Ryan McMillan’s Post

Loved ODV's latest video featuring Smartly. I'm steadily seeing more people first based #SaaS marketing videos that really hit home. This makes extra sense for Smartly because of their new people first product. Check it out: https://smartly.co.nz/ p.s. loved the green donuts.. Great touch! 🍩 🍩 🍩 Sarah Garvin Claudia Basalaj Leah Green Duncan Inkster

Jobs you hate. There's nothing worse than a job that you hate. You don't enjoy them while you're at work, yet when you're at home it's all you can think about. Stressed. Pissed off. Disengaged. All common symptoms of someone in a job they hate. They impact your relationships, your health and your general wellbeing. "I'll stay because it looks good on my CV". "It'll be better after this big project is completed". Common phrases of someone in denial about finding something better. But something better exists. It's flexible. It's got great people. It's just stressful enough to feel challenged, but never overwhelming. At Atlas Digital we believe in jobs that fit with your life, and not lives that fit with your job. We're hiring a Senior Growth Marketer (PPC specialist ideally with 5+ years of experience). So, if it's time to leave the job you hate or you're just looking for your next challenge then maybe Atlas is the right place for you. We have clients, people and a culture that you'll love to be a part of. Perks and benefits include: - Competitive salary and performance-based bonuses. - Fully remote work environment with flexible working hours. - Opportunities for professional growth and development. - Collaborative and supportive team culture. - Access to the latest marketing tools and technologies. Preferences: - 5+ years of PPC experience - Agency experience - SaaS experience If you don't perfectly fit the above but are interested, then get in touch, too. Please DM me with your CV or for further questions. If you've ever had a job you hate, +1 on the comments!

Introducing this week’s guest on The Raise - Phoebe Harrop, General Partner at Blackbird Ventures💥 Phoebe has an incredible track record, being both an investor at Al Gore’s Generation fund, investing in ventures like Asana, Toast, Gusto, M-Kopa, and Nature’s Fynd, and cutting her teeth at Bain & Company, where she worked with companies like Westpac, Coca Cola and LEGO.  She has a real passion for combining investment in technology with objectives like improving health outcomes or reducing carbon emissions. Now at Blackbird, Phoebe has a unique view of the startup pipeline across New Zealand. In this week’s edition of The Raise, Phoebe shared her: 💡Outlook for the tech scene 💡Expectation for investor relations 💡Milestone expectations for each funding stage 💡What makes a venture-backable business Head over to The Raise for the full story!

As one of New Zealand's largest #SaaS companies, Smartly has been making payroll simple and efficient for businesses since 2004. We've had the privilege of partnering with Smartly to acquire more customers for the past couple of years. So far, we've beaten their targets almost every month of 2024, with our record month being 140% above target. Smartly has just launched a new product offering, helping SMEs streamline their people admin processes. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/g5az3wq4 Atlas Digital helps SaaS companies like Smartly unlock their full potential and achieve sustainable growth. If you're looking to elevate your customer acquisition, let's connect. Leah Green Sarah Garvin Duncan Inkster Claudia Basalaj Steph O. James Lloyd Corey Harris

Is your #startup ready to go to market? Brian Balfour’s essay “Channel Model Fit for User Acquisition’ is a fantastic lens to apply in choosing the right channels to help #SaaS companies scale. He introduces the ARPU-CAC spectrum, which emphasises the importance of selecting channels based on ARPU (Average Annual Revenue per User) and CAC (Customer Acquisition Costs) in order to grow sustainably. Take a B2C product, like Facebook, Whatsapp or Yelp. They have low ARPU, and therefore have a better fit with low CAC channels like Virality and UGC. Further to the right of the spectrum, #B2B SaaS companies like #Hubspot or Zendesk have a higher ARPU, and therefore can leverage higher CAC channels like content marketing or inbound sales. Importantly, you need to balance how much you can charge users, with how much it costs to acquire them. In turn, your channels need to be appropriate for these. The takeaway is to consider your pricing, product, model, channels and everything else as interrelated. Changes in pricing, or model (eg free trial to freemium) which affect what channels are the most appropriate. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gN7MxqMR

Are we stranded as a nation? Is the grounding of the Interislander Ferry 'Aratere' the ultimate symbol of the state of NZ right now? We've got chronic aging infrastructure and underinvestment (the Aratere) leading to negative consequences for all (the crash into and disruption of our beautiful landscape and people in this country). All we hear about are slashes, cuts and reductions. It doesn't matter what side of the fence you sit on, there's pessimism all around at the moment. Well, I refuse to buy into it. I'm an eternal optimist. But we won't grow our country and rise the tide of all creatures in NZ (humans, birds, insects and all!) by focusing on what we'll stop doing, instead of what we'll start or continue doing. What we need more of are: Exports. Growth. Productivity. You can't slash your way to success. What a better contrast for an optimistic future for NZ than the report published last week by Bruce Jarvis and the kiwiSaaS Community on SaaS: '2024 Insights from the Cloud' It's full of valuable info (link below) not to mention the amazing fact that the SaaS sector has grown 2.5x faster than NZ's wider export sector over the past 20 years. Below, I've summarised 10 amazing insights about the thriving #SaaS sector from the report. The irony shouldn't be lost here: the funding for KiwiSaaS has been cut too. While they'll be sorely missed, I have no doubt in the innovation, jobs, and growth that SaaS and tech can and will produce for Aotearoa. I hope that these facts let at least one person turn that frown upside down. Onwards and upwards! 🚀 1. Economic Contribution: New Zealand's SaaS sector generated $3.6 billion in revenue in 2023, primarily from exports. 2. Growth Rate: The sector has experienced a 15% CAGR since 2016, with high-growth companies achieving an 18% CAGR. 3. Global Reach: SaaS businesses in New Zealand have the potential to reach global markets without the constraints of physical exports. 4. Employment: The sector is highly productive, generating an average of $214,802 in revenue per full-time employee. 5. Revenue Distribution: The high-growth segment, consisting of companies generating $10m+ ARR, produces 68% of the sector's total revenue, with 7 new companies added to that segment annually. 6. Challenges for SMEs: 90% of SaaS companies are small to medium-sized enterprises still figuring out how to scale up. 7. Knowledge Exchange: Universal access to knowledge and peer support is crucial for the growth of SaaS SMEs. 8. Sector Growth Potential: SaaS export-led added-value is projected to increase at an 11% CAGR, contributing significantly to New Zealand’s GDP by 2030. 9. Productivity Gains: SaaS companies in New Zealand enhance national productivity by offering innovative solutions that streamline operations and reduce costs. 10. Global Market Share: New Zealand’s SaaS sector captured 1% of the global SaaS market in 2020, highlighting its potential for substantial international growth.

Huge congrats to the folks Realtair (our wonderful client) on their acquisition by REA Group. Another huge win for Aussie Tech! After initially investing a 37% stake in 2020, REA Group has now acquired full ownership of the Australian proptech. Realtair is an end-to-end property sales platform that streamlines the way agents connect with property owners. Its suite of products enables agents to create customisable digital listing presentations, sign agreements on the spot and manage auction and private treaty transactions. It's been amazing working with Bianca Evans and the team across paid search, paid social and SEO over the past year. Looking forward to another great year ahead! #saas #tech #acquisitions #australia

The AI hype cycle is real. But its transformative power means it deserves its reputation. Speaking with Carter Perez on The Raise this week, he shared how an early-stage company is beta-testing AI for real-time call coaching. Imagine equipping your sales team with an AI assistant that joins their calls, analyses the flow based on a predefined template, and offers suggestions for questions and next steps—all in real time. This technology empowers even the most inexperienced reps to conduct sales and marketing calls with the finesse of a seasoned professional. Though still in its alpha/beta phase, this AI-driven approach promises to revolutionise the way we think about training and productivity. It’s not just about automating tasks; it’s about enhancing human capabilities and significantly boosting conversion rates. I’m curious about the potential of such technologies to create more intuitive and effective interactions and I can’t wait to see how it reshapes our industry. What have you learnt so far while testing AI-assistants? Sign up to The Raise for more insights on groundbreaking developments in AI 👉 #AI #SalesCoaching #MarketingInnovation #UserExperience #SaaS

Blackbird's Tom Humphrey wrote a great article about #SaaS and #AI that I'd definitely recommend reading. https://lnkd.in/gEVzKie8 It paints a clear picture of the potential opportunities for vertical SaaS leveraging AI to generate serious productivity gains within a given niche. I particularly like the coining of 'SaiS' (software-AI-as-a-Service)

📣 Excited to introduce our latest guest on The Raise, Carter Perez, co-founder of Revenue Chemists and a seasoned #SaaS expert from the USA! Carter is passionate about the “phenomenal problem” of scaling companies and has achieved multiple exits during his career. 🚀 We’ve put together “field notes,” laying out Carter’s insights from the coalface of global tech growth. Here’s a preview of what he had to say: 1️⃣ Fuelling the Growth Funnel: Carter defines “demand-planning” as building a bottom-up model that gets you to your ARR targets. This approach helps avoid common friction points between sales and marketing. 📈 2️⃣ Tracking Channel Impact: He advocates for a portfolio approach to channels, understanding how cost-effectively you are acquiring demand by channel. He also discusses the rising difficulty with outbound prospecting due to email congestion. 📧 3️⃣ Keeping up with AI: Carter acknowledges the hype around AI but also shares his positive experiences with AI-assisted sales call coaching. Subscribe for more insights in next week’s issue of The Raise! 🙌 https://lnkd.in/gNFQP7Fu #TheRaise #SaaS #Growth #Marketing #Tech