How much equity for a guy behind secret sauce?
Jason M. Lemkin I think in the earliest days, before you really have anything … Equity can only be done based on relative fairness. Yes, he wasn’t there on day 1. But he was on day 90. So to me: Is he still really almost a co-founder? Or did you really...
Is “founder bait and switch” a real issue?
Jason M. Lemkin I think it’s grown as an issue in the past 24-30 months as investment processes have accelerated (i.e., deals are done much faster, and often, remotely) … and due diligence is compressed. I think the risk here is close to zero if...
How different is it to directly report to the CEO than any other boss?
Q: How different is it reporting to a CEO? It’s pretty different. If you report to the CEO, you’ll learn how a business really works. You’ll get to be, at least a tiny little bit, a part “owner” of the company’s strategy and...
Official Sweepstakes / Giveaway Rules
SaaStr’s Very Official Sweepstakes / Giveaway / Contest / Referral Program Rules NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE THE ODDS OF WINNING. BY PROVIDING A SUBMISSION, ENTRANT AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THESE...
Leyla Seka (Salesforce): How to *Really* Partner with the Big Guys (Video + Transcript)
We’re publishing the full series of both the transcripts and videos from all of the incredible SaaStr Annual 2015 sessions (check out the Zenefits, Why Sh*t Gets Funded, and Slack/Yammer posts if you missed them). Today we’re featuring one of my favorite people on the...
Is it wise to not take an investor’s money if you have a bad feeling about it even though on paper he might be the perfect investor for your start-up?
Jason M. Lemkin No, it’s not wise. Unless … you have options. I’ve pitched over 150 VCs. I’ve been a successful founder (2x). I’ve been a successful VC. I trust about 15% of VCs. But … all cash is green. If you have 2 or more...
What’s the profit for investors to invest on Quora?
Jason M. Lemkin While it’s taken a while — as it often does — Quora is clearly on the path to being one of the most visited sites on the Internet: Quora continues to grow at double digit rates. The exact moment in time when there is critical mass to...
VC’s vs Entrepreneurs, which cohort tend to earn more?
Jason M. Lemkin It’s just what you’d think. The “average” VC probably makes a $500k salary (some less, some far more). At a tiny VC firm, the salary might be $50k (or even $0). At a large firm, it might be effectively $1.5m-$2m. But …...
What are the biggest pain points in the Venture Capital industry?
Jason M. Lemkin I believe the biggest pain point may be innovation. The structural “challenge” with the venture industry is that most Limited Partners (the folks that provide VC firms their capital to invest) … for a variety of very sensible reasons...
The SaaStr Pre-Holiday Soirée: 600+ SaaS Founders & CEOs. And You.
We’ve had a lot great events so far in 2015 … the first SaaStr Annual in February with Aaron Levie, Parker Conrad, David Sacks, Stewart Butterfield, Leyla Seka, Bob Tinker, and so many other great speakers … the London Social in July … and now...
What do I need to watch out for when setting up funding from a VC?
Jason M. Lemkin I think you can basically figure out everything together with a good Silicon Valley corporate attorney. There’s price (you’ll understand this), the option pool (which impacts price) … a bunch of other blah blah terms … and then...
When will Uber launch its IPO?
Jason M. Lemkin My (slightly educated) guess is they file to go public in Q1’17. Why? I think there’s a clear expectation from at least some of the capital sources they are raising from at $17b, $30b, $50b, $70b and higher … of an IPO within 24 mos....
What are the best ages to launch a startup?
Jason M. Lemkin I think the optimal age is: “Old” enough to have either (x) domain expertise in what you’re doing and/or (y) to be able to recruit an amazing management team; and “Young” enough to still have the incredible amount of...
When selling an Enterprise SaaS product where a significant part of the ROI is based on time savings, is it a waste of time to speak with people who aren’t high enough in the org to own a P&L?
Jason M. Lemkin It depends. But it’s probably not a waste of time. In an ideal world, if you are selling a true Enterprise SaaS product, you’d Sell High and you Aim High. You go as high in the org as you can penetrate, as close to the budget holder. Not...
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