Dear SaaStr: How Do I Start a Successful SaaS Company? I think there are approximately 2 ways to get a new SaaS app off the ground: Option 1: Hustle into The Enterprise. In almost every category of software, there are gaps. Painful gaps. Generally, several gaps that...
Dear SaaStr: When Do VCs Try To Replace Founders as CEOs? You’re worried about a bunch of VCs replacing you. That’s fair. You should be. It happens. Regularly — but not usually. A few high-level things to think about. First, if you really screw up, shouldn’t...
Dear SaaStr: What Happens if a VC Loses All Their Money on an Investment? It’s OK — if it’s not too much. As long as the founders did everything they possibly could to make it work. Everything. And were honest. There are two types of losses for VCs...
Dear SaaStr: How Can I Get Better at Closing Deals? If it’s very early, hire 1 or ideally 2 sales reps who you’d personally buy from. You’ll all learn from each other how to close better, and faster. The #1 trick to making sure your first sales reps...
Dear SaaStr: How Do I Craft a Winning Investor Deck for an Early-Stage Startup? Here’s my #1 piece of advice: Get it all down to One Slide. "How to Create a Compelling Investor Deck: The Power of the First Slide" pic.twitter.com/AyyS7lHATz —...
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Top 5 Things I Should Know Before Starting a SaaS Startup? My Top 5: It will take you at least 24 months to really get anywhere. Everyone mentally budgets 10–12 months. It’s never enough. At least, not to get enough paying customers from Code...
Dear SaaStr: Does It Make Sense For Your First Marketing Hire Be a Product Marketer? No. Strong Disagree. It does not make any sense, 99 times out of 100. And you can see in this short clip, the CMOs of Zapier and HubSpot agree 😉 "The Importance of Hiring a...
Dear SaaStr: Why do customers hate salespeople? Disalignment. A truly great salesperson is a resource. They help you: They educate you on the product. They honestly answer your questions. They address your concerns, seemingly patiently. They help you pilot / test the...
Dear SaaStr: What Do You Do When Your Startup is Not Growing Anymore? First, be honest about why. You can blame it on macro issues if you want, but if growth has radically decelerated, it’s likely because you are less competitive than you were before. You...
Dear SaaStr: A Big Tech Co Launched a Competitive Product. How Can I Tell How Serious They Are About It? In SaaS at least, I’ll give you one metric that is fairly reliable: How many dedicated sales professional do they have, just 100% selling the competitive product?...
Dear SaaStr: How Do You Build a Real Exit Strategy? First, bear in mind acquisitions are relatively rare. The vast majority of startups will never get one acquisition offer, let alone a good one. Still, it’s not random. I’ve been through it twice as a...
Dear SaaStr: When You Sold Your Startup, What Were the Downsides? When you sell: it’s not yours anymore; and your upside is capped. Start with Challenge #1. Ask yourself 4 “Are You OK With” questions: The name being changed? With the business being shut down in 2–5...
Dear SaaStr: Is it OK to Reschedule a Job Interview with a Founder? It’s generally fine to reschedule an interview set up with a recruiting manager or similar. They’ll figure it out. That’s their job. But — be careful rescheduling a job interview with a founder CEO —...
Dear SaaStr: What are Some Early Signs a New VP isn’t Going to Be a Fit? The top one for me is when they don’t embrace the goals given to them. I see this again and again: A VP of Sales that just sort of ignores the plan for the next quarter or two. A CMO that...
Dear SaaStr: Why Do VC Backed Startups Seem To Almost Always Be Running Out of Money? The #1 issue I see is not understanding what investments really are accretive — and which aren’t. And so the money goes far, far faster than anticipated. Venture capital, if you...