Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
Rohit Malhotra
Recent Episodes
I am thrilled to have Marcos Rivera, the founder and CEO of Pricing I/O, where he helps B2B SaaS companies capture the value they've built. Former Head of Pricing at Vista Equity Partners, he's priced over 400 SaaS products and has authored Street Pricing.
In this conversation, Marcos Rivera, founder and CEO of Pricing.io, discusses the intricacies of pricing strategies in B2B SaaS. Marcos shares his journey from product management to pricing, highlighting common mistakes companies make, especially in underpricing their products. He emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs, the blend of art and science in pricing, and the impact of AI on pricing strategies. The discussion also covers diagnosing churn, building a pricing team, essential metrics for pricing decisions, and aligning sales and marketing efforts.
Timestamps
03:04 Common Pricing Mistakes in B2B SaaS
06:22 The Art and Science of Pricing
09:02 AI and the Future of Pricing Models
12:18 Diagnosing Pricing Problems and Churn
15:10 Counterintuitive Pricing Strategies for Success
20:10 Innovative Pricing Strategies
22:20 Building a Team and Company Culture
25:07 The Role of Data in Pricing Decisions
26:28 Key Metrics for SaaS Pricing
29:11 Aligning Teams for Effective Pricing
32:28 Integrating AI into Pricing Strategies
36:08 Advice for Founders on Pricing
Marcos's Links
LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcoslrivera/
Website – https://www.pricingio.com/
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/
Aabhas Khanna, is General Partner at MyAsiaVC, a venture syndicate and fund with $125M AUM backing 250+ companies, including 5 unicorns. Previously at HSBC and Deloitte, he now invests in pre-seed and seed AI-native startups across enterprise growth, healthcare, fintech, and advanced manufacturing, focusing on obsessive founders tackling overlooked challenges.
In this conversation, Aabhas Khanna, a general partner at MyAsia VC, discusses his journey from working in large corporations to venture capital. Aabhas shares insights on evaluating AI startups, the importance of founder quality, and the unique challenges and opportunities in different Asian markets. He emphasizes the need for adaptability in business models, the significance of understanding market dynamics, and the flow of capital in the Asian tech ecosystem.
Timestamps
00:00 From Banking to Venture Capital: A Journey Begins
04:49 Navigating the AI Landscape: Signal vs. Noise
11:42 Regional Insights: Building in Hong Kong vs. Silicon Valley
17:31 Market Expansion: Local vs. Global Strategies
22:07 Investment Strategies: Reserves and Follow-On Investments
23:55 Identifying Future Unicorns: The Role of Founders
26:40 Navigating AI Disruption in Startups
28:29 The Role of Investors in Founder Decision-Making
30:56 Defining Good Growth in the AI Era
34:32 Capital Flows in the Asian Tech Ecosystem
38:20 Common Mistakes Founders Make
41:45 Reflections on Venture Capital and Personal Growth
Aabhas's Links
LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/aabhaskhanna/
Website – https://www.myasiavc.com/
Sajid interview - https://lifeselfmastery.com/2020/05/30/ep-143-sajid-rahman-on-investing-in-emerging-markets/
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/
I am thrilled to have Doreen Pernel, Chief Sales Officer at Scaleway, Europe's leading sovereign cloud provider. She's built and scaled sales teams across Meta, Dataiku, Box, and Bloomberg, navigating Sydney, New York, London, and Paris.
In this conversation, Doreen Pernel, Chief Sales Officer at Scaleway, shares her insights on sales leadership, cultural adaptability, and innovative strategies in the cloud computing industry. She discusses the importance of resilience in hiring, the evolving role of cold calling, and how to motivate teams against larger competitors. She also reflects on the impact of AI on sales roles and offers advice for women in sales leadership, highlighting the importance of taking initiative and seeking feedback for personal growth.
Timestamps
02:12 Cultural Influences on Sales Leadership
04:10 Transforming Sales Strategies at Scaleway
06:13 Innovative Sales Outreach Techniques
08:22 Hiring for Resilience in Sales
10:20 The Evolving Role of Cold Calling
12:12 Identifying True Grit in Sales Hires
14:19 Motivating Teams Against Big Competitors
16:10 Balancing Celebrations and Reality in Sales
18:03 Selling on Values: Sustainability and Carbon Transparency
20:05 Supporting Startups and Sustainable Consumption
22:14 Using AI Tools in Sales
24:18 Future of Pricing in Cloud Services
26:14 Success Metrics for Scaleway's Go-to-Market Strategy
28:09 Advice for Women in Sales Leadership
30:23 Reflections on Career Growth and Feedback
Doreen's Links
LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/doreen-pernel-1b30919b
Website – https://www.scaleway.com/en/
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/
I am thrilled to have Daniel Layfield, who is Director of Product Management at Diligent and founder of Subscription Index, advising subscription businesses on monetisation.
In this conversation, Daniel Layfield shares his journey from finance to product management, discussing his experiences at Code Academy and Diligent. He emphasises the importance of understanding churn, effective pricing strategies, and the role of AI in product management. Daniel also explores the complexities of subscription models, the significance of metrics, and the impact of price localisation on revenue.
Timestamps
03:48 Growth Strategies at Code Academy
07:11 Understanding Churn and the Four Horsemen
10:55 Identifying Ideal Customer Personas
13:04 The Hidden Math of Churn
15:55 Pricing Strategies for Subscription Models
19:04 The Future of Pricing in SaaS
20:45 Paywall Strategies and Feature Design
23:05 When to Invest in Subscription Management Tools
25:50 The Impact of AI on Product Management
26:49 The Future of AI and Software Development
29:24 OpenAI's Role in the Tech Stack
31:05 Challenges of Subscription Business Models
33:26 Identifying Key Metrics for Success
36:12 The Importance of Price Localization
40:33 AI's Impact on Subscription Monetization
42:32 Building a Writing Cadence and Sharing Knowledge
44:54 Lessons from Product Management Experience
Daniel's Links
LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/layfield/
Website – Subscriptionindex.com
Playbook - https://www.subscriptionindex.com/playbook
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/
I am excited to have Ryan Johnson, who is the Chief Product Officer at CallRail, an AI-powered lead intelligence platform serving 200,000+ businesses with over $100M ARR.
In this conversation, Ryan Johnson, Chief Product Officer at CallRail, shares his journey from finance to product management, discussing the evolution of CallRail from a call tracking service to a lead intelligence platform. He emphasises the importance of scaling product organisations, balancing sales and product-led growth, and navigating the challenges posed by AI disruption. Ryan also delves into pricing strategies, monetisation challenges in B2B SaaS, and the significance of a cohesive engineering, product, and design team structure. He highlights the role of self-reported attribution in marketing and draws parallels between racing and product management, underscoring the need for incremental improvements and customer obsession.
Timestamps
03:30 Scaling Product Organizations: Lessons from Banjo
06:54 The Evolution of CallRail: From Call Tracking to Lead Intelligence
10:47 Balancing Sales and Product-Led Growth
13:12 AI Disruption in the Search Industry
15:53 Pricing Strategies in a Scaling Company
19:01 Challenges in Monetization and Standardization
22:44 Organizational Structure for Product Velocity
25:26 Agile Experimentation in AI-Enabled Organizations
26:16 Navigating Unit Economics in the Age of AI
28:45 Decisions That Drive Cost Efficiency
31:57 Product Strategy Across Different Stages
36:06 Balancing Partnerships and Product Simplicity
38:33 Solving Attribution Challenges with Conversation Intelligence
42:31 Racing Towards Product Market Fit
45:10 Reflections on Career Growth and Learning
Ryan's Links
LDN/ X – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandjohnson/
Website –https://www.callrail.com/
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/