The Remarkable SaaS Podcast cover art

The Remarkable SaaS Podcast

The Remarkable SaaS Podcast

By: Evergreen Podcasts
Listen for free

About this listen

 For B2B SaaS founders who are done blending in. The Remarkable SaaS Podcast features unfiltered conversations with SaaS founders navigating the real challenges of building software that matters. Hosted by Ton Dobbe, author of The Remarkable Effect, each episode zooms in on one of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies—like offering something truly valuable and desirable, and aiming to be different, not just better. Some guests are scaling fast. Others are still in the trenches—but all share hard-won lessons about what it really takes to create pull, shorten sales cycles, and become the only logical choice in their market. Expect: Honest conversations—no hype, no theory Tactical insights from sales-led SaaS founders Practical ideas you can apply to sharpen your product and your positioning If you're building a SaaS business that deserves attention—not just more noise—this podcast is for you.All rights reserved 2022-25 Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • #367 – How Chris Brisson killed his first company to build a messaging platform that scales

    #367 – How Chris Brisson killed his first company to build a messaging platform that scales
    Jun 25 2025
    This podcast is for SaaS founders who feel stuck chasing feature parity—and anyone wondering if there's a smarter way to build something customers can't live without. Most SaaS founders won't kill a profitable company. They'll optimize it to death instead. Chris Brisson, CEO of SalesMsg, took a different path. He killed his first company while it was still making money. Then spent two years building what messaging should actually do—create conversations, not broadcasts. This inspired me to invite Chris to my podcast. We explore why choosing destruction over optimization creates breakthrough opportunities. Chris reveals his thinking about engineering backwards from outcomes, disrupting yourself before others do, and building what customers consider indispensable. You'll discover why he chose the harder path of starting over—and what happens when you stop chasing features and start solving friction. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: They acknowledge they can't please everyone They master the art of curiosity Here's one of Chris's quotes that captures his contrarian philosophy: "We always take that approach, like, how are we going to disrupt ourselves before someone else does? All right, what are we going to do? How do we disrupt ourselves. Just leaning into, ‘Hey, you know what? We got to kill that product.’ The reality is that it actually doesn't solve the problem. What really solves the problem is this.” By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why killing profitable products unlocks bigger opportunities What happens when you engineer backwards from outcomes Why saying yes to custom features can actually scale your platform Why friction removal beats feature addition every time Chris's story proves traction starts by doing what most others avoid—choosing to disrupt yourself before someone else does. Guest Info Chris Brisson, CEO and Co-Founder at SalesMsg Website: salesmessage.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
  • Episode #366 – How Quentin de Quelen built MeiliSearch by choosing what others avoid

    Episode #366 – How Quentin de Quelen built MeiliSearch by choosing what others avoid
    Jun 18 2025
    This episode is for SaaS founders chasing feature parity with bigger competitors—and those wondering if there's a smarter way to compete with tech giants. Most SaaS companies don't fail because of bad technology. They fail because they try to be everything to everyone. Quentin de Quelen, Co-founder & CEO of MeiliSearch, took a different path. A former carpenter's son turned developer, he saw search as a fundamental problem worth solving properly. Instead of building another complex enterprise solution, he chose to make search so simple that any developer could implement it in five minutes. This inspired me to invite Quentin to my podcast. We explore how focusing on three core principles—simplicity, performance, and relevance—creates both developer love and business wins. Quentin shares insights about choosing open source as strategy, not ideology, and why saying no to features actually accelerates growth. You'll discover how one conversation with their community led to a breakthrough that took two hours to code but changed everything. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: They acknowledge they can't please everyone They focus on the essence Quentin's story is proof that traction often starts by doing what most others avoid. Here's one of Quentin's quotes that captures his philosophy on building: "Open source is not, should not be by default. It should be thought as a strategy, also for your company to grow. Because everything we are doing at the end is for business wise." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why letting competitors copy you actually creates competitive advantage What happens when you optimize for developer joy over enterprise features Why saying no to customers actually accelerates product growth Why three simple principles beat complex competitive analysis For more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Quentin de Quelen Co-founder & CEO of MeiliSearch Website: meilisearch.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
  • #365 – How Dimitri Masin hit $1M ARR in 5 months by refusing to launch early

    #365 – How Dimitri Masin hit $1M ARR in 5 months by refusing to launch early
    Jun 11 2025
    This episode is for SaaS founders building in regulated industries—and anyone tired of chasing the next quick win. Most SaaS companies fail because they launch too early. Dimitri Masin, Co-Founder & CEO of Gradient Labs, took a different path. He spent 14 months building before serving a single customer—against every startup playbook. His AI customer support platform now guarantees better performance than human teams and hit $1M ARR in five months after launch. And this inspired me to invite Dimitri to my podcast. We explore how setting impossibly high standards creates customer trust that competitors can't match. Dimitri shares tactical insights about building for regulated industries, creating objective guarantees, and why most automation claims are misleading math. You'll discover the quality standards that created 100% POC win rates. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: They focus on the essence They acknowledge they can't please everyone Dimitri's story is proof that traction often starts by doing what most others avoid. Here's one of Dimitri's quotes that captures his quality-first philosophy: "We kind of set the bar very, very high for us, because from the beginning... the bar needs to be at least as high as humans in those companies can produce, or higher, ideally." By listening to this episode, you'll learn: Why building for 14 months before launch created competitive advantage What objective guarantees do for risk-averse financial services buyers When focusing on one vertical becomes your biggest growth lever Why 50% ticket automation only delivers 20% business value For more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Dimitri Masin, Co-Founder & CEOWebsite: gradientlabs.aiLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitrimasin/ Want to dig deeper into the 10 traits of remarkable SaaS companies? Get my book The Remarkable Effect at valueinspiration.com/book Or sign up for Espresso with Ton at valueinspiration.com/daily - a 2-minute daily email to sharpen your thinking and strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
No reviews yet