Shows
The Platform Journey32. Greg Sarafin, Sarafin AdvisoryThis season features conversations with key decision-makers who have shaped the evolution of today's leading technology platforms and ecosystems. We talk to C-suite executives, board members, investors, and others who must be bought into the platform journey.In this episode, Avanish and Greg discuss:Greg's journey at the intersection of technology and professional services, including his role building EY's global partnerships practice into a substantial business driverWhy most companies remain confused about partnerships, platforms, and ecosystems, and how successful companies are "built from the ground up" to orchestrate ecosystemsMicrosoft's transformation under Satya Nadella as the gold...
2025-08-0735 minThe Platform Journey31. Andrew Casey, AmplitudeIn this episode, Avanish and Andrew discuss:Andrew's journey as an "operational CFO" from Sun Microsystems through ServiceNow, WalkMe, Lacework, and now Amplitude, being part of the team that built ServiceNow from $400M to $4.5B ARRWhy CFOs must "play chess, not checkers" - thinking several moves ahead about decision implications and making strategic investment pivots for anticipated future growthThe critical difference between multi-product and platform strategies: true platforms have definite customer adoption journeys where products aren't sold independentlyRecognizing platform readiness signals: when customers organically create their own workflows and use cases you never conceived, like hospitals using Amplitude...
2025-06-0539 minThe Platform Journey30. Mike RichIn this episode, Avanish and Mike discuss:Mike's journey from his early tech roots in Silicon Valley to his role as CRO at Zscaler, including his transformative work growing ServiceNow from $500M to $6B in the Americas regionThe importance of always viewing platform strategy through the customer's lens - helping them achieve outcomes rather than managing multiple point solutionsHow a successful platform requires breaking down silos not just within your own organization, but often within your customer's organizationThe "one team" concept of the three-legged stool: customer, vendor, and partner, all working together toward shared successWhy ecosystem partners are...
2025-04-2433 minThe Platform Journey29. Dennis WoodsideIn this episode, Avanish and Dennis discuss:How Freshworks evolved from a single help desk product to a multi-product platform serving 74,000 customers globally, from small businesses to enterprises like Airbus and Nucor SteelThe importance of being "pulled" by customers into new markets rather than pushing—recognizing when customers you didn't expect are adopting your productsThe challenges of building and scaling a multi-product company where products are at different maturity levels and target slightly different ICPsWhy ecosystem strategy is critical at Freshworks, including both technology integrations with thousands of partners and a services ecosystem to source and implement solutionsFreshworks' di...
2025-03-2035 minThe Platform Journey28. Lara CaimiIn this episode, Avanish and Lara discuss:The four distinct phases of software company growth and what each requires - from finding product-market fit ($0-100M) to demonstrating platform vision ($100M-1B) to scaling enterprise deals ($1B-5B)The critical importance of not neglecting your core business while scaling - how ServiceNow used tiered pricing models to continue monetizing their core productsWhy platform and ecosystem strategies are "two sides of the coin" but must be tailored to each company's specific situation - there is no one-size-fits-all approachThe "win-win-win equation" that must exist for successful partnerships - creating value...
2025-02-2138 minThe Platform Journey27. Jim Steele, SalesforceIn this episode, Avanish and Jim discuss:Jim's 46-year journey from IBM to Salesforce, including his role in scaling Salesforce from $22M to $5B in revenueHow customer demands, particularly from companies like Cisco and Merrill Lynch, shaped Salesforce's platform strategyThe strategic decision to separate the application layer from the platformCreating a successful customer success organization to drive adoption and showcase customer storiesThe evolution of Salesforce's partner strategy and metrics for measuring ecosystem successHow the "tactics dictate strategy" philosophy helped Salesforce respond to market needsAbout Our GuestJim Steele is the President of Global Strategic...
2025-01-2347 minThe Platform Journey26. Kevin Haverty, ServiceNowThis season will feature conversations with key decision-makers who have to support the journey to a platform or any ecosystem. We will talk to C-suite executives, board members, investors, and others who must be bought into the platform journey. In this episode, Avanish and Kevin discuss:Kevin's career journey and his experiences shaping ServiceNow's growth.What it means to authentically be a platform company and how ServiceNow approached platform-first scaling.How customer feedback drove ServiceNow’s expansion into new domains like HR and customer workflows.The key factors for entering new markets, including market fit, size, and...
2024-12-0531 minThe Platform Journey25. Dave Yuan, TidemarkThis season will feature conversations with key decision-makers who have to support the journey to a platform or any ecosystem. We will talk to C-suite executives, board members, investors, and others who must be bought into the platform journey. In this episode, Avanish and Dave discuss: Dave's background and what led him to start TidemarkTidemark's VSKP framework on how a Vertical SaaS company can win their category, expand their offerings, and then, for a select few, extend through the value chainWhat it really means to be a control point and why it mattersThe mindset (and perhaps mi...
2024-11-1433 min
Cloud Returns | A SaaS Investing PodcastDave Yuan - Vertical SaaS Investing PlaybookOur Guest: Dave Yuan is the Founder of Tidemark, a growth equity firm focused on helping companies scale. With over 20 years of experience, Dave has invested in twelve companies that have gone public, eight that have been acquired.Episode Topics:Dave and Tidemark’s investment criteria.Ideal qualities for vSaaS founders.Dave's viewpoints on overspending in R&D, product risk, and product development in vertical SaaS.What does good multi-product sequencing look like?Is AI an opportunity, neutral, or a threat in vertical SaaS? The supply/demand imbalance between private investors and scaled ver...
2024-03-0538 minThe Platform Journey24. Tyler Prince, SnowflakeIn this episode, Avanish and Tyler discuss:The opportunity involved in bringing together disparate partner initiatives within an organization (4:35)Leveraging a partner ecosystem at Salesforce to create transformative offerings and expand internationally (6:30)The importance of building an ecosystem to manage data in the face of AI (9:05)Prioritizing customer success and partner growth to drive company value (12:40)Changing the paradigm around bringing applications to data (14:50)The inherent value of the consumption model in a partner ecosystem (18:30)Enabling partners to start delivering value as quickly as possible (19:55)Finding support from the top down, and curating the right talent for the...
2023-11-1626 minThe Platform Journey23. Warren Chen, CanvaIn this episode, Avanish and Warren talk about:Developing extensions based on user and partner feedback (4:15)Thinking of ISVs as customers in their own right (9:10)The importance of internal alignment, and transparency both internally and externally (11:55)Getting buy-in from the board all the way down for ongoing investment in platform (14:20)When to prioritize adoption vs. monetization on your platform (19:50)Guest: Warren ChenWarren is Head of Ecosystem Partnerships and Developer Success at Canva, with over a decade of experience in App Platform Ecosystems at Salesforce, Atlassian, and Canva.Host: Avanish Sahai
2023-11-0225 minThe Platform Journey22. Aaron McGarry, QualtricsIn this episode, Avanish and Aaron talk about:Aaron’s personal journey to the coveted Chief Ecosystem Officer title (2:00)How Aaron defines charting the platform journey as an ecosystem leader (4:45)Tackling build/buy/partner with a sophisticated view, enabling you to take a completely different approach to how you execute partnerships and ecosystems (7:49)The power of harnessing your datasets to drive enhanced outcomes (9:50)The recent shift to the importance of profitability and what that means for partnership teams (11:11)Tying your ecosystem strategy to your corporate strategy effectively (19:20)Understanding the difference between vanity metrics and true business operator metrics (24:18)...
2023-10-1230 minThe Platform Journey21. Adrienne McCallister, GoogleIn this episode, Avanish and Adrienne talk about:Changes in the productivity space that have impacted Workspace’s platform strategy (9:55)Balancing product and ecosystem developments while you scale (16:10)Taking a principle-based approach to building a platform (19:00)The necessity of a multifaceted strategy in creating a successful platform (20:30)Innovation and “first-of-a-kind” thinking in partnerships (22:50)Building a partnership strategy based on product and business goals (24:40)Creating missions at the business and team level to achieve your goals (27:40)Guest: Adrienne McCallisterAdrienne McCallister is the Vice President of Global Partnerships for Workspace and Messaging, where she oversees Workspace’s produc...
2023-09-2829 minThe Platform Journey20. Jim Nairn, WalkMeAvanish and Jim discuss:Investing in an ecosystem in a tough market (8:04)Committing to working with partners over growing professional services (11:26)Finding a way to demonstrate returns and get the C-Suite on board with building an ecosystem (12:40)How to avoid having an “identity crisis” by setting an intention for how you will grow your platform (17:15)Understanding how a partner delivers services to integrate in a complementary way (19:50)The advantages and challenges of a managed service provider motion (21:30)Selling a solution rather than an outcome (26:34)The importance of authentic communication (29:00)Guest: Jim NairnSince arriving in the...
2023-09-1429 minThe Platform Journey19. JW Hoh & Andrew Albert, VIIZRAvanish, JW, and Andrew discuss: The ideation of VIIZR out of Ford’s Greenfield Labs (1:30)The critical alignment of technology and go-to-market strategy when picking what platform to build VIIZR’s core product and capabilities on (4:00) Small vs. scalable businesses and how VIIZR supports its customers (7:30) Their view on the most important components of platform building for customers (8:12) How VIIZR tackles knowing where to build and where to partner (10:30) What happens when high tech meets high touch (16:30)Ford’s path to investing in VIIZR and the genesis of the company's name (20:24) The power of the democratization of technology over recent...
2023-06-0831 minThe Platform Journey18. Jason Wojahn, ThirderaAvanish and Jason discuss: Thirdera’s founding story from a company with no resources in early 2021 to a company of just under a thousand resources across 12 countries today. (2:30) ServiceNow’s pivot to digital transformation across the enterprise and the $6.2-6.8 trillion market opportunity it creates (7:15) The platforms that will be positioned to win in this evolving environment (10:52)The rise of the data model (12:30) Jason’s advice for those who want to be “extraordinarily future-ready” (16:26)The critical role experience will play in the future (20:00) And much more! Guest: Jason WojahnJason Wojahn has more than 25 years of b...
2023-05-1829 minThe Platform Journey17. Erica Volini, ServiceNowAvanish and Erica have a robust discussion around: Erica’s 23-year journey at Deloitte 1:00Why it’s not about the role you have, but about what you do with the role and opportunities you’re given (7:40) Erica’s advice for growth companies thinking about building partnerships with organizations such as Deloitte or Accenture (10:25) Unpacking what “partner empathy” looks like in practice (12:45) How it is different to go to market with what we now call an ecosystem rather than what used to be more traditional partner programs (15:50) The biggest roadblocks Erica has encountered and show she steered around them (23:30)How organizations...
2023-04-2731 minThe Platform Journey16. Stephen Hurrell, Ventana ResearchIn this episode of The Platform Journey, Stephen and Avanish discuss: The shift from linear sales motions to ecosystem sales motions (3:35)Integrating a financial model perspective and business model perspective (7:30)Reframing how we think about revenue allocation and the financial impact of partners on a business (9:45)Recognizing both the buy and sell side of contracts and sales execution (15:50)The importance of owning your management systems and partner motions (20:25)The opportunities (and challenges) facing new platform and ecosystem companies (25:15)Guest: Stephen HurrellStephen leads the expertise in the Office of Revenue and guides leaders in the a...
2023-04-1224 minThe Platform Journey15. Allan Adler of Digital Bridge Partners: Monetizing Technology Partners Ecosystems Part 3In Part Three, Avanish and Allan discuss: The evolution of monetization models (3:00) Understanding the three buckets of tech partner monetization (6:45) How Procore’s model resulted in much higher levels of adoption and engagement, and a much higher orientation around how to make the magic happen (10:50)How to turn ISVs from flavor-adders to the meal, into the whole meal (16:34)Allan’s favorite monetization model: the reciprocity or reciprocal model (20:37) Bringing it all back to sourced revenue attribution (28:14) The importance of finding lagging and leading indications (30:33)Guest: Allan Adler, Managing Partner, Digital Bridge PartnersAllan Adler is a world-clas...
2023-03-3031 minThe Platform Journey14. Allan Adler of Digital Bridge Partners: Monetizing Technology Partner Ecosystems Part 2In Part Two, Avanish and Allan discuss: Understanding taxation, reciprocal, and mutuality models (3:30) The role of NRR and ARR (7:27)The “stickiness” justification when monetizing tech partnerships (9:30) Understanding universal success models (12:00) Hyperscalers (14:01) Why your go-to-market or the go-to-eco motion has to be multi-threaded(20:50) Why Allan likes to look at the journey of go-to-eco very similarly to the journey of making a product(24:30) Understanding that is incumbent on partner leaders to recognize that partner operations is not a “nice to have.”(30:29)Guest: Allan Adler, Managing Partner, Digital Bridge PartnersAllan Adler is a world-class advisor, consultant, and change agent. ...
2023-03-1630 minThe Platform Journey13. Allan Adler of Digital Bridge Partners: Monetizing Technology Partner Ecosystems Part 1Avanish and Allan unpack a wide range of topics to kick off this series, including:Why tech partnerships harness so much power (3:42) The role tech partnerships play between channel and alliances (5:43) The commercial envelope concept and what it means for technology partners (8:02) Distinguishing between the strategy and the platform business model (10:34) Going to market directly vs. going to market through an ecosystem (12:00) Where does the customer fit in? (15:40) Why is digital transformation happening, and what does it mean for customers? (20:26) The important CEO to CPO conversation that needs to be had (24:13) And much more!Guest: Allan Ad...
2023-03-0231 minThe Platform Journey12. Chris Grusz of AWS: The Powerhouse MarketplaceIn this episode, Avanish Sahai and Chris Grusz use the marketplace journey of Amazon Web Services as a springboard to discuss a variety of platform-related topics:The driver of a successful flywheel (2:17)Developing products and fostering selection to match customer demand (5:28)Balancing feature development between both buyers and sellers to maximize value for both (7:45)The advantages offered by a marketplace when co-selling with ISVs (14:56)The Amazon leadership mindset, and facilitating feedback from customers (20:54)Maintaining a long view and finding ways to attract new types of customers (25:32)Offering simplification: the key to successful marketplaces (30:00)Guest: Chris Grusz, General...
2022-11-1731 minThe Platform Journey11. Marcus Torres of ServiceNow: Building a Platform That ResonatesMarcus and Avanish talk about the following and more:ServiceNow’s history as a platform company from the very beginning (3:05)The cooperation and cohesion of ServiceNow’s internal products and what partners can build (6:49)The importance of committing to an ecosystem as well as a platform—and what companies really want (12:45)The challenge of long-term investment into a platform and ecosystem strategy (24:52)Why you should be cautious of building a platform just because you can (29:00)Guest: Marcus Torres, GM and VP of App Engine Business at ServiceNowMarcus is a people, product and business leader with o...
2022-11-0332 minThe Platform Journey10. Laura Padilla of Airtable: Crystal Clear Platform BuildingIn this episode, you can hear Laura and Avanish discuss:Expanding single channels and products to create more value (7:00)The importance of internal alignment on products and partners (10:48)Using modeling to optimize partnerships and platform strategy (13:35)Key measures of success when growing partnership ecosystems (16:47)The benefit of defining clear metrics of success (21:12)Laura’s advice: Start where you know you can have an impact, but don’t be afraid to disrupt (28:57)Guest: Laura Padilla, VP, GLobal Partners, AirtableLaura Padilla is currently the VP of Global Partners and Services at Airtable where she is building the...
2022-10-2030 minThe Platform Journey9. Peter Reinhardt of Charm Industrial: Customer CentricityIn this episode, Avanish and Peter discuss: The power of maintaining a customer-centric approach (4:24)Looking down, not up, to determine how to really fix the source of a problem within your platform (5:39)How to think about delivering true value to the developers on your platform (10:17)Not setting out on the platform journey before you’re ready (16:19)Choosing the right marketing motion for your platform (22:15)Guest: Peter Reinhardt, CEO of Charm IndustrialPeter Reinhardt is CEO & Co-founder at Charm Industrial, where they are developing novel carbon removal & renewable industrial syngas technology. Prior to Charm, Peter was CEO...
2022-10-0625 minThe Platform Journey8. Kevin Ichhpurani of Google Cloud: The Ins and Outs of Platform BuildingIn the Season 2 premiere of The Platform Journey, Avanish and Kevin discuss: Driving value to your underlying platform through partnerships (3:35) Reevaluating the way we categorize partners; building network effects to solve customer problems (6:17) Embracing “coopetition” and the importance of transparency when building a platform (9:16) Understanding and communicating the core and context layers of your ecosystem (12:42) Kevin’s key advice for an ISV setting out on the platform journey (15:15)Guest: Kevin Ichhpurani, Corporate VP at Google CloudKevin Ichhpurani is Corporate Vice President, Global Ecosystem and Business Development at Google Cloud. Kevin brings nearly 25 years of experience...
2022-09-2219 minThe Platform Journey7. Nick Houldsworth & Damien Tampling of Xero: Building Your Platform The Right WayHighlights of Avanish, Damien, and Nick's discussion include:Xero’s growth story from one person’s headache to a global platform supporting over 3 million customersThe genesis of Xero’s impressive platform strategyHow the company has created a playground for developers to solve for Xero’s customers in new and innovative waysUnderstanding the role the tension between things that the company could do and things that the ecosystem could do plays in overall platform strategyPracticing transparency both internally and with your partner ecosystemDefining your ecosystem platform principles to strike balance between first-party and third-party propositionsAnd much more!Gue...
2022-07-2138 minThe Platform Journey6: Kathy Tsitovich, Chief Corporate Development & Partnerships Officer at LegalZoom: Hope Is Not A Strategy - Thoughtful Platform BuildingIn this week’s episode, Kathy Tsitovich discusses LegalZoom’s transformation into a platform, with all of the challenges and successes that have occurred along the way. See key topics from her discussion with Avanish below: The early days of platforms and the LegalZoom customer channel (01:42)Identifying stakeholders in order to guide platform strategy (05:51)Curating valuable, lasting partnerships (09:45)Defining and measuring platform success (14:35)The importance of executive support, organizational alignment, and the long view (17:14)Kathy’s lessons major lessons learned and final thoughts (23:58)Guest: Kathy TsitovichKathy Tsitovich is the Chief Corporate Development & Partnerships Officer at Legal...
2022-07-0729 minThe Platform Journey5: Tom Shea, OneStream Software CEO: The Platform EvolutionTom and Avanish kick off the session focusing on what it means to build a platform, and a partner ecosystem around that platform. Then, they dig into where Tom is on the platform journey. He’s been building OneStream for some time and it has grown amazingly well, with a marketplace of over 50 solutions and over 200 partners. They cover… Driving towards constant improvement and platform dependency (7:23)What the true definition of “platform” is and the necessary mindset to achieve platform status (9:27)Recognizing the right patterns early on in the platform journey (15:25)Separating platform thinking from traditional product thinking (17:00)The bigge...
2022-06-2342 minThe Platform Journey4. Arshad Matin, Avetta President & CEO: The Platform MindsetIn this episode, Arshad Matin details Avetta’s impressive platform journey and the critical components to developing a successful SaaS platform that provides value to everyone that touches it. See key topics in his discussion with Avanish below:Understanding Avetta, a two-sided network for supply chain risk management (0:57)Enriching a platform with data and APIs (2:45)The tipping point of ecosystem and network growth (7:50)Providing multiple pillars of value and capitalizing on industry trends (11:10)Creating a “platform mindset”: the win-win-win scenario (17:08)How to approach a platform strategy: key questions to ask (23:42)The importance of humility and empathy while building a plat...
2022-06-0929 minThe Platform Journey3. Anu Bharadwaj, Atlassian COO: Leading With Heart and Winning With ExecutionIn this episode, Anu Bharadwaj shares her tricks of the trade as one of the most impressive product and platform minds we know. She draws on her time at Microsoft, where she launched several products for Microsoft Studio, as well as her current role leading operations for Atlassian, to provide some really fascinating insights. How Atlassian got its start (1:23)Anu’s unique journey from Microsoft to her role as Atlassian COO (3:56)The three key things that led to the platformization of Atlassian (11:44)The impressive proliferation of the Atlassian Marketplace (17:13)The roadblocks and challenges Atlassian has faced with both plat...
2022-05-2632 minThe Platform Journey1. Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot CTO: Building a Platform that is a Joy for PartnersHaving started out as a marketing applications company, HubSpot’s goal today is to be the number one platform for scaling companies. In this episode, co-founder and CTO Dharmesh Shah shares some of the most important lessons he has learned on the journey since HubSpot’s founding in 2006.HubSpot’s journey to becoming a CRM platform (1:17)How to measure success as a platform (3:14)How to attract partners to the platform (5:52) and striking the balance between established partners and new native apps (8:01)Importance of being a joy to partner with (8:55) and culture of solving for the customer (11:51)It’s ok to hav...
2022-04-2728 min