SaaS Stories

Most organisations are giving their teams AI tools and hoping for the best. The ones actually pulling ahead are doing something completely different and it starts long before anyone opens Claude.In this episode of SaaS Stories, Joana sits down with Ulysses Maclaren, COO of SSW, one of Australia's leading software consultancies, to unpack what 20 years of technology transformation actually looks like from the inside. From .NET development shop to AI consultancy, Uly has lived through every major tech wave and knows exactly what separates the organisations that adapt from the ones that get left behind.This conversation gets specific. We cover: → Why giving everyone a Claude licence without a strategy is a fast way to waste money → The enterprise vs BYO AI adoption models and the trade-offs nobody talks about → Why exec buy-in matters more than any tool purchase you'll ever make → How developers are shifting from writing code to managing "AI clankers" — and why some of them hate it → The inside story of YakShaver, the internal tool SSW built to turn a screen recording into a perfectly formatted backlog item, and what the go-to-market taught them about building for yourself vs building for a market → Why "selling to everyone" is a fast way to sell to no one and how to find the niche that actually wins → What to look for when hiring for an AI-native team in 2026🎙️ SaaS Stories is brought to you by Hat Media — B2B marketing specialists for the SaaS world. Subscribe and catch every episode at hatmedia.com.au/SaaS-Stories.Send us Fan Mail

An exit sounds clean on paper. The reality is messier, more human, and way more useful. We’re joined by Brian Nolan, entrepreneur and investor, to unpack how he built Sellbrite by solving a real multichannel e-commerce problem early in the Amazon FBA wave, then sold the company to GoDaddy. Along the way, we get honest about what life looks like after the deal, why corporate pace can feel painful after startup speed, and how keeping fundraising modest can leave founders and employees with real ownership at exit. We also go deep on growth without a giant media budget. Brian breaks down how partner-led marketing actually works in B2B SaaS: earning trust with platforms, showing up at the right conferences, becoming a recommended integration, and doing the math on CAC, LTV, and payback periods. Then we follow the pivots: building BookOutdoors as a marketplace for campgrounds and outdoor accommodation, learning how hard it is to sell tech to operators who still run on phones and calendars, and finally buying a premium lifestyle apparel brand for dog people, Darren & Phillip. We talk US expansion from Australia, 3PL fulfilment, influencer strategy, brand repositioning, and the career advice Brian gives his daughter in the age of AI. More episodes on B2B SaaS available here on Hat MediaSend us Fan Mail

Trust doesn’t usually die in a dramatic blow up. It dies in the small moments leaders let slide: the awkward conversation that never happens, the “brilliant” employee who gets away with bad behaviour, the silence that lets rumours do the talking. Gearl Loden joins us to share the thinking behind his new book, Before It Breaks, and why trust is the foundation that makes decisions faster, teams calmer, and culture stronger. We walk through Gearl’s seven pillars of trust, a practical framework leaders can actually operationalise: character, consistency, communication, competence, care, clarity, and courage. We dig into why communication isn’t the same as clarity, how promotions fail when competence isn’t developed, and what caring leadership looks like in a brisk, high-performance environment where people still have room to breathe and think. Because many of you lead SaaS teams, we also get specific about scaling from startup energy to a 50 person organisation without losing your culture. That includes onboarding, cross-team systems, AI adoption training, and remote team trust. We also look outward to customer trust: why most SaaS customers won’t complain before they churn, and how mergers and product changes can erode loyalty when you don’t communicate a roadmap early. We finish with a simple but powerful trust repair move: don’t just say “sorry” and stop. Name the impact, own the decision, and say what you’ll do differently next time, then repeat it until it becomes credible. Produced by Hat MediaBook & Early Buyer IncentivesBefore It Breaks: The Seven Pillars of Trust Every Leader Must BuildPre-order now: https://masterclass.lodenleadership.com/before-it-breaks-pre-orderOfficial launch: July 7, 2026Exclusive for Early Buyers: When you register your book, you'll receive:A complete resource bundleInvitation to a complimentary live masterclassFree PDF of Before It Breaks: The Complete Leadership Workbook (Available during the early launch window)Connect with GearlWebsite: https://lodenleadership.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gearl-loden-lodenleadership/30-Minute Discovery Call: https://masterclass.lodenleadership.com/lighting-the-path-discovery-call-30Growth Alliance Newsletter: https://go.lodenleadership.com/Grwoth_Alliance_NewsletterSend us Fan Mail

When the travel agency industry vanished overnight, Nik Froehlich saw what was coming for every industry and built a business to help them navigate it. In this episode of SaaS Stories, the President & CEO of Saritasa shares why 20+ years of bridging business and technology still comes down to one thing: people who can speak both languages. From coaching CEOs through digital transformation to adding AI agents that delivered an 83% improvement in customer service for a youth sports SaaS platform, Nik's story is proof that the future belongs to those who stay optimistic, stay agile, and never stop learning. Brought to you by Hat Media — B2B marketing specialists for the SaaS world. Send us Fan Mail