Podcast Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders
Host: Nathan Latka
Guest: Grant Stanis, CEO, TeamSupport
Episode: How TeamSupport Reached $10M–$25M ARR With 1,000 Customers
Date: March 18, 2026

In this episode, Nathan Latka interviews Grant Stanis, the CEO of TeamSupport, which specializes in B2B customer support solutions. The focus is on TeamSupport’s journey to scaling over $10M in ARR, its private equity backing, unique approach to customer retention, and the ways they're leveraging AI and a community-driven growth strategy amidst a competitive SaaS landscape.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

TeamSupport’s Product & Differentiation

• Product Focus: TeamSupport offers a B2B/B2A ticketing solution, transforming support conversations into actionable insights for retention and upselling.
  • Grant Stanis: "Ticketing is a commodity... What we do differently is we want to take your support conversations and drive that into better retention and upsell opportunities for you." [00:53]
• Target Buyer: Primarily heads of customer support, sometimes product and CS leaders.
  • "Most often, it is when somebody wants to really create a good linkage between support and product is where we find ourselves to be really great." [01:39]

Revenue Model & Customer Profile

• Current Revenue: North of $10M, less than $25M ARR with at least 1,000 customers.
  • Stanis: "Let's say that we're less than 25, way more than 10. How about that?" [00:24, 05:09]
• ACV & Largest Customers:
  • Average customer pays well over $10,000 per year. Some largest customers pay in the low seven figures. [00:11, 04:54]
  • Teams typically buy around ~10-100 seats.
• Pricing: $79–$99 per user/month depending on AI features.
  • "It's $99 with AI... And that's per user." [02:46]

Growth & Expansion Strategy

• Land and Expand: Customers often start at lower ACVs and grow considerably over time.
  • "We’re really great at bringing customers in... then two, three years from now them being sort of $20,000, $30,000." [04:18]
• Retention Tactics: Leveraging support interaction data to spot upsell and retention opportunities.
• Customer Incentives: Some customers incentivize CS reps for expansion (net dollar retention).

Private Equity Ownership & Leadership

• Ownership History: Level Equity (PE) acquired TeamSupport in 2018, with founder transitioning to the board in 2020. Grant Stanis joined as CEO in 2024. [05:33]
• PE Objectives: Drive significant return on investment, target exit timelines are flexible but high expectations on performance.
  • "Level is so notoriously awesome... They do what's best for their investors and the company and the customers and the employees." [10:49]
• Board Dynamics: Stanis values directness and transparency, especially when reporting challenges.
  • Stanis: "We lost probably what would have been one of our... top 10 customers... and you have got to take ownership as the CEO." [08:14]

Focus on Profitable Growth

• TeamSupport is committed to self-sustained, profitable growth, minimizing reliance on external debt or capital raises.
  • "We’ve source-funded ourselves through our customers... growing them time and time again." [06:17]

Community-Led, Referral-Driven Growth

• Marketing: Minimal spend on SEO/ads; instead, a heavy focus on customer referrals, communities (e.g., in Slack), and thought leadership content.
  • "We go ask our customers. Our customers are a cult following." [12:44]
• Webinars: Topic-centric, cross-promotion with industry thought leaders like Donna Weber.
  • "Our webinars aren’t about, ‘how can you really understand TeamSupport?’... It’s about, ‘how can you be a better customer support professional?'" [13:54]
  • Recent webinar: 400 registrations, 300 attendees. [14:31]

AI Integration

• Productivity Focus: Rather than automating away jobs, TeamSupport’s AI helps support orgs do more with current headcount and improve experience.
  • "What you're saying is, I got 10 support reps and I don't want to add an 11th next year... How do you drive those from a different perspective?" [02:46]

Exit Scenarios & Valuation

• Exit Willingness: Would recommend a $175M all-cash exit to the board, equating to a ~8.75x multiple (on $20M revenue).
  • Latka: "If somebody in this customer support space came to you and offered $175 million bucks, all cash, would you take that to your board?"
  • Stanis: "Yes, we would. Absolutely." [00:00, 11:51]
• PE Return Expectations: Level Equity seeks significantly more than a 2x, aiming for higher multiples on exit. [09:56]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On commoditization and differentiation:
  Stanis: "Ticketing is a commodity... we want to take your support conversations and drive that into better retention and upsell opportunities for you." [00:53]
• On high-pressure leadership:
  Latka: "I mean, if I'm reading my T cards correctly, you really came in as the CEO to go sell this company the next 24 months." [10:25]
  Stanis: "Most of the situations I walk into are extraordinarily high pressured because of one situation or another... If you want high pressure, go, go, go do that for a long time." [10:49]
• On transparency in tough times:
  Stanis: "We lost probably what would have been one of our... top 10 customers... You have to take ownership as the CEO." [08:14]
• On exit multiples:
  Stanis: "175 divided by 20, that's 8.75x multiple. That is a great return for a private equity to get. Take it in a heartbeat." [12:04]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-------|---------| | 00:00–00:53 | Discussion on hypothetical exit, customer base, and revenue range | | 00:53–01:58 | Product focus and differentiation | | 02:46–04:12 | Pricing, ACV, average customer profile, and expansion potential | | 05:09–06:08 | ARR confirmation, PE dynamics, leadership transition | | 06:17–07:12 | Stanis' background and approach to profitable growth | | 08:07–09:16 | Board meetings, handling loss of a key customer, accountability | | 09:45–11:51 | PE objectives, timeline, and pressure for exit or liquidity events | | 12:44–14:31 | Customer-driven growth, community, and marketing strategy | | 14:00–14:42 | Webinars and cross-promotion as a growth channel | | 15:02 | Where to find Grant Stanis and TeamSupport online |

Useful Links

• TeamSupport website: teamsupport.com
• Grant Stanis LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/grantstanis

This episode provides invaluable insight for SaaS founders or executives interested in private-equity-owned company operations, community-led growth, AI productivity, and high-ACV customer expansion strategies. Stanis’ hands-on, direct approach stands out as both transparent and laser-focused on sustainable, profitable growth.