Claim OwnershipSaaS Backwards - Reverse Engineering SaaS Success
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Join us as we interview CEOs and GTM leaders of fast-growing SaaS and AI firms to reveal what they are doing that’s working, and lessons learned from things that didn’t work as planned. These deep conversations dive into the dynamic world of SaaS B2B marketing, go-to-market strategies, and the SaaS business model. Content focuses on the pragmatic as well as strategic, providing a well-rounded diet for those running SaaS firms today. Hosted by Ken Lempit, Austin Lawrence Group’s president and chief business builder, who brings over 30 years of experience and expertise in helping software companies grow and their founders achieve their visions. Full video and shorts on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@SaaSBackwardsPodcast
181 Episodes
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Send us a text Guest: Mark Walker, CEO at Nue.io -- SaaS pricing isn’t breaking because of AI — it’s breaking because most revenue systems were never built for the speed and complexity of today’s models. In this episode, Mark Walker, CEO of Nue.io, joins host Ken Lempit to unpack why modern SaaS and AI companies are abandoning legacy CPQ and billing stacks for a flexible, unified revenue infrastructure built for rapid change. Key highlights: Why legacy CPQ + billing can’t support ...
Send us a text Guest: Brent Adamson, Co-Author of The Framemaking Sale & Co-Founder of A to B Insight SaaS sales teams obsess over beating competitors—but the real battle isn’t across the table. It’s in the buyer’s mind. In this episode, Brent Adamson—co-author of The Challenger Sale and The Challenger Customer and Co-Founder of A to B Insight—joins host Ken Lempit to reveal why most SaaS deals are lost to no decision at all, and how his new book, The Framemaking Sale, helps buyers b...
Send us a text Guest: Melanie Nabar, Vice President at Volition Capital -- SaaS founders often see only two funding paths—venture or private equity—but there’s a smarter middle lane that keeps control where it belongs: with the founder. In this episode, Melanie Nabar, Vice President on the Software Team at Volition Capital, joins host Ken Lempit to unpack how growth equity works, when it’s the right fit, and the scale-up mistakes that stall promising SaaS companies. Key insights f...
Send us a text Guest: Rob Belcher, Managing Director at SaaS Capital -- SaaS founders often think equity is the only path to growth—but giving up ownership isn’t the only option. In this episode, Rob Belcher, Managing Director at SaaS Capital, joins host Ken Lempit to break down how growth debt works, what investors really look for in valuations, and how B2B SaaS leaders can finance smart without losing control. Key insights from this episode: Why growth debt can fund SaaS expansi...
Send us a text Guest: Braydan Young, Co-Founder and CEO at SlashExperts -- Buyers don’t want another “book a demo” button—they want proof from people like them. In this episode, Braydan Young, Co-Founder and CEO of SlashExperts (and previously co-founder of Sendoso), joins host Ken Lempit to share how buyer-led growth is reshaping SaaS sales and why the old way of running references at the end of the deal cycle is broken. Key insights from this episode: Why moving customer referen...
Send us a text Guest: Courtney Hiller, Founder of All Points Agency -- You wouldn’t hire one person to build your product, sell it, and run support. So why are B2B SaaS companies still expecting one marketer to manage a million-dollar media budget? In this episode, Courtney Hiller, founder of All Points Agency, joins host Ken Lempit to break down how to build a modern media engine that actually performs—and why yesterday’s paid strategy won’t cut it in 2025. Key insights from this episo...
Send us a text Guest: Hikari Senju, Founder & CEO at Omneky -- AI isn’t just generating ad copy—it’s reshaping the entire performance marketing playbook for B2B SaaS. In this episode, Hikari Senju, founder and CEO of Omneky, shares how the platform evolved from an enterprise solution to a self-serve powerhouse—and why smart creative strategy matters more than big budgets. Key insights from this episode: Why brute-force creative testing consistently outperforms gues...
Send us a text Guest: Adir Ben-Yehuda, CEO at Autonomy AI -- The go-to-market playbook for AI SaaS is being rewritten in real-time, and those who cling to old models risk being left behind. In this episode, Adir Ben-Yehuda, founder and CEO of Autonomy AI, joins host Ken Lempit to share how his team went from zero to 70 customers in months by ditching outdated frameworks and building a brand buyers can trust. We unpack: ✅ Why “Crossing the Chasm” no longer applies in the age of Ch...
Send us a text Guest: Ray Meiring, Co-Founder & CEO at QorusDocs -- Scaling a SaaS business from consultancy roots to enterprise success requires more than just great tech—it takes ruthless focus, smart go-to-market choices, and a deep understanding of your buyer. In this episode, Ray Meiring, co-founder and CEO of QorusDocs, joins host Ken Lempit to share the lessons learned on his journey from South Africa to the U.S. market and how QorusDocs carved out a winning niche ...
Send us a text Guest: Sammy Greenwall, Founder of Henry.ai -- What if your go-to-market motion could skip past theory and build from real-world pain? That’s exactly how Sammy Greenwall, founder of Henry.ai, approaches commercial real estate—and why his vertical AI startup is scaling without traditional sales or marketing. Sammy’s background as a CRE professional-turned-founder gave him not only insight, but language, trust, and distribution advantages. In this episode, he sh...
Send us a text Guests: Ken Rapp (Co-Founder & CEO) and Emily Lagasse (VP of Marketing) of Bluestream -- What if the key to SaaS growth isn’t more leads, but fewer customer drop-offs post-purchase? In this episode of SaaS Backwards, we sit down with Ken Rapp (Co-founder & CEO) and Emily Lagasse (VP of Marketing) of Blustream, the platform pioneering post-sale engagement, to explore how product ownership experiences are unlocking revenue, retention, and lifetime value. Accor...
Send us a text Guest: Casey Woo, CEO & Founder of Operators Guild & FOG Ventures -- What happens when startups are built not by armies of specialists, but by lean teams of senior generalists paired with AI agents? In this episode of SaaS Backwards, we sit down with Casey Woo—CEO and Founder of FOG Ventures and the Operators Guild—to explore how AI is transforming the fundamental structure of companies. According to Woo, the org chart of the future isn’t just flatter ...
Send us a text Guest: Google’s NotebookLM -- In this special episode of SaaS Backwards, we handed the mic to AI. We took our newest ebook on reviving inbound marketing—coming soon for download—and ran it through Google’s NotebookLM to see what kind of podcast it could generate. The result? A surprisingly sharp—if occasionally cheesy—take on how B2B SaaS companies can reimagine their go-to-market strategies for today’s buyer. You be the judge. The episode explores why the tra...
Send us a text Guest: Eli Portnoy, Founder & CEO at BackEngine -- As B2B SaaS companies scale, they often lose touch with the customers who got them there. In this episode, Eli Portnoy, founder and CEO of BackEngine, sits down with Ken Lempit to talk about the critical breakdown in customer feedback systems—and how generative AI can help leaders hear what really matters. We unpack: ✅ Why customer feedback loops break as SaaS companies grow ✅ The hidden costs of misaligned fee...
Send us a text Guest: Ayse Guvencer, Fractional SaaS CMO & GTM Executive -- As AI changes how B2B buyers evaluate software, many marketers are missing the forest for the trees. In this episode, Ayse Guvencer, fractional CMO and GTM advisor to SaaS and MarTech startups, joins Ken Lempit to deliver a blunt reality check: AI is disrupting the search journey, pricing models, and even how buyers interact with your brand—before your SDRs even know they exist. We unpack: ✅ Why ...
Send us a text Guest: Jim Curry, CoFounder at BuildGroup -- Is AI really transforming your SaaS business—or just adding noise? In this week’s episode, Jim Curry, co-founder of BuildGroup and former Rackspace exec, discusses how AI is transforming both the products and operations of SaaS businesses—and why most companies are missing the opportunity. Jim shares how BuildGroup's operator-first, long-term approach to investing gives them an edge when helping SaaS companies scale, espe...
Send us a text Guest: Ken Lempit, President & Chief Business Builder at Austin Lawrence Group Are your SaaS ads actually doing their job, or just burning budget? In this week’s episode of SaaS Backwards, Ken Lempit and Jason Myers of Austin Lawrence Group go deep on what GTM leaders get wrong about advertising in 2025: Why most SaaS ads look and sound the same (and fall flat)Where messaging fails long before the clickHow to align sales and marketing in a high-consideration buy...
Send us a text Guests: Ken Lempit, James Ollerenshaw, and Rob Curtis -- Voice is the new frontier in SaaS — but are we ready for the implications? In the third episode of our AI Series, Ken Lempit is joined again by James Ollerenshaw and Rob Curtis to explore how voice and AI are colliding to transform the way B2B SaaS companies operate — from the way products are built and sold to how customers are supported. We dive into: The shift to voice-first interfaces and its implications ...
Send us a text Guests: Ken Lempit, James Ollerenshaw, and Rob Curtis -- AI isn’t just a bolt-on anymore—it’s rewriting the rules of SaaS from the ground up. In this episode, Standup Hiro co-founder Rob Curtis and tech strategist James Ollerenshaw join host and GTM expert Ken Lempit to unpack how Agentic AI is forcing SaaS leaders to rethink everything: product design, go-to-market, customer trust, and even internal culture. From natural language interfaces to the rise of AI “co-wo...
Send us a text Guest: Sjoerd Handgraaf, Chief Marketing Officer at Sharetribe -- The most overlooked growth lever in SaaS? Positioning. In this episode, Sharetribe CMO Sjoerd Handgraaf reveals how redefining product positioning transformed their trajectory—and why many SaaS companies are still getting it wrong. Handgraaf takes us inside Sharetribe’s journey from chasing big logos to doubling down on their true customer: non-technical marketplace founders. Along the way, he shares...
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