Scale to Sale: Stories from Salesforce ISV founders

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In this episode, James is joined by Loic Deo Van, CEO & Co-Founder of Everready.AI, as he shares his journey in the Salesforce ecosystem.
Loic shares insights on the challenges salespeople face in using CRM systems and how EverReady addresses these challenges. Loic and James also cover the importance of using internal data instead of relying on external data sources like LinkedIn. Loic highlights the value of creating a collective self-intelligence using AI and customer data. He shares insights into marketing strategies in the Salesforce ecosystem and offers advice for ISV founders entering the French marketplace.
Loic's deep experience of the French marketplace make this a must-listen episode for ISVs looking to grow their presence in one of Europe's biggest Salesforce marketplaces.
Takeaways:

• Salespeople often struggle with using CRM systems effectively, leading to incomplete and inaccurate data.
• EverReady addresses this challenge by using internal data and creating a solution that syncs activities and contacts automatically.
• The French marketplace has a longer sales cycle and requires building trust and relationships with decision-makers.
• Marketing strategies in the Salesforce ecosystem include creating valuable content, engaging with the Salesforce community, and leveraging SEO.
• Focus on simplicity, be clear about your value proposition, and specialize in one area to stand out in the market.

About Everready.ai
EverReady.ai is a next-gen tool designed to take the hassle out of CRM management by using artificial intelligence to handle time-consuming tasks for sales and account teams. Think of EverReady as your dedicated assistant, ensuring that your CRM data—like contacts, emails, meetings, and calls—is always up-to-date without lifting a finger. It’s the easiest way to keep your records accurate, giving you more time to build customer relationships and close deals.
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If you are a Salesforce ISV founder with an interesting story to tell, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email to [email protected] and we'll be in touch.

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In this episode, Mark Robinson, founder of Kimble Applications, shares his journey in the Salesforce ecosystem. He discusses the need for a new system to manage professional services firms and how the Salesforce platform provided a solution. Mark highlights the challenges of adapting Salesforce CRM for the professional services market and the importance of building a brand outside of Salesforce. He emphasizes the need to qualify leads better and avoid excessive discounting. Mark also shares his experience navigating the challenges of COVID-19 and offers advice for entrepreneurs.
During the conversation, James and Mark discuss:

How Mark got started in the Salesforce ecosystem from a consulting background.

Strategies for acquiring the first few customers and building relationships.

Navigating the challenges of transitioning from a services business to a software business.

Insights on marketing and collaborating with Salesforce as the brand evolved.

Overcoming unexpected hurdles, including the impact of COVID-19.

Key advice on qualifying leads and avoiding excessive discounting for long-term success.
Chapters

00:00
Introduction and Background

00:30
Identifying the Need for a New System

03:23
Acquiring the First Customers

05:16
Building on the Salesforce Platform

06:34
Challenges of Adapting Salesforce CRM for Professional Services

08:29
Transitioning from Services to Software

10:41
Acquiring Customers and Overcoming Implementation Challenges

11:27
Marketing and Go-to-Market Strategy

13:08
Selling with Salesforce as the Brand Grows

15:47
Collaboration with the Channel and System Integrators

18:43
Success Turning Customers into Partners

19:41
Unexpected Hurdles and Lessons Learned

20:50
Navigating the Challenges of COVID-19

24:56
Advice: Qualify Better and Avoid Discounting

If you are a Salesforce ISV founder with an interesting story to tell, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email to [email protected] and we'll be in touch.

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In this episode, James is joined by Chris Federspiel, CEO and Founder of Blackthorn.io. Chris shares his journey in the Salesforce ecosystem and the challenges he faced as a bootstrapped startup. He discusses the focus on events and payments, the process of killing unsuccessful products, and the importance of finding product-market fit. Chris also talks about creating accountability without a board, effective marketing strategies, and the role of system integrators in their business. He shares insights on release management, customer support, and the future of the Salesforce AppExchange. His advice for startup founders is to persevere through the challenges and stay focused on their goals.
Chapters

00:00
Introduction and Origin Story

01:19
Focus on Events and Payments

04:22
Challenges of Bootstrapping

06:22
Creating Accountability without a Board

09:41
Marketing Strategies and Targeting SIs

11:27
Finding Product-Market Fit

14:16
Training and Enablement for SIs

16:07
Unexpected Hurdles and Lessons Learned

23:14
The Future of the Salesforce AppExchange

27:26
Advice for Startup Founders

If you are a Salesforce ISV founder with an interesting story to tell, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email to [email protected] and we'll be in touch.

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Luca Benini, co-founder and COO of Native Video, joins James Gasteen to share his journey in the Salesforce space and the development of their video solutions. The conversation covers topics such as the challenges of bootstrapping, marketing strategies, pricing models, and the future of the Salesforce ecosystem. Luca emphasizes the importance of focus and specialization in industry and use case-specific solutions. He also highlights the role of AI and data in driving the success of CRM and operations. The episode concludes with Luca's advice for founders to prioritize focus and target specific markets.
Takeaways

• Focus and specialization are crucial for success in the Salesforce ecosystem.
• Marketing strategies such as the AppExchange, events, and partnerships play a significant role in lead generation.
• Pricing models should be flexible and consider factors like usage and seat allocation.
• Hiring the right people is essential, and junior hires may require more time and resources for training and support.
• The future of the Salesforce ecosystem will involve increased specialization, industry-specific solutions, and the integration of AI and data.

Native Video recently launched Alfred, the only meeting assistant native to Salesforce. Simply invite Alfred to video meetings and get automatic transcriptions, summaries, next-step tasks and draft follow-up emails, all saved against the relevant Leads, Contacts, Opportunities and more! Record voice notes after other client interactions and Alfred handles the admin. Alfred includes Enterprise-ready features such as Sentiment Analysis, Notifications, Manager Playlists, dynamic Recording Hints, and much more! Alfred increases the quality and frequency of updates, readying your Org for GPT.
Check out more at https://www.nativevideo.co/solutions/alfred

If you are a Salesforce ISV founder with an interesting story to tell, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email to [email protected] and we'll be in touch.

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In this episode, James is joined by JP Leggett, Founder and CEO at Squivr, one of the leading relationship management and account planning tools on the Salesforce platform.
During the episode, JP shares his story of launching Squivr in a pandemic year through to scaling to over 120 customers to date. JP speaks of the value of referrals, building a robust partner network and the importance of deep-diving into verticals to achieve maximum impact. JP highlights how B2B marketing has transitioned from technical marketing to storytelling and how brand-building has been key to their success.
James and JP also touch on bootstrapping your start-up, including advice on taking funding and being realistic with timelines to avoid the fundraising treadmill.

If you are a Salesforce ISV founder with an interesting story to tell, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email to [email protected] and we'll be in touch.