New effort aims to cultivate, connect SaaS salespeople in KC
February 3, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
A champion of sales talent development in the Kansas City area is hoping to create a movement in Kansas City to help business development professionals learn from one another.
Mike Poledna
Founded in 2016 by Mike Poledna, KC SaaS aims to provide networking and development opportunities for SaaS firms. In addition to hosting free panel conversations five times a year, KC SaaS will offer peer groups and boot camps to cultivate talent.
With over 15 years of sales experience under his belt, Poledna has mentored several salespeople over the years, many of whom run into similar problems in the software industry. Thus, he wanted to start a conversation via KC SaaS.
“I asked ‘How can we best support the development and growth of our SaaS sales people?” Poledna said. “I knew that this was the right conversation, at the right time for Kansas City.”
Poledna broadly defines SaaS as any service or product that is accessible via the Internet. And while SaaS-based models are rapidly growing throughout the nation, they’re destined to fail without adequate revenue and an effective sales funnel.
Salespeople work as translators from the technologists to the public, Poledna said. When new technology isn’t fully understood by the salespeople, the public surely won’t understand it either.
In secondary markets like Kansas City, Poledna said it is crucial for the area to develop sales skills to become competitive with larger markets.
“There’s a learning curve,” Poledna said. “Organizations regularly underinvest in the development of their people. We have a shortage of SaaS talent in Kansas City and companies are not investing in their sales talent.
KC SaaS hosted its first panel event in December of 2016. Expecting around 40 attendees, Poledna was thrilled by the turnout of more than 70 people.
“There is a real opportunity to scale this model, as Nate Olson did with 1 Million Cups,” Poledna said. “This conversation not only impacts Kansas City, but places like Fort Worth, Nashville and Orlando. … There are already so many software companies in the coast that they’ve figured out SaaS. Now, it’s our turn.”
Starting in March, KC SaaS plans to offer a monthly executive and sales leadership peer group. Also launching in March is the SaaS sales boot camp, geared toward young professionals with 0 to three years of experience. The boot camp lasts 90 days and will cost $490. Poledna believes that Kansas City has a growing market for this niche and hopes to debut an annual conference in 2018.
The next SaaS KC event is set for Feb. 22 at Husch Blackwell and will feature Steve Wolfe, co-founder of Growth Street Partners, Carlos Antequera, former Netchemia CEO and Nick De Buyl, vice president of sales at Pear Deck.
For more information on the event, click here.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Porter House KC earns $400K in renewed support for inclusive entrepreneurship, retail incubator
Support from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation is expected to help The Porter House KC make good on its founders’ promise to help emerging entrepreneurs in their community get their promising ventures off the ground, said Dan Smith. “Like many of the small business owners that we encounter, we started our organization based on a need…
Black Pantry expands to Troost, setting a cornerstone for new Black business hub
A second location for the Black Pantry is about more than adding a “cool little gift shop” to Troost, said Brian Roberts, detailing his plan for a broader mission: a whole block of Black-owned businesses and a hub for Black entrepreneurs and creatives. It begins with Roberts’ in-the-works standalone space at 3108 Troost Ave., he…
‘Why would you put that on a cake?’ The C Word Cakery frosts the boundaries of good taste
The C Word Cakery is a reflection of the baker behind the business, Savannah Brady shared. “It doesn’t take itself too seriously,” she explained. Brady — a southwest Missouri native who moved to Kansas City during the pandemic — specializes in, as she puts it, “good cake, bad words” — vintage-looking, classic, floral cakes that…
CRWND as a KC pitch contest winner, Keliah Smith expands her product line (and comfort zone)
Keliah Smith was nervous. She’d never been a fan of speaking in front of a crowd, but knew exposing her discomfort and weakness through the Alchemy Sandbox pitch competition was just part of the ongoing journey of an entrepreneur, she said. Avoiding that spotlight, Smith noted, already had kept her — and her business, CRWND…