SaaS or Software as a service has become one of the crucial lifelines of today’s digital world. Here, I will be introducing you to the most knowledgeable and passionate SaaS influencers of the present time.
With every passing day, SaaS is becoming the preferred choice for more and more individuals and businesses.
And the reason behind the rapidly growing popularity of SaaS is quite simple.
SaaS applications utilize cloud computing to make it highly convenient for users to access and use these apps. Being accessible using the internet, users do not have to install and maintain SaaS software, which is the biggest reason for them to overshadow traditional software.
Also, users do not need any sophisticated hardware to run even the most complex SaaS applications. Thus, reduced costs become another advantage of using SaaS.
Now, if you are a SaaS enthusiast who wants to stay updated with what’s happening in the world of web-based software, you shouldn’t miss following the top SaaS influencers. These people will enhance your knowledge and provide you with some really helpful insights from the industry.
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Top SaaS Influencers to Follow
The SaaS influencers list compiled by me does not follow any particular order. I personally believe all influencers have their own ways of sharing thoughts and comparing them in any way is not justifiable.
You can always learn about new SaaS strategies, what top SaaS businesses and leaders are up to, and upcoming SaaS products from the influencers listed as follows:
1. Benjamin Joffe
Benjamin Joffe is a Deep Tech startup investor who is working as a partner at HAX. HAX is an early-stage investment firm that provides capital to hardware startups and is also a part of SOSV.
Before HAX, Benjamin has worked for several high-tech industries for nearly 18 years, mostly across the Asia region.
He is also a keynote speaker and has spoken at more than 200 events that include 2 TEDx events. Apart from being a speaker, Benjamin is also a guest writer for Forbes, TechCrunch, and VentureBeat.
He is particularly active on Twitter where he regularly tweets information on startups that you may find interesting.
Follow Benjamin Joffe on – LinkedIn | Twitter
2. Dharmesh Shah
It is most likely that you have heard the name of Hubspot, which is among the biggest players offering software products for inbound marketing and sales. Dharmesh Shah is the co-founder and CTO of Hubspot. He laid the foundation of HubSpot in 2006 and the company went public in 2014.
At present, the man is a successful entrepreneur and angel investor for more than 60 startups. He is an MIT graduate and has an MS degree in Management of Technology.
Shah was ingenious from his young age as he launched his first startup company named Pyramid Digital Solutions when he was just 24. He later sold the company to SunGard Data Systems for millions of dollars.
He is also the founder of OnStartups.com where he shares blog posts for software startups.
Follow Dharmesh Shah on – LinkedIn | Twitter
3. Sandeep Kashyap
Another prominent name that makes this list is Sandeep Kashyap – the founder of ProofHub.
Driven by his mission of helping teams to become more productive, he developed ProofHub, which is a feature-rich project management SaaS software that is used by more than 85000+ teams and businesses from around the world.
Besides being the founder and CEO of ProofHub, he is an avid writer as well. He actively shares his thoughts and ideas related to Saas Industry, productivity, working in teams through his articles. Also, he is an active Twitter user and you can follow him there to get helpful advice to enhance your business’s efficiency.
Follow Sandeep Kashyap on – LinkedIn | Twitter
4. Hiten Shah
The next influencer making it to this list is Hiten Shah who is the founder of two well-known SaaS companies, namely CrazyEgg and KISSmetrics.
Currently, he is also working on two of his relatively new startups that are Product Habits and FYI.
He also gives professional advice to more than 500 startups, which is mostly related to metrics and marketing. Hiten also guides new SaaS companies to grow and develop better products for their customers.
Another amazing thing that this SaaS influencer offers to people interested in SaaS businesses is his email newsletter. Through the newsletter, he shares the best links of the week with his subscribers.
Follow Hiten Shah on – LinkedIn | Twitter
5. Jason M. Lemkin
Jason M.Lemkin is another popular name among SaaS enthusiasts. He co-founded and acted as the CEO of a firm that goes by the name EchoSign, which is the world’s leading electronic signature service. In 2011, Echo Sign was acquired by Adobe and renamed as Adobe sign.
Jason has also co-founded a nanotechnology company, NanoGram Devices, which rose to fame in a very short span. You can guess the success of this company merely with a single fact that the company was acquired within 13 months of its inception for $50 million.
For SaaS enthusiasts like himself, he founded SaaStr.com, which is the world’s largest community of SaaS executives and founders.
Every now and then, he also shares interesting and informational blogs on Medium. Also, most of his tweets have some real-life advice for people interested in SaaS.
Follow Jason M. Lemkin on – LinkedIn | Twitter
6. Neil Patel
If you are into digital marketing, you might be already following Neil Patel. He is one of the top guns in the online marketing sphere and has been an inspiration for entrepreneurs all around the globe.
Neil is the co-founder of 4 multi-million dollar companies – Crazy Egg, Kissmetrics, Hello Bar, and Quicksprout. And yes, he co-founded the Crazy Egg and Kissmetrics with Hiten Shaw.
Talking about his achievements, he is recognized as one of the top 25 marketers around the world by Forbes. Also, he is a New York Times’ best-selling author and has been listed among the top 100 entrepreneurs under 30 by President Barack Obama.
Neil also hosts a daily podcast known by the name of Marketing School alongside Eric Siu. You can get some really helpful marketing related tips and information on their podcast.
Follow Neil Patel on – LinkedIn | Twitter
7. Noah Kagan
Another successful influencer that you need to follow as a SaaS enthusiast is Noah Kagan. He is the Chief Sumo (CEO) of Sumo Group that aims to help small businesses to grow. The group offers four different products for businesses – AppSumo, Sumo, SendFox, and KingSumo.
Before becoming a successful entrepreneur, he worked in some of the most reputed companies in the world, including Facebook and Intel.
Noah also operates a website of his own noahkagan.com where he provides actionable business advice to entrepreneurs. From starting a business to marketing products and services, the website has so much to offer.
Follow Noah Kagan on – LinkedIn | Twitter
8. Lincoln Murphy
A customer success evangelist, a growth hacker, a content marketer, all these roles even together are not enough to introduce Lincoln Murphy.
The SaaS influencer is also the founder of Sixteen Ventures, which is a SaaS Growth Consultancy. He is viewed by many as one of the world’s most talented customer success experts.
He is active on social media, especially Twitter and you can follow him to get some really helpful inspiration and information.
Follow Lincoln Murphy on – LinkedIn | Twitter
9. David Skok
A successful ex-entrepreneur and now a visionary Venture Capitalist (VC) at Matrix Partners, David Skok’s professional journey is awe-inspiring.
During his 25 years of entrepreneurship, he founded 4 companies, namely Skok Systems, Corporate Software Europe, Watermark Software, and SilverStream Software.
As a VC, his aim is to provide capital to companies working in the field of software and the internet. He is also one of the board members for several firms including Atomist, CloudBees, Meteor, HR, and Salsify.
David also writes and publishes killer SaaS related articles on his website forentrepreneurs.com. The website has been positioned at 2nd number by Forbes in its list of 100 best websites for entrepreneurs.
Follow David Skok on – LinkedIn | Twitter
10. Aaron Levie
Have you used or heard about the cloud file sharing service Box?
If yes, you might have already been familiar with its co-founder and CEO, Aaron Levie.
He developed a special interest in cloud storage during his college years and founded Box with his friend Dylan Smith back in 2005.
Aaron is a highly active individual and often participates in tech events like TechCrunch Disrupt. He also shares his experiences and thoughts related to SaaS companies through social media.
Follow Aaron Levie on – LinkedIn | Twitter
11. Christoph Janz
Christoph Janz is a SaaS lover and a serial entrepreneur turned angel investor turned venture capitalist(VC).
He has been a successful entrepreneur and founded two startups – deadlpilot.com in 1997 and Pageflakes in 2005. Both the startups were later acquired by other companies.
Currently, Christoph is working as the Managing Partner in a Berlin-based venture capital firm, Point Nine Capital. He founded the VC firm in 2011 and provided capital to various SaaS startups including Algolia and Contentful.
He also publishes articles on his blog The Angel VC and offers his expert advice on various topics related to SaaS and early-stage startups.
Follow Christoph Janz on – LinkedIn | Twitter
12. Claire Suellentrop
Many of you will be extremely happy to finally see a female influencer making it to this list. And the lady is none other than Claire Suellentrop.
She is a SaaS marketing and growth advisor who is helping businesses boost their growth.
Claire started her career as a marketer in an entertainment agency and during this time she started a blog that helped her improve her online marketing skills.
Later, she worked for Calendly as the Director of Marketing for nearly two and a half years before becoming the co-founder of two companies: Userlist.io and Forget The Funnel. While the former company offers an email marketing automation tool for SaaS firms, the latter provides SaaS marketing training.
Follow Claire Suelletrop on – LinkedIn | Twitter
13. Dan Martell
Another name that is hard to overlook when we talk about the top SaaS influencers is Dan Martell.
He is an award-winning entrepreneur and is well known for his startup Clarity, which he founded in 2012. The startup is aimed at connecting people with professionals offering expert startup advice. Clarity was acquired by startups.co in 2015.
Dan is also the founder of several tech startups and also is an investor in more than 40 startup companies.
If you want some really helpful and actionable advice for your business, you should visit Dan’s website.
Follow Dan Martell on – LinkedIn | Twitter
14. David Cancel
David Cancel is yet another prominent name when it comes to the SaaS industry. Along with being a successful entrepreneur, he is the founder of multiple software companies.
He has also worked as the Chief Product Officer in HubSpot after one of his startups, Performance, was acquired by HubSpot in 2011.
The entrepreneur later laid the foundation of another company known as Drift, which is a conversational marketing and sales platform for businesses. He is working currently as the CEO of Drift.
David has been featured by Forbes, Wired, Fortune, The New York Times, and Fast Company.
Follow David Cancel on – LinkedIn | Twitter
15. Patrick Campbell
The founder and CEO of ProfitWell, Patrick Campbell is a SaaS expert who is helping businesses grow with his innovative software products.
ProfitWell led by Patrick offers free turnkey subscription financial metrics to companies.
Before ProfitWell, he worked in Google as a Strategist and also led the Strategic Initiatives for Gemvara.
Patrick loves talking about SaaS startups and is open to the questions of aspiring businessmen and entrepreneurs.
Follow Patrick Campbell on – LinkedIn | Twitter
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Conclusion
If you are a Saas enthusiast, following these top names from the industry is something that you must already be doing. However, if you are not it is time to start following them to learn from their experience, gather the knowledge they have to offer, and bring it into practice. So, what are you waiting for?
