diSaaSter recovery
the
podcast
discover untold horror stories & hard-learned lessons of SaaS life as told by the SaaSholes who lived through it.
take a listen
real people. real companies. real diSaaSters.
formula for diSaaSter
message-market fit, product-market fit, & a non-working product
“a lot of times we think that product market fit is static. we're basically taught this. i don't think the curve has changed much throughout this 30 year time period, but we're taught.
the minute that we hit product market fit, we cross the chasm. we've had large scale adoption, hockey stick growth. we made it. We're going to go public…
… you might have had product market fit with a lot of early adopters but maybe you truly didn't understand when that changed.”
ups & downs
in sales, business development, & executive leadership
“you're the first impression for the organization. as soon as you call someone or the first time you meet someone you're trying to sell them and sound like a dumbo.
then that leaves a certain taste in someone's mouth like, “do i really want to work with that company if this guy or this person is not conveying the message very well or i have no idea still what they do?” so it's a pretty important thing.
but the whole point is just to find potential customers and then to cast them on to someone who's going to be closing them, and then the part of it is that it teaches you one what your limits are in regards to sales, because, yeah, you're the first person, the first impression for the organization, but you're also the first person that gets told no.”
challenging conventions
a deep dive into the complex world of product management
“i think it does come down to trust and i think it is about that empowerment and the accountability.
i think that's the other thing that product managers are open to is having clear goals and definitions of success and defining those at a company level, a product level, a feature in capability level, and having the accountability when things may not go according to plan or is hoped. but you're right, that's exactly what we're saying.
product managers want to ingest as many data points as possible, both qualitative and quantitative, before making a decision about the best path forward. and, to use that cliche saying, if you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together.
that's really what product managers are trying to achieve and, while not everyone is going to agree on all of the decisions, it really is about unifying around that definition of value and being open about what that definition is.”
about the host
after cutting his teeth at apple, inc., josh ventured into SaaS startup life, leaving the safety and security and clearly defined roles, responsibilities, hierarchies, and benefits, of corporate life.
why?
for all the reasons one typically uses to justify such a risk — promises of adventure and high reward.
from solutions and implementation consulting to product marketing and strategy, josh has firsthand experience recovering from diSaaSter.
