We’ve had explosive growth, and I attribute that to our awesome execution, but in large part, we also had a little luck on our side. We got into a market that was exploding.

Tonni’s sales career has spanned from large corporations like UPS, to being one of the top performing sales reps at Pardot. Today, Tonni leads a team of “Terminators” at the number one account-based marketing company, Terminus. As VP of Sales, she’s taken the company from $50,000 to over $15 Million in annual recurring revenue.

You need someone scrappy, ideally with a chip on their shoulder. Someone who’s willing to come in, work hard, and prove themselves.

Tonni shared big ideas around getting to that first million in sales, as well as how to scale a sales team. While a great milestone, and one that the majority of startups don't ever get to see, it doesn't just stop there. She also shared some lessons learned while growing to $5 million annual recurring revenue and more.

Work towards a scalable model, but don't expect scalability

B2B companies just don’t get it in marketing ... it’s so important for companies to create meaningful connections that go beyond the surface - that are truly authentic and transparent in their communications. Brands need to start behaving like people, and really look at it from an empathetic standpoint.

Tami moved from her native country of South Africa to the United States on a tennis scholarship. After her collegiate career was over, she doubled down on marketing, communications, and branding. She spent 3 years as the director of marketing at SalesLoft, where epic marketing tactics were deployed, including “Impersonating Marc Benioff.” Since SalesLoft, Tami co-founded 31South, a full service marketing agency that works with dozens of SaaS companies with go to market strategies.

Innovation is stifled because marketers aren’t focused on the art of persuasion that consumer brands have unequivocally mastered.

Tami touched on the struggles of marketing in B2B, and why it’s important to behave like a person and be empathetic. She explains why it seems like B2C companies have it figured out, and some ways to humanize your B2B brand. She encouraged us to take risks, be innovative, and break the rules.

Get kicked out.

All software has bugs

Hubert was the first engineer and CTO at Rigor for 7 years. He’s seen every part of the technical process required to scale a business from zero to $4 million. Recently, Hubert has transitioned full time to Atlanta Ventures, where he now supports companies in the portfolio, while building helpful micro web apps for entrepreneurs, such as Simple Strategic Plan.

You should use technology that you know how to use, or are most familiar with … not just something that’s new and shiny.

Hubert took us through the process of growing your product and engineering teams through the three stages of a company (idea, product/market fit, scaling), and touched on some struggles that a company may face along the way. He touched on how to evolve team and customer communication as things get more complex, as well as some things to keep in mind while improving every day.

Ensure quality. Trust your process. Be transparent.

64% of employees feel they don’t have a strong work culture.

Karen is the culture keeper and community builder of Atlanta Tech Village. Over the past 5 years, Karen has shaped ATV into America’s 4th largest tech hub. During that time, she’s supported companies like Rigor, IO Education, SalesLoft, Terminus, Calendly, and hundreds more to achieve greater success by connecting them to community, talent, and capital.

Peers and camaraderie are the #1 reason employees go to the extra mile, not money.

Karen shared her experience of building and creating community and culture at Atlanta Tech Village. She presented some of the key reasons why culture is important, and how to ensure that you embody your core values in everything you do. She also touched on finding the right founders that are potential members, and how to achieve culture buy-in from your entire team.

The Village culture is a natural derivative of our core values.

The market for people that want to beat each other up and pay for a high-priced gym isn’t a great one.

Craig is a mixed martial arts gym entrepreneur turned web performance SaaS entrepreneur. He is the Rigor founder and CEO, and he shared the story of his career, building a business, transitioning from a doer to a manager, and what it takes to survive as a startup founder.

Being good at making software, or selling software, has nothing to do with managing a team, recruiting great people, or maintaining a culture. It's a completely different skillset and mindset.

He shared some good insights on growing the business, improving the SaaS metrics, and growing the revenue from that first $50/month customer.

I was blissfully ignorant. If you do the math… it doesn’t work. I should have just stuck with my job … I’ve never had a doubt it would be successful, you just can see it more clearly over time.

Thank you to all SaaS professionals who joined us this March. Save the date for the next Simply SaaS Forum on May 24.