Tech-to-CEO Journey & the High-Touch SaaS Model
Dive into the world of high-touch SaaS with Vee24's CEO, Tomer Azenkot. From tech roles to CEO insights, explore how close customer interaction propels company success. Uncover the power of video chat in elevating the buying experience and why focusing your market strategy reaps rewards. Join us for a masterclass in customer-centric growth.Here are a few topics we’ll discuss on this episode of the Product Launch Podcast.From coding to CEO: A tech journeyThe value of direct customer experienceVideo chat as a game-changer for salesImportance of focused market strategyMeasuring SaaS success with precisionResources:Vee24Podcast ChefNxtStepConnect with Tomer Azenkot:LinkedInConnecting with our host, Sean Boyce:LinkedInEmailQuotables:04:45 - I'm not super technical or maybe I don't have an engineering background, so how am I gonna be able to like lead this team or this company or what have you? I end up finding it's almost the opposite of that, as in what you just described. If you follow more along the lines of that type of a path where you've, you've been close to the customer, you've been obsessed about representing them in certain situations and leading with that kind of data that can have a significantly greater positive impact, I would say, in terms of like the outcomes, successful outcomes or the success that we're trying to achieve with the companies that we're building. So huge advocate for it. I had to learn it the hard way. I skipped steps earlier in my career, I paid for it, but now I know how important. It's so appreciate you underscoring the importance. 05:42 - I'm not technical, but, or I'm not a salesperson, but it, I don't think that's a good answer. You have to be technical, you have to be a salesperson, you have to be everything, especially when you're in front of the customer. And, and using that as a scapegoat or an excuse is just doesn't cut it. Especially not when information is so available to us. You can, you can Google, you can, you can look things up real easily. You can ask someone for help. 09:26 - So in the world of retail, we focus very much on the high consideration purchases, so jewelry, cosmetics, high-end luxury products in general automotive. So if you're buying, buying a vehicle, you want to see the vehicle, you wanna maybe speak with someone and have a conversation with 'em that goes beyond something that you would ask a chatbot and financial services because seeing someone is really important in order to build trust. So it's not always about seeing the product over video, sometimes it's just about seeing another person on video like, like you and I are seeing each other right now over Zoom. 22:00 - Definitely measure very carefully everything to do with EBITDA and cash. That's something that, especially in, in let's say the last year, year and a half, where fundraising is more challenging. Many companies have to last need their rounds to last longer. And I think many companies have gotten into trouble because they initially raise money for let's say 24 months, but now they need to make it work for 48. Being able to predict cash flow is incredibly important. And it's not always very simple because you can't predict whether customers will pay on time or not, especially when you're longer-term contracts and they pay annually and non-monthly. So I've actually, as of about six months ago, I've shifted our cashflow tracking to a weekly basis instead of a monthly basis. And that's actually helped a lot. It helped me understand much more how the business operates, both in terms of cash going in and cash going out. 20:49 - Well one thing comes to mind, which is important for our, our investors and basically at the board level, I, I do a very good job, I think in measuring backlog of revenue. So beyond who's paying us today right now, based on what's committed into the future, we have kind of a chart that shows over time how much of that revenue is locked in for 12, 18, 24 months into the future. So that's something that not, I don't think everyone measures at, at this stage of a company. You know, when you're in, in your single digit millions in a RR something that I've measured always. And it's, it's good to show the investors, you know, we've renewed a contract with, with a particular customer and now they're locked in for the next two years of the next three years and that revenue is locked in and we can be very pre we can predict well the, the revenue into the future.Â
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