What’s holding you back isn’t just strategy—it could be your own brain! In this riveting episode of SaaS Fuel, Jeff Mains sits down with Mitch Weisburgh, veteran educator and author of Mind Shifting: Stop Your Brain from Sabotaging Your Happiness and Success. Together, they explore how understanding the brain’s survival mechanisms (hello, limbic system!) and developing self-awareness can unlock resourcefulness, resilience, and collaboration—skills every SaaS leader needs to thrive in chaos.

Mitch shares practical stories about mindset shifts, the neuroscience behind decision-making, and actionable frameworks to transform failure into feedback. They discuss how to navigate conflict, ditch binary thinking, and lead teams (and yourself) with more empathy and adaptability. Get ready for brain hacks and business wisdom you can use right now.

00:00 Mindset Shifts for Effective Leadership

06:14 "Reaching Critical Mass Skills"

08:50 Travel Frustrations and Airline Inefficiencies

13:17 "Understanding the Brain's Decision-Making"

14:38 "Limbic Brain Functions Explained"

19:43 Challenge Certainty, Embrace Awareness

22:42 Understanding Limbic Reactions

27:10 Unified Collaboration Over Individual Solutions

30:04 Exploring Product Presentation Strategies

33:53 Fostering Problem-Solving in Management

35:32 Understanding Conflict Resolution Styles

38:27 Negotiation and Collaboration in Sales

43:40 Embracing Feedback in Challenges

46:46 Stress Relief: Mindfulness and Support

48:58 "Getting Rich Through Book Sales"

53:17 Innovative Job Hunting Platform

"If you have a group of, let's say, 50 people in your organization, and if you can mobilize seven of them to be advocating for a solution, that's very often with good leadership enough to tip the whole organization." — Mitch Weisburgh

"When you are absolutely positive about something, it's a sign that your limbic mind has made the decision." — Mitch Weisburgh

Navigating Uncertainty When Launching Products: "So in a complex system, what you really need to do is you have to come up with things that you can try that aren't going to destroy you so that you can get feedback and from that feedback, decide the next thing to do." — Mitch Weisburgh

Quote: "But the first thing is to be aware is that there's really five different styles of dealing with conflict. And once you become aware that there's five different styles of conflict, of conflict resolution, then all of a sudden you have options." — Mitch Weisburgh

The Power of Trusted Support: "So having a trusted authority such as Jeff Mays, you know, that, you know, or a spouse or friends or relatives, you know, or even a therapist or coach. Okay, you know, sometimes, you know, you need that." — Mitch Weisburgh

Viral Topic - The Loneliness Epidemic Among Leaders: "Most leaders are exhausted from playing the lone hero and it's killing both your results and your sanity." — Jeff Mains

Viral Topic: Inclusive Design Effectiveness: "He's proof that inclusive design isn't just ethical, it's effective." — Jeff Mains

Self-Awareness Is Step One.

Leadership growth starts with recognizing your own thinking patterns and emotional triggers before you can shift them.

Train Your Team to Think in Options, Not Orders.

Instead of...

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains goes deep with Juan Betancourt, CEO of Humantelligence and creator of the AI-powered Ask Aura coach. Juan shares his fascinating transition from leading major corporations like P&G and Siebel Systems to scaling a tech startup aimed at transforming HR and team collaboration.

We dive into the challenges of selling into the HR tech space, how leveraging psychometrics with AI can radically improve engagement, retention, and teamwork, and what it really takes to transition from executive to founder. Juan also reveals hard-earned lessons from multiple pivots, what makes Ask Aura unique, and how every organization—and founder—can prepare for the AI-powered future of work.

00:00 AI-Driven Talent Management Solutions

05:04 Seamless, Multilingual, Voice-Activated Insights

07:49 Revolutionizing Leadership Efficiency Tools

12:31 "Prescriptive Action Replaces Reports"

15:31 Lessons Learned from Corporate to Startup

16:41 Venture Capital and Startup Realities

20:23 Startup's Code Impresses Potential Buyer

24:59 "TalentFit: Analyzing Workforce Performance"

28:54 Marketing Failure Due to Misaligned Strategy

31:36 AI Tool Implementation Challenges

34:11 Ensuring Effective Employee Training

39:02 "Unique AI: Personalized Coaching"

42:05 AI's Future Impact on Jobs

"Who doesn't want to know how to get along better with that jerk who busts their balls every meeting?" — Juan Betancourt

"The more you can democratize leadership insights company-wide, the bigger your edge." — Jeff Mains

"Technology finally caught up—with AI in workflow, what used to be a $20,000 executive coach is now a $2/month subscription for everyone." — Juan Betancourt

"We reduced turnover by 30%. That’s the kind of impact that’s only possible when psychometrics meet workflow." — Juan Betancourt

"Even if you build the right thing, you’ll lose if you try to outspend competitors on marketing instead of solving a pain the market understands." — Juan Betancourt

"If you only see a blank screen, you’re missing the real adoption battle—every user needs use cases, not just features." — Jeff Mains

Lean Into People Development:

Scaling isn’t just about products—it’s about the quality of leadership and ongoing development. Invest in understanding and empowering your teams.

Prioritize Actionable Insights:

Make sure that psychometric or engagement data is not just collected—but used daily, in the flow of work, for real impact.

Adopt Founder-Led Sales Early:

In the beginning, rely on your network and credibility. First deals rarely happen because of the product alone.

Pivot Relentlessly, But Learn Each Time:

Don’t be afraid to kill what’s not working. Each failed pivot, portal, or product iteration paves the way to something better.

Foster Ownership Over Perfection:

Empower your “Bad News Bears” team: grit and ownership beat waiting for rare A+ players. Innovation comes from belief, not just brilliance.

Make Product Value Obvious and Accessible:

Users need clear use cases and context. Interface design and onboarding should start with “What do you want to accomplish today?”

Juan Betancourt

Email: juan@humantelligence.com or...

In this energizing episode, Jeff Mains sits down with Ryan Hogan—an entrepreneurial powerhouse known for turning murder mystery games into a global business and now shaking up the recruiting world through his company, Talent Harbor. Together, they explore the underappreciated but foundational role of company culture in scaling SaaS organizations, why hiring for values trumps hiring for resumes, and how onboarding, leadership, and learning from failures build resilient, thriving teams.

You’ll hear battle-tested tips on establishing and living real core values (not just slogans), fixing broken cultures, running stellar onboarding programs, mistakes most founders make when hiring, and how to create pathways for growth that keep your best talent around for the long haul. Packed with practical examples and actionable advice, this is an episode every founder, leader, and hiring manager should bookmark.

00:00 "Core Values and Culture Fit"

04:47 Measuring Success: Consumer Signals

09:18 "Identify Core Behaviors First"

12:10 Defining Startup Culture Evolution

13:34 Core Values Alignment in Leadership

16:56 Core Values in Daily Life

19:32 "Brand Values in Customer Experience"

25:13 "Why Companies Lose Talent"

28:26 "Evolving Workplace Culture Issues"

29:22 "Prioritizing Culture Fit in Startups"

33:51 "First 72: Critical Onboarding"

37:19 Effective Onboarding and Support Strategy

40:50 Inspiring Growth with Care

44:29 "Leadership Beyond Individual Success"

47:54 Entrepreneurship: Finding Product-Market Fit

51:17 AI Revolutionizes Culture with Ask Aura

The Truth About Business Culture: "Not the fluffy feel good posters on the wall version, but the real gritty, foundational stuff that drives how your team thinks, works and wins." — Ryan Hogan

"Culture Fit matters more than a perfect resume, especially in the early stages, and how adaptable hires often outperform the most qualified ones when the market inevitably shifts." — Ryan Hogan

The Art of Scaling a Brand: "founders have to learn to let go in order to scale effectively." — Ryan Hogan

Viral Topic: The Impact of Leadership Authenticity on Workplace Culture: "You know, you said it was going to be this, and what I'm seeing is something else. And I think there's a kind of a disharmony there. And I wanted to be a part of this movement, but it's not what I thought it was going to be. Wasn't what I was sold." — Ryan Hogan

Viral Topic: Leadership Integrity and Core Values: "the minute you say, we're committed to these things and someone makes a decision that's not in line with those core values, you've destroyed it." — Jeff Mains

"Most people put their core values on the wall. You're trying to take those words from the wall and you're trying to make that connection of how do these show up on a daily basis." — Jeff Mains

Quote: "You can create all this inspiration, but if people don't feel supported, that can become a huge issue for the enterprise." — Jeff Mains

Define and Reinforce Core Values

Before hiring, know the core behaviors your company needs to succeed and reinforce them consistently.

Hire for Culture Fit—But Don’t Neglect Skills

In startups, prioritize values and adaptability slightly more than experience, but remember both matter.

Transparent, Aligned Recruiting Models Win

Challenge industry norms—flat, transparent fees and partnership drive better results than traditional commissions.

Onboarding Shapes Long-Term Success

Invest in scripting the...

In this episode of the SaaS Fuel Podcast, host Jeff Mains sits down with John Long, the visionary behind Think AI, to explore the dynamic intersection of artificial intelligence and human empowerment in SaaS businesses. John shares his journey from real estate and HVAC to tech entrepreneurship, revealing how Think AI was born out of a need to streamline sales and customer interactions through advanced AI agents.

The discussion delves into real-world examples of AI adoption—from automating interviewing and reviving old sales leads to transforming customer support in e-commerce. Jeff and John also tackle the boundaries of what current AI can (and can’t) do, why humans will always be needed for complex and creative problem-solving, and how to build resilient, future-proof teams at the forefront of technological change.

Whether you’re a SaaS founder, tech leader, or simply AI-curious, this episode is packed with practical wisdom, actionable leadership takeaways, and a clear-eyed look at the realities and potential of AI in business today.

00:00 Empowering Humans with AI Integration

04:34 AI Tool Evolution to Product

06:44 "AI: Enhancing Focus and Efficiency"

12:29 AI Revolutionizing Customer Support Careers

16:26 "Empowering AI for Human Interaction"

19:16 "AI Necessitates Human Oversight"

22:33 AI: Capable, Yet Sometimes Overhyped

24:44 Workforce Cuts: Economic Impact & AI Shift

29:03 Understanding Tech in Home Services

32:28 AI-Driven Podcast Production

36:02 "Think Differently with AI"

37:58 Balancing Ideas and Reality

43:19 Rapid AI Support Adoption

47:53 "AI Talent Management Revolution"

AI Revolutionizes Customer Support Careers: "We're going to double your pay, turn this into a career path, and really incentivize you to do what you love doing at a really, really high level and taking care of our people." — John Long

Viral Topic: The Expanding World of Agentic AI

"AI can do a lot. It's challenging because most people don't know how to get started or kind of what to do to kick this thing off. And that's where companies like us step in and help with, with kind of the, the guiding steps of that. But yeah, AI can do a lot." — John Long

How AI Changes the Way We Think: "as people start to dig into AI, they literally begin to think differently. They look at their world differently and they, rather than approaching problems and thinking, well, okay, well I got to go and fix this. They think about things like, well, I'm going to go check with AI and figure out who else has experienced this and how they dealt with it. And you just, you look at the world in a different way and you approach problems in a different way and you just think differently." — John Long

Empowering, Not Replacing Humans: "the future of business isn't about replacing humans, but empowering them." — Jeff Mains

Cultural Shift in the Age of AI: "Teams start working very differently, focusing on High value creative tasks while AI handles the grunt work. It's not just efficiency, it's a cultural shift."— Jeff Mains

The Epidemic of Leadership Burnout: "You know, you're probably like everybody else, drowning in connections but starving for real support. And it's creating a silent epidemic of leadership burnout among executives just like you." — Jeff Mains

Balance Tech Ambition with Practical Reality:

Leaders must combine visionary ideas with operational discipline—having both a “gas” and “brake” in the partnership drives sustainable growth.

Focus on Value, Not Just Shiny Tools:

Successful leaders implement AI...

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with serial entrepreneur and strategic executive Josh Sizemore, a powerhouse in building and scaling consumer brands in retail, CPG, wellness, and ecommerce. Drawing from decades of experience (including billion-dollar brands and innovative startups), Josh reveals the realities of taking niche health products to household names—without losing your brand’s soul or becoming just another “me-too” in a crowded market.

The conversation uncovers the art and science of brand storytelling, making the leap from DTC to retail, the power of deep versus wide expansion, the importance of authentic leadership, and how to avoid the pitfalls of solo decision-making and delegation. Josh gets candid about his journey launching a premium water brand, the value of grit in founder storytelling, navigating retail growth, keys to scaling SaaS marketplaces, and the ever-present challenge of knowing when to sell or double down.

Whether you’re a SaaS founder, a CPG upstart, or growing any high-integrity brand, this episode is loaded with actionable insights on leading powerfully, communicating clearly, and building market momentum that lasts.

00:00 AI, Innovation, and Mindset Shift

06:35 Boost Product Sales with Sampling

07:38 Slow and Steady Market Expansion

11:24 Effective Virtual Communication Tools

16:24 Water Donation and Distribution Initiative

18:24 "Authentic Storytelling in Branding"

23:00 "Original New York Salsa Success"

27:00 Entrepreneurship Patience and Resilience

30:05 High-End Retail Venture Story

32:49 Founders' Delegation Challenges

35:48 Instincts and Delegation

39:31 Entrepreneurial Journeys in Innovation

If a distributor wants you but the retailers don't want you, then they're not going to bring you in. If a retailer wants you and then, but you don't have distribution to that retailer, well how are you going to get there? So it's gotta all kind of work in synchronous, you know, together and kind of synchronize itself up." - Josh Sizemore

"you have to just stick to the play of slow and steady until you, you know, until you have the, the capital and the resources to hire 100 people or whatever to get to those stores." - Josh Sizemore

"when you're not communicating directly to somebody, you have to be super, like, aware of, okay, does this text sound kind of even killed or is it over the top, or is it underwhelming when you send those communications through virtually?" - Josh Sizemore

"just make sure that whoever it is is authentic. They're coming from a perspective of grit and grind." - Josh Sizemore

Scaling with Integrity: "Delegation isn't just about survival, it's about enabling real growth." - Jeff Mains

AI and the Future of Work: "Documenting current processes is the first step to any meaningful innovation." - Jeff Mains

"It's not strategy, not charisma, it's not even luck. It's relationships, specifically four of them." - Jeff Mains

"It's really refreshing to be able to turn that over to somebody like that. They can just take it and run with it and make it so much better than even we thought it could be." - Jeff Mains

Don’t Rush Retail: Go Deep Before Wide

Early retail wins are tempting, but focus on dominating a few stores at a time before expanding. Depth beats spread.

Grit and Authenticity Beat Flashy Marketing

Share real founder stories and struggles; people spot authenticity and reward it.

Test Relentlessly and Leverage Data

Whether it’s email...

In this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains sits down with Ghazenfer Mansoor, CEO of Technology Rivers, to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing SaaS development, scaling, and operations. With a background in healthcare and custom software, Ghazenfer shares his "10x Blueprint," unpacking the frameworks and mindsets founders need to leapfrog the competition without falling into the common trap of feature overload.

The discussion covers the shift from feature-chasing to outcome-driven innovation, managing compliance in healthcare SaaS, harnessing AI-powered development tools, and the enduring importance of process, customer discovery, and balancing customization with scalability. Ghazenfer also teases his upcoming book on building mobile apps people truly love and use daily.

00:00 AI-driven Work and Digital Transformation

06:53 "Stand Out with Unique Solutions"

08:52 "Prioritize Unique, Problem-Solving Feature"

12:51 "Expert-Led CRM for Service Growth"

16:24 "Streamlining Processes with AI"

17:28 Rapid AI-Driven Healthcare App Development

21:23 Unexpected SEO Leads Evolution

24:27 Streamlining Processes: Execution Challenges

30:44 Decades in Mobile App Development

31:54 "App Growth and Engagement Strategies"

36:43 Business Transformation and AI Visionaries

"Diagnose the bottlenecks first. You don’t want to bring AI into everything without knowing where it’s needed." — Ghazenfer Mansoor

"Building endless features is a trap—solve one real problem your customer has, and do it better than anyone else." — Ghazenfer Mansoor

"Customers don’t want features; what they want is outcomes." — Jeff Mains

“AI is not just about moving faster. It’s about creating more efficiency and value in your business.” — Ghazenfer Mansoor

"Software isn’t static. It’s a living system that needs continuous care, iteration and a keen eye on what's next." — Jeff Mains

"Now software is being built by architects and AI agents. The old playbook is obsolete." — Ghazenfer Mansoor

Strategic Use of AI:

Use technology to remove bottlenecks, not as a blanket solution.

Prioritize Ruthlessly:

Launch with a core differentiating feature; add bells and whistles only when customers truly demand them.

Champion Process:

Systems and processes are key—both for internal efficiency and for client delivery.

Adapt or Be Disrupted:

Stay ahead on innovation (like leveraging AI), or risk being left behind as industry shifts accelerate.

Listen, Then Lead:

Customer discovery is critical—sometimes you must show users what’s possible, not just build what they say they want.

Build for Iteration:

Treat your product like a living system—plan for ongoing evolution, not just a single launch.

Ghazenfer Mansoor:

gmansoor@technologyrivers.com

https://technologyrivers.com

http://facebook.com/techrivers

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmansoor

This thought-provoking episode of SaaS Fuel welcomes Evan Schwartz, a visionary in AI-enabled sustainability and global enterprise transformation.

Together, Jeff and Evan explore the seismic shifts AI is causing in both business and education. They dive deep into how the role of creativity is evolving in an AI-driven world, the pitfalls of hasty tech adoption, and why leaders must focus on documenting processes before layering on the latest tools.

Evan shares hard-won lessons from implementing transformational systems, discusses how customer confusion—not technology—is often the greatest barrier to adoption, and envisions a radically creative future for the next generation.

00:00 "Documenting and Innovating for Success"

05:26 Early Digital Transformation in Energy Industry

08:48 Traditional Methods vs. Tech Adoption

13:03 Adapting to Rapid Tech Changes

15:37 "Elevating Customer Service with AI"

19:01 "Refining Controls for Complex Systems"

21:53 Mastering Prompt Engineering

23:30 "Skill and Perspective: Realization"

27:46 Agentic AI Enhances Customer Service

30:31 Reassessing Education for Creativity

35:12 "Building a Customer Journey Framework"

38:18 "Understand Before You Buy Systems"

40:44 "ROI's Comfortable Fit vs. Unrealistic Goals"

45:05 "Feature Request Process Strategy"

47:10 "Sprint Timeline and Code Impact"

49:33 "First-Time Collaboration Challenges"

53:16 Journey from Security Budgets to Startups

Viral Business Transformation Moment: "I can't run my business without a piece of software. Wow, I've reached a point where there's no going back." - Evan Schwartz

Viral Topic: Why Some Industries Resist Software Adoption: "some of that equipment, some of that stuff they've used was built by, by the guy's grandpappy who designed that bark boiler 200 years ago. And the only thing I've ever had to do was grease the bolts and, you know, scrape some rust off of it and we're good to go. Those are very slow to change." - Evan Schwartz

How Schools Stifle Creativity: "We beat creativity out of our children in exchange for repeatable excellence." - Evan Schwartz

Innovation Requires Honesty, Not Just Hype: "learning from failures, rather than just parading successes, sets the stage for smarter, more resilient innovation." - Jeff Mains

Viral Topic: Rethinking Burnout and Recovery

"Burnout as more than just stress, framing it as a perfectionist narrative that disconnects people from their values." - Jeff Mains

Quote: "Most leaders are exhausted from playing the lone hero and it's killing both your results and your sanity." - Jeff Mains

Cosmic Karma for Sharing Thought Leadership: "Everyone who shares this week gets a handwritten thank you note from the universe itself, delivered by a comet signed in stardust and forever boosting your cosmic karma score. Better than Xbox." - Jeff Mains

Preserve Creativity:

Don’t beat creativity out of your teams chasing repeatable excellence—reward risk and experimentation, especially as AI absorbs rote work.

Be Transparent About Adoption:

Clearly document your current processes before implementing new tech. Gaps in process knowledge are the #1 cause of adoption failure.

Balance Vision With...

In this insightful episode of the SaaS Fuel podcast, host Jeff Mains welcomes Nik Froehlich, founder and CEO of Saritasa. The conversation dives deep into the perennial pain points of custom software development, especially the ongoing challenge of translating business needs into effective technical solutions. Nick reflects on nearly two decades of helping businesses overcome tech hesitation, scale SaaS operations, and avoid major pitfalls in product development and maintenance.

Together, they discuss the misconceptions SaaS founders have—like thinking software is “done” after launch, underestimating ongoing maintenance, and not accounting for technical debt. Nick shares lessons from working with a wide range of clients, managing feature requests versus product vision, and how to build a resilient tech culture. The episode also zeroes in on the evolving role of AI and low-code tools in the dev landscape, and Nik's predictions for custom dev firms in the SaaS ecosystem over the next five years.

00:00 Translators' Role in SaaS Scaling

04:58 Bridging Business-Developer Communication

09:25 "Emphasizing MVP in Software Development"

12:21 Customer-Driven SaaS Feature Challenges

13:44 SaaS Customers Push Boundaries

17:26 Maintaining Client Confidence Strategies

22:56 SaaS Product Optimization Service

25:33 Business-Tech Partnership Origin

28:48 "The Captain's Keys: Leadership Relationships"

30:20 Underpriced Software Projects Issues

34:55 "Middle-Market Focused Business Services"

38:10 Interpreting Specifications: Key Differences

40:27 Refactoring Delays in Technical Debt

44:06 "AI Bots Need Supervision"

50:22 Thermal Paper Alert System

52:56 AI Transformation Insights with Industry Leaders

The Truth About SaaS Growth: "Why do so many SaaS founders think the hardest part is launching, when that's really just the warmup?"— Jeff Mains

Viral Topic: The Power of Translators in Tech

"There's also a hot take on the often missing role of translators, those rare people who can speak both business and geek or tech, turning those abstract goals into real world roadmaps without getting lost in all the jargon." — Jeff Mains

Timeless Challenges in Technology: "And I think it's interesting in technology there aren't a lot of problems that last 20 plus years. And this will be a problem, I don't know, maybe 50 more years, 100 more years, I don't know. But from it has been from the very beginning and will continue to be absolutely timeless." — Jeff Mains

"Some of the biggest value in the spec. You're not going to get everything in the spec. And I think one of the biggest things is, is the things that aren't said and the choices that are made and just the experience level." — Jeff Mains

Bridging the Tech-Business Communication Gap: "The pain point really comes down to the communication between the stakeholders, in this case business people trying to run their business, whatever it is, and knowing that or hearing that they can use technology in a way, but delivering that request and communicating in a way to developers so they understand what they want because developers speak a different language." — Nik Froehlich

Viral Topic: The Challenge of Customer-Driven Product Decisions in SaaS

"I've seen them put their foot down on multi-million dollar customers and just say, we're not doing it until the customer said...