Welcome to the latest installment of SaaSlife SPOTLIGHT, where we shine a light on innovative SaaS companies and their leaders. Today, we are thrilled to feature Saahil Dhaka, Founder and CEO - Clientell.
Frank shared insights into his founder journey, the challenges of establishing product market fit, the exciting future of Clientell....plus lots more!
Introduction
Welcome to the latest edition of SaaSlife Spotlight. It's my pleasure to welcome today's guest, Saahil Dhaka, CEO and founder of Clientell. How are you, Saahil?
Saahil Dhaka: I'm good, Dan. Really appreciate you having me here today. Really excited to have this conversation.
Dan: My pleasure. How are things on the other side of the world? You're in San Diego at the moment, is it?
Saahil: No, I'm in New York City. As you know, it's always on the move, right? So just trying to sync with the culture. I moved here full-time now. Looking forward to meeting friends in the city, making new connections.
Dan: Fantastic. New York never sleeps, so you're always going to be busy.
Explaining Clientell
Dan: Cool. The question that I always start with, I ask every guest, is if you can please give me an overview of Clientell, as though you're speaking to a 10-year-old, a fifth grader, as simple as possible for anybody that isn't aware of the business already.
Saahil: Absolutely. Fundamentally, what we're trying to do with Clientell is make life easier for our company to acquire more customers. In simple words, we make it easy to manage any kind of revenue operations—sales, marketing, reaching out to people, talking to customers, and prospective customers. We're trying to simplify the whole journey.
Tackling Complexity with Simplicity
Dan: So what is it that sets Clientell apart?
Saahil: There are two things. One is the form factor. Like how the evolution of smartwatches to simple rings happened. We consolidate the tech stack and services. For example, companies spend a lot on CRMs like Salesforce and need additional tools and services to manage it. We're stepping back and asking why we need these processes in the first place. Let AI manage your operations, data entry, analysis, and insights. This eliminates the need for too many services and people.
Efficiencies and Streamlining
Dan: You create efficiency, streamline processes, reduce costs, and eliminate human error. Is your ICP primarily in RevOps and sales processes?
Saahil: Yes, primarily sellers, SDRs, AEs, senior leadership like CROs and VPs of sales. These are the people who benefit the most, focusing on improving conversions and increasing revenue.
From Idea to Reality
Dan: If we take you back to the beginning, what inspired you to create Clientell?
Saahil: I'm an overthinker and was always looking for ways to improve efficiency and optimize revenue. I found that buying and integrating multiple software solutions was stressful. We had a good offering, but communicating that value effectively was challenging. We realized that simplifying and uniting data across tools could help. The idea was to eliminate unnecessary processes and make AI handle data management.
Product Market Fit Journey
Dan: How did you go about finding product market fit?
Saahil: Convincing people to reimagine their processes was tough, especially with AI. The key was to show direct impact and value. We started with Salesforce admin agents to cut costs and automate tasks. This approach made it easier for companies to see the benefits and adopt our solutions.
Looking Forward
Dan: Where do you see Clientell in 12 months?
Saahil: CRM processes are just the beginning. We aim to empower sellers using their existing data to be more proactive. We plan to add 40-50 more customers across different industries and teams. We want to help salespeople prospect better, give better demos, and ultimately increase revenue.
Personal Growth as a Leader
Dan: Any personal growth goals for yourself as a leader in the next 12 months?
Saahil: I want to improve communication and empathy. Building personal connections within my team and translating those learnings to our customers is crucial. I aim to understand different verticals better and help my team manage their time efficiently.
Clientell's Culture
Dan: How would you describe Clientell's culture to potential team members?
Saahil: Our culture is like that of scientists and artists. We focus on things that deliver value for us, our customers, or colleagues. We collaborate to improve processes and make work easier for each other. Even though it's a fast-growing startup and can be stressful, we support each other and grow together.
Advice for Aspiring SaaS Founders
Dan: What advice would you give to anyone looking to start a SaaS business?
Saahil: Think of your company as solving a problem in a unique way. Grow with your target audience, undercut a massive pyramid with a focused approach, and always think about the value you deliver. Ensure you have a clear vision and stay committed to your goals.
Dan: Thanks so much for sharing your journey and insights, Saahil. It's been a pleasure having you on SaaSlife Spotlight.
Saahil: Thank you, Dan. It's been great talking with you.
Conclusion
Clientell work with CROs to optimize their RevOps processes. As more and more of the sales process goes digital - with an increasing number of GTM tools strong process management becomes key to delivering pipeline growth and speedy GTM execution.
To listen to the full interview - please check it out!
Stay tuned for more insights from SaaSlife SPOTLIGHT as we continue to shine a light on the brightest stars in the industry.