I often get this question: How do I rapidly scale my SaaS business?
And although it’s obvious to think about the technology or the business side, we often forget the people side.
Let me share an answer Christian Owens, CEO of Paddle, recently gave me when I talked with him about this topic:
We have two holistic mission principles. The first one is: We want to do it for you. We don’t believe in building products that help people solve their own problem; we believe in just solving the problem. The second is: Be the most helpful brand in SaaS.
If those things are true, that keeps everybody in the company oriented around building the right products. It’s how we keep all 400 people working on Paddle aligned. It’s a framework for how you make decisions. Does this advance us doing it for you? Does this help us become the most helpful brand in SaaS? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, we should do it.
Here’s the thing.
Every SaaS business starts small; it’s easy to make rapid decisions. But, the moment the business grows, it’s impossible to control every motion in the company. And this is where autonomy comes in: Enabling everyone to make the right decision without having to go one (or more) level(s) up to get instructions or approval.
Paddle secures this by organizing its business around two holistic mission principles: 1) Do it for you and 2) be the most helpful brand in SaaS. That’s all it takes to drive remarkable decisions.
Question for you to reflect upon
On a scale of 1-10, how autonomous are the people working for your SaaS business to make the right decisions? What principles could you introduce to score a clear 10?
Be Remarkable
Like this message?
Every day I send out a short 2 min reflection on shaping a B2B SaaS business no one can ignore. Join the 1,000+ subscribers that have become fans.
Not sure? Browse the archive