Episode 309
309 Eli Portnoy - Harnessing Data and Intuition: The Secret to Product-Market Fit
Eli Portnoy joins Jeff Mains on SaaS Fuel to dive deep into the world of B2B customer feedback, leadership, and scaling SaaS ventures.
Eli shares candid stories and practical wisdom from his career, including founding and exiting Sense360 and ThinkNear. He breaks down how BackEngine AI is changing the game for customer retention and voice-of-customer insights by harnessing AI to organize and activate the wealth of organic customer feedback that's already flowing through businesses. The conversation ranges from tactical product decisions and the dangers of confirmation bias, to transformative leadership lessons, distribution vs. product obsession, and the future of AI in SaaS.
This episode is a goldmine for scaling founders, product leaders, and anyone who wants to build lasting companies around customer obsession and actionable data.
Key Takeaways
00:00 Appoint Voice of Customer Owner
05:38 Leveraging AI for Customer Feedback
08:07 "Customer Data Insights Unveiled"
11:20 Visibility Challenges and Customer Feedback
16:04 Second Business: Hard Lessons Learned
18:01 Balancing Data with Intuition
21:26 Pursuit of Right Answers
24:34 Appointing Customer Voice Ownership
28:14 "Empower Through Shared Context"
31:06 "Context Enables Growth in Teams"
33:17 "Focus on Pain, Not Solutions"
39:33 Sales Empathy Essential for Success
41:53 Successful SaaS: Niche vs. Consolidation
45:02 Burnout: Catalyst for Personal Growth
Tweetable Quotes
“If an executive team cares about the voice of the customer, someone needs to own it—explicitly and visibly.” — Eli Portnoy
Viral Topic: The Hidden Cost of Leadership Loneliness: "Most leaders are exhausted from playing the lone hero and it's killing both your results and your sanity." — Jeff Mains
“Most B2B companies operate on anecdotes, not data. That’s where bias creeps in.” — Eli Portnoy
“The customer isn’t always right—but they’re always insightful.” — Eli Portnoy
Viral Topic - Digging Deeper Than Features: "It's not about the feature. It's not about the horse or the car or anything else. What do they really want? They want to go faster." — Jeff Mains
“Distribution beats product if nobody knows about you or can’t buy from you. Prioritize both.” — Eli Portnoy
“Context is the most important thing you can give a high-performing team.” — Eli Portnoy
“In the age of AI, building features is easy—delivering outcomes through focus and distribution sets the winners apart.” — Eli Portnoy
Preventing Burnout as a Leader: "Stop drowning alone and build your stability matrix." — Jeff Mains
SaaS Leadership Lessons
Make Customer Obsession Tangible:
Assign clear responsibility and accountability for customer feedback within your executive team.
Don’t Rely on Surveys Alone:
True feedback is happening organically; invest in systems or tools that capture it across all customer touchpoints.
Default to ‘I Don’t Know’:
The best leaders approach growth with curiosity, seeking truth rather than confirmation of personal biases.
Share the “Why” Behind Decisions:
Equip your teams with context so they make aligned, mission-driven choices without bottlenecking leadership.
Speed Matters for Reversible Decisions:
Don’t overthink what doesn’t move the needle. Make quick calls unless the decision is high-impact and hard to reverse.
Prioritize Team Over Titles:
Avoid title inflation to win talent; it creates future misalignment and headaches as you scale.
Guest Resources
Eli Portnoy’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eliportnoy
BackEngine AI Website: backengine.ai
Contact Eli: eli@backengine.ai
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliportnoy/
Episode Sponsor
Small Fish, Big Pond – https://smallfishbigpond.com/ Use the promo code ‘SaaSFuel’
Champion Leadership Group – https://championleadership.com/
SaaS Fuel Resources
Website - https://championleadership.com/
Jeff Mains on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkmains/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/jeffkmains
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thesaasguy/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/jeffkmains
