Funky Flywheels Show – Your Ultimate Podcast for Scaling B2B Startups
Scaling a B2B startup from 1 million to 10 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) can be very similar to managing a band of rock stars. When Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, and Product teams work together seamlessly, accelerating growth becomes effortless. However, if they are out of sync, you will inevitably encounter significant challenges—sooner or later, it's guaranteed.
Join us on the Funky Flywheels Show, where Björn W. Schäfer, one of Europe’s foremost Go-to-Market (GTM) experts, passionately explores the pathways to sustainable and scalable growth. With his extensive experience advising over 150 B2B startups from Pre-Seed to Series B, Björn has played a pivotal role in shaping the success stories of determined SaaS founders throughout the DACH region and beyond. As the founder of Rowing8, a dedicated business angel, and the author of 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗸𝘆 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀, he advocates for self-accelerating growth engines, moving away from the "too much, too fast" mindset.
Every week, Björn hosts insightful discussions with top tech founders, go-to-market experts, and early-stage investors. Together, they explore practical strategies for go-to-market execution, predictable revenue generation, and scaling startups. Listeners will gain access to useful insights, established frameworks, and valuable lessons from those who have skillfully navigated the transition beyond founder sales.
This podcast is designed for B2B SaaS founders, revenue leaders, and investors eager to discover practical growth strategies, optimise their go-to-market efforts, and improve customer retention.
P.S. If you search for the previous podcast title—𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗮𝗦 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝘆, we have saved all episodes since day one. You will find them below.
Funky Flywheels Show – Your Ultimate Podcast for Scaling B2B Startups
The critical decisions that make or break SaaS companies in their journey from product validation to scalable growth - EP 99 | Dave Boyce
In this episode, I talk with Dave Boyce, the Chief Strategy Officer at Winning by Design, about the critical decisions that make or break SaaS companies' journeys from product validation to scalable growth.
What to expect:
- Why investors no longer fund multiple attempts at finding product-market fit and what this means for founders
- Dave's counterintuitive approach to measuring product-market fit: "If 70% of new users hit first impact before running out of attention span, you can start scaling"
- The danger of hiring experienced revenue leaders too early and why curious problem-solvers outperform decorated executives at this stage
- How to build a revenue architecture with proper instrumentation before attempting to scale
- Take an inside look at how HubSpot, MongoDB and Unity successfully launched new growth initiatives by creating dedicated "pods" outside their core structure
My highlights:
- Dave's brilliant framework: "You need three things - mindset, talent, and time. It will take 18 months to iterate into a new business that works"
- His candid perspective on why founders struggle to know when to pivot: "You're simultaneously convincing investors, employees and yourself that you're onto something"
- The tactical blueprint for building your first commercial team: Hire director-level sales leaders and heads of demand generation, not CMOs
- Why a CEO should insist that all go-to-market leaders get certified in revenue architecture: "I don't want to waste time translating between silos"
About the guest:
Dave Boyce brings a wealth of experience from both enterprise (Oracle) and high-growth SaaS environments. As Chief Strategy Officer at Winning by Design, he's helped countless companies build scalable revenue architectures. His upcoming book, "Freemium" (August 2025) explores how companies can successfully implement product-led growth strategies. Dave's unique perspective bridges traditional enterprise sales and modern PLG approaches, making him the perfect guide for founders navigating the growth journey.
Who should listen to this episode:
- Founders who've achieved initial traction but are unsure if they genuinely have product-market fit
- CEOs building their first commercial team beyond founder-led sales
- Established companies ($10M-100M ARR) looking to rediscover growth through new verticals or products
- Anyone responsible for aligning product, marketing, sales and customer success
The success formula?
Don't scale until you've confirmed product-market fit through usage data, build a unified commercial language with proper instrumentation, hire curious problem-solvers at the director level, and give them time to iterate toward success.
P.S. Highly recommend. Pre-order Dave's book, "Freemium" (gets published in August 2025)
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Björn's Linkedin Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernwschaefer
Order Now: My GTM Book Funky Flywheels 🕺💃
My Homepage: www.rowing8.com