core action and its impact on user experience.

• The exhilaration and significance of acquiring the first paying customer for a startup.

• Identifying the moment of achieving product-market fit, marked by the first million dollars in revenue, signaling a viable business.

• The process of scaling up by hiring key executive roles like CRO, CFO and engineering leaders to prepare the company for next-level growth.

• The importance of authentic communication and learning by doing in sales and management roles.

• The value of maintaining long-lasting relationships with co-founders and aligning on values for sustainable company growth.

Resources Mentioned:

Amplitude Website

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

On this episode of the Traction Podcast, Logan Bartlett, Managing Director of Redpoint Ventures, discusses key strategies for venture capital success and startup growth. With years of experience in venture capital, Logan offers a deep dive into the crucial elements that drive startup success and investment decisions.

Logan explores:

• His transition from investment banking to venture capital, sharing pivotal learning moments.

• Redpoint Ventures’ investment focus, including software, B2B, Fintech, healthcare and AI’s impact.

• The effect interest rates and public market trends have on private venture investments.

• Balancing product-led growth with traditional enterprise sales in B2B SaaS.

• The role of personal branding and community building for startup founders in today’s digital era.

Highlighting the importance of aligning venture goals with a startup’s vision, Logan provides insightful guidance for founders navigating the venture capital landscape.

Resources Mentioned:

Logan Bartlett - https://www.linkedin.com/in/loganbartlett/

Redpoint Ventures - https://www.linkedin.com/company/redpointventures/

Redpoint Ventures Website - https://www.redpoint.com/

The Logan Bartlett Show on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=37f3b181b29f400f

The Logan Bartlett Show on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@theloganbartlettshow

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. “From Grassroots To Greatness” by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada’s Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch’s programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

Our guest today isJoyce Kim, Chief Marketing Officer ofTwilio. With a market cap of more than $10 billion, Twilio is the industry-leading platform that powers customer engagement, from voice and video to SMS and email.

Joyce dives into two important trends that will shape the future of marketing — generative AI and first-party data.

Specifically, Joyce discusses:

• Why do so many CMOs start as engineers?

• AI trends that will shape the future of marketing.

• The difference between first-party and third-party data.

• Effective first-party data strategies you should be doing right now.

• Why B2B campaigns can be more challenging than B2C campaigns.

• Making sense of generative AI among your marketing tech stack.

• Favorite tools and use cases with AI in marketing.

• Keeping the human element and authentic voice inside of AI marketing campaigns.

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Twilio athttps://www.twilio.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage Community-Led Growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world, like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada’s Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch’s programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca.

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com.

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode of the Traction Podcast, Gagan Biyani, Co-Founder and CEO of Maven, and cofounder of Udemy and Sprig shares unconventional lessons from building, failing, and scaling.

Specifically, Gagan dives into:

• Going from idea to product-market fit and scale.

• Navigating founder issues.

• When should you shutdown your startup.

• The pitfalls of over-fundraising, explaining how too much capital can lead to losing control over the company’s direction.

• Recognizing personal definitions of success, urging founders to reflect on what happiness and fulfillment mean beyond financial gain.

• Redefining “hustle” as smart work — using innovative problem-solving to create leverage and achieve more with less, rather than just putting in longer hours.

• The importance of adaptability, resourcefulness and continuous learning in successfully navigating the entrepreneurial journey.

This conversation highlights the need for founders to align their business journey with their life goals and values. It’s a call for honesty and introspection in the entrepreneurial world, reminding listeners that success is personal and multifaceted.

Resources Mentioned:

Maven’s official website

“From Grassroots to Greatness” (book)

Traction Community

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, Neil Patel, Co-Founder of NP Digital, shares lessons from successes and failures in building and scaling startups and brands to eventually bootstrapping NP Digital $100 million in revenue.

Neil is a New York Times bestselling author, has 4 million monthly blog visitors, more than 50 million downloads on his Marketing School podcast, and a YouTube channel boasting 31 million views.

Specifically, Neil discusses:

• How failures and mistakes helped him find success in entrepreneurship.

• How he built a massive personal brand to drive growth to many of his ventures.

• Key steps he used to bootstrap NP Digital to $100 million in revenue.

• The duties of a CEO and the distinction between Founder and CEO.

• Top trends that will shape the future of marketing.

• How to look for industries with large markets and lower competition.

Resources mentioned:

NP Digital Website

SEO Tool by Neil: Ubersuggest

Lloyed Lobo’s Book: From Grassroots to Greatness

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage Community-Led Growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

In this episode, Leah Tharin, Growth Advisor for scaling B2B companies, dives into how she grew her audience on LinkedIn and Substack from 0 to 40,000 subscribers in just one year.

Previously, Leah was the Head of Product at DeinDeal and Jua, and led the core product at Smallpdf to over 50 million monthly active users.

Specifically, Leah shares how to:

• Define your audience and find your unique voice.
• Tailor content to meet your audience’s needs effectively.
• Transform your audience into a thriving community by extending your presence beyond social platforms through the use of podcasts, newsletters, and chat platforms.
• Identify and engage with superfans across various mediums.
• Plan meetups to build deeper connections with your community.

Resources:

Product-led Growth for B2B Courses: https://maven.com/leah-tharin

Productea with Leah Podcast: https://www.leahtharin.com/p/the-productea-with-leah

Leah’s newsletter and blog: https://www.leahtharin.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup

View Details

Melissa Kwan, Co-Founder and CEO ateWebinar, is one of my closest friends whose brutal honesty is something I rely on almost daily. She's bootstrapped three companies and had one exit, all while traveling the world as a nomad.

Melissa's story reflects her belief that work should never come at the cost of one's life, as this idea helps you live life to the fullest.

Today, Melissa dives into some juicy, unconventional insights about how she started her company and what success really looks like in the tech world.

Specifically, Melissa covers:

• Prioritizing your happiness over only revenue when approaching business.

• The balance between creating a safe space and seeking adversity to grow.

• The playbook for hiring contractors and working without employees.

• How to decide on the right equity split with a cofounder.

• Optimizing your business for fun and advocating that for your team.

• Why finding product-market fit takes time.

• Low cost marketing and growth tactics.

• Why founders need to build a personal brand in 2023 and how to do it right.

Resources:

• Master Community Led Growth to skyrocket your business https://FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

• Run hundreds of engaging webinars without you having to be there. https://ewebinar.com

• Follow Lloyed Lobo https://www.linkedin.com/in/lloyedlobo

• Follow Melissa Kwan https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissakwan

• Traction Community https://tractionconf.io

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage Community-Led Growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull, and many more to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #bootstrapping

View Details

In this episode,Henry Shi, Co-Founder atSuper.com shares how they grew to more than 7 million customers and raised over $100 million in funding.

Specifically, Henry dives into:

• How him and his cofounders validated the idea for Super and found product-market fit.

• Key things founders should focus on in the early stages.

• Tactics for driving customer acquisition and growth.

• Who to hire and how to build a team from the early stages through hypergrowth and scale.

• Lessons from raising money from top investors.

• Navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage Community-Led Growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from the some of most iconic brands in world like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull, and many more to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI #hypergrowth #fintech

View Details

Ever wondered how a small startup skyrocketed into a $40 Billion collaboration powerhouse? Brace yourself, because today we're diving into Atlassian's electrifying journey. They birthed Jira, Confluence, and Trello, capturing a colossal 250,000 companies worldwide.

But massive success also brings a lot of competition, constantly nipping away at your market share. On this episode,Cameron Deatsch, CRO atAtlassian, spills the beans on how they didn't just grow but multiplied by cultivating an unstoppable community.

Specifically, Cameron discusses:

• When should companies build an ecosystem and community.

• How Atlassian built and scaled a community.

• How to measure community ROI.

• The Atlassian cultivates community "champions".

• The most challenging aspect of building Atlassian and they navigated it.

• Unconventional advice that founders shouldn’t ignore.

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Atlassian athttps://www.atlassian.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Leverage Community-Led Growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from the some of most iconic brands in world like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull, and many more to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today atFromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com

product #innovation #communityledgrowth #community #clg #plg #innovation #startup

View Details

Why do some companies have loyal, cult-like followings while others blend into oblivion? Is a good product enough to win in the market today?

In a world where traditional marketing is losing its edge and products are struggling to stand out, a thriving community is your biggest asset.

However, building and nurturing a community takes time - relationships cannot be an afterthought. When put front and center, a community can be a great acquisition channel, product feedback mechanism, brand differentiator, retention lever, and growth moat.

In this session, Jason Lemkin, Founder atSaaStr, and Lloyed Lobo, Cofounder at Traction discuss the journey behind creating the world's largest community for SaaS and Business software, where hundreds of thousands across the globe actively engage through mega conferences, events, meetups, podcasts, blogs, social media, and more.

Specifically, Jason and Lloyed dive into:

• Audience vs community, what is the difference

• Getting your community started, bringing people together, and seeding it at the beginning

• How to ensure your community sticks and sustains for the long haul

• The most impactful way to add new members

• Unique strategies and tactics to keep the community engaged and drive interpersonal connections between members

• The key metrics for community success

Grab a copy of From Grassroots to Greatness: 13 Rules to Build Iconic Brands with Community Led Growth at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about SaaStr athttps://www.saastr.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

From Grassroots To Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules to skyrocket your business with Community Led Growth, featuring tactical advice from iconic brands like Apple, Atlassian, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, and many more. Grab your copy at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com

community #clg #communityledgrowth #marketing #startup

View Details

In this episode,Matt Oppenheimer, Co-Founder and CEO ofRemitly, shares how he took the company from 0 to 4.2 million customers and a multibillion-dollar IPO.

Matt's personal experiences, coupled with witnessing the struggles of his Kenyan friends who relied on outdated systems for sending money, fueled his determination to create a platform to transform money orders, saving immigrants millions and empowering them financially.

Specifically, Matt dives into:

• The inspiration behind addressing the challenges with international money transfers.

• Finding the right co-founders and acquiring early customers.

• Key strategies to acquire and retain a large, international user base.

• The process of building trust and credibility with customers.

• Prioritizing the right ideas to develop and work on.

• How to choose which international markets to expand to first.

• Remitly's top 3 challenges and how they are dealt with.

• One piece of unconventional advice that founders ignore, but shouldn't.

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Remitly athttps://www.remitly.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com

product #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI #moneytransfer #payments

View Details

Is bigger always better?

There's this prevailing notion that a company needs to have thousands of employees working around the clock to create value and become successful.

But our guest today has done the opposite.

With a team of 80 that works 40 hours a week, he’s managed to rival the growth of his competitors with hundreds of millions in funding and thousands of employees working evenings and weekends.

He has also generated more profit than all of them combined.

Today,Jason Fried, Co-Founder and CEO at37signals, shares the playbook for achieving big things with small teams.

Specifically, Jason discusses:

• The advantage of doing less and staying small in certain areas.

• Choosing the most enjoyable hard path in business.

• The long-term strategy to remain profitable.

• The difference between a Founder and a CEO.

• When to bring on a COO.

• Why requiring your employees to work nights and weekends indicates your company is broken.

• Why the expectation of immediate responses is toxic to a lot of companies.

• Maintaining company culture, without unnecessary meetings.

• Figuring out prioritization as a small company.

• Lessons learned from growing a small team with no funding.

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Resources

Books - https://basecamp.com/books

Products - https://37signals.com

How one dollar made us worth $100,000,000,000 (that's 100 billion) - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/basecamp-valuation-tops-100-billion-after-bold-vc-investment-fried

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding.

To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #bootstrapping

View Details

Our guest on this episode of Traction is a legend in Silicon Valley,Keith Rabois, CEO ofOpenStore, and GP at top-tier venture capital firmFounders Fund.

Keith was instrumental in the success of PayPal, LinkedIn, Slide, Square, and OpenDoor. Eight companies he helped build are publicly traded IPOs with multi-billion dollar market caps or have been acquired for greater than $1 Billion.

Today, Keith shares some unconventional tactics for building hyper-growth companies.

Specifically, Keith covers:

• How he got into tech and PayPal.

• Advice to founders dealing with chaos in the market.

• How startups should be built.

• Finding and attracting undiscovered talent.

• Key hires to make from 0 to $10 million and beyond.

• Key ingredients to build a company that eventually goes public.

• Common mistakes that founders should avoid.

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about OpenStore athttps://open.store/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI #founder #hypergrowth

View Details

They say success comes at a price, but what about the hidden toll it takes on the minds of those who dare to dream big?

Andy Johns is a former Tech Exec and VC who spent the last 15 years investing in and driving growth for some of the biggest tech brands including Facebook, Twitter and Quora, as well as Wealthfront, where he was also president.

After several years of working through psychological pain stemming from childhood trauma, Andy left it all to become a mental health advocate and a writer at Clues.Life. Now, he's on a mission to help others heal from emotional pain, transform themselves and discover their life’s purpose.

In this session, Andy will dive into the raw reality of mental health and the stigma that has kept it locked away for far too long.

Specifically, Andy discusses:



• The reason for leaving Silicon Valley and becoming a mental health advocate.

• How to uncover deep internal issues within yourself.

• Why communities need to be more open about mental health.

• Common health challenges for tech employees.

• How to prevent burnout and maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Andy Johns - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewjohns/

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Clues.Life athttps://www.clues.life/

This episode is brought to you by:

Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. Scale your customer service without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visithttps://Intercom.com/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today athttps://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visithttps://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more athttps://contentallies.com

startup #founder #mentalhealth #selfcare

View Details

Generative AI is all the rage these days. There are thousands of generative AI tools swarming the market, and VC funding for this vertical hit two and a half billion last year.

Regardless of the hype, generative AI has the power to transform the way we do business and reshape the entire customer journey.

On this episode,Des Traynor, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer atIntercom, breaks down the hype.

Specifically, Des covers:

– Use cases of generative AI.

– How the entire industry will change with AI's involvement.

– Intercom’s approach to AI.

– How to deploy at scale.

– How the future of generative AI will evolve in the business world.

– How to get started without extensive technical expertise.

– Potential risks and downsides.

– Advice for founders.

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Intercom athttps://www.intercom.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. Scale your customer service without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visit https://Intercom.com/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #startup #generativeai #AI

View Details

Building a unicorn as a first-time founder doesn't happen too often, but Capchase did that in two years while helping other startups get more than $2 billion in non dilutive funding.

On this episode, Miguel Fernandez, Co-Founder & CEO atCapchase dives into:

• Building a unicorn as a first time founder

• Acquiring early customers and getting to product market fit

• Funding your company without giving up equity

• Bootstrapped vs. venture-backed

• How money can mask anything

• Leadership principles to institute during stressful times

• The top things that make a great company culture

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Capchase athttps://www.capchase.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. Scale your customer service without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visit https://Intercom.com/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #fundraising #fintech #unicorn #SaaS

View Details

Our guest on this episode isImmad Akhund, CEO and Founder ofMercury.

Banking is complex, but thanks to companies like Mercury, it doesn't have to be. Now, startups all over the world are reaping the benefits and scaling new heights.

Today, Immad shares how Mercury got to 80,000+ customers in more than 180 countries and provides insights into how startups and founders can effectively build and scale their businesses.

Specifically, Immad will share:

• Tactics for driving early customer acquisition and getting to go-to-market fit

• How Mercury grew its customer base from 19,000 to more than 80,000 in just 18 months.

• How to maintain sustained customer acquisition.

• Why your onboarding process is the leading indicator for engagement.

• How Mercury got 55% of their customers through word of mouth.

• How to invest in things that are the right thing to do but may not necessarily provide monetary value

• How to create a product-focused culture throughout an organization

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Mercury athttps://mercury.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. Scale your customer service without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visit https://Intercom.com/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #fundraising #fintech #banking #startups

View Details

Matt MacInnis, COO at Rippling shares what it takes to successfully build and scale a hypergrowth company.

In less than seven months after reaching a $6.5 billion valuation, Rippling was valued at $11.25 billion.

Matt joined the company when it was just 70 employees, and he has been a key player in its exponential growth.

From 2009 to 2018, Matt was the Co-Founder and CEO of Inkling, a mobile learning platform that provides on-job training for companies including McDonald’s and Whole Foods. Inkling was named one of the fastest, most innovative companies and raised over $100 million in funding before being acquired in 2018.

Specifically, Matt covers:

• The transition from Inkling to Rippling.

• The key to making a startup with multiple products successful.

• The long-term vision for Rippling.

• What is a COO, and when is the right time to bring one into a company?

• Behind the scenes of walking into a 70-person startup during a pandemic.

• The first hires to make in a fast-moving company.

• Key things to understand when scaling to $100 million ARR.

• Why Rippling likes to hire former founders.

• The benchmark for a successful process.

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Rippling athttps://www.rippling.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Intercom enables you to connect with your customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. Scale your customer service without additional investment while still providing a fast and personal experience. Apply to get a 95% discount at https://Intercom.com/traction.

Each year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #marketing #innovation #fundraising #startup

View Details

Loom’s Co-Founder and CTO, Vinay Hiremath, joins us to share learnings from the highs and lows of his startup’s hypergrowth journey, going from maxing out his credit cards and being inches away from closing the company’s doors to having over 14 million users and a $1.5 billion valuation.

Specifically, Vinay covers:

– Coming up with the idea and finding co-founders.

– Managing the chaos of pivots to product-market fit and escape velocity.

– Tactics for driving customer acquisition and growth – how Loom got to 14 million users.

– Whom to hire and how to build a team from the early stages through hypergrowth and scale.

– Lessons from raising money from top investors like Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins.

– Highs and lows of entrepreneurship and top things to do to prepare for peak mental performance.

Learn more athttps://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Loom athttps://www.loom.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

In a digital world, customers demand more, especially from support. Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. This enables customer service teams to scale without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Welcome to a whole new way to support your customers. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visit https://Intercom.com/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

product #innovation #fundraising #startup #growth

View Details

On this episode, Mike Knoop, Co-founder and President at Zapier, dives into how they built a $5 billion company with little to no funding. A completely remote company utilizing little to no venture funding isn't the norm for highly successful companies, but that's exactly how Zapier started.Fast forward to today, and the company is helping millions of businesses connect with 5,000+ apps to aid productivity and save up to 20 hours per week.

Specifically, Mike covers:

• How Zapier got its start and self-funded its growth for so long.

• Finding product-market fit and getting customers to pay early on.

• How to think about adding new features and products.

• A framework for decision-making.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Zapier at https://zapier.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

In a digital world, customers demand more, especially from support. Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. This enables customer service teams to scale without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Welcome to a whole new way to support your customers. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visit https://Intercom.com/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#startup #growth #product #marketing #automation

View Details

On this episode, Karl Sun, Co-Founder and Board Chair of Lucid Software discusses how to build a platform on top of your product to drive exponential growth.

Although for more than a decade Lucid Software focused mainly on its flagship product, Lucidchart, the team always built the company with a platform in mind. It’s because of this mindset of optionality and scale that the company can quickly adapt when opportunities arise.

Karl shares what his team focused on to build for scale early on, and how that is now benefiting the company as it serves its millions of customers worldwide.

Specifically, Karl dives into:

• What a platform is.

• Recognizing when it's time to scale your technology.

• How to recognize your unique advantage over your competitors.

• Building a product that addresses both immediate and future needs.

• How users can extend a product's core functionality for their specific needs.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Lucid Software at https://lucid.co/

This episode is brought to you by:

In a digital world, customers demand more, especially from support. Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. This enables customer service teams to scale without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Welcome to a whole new way to support your customers. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visit https://Intercom.com/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#platform #product #innovation #startup

View Details

On this episode, Stacey Epstein, CMO at Freshworks shares key lessons from the hyper-growth journey of the first India-founded B2B SaaS company to go public in the US – going from a 6-member, $1 million start-up to a 4,000+ member, $300 million scale-up leading up to IPO.

Customer-focused businesses foster a company culture dedicated to improving customer satisfaction and relationships, and that singular focus has made all the difference for Freshworks.

Specifically, Stacey covers:

• How Freshworks migrated from India to the US.

• How to run a global organization at scale and maintain consistency across the board.

• The process for deciding what product is built next.

• How founders should approach their first marketing hire.

• Advice for women who are early on in their career with CEO aspirations.

This episode is moderated by Arjun Chopra, Partner at Floodgate.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Freshworks at https://www.freshworks.com/

#product #marketing #startup #scale #growth

This episode is brought to you by:

In a digital world, customers demand more, especially from support. Intercom enables businesses to connect with their customers at exactly the right moment using powerful messaging and automation. This enables customer service teams to scale without additional investment while still providing efficient and personal customer experiences. Welcome to a whole new way to support your customers. Eligible startups get advanced Intercom features at a 95% discount. Visit https://Intercom.com/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Mada Seghete, Co-Founder, Managing Director and VP Marketing at Branch shares their culture playbook from zero to a $4 billion company.

From high-growth companies, to a changing environment due to a global pandemic, to a recession — companies have to adapt more than ever.

Mada discusses what culture is, how you define it at an early stage, and how you measure it and maintain it through both high-growth and fast-paced environments.

Specifically, Mada covers:

• Defining culture and what it actually means.

• Why you have to define culture early and keep iterating.

• Examples of values that Branch changed over time.

• Why culture should be a part of hiring criteria.

• Putting your values on display in a hybrid work setting.

• How you should celebrate your employees.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Branch at https://www.branch.io/

#culture #startup #people #innovation

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Jonathan Yaffe, Co-Founder and CEO at AnyRoad shares how to drive growth through experiential marketing from his experience working with large brands like Red Bull, Budweiser, Tabasco, and Honda.

Today, brands of all sizes recognize the value of experiential marketing — studies show that 76% of consumers prefer to spend their money on experiences.

So how can brands provide memorable experiences that keep customers coming back for more and drive growth?

Specifically, Jonathan discusses:

• If your brand was an experience, what kind of experience would it be?

• Finding your target audience.

• The three senses an experience must trigger.

• Vanity metrics that don't generate revenue.

• Competing against all other forms of marketing.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about AnyRoad at https://www.anyroad.com/

#startup #marketing #experience

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Melissa Rosenthal, Chief Creative Officer at ClickUp discusses which rules to break to skyrocket your company's growth.

Competition is stiff in today's startup world.

With so many innovative ideas and business models, it's no wonder that companies are running on all cylinders to stand out and generate revenue.

So how do you gain a competitive edge to accelerate growth? And how can infusing creativity into your brand set your company apart?

Melissa knows firsthand how to stand out in a crowded industry by throwing out the B2B rulebook.

Specifically, Melissa covers:

• Throwing out the old B2B playbook and defining the ClickUp brand.

• Adding a touch of humor to your marketing channels.

• How startups can figure out what their brand voice should sound like.

• How ClickUp measures advertising ROI.

• Why you need to hyper-niche down to stay competitive.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about ClickUp at https://app.clickup.com/

#brand #marketing #innovation #startup

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Spencer Kimball, CEO at Cockroach Labs shares his tips for innovating and evolving your business and discusses how to develop a growth mindset to come out the other side of a downturn as an even stronger contender.

During turbulent times, all companies focus on survival.

But many make the mistake of pulling most (if not all) resources out of innovation, growth and research, to hunker down on the bottom line and wait out the troubles.

However, that approach is not helping your long-term survival, it's hurting it.

Specifically, Spencer discusses:

• Why the company is named Cockroach.

• Why too many customers too soon can be a problem for startups.

• How to create an information advantage.

• The biggest challenge in going from a small to a large pool of customers.

• The stress and angst entrepreneurs have and how to manage it.

This episode is moderated by John Koetsier at Forbes.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Cockroach Labs at https://www.cockroachlabs.com/

#product #innovation #startup

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Immad Akhund, CEO & Founder at Mercury and Jon Fry, CEO & Founder at Lendflow discuss the key components of the FinTech ecosystem and how to embed FinTech into your products to drive exponential growth.

Want the key to unlocking the next unicorn?

Today more and more companies are embedding FinTech (banking, payments, lending, insurance, etc.) into their products not only to drive growth and revenue but also to stay competitive.

For example, Starbucks has the second most used payments application in the United States and they’re not a bank.

This episode is moderated by Douglas Soltys of BetaKit.

Specifically, they discuss:

• Why every SaaS company will eventually become a FinTech company.

• How to determine how many users will convert into your FinTech product offering.

• How to build trust through transparency.

• The recommended starting point for companies to take on FinTech systems.

• Why Jon chose lending as the sweet spot for Lendflow.

• Hidden costs that companies should look out for when embedding FinTech.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Mercury at https://mercury.com/

Learn more about Lendflow at https://www.lendflow.com/

#startup #innovation #fintech

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode, Tamara Grominsky, VP Product Marketing and Lifecycle at Kajabi shares how to identify your company’s best customers, discover the value they seek and build a compelling go-to-market strategy that will help you attract, convert and retain them.

Tamara dives into:

• Identifying your best customers using a data-backed approach.

• Customer metrics to consider when you're looking for your ideal customer base.

• The information you need to gather outside of your business.

• Defining a quantified buyer persona.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Kajabi at https://kajabi.com/

#product #marketing #innovation #fundraising #fintech

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Kyle Poyar, Operating Partner at OpenView shares 11 rules to grow faster with low cost customer acquisition tactics using real-life examples from leaders like Calendly, Loom, Notion and Webflow.

Viral products not only sell themselves but they market themselves, too. The fastest-growing companies generate 2x as many new sign-ups from product referrals compared to everyone else. Even if your product isn’t inherently viral, it pays to make customer-assisted marketing a pillar in your growth strategy.

Specifically, Kyle shares:

• How to reduce CAC.

• How to treat your marketing as a product that offers real value to users.

• Why you should focus your marketing on user pain, not just buyer pain.

• Programmatic “how to” templates, free sidecar products, and social features.

• Standard content vs. product education and docs.

• How PLG can reach customers in atypical ways.

• 3 steps to drive virality.

• Tried and true strategies to add virality through community and word of mouth.

• To optimize your marketing, look closely at product activation.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about OpenView at https://openviewpartners.com/

#product #marketing #innovation #fundraising #fintech

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Casey Winters, former CPO at Eventbrite shares 5 key steps to drive a sustainable user acquisition strategy from his experience helping scale iconic brands like Pinterest, Airbnb, Grubhub, Tinder, Canva and Lyft.

Specifically, Casey covers:

• The two types of growth strategies that startups should consider.

• An example of a complex startup that changed over time.

• The attribution and payback period.

• The best way to approach attribution.

• The fastest way for startups to fix growth problems.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/

#product #marketing #startup #growth

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Kirsten Newbold-Knipp, Chief Marketing Officer at FullStory shares 5 proven tactics to create a successful analyst relations program that will drive long-term brand and revenue through influence.

A recent survey noted that 92% of enterprise buyers leverage analyst reports and reviews to make buying decisions. Analyst Relations is an often overlooked but key driver in "influencing the influencers" to make buying decisions.

Specifically, Kirsten covers:

• Why analyst relations aren't out of date.
• The most fun (and most challenging) part of being an analyst.
• How to manage expectations around you.
• Knowing how you're relevant to an analyst and what benefits them.
• Early-stage investment options.
• Why you should accept advice from analysts.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more about FullStory at https://www.fullstory.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#startup #marketing #PR #AnalystRelations

View Details

On this episode, Anna Griffin, Chief Marketing Officer at Intercom discusses how to accelerate business growth through nano-engagement, why this type of engagement is critical for growing companies and how it can scale.

Growing users without engagement are the empty calories of growth. It feels good, but it’s not good for you. Users who are not engaged will eventually churn.

Specifically, Anna covers:

• The only thing businesses of the future will compete on.

• The most important business metric today.

• How to create ongoing customer engagement at scale.

• What is modern engagement?

• How entire organizations can work in unison to improve their customer experience.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Anna Griffin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annahgriffin/

Learn more about Intercom at https://www.intercom.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

growth #marketing #startup

View Details

On this episode, Eric Siu, Chairman at Single Grain reveals the timeless, tested growth-marketing principles he has used to help several companies.

Specifically, Eric covers:

• Why podcasts have a high retention rate.

• How to increase organic engagement on LinkedIn.

• Why YouTube shorts are a big opportunity right now.

• Pillar content and the framework for repurposing your content.

• The most important factor when it comes to running ads.

• How to capture people's attention.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Eric Siu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericosiu/

Learn more about Single Grain at https://www.singlegrain.com/

#growth #marketing #startups

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, Oji Udezue, former Chief Product Officer at Calendly and former Head of Product for Creation & Conversation at Twitter provides a framework for evaluating startup ideas based on their potential for growth and expected outcomes.

Specifically, Oji talks about:

• A different way to focus on and understand your addressable market.

• Which workflows are worth optimizing for profit?

• Why some workflows are more profitable than others and how to tell ahead of time.

• High-intensity niche workflows — the most lucrative workflows.

• Where your focus should be if you want to start a high growth company.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Get Oji’s Product Led Growth Book: https://howtoplg.ck.page

Connect with Oji Udezue: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojiudezue/

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get six months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#product #startup #innovation #plg

View Details

On this episode, Raj Sarkar, Advisor and former CMO at 1Password shows us how marketing-led growth, powered by a term he’s coined ‘outbound fury’, can help you engineer virality, displace the competition, and win the hearts and minds of millions.

More specifically, Raj covers:

• The concept of outbound fury and why you need it in your business.

• How outbound fury works.

• How to make a boring topic like security accessible to the masses.

• Will outbound fury work for any product?

• How do you operationalize outbound fury?

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Raj Sarkar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajsarkar/

Learn more about 1Password at https://1password.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#product #marketing #startup #growth

View Details

On this episode, Lucie Buisson, CPO at Contentsquare, Anique Drumright, VP of Product at Loom and Casey Winters, CPO at Eventbrite discuss how to build hypergrowth teams that ship blockbuster products consistently.

Lucie, Anique and Casey have built and scaled products to millions of users. In this session, they provide invaluable insights and give advice on:

• When founders should hire a head of product and what their role should include.

• The role and success metrics of product operations.

• How to think about building and scaling your existing team.

• The difference in types of people recruited for early-stage, mid-stage and late-stage companies.

• How to retain core talent and keep them engaged as the company grows and the stakes change.

• Balancing big, bold ideas with incremental improvements as you scale.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Lucie Buisson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucie-buisson-3195b272/

Connect with Anique Drumright: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anique-drumright-53978a1a/

Connect with Casey Winters: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywinters/

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get six months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to https://zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#product #innovation #startup

View Details

On this episode, Mary D'Onofrio, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners discusses how to build an enduring $100M ARR business.

Specifically, Mary covers:

• Why $100M (“Centaur”) is the new milestone to strive for and why the term was coined.

• What companies that reach Centaur status all have in common.

• What companies that fall off their projected growth path have in common.

• Defining a cash conversion score and what it means for a company.

• How research and development spending changes over the lifespan of a $100M ARR company.

• Top 3 tips for founders to grow operationally-efficient businesses today.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Mary D'Onofrio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-d-onofrio-a125b2154/

Learn more about Bessemer Venture Partners at https://www.bvp.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get six months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to https://zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#saas #startup #centaur

View Details

On this episode, Tomasz Tunguz, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures discusses fundraising in today's environment, which is radically different from his past 14-year experience in venture capital.

Before joining Redpoint Ventures, Tomasz was the product manager for Google’s AdSense social-media products and AdSense internationalization. In total, he's worked with six unicorns from when they were very small till they became massive.

Specifically, Tomasz covers:

• How public and private markets are changing and how founders perceive these changes.
• How software companies today are valued in the public markets.
• Why private markets are slowing down, and what will give private markets a boost over the next four years.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Tomasz Tunguz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasztunguz

Learn more about Redpoint Ventures at https://www.redpoint.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#product #marketing #innovation #fundraising #fintech

View Details

On this episode, Shadi Rostami, Senior/Executive VP of Engineering at Amplitude discusses the tell-tale signs companies should look for before expanding their product suite and three major considerations before doing so.

Expanding beyond your first-ever product offering is a huge moment for any company. Unfortunately, it is also a moment that is very difficult to get right.

Specifically, Shadi covers:

• The right time to go multi-product.
• How to set your organization up to go multi-product.
• Horror stories.
• Managing new and existing customers with new products.

This episode is moderated by Frederic Lardinois, Senior Enterprise Editor at TechCrunch.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Shadi Rostami: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shadi-rostami-b6a636/

Learn more about Amplitude at https://amplitude.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Zendesk makes it easier to support your customers with customer service, engagement, and sales CRM solutions. Qualifying early-stage startups can get 6 months free of Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Sales CRM. Go to zendesk.com/startups to apply now.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#product #startup #innovation

View Details

On this episode, Kate Ahlering, Chief Revenue Officer at Calendly shares best practices for implementing a highly effective revenue strategy to improve the funnel and accelerate bottom-line growth across your organization, as well as insights into how her team is applying a combined PLG-SLG strategy to acquire more customers upmarket.

Specifically, Kate covers:

• Why joining Calendly was the right opportunity.
• The first 30 days at Calendly as the first CRO.
• Tactics to accelerate revenue growth and scale faster.
• How do you prioritize accounts?
• The most common failure points to be mindful of.
• Tracked metrics that are leading indicators of success.
• Tips for people thinking about how to pair sales with PLG.

This episode is moderated by Kyle Poyar, Partner at OpenView.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Kate Ahlering: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-ahlering/

Learn more about Calendly at https://calendly.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Loom is the video messaging platform for work. Teams use Loom to reduce meetings, share institutional knowledge, and get work done faster — because “quick syncs” are never that quick. Complete projects 53% faster with 29% fewer meetings—even across multiple teams and timezones. So cancel that meeting. Record a Loom instead. Head to loom.com/traction for a 14 day free trial.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#plg #sales #startup #growth

View Details

On this episode, Edith Harbaugh, CEO at LaunchDarkly and Jonathan Heiliger, Partner at Vertex Ventures discuss the highs and lows of entrepreneurship from bootstrapped to billions.

Taking that first step to being a founder is the first difficult decision for many. After that comes decisions about hiring your teams, picking your partners and investors, and creating a scalable product for a category that doesn’t exist yet.

Edith shares how she beat the status quo for founding a company by tackling problems she experienced firsthand and how she is leading an entirely new category for B2B.

Specifically, Edith and Jonathan discuss:

• Tangible steps to take to become a founder
• How to challenge the notion that companies are built from well-known problems
• Validating the idea, getting to product-market fit, and navigating to hypergrowth and scale
• The elements of category creation: the challenges, mistakes, and bumps along the way
• Who to turn to along your founder journey

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Edith Harbaugh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edithharbaugh/

Learn more about LaunchDarkly at https://launchdarkly.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex, and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#product #marketing #innovation #fundraising #fintech

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Anu Bharadwaj, Chief Operating Officer at Atlassian.

Anu believes building connection and engagement in a distributed world is Atlassian's best strategy for growth and retention.

Too many companies are wasting resources on navigating return-to-office strategies instead of investing in employees and improving their ways of working.

Anu shares the playbook for building meaningful connections across a distributed workforce.

Specifically, Anu covers:

1:46 - The powerful lesson that Anu learned after being hospitalized unexpectedly.

4:36 - What are the key factors to building strong connections.

6:53 - The difference between remote work and distributed work.

9:43 - How to create shared experiences in a distributed work environment instead of wasting resources on return-to-office strategies.

16:05 - How to leverage communication to drive engagement.

20:34 - The results of Atlassian's Team Anywhere initiative to build stronger bonds in a distributed world.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Anu Bharadwaj: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anutthara/

Learn more about Atlassian at https://www.atlassian.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex, and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Sara Hicks, CPO at Mailchimp.

Developing a product strategy starts with understanding the customer problems that your business can solve–which, in turn, creates a long-lasting competitive advantage.

A compelling product strategy prioritizes key initiatives that will have the biggest impact for customers and the business while also navigating unknowns such as team velocity and other constraints.

Sara walks through the framework for a successful strategy; she also addresses business goals, technical and operational needs, customer feedback, and competitive differentiators.

Specifically, Sara covers:

2:30 - Her backstory and role at Mailchimp.

3:58 - Product strategy vs. vision vs. roadmap.

6:33 - Quick glossary of important terms.

8:05 - Customer-driven innovation.

9:57 - Customer analysis and market opportunity.

11:42 - Connecting goals to customer benefits and initiatives.

15:20 - Why you shouldn't surprise your team with a new strategy.

17:02 - Different approaches for different altitudes.

18:40 - How to continually refine and focus.

20:55 - The most important piece of advice.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Sara Hicks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saralouhicks/

Learn more about Mailchimp at https://mailchimp.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

#product #marketing #innovation #fundraising #fintech

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Anu Muralidharan, Chief Operating Officer at Expensify.

Expensify is one of the few profitable, multibillion-dollar tech companies out there, and went from 0 users to IPO by staying true to its vision.

Anu shares how she stepped off the well-traversed path along with Expensify to create her own rocket launcher by ignoring detractors, challenging the norm, and trusting her ideas.

More specifically, Anu covers:

1:49 - Not taking no for an answer without a fight

6:02 - Anu’s journey from an individual contributor to COO

9:19 - 3 core principles for growth

13:13 - Doing your own homework

15:52 - Having conviction in your renegade ways

18:20 - Why Expensify has only 140 employees, how to scale your team and key qualities to look for when hiring

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Anu Muralidharan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuradhamuralidharan/

Learn more about Expensify at https://www.linkedin.com/company/expensify/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex, and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo at Boast.AI welcomes Anne Dwane, Co-Founder & Partner at Village Global.

Most investors spend only 1-3 minutes looking at a pitch deck, so how can you make sure that your pitch deck stands out from the crowd?

It all starts with a great startup story when delivering your pitch. It isn't just a marketing tool: your company's startup story is—your mission, your goals, and the problems you're here to solve.

It's a powerful resource that will help you find and build connections with the people who will help your startup grow; from the right investors to stellar team members, co-founders, advisors, and customers.

Today, Anne shares insider tips on fundraising pitches and running an efficient, effective fundraising process.

Specifically, Anne will cover:

6:21 - The best people to talk to when you're fundraising

11:24 - The most important things for an investor pitch

15:15 - How to pique curiosity

17:30 - How to give clarity on what you're doing

24:06 - The number one job of an investor meeting

27:39 - Modifying your pitch strategy based on time allocation

29:30 - The best pitch she's ever heard

33:38 - Pitch deck tactics

38:02 - Should you send your pitch deck before a meeting?

40:36 - Feedback on audience pitches

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Anne Dwane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwane/

Learn more about Village Global at https://www.villageglobal.vc/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Jim Morris, the Founder of Product Discovery Group.

There's no point in creating something that no one wants, yet so many teams skip the product discovery process.

Even the most efficient process can’t make a bad idea good. Building untested ideas is risky and can cause lost time, wasted money, and low morale.

Jim presents concrete techniques you can start using immediately to weed out bad ideas and focus on the good ones.

Specifically, Jim will cover:

9:11 - Tailoring your roadmap to fit customer needs

13:56 - How to bring the discovery process to the forefront

15:10 - How to get your team to contribute to the product discovery process

21:46 - Defining success metrics

32:03- Best practices for designing experiments

37:50 - Where are your users?

43:13 - Velocity over perfection

46:50 - Addressing customers who want very specific features

51:03 - How many interviews are enough?

51:12 - The recommended framework for product prioritization when it comes to features

1:02:20 - How to onboard potential customers for discovery interviews

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Jim Morris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmorrisstanford/

Learn more about Product Discovery Group at https://productdiscoverygroup.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex, and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Henry Schuck, CEO & Founder at ZoomInfo.

Over the past five years, ZoomInfo has grown 10X to more than one billion in revenue with over 3,000 employees and 25,000 customers.

Today, Henry joins us to share lessons from starting and growing the company from his dorm room to global scale.

Specifically, Henry dives into:

2:32 - ZoomInfo's bootstrapped backstory

4:32 - Raising venture capital versus bootstrapping

7:26 - Finding your first customers

10:51 - Biggest challenges with sales in the beginning

14:40 - Milestones you should be setting in the early days

18:19 - Tactics to address customer retention

25:09 - When to onboard a CFO

28:39 - Key channels that were prioritized in ZoomInfo's go-to-market engine

36:50 - How raising funding changed the dynamic of the company

38:52 - How to maintain startup culture as you scale

44:17 - How to give feedback

49:16 - Key team members to hire from startup to scaleup

53:45 - The number one superpower a founder needs to develop

56:54 - Unconventional advice founders ignore, but shouldn't

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Henry Schuck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hschuck

Learn more about ZoomInfo at https://www.zoominfo.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Udi Ledergor, CMO at Gong.

With massive shifts and uncertainty in the markets, most companies are working on defensive plans such as reducing spending and increasing cash.

Defensive strategies might help companies survive, but in order to exit the current climate in a market-leading position, companies must learn to play offense.

Udi shares his ideas on how to play offense during a downturn. He covers marketing topics such as demand, brand, channels, team, tools, and metrics.

More specifically, Udi covers:

3:00 - Important skills needed to become a CMO

4:24 - How to leverage data to become more creative

6:43 - Offensive versus defensive marketing tactics

14:46 - Getting early customers and building a marketing strategy with no budget

26:04 - How startups should identify and prioritize marketing channels

31:37 - Skills and resources needed when transitioning from startup to scaleup

37:39 - Key characteristics to becoming a mega-brand

44:23 - Gong's Superbowl ad and the results

48:58 - Balancing brand and performance investments

55:29 - Perfect marriage of creativity and data

1:00:21 - Book recommendations

1:01:55 - Unconventional advice founders shouldn't ignore

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Udi Ledergor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/udiledergor

Learn more about Gong at https://www.gong.io/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo welcomes Jason VandeBoom, Founder & CEO of ActiveCampaign.

ActiveCampaign has managed to build a big business by taking some less-than-obvious paths.

Jason shares his take on traditional growth strategies. He tells us why they don’t always make sense and gives a breakdown of the lessons learned from scaling the unscalable into a long term sustainable business.

More specifically, Jason discusses:

0:56 - ActiveCampaign’s founding story

3:12 - Prioritize customer experiences over product experiences

8:21 - Find your own path

12:58 - Don't go global, be global

15:34 - Why pain doesn't equal success

18:00 - Figure out the right validators

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Jason VandeBoom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jvandeboom

Learn more about ActiveCampaign at https://www.activecampaign.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Extend your company’s hiring budget with VanHack’s pool of 400,000 remote engineers at a lower cost than local hires. Join companies like Dapper Labs, 1Password, Brex and Dooly who hired great engineers with VanHack. Mention “Traction Remote” when you sign up today to get 10% off your first hire at https://VanHack.com.

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Eric Siu, Chairman of Single Grain and a serial entrepreneur, author, podcast host, investor, and advisor to many companies.

In his youth, Eric was not academically or socially successful, but he was a serious high-level eSports and poker player. He ultimately found how to convert his focus and success in gaming into a very successful career in marketing.

He recently published his book Leveling Up: How To Master the Game of Life, which shares a 15-level approach to winning the game.

Eric and Lloyed discuss what if businesses were video games, where leaders were players, using power-ups, taking risks, and using hidden strategies to achieve the next level?

Specifically, they dive into:

2:30 - Eric’s journey into entrepreneurship

4:43 - Acquiring Single Grain for $2

12:09 - The concept of leveling up in gaming and how apply it to life and business

14:57 - The newbie struggle and the challenges that come with it

18:49 - What an apprentice mentality means

20:35 - Teamwork skills and strategies leaders must use to achieve success

25:35 - How to delegate and hire amazing people when you're on a budget

30:22 - Staying on track as a CEO, marketing expert, public speaker, and podcaster

33:36 - General advice for businesses to scale

36:30 - An example of using level ups to win

38:55 - The most difficult chapter to write in his book

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Eric Siu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericosiu

Learn more at: https://www.levelingup.com

This episode is brought to you by:

DuploCloud is a one-stop solution for all your DevOps cloud automation and compliance needs - from infrastructure provisioning and application deployment to security controls, compliance certification, and alerts. Visit https://duplocloud.com. Get two months free access by contacting info@duplocloud.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Max Lytvyn, Co-Founder, Head of Revenue, and Board Member at Grammarly.

Since 2009, Grammarly has grown into one of the most successful bootstrapped companies on the web. More than 30 million daily active users rely on its AI-powered digital writing assistant to help them communicate more clearly, effectively, and mistake-free.

Today, Max shares how the company turned its mission and values into powerful practical tools to supercharge growth.

Specifically, Max covers:

3:42 - The difference between values, missions, and visions

5:56 - Why values are mandatory

13:18 - What makes values effective during interviews and investor conversations

15:29 - How to stay true to your values

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Max Lytvyn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-lytvyn/

Learn more about Grammarly at https://www.grammarly.com

This episode is brought to you by:

DuploCloud is a one-stop solution for all your DevOps cloud automation and compliance needs - from infrastructure provisioning and application deployment to security controls, compliance certification, and alerts. Visit https://duplocloud.com. Get two months free access by contacting info@duplocloud.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, I welcome Daniel Saks, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at AppDirect.

As more and more enterprises put employees in the driver’s seat to pick the right tools for their organizations, you need to balance between designing for both end-users and the IT department to stay competitive.

Daniel shares tips on how to transition from a traditional sales-led model to a product-led growth (PLG) model and how that transition helped AppDirect get more enterprise customers.

Specifically, Daniel will discuss:

1:29 - AppDirect's journey from startup to unicorn

5:55 - Pivoting from enterprise sales-led to PLG

10:52 - What PLG means and how companies should think about it

17:05 - Comparing enterprise sales to PLG

24:49 - Key traits for success when transitioning from sales-led to PLG

27:43 - Reducing the friction during transition in an 800-person company

34:02 - An example of a collaborative PLG project at AppDirect and the outcomes it produced

37:20 - Issues that deter collaboration, and solutions to improve collaboration

43:31 - Resources to implement PLG

47:24 - PLG metrics that drive the leading indicators of success

55:00 - Coming up with the price point for your first PLG offering

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Daniel Saks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielsaks/

Learn more about AppDirect at https://www.appdirect.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

DuploCloud is a one-stop solution for all your DevOps cloud automation and compliance needs - from infrastructure provisioning and application deployment to security controls, compliance certification, and alerts. Visit https://duplocloud.com. Get two months free access by contacting info@duplocloud.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Yinon Costica, Co-Founder and VP of Product at Wiz.

Explosive growth is every startup’s dream but it’s not easy. It’s rarely ever a linear path.

Mistakes are inevitable. They can make or break your business’ success while you’re scaling your teams, troubleshooting your product, and onboarding your first clients.

In this episode, Yinon shares the mistakes the team at Wiz made early on that ended up helping their business skyrocket into exponential growth and become the fastest-growing cybersecurity company in the world.

Specifically, Yinon covers:

1:12 - The backstory behind Wiz

3:43 - Key developments that shape you as a founder

6:44 - Coming together to work with co-founders from a previous company

9:27 - Keeping the team together during the toughest times

13:27 - Becoming a $6 billion company in 18 months

17:18 - Key questions that founders should ask potential customers

21:12 - Picking initial questions to ask future customers

25:22 - Tactics to acquire customers early on

30:24 - How culture plays a role in scaling

37:07 - Recruiting too many employees

40:32 - How to prioritize what to build and what not to build

42:23 - What is product debt and how do you determine it within a company?

50:25 - How startups should think about building products with simplicity

54:49 - Key KPIs to measure success

1:00:14 - How to find people who don't require micromanagement

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Yinon Costica: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yinonc/?originalSubdomain=il

Learn more about Wiz at https://www.wiz.io/

This episode is brought to you by:

DuploCloud is a one-stop solution for all your DevOps cloud automation and compliance needs

—from infrastructure provisioning and application deployment to security controls, compliance certification, and alerts. Visit https://duplocloud.com. Get two months free access by contacting info@duplocloud.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Andres Botero, Chief Marketing Officer at BlackLine (Nasdaq: BL).

A successful customer advocacy program turns loyal customers into spokespeople for your brand, making it one of the most effective forms of marketing. According to Gartner, more than 75% of B2B buyers consult three or more sources before they make a purchase decision.

In this session, Andres shares the playbook for turning customers into spokespeople. Specifically, Andres covers:

3:47 - Skills that are fundamental to a marketing leader

6:51 - What is advocacy marketing

8:54 - Key ingredients for building an advocacy program

12:57 - How to identify and target ideal customers

19:20 - How to incentivize customers to give testimonials

22:32 - Tools to scale customer testimonials and referrals

25:57 - Proving the ROI of customer advocacy

30:33 - Key metrics to stay on top of for a smaller company

34:53 - How to manage referenceable assets

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Andres Botero: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andresmbotero/

Learn more about BlackLine at https://www.blackline.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

DuploCloud is a one-stop solution for all your DevOps cloud automation and compliance needs — from infrastructure provisioning and application deployment to security controls, compliance certification, and alerts. Visit https://duplocloud.com. Get two months free access by contacting info@duplocloud.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Craig Nile, VP Sales at Codat. With experience helping grow some of the biggest names in SaaS, such as Salesforce and Slack, Craig shares the playbook for building and scaling enterprise sales teams from zero to a billion. Specifically, Craig covers:

1:47 - The backstory behind the journey into sales

7:25 - When is the right time to bring in a sales leader?

11:10 - What the first 90 days look like as a new sales leader

14:13 - How smaller companies should think about sales quotas

19:06 - Key hires a sales leader should make

24:20 - What percentage of quota a BDR is responsible for generating

27:35 - Key traits for a BDR

29:55 - What quotas and comp look like for an account executive

33:32 - Favorite two questions to ask when interviewing sales reps

37:56 - Leading indicators to watch out for to make sure reps hit their numbers

42:16 - Favorite way to help account executives during sales cycles

48:13 - Different selling styles and when to use them

56:37 - How to enable a sales team

1:00-59 - How to leverage account-based marketing

1:08:33 - Advice for founders that doesn't get enough recognition

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Craig Nile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craignile/

Learn more about Codat at https://www.codat.io/

This episode is brought to you by:

DuploCloud is a one-stop solution for all your DevOps cloud automation and compliance needs - from infrastructure provisioning and application deployment to security controls, compliance certification, and alerts. Visit https://duplocloud.com. Get two months free access at https://lp.duplocloud.com/partner/traction

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Chandar Pattabhiram, Chief Marketing Officer at Coupa Software.

With so much attention on Product-Market fit, many startups forget about Go-to-Market fit which is crucial for long term sustainable growth.

Chandar discusses how to drive what he calls “speedboat marketing,” sharing strategies and hard-earned lessons from 25 years of scaling companies.

Specifically, Chandar dives into:

4:11 - Why so many startups fail at "go to market fit"

6:39 - What is speedboat marketing?

9:08 - Key elements of speedboat marketing that companies can use to drive growth

10:58 - What is a flywheel?

15:40 - Educating the market before it exists

20:00 - Turning content into customer acquisition

23:39 - How to leverage allbound marketing

27:08 - How to turn your customers into advocates

31:36 - What you need to turn your startup into a megabrand

37:08 - How to build a great, infectious culture

41:10 - Best practices for communication

46:30 - Key roles and skills needed when you're building a new marketing team

51:43 - When is the right time to bring on a CMO

56:45 - Chandar's favorite movie stars and lessons he learned from them

58:46 - Coupa Software's tech stack

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Chandar Pattabhiram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandarp/

Learn more about Coupa Software at https://www.coupa.com/

This episode is brought to you by:DuploCloud is a one-stop solution for all your DevOps cloud automation and compliance needs - from infrastructure provisioning and application deployment to security controls, compliance certification, and alerts. Visit https://duplocloud.com. Get two months free access by contacting info@duplocloud.com

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Mada Seghete, Co-Founder at Branch.

Driving growth doesn’t always mean hiring a big team and spending a lot of money. It starts with prioritizing activities that have the biggest reach and impact at the best ROI and moving towards your goal with high velocity.

In this session, Mada shares the growth playbook that took Branch from 0 to $4 billion. She covers topics such as channels, demand, brand, community, team, tools, and metrics.

Specifically, Mada dives into:

3:32 - The backstory of how Branch began

10:51 - Acquiring customers in the early days

14:56 - What marketing should look like on a tight budget

20:54 - Branch's three marketing pillars

25:25 - The steps for building a community early on

38:39 - How to build an international ambassador playbook

51:23 - Key traits for being/hiring ambassadors in different markets

54:23 - Tools and tips to manage multi-touch attribution

1:00:46 - Who to hire on your marketing from early stage to scale

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Mada Seghete: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madalina/

Learn more about Branch at https://branch.io/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a talk by Leah Solivan, General Partner at Fuel Capital and Founder of TaskRabbit from the in-person Traction Conference.

The idea for TaskRabbit came about in 2008 around the time the iPhone first launched, while Leah was living in Boston and bootstrapping the company.

In the process of bootstrapping, the entire trajectory of her journey changed. She went from being an engineer at IBM with no network or entrepreneur friends, all the way to raising her first million dollars in seed from a 15-minute meeting with Tim Ferriss.

Today, Leah shares lessons learned from her time at TaskRabbit, scaling the business from nothing to 40+ cities and acquisition by Ikea.

More specifically, Leah covers:

1:57 - The story of founding TaskRabbit: transitioning from an engineer to an entrepreneur and 5 tips to build a successful startup

2:32 - Why ideas are everywhere

6:51 - Experiencing vuja de, the opposite of déjà vu

8:02 - Why you should tell everyone about your idea

16:25 - The serendipitous network of happenings

17:41 - The importance of big, hairy, audacious goals

21:54 - A story about a big corporation with aggressive sales goals

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Leah Solivan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahsolivan/

Learn more about Fuel Capital at https://www.fuelcapital.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Waseem Daher, Founder and CEO at Pilot.com.

Fundraising is never easy, but the right preparation can make all the difference.

Waseem joins us to share the KPIs and questions that investors look at during various stages of investment.

Waseem is a three-time founder with two successful exits (Ksplice acquired by Oracle and Zulip acquired by Dropbox) and he has recently raised $100+ million from Jeff Bezos (and other notable funds) at a $1.2 billion valuation.

Today, Waseem covers:

1:42 - The backstory behind how he got started

7:35 - Metrics investors may look at during a seed round

10:35 - Determining product market fit

16:02 - What drove the decision-making that led to a $1.2 billion valuation

17:17 - The right time to start fundraising

20:13 - The average process of raising capital and getting money in the bank

23:32 - Top factors driving valuation in the market

28:31 - Most crucial items in your data room

32:37 - Top three reasons why investors decide to invest in a company

38:38 - How founders should think about dilution

43:15 - Building your executive team

45:04 - Making sure everyone is aligned with your vision and values when you're not in the room

47:21 - What the CEO should focus on when the right team is in place

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Waseem Daher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wdaher/

Check out Waseem's substack at https://waseem.substack.com/

Learn more about Pilot at https://pilot.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Sahir Azam, Chief Product Officer at MongoDB.

Sahir shares how MongoDB transformed from a traditional software company—sales driven, longer cycles, etc.—into more of a consumer-style self-service model.

Overseeing the growth of MongoDB’s Atlas, Sahir shares his learnings (the good, the bad, and the ugly) about building and bringing to market one of the fastest-growing cloud products of any scale (70% YoY, $400M ARR, 26K+ customers).

In this session, Sahir discusses:

7:44 - MongoDB sales-led model prior to going product-led

10:31 - What main KPIs were focused on

16:01 - Recommendations and best practices for building teams

20:07 - Tactics to make sure that cross-functional dialogue is happening regularly

26:57 - The ideal squad structure for a cross-functional team

32:46 - The product development framework at MongoDB

37:34 - Best practices for developing a go-to-market strategy for a product-led company

41:36 - Product marketing roles vs product manager roles

52:29 - What kickstarted growth for the MongoDB Atlas customer base

55:31 - Top pieces of advice that were learned the hard way

57:54 - Recommended books and resources

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Sahir Azam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahirazam/

Learn more about MongoDB at https://www.mongodb.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Mar Hershenson, Managing Partner at Pear VC.

There is a lot of confusion among founders as to the right approach to raising a series A because each industry, whether it’s e-commerce, consumer, SaaS, or marketplace, has a different set of rules and tactics.

In this session, Mar Hershenson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Pear VC gives us a masterclass on clinching your Series A.

Today, Mar covers the following topics:

2:08 - The backstory behind her venture into VC

5:55 - Where to find early-stage money

10:29 - How valuations have changed

14:30 - What matters most when fundraising

16:47 - What is a typical pre-seed round

19:53 - Where you have to be to raise seed

23:36 - The data that VCs actually measure

30:18 - What you have to show investors to get to series A

35:00 - Where you have to be to raise series A

40:02 - Why you should focus on the engine, not on the growth

45:28 - How much on average investors take ownership at each stage

52:52 - Recommendations for contacting investors

55:43 - The ideal company for Pear VC

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Mar Hershenson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mar-hershenson-b21395/

Learn more about Pear VC at https://www.pear.vc/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a talk on Product Positioning by April Dunford, Founder of Ambient Strategy and Author of Obviously Awesome from Traction Conference 2019.

Positioning has an impact across all key product decisions, from roadmap to pricing. Buyers need context to understand new innovative offerings. Businesses that figure out how to set that context have a distinct advantage over those that don't.

April provides a methodology for picking the right positioning strategy and shares examples from companies that repositioned their products or companies to unlock hyper-growth.

More specifically, April covers:

0:44 - One of the most misunderstood concepts in product marketing

3:47 - Why positioning is still important

7:02 - The effects of positioning your product in a certain market category

12:09 - The biggest problem around positioning and how to fix it

20:03 - Competitive comparables

26:21 - A small change in branding that made a big difference

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with April Dunford: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/

Get April’s book Obviously Awesome at https://www.aprildunford.com/obviously-awesome

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a fireside between Ryan Smith, Founder and Executive Chairman at Qualtrics, and Jason Lemkin, Founder at SaaStr from the in-person Traction Conf in San Francisco.

Ryan shares his journey from a bootstrapped startup to a multi-billion dollar company and the challenges and learnings along the way.

In this session, Ryan and Jason discuss:

1:01 - The Qualtrics founding story

7:14 - Stress of managing cashflow in the early days when the company was bootstrapped

9:35 - Zen learnings on capital efficiency

11:21 - How competition has changed and impacted growth

15:59 - The viral coefficient in B2B SaaS

26:25 - Challenging yourself to ask for higher prices when selling your product

34:29 - Learnings from hiring execs for a startup outside Silicon Valley

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Ryan Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-smith-3417901/

Learn more about Qualtrics at https://www.qualtrics.com

Connect with Jason Lemkin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmlemkin/

Learn more about SaaStr at https://www.saastr.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Mark Achler, Managing Director of MATH Venture Partners, and Mert Iseri, Entrepreneur in Residence at MATH Venture Partners.

A successful exit is a dream for many founders, but it often seems like a black box or a game of chance. So how do you bake an exit strategy into your business from day one, whether it’s an acquisition/selling your startup, a merger, an IPO, or something else?

In this session, Mark and Mert share how to position your startup for a successful acquisition based on learnings from interviewing more than 70 seasoned entrepreneurs with multiple exits to produce the book Exit Right.

Specifically, Mark and Mert dive into:

2:00 - How the Exit Right book came about

7:45 - Common learnings from across 70 exits

19:01 - The framework for a successful exit

23:51 - How to build relationships and approach potential acquirers early on

34:09 - Determining when it's the right time to sell

39:12 - How to determine valuation

48:50 - Things to look for in a term sheet

58:46 - The ideal timeframe for an acquisition to close

1:04:06 - The right and wrong time to engage a banker

1:10:37 - Tactics when scouting for other buyers and striking up a conversation

1:13:05 - Tips for maintaining your sanity

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Get the Exit Right book: https://www.amazon.com/Exit-Right-Startup-Maximize-Return/dp/1544525990

Connect with Mark Achler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markachler/

Connect with Mert Iseri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merthiseri

Learn more about MATH Venture Partners at https://www.mathventurepartners.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI and Brian Ascher, Partner at Venrock dive into the top themes driving startup funding and how founders should think about raising capital in this market.

Brian has had a successful career investing across unicorns, exits, and IPOs and has been named to the Forbes Midas List multiple times.

Specifically, Brian dives into:

5:04 - What Brian looks for in founders when he invests

14:40 - What's driving decision making in VC today, particularly at the Seed and Series A stages

18:25 - How founders should think about fundraising in this market

25:38 - How much money founders should raise at Pre-Seed and Series A

36:48 - How much equity should you give up at each stage

46:00 - Tips for founders to navigate the fundraising process

54:09 - Managing board and investor relationships and ongoing communications

1:10:26 - Brian's book recommendations

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Brian Ascher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianascher/

Learn more about Venrock at https://www.venrock.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Vishal Sunak, Co-Founder and CEO at LinkSquares.

LinkSquares has grown 1,000% in two years, with 400+ brands including Fitbit and Twilio as customers. The company was recently placed No. 253 on the annual Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

Fresh off their $100M Series C funding at an $800M valuation, Vishal joins us to share the founders’ perspective of scaling a company to $10M ARR in 2 years and dives into all the challenges, lessons, triumphs, and failures that come along with the journey.

Session highlights include:

1:54 - Coming up with the idea

9:00 - How LinkSquares acquired their first customers

16:17 - Raising the first external capital and signals of product market fit

25:07 - Key framework to scale from $1 million to $10 million ARR

29:24 - Navigating through the hiring and recruiting process in 2022

35:30 - Tips to evangelize people to join your company

46:44 - Handling missing functionality in the early days

51:38 - How founders should think about when to add a second product

58:16 - Key metrics that founders should watch like a hawk

1:05:30 - How to drive FOMO when fundraising

1:13:38 - Navigating the toughest points in the startup journey

1:20:05 - Unconventional advice founders ignore, but shouldn't

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Vishal Sunak: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishalsunak/

Learn more about LinkSquares at https://linksquares.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a fireside chat between Harj Taggar, Partner at Y Combinator, and Alda Leu Dennis, General Partner at Initialized Capital from the in-person Traction Conference.

Previously, Harj was a Co-founder and CEO at Triplebyte and Co-founder and President at Auctomatic. Harj was also the first seed investor in a number of unicorns including Instacart, Coinbase, Rippling, and Opendoor.

In this episode, Harj dives into:

1:26 - How he became the first partner at Y Combinator

7:36 - The #1 mistake when starting up

11:29 - The most common mistakes post launch and post product-market fit

15:47 - The balancing act of hiring too fast vs. too slow

17:00 - How CEOs need to transform on their journey to building a unicorn company

20:00 - The key factor that helps early stage companies raise money

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Harj Taggar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harjtaggar/

Learn more about Y Combinator at https://www.ycombinator.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Karen Peacock, CEO at Intercom which helps more than 25,000 companies including Amazon, Microsoft, and Shopify to engage and support their customers and prospects. Intercom has been named one of the top 100 private cloud companies globally by Forbes for five years in a row.

Before joining Intercom, Karen served as the Senior Vice President of Small Business at Intuit, where she helped build one of the world’s largest SaaS product lines and grew it to $2.5B in revenue.

On this episode, Karen shares her top five lessons learned in building and scaling businesses from $1M to $500M in recurring revenue.

Specifically, Karen covers:

1:17 - Expanding your market for your next wave of growth

4:16 - What you should do if you receive a big check

7:31 - Building your next big product

10:05 - The most important question you can ask yourself

12:36 - Finding product market fit again and again

15:08 - Figuring out your platform play

17:38 - Building out your team and how to apply lean startup principles to hiring

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Karen Peacock: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenpeacock/

Learn more about Intercom at https://www.intercom.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Gokul Rajaram, CxO at DoorDash, Board member at Coinbase and Pinterest, and an angel investor in over 100 companies with more than 40 exits and unicorns.

With massive shifts and uncertainty in the markets right now, the default for most companies is to work on a defensive plan to get through it all. Whilst defensive strategies might help a company survive, thriving is a different matter.

To exit this current climate in a stronger, more competitive position, and to be a market leader, you need to play offense.

In this session, Gokul covers:

3:13 - The habit of paying it forward

8:14 - What's happening in VC right now

14:51 - What good growth rate looks like

19:07 - Good offensive strategies

25:26 - Where to double down on investments and where to pull back

37:57 - Top metrics driving board conversations

42:23 - A CEO's most important operational responsibility in these times

49:29 - Key drivers of company culture

55:00 - How to know when a startup can become a billion-dollar business

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Gokul Rajaram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gokulrajaram1/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Byron Deeter, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners.

With massive shifts and uncertainty in the markets right now, founders, CEOs, CFOs, and board members alike want to know what the new rules are to play by.

In this episode join Byron for a deep dive on what's going on in Venture Capital and how you can build a cloud unicorn in the current climate.

Byron started as a SaaS CEO and has invested in probably more SaaS IPOs and unicorns than any other VC, from Twilio to Canva, DocuSign, HashiCorp, Box, Intercom, and dozens more. Few have been doing this better, for longer, than Byron.

In this session, Byron covers:

4:29 - What's happening in VC right now

7:29 - Public and private market analysis

13:08 - What's driving decision making and advice in VC at seed and series A vs growth rounds

25:38 - Which metrics boards and investors are watching right now

30:18 - What the best companies are focusing on to drive sustained growth to $100 million

44:34 - When is the right time to build a second product, and when should you become a platform company

51:57 - Where founders should be investing and where they should be pulling back

1:01:37 - Byron's top resources

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Byron Deeter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byrondeeter/

Get more resources from Bessemer Venture Partners at https://www.bvp.com/cloud

Accelerate revenue through Cloud Marketplaces with https://tackle.io

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Cristina Cordova, Partner at First Round Capital.

Partnerships are one of the most effective forms of marketing, but one of the most difficult to predict and scale.

In this session, Cristina pulls from across her decade-long career running partnerships at Stripe and Notion to share the inside scoop on deals that had an unexpected outsized impact — as well as the ones that went sideways.

Specifically, Cristina discusses:

2:09 - What are partnerships, why do they matter, and the different types of partnerships?

14:14 - How partnerships are different from referral programs

17:10 - When is the right time to do partnerships?

23:44 - Tips and tactics for reaching out to partners early on

34:01 - Where to find partners

36:46 - Top 3 things to stop doing with partnership outreach

47:14 - How to determine when to hire the first partnership person

56:29 - How to get partners to keep driving your agenda

1:06:00 - Books and podcasts Cristina highly recommends

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Cristina Cordova: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinajcordova/

Learn more about First Round Capital at https://firstround.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a fireside chat between Michael Pryor, Cofounder at Trello and Frederic Lardinois from TechCrunch at Traction Conf.

When Atlassian acquired Trello for $425 Million in 2017, the product had nearly 20 million users, all through word-of-mouth.

In this session, Michael shares his journey building Trello from idea to exit and discusses how to build products that everyone loves.

Specifically, Michael covers:

1:32 - Coming up with the idea and the launch process

10:45 - Prioritizing what to build: why you shouldn’t listen to feature requests

17:16 - How Trello started monetizing

19:30 - How to get most people to love you

23:58 - Adding sales reps in addition to word-of-mouth growth

25:34 - How did Trello’s acquisition by Atlassian come about

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Michael Pryor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhpryor/

Learn more about Trello at https://www.atlassian.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at

https://ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Alok Tyagi, CEO at Boast.AI.

You raised a big round of funding and hired a pedigreed big company CTO but now, a few months in, you’re concerned that the team is not shipping as fast as they used to.

Startups are built in stages, from idea to product-market fit and scale. The kind of product and engineering playbook you implement for your stage will make all the difference between hypergrowth and missing the boat.

Alok was ranked #2 in the list of Top 25 Software Product Executives of 2021 by The Software Report. He brings deep product and technology experience from leadership at several prominent enterprise SaaS companies including DealerSocket, RealPage, Oracle, Peoplesoft, JD Edwards, and Sage.

In this session, Alok shares the playbook for high-performing software teams that consistently ship blockbuster products. Specifically, Alok discusses:

4:16 - The key learnings from operating diverse businesses

7:11 - Preserving the startup mentality during massive growth

12:08 - Starting product development efforts with a press release

14:25 - How to approach R&D investments

18:00 - Balancing important and strategic decisions versus urgent decisions

23:00 - How to go about agile

28:32 - Defining success for enterprise SaaS products and what KPIs should be measured

34:12 - Why software is a people business

38:17 - Ideal team size and structure

40:38 - First few hires Alok would make if he started from scratch

42:27 - How to recruit and keep top talent

44:47 - How to solve trust, communication, and engagement challenges

47:32 - Key traits of frontline managers

53:13 - How leaders can show more empathy

55:46 - What Alok wishes he did more of and less of when looking back at his career

56:59 - Book recommendations

58:03 - Unconventional advice that founders ignore, but shouldn't

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Alok Tyagi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aloktyagi/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Patrick Malatack, Partner at Matrix Partners and Kyle Poyar, Partner at OpenView.

Is the end of subscription pricing near?

Research from OpenView states that companies with usage-based pricing grow 38% faster...

Of the IPOs over the last three years, seven out of nine that had the best net dollar retention all have a usage-based model.

Welcome to a new era of software buying, where customers pay for the value they receive from the products.

Leveraging a successful career as VP of Product with the disruptive tech giant Twilio, Patrick shares inside knowledge for how startups can create long-term customer loyalty and profitability with usage-based pricing models.

Specifically, Patrick and Kyle will dive into:

3:02 - The most attractive thing about usage based pricing

11:30 - Which businesses aren't right for usage based pricing

15:49 - How to advise companies on picking the right metric for usage based pricing

21:26 - Handling strategic operational and financial challenge

33:53 - Accommodating customer spending patterns

38:16 - How Patrick evaluates usage based companies as an investor

41:13 - When to flip the switch from usage based to subscription based

46:48 - Usage based metering and investments

50:37 - Managing conversations with investors who only care about MRR

57:15 - How to measure KPIs specifically for a usage based model

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Patrick Malatack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmalatack/

Learn more about Matrix Partners at https://matrixpartners.com/

Connect with Kyle Poyar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

Kyle Poyar's (new) Substack, where he'll go deeper on topics like SaaS pricing -

https://kylepoyar.substack.com

Learn more about OpenView at https://openviewpartners.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Matt Epstein, Chief Marketing Officer at Rippling.

Not many CMOs have grown a company from $0 to billion dollar valuation in record time. Matt has done it twice.

Matt was employee #1 at Zenefits, where he created a leading HR brand and helped grow the company from $0 to $65M ARR.

Today he leads Marketing at HR unicorn Rippling, where he's taken big bets.

In this session, Matt shares his tips for driving major impact with a minor budget.

Specifically, Matt covers:

1:19 - Top three things to know when scaling

7:45 - How to find your elevator pitch

11:24 - Determining a winning email message

15:20 - How to execute on your list

20:30 - Your first (and most important) hire

24:07 - Common mistakes Matt sees companies making

27:51 - What would you do if you had unlimited resources?

28:55 - Deciding what channels to execute on with a shoestring budget

32:13 - The marketing toolbox that manages everything

34:05 - Standing out in cold emails

36:12 - How to prioritize your role

39:16 - Winning Facebook tactics

46:42 - What questions to ask when you interview people

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Matt Epstein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/msepstein/

Learn more about Rippling at https://www.rippling.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a panel he moderated at the recent SaaStr Annual Conference with the founders of Expensify, Coda, LaunchDarkly, and SaaStr.

Panelists:

Shishir Mehrotra, Co-Founder and CEO, Coda

Edith Harbaugh, Co-Founder and CEO, LaunchDarkly

David Barrett, Founder and CEO, Expensify

Jason Lemkin, Founder and CEO, SaaStr

You'll hear about the highs and lows of fundraising, working with a VC board, and real talk about what it really is like to be a true founder.

Specifically, they cover:

1:30 - How founders should approach valuations

5:48 - Jaw-dropping BVP Cloud 100 statistic

7:14 - When is the right time to fundraise?

12:59 - The sameness of big company culture

19:35 - How much money do you want to take during a secondary round of fundraising?

24:25 - What type of revenue do you need to get series B or C seed in the market?

36:33 - Taking advantage of founders who have their own funds

47:18 - The best way to build relationships with VCs

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Learn more at https://saastrannual.com

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a fireside chat between Matt Mickiewicz, Co-founder of 99designs, Hired, SitePoint, and Flippa, and Andy McLoughlin Partner at Uncork Capital from the IRL Traction Conference.

Matt shares his secrets to building disruptive multibillion-dollar marketplaces. Specifically, he covers:

1:19 - Back story on how he got into doing some of the most popular marketplaces of the last decade

2:25 - Interacting with professionals at just 14 years old

3:47 - Key learnings from building 99designs, Flippa, and SitePoint

9:04 - Growth hacks applicable to any kind of marketplace

11:15 - How Hired became one of the biggest shippers of alcohol in California

13:12 - When is the right time to take on VC money?

16:20 - What type of deals he's looking for as an angel investor

17:39 - The one piece of advice he would give an entrepreneur

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Matt Mickiewicz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmickiewicz

Learn more about Unstoppable Domains at https://unstoppabledomains.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Matt Hulett, CEO and President at PetMeds, and Author of Unlock: 5 Questions to Unleash Your Company's Hidden Power. Previously, Matt was the President of Expedia and Rosetta Stone.

Whether you're starting a new business or bringing an existing one to the next level, it can be daunting.

Instead of wasting months and large sums of money on an extensive strategic planning process, join Matt as he walks through his five-step strategy to determine how to unlock value in a company and drive growth.

In this session, Matt shares:

1:04 - How he got into company building and investing

5:37 - Why every business can't be a star

6:14 - 5 key questions: TAM, Timing, Track Record, Plan, and Momentum

11:04 - Timing, the most difficult thing to get right

14:40 - The science around growth

18:53 - Assessing your competitiveness

26:41 - Keeping up momentum as a company

35:15 - What are the key traits of a company that attracts capital?

39:15 - What are key indicators of product market fit?

42:42 - What are the essential key hires that you need in order to scale?

44:56 - What key traits does a good product manager have?

49:42 - The priorities of a CEO, day in and day out

52:55 - Keeping everyone across the company aligned with overall strategies and goals during scaling

59:25 - Matt's book recommendations

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Get Matt’s book, Unlock: 5 Questions to Unleash Your Company's Hidden Power at: https://startupwhisperer.com

Connect with Matt Hulett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthulett/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Gina Gotthilf, Co-Founder at Latitud.

PR can be a game-changer but for many startups, PR begins and ends with receiving a nod from TechCrunch. While TechCrunch is a great publication (and a mention from it is no small feat), there’s a lot more that goes into a winning PR strategy.

Gina shares how you can use PR tactics with no budget to grow your business. Previously, Gina led growth at Duolingo, where she helped grow the organization from 3 million to over 200 million users. She also led partnerships, communication strategies, a/b testing growth sprints, as well as having other responsibilities in an ever-changing startup environment.

In this session, Gina covers:

2:24 - Why she started Latitud

9:31 - What is PR?

12:06 - Why you should care about PR

13:52 - The playbook at Duolingo

20:32 - Controversial PR advice

30:04 - Choosing between doing PR in-house or using an agency

33:04 - A brief PR exercise with a template

39:47 - Adding an interesting fact to an intro pitch

40:42 - When is the right time for PR?

42:22 - PR for crowdfunding hacks

43:00 - FOMO in the context of PR

46:09 - How do journalists respond to outreach from a CEO versus an agency?

49:10 - Do you recommend having a press kit ready for journalists?

51:16 - How she got a photo with Obama

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Gina Gotthilf: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginafrombrazil/

Learn more about Latitud at https://www.latitud.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes John S. Kim, Co-Founder and CEO of Sendbird.

Sendbird is the world's no.1 chat API, serving over 100M monthly chat users across leading companies such as Reddit, Delivery Hero, Yahoo!, Rakuten, Paytm, Accolade, Livongo, and DHL.

John shares the four techniques that enabled his company to become a billion-dollar company at breakneck speed.

Specifically, John covers:

2:37 - Career pivots from software engineer to gamer

4:35 - What made him start the company

8:33 - Why he applied to YCombinator

11:18 - How he acquired his first customers and found market fit

15:21 - Things he learned to help sell better

21:06 - What it means to become a platform company

23:39 - Deciding when is the right time to add additional products

25:00 - The four techniques founders should apply to business and life

35:38 - How to transition from individual contributor all the way up to executive

40:03 - Helpful lessons in creating autonomy for the team

42:02 - The Human Capital Framework

44:48 - Emotional capital, cognitive empathy, and the trade-offs of agreeableness

52:11 - Empowering your teams to be more and more autonomous

59:55 - Key steps to making successful hires

1:01:54 - The order people should be hired in

1:04:28 - What he wishes he did more of and less of

1:01:18 - Navigating his biggest fear as a leader

1:11:36 - Top KPIs that leaders should measure

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with John S. Kim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshkim/

Learn more about Sendbird at https://sendbird.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money, faster, without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Annie Pearl, Chief Product Officer at Calendly.

As more and more enterprises put employees in the driver’s seat to pick the right tools for their organizations, product leaders have put more emphasis than ever on end-to-end users.

With everything from pricing to packaging being looked over very deliberately, will the final product frustrate those users or delight them?

Annie shares insights on how to build and drive product-led growth (PLG) for the enterprise.

Specifically, Annie discusses:

2:59 - Key learnings from previous roles that helped her become a product leader

11:26 - Key traits for success in PLG

14:05 - Engineering virality into a product that isn't inherently viral

17:56 - An enterprise company transitioning from sales-led to PLG

22:55 - The purpose of a flywheel and how you can leverage it in a PLG environment

30:05 - UX and best design practices to drive adoption usage and growth

35:25 - Tips for measuring customer outcomes are actually happening

39:56 - How to think about the strategy of building a freemium product

42:08 - What revamping development and prioritizing features looks like

44:41 - Picking what features to say no to

51:35 - How she would build a company today, from scratch

54:49 - The difference between a VP and a Chief Product Officer

1:00:17 - Achieving hyper growth without burning people out

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Annie Pearl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anniepearl/

Learn more about Calendly at https://calendly.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Mark Roberge, Managing Director at Stage 2 Capital. Previously, Mark was the CRO at HubSpot seeing it from the earliest stages through post-IPO.

“When to scale?” and “How fast?” are two mission-critical questions for start-ups, yet most entrepreneurs lack a rigorous approach to answering them.

After peeking inside the go-to-market machinery of hundreds of start-ups over the last decade, Mark Roberge shares a scientific, data-driven approach to go from zero to billion fast.

In this episode, Mark specifically covers:

2:39 - How he met the founders of HubSpot

5:16 - How his role evolved from selling to running sales at HubSpot

7:17 - Moving from being an individual contributor to a manager

14:37 - The time it takes to understand retention

19:34 - Why he doesn't enjoy starting upstream in a company in the early stage

25:17 - When are you ready to scale?

31:20 - How fast should you scale?

37:35 - The different aspects of the go-to-market system

42:12 - Where specifically do you scale?

48:22 - Where's the line on unhealthy growth?

51:21 - Key hires to make during each stage of growth

54:40 - Key traits of a sales leader and when to bring them on board

58:45 - When to go global

1:01:12 - The process for assessing disruption risk for pricing

1:06:09 - How much to spend on marketing

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Mark Roberge: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markroberge/

Learn more about Stage 2 Capital at https://www.stage2.capital/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI features a talk by Sarah Tavel, General Partner at Benchmark from the IRL Traction Conference in Vancouver.

Sarah started her career at Bessemer Venture Partners, and invested in Pinterest when it was a small five person company with about 30,000 registered users. She loved the company so much that she joined Pinterest to become their first product manager. Sarah led product at Pinterest through a period of hyper-growth, and when she left the company they had 100 million monthly active users.

In this session, Sarah shares the framework to build iconic businesses covering:

• Hierarchy of engagement
• Growing engaged users
• Retaining users once you've brought them in
• Building mounting loss and accruing benefits into your product
• Making your product self-perpetuating with virtuous loops

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Sarah Tavel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahtavel/

Learn more about Benchmark at http://www.benchmark.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Oji Udezue, Product Lead at Twitter (and former CPO at Calendly) and Michael Litt, Co-Founder and CEO at Vidyard.

The most successful IPOs and fastest-growing private companies of the past decade all started with a freemium, self-service product. Zoom, Atlassian, Slack, Dropbox are just a few.

But building a freemium, self-service product when you already have a successful enterprise business can seem like a daunting task.

There are a million questions: “Will it cannibalize my sales efforts? Do I need to build a new product? What mindset and skills do I need to have on the team?

In this session, Oji Udezue and Michael Litt join us for a masterclass on how to build a freemium, self-service offering to go from sales-led to product-led to drive massive growth. They'll be covering:

10:30 - The greatest risk to execution for a company

17:45 - Nuances and tactics involved in building a PLG strategy

24:20 - How to transition from sales-led to PLG

32:32 - How do you structure your product team?

43:42 - The concept of crossing the chasm

47:41 - The thought process of carving out a specific feature of functionality

50:01 - How to add virality, network effects, and viral loops to a product that isn’t necessarily viral

54:46 - Things Oji has done to create virality

57:29 - A good place to draw a line for paid versus free services

59:10 - How to create friction-free onboarding

1:05:09 - When is the right time to contact a customer?

1:09:00 - How to prioritize features with feedback from thousands of people

1:13:40 - Tips to empower customers to become ambassadors to grow your business

1:16:54 - Tools being used, from enabling to tracking

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Michael Litt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellitt/?originalSubdomain=ca

Learn more about Vidyard at https://www.vidyard.com/

Connect with Oji Udezue: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojiudezue/

Learn more about Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Jason Lemkin, Founder at SaaStr, and Justin Kan, Co-Founder at Fractal.is.

Justin co-founded Kiko Software, a Web 2.0 calendar that pre-dated Google Calendar by four years; Justin.tv, a lifecasting platform; Twitch, a live streaming platform for esports, music, and other creatives that was acquired by Amazon for almost $1 billion. More recent roles include Partner and GM at Y Combinator and CEO of Atrium, a software-powered law firm for startups. He is now a general partner at Goat Capital as well as his work at Fractal.

Jason co-founded NanoGram Devices: nanotechnology to dramatically enhance the performance of power sources for implantable medical devices, which was acquired for $50 million just 13 months after founding; EchoSign, the web's most popular electronic signature service which was acquired by Adobe; and now SaaStr, the world's largest SaaS community and $70+ million SaaS venture fund.

In this session, they'll share “sage advice” that VCs give startups and deconstruct the biases.

Specifically, they discuss:

2:10 - A warm intro to investors - what if you don't have one?

3:37 - The type of cold emails to write

5:20 - Why now is the best time ever to raise money

8:45 - Giving up control of a company

10:59 - The biggest issue that founders face

13:09 - The consequence of having no accountability

14:55 - How many investors till it's considered to be too many

19:38 - Big funds writing small checks

23:37 - Why you should update your investors regularly

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Jason Lemkin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmlemkin/

Learn more about SaaStr at https://www.saastr.com/

Connect with Justin Kan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinkan/

Learn more about Fractal.is at https://www.fractal.is/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures.

Want the key to unlocking the next unicorn? Today, more and more companies are embedding finance (payments, lending, insurance, etc.) into their products — not only to drive growth and revenue but also to stay competitive.

Starbucks has the second most used payments application in the United States and they’re not a bank. Analysts estimate Shopify’s payments revenue to grow faster than their Subscription & Services revenue stream. Toast, a $2.7B restaurant management platform, launched Toast Capital in 2019 to provide its customer base with access to fast, simple, and flexible funding.

In this session, Matt discusses the key components of the FinTech ecosystem and how to embed FinTech into your products to drive exponential growth.

Specifically, Matt covers:

1:34 - How he initially got into investing

6:07 - What does FinTech mean

10:01 - Why every company will become a FinTech company and examples of embedding FinTech into products

34:36 - The additional value of embedded lending

44:50 - How does the rise of crypto and decentralized finance play into FinTech?

51:41 - How should founders think about fundraising and valuations in this environment?

59:54 - One piece of unconventional advice founders ignore but shouldn't

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Matt Harris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattcharris/

Learn more about Bain Capital Ventures at https://www.baincapitalventures.com/

The Fourth Wave Part 1: https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewharris/2019/11/19/fintech-the-fourth-platform-part-one

The Fourth Platform Part 2: https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewharris/2019/11/22/fintech-the-fourth-platformpart-two

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, I welcome Wade Foster, Co-Founder & CEO at Zapier. This episode is moderated by Arjun Chopra, Partner at Floodgate VC..

Before he was Zapier’s CEO, Wade played saxophone in a blues and jazz quartet. Started as a side project in 2011, today Zapier boasts more than $100 million in revenue & more than 3 million users. All this with ONLY a $1.2 million seed round in 2012.

In this session, Wade shares his top secrets in taking Zapier from a side project to a unicorn on a bootstrapped budget.

Specifically, Wade shares:

0:16 - From playing the sax to dominating a market in SaaS

3:53 - The process of validating the idea, picking the first few apps to integrate, and getting to product market fit

7:30 - Initial product pricing and how it's evolved over time

10:15 - Philosophy around fundraising and budgeting

14:05 - Growing the team with no offices

17:11 - Zapier's go-to-market approach

20:24 - What Wade wishes he did less of, in hindsight

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Wade Foster: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadefoster/

Learn more about Zapier at https://zapier.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Patrick Lor, Managing Partner at Panache Ventures.

Patrick joins us to share the top themes driving startup funding and how founders should think about fundraising in this market.

Specifically, Patrick discusses:

1:17- A walk through Patrick's journey

4:12 - How should founders think about fundraising and valuations?

13:08 - How should founders approach their funding round and relationships?

19:39 - How do startup founders provide value to VCs?

30:42 - Patrick's reaction to FOMO tactics

33:59 - The most common way to raise seed

44:28- How do you define pre-seed vs seed?

46:23 - How do you estimate your pre-revenue valuation?

51:20 - Investor communication and the fundraising process

55:34 - The best and worst things a VC has done for Patrick

58:46 - What Patrick wishes he did less and more of in his career

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Patrick Lor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricklor/?originalSubdomain=ca

Learn more about Panache Ventures at https://www.panache.vc/

Panache Ventures VC 101: https://panache.docsend.com/view/9aj5e3j8zjmkj9uj

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Kipp Bodnar, CMO at HubSpot.

Today’s most innovative companies will have a media company embedded in them - that’s what Kipp believes. HubSpot, Salesforce, Amex, and Adobe are a few companies that have leveraged this strategy to drive multibillion-dollar outcomes.

Kipp oversees all demand generation activity worldwide, building out the EMEA and APAC marketing teams, and managing HubSpot’s field marketing, localization, strategic partnerships, and social media efforts. He also serves as a marketing advisor for SaaS companies and is the co-author of The B2B Social Media Book: Become a Marketing Superstar by Generating Leads with Blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Email, and More.

Kipp tells us about HubSpot's experience building a media arm by leveraging education, content, and advocacy to not only drive awareness but also exponential growth and revenue.

Specifically, Kipp discusses:

3:08 - Kipp's backstory

5:05 - Benefits to becoming a media company

10:53 - How a podcast network ties into the bigger picture

12:49 - Driving traffic to new marketing sources

15:43 - What's needed to build a media company?

19:43 - Ensuring your content stays relevant

26:37 - The effort behind building a massive community

30:19 - Deciding which marketing channel to prioritize

36:19 - Common business models outside of ads

40:51 - How to keep growing your audience

45:49 - Where is the media company strategy headed?

51:13 - How do you prioritize the best ideas and find great marketers?

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Kipp Bodnar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kippbodnar/

Learn more about HubSpot at https://www.hubspot.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Greg Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Thinkific.

With over 400+ employees and 10M+ students, tech unicorn Thinkific brings the incredible power of education and business to entrepreneurs across the globe.

Greg shares his lessons learned from building Thinkific from 0 to IPO through navigating many hard fought battles.

Specifically, Greg shares:

5:12 - Finding early customers and product-market fit

13:31 - How customer acquisition has evolved from the early days

17:15 - The long-term vision for Thinkific

24:32 - Prioritizing what to build first

29:13 - The early days of raising funding

32:11 - The recommended way to build relationships with investors

40:38 - Why choose IPO over raising more venture dollars

50:32 - Key factors that drive excitement from investors

53:03 - Avoiding burnout and staying on course

59:56 - How to source candidates

106:08 - What he would (& wouldn’t) do again when building a unicorn

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Greg Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregsmith-thinkificceo/?originalSubdomain=ca

Learn more about Thinkific at https://www.thinkific.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Michelle Zatlyn, Co-Founder & COO at Cloudflare, Shawn Abbott, Partner at Inovia Capital, and Mahendra Ramsinghani, Founder at Secure Octane & Author at Startup Boards. Together, they give us a masterclass on building high-performing boards and productive relationships.

Topics covered include:

12:22 - What do investors expect from founders when it comes to their board?

23:52 - Why momentum is the source of all authority you have as a founder

32:49 - Working through imposter syndrome

42:44 - Resolving conflict between board members

50:16 - At what point do you decide to start a board, and how do you pick the right people?

1:00:02 - The most entertaining board member experiences

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Michelle Zatlyn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellezatlyn/

Learn more about Cloudflare at https://www.cloudflare.com/

Connect with Shawn Abbott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnabbott/?originalSubdomain=ca

Learn more about Inovia Capital at https://www.inovia.vc/

Connect with Mahendra Ramsinghani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahendraram/

Learn more about Secure Octane Investments at https://www.secureoctane.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Rishi Mandal, Co-Founder and CEO of Future.

You hear the term ‘saturated market' and, naturally, you are struck with the fear of limited growth.

But a competitive market also shows that there’s a real demand, and with that comes customers. You just need to out-innovate and outgrow the competition.

Future, backed by Kate Hudson, Kleiner Perkins, SC.Holdings, Trustbridge Partners, Founders Fund, and Khosla Ventures, is a 1:1 digital personal training experience that is winning in a highly saturated market.

In this session, Rishi draws from his experience running product at Google and Postmates and specifically covers:

6:06 - Rishi’s backstory from working as astrophysics researcher at NASA to product manager at Google to founding Sosh (acquired by Postmates) and now disrupting fitness with Future

12:21 - Why he started the company

15:22 - Acquiring early customers and getting to product-market fit

26:14 - Combining operations design + technology to drive high customer retention and NPS

41:54 - How to win in a heavily saturated market

55:41 - Why the process of planning is never useless even if things don’t play out per plan

1:00:11 - Recommended books and resourcesGet 50% off your first month of Future: https://www.future.co/?code=traction

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Rishi Mandal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmandal/

Learn more about Future at https://www.future.co/about/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Anu Bharadwaj, Chief Operating Officer at Atlassian.

Anu shares how to start a movement in your organization to encourage, inspire, and motivate your employees to drive transformational change and exponential growth.

The most successful companies of the last decade, from Amazon to Netflix and Microsoft, have been through transformational changes. Great companies must develop the muscle to transform if they want to last — and movements make those changes possible.

In this session, Anu discusses:

13:06 - The lessons learned going from engineering to product to COO

17:03 - What are some of the big transformations from the past decade that you can take inspiration from?

20:47 - What are the key traits of a movement?

28:32 - One concrete example of leading with love and showing empathy

36:44 - Middle management's role in organizational change

45:56 - Building an ideal product team

52:18 - How the team prioritizes what features to build

1:00:51 - Unconventional advice people ignore, but shouldn't

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Anu Bharadwaj: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anutthara/

Learn more about Atlassian at https://www.atlassian.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Jason Lemkin, Trusted Advisor at SaaStr.

Jason, who is often regarded as the godfather of SaaS, shares 10 things you can do to grow 10x faster in 2022.

Jason runs SaaStr, the world's largest SaaS community and $100M+ SaaS venture fund. Previously, Jason founded the web's most popular electronic signature service, EchoSign, which he grew to over $100M in revenue and sold to Adobe.

Prior to EchoSign and SaaStr, he co-founded one of the only successes in nanotechnology, NanoGram Devices, which was acquired for $50M just 13 months after founding.

Specifically, Jason covers:

7:53 - Jason's backstory

19:37 - Top things founders miss that can help them grow faster

32:38 - In what order do you hire execs between zero to $10M and $10M to $100M?

41:02 - How to navigate challenges in hiring and recruiting in 2022 with so many well-funded SaaS startups

51:12 - Key mistakes seen en-route going from $10M to $100M ARR

55:59 - When to add a second product and when to become a platform company

1:07:30 - How to raise funding faster in 2022

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Jason Lemkin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmlemkin/

Learn more about SaaStr at https://www.saastr.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Nick Mehta, Chief Executive Officer at Gainsight.

The goal of every startup is to exit via IPO, and if not, then by way of acquisition. But what should founders know about the process of getting there? Everything — from turning an idea into a scalable business to seeking potential buyers to what the reality of being owned by a larger company entails.

Nick's first CEO role, at LiveOffice, led to the sale of the company in 2012 by Symantec for $115 million. More recently, Gainsight was acquired by Vista for a reported $1.1 billion.

In this session, Nick discusses:

4:11 - Key traits and the route to becoming an entrepreneur

13:57 - Early Gainsight milestones

18:11 - Key learnings from the 'category creation' playbook

27:10 - Ensuring your community building is generating sales

35:36 - The types of people to hire to build out a team

42:27 - Training the organization to make decisions when he's not in the room

46: 22- The exit process and lessons for startups thinking of selling

56:19 - Mental health hacks

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Nick Mehta: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickmehta/

Learn more about Gainsight at https://www.gainsight.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Rahul Vohra, Founder and CEO at Superhuman.

How do you build products that are 10X better than the competition? It almost always starts with a counterintuitive approach to the conventional.

Rahul is one of the rare founders and product builders with this conviction, building the fastest email experience in the world. Rahul was previously the founder of Rapportive, acquired by LinkedIn in 2014.

Rahul shares his frameworks on game design, customer onboarding, product development, positioning, and pricing to retain and delight users.

Specifically, Rahul covers:

3:23 - Brief intro to Superhuman

11:48 - Questions asked in the early interviews

18:03 - The new way to launch: most product launches are inherently flawed. Rahul breaks down how to do a far superior, measured launch in four distinct phases.

33:31 - The Superhuman onboarding process

40:31 - Superhuman's 6-step onboarding plan: Rahul's clever technique for getting user feedback, catching bugs, and building customer loyalty.

46:31 - To 10x your product, study game design: the five key product design factors that built Superhuman.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Rahul Vohra: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulvohra/

Superhuman’s Product-Market Fit Engine: https://coda.io/@rahulvohra/superhuman-product-market-fit-engine

Learn more about Superhuman at https://superhuman.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Eren Bali, Co-Founder and CEO at Carbon Health.

Eren previously founded Udemy and helped pioneer the online learning industry. Now, he's disrupting healthcare with Carbon Health and has grown the company 7x since January 2020, increasing its clinic footprint from 7 to 27 clinics, introducing virtual care to 16 states, and facilitating over 500K Covid-19 tests.

Specifically, Eren covers:

4:05 - The decision to start Carbon Health after pioneering a whole new industry

12:35 - Key learnings from Udemy

19:36 - Beginning milestones set at Carbon Health

25:51 - Key levers to prioritize when scaling a company

37:31 - Combining AI and machine-learning with humans to build delightful customer

experiences that keep them coming back

42:41 - The first few people to bring onto your team

51:00 - Keeping everyone on your team aligned with company goals

56: 16- Key skills all entrepreneurs need to have

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Eren Bali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erenbali/

Learn more about Carbon Health at https://carbonhealth.com/careers

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Meagen Eisenberg, Chief Marketing Officer at TripActions.

Meagen is one of the most sought-after marketing leaders and has won a number of accolades, including Most Influential Marketing Tech Leaders and Top 25 B2B Marketing Influencers.

She spent more than 20 years growing and scaling tech companies through many acquisitions and IPOs, including prior roles as CMO of MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) and VP of Demand Generation at DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU).

In this session, Meagen addresses:

8:22 - What should your marketing mix look like?

14:30 - Where you need to focus if you only have $10k

20:43- Innovative things companies are doing in field marketing

26:23 - Splitting your budget in the post-Covid world

35:20 - Most important piece of software to have when starting out

43:52 - Most common mistakes marketers make

52:02 - Coordinating multiple marketing teams efficiently

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Meagen Eisenberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meageneisenberg/

Learn more about TripActions at https://www.tripactions.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Kerel Cooper, Chief Marketing Officer at LiveIntent, Inc. Hiring has turned into gatekeeping, but building a great company is not about selecting people who fit your existing culture and keeping out those who don’t. Culture should expand like your business. Just like we want people to contribute new skills and ideas, people should be able to contribute to a new culture. Ultimately, openness is the biggest and most indispensable enabler of growth. According to Gartner, 75% of organizations with frontline decision-making teams reflecting a broad and diverse culture will exceed their financial targets.

In this session, Kerel covers:

0:36 - Kerel's Minority Report podcast

5:25 - How leaders and their teams can foster a broad and diverse culture in the workplace from the very beginning—during the hiring process

8:52 - What sets or breaks culture within a company?

15:18 - How do you deal with a toxic personality?

24:58 - How to preserve company culture while expanding

36:09 - Do you hire for strength, or lack of weakness?

49:25 - Do you hire for trajectory, or experience?

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Kerel Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerelcooper/

Learn more about LiveIntent at https://www.liveintent.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Noah Kagan, Chief Sumo and CEO at AppSumo.

Noah started his career as employee #30 at Facebook, before getting fired and losing $185M in company shares. He was then #4 at Mint.com and built their first 100K customers as director of marketing.

Today Noah runs two multimillion-dollar businesses: AppSumo and Sumo.com. But along the way, he's launched 24 businesses.

In this discussion, Noah will go through EVERY business idea he's had and executed on over two decades. And he'll share his TOP fears, f'ups, and lessons from starting and marketing each. Specifically, Noah will cover:

8:53 - His journey from Facebook to Mint

14:53 - Why, after launching 24 products, Noah decided on AppSumo and Sumo

24:11 - Figuring out a pricing model

30:00 - Top tips for building an audience

43:33 - Tools recommended for giveaways

54:13 - Keeping your email list clean

57:41 - One simple tactic every budding entrepreneur needs to master

59:28 - How to thrive in chaos and find positivity, confidence, and joy during some of the toughest times many of us will ever live through

1:04:42 - How to build a network of successful people who will inspire you

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Noah Kagan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahkagan/

Learn more about AppSumo at https://appsumo.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Tomasz Tunguz, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures and co-author of Winning with Data.

To build a massive long-term sustainable business, you need strong defensive moats around your company.

However, the dramatic shifts in technology are rendering traditional moats useless and leaving companies feeling like it’s almost impossible to build a defensible business.

Tomasz shares a unique look at SaaS and data ecosystems, and offers a proposal for novel SaaS architecture to erect huge barriers to entry.

Specifically, Tomasz covers:

3:14 - Tomasz's book, Winning With Data

9:28 - Emergence of the cloud data warehouse as a central part of the SaaS stack

17:09 - Disrupting service-oriented industries

20:48 - Traditional moats vs. new moats

28:50 - The most successful product-led growth options

36:42 - How startups can leverage this new architecture to rebuild the largest categories of software and challenge the incumbents

44:40 - Series A revenue vs series B revenue

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Tomasz Tunguz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasztunguz/

Learn more about Redpoint Ventures at https://www.redpoint.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Brian Rothenberg, Partner at defy.vc.

Finding exponential growth is the holy grail of every startup, but many fail in pursuit of it.

Brian’s career has spanned every stage of startup growth, from scrappy zero to triumphant IPO. He founded SkillSlate which was acquired by TaskRabbit (acq. Ikea), then went on to scale Eventbrite’s $5B+ growth engine as VP of Growth and helped them to IPO.

Today, Brian is investing in and advising early-stage startups.

In this session, Lloyed and Brian discuss:

5:25 - How to determine early stage market fit

9:59 - What to focus on after the initial value and hook

15:00 - Keys to successfully defining and utilizing growth loops

21:57 - Pitfalls for companies that haven't been able to leverage growth loops

31:29 - Defining Eventbrite's growth model

43:41 - How growth teams are changing today

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Martin Basiri, co-founder and CEO at ApplyBoard.

ApplyBoard is the world’s largest online platform for international student recruitment, with over 750 employees in 20 countries. It has recently closed its latest round of financing and the company is now valued at $1.4 billion.

In this session, Martin shares the secrets and lessons learned from their exponential growth journey. Specifically, they discuss:

7:23 - What early customer development looked like

11:09 - Coming up with the idea and getting to product-market fit

16:56 - Tactics for driving customer acquisition and growth

17:48 - Strategies for finding the key early team members

30:43 - Fundraising during a global pandemic and becoming a unicorn

46:36- CEO goals for a company with 750 people

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Martin Basiri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinbasiri/?originalSubdomain=ca

Learn more about ApplyBoard at https://www.applyboard.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Startup Helper, Elad Gil.

The Information recently had a cover article with the headline, “The Rise of Elad Gil, Silicon Valley’s Biggest Solo Venture Capitalist.”

Investing in one or two unicorns is already magic, but Elad has invested in over 40, including helping companies like Airbnb, Gitlab, Gusto, Instacart, Notion, Stripe, Square, Google, and Twitter navigate the hyper-growth phase by sharing his playbook.

Specifically, we discuss:

6:51 - Coming up with the idea and getting to product-market fit

11:21 - Recommended key metrics for founders

20:35 - How to identify and optimize for every single unfair advantage

27:48 - How startups should think about growth

32:13 - Scaling from zero to thousands of employees without breaking the culture

39:37 - Signals to watch for that things are about to break

42:49 - The job of a CEO

51:14 - What dictates valuation?

58:02 - Keeping the team aligned on goals and strategy

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Elad Gil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eladgil/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Shiven Ramji, chief product officer at Auth0.

Building a developer product is probably one of the hardest things for startups to build, because you're selling to people who don't really hold the budget.

What are the fundamentals (or secrets) to building successful developer products and companies?

Shiven has built two successful products and brands at Auth0 and DigitalOcean. Both companies recently had exits of $5B+ but have had different growth motions—product-led and sales-led.

Shiven shares his learnings and how you can use them to scale your next product or company:

5:52 - Defining "product-led"

15:52 - Comparing product-led strategies and sales-led growth strategies

20:05 - The challenges selling to developers

23:40 - How to build a hyper-growth product

38:19 - The right window between free and timed trials

44:07 - The role of community in developer products

46:19 - How to build and scale ecosystems to grow your platform

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Shiven Ramji: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivenramji/

Learn more about Auth0 at https://auth0.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Laurie Schultz who was most recently CEO at Galvanize which was acquired for $1 billion..

Early-stage startups often act like pirates, fighting to scale in pursuit of treasure while being rough around the edges and breaking things along the way.

But eventually, it comes time to evolve into something more like the navy—still heroic, but disciplined and polished in its approach, with a long-term view.

Laurie Schultz recently sold Galvanize for $1 billion. In this episode, she discusses 10 fundamentals every founder or leader can use to evolve from pirate to navy admiral for high scale.

Specifically, she discusses:

11:13 - What it takes for a founder to transition to scale

14:54 - Identifying and finding the right key early team members at different points along the way

20:01 - Transformation from services to software

29:42 - One-page strategic plan

44:11 - Leveraging partnerships and new markets to achieve rapid revenue growth

55:45 - Does profitable growth matter after a certain point?

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Laurie Schultz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-schultz-2675081/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, I welcome Andy Johns, venture partner at Unusual Ventures.

Some of the fastest-growing products have artfully constructed a series of content flywheels, resulting in nearly unstoppable organic growth for years or decades. To put the power of a content flywheel in perspective, Reddit recently claimed 430M monthly active users—it’s 15 years old and still spreading its wings.

But how do you create such a platform? In this episode, Andy describes what the ingredients are, how they work, and what you can do about them in pursuit of building your own startup fueled by a flywheel. Specifically, Andy covers:

12:22 - How do you define growth?

22:25 - What is a flywheel?

26:20 - The different types of flywheels and the key ingredients to make them successful

35:35 - How to keep users engaged and constantly coming back

41:39 - How to make your users are a source of repeatable organic growth

46:40 - Successful flywheels in B2B and B2C companies and what you can learn from them

53:05 - Bringing new people into your network

1:03:11 - What to look for in early-stage startups before investing

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Tune in by clicking the link below and don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Sridhar Vembu, founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation (moderated by Frederic Lardinois at TechCrunch).

Sridhar built Zoho, a software product firm valued at over a billion dollars, without a rupee of external funding—almost completely bootstrapped. Months before the pandemic, he moved from Silicon Valley to a village in Tamil Nadu, where he is now based. Years before Atmanirbhar Bharat became a slogan, Sridhar championed the cause of self-reliance and the creation of local employment.

We hear about inequality, college debt, and a lot of other issues. Sridhar believes that the private sector has to solve these problems.

"We are entrepreneurs and capitalists, and all of us have a responsibility."

This is Sridhar's passion now.

With exceptional clarity, superlative focus, and a philosophical "zen" like approach to both life in general and building software, Sridhar is the original “Sage of Software 2.0.”

Podcast highlights:

1:43 - What Zoho used to be vs what it is now

6:20 - Doing things right against competitors

9:48 - Starting out without any venture capital

14:51 - The temptation to IPO

18:31 - How to market 44 products

19:52 - Additional potential Zoho products

22:55 - How to stay focused

24:07 - Zoho University

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Sridhar Vembu: https://twitter.com/svembu

Learn more about Zoho at https://www.zoho.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Ali Tamaseb, partner at Data Collective Venture Capital (DCVC).

What are the key traits of billion dollar startups?

Ali embarked on a journey to answer that question with real data.

In the process, he has collected the largest data set on startups (30,000+ data points) to analyze every piece of them and understand what makes super founders and unicorns.

What makes this even more incredible is the fact that he did this manually over the span of four years.

This labor of love was done with the intent of figuring out what really separated unicorn companies from the rest. Was it luck? Was it a specific skillet? A specific journey?

Ali joined us to share his learnings and discuss how you can use them to scale to unicorn status.

Podcast Highlights:

10:24 - The key traits of a Super Founder

21:37 - Eight ingredients of a unicorn

27:30 - The deliberate ideation process behind successful startups

40:37 - Venture capital vs. bootstrapping

41:43 - How to be opportunistic to win big

44: 59 - How to choose between different ideas in different industries

50:33 - Founder stories and failures you can learn from

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Ali Tamaseb: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alitamaseb/?trk=storyline-update_share-update_actor-image

Learn more about DCVC at https://www.dcvc.com/

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Farhan Thawar, VP of engineering at Shopify, a global commerce company that provides tools to start, grow, market, and manage retail businesses of all sizes.

Farhan studied computer science despite his parents’ disapproval, which was because at the time there were computers but no computer industry to speak of and very few job opportunities. He ended up with a job at the food giant Kraft.

It turns out his choice to work with computers was the right one, and he has started and worked at quite a few companies leading up to his current role at the Shopify rocket ship. He is looking to bring in more than 1,000 developers to Shopify. Since Covid, the company has gone permanently remote, so they are looking for top talent, regardless of location.

Lloyed and Farhan discuss a variety of topics including diversity and culture and the way Farhan embraces diversity throughout the organization. They talk about the challenges of building efficient teams and ways to increase productivity and team building. It’s a dynamic and fascinating conversation.

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Jyoti Bansal, CEO and co-founder of Harness.

There’s a .00006% chance of becoming a billion-dollar company. Now imagine building two in your lifetime.

Is it luck, or is there strategy involved?

Jyoti is an engineer turned serial entrepreneur with 2x unicorns. Harness recently attained unicorn status with a $1.7B valuation alongside his previous unicorn AppDynamics, which he sold to Cisco in 2017 for $3.7 billion.

With a belief that software has the ability to change the world, Jyoti builds products that not only work, but reach multi-billion dollar exits. How? Because he understands that yesterday's "wow" feature becomes today's performance feature.

Podcast highlights:

7:47 - How to street fight your way to $1 billion in ARR

9:57 - What he would (and wouldn’t) do again when building a unicorn

16:13 - How AppDynamics evolved over time

20:33 - How to build a product roadmap that sells

28:41 - How many channels should you use for marketing?

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Mandy Sebel, operating partner, people and talent at Radian Capital and former chief people officer at UiPath. Mandy has spent many years in the people and culture space, so we talked about everything from recruiting to onboarding to building a culture that fosters high retention.

Mandy believes that early-stage companies should bring in a leader of people and culture as soon as they can afford it. It is a critical role because attracting and retaining top talent in any organization is the number one key to success.

It is important to have a strong sense of your company’s values and mission, and it is equally important to clearly communicate with future and current employees what those values are. This gets everyone in the organization pulling the rope in the same direction, which leads to success for both the individuals and the company as a whole.

Having people understand this comes through clarity, and clarity comes from repetition. If you want a successful organization, no matter your stage or size, culture and communication are vital.

• Mandy Sebel
• Radian Capital
• Lloyed Lobo
• Boast.AI

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Vidya Peters, chief marketing officer and interim chief product officer at Marqeta, a card issuing and payment processing company that broke many records with an IPO valuation of $16 billion.

Following her love of math and science, Vidya studied engineering as an undergraduate student. She says her career path was like skiing down moguls, you know where you are starting but you don’t know exactly where you’re going. In her case, she ended up in tech marketing.

When she joined Marqeta, it had $100 million in revenue, but the marketing team was a mere five people. There was no product marketing, and demand generation and PR functions were outsourced. This presented an opportunity for Vidya to build from the ground up.

She gives valuable insights on building a marketing plan, and the short, medium, and long-term strategies that need to be tackled to lead to a successful IPO. She also talks about the importance of PR and how to handle the relationship between the company and the PR firm.

• Vidya Peters
• Marqeta
• Lloyed Lobo
• Boast.AI

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

This episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com

View Details

On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Jeff Lawson, CEO and Co-Founder of Twilio, for a lively discussion about how to build high performing software teams.

Jeff goes over his career journey, which included stops at Stub Hub and Amazon before starting Twilio. Along the way, he discovered that it is difficult to put in the time and energy needed to build a product or service if you aren’t passionate about it.

The way to get developers passionate about what they’re doing is to give them ownership of the project. Writing code is a creative problem-solving process. Developers don’t want to work on assignments — they want to solve problems using their knowledge and experience.

Developers work best in small teams. No matter how much the organization grows, keep teams at around 10 people, and give them a single threaded leader. Then that team can own one specific problem, and they will be passionate about solving that problem. As the team grows, divide it into new, smaller teams. This will keep the passion flowing.

You can tell by listening to Jeff that he has an infectious passion for building strong software teams.

Resources:

• Jeff Lawson
• Twilio
• Lloyed Lobo
• Boast.AI

Learn more at https://tractionconf.ioThis episode is brought to you by:Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses, but the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to Seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 Billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca

Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline their podcast production. Learn more at ContentAllies.com