Building a Winning Enterprise SaaS Business: Practical Insights from Web Summit Qatar 2025

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Navigating the B2B SaaS Journey: Practical Advice from Riyadh, Co-Founder of Penny Software

At Web Summit Qatar 2025, Riyadh, Co-Founder of Penny Software, shared practical insights on building and scaling a successful B2B enterprise SaaS business. Drawing from his experience, he emphasized the unique challenges of the B2B SaaS journey, particularly the long deal closing cycles and feedback loops that make traditional startup methodologies less effective.

He highlighted the importance of understanding the distinct stages of this journey: searching for product-market fit, establishing a repeatable and scalable model, and achieving scale. Riyadh cautioned against mistaking early product-market fit for immediate scalability, emphasizing the need to build a strong reputation and robust sales motion before expecting rapid growth.

Riyadh introduced a practical “efficacy model” to guide spending and decision-making. This model focuses on two key parameters: spending on product and engineering versus sales and marketing, and the efficacy ratio, which measures the net new revenue generated per dollar spent on sales and marketing.

He advised prioritizing product and engineering spending in the initial stages, shifting towards sales and marketing only after achieving a healthy efficacy ratio (ideally 1:1). Riyadh stressed the importance of gradual, data-driven increases in sales and marketing spending, even with available funding, to avoid jeopardizing long-term growth. He concluded by urging founders to maintain transparency and honesty when calculating these metrics, ensuring all sales and marketing expenses are considered for accurate decision-making.

Riyadh’s presentation provided valuable, actionable advice for B2B SaaS entrepreneurs navigating the complexities of building a successful business. His emphasis on data-driven decision-making, particularly using the efficacy model, offered a practical framework for sustainable growth in the B2B SaaS landscape.