Josh Boer, VP of Sales EMEA at VeUP and SaaS66 Judge, Explains What He’s Looking For From Entrants

Hey Josh, tell us a bit about yourself

 
At VeUP, I lead the sales operation across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, working with up-and-coming SaaS start-ups and promising ISV companies, all with the common goal of scaling their businesses. These companies come in all shapes and sizes, but the common theme is a need for improved technology infrastructure to take their business to the next level. The joy of working in SaaS is the variety of companies and people that are in the space and that allows me to come across some brilliant innovators that often go undiscovered. The purpose of VeUP is to provide shared value creation by supporting these innovative companies with access to industry-leading expertise to scale their technology infrastructure and unlock their full potential. As with many of the senior team at VeUP, my background includes several years at AWS, learning the power of cloud hyper-scalers and the technology infrastructure that fast-growing businesses need. It’s this experience that enables the team to be game-changing experts in the field and truly provide value to customers. Another area I’m passionate about is community and that’s a big theme at VeUP. Whether it be community events, charity initiatives or engaging across our partner network, there’s always something exciting going on and always interesting stories to hear.

What are you looking for from this year’s SaaS66 entrants?

 
I’m looking for companies that solve hard-hitting industry issues that can scale across different issues and industries. The best innovators are the ones that go beyond solving just one specific problem for one specific business type. The cloud has a huge amount of variety in its use cases and I’m excited to see what businesses are doing to harness this and provide value for their customers. A solution that can scale is an important factor in extending value. As part of the process, I’d also like to see who these innovators are, the problems they’ve endured during their journey and how they’ve overcome them. Everyone has a different road to success and a fascinating story to tell. Great solutions and services are driven by the leader behind them, and that’s a key thing I’d like to see from entrants.

What advice would you give to companies wanting to stand out from the crowd?

 

To stand out from the crowd, I’m looking for companies that are ahead of the next trend. We’ve seen the hype cycle around AI, and there’s no doubt that AI is here to stay, but the breadth and potential of SaaS can unearth the next trend that will transform how businesses operate. Shaping the next tech trend using SaaS, while solving important problems for customers, is a great differentiator and ultimately something that everyone in the competition can learn from – that’s how you stand out.