On nurturing great talent, knowing your customer and building SaaS for the world
We already know that SaaS businesses are amazing. Predictable recurring revenue, great margins and inbound marketing. Best of all, the ability to operate from India and sell to the world. But a key challenge in sustaining and growing a SaaS business is to get people to trust your product and really get to know your customers. Startup founders typically hustle round the clock, switching between customer support calls and working with the product team. It’s important to know your customers at a deeper level and establish a rapport with them; and not to make assumptions!
In the early days of building the business, Kissflow CEO Suresh Sambandam did just that and more — he actually embarked on a road trip to 48 states in the US and parts of Europe to gain a deeper understanding of what customers actually wanted.
Suresh talks about this road trip, how customer development is an integral part of the software release process at Kissflow, and much more in a conversation with Patrick Campbell, CEO of ProfitWell on the podcast “Protect the Hustle”.
Listen to him speak about:
- The importance of customer development
- Why it’s pertinent to know your customer rather than assume their needs
- How to be a champion of the mundane
- Identifying and honing great talent
- Taking a globetrotter approach to customer relations
- The need to examine the product manager hubris
- What the biggest limitations to growth are
- The four tech ecosystems of India and how they stack up
Check out the podcast here.
[PS: this podcast was recorded about 3 yrs ago, so some facts mentioned in the conversation might not be relevant today. The rest of it is still pure gold 🤩 ]
