Welcome back to The SaaS CFO Podcast! In this episode, host Ben Murray sits down with Andrew Black, CEO of Kovr, and Sri Iyer, the company’s founder and CTO. Kovr is shaking up the world of cybersecurity compliance, helping organizations dramatically speed up the process of achieving certifications like FedRAMP, HIPAA, and others—using the latest breakthroughs in generative AI.

Andrew and Sri bring fascinating perspectives, drawing from deep experience in tech, government, and startups, including previous roles at Amazon Web Services, PwC, Lockheed, and Gartner. They talk about the pain points that tech companies and government agencies face when trying to deploy secure software in regulated environments, and how Kovr can cut compliance timelines from years to minutes.

If you’re curious about go-to-market strategies for AI-first startups, lessons learned from early fundraising, or how to build a SaaS business in a highly regulated market, this episode is packed with candid insights and actionable advice. Tune in to hear how Kovr is empowering innovators to get their products into the hands of customers faster, with less headache—and what’s next for this fast-moving team.

Show Notes:

00:00 "Compliance Challenges in Software Deployment"

03:43 Streamlining Compliance with AI

06:37 Target Customers: CISOs to DevOps Teams

11:11 Pursuing a $13B Market Opportunity

13:03 AI Traction and Trust Challenges

17:38 Navigating VC Relationships and Fit

20:17 Unlimited-Use Enterprise SaaS Licensing

23:48 Simplifying Gen AI Sales Model

28:26 Efficient AI: Smaller Models, Big Savings

30:25 "Focus on Sales Cycle Days"

33:44 "LinkedIn Profile: Kovr AI"

Links:

SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/kovr-ai-raises-3-6-million-in-seed-round

Andrew Black’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-black-5435b67/

Sri Iyer’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sri-iyer/

Kovr AI’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kovrai/

Kovr AI’s Website: https://kovr.ai/

To learn more about Ben check out the links below:

Subscribe to Ben’s daily metrics newsletter: https://saasmetricsschool.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

SaaS Metrics courses here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/

Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout

Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

Welcome back to The SaaS CFO Podcast! Today, we’re excited to speak with Nilo Pirttijarvi, co-founder of Inven—a rapidly growing AI-powered deal sourcing tool making waves in the M&A world. Nilo takes us through his journey from a background in consulting and investment banking to launching his first startup, inspired by the pain points he and his co-founders experienced firsthand in finding and analyzing acquisition targets. In this episode, you’ll hear how Inven is helping private equity, investment banks, and corporate M&A teams supercharge their deal pipelines—especially when it comes to those hard-to-find, niche targets in the middle market.

Nilo shares candid insights about Inven’s rapid growth, fundraising journey (including a recent €11.2 million Series A), and the lessons learned when building both relationships and ARR to attract top investors. We also dive into the startup’s operational metrics, go-to-market strategies, pricing models, and what’s next for this ambitious international team. If you’re interested in SaaS growth, fundraising, or the future of AI in deal sourcing, you won’t want to miss this conversation!

Show Notes:

00:00 Streamlining Company Analysis Process

06:20 Rapid Startup Growth Pathway

08:16 Relationships Over ARR in Investment

12:00 "Classic Global Sales Model"

13:59 M&A Tool User Variability

17:54 Competitive Multi-Tool Market Strategy

Links:

SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/inven-raises-11-2-million-in-series-a

Niilo Pirttijarvi’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niilo-pirttijarvi/

Inven AI’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inven-ai/

Inven AI’s Website: https://www.inven.ai/

To learn more about Ben check out the links below:

Subscribe to Ben’s daily metrics newsletter: https://saasmetricsschool.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

SaaS Metrics courses here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/

Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout

Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

In this episode of The SaaS CFO Podcast, host Ben Murray welcomes Katherine Tobias, the dynamic co-founder and CEO of InsightWise. Katherine shares her inspiring journey from her early days consulting at KPMG and working in government to leading one of Australia’s fastest-growing startups. Driven by her passion for delivering real-world impact and navigating mountains of qualitative data, Katherine reveals how these experiences led her to launch InsightWise—a groundbreaking AI platform tailored for consultants and strategy teams.

Tune in as Katherine dives into the realities of startup life, fundraising, and what it takes to disrupt the consulting industry with innovative technology. She opens up about empowering both global enterprises and agile boutique firms with tools that turn unstructured data into actionable insights, while also building a tight-knit team with big ambitions. Katherine’s story is a masterclass in navigating career pivots, seizing opportunities, and harnessing AI to drive business transformation.

Whether you’re a SaaS founder, consultant, or tech enthusiast, you won’t want to miss this engaging conversation packed with actionable advice, honest reflections, and a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to scale a modern software company. Hit play and get inspired!

Show Notes:

00:00 From Oxford to Global Startup Success

03:12 Insightwise: AI Hub for Consultants

07:20 AI-Driven Data Synthesis Solutions

10:50 "Building Relationships in Consulting"

15:30 "First-Time Founder Fundraising Journey"

16:32 "Strategic Capital for Business Growth"

19:58 "Insightwise AI Free Trial"

Links:

SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/insightwise-closes-1-million-in-funding

Katherine Tobias’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-tobias-40857789/

InsightWise’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/insightwise-ai/

InsightWise’s Website: https://www.insightwise.ai/

To learn more about Ben check out the links below:

Subscribe to Ben’s daily metrics newsletter: https://saasmetricsschool.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

SaaS Metrics courses here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/

Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout

Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray