GaaS for SaaS with Ronak Shah and Ankit Patel
In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, Ronak Shah breaks down what the best SaaS brands look like from inside Gaas for SaaS.
Rokt gets the top spot. Smaller than the others, but the most intentional operators on the list. They get the pay it forward model, they activate partnerships, and they understand that feedback is its own thing, separate from conversion. Proxima rounds it out, having graduated from e-commerce SMB into an enterprise play with Microsoft.
The through line? The best SaaS operators are calm about AI. Engineers who've sat through a few hype cycles know that 90% of what's making noise right now isn't going to land.
Then Jack pulls up a landing page he vibe coded with Profit AI. A Shopify page built by an agent using a VideoWise reference. Shoppable video widgets. A coupon code that redirects to checkout. The agent scraped the videos, built the section, and added features Jack didn't ask for.
Jeremiah's take is that AI is putting a ceiling on what people will pay for SaaS. The build-it-yourself option has a real price now, and brands are going to start doing the math.
Ankit brings the most grounded take of the episode. AI has unlocked the generalist. One person doing packaging, ads, landing pages, and branding without a team. He's running the experiment on Avi right now. 100 AI generated static ads aren't moving the needle any more than 15 hand-crafted ones did. Output is one thing. Impact is another.
The conversation closes on something most people won't say out loud. Enterprises asking how to get on the right side of AI are going to get outcompeted by 2 people, a blank slate, and a stack of agents.
TLDR: The tornado's coming.
Time Stamps: 00:00 Exploring Standout SaaS Brands 02:47 The Impact of AI on SaaS Companies 05:32 Video Hosting Challenges and Innovations 08:39 The Evolution of Design in SaaS 11:27 The Shift Towards Full-Suite Software 14:34 The Future of AI and Feedback Loops 17:31 The Role of Founders in Adapting to Change 22:28 The Acceleration of Learning 23:37 The Shift from Software to Services 25:39 Changing Economics of Services 28:04 The Future of Shopping and AI Agents 36:29 Consumer Sentiment Towards AI 38:18 The Rise of One-Person Brands 42:51 The Need for New Business Models