In this episode, Jay Nathan (COO, Churnkey) and Baird Hall (Co-Founder, Churnkey) have a candid conversation with Todd Olson, Founder & CEO of Pendo, a comprehensive product experience platform.  Todd founded the company in 2013. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company has since raised $356 million in venture capital, landed more than 2500 customers, and now employs 750 people across eight offices globally. Pendo has appeared on the Forbes Cloud 100 and Inc. Best Workplaces lists for the last six years. In this episode we explore the intricate dynamics of pricing strategies and the balance between product-led and sales-led growth. Todd shares insights on the significance of pricing elasticity, customer commitment, and aligning pricing with value perception. Additionally, the discussion delves into the evolution of Pendo's go-to-market strategy, the challenges of product installation, and the nuanced approach to balancing product-led expansion with sales-led acquisition.   How to listen to Subscription Heroes Apple PodcastsSpotifyYoutube   About Todd Olson:   Todd Olson is the CEO and co-founder of pendo.io, a widely recognized platform focused on improving digital product experiences. His expertise lies in product management and entrepreneurship, with a strong emphasis on user-centric design and product development methodologies. Through his leadership at Pendo, Todd has played a pivotal role in helping companies understand and enhance their digital product experiences. Here is what we cover: Todd's experience with pricing strategies and the importance of understanding elasticity.Significance of increasing prices to filter out less committed customers.Importance of charging enough to ensure customer commitment and responsiveness.Considerations for pricing based on customer value perception rather than solely on costs.Todd's perspective on balancing product-led and sales-led growth strategies.Challenges of product installation in B2B markets and its impact on the product-led approach.Importance of aligning go-to-market strategies with customer needs and market dynamics.

Now that the days of cheap money and spending your way out of problems is over, SaaS companies are in a sudden search for newfound efficiencies. But how do you pull that off while maintaining and creating deep customer relationships?  Jay Nathan has the answers. Jay's one of the foremost customer success experts in the world, and he knows how to lead and scale SaaS customer success teams in a world where there's no more free money. On top of that, he's one of the foremost thought leaders in the CS space—having co-founded Gain Grow Retain, one of the alrgest and most vibrant Customer Success Leadership communities in the world—and through his leadership as EVP & CCO at Higher Logic.  In this episode, we dive into the specifics of building scalable customer success programs, the customer-centric companies he admires, and drop some breaking news: Jay is joining us at Churnkey as our first strategic advisor as we cross the $1 billion mark of protected subscription revenue.  How to listen Apple PodcastsSpotify️ Google Podcasts Here's what we cover How Jay uses his prolific writing to solve problems in his own life and careerThe market correction's impact on SaaS companiesScaling customer success teams and operationsThe power of online communities in customer successCustomer-centricity: Amazon and Southwest Airlines case studies✨ Jay’s recent appointment to Churnkey's Board of AdvisorsHow he decides which companies to invest his time and money inImportance of being customer-centric in the SaaS industry Resources Jay Nathan on LinkedInJay's email list Gain Grow Retain, Jay's Customer Success community Higher Logic This episode is sponsored by Churnkey, the world's most powerful customer-centric retention platform.

We're taking a little break from our usual lineup of guests to peel back the curtain on our story. For our first interlude, I sit down with my business partner and co-founder, Nick Fogle.  He's a lawyer-turned-SaaS-founder who also happens to be an engineer, and while working together to build Churnkey, I've seen him morph into a sales leader, as well. We cover all this and more, including some breaking news about a TOP SECRET product release we're making public for the first time! Here's what we cover  A wild eight months: how we went from nearly out of cash to reaching profitability and 300% revenue growthHow we knew we reached product-market fit Managing sales, along with everything else, as a CEO Avoiding burnout!Scaling the way we build product as we grow the team beyond the foundersHow to grow with capital efficiency  Learn more about us at churnkey.co

Designing accessibility into software is both a huge business opportunity and a passion that Cat Noone, founder and CEO of Stark, has embraced. I've known Cat for nearly ten years (I interviewed her for my book, Designing Products People Love, back in 2015), and her devotion to building products that materially improve people's lives is stronger than ever. Stark began as a humble Sketch plugin and is now a key player in organizations like FedEx, Apple, Google, NASA, Salesforce, and many others for integrating accessibility into the product development process. In the end, making products more accessible and usable is both good business and a societal good. We talk Stark's community-driven distribution strategy, the shift from founder-led sales to a sales team, and the valuable lessons learned from early pricing mistakes. We also explore the challenges and strategies involved in the large-scale adoption of design tools, the art of identifying the perfect product launch window, and so much more. What we discuss Cat’s journey with Stark, from a Sketch plugin to a software design giantCommunity-driven distribution strategyTransition from founder-led sales to a sales teamLessons learned from early pricing blunders in Stark's journeyLarge-scale adoption of design tools and strategies to overcome challengesUnderstanding different personas in the purchasing processViewing the learning curve of sales as an opportunityScaling a product and empowering account executivesInvesting in strengths rather than improving weaknessesCat’s love of reading and her wish for a vacationStark's mission of making software accessible to the worldObstacles and adaptation in enterprise adoptionFounder-led sales and hiring account executivesThe importance of being present and supportive as a leader Resources Cat's LinkedIn Stark Brought to you by Churnkey Boost your subscription revenue, lower churn, and make customers happier with Churnkey, the only platform that handles every type of retention for you.

Forget the Funnel.  Forget the Funnel is a fresh marketing approach for SaaS companies, a book, an agency, and a series of courses. Claire co-created Forget the Funnel with Georgiana Laudi after her experience leading marketing at Calendly. What we discuss How to apply customer-led growth in SaaS businessesUnderstanding the 'Forget the Funnel' approachImportance of customer feedback in business developmentHow customer journey mapping can transform your businessRethinking Pirate Metrics Creating order out of chaos in workload managementImagining impactful urban development in SaaS businessBreaking down large projects into manageable partsCustomer feedback can uncover business blind spotsIdeas for developing a plot of land for the neighborhoodStockpiling research and data for later in life Resources Claire Suellentrop LinkedIn Forget the Funnel Forget the Funnel Media Kit Book: Forget the Funnel Brought to you by Churnkey Boost your subscription revenue, lower churn, and make customers happier with Churnkey, the only platform that handles every type of retention for you.

In this episode, I sit down with Amit Gupta, co-founder of Sudowrite. Sudowrite is  an AI-assisted creative writing tool for fiction writers. In addition to co-running Sudowrite, Amit is a sci-fi writer and sold his previous company, Photojojo, in 2014. About Amit Amit is one of the most optimistic people I've ever met, and he's creating some incredible things over at Sudowrite. We chat about the challenges of building on top of other people's platforms and what it takes to stay on top of ever-changing language models, what the future of AI-assisted storytelling looks like, how to create intuitive interfaces that makes AI tools accessible to all. What we discuss How Sudowrite worksGenerating ideas and streamlining the writing processChallenges of building on ever-changing ChatGPT language modelsImportance of crafting AI interfaces for different writer stylesFuture of AI-assisted storytelling and copyright implicationsMixed opinions within the sci-fi community on AI writingPower of storytelling and current books being readDealing with platform risk and new language modelsReimagining AI interfaces for human interaction and learningPotential for one-to-one AI instruction in various fields Resources Amit's LinkedIn Sudowrite Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboards

Daryn is an expert at sourcing, crafting, and maintaining business partnerships that deliver real business results. We chat about her journey from Box to Stripe, the launch of Stripe's App Marketplace, and how Stripe is strengthening its ecosystem with the help of third-party apps. With insights from Stripe's annual user conference, Daryn highlights the importance of communication and collaboration in partnership building, and the potential of embedded apps to revolutionize the Stripe ecosystem for everyone participating. What we discuss Building partnerships for Stripe's App MarketplaceDaryn’s journey from Box to StripeLaunch of Stripe's App MarketplaceImportance of communication and collaborationEvolving focus on product partnershipsEmbedded apps revolutionizing Stripe ecosystemBalancing remote and in-person workPracticing mindfulness with Oliver Sacks' GratitudeImportance of regular communication in partnerships More about Daryn Daryn Kelley on LinkedIn Stripe

In this episode, I sit down with Rob Walling — serial entrepreneur, investor, founder of TinySeed, MicroConf, and host of a bunch of hugely popular podcasts, including Startups for the Rest of Us. The Ted Lasso chant "He’s here! He’s there! He’s every f*cking where!" about Roy Kent pops into my head on occasion. This is especially true when I think of Rob. About Rob When he's not investing in 100+ SaaS companies across four continents (via TinySeed), he's publishing the most popular podcast about non-VC track startups (Startups for the Rest of Us), rocking MicroConf throughout the world, and publishing multiple videos a week on YouTube for entrepreneurs. Oh, and he just wrote his fourth book, "The SaaS Playbook: How to Build a Million-Dollar Startup Without Venture Capital — Advice From Someone Who’s Done It 3 Times." Rob's spoken a lot about building companies (and given us a lot of advice, since TinySeed invested in @churnkey). But I haven't heard him speak a lot about how he produces so much high-value content. So we dive into his production pipeline in great detail and get behind the "why" of what he's putting out there. And along the way, we talk about the importance of mental well-being for founders, how he almost broke down at the time he sold Drip, how he faces down risk and indecision, and so much more. What we discuss Discussing Rob Walling's SaaS Playbook and founder self-careRob's motivation to write the book and unique approachChoosing Kickstarter over traditional book deals for launchThe importance of social media and marketing in SaaSPrioritizing self-care and mental well-being as a founderBuilding a media empire and consistently producing contentRob's experience with burnout and the power of therapyStreamlining the SaaS startup process with the SaaS PlaybookOvercoming challenges and embracing self-care in high-stress environmentsRob's mantra "it'll be alright" to face risks and decisionsUtilizing alternative marketing techniques to increase reachThe value of therapy and maintaining mental health in entrepreneurship Find show notes and more at https://churnkey.co/subscription-heroes/rob-walling Find Rob here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robwalling/ https://twitter.com/robwalling https://tinyseed.com https://microconf.com https://saasplaybook.com   Follow Scott at: https://scotthurff.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotthurff/ https://twitter.com/scotthurff &nbs

About Corey I sat down with Corey Haines: marketer, entrepreneur, and podcaster. After his role as Head of Growth at Baremetrics—and consulting with companies like SavyyCal and Riverside.fm—he founded SwipeWell, the only tool dedicated to helping you save, organize, and reference marketing examples. What we discussed Corey emphasizes the importance of customer research

I recorded this episode with Jacob Eiting—founder and CEO of the beloved RevenueCat—just after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. And while Jacob and his company made it through the banking crisis relatively unscathed, it served as the perfect foil for Jacob's story and what he thinks made RevenueCat achieve the milestone of $10M in annual recurring revenue. Here's what we discuss Navigating a financial crisis and achieving $10M ARRThe challenges of building a successful companyCrossing the chasm to enterprise salesRallying teams during tough times and the COVID-19 pandemicMarket fit, product channel fit, and product market fitBalancing founder responsibilities and personal passionsEnterprise sales and introducing new vendor strategiesScaling a company while maintaining culture and team cohesionChaos and growth in a rapidly growing businessChallenges as a founder and taking calculated risksMaximizing app revenue and personal growth with RevenueCatThe importance of validation, price testing, and maximizing iPhone utility More about Jacob https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeiting/ https://twitter.com/jeiting https://www.revenuecat.com https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/27/revenuecat-raises-40m-series-b-for-its-in-app-subscription-platform/ Follow Scott at https://scotthurff.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotthurff/ https://twitter.com/scotthurff This show made possible by Churnkey:  https://churnkey.co

Samuel Hulick is co-founder of Self-Serve SaaS, and has personally helped teams at Atlassian, Spotify, Miro, and many more with their expertise in onboarding, retention, and increasing revenue. In this episode, they share strategies for achieving exponential business growth and we examine the differences between sales-driven and self-serve models. We cover crucial subscription business metrics, key value metrics, and context-aware customer onboarding, with real-life examples from companies like MailChimp and Facebook. What we discuss  How Self-serve SaaS models enable powerful, scalable business growthWhat are the core tenants of self-serve SaaS?Self-serve models minimize costs while maximizing subscription revenueUncovering key value metrics crucial for scalingReal-life examples - MailChimp and FacebookDriving user engagement and relevancyKey value metrics and segmenting by user intentHow to bridge the gap between marketing and product designContext-aware and segmented customer onboardingTailoring experiences to meet individual customer needsPrioritize unit economics and monitor customer trendsCreate reliable value propositions and fulfill customer promises   Find show notes and more at https://churnkey.co/subscription-heroes/samuel-hulick   Find Samuel here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelhulick/ https://twitter.com/samuelhulick https://www.selfservesaas.com   Follow Scott at: https://scotthurff.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotthurff https://twitter.com/scotthurff   This show made possible by Churnkey: https://churnkey.co

Sahil Lavingia is an entrepreneur, investor, writer, and painter. He’s the founder of Gumroad, which empowers creators to sell goods and memberships with little overhead. Gumroad runs as a lean, open startup with a no-meeting, no full-time culture, and now generates $20 million per year in revenue. He published his first book, The Minimalist Entrepreneur, in 2021 with Portfolio. What we discussed: How a pricing increase defied expectationsThe importance of social consensus in building a strong brandWhy market dynamics and cash flow are crucial in software pricing decisionsEffects of cheap money on the software industryAsynchronous and written-word-first approach aids in scaling and product developmentAutomating workflows and rewards for better efficiencyShipping products to maintain relevance and retain customersWhy experimentation with AI can improve business processesBuilding products remotely and how to use it to foster creativityWhy equity and dividends contribute to long-term business sustainabilityHow prioritizing health and fitness unlocked a new level of Sahil's overall wellbeing Recent books he read: The Snowball (Warren Buffet) and Better to Have Gone   Links: Sahil Lavingia LinkedIn Gumroad Scott Hurff LinkedIn Churnkey The Subscription Heroes podcast is powered by Churnkey. Your host, Scott Hurff, is Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Churnkey, a platform that helps subscription-based companies improve customer retention and recover failed payments. Churnkey has successfully managed to lower cancellations by up to 42%, recover up to 89% of failed payments, and increase customer LTV by 28% for customers including Jasper, SavvyCal, Copy.ai and Castos. Scott Hurff is a veteran product maker and designer. He was on the founding team of Tinder’s first acquisition, where he created some of the app’s most successful early revenue features. He was on the founding team of Casa, the world’s first consumer-friendly Bitcoin self-custody provider. O’Reilly published his book, Designing Products People Love, which Scott Berkun called “a thoughtful and charming guidebook for making great things.”

In this episode, I spoke with Joanna Wiebe, founder of Copyhackers and the “OG conversion copywriter.” Joanna is an incredible teacher through her great content and many courses, and works with companies like Canva, Intuit, and MetaLab to up their conversion game. Here's what we cover  You’ll hear Joanna discuss persuasive copywriting techniques, the role of AI in copywriting, and the importance of writing craft. Joanna shares her insights on creating user-centric copy that leads to increased conversions, how to write for your product's audience, and what it takes to make  offers irresistable. Discussion Points Conversion copywriting: words that get the 'yes'Negative associations with persuasive copywritingImportance of being user-centric in copyUtilizing stages of awareness in copywritingFinding abundant ROI in improving conversion ratesCore elements of successful copywriting: list, offer, and copyCreating irresistible offers for better conversionsUsing first-person and quotation marks in headlinesAI as a sidekick for idea generation in copywritingLimits and potential of AI in copywritingPrioritizing tasks and avoiding 'Make Work' projectsImportance of showing up and sticking with it Resources Her company, Copyhackers: https://copyhackers.com Joanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/copyhackers Joanna’s New Newsletter: https://joannawiebe.substack.com About your host, Scott Hurff Scott Hurff is a co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Churnkey. He was on the founding team of Tinder’s first acquisition, where he created some of the app’s most successful early revenue features. He was on the founding team of Casa, the world’s first consumer-friendly Bitcoin self-custody provider. O’Reilly published his book, Designing Products People Love, which Scott Berkun called “a thoughtful and charming guidebook for making great things.” Brought to you by Churnkey Subscription Heroes is powered by

Jason Fried is co-founder and CEO of 37signals, the makers of Basecamp and HEY. He's a best-selling author of four books about work, design, and building calm companies. Here's what we cover with in this episode Jason discusses the valuable insights he gained from his four-week sabbatical and the importance of taking time away from work. He also shares his views on writing, content creation, and embracing AI to unleash creativity. The conversation delves into the future of technology, the implications of AI on creativity, and the power of stepping back to gain a fresh perspective. Oh, and we also got to compare notes on our mutual love for vintage watches. Discussion Points Jason Fried's sabbaticalGaining fresh perspectivesWriting and content creationImportance of staying powerEmbracing AI in creativityAI-driven visual recognitionAI for summarizationFuture of AI in technologyThe most improbably thing Jason would like to do Resources Jason Fried's LinkedIn 37Signals Jason's books Brought to you by Churnkey Subscription Heroes is powered by Churnkey, a platform that helps subscription companies improve customer retention and recover failed payments with customer-centric, user-friendly experiences. Churnkey lowers cancellations by up to 42%, recovers up to 89% of failed payments, and increases customer LTV by 28% for customers including Jasper, SavvyCal, Copy.ai and Castos.

Support this show at — https://churnkey.co/subscription-heroes Brought to you by Churnkey — https://churnkey.co