Early-stage founders often claim they’ve reached product market fit, but when you look closer, it’s usually built on vibes, not data. In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim unpack what real product market fit looks like, how to measure it quantitatively, and why most early-stage SaaS companies are too quick to assume they’ve found it.  If you’ve ever wondered how to know when you’ve actually hit product market fit, or if you might be fooling yourself, this episode gives you the frameworks and numbers to tell the difference. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

Most SaaS founders think about growth through the lenses of acquisition, activation, retention, or pricing. But few think about operations and how the way you work internally either unlocks or limits growth. In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim dig into why operations is one of the most overlooked growth levers for bootstrapped SaaS companies. They explore how internal systems, structure, and decision-making shape your ability to execute on every other lever, from marketing to retention. If you’ve ever felt like your company’s growth has stalled for reasons you can’t quite name, this episode will help you see how your internal operations might be the missing piece. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

When it comes to growth channels, things are as straightforward as they seem. Attribution is as complex as ever, and if you move too fast, you risk wasting money on strategies that “don’t work”, not because they can’t, but because you’re too early. In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim dig into how to understand which channels work (or don't). They unpack false positives and false negatives, the pitfalls of premature ad testing, and why channels should be evaluated as part of a larger system, not in isolation. If you’ve ever wondered whether a channel failed because of timing or execution, this episode will help you separate signal from noise. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

When you’ve built a successful service or consulting company, the idea that building your own SaaS product can sound very attractive: scalable revenue, recurring customers, and product-led growth. But the reality is often far more complex. In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim explore why non-SaaS companies struggle when attempting to spin off software products. They cover what makes SaaS such a different business model, the hidden costs and pitfalls of under-committing, and what it really takes to make a spin-off succeed. If you’ve ever wondered whether your company should build its own SaaS product, or you’re already in the middle of one, this episode will help you avoid the most common mistakes and wasted investment. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

When you’re in the early go-to-market stage, every dollar counts, but founders can feel pressure to move fast and start considering hiring a big agency before they're ready. In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim unpack the trade-offs of hiring an agency too early. They explore what signals actually show you’re ready, how to avoid wasting precious cash, and alternative paths like freelancers or contractors. If you’ve ever wondered whether now is the right time to pull the trigger on agency help, this episode is for you.  Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

Most SaaS founders pay attention to churn, but beneath the surface of a good or bad churn number, many important details are missed.   In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim break down the real story behind churn. What the numbers do and don't tell you and how to dig deeper to uncover the patterns driving customer retention (or loss).  From understanding net revenue retention to running effective churn interviews, this is the ultimate primer on diagnosing and solving churn for your SaaS. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. Links:  DemandMaven ProfitWell ChurnKey ChartMogul

In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim take a deep dive into one of the most overlooked revenue levers in SaaS: activation.  They walk through their activation playbook, breaking down how to define activation for your product and sharing tactical strategies for improving onboarding experiences.  Whether you're PLG or sales-assisted, this episode offers clear steps to uncover where users get stuck and how to fix it. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. Links:  DemandMaven UserInterviews.com  Respondent.io  Product-Led Onboarding by Ramli John Samuel Hulick  UserOnboard  Reforge

One of the biggest pain points for first-time founders is a lack of structure within their business. One of the most popular frameworks for quickly creating structure is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), but does it really live up to the hype? In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim do a deep dive into EOS. They break down its key components, where it works (and where it doesn’t), and why most founders should treat it more like a toolbox than a strict rulebook. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. Links:  DemandMaven EOS Worldwide  Traction by Gino Wickman  - the book introducing EOS

Most SaaS companies know customer research matters, but too often, it becomes a one-off project or gets pushed down the list.  In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim break down how to make customer research a core part of your growth process. They share how their own approach to research sprints has evolved, what mistakes they made early on, and what they do now to consistently uncover insights that drive real decisions. You’ll also learn how to structure a fast, effective sprint, when to run different types of interviews (from churn to win-loss), and how to turn interviews into strategy and not just documentation. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. Links:  DemandMaven Bob Moesta User Interviews Respondent.io  Wynter

Asia just hit her 90th day as fractional CMO with a new company, and in this episode of the In Demand Podcast, she shares everything she's taking away from those first three months. This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at how a marketing leader gets up to speed, creates clarity, and shapes outcomes. Asia and Kim cover everything from digging through legacy docs to building team structure and launching new systems.  Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. Links:  DemandMaven OfferingTree

Welcome back to In Demand!  In this episode, Asia and Kim take on three topics founders don’t talk about enough: how to listen for insight during customer research, what it really looks like to run a fast-moving (but focused) marketing team, and the difference between great managers and great leaders. Whether you're hiring your first team, navigating leadership, or trying to pull messaging clarity from customer interviews, this one will hit home. Got a question you’d like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.   Links: DemandMaven Bob Moesta (Jobs to Be Done) Examples of great leaders: Steve McLeod - founder of Feature Upvote  Josh Ho – founder of Referral Rock Rand Fishkin – CEO of SparkToro The Captain Class by Sam Walker

What happens when the market wants one thing, but you want to build something else? In this episode of the In Demand Podcast, Asia and Kim unpack the emotional tension founders face when their product attracts a different kind of customer than they originally set out to serve.  From internal conflict to organizational confusion, they explore how this misalignment can quietly stall growth and what it takes to move forward with clarity. Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.   Links:  DemandMaven Dr. Sherry Walling The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Shit Together by Sherry and Rob Walling  

When does it make sense to bring on a Fractional CMO, and what should you expect from one? In this episode, Asia and Kim dig into the ins and outs of Fractional CMOs: what they do, when to hire one, how they’re different from heads of marketing or full-time CMOs, and the biggest risks and rewards founders should know. Asia also reflects on her current work as a Fractional CMO and shares how she approaches structure, team-building, and strategy without getting stuck in the weeds. Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

Growth isn’t just marketing. And if you’re stuck and growth isn’t happening, you’ll need to look beyond marketing and acquisition.  In this episode of the In Demand Podcast, Asia and Kim break down what it means to troubleshoot growth. They explain how growth work goes beyond campaigns and into retention, expansion, pricing, onboarding, and more. Plus, they dive into how product marketing overlaps and differs from growth and why founders often under-invest in the real levers that move growth. Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. 

Most SaaS companies hit growth plateaus, and too many founders assume the problem is either unsolvable or too complex to fix. In reality, that's rarely true. In this episode of In Demand, Asia and Kim unpack how to shift your mindset from "This can't be solved" to "Who's already solved this, and how can I learn from them?" They also introduce CUES, a prioritization framework that helps you focus on the right growth ideas instead of spinning your wheels. Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here.

Hiring for marketing is hard, especially when you’re a technical founder. If you’ve never worked closely with marketers, how can you confidently hire one? In this episode of the In Demand Podcast, Asia and Kim break down why marketing hires are so tricky for SaaS founders. They walk through the differences between strategic leaders vs executors, how to define the role you really need, and why under-hiring is one of the biggest mistakes founders make. Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. 

Hey founders! Asia here  Got a burning marketing or growth question you'd like us to unpack on the podcast? Well now you can slide into our voicemail and drop an audio message covering your exact question. Just pop on over to our voicemail app by clicking here and leave us a message or if you'd prefer to write us something, email us at podcast@demandmaven.io Here are a few ideas you can ask us to get the wheels turning: - Should I require a credit card on signup or not?- I've been struggling with activation of my product. What should I do?- I'm torn between these two customer segments. Help!- How should I be thinking about using (insert marketing channel here)?- What are some ways I can manage my marketing team?- What are some KPIs / OKRs we should be tracking for growth or marketing?- How do I know if this feature is ready to be launched?- What are some clever ways we can use case studies?- I can't tell if we should kill this plan we're offering or not. How should we decide?As so much more! Make sure to give us context you feel comfortable sharing and let us know if you'd prefer to be anonymous! Thank you as always for being a listener! 

Welcome to the new season of In Demand! For this season, Asia is joined by her new co-host Kim Talarczyk the Client Services Manager at DemandMaven! In this first episode of the season, Asia and Kim discuss recent conferences like MicroConf and Indie Founders, highlighting the value of founder communities and the insights from conversations with founders. They cover how DemandMaven is changing and new projects, like Asia’s work as a fractional CMO, and how the changing tech paradigm is changing businesses in 2025.  Got a question you'd like Asia to unpack on the podcast? Record a voicemail here. 

When you're in the early stages of building a business, you need to move quickly. But when you're testing growth channels, there is a difference between moving quickly and freaking out.   In this episode of the InDemand podcast, host Asia Orangio, founder of DemandMaven, uncovers the pitfalls that teams can fall into when reacting to quantitative results.   She covers the mistakes that founders make when reacting to experiments and how to set yourself up for success when running tests and reacting to the results.   TL;DL 0:22 - Don't freak out about bad numbers. Early technical founders have a tendency to overreact to test data from marketing and growth campaigns. But in growth you're working with humans, not code, and you can't always trust immediate results. 4:35 - A one to two week experiment with low spend on a growth channel likely won't show you a clear result. If you react to it you might be missing a big opportunity. 8:00 - A company Asia worked with was testing out a video demo option. After one week and getting two requests for the video the team was resigned to the fact that it wasn't working, but after waiting it turned out that having the video was actually increasing the number of prospects entering the pipeline. 12:45 - You always have to remember that quantitative outputs can tell you 'what', but can't tell you 'why'. Before you react, you have to pause and dig deeper to understand what is driving the numbers. 20:07 - When you're running a test, the sample size matters. You need a large enough volume of results to be able to trust the results. There is a natural variance in the results you get and if you end an experiment early you might just be seeing variance. 

Customer research is a critical part of growth. However many teams and founders make big mistakes when they do their research. What are the mistakes you need to avoid?    In this episode of the InDemand podcast, Asia Orangio, founder of DemandMaven, highlights the most common mistakes in conducting customer research and gives examples of how to avoid them.    If you haven’t already, sign up for The Work, a weekly newsletter: https://demandmaven.substack.com/   TL;DL   1:03 - Mistake one, not setting clear goals for research. You'll always have a trigger that makes you decide to do the research, but you should also have a clear goal. For example, "I want to understand who churns and why" 6:03 - Mistake two, not interviewing the right people. When you conduct your research, make sure that it's very clear who the target audiences are going to be and that it aligns with your ultimate goals and hypothesis of the research. 10:58 - Mistake three, over-talking in interviews. Too much talking makes your research subjects want to agree. You might end up with a lot of camaraderie, but you'll probably not get the most valuable information. 14:05 - Mistake four, asking leading questions. Giving a hint of the answers you want to hear makes it more likely you'll hear that answer and not an answer that may surprise you and point to an issue you're not aware of. 21:48 - Mistake five, accepting vague answers. This is the one that founders are most susceptible to. For example, "What I liked about the product was that it was easy to use". An answer like that should be followed up on to find out specifically what they mean. Terms like: it was easier, it was faster, it was better, it was stressful, it was annoying, it was confusing, it was flexible, it was seamless are triggers where you should dig deeper. 33:58 Mistake six, if you don't need to, don't incentivize people for your interviews. In some situations, you will need to have an incentive to get people. But if you're talking to your customers, don't give an incentive. It makes it more likely that you'll get people who don't really want to talk to you and just want the incentive. 34:20 - Mistake seven, not having a feedback process after interviews. After you do your research, it's key to not only have bullet point results for the founders and executives but also a detailed review of the process and learnings for the entire team.