The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan

Sven Lackinger is the co-founder & CEO at Sastrify - a rapidly scaling SaaS venture who’ve raised $23m dollars from major VCs like HV Capital and FirstMark for their SaaS procurement solution.   We explored: Why 4 co-founders is too many - you're better off with 2 co-founders who then hire “experts” for the other c-suite roles The benefits of hiring world class talent anywhere in the world & how to build a completely remote team & culture Why Sastrify has launched so many virtual cultural initiatives like Friday Checkouts – where people thank a colleague for something they’ve done and share their weekend plans - and global online chess tournaments to build friendships across timezones and countries How Sastrify are creating a new product category to enable large enterprises to procure and operate their software     N.B. This episode was recorded in early March 2022 - shortly after Russia invaded UkraineFor more insights into Sastrify check out https://www.sastrify.com/ & for advice on hiring leaders to scale your B2B SaaS venture head over to https://alpinasearch.com/

Sampo Parkkinen is the CEO & founder at Revieve whose SaaS platform uses AI, AR & computer-vision to help brands and retailers like Number 7, Superdrug & JC Penney personalise the customer experience and build long term customer relationships.We explored: Why scaling yourself - as a leader - is the hardest thing to do as an entrepreneur “The Power Focus” – learning not to chase every opportunity and not to try to put out every fire How & when to transition your SaaS business from focusing on SMBs to winning large enterprise clients Why e-commerce is moving from transaction driven to relationship driven - shaking up the entire consumer brand experience For more insights into Revieve check out https://www.revieve.com/ & for guidance on recruiting leaders talent for B2B SaaS scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/  

Jonas Thordal is the Co-founder & CEO at Weld – funded by VCs like Frontline Ventures & Cherry Ventures Weld aims to build the world's most customer-centric data company - empowering customers to unlock the full potential of their data.   We explored: Building a utopian culture – how to eliminate politics, tedious decision process & hierarchies  Why one of your earliest hires should be a People Ops person to prioritise your cultural values Recognising that, even if you've a great product, people are what will make or break your company  Developing a company-wide mindset of getting product out there, failing fast, learning & iterating Minimising stress & burnout in a fast-paced startup  - including the benefits of meditation to help each individual achieve focus, prioritisation & clarity of purpose For more insights into Weld, head over to https://weld.app/  And for advice on recruiting exceptional leadership for B2B SaaS ventures, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/        

Malcolm Burenstam Linder is the Founder & CEO at Series A funded Alva Labs whose digital hiring platform helps organisations improve the quality & diversity of the talent they recruit. We explored: why combining data-driven AI & machine learning with psychometrics helps companies improve the quality and diversity of the talent they hire  as we struggle with a global pandemic & a horrific European war, should companies behave like elite sports teams & provide their employees with personal coaches & therapists? the challenges of transitioning from being a hands-on but chaotic entrepreneur - who tries to wear every hat - to a confident business leader who delegates to a highly effective leadership team For more insights into Alva Labs check out https://www.alvalabs.io/ & for advice on recruiting world class leaders for B2B SaaS scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/  

Hubert Rachwalski is the CEOat Nethone who in 2021 were named Poland’s fastest-growing company in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Nethone provides machine learning-based fraud prevention solutions to online retailers and financial institutions We explored: the arms race that pushes software innovators like Nethone to continue to develop advanced technologies and AI to keep pace with the criminals the importance of educating banks & merchants on the risks they face from fraud how a European SaaS startup can sell to international enterprise clients from Day 1  how Nethone has successfully hired strong senior talent remotely but faces increased competition in their home market, due to the pandemic, from overseas employers   For more insights into Nethone head over to https://nethone.com/ and for advice on recruiting stellar leaders for B2B Saas ventures head over to https://alpinasearch.com/ Please note, this interview was recorded over 2 weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine - hence we did not discuss the implications of the invasion during the podcast

Simon Bird is the CEO & co-founder at RevLifter who combine AI, hyper-personalization, data, algorithms, and cutting-edge UX and design to enable retailers to personalise their online offers. Revlifter raised their Series A from Gresham House Ventures & Maven Capital Partners - they’ve rapidly scaled to $10m ARR and sold to online businesses of all shapes & sizes including blue chips like New Balance, Harvey Nichols, Staples and AT&T. Simon discussed: How he formulated a successful SaaS business concept on the back of a napkin in a London café! Learning the good, the bad and the ugly of startup leadership by investing in start-ups before you launch your own business Lessons for European Saas businesses looking to replicate their success & their culture in The States  “If you’re gonna hire people, they should really be telling you what to do rather than the other way round” The dangers of being too hands-on as a CEO in terms of your mental & physical health – learning how to let go! For more Revlifter insights head over to https://www.revlifter.com/ and for guidance on recruiting exceptional B2B SaaS startup & scale-up leaders check out https://alpinasearch.com/  

Arthur Nobel is a Principal at Knight Capital, having previously worked at Rocket Internet & co-founded Flexpat where he went through both the startup hype and the trough of disillusionment! Arthur wrote the best-selling book “Leaders of Growth” and hosts the Leaders of Growth Podcast. We explored why: The concept of a single product-market fit needs to be re-configured as a continuous journey of multiple product-market fits Arthur's goal - as a VC - is not to make money but to help others succeed & achieve their vision Market-timing is crucial - pre-pandemic, Arthur launched a company to help businesses hire remote workers – but companies did not at that time want remote workforces so the business failed The character of your ideal employee should change significantly at each stage of a company's evolution  Entrepreneurs need to quantify their competitive advantage and optimise for this across their entire business   For more insights into Knight Capital head over to https://www.knight.capital/ And for guidance on recruiting exceptional leaders for B2B SaaS scale-ups, check out https://alpinasearch.com/                

Nicola Ebmeyer is the co-founder at Gain.Pro - a 3 year old European SaaS fintech looking to become the Bloomberg of the private finance market! Gain.Pro already has a stellar list of loyal clients like Bain, Mckinsey, 3i and BCG - their ARR has consistently grown at well over 100% YoY and they've delivered exceptional NRR & NPS  Nicola explained how Gain.Pro was established from the get-go with a clear understanding of unit economics & a clear path towards profitability. We also explored: how a large consultancy like McKinsey provides an excellent career foundation for wannabe entrepreneurs how to ensure you only build products your clients truly need why customer feedback should be treated as a "gift" & never as a problem focusing every employee - whether they be commercial or technical - on a common set of KPIs For more Gain.Pro insights check out https://www.gain.pro/ & for guidance on recruiting leadership talent for European B2B SaaS scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com/    

Dr Shay David is the CEO at retrain.ai – a startup developing the world’s leading AI talent intelligence platform to unlock talent insights and optimize the hiring, retention, & upskilling of their employees. Shay’s previous venture was Kaltura which he took from inception to $100m+ in revenue – Kaltura ipo’d in 2021. Shay discussed: why he wanted to build a software venture to address a global societal problem how retrain.ai will solve the generational skills gap & help get 1 million people back to work key tenets of building a successful software startup: customer centricity, data centricity & focusing on the fundamentals  why the US is becoming less of a priority for international software ventures  For more insights into retrain.ai head over to https://www.retrain.ai/ and for advice on hiring exceptional leadership talent for SaaS scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com/  

Oliver Edholm is a teenage entrepreneur shaking up the world of AI & ecommerce! Oliver launched the ecommerce SaaS startup "Depict"  - funded by Northzone & EQT - after a spell at Klarna Depict uses AI to deliver Amazon-quality product recommendations for any e-commerce store enabling small & medium-sized retailers to compete on a level playing field with their largest competitors. Oliver explains how he: dropped out of school after having his worldview transformed by Nick Bostrom's book “Super Intelligence”  became the youngest AI researcher in the world at age 15! 1st met his co-founder Anton, & seeded the idea for Depict, at “Effective Altruism”  began his entrepreneurial journey, despite a lack of retail relationships or startup experience, at the start of the covid pandemic & joined Y Combinator  He outlined some key Y Combinator learnings including aim for 100% clarity - even if you're only 80% accurate - in all your communications And he explained how meditation can "change the operating system of your mind" - could meditation be a tool that would help other entrepreneurs handle their scale-up challenges more effectively? For more insights into Depict check out https://depict.ai/ And for advice on hiring exceptional leadership talent to scale your B2B SaaS venture, head over to https://alpinasearch.com/