Data quality has always mattered in SaaS, but in 2026, the stakes are higher, the margin for error is smaller, and the questions boards and investors are asking have fundamentally shifted.

In this episode of SaaS Conversations, Katherine Zhang sits down with Dan Palay, CEO of KPI Sense, to explore how SaaS data and metrics are being interpreted differently as companies navigate an AI-driven landscape and increasing scrutiny at moments of diligence and fundraising.

This is not a conversation about dashboards or data tooling. It is a conversation about what it means to know your business, why a single source of truth requires multiple systems, how the wrong metrics or inconsistent definitions quietly erode board confidence, and why AI is introducing a new class of cost and measurement risk that most leadership teams are not yet tracking correctly.

Dan draws on patterns he sees repeatedly across growth-stage SaaS companies, explaining why metrics that look clean on the surface often hide segment-level risk, why AI spend is behaving more like a variable professional services cost than a traditional SaaS fixed cost, and what strong financial leadership looks like when it matters most.

For leaders who want to go deeper, Dan and the KPI Sense team work directly with growth-stage SaaS companies on financial analytics, metric dashboards, and data normalization. You can reach Dan at dan@kpisense.com or visit kpisense.com.

This episode is a recording of a webinar hosted by AccountAim on benchmarking for RevOps, finance, and GTM leaders in March of 2026.

In the session, Katherine Zhang (CEO, OPEXEngine) and Josh McClanahan (CEO, AccountAim) break down when benchmarking makes sense, which metrics actually matter, how to ensure your data is truly comparable, and what it takes to get organizational buy-in. They also share practical guidance for teams that need defensible data to support planning, performance conversations, and boardroom decisions.

If you’re responsible for RevOps, finance, or GTM strategy, this conversation offers a useful framework for turning benchmarking into a more strategic advantage.

Retention has been interpreted differently for boards and investors over the past year. In this episode of SaaS Conversations, Katherine Zhang sits down with Ellie Wu, founder of CSuiteCX, to explore how and why retention has shifted from a tactical customer success issue to a board-level credibility signal shaped by leadership judgment, timing, and capital risk at moments of scrutiny.

This is not a discussion about churn reduction tactics or metric optimization. Instead, the conversation focuses on the patterns leaders and investors are seeing as we head into 2026, including how customer friction builds quietly, why confidence in the growth story often erodes before revenue declines, and what boards are really assessingwhen they scrutinize retention.

Ellie shares insights drawn from patterns she sees repeatedly across hundreds of venture-backed and private equity-backed SaaS companies, explaining why dashboards can stay green while risk accumulates, why CFO involvement is often an early warning signal, and what strong leadership judgment looks like under pressure.

For leaders who want to go deeper, Ellie has published an executive brief titled Retention as Capital Credibility that captures many of the patterns discussed in this episode and explains why confidence can erode before performance does. You can find it here: https://www.csuitecx.com/retention-capital-credibility