Pivot to First Episode 4: Ton Dobbe on Creating and Growing a Successful SaaS Company

In addition to podcast hosting, Ton Dobbe is the author of The Remarkable Effect and a SaaS Strategy consultant. Mike appeared on Ton’s podcast Tech Entrepreneur on a Mission Season 4, Ep. 163 published 4/26/2021. This time around, Mike hosts Ton.

For Ton, starting his podcast goes hand in hand with establishing his own consultancy. He wanted to learn how to build a remarkable software business from successful entrepreneurs. His desire to learn from the best soon became a flow and after 60 -70 episodes someone encouraged him to write a book discussing and distilling all the wisdom enshrined in the podcast.

In this episode, Mike and Ton talk about:

– What do entrepreneurs need to do to be one of those companies everyone keeps talking about? It’s all about assessing where you stand today and having a vision to guide your and your team’s actions.

– How important is talent to grow a successful SaaS company? People and cultural fit a are part of the process. Different people are needed at different stages.

– SaaS entrepreneurs have a lot on their plate and sometimes they don’t have a full picture, what are they getting wrong? Everybody makes bad hires, but how you deal with those issues makes all the difference. Also, not getting stuck in ideas and other types of silos can give companies a leg up.

– When a company isn’t in an upshot, how do companies assess where they stand and figure out how to get on a growth path? According to some statistics, 9 out of 10 startups fail and 75% of scaleups fail. These figures make it imperative for companies to find the right market fit and positioning to sustain growth.

Finding the right talent for the right role at the right time, having a clear vision with buy-in from everyone involved, as well as adding value for your customers – solving their needs and problems – can lead a struggling or plateaued company to sustained success.