How do you get into a saas based company if you have no experience working in one and what are some of the core competencies you need when you are starting out?

Many talented people want to work in SaaS but feel blocked because they haven’t “done SaaS before.” Here’s the good news: there are SaaS companies that care way more about your skills and mindset than previous experience.  How to get in the door: Translate your past experience into SaaS language. If you’ve worked in retail, consulting, or healthcare, think: how did you solve customer problems? How did you use data? How did you manage stakeholders? Those stories map directly to SaaS roles. Find a ...Read More

If you are already in a Product role, there are common skills that apply across SaaS or non-SaaS products. These include strategic thinking, problem solving, customer and market validation, ability to influence, strong communication and so on.  There are a few additional considerations when you are in a Product Management role in a SaaS company:  Strong analytical skills:  There are terms like Monthly Recurring Revenue, Active Users (daily, weekly monthly), Cohort usage and behavioral metrics, C ...Read More

Some key tips are: - Research the industry: what are the specific areas within SAAS you are most interested in? Follow newsletters, influencers and publications/conferences. Network with relevant leaders. - Start a side hustle that showcases your skills. I build a mobile app from scratch to gain relevant experience. This helped me get a better understanding of the in's and out's. Build out a portfolio of your learnings. - Use relevant tools and products that will help you gain an understanding o ...Read More

Understand how commercial teams are setup, how products are priced, what's a typical sales cycle and even more top of the funnel - how is marketing run, target customers and the value props. Build a basic empathy for a B2B buyers journey - which platforms are potential buyers already on, what influences purchase decisions, what are the funding sources and budget constraints. Expand your product sense to be product+service sense. What are the workflows your are enabling or making more efficient? ...Read More

To get into a SaaS-based company without prior experience, focus on highlighting transferable skills and demonstrating a strong understanding of the SaaS model and its market dynamics. As a starting point, emphasize core competencies like customer-centric thinking, strategic planning, and data-driven decision-making. For a Product Manager role, it's crucial to showcase your PM competencies, such as product lifecycle management, cross-functional collaboration, and agile methodologies. Additionall ...Read More