At this year’s SaaS Palooza event, Jennifer Smith (Partner, Bain & Company) and Katherine Zhang (CEO, OPEXEngine), explored what sets top-performing SaaS companies apart in today’s tech private equity market. From emerging deal trends to how investors define an “A” software asset, their discussion offered actionable insights for SaaS operators and investors alike.

We’re excited to make this live session available as a special podcast episode! Drawing on OPEXEngine’s proprietary benchmarking data and Bain’s deep expertise in tech investing, Jennifer and Katherine dive into the evolving dynamics of deal flow, valuation trends, and the balance of growth and profitability that define leading SaaS businesses.

Whether you’re preparing for a sale, raising capital, or benchmarking performance, this episode delivers clear takeaways on building sustainable value and driving operational excellence.

The full episode transcript and video recording are available on our website. You can also download the presentation slides here.

In this episode of SaaS Conversations, Tori Danforth, Senior Director of FP&A at Relativity, shares how her team approaches annual planning at scale. From integrating long-range strategic goals to setting departmental targets and navigating trade-offs, Tori offers a detailed look into how benchmarking with external data strengthens both the planning process and cross-functional alignment.

We cover:

• How to connect long-range strategy to annual financial planning

• The role of finance business partners in driving bottom-up alignment

• Using benchmark data to inform investment decisions and trade-offs

• Key metrics and frameworks for plan validation

• Evolving planning processes while maintaining flexibility and trust

• Practical approaches to embedding external data into internal workflows

For finance and operations leaders navigating today’s environment, this conversation offers actionable insights on how to use benchmarking to build better plans and ultimately achieve better outcomes.

Although Revenue Operations (RevOps) is still an evolving function in SaaS, its role is critical to driving go-to-market efficiency.

At its core, RevOps ensures that go-to-market teams like Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success function as a unified, efficient system to enable the ideal customer journey.

One of the biggest challenges for RevOps leaders is managing resource allocation – making high-stakes decisions about structure, strategy, and investment. How do you allocate resources for maximum impact? When is the right time to scale? Which strategic focus areas will drive long-term success?

In this episode of SaaS Conversations, Katherine Zhang, CEO and General Manager of OPEXEngine by Bain & Company, shares expert insights on building a high-impact RevOps function. We cover:

• The foundational role of RevOps in go-to-market success
• How to structure RevOps around key strategic focus areas
• Common challenges in resource allocation and best practices
• The role of benchmarks in guiding smarter investment decisions – and how to use benchmarks effectively
• Why strong partnerships with Finance are critical for RevOps success
• How RevOps strategies must evolve as companies scale

Listen in to gain actionable insights on optimizing RevOps, aligning go-to-market teams, and setting the right strategic priorities for sustainable growth.