Why Selling SaaS in Europe Is One of the Toughest Jobs

Selling SaaS remains one of the most complex challenges in business — especially in Europe.

After all, no one wakes up in the morning thinking: “Today I’m going to buy software.”

The reality is simple: your product must solve a very specific problem.Without that, it doesn’t stand a chance.

Over the years, I’ve seen the same mistakes repeat themselves again and again.

💥 1. Weak Market Fit

A founder launches a product that doesn’t clearly solve a problem.Features get shipped, creativity is abundant… but the market doesn’t respond.

👉 Example: Shortcut — a Jira competitor — never managed to truly find its place.

Without strong market fit, no amount of features or marketing can compensate.

💥 2. The Founder’s Syndrome

In many cases, it’s the first startup.The founder clings to the original idea, refuses to adapt, and ignores market signals.

But in SaaS, a plan should be questioned every single month. And most importantly: you need to surround yourself with people who will challenge you.

👉 Powa Technologies is a cautionary tale: once valued at $2.7B after raising $250M, it went into liquidation in 2016 — in large part because leadership refused to adjust course.

💥 3. Neglecting Data

“Speak with data.”

Too often, I see startups with no product analytics in place.The consequence? They have no idea how users are actually engaging with the product.

👉 Roadmaps become guesswork. Strategy loses clarity. And competitors gain ground.

Getting Back to Basics

When I work with a startup, I always start with the fundamentals:

✔ What problem are we solving?

✔ How big is it?

✔ Is it a “nice to have” or a true “must have”?

From there, the job is to build a solid value proposition:

• Why is this product uniquely positioned to solve that problem?

• And why does it solve it better than anyone else?

Then comes the hard part: staying out of the bubble.Talk to VP Sales. Listen to objections. Compare perceived value with real value. Surround yourself with operators who know the field.

The European Challenge

I’ve seen companies underestimate the complexity of entering the French and broader European market.

👉 Take Gong, for example. After launching in France in 2021, they had to revise their business plan and adjust their ambitions. Even great products need to adapt to local market dynamics.

Ultimately, the most important piece of advice may be this: never underestimate the competition.

Shipping a product is only one step.Being better than the market is another.

Innovation moves too fast.Miss the train, and you’re simply not on the journey.