In our last post, we shared with you our top product marketing podcasts we’re tuning into for 2021. We’ve created a separate list for our top SaaS specific podcasts for the year as well. It’s amazing how many SaaS leaders, experts, and entrepreneurs are out there sharing their experience and insights in the industry.
There’s something about being able to hear their stories, their failures, and successes in their own words and their own voice that is grounding and inspiring. There’s also plenty of practical tips, tricks, and lessons to take away in an hour or less.
If you’re looking for inspiration for your SaaS company or career, we selected the top SaaS podcasts to follow in 2021:
1. The Top
The Top is hosted by Nathan Latka, a best-selling author, serial entrepreneur, and investor in specifically B2B SaaS companies. Nathan interviews SaaS CEOs and founders and gets to the nitty gritty of the numbers and how and why they happen. Each episode is only 15 minutes so it’s really easy to digest and get inspiring and thought-provoking ideas and info. One is posted every morning so it’s a great way to start the day. Because there are so many across so many different sectors of SaaS, you really get a comprehensive view of how each company is tackling different issues. He’s got a big personality and is very blunt: he’s famous for getting real metrics out of leaders. The raw, authentic pace is refreshing.
2. Protect the Hustle
Protect the Hustle is hosted by Patrick Campbell from Profitwell and it’s interesting because it’s really more than a podcast. It’s like the 60 minutes of SaaS. Leaders from top B2B SaaS teams sit down, physically, and give interviews in person so you can either watch as a video or listen in. It’s interesting to hear their stories in “person” because it’s much more inspiring and emotional. The guests are really the true experts behind each matter. For example, top author and SaaS entrepreneur April Dunford is on to speak on positioning, her niche. You can check out episodes from leaders at Hubspot, SurveyMonkey, Moz, and more. It’s like listening to a team of expert advisers. Again, the personal element is really interesting so it might be one worth sitting down and watching.
3. The Startup Chat
This one is perfect for those short on time and want high-impact information. The Startup Chat is hosted by Steli Efti and Hiten Shah. Steli Efti is the co-founder and CEO of Close and YC alumni. Hiten Shah built Crazy Egg and KissMetrics. What really makes this one interesting is the background of the founders (clearly) and also how much valuable information they can put into one super-short podcast.
You get two 20 minute episodes a week which is a great amount and pace. They cover a range of interesting issues from acquisitions and cross promotion to personal things like leadership through crisis as a founder. It’s one you can easily hop into and get immediate value from.
4. The SaaS Podcast
For the times you need a good success story to keep you going, The SaaS Podcast is a great listen. To be fair, you get much more than that. Top SaaS founders and entrepreneurs join host Omer Khan, a SaaS marketer, to share their stories with a specific challenge in SaaS whether it be product marketing, early stage growth, or seeking out gaps in a crowded market. Khan also sends out a weekly email with actionable tips pulled from the episodes.
5. SaaStr
The SaaStr podcast is the latest addition to the world of SaaStr. SaaStr is a vendor-only event series and online community for SaaS founders, entrepreneurs, designers, etc. to come together and share tips and resources for growth. There are events throughout the year, a blog read by half a million people, newsletters, online courses, guides, etc.
The SaaStr podcast brings all of that to your headphones, essentially. Top SaaS founders, product officers, product marketers, and other roles share their advice for scaling SaaS products and reaching the next level. What makes this one interesting is the guests: they really are the best in the game and it’s nice to put a voice to the teams behind the SaaS products you’ve watched succeed.
6. The SaaS Revolution Show
This is another that is put on by a big player in the SaaS networking and events realm. SaaStock Dublin puts on this podcast. The event is Europe’s only B2B SaaS conference and connects founders and entrepreneurs with each other and investors. The podcast is hosted by Alex Theuma, who has 11+ years in IT and SaaS and is the founder of SaaStock.
Each episode features a SaaS entrepreneur or leader and a different topic such as raising seed funding, scaling Saas, first time mistakes, etc. You get personal stories and experiences as well as practical tips and applicable advice. The episodes are manageable and typically under 45 minutes.
Listen to The SaaS Revolution Show
7. Masters of Scale
This one comes with built-in star power: it’s hosted by Reid Hoffman, the cofounder of LinkedIn. Not only are there plenty of episodes available with Reid giving great nuggets of advice, but it’s also a bit of a news program for SaaS and the tech world in general with coverage of acquisitions and interviews with leaders making big moves in real time. For example, he got the COO of Salesforce on for an episode on why Salesforce bought Slack. It’s like you’re overhearing conversations with top business leaders and getting the candid information they share. He also crosses over from tech and SaaS and brings on business legends like Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike for inspiring and impactful conversations.
8. Scale or Die
The name and the 385 top ratings really say it all. Scale or Die is hosted by Dave Rogenmoser who is the co-founder of Proof. Dave speaks with top growth experts at upcoming and successful SaaS companies that have found effective ways to scale and reach the next level. They share their personal stories of overcoming specific problems like aligning sales and marketing, partnerships, getting customer feedback, and new growth strategies. It’s a great one to get nuggets of information from and get inspired to get through those difficult moments.
9. SaaS Growth Stacking
SaaS Growth Stacking is hosted by Dan Martell – a serial entrepreneur and angel investor who has been in the SaaS space for a long time. It’s really a “how-to” series for new SaaS leaders. You get quick episodes each covering a different important topic for SaaS leaders: fundraising, vetting co-founders, angel investors vs VCs, and even personal, practical things like improving public speaking skills as a leader. Dan puts out a lot of quality episodes and they’re all under 15 minutes so it’s a quick, easy thing to inspire you throughout the week.
Listen to SaaS Growth Stacking
10. SaaS District
SaaS District essentially jumps on the successful stories out of the SaaS industry and gets the people who made them happen on the podcast to tell you how. It’s hosted by Akeel Jabber of Horizon Capital. Because it’s put on by a VC, there’s a real focus on revenue growth which is interesting. With top SaaS leaders he covers their individual success stories with actionable advice centered around investing, acquisitions, leadership, B2B sales, growth marketing, scaling, hiring, conversion optimization, productivity, bootstrapping, venture capital, private equity, and innovation. Episodes range between 20 minutes to over one hour and there are over 80 to jump into.
We hope, as a SaaS leader, these podcasts give you clarity, inspiration, and a sense of urgency as we enter a promising new year. This last year has given some of the most difficult moments for business leaders and the lessons we are walking away with are really important to share as we move forward! For an easy way to update your users and increase engagement within your SaaS product, try Beamer today.
