Dear SaaStr: What is the Best Way to Pursue a Career in Venture Capital?
Dear SaaStr: What is the Best Way to Pursue a Career in Venture Capital? Only with extreme commitment. Venture capital can seem glamorous, but it’s a terrible career, for a few basic reasons: All that matters is if you can get into winners. Nothing else matters. It...
What terms make SAFE notes more founder-friendly?
Let’s step back a minute: the #1 “un-founder” friendly thing in a SAFE is the implicit anti-dilution protection for investors. No matter how many shares you add to the option pool, no matter how big the round grows, the investors always keep the same pre-money...
What is the biggest meeting software for business?
While Zoom may not be the biggest yet, if it isn’t, it surely will be soon. Zoom raced to $100m in ARR in 5 years, and based on that trailing velocity, surely will be #1 in absolute terms soon. It’s an amazing founder story, started by the ex-VPE of WebEx who wanted...
How does an old guy get a job in SaaS sales?
There are certainly many SaaS startups that age discriminate, either intentionally or unintentionally. They want “young energy”. “New thinking”. A “flat, teal structure.” “Sales without commissions.” Oy. Many reasons. I’ll be direct: many of the Under 30 SaaS CEOs...
In a SaaS business, how should the pre-sales, post-sales, customer service, tech support and customer success functions interrelate?
Dear SaaStr: In a SaaS business, how should the pre-sales, post-sales, customer service, tech support and customer success functions interrelate? This is one of the questions for the ages. I think what we’ve all learned here over the years is that specialization is...
Is it standard practice for a venture capital firm to require its partners to not invest in startups without first giving the firm the chance to invest?
It varies. Some firms simply prohibit personal / angel investing altogether. This is cleanest. Some firms prohibit personal / angel investor in the subject areas the firm invests in. Some firms have a “the firm has to pass” rule. Some firms have a de minimus...
David Steinberg, CEO at Zeta Global: 7-1/2 Hard Lessons Learned from My Second SaaS Unicorn (Video + Transcript)
Taking a company to unicorn status is tough enough as it is, but what about doing it twice? Harry Stebbings, Host of The Twenty Minute VC and SaaStr podcasts, moderates this session with David Steinberg, CEO at Zeta Global, who tells us about the hard-learned lessons...
How can I reduce user churn rate?
Hire someone. Full time. I know this sounds simple, but in the early and even middle-early days, most startups do not hire someone whose only job is to reduce churn / increase customer satisfaction / increase retention. This is not the same as a reactive hire, e.g....
What does Jason Lemkin think of B2C SaaS companies?
Generally, I think a “SaaS” company has to have, at a minimum, 60% gross margins. And ideally, relatively modest churn to be SaaS. Otherwise, it’s not really >software< as a service. Mealkits-as-a-service, for example, are too low margin with too high churn to...
What is the effect of too low a cap on a convertible note?
I think this is a bit misunderstood. A cap is a price, well at least it’s sort of a price. And the market sets the price. It is what it is. So there is no such thing as “too low of a cap”. What is problematic is when you sell too much of a company. If you do,...
How do you calculate the ACV for deals where revenue ramps over time?
In the end, you have two basic options: Pay a small commission when the deal closes, and then pay ongoing commissions on that customer for up to 12 months thereafter. If the customer starts at say $99 / month but scales to $100k a year by Month 11, they you keep...
First-time doing SaaS sales, what should you do if many of the targeted potential customers says no?
It depends on why. If it’s a “No, I have zero need for this ever forever never ever” — then drop it. But if it’s a “Maybe, not now.” Or “of interest, but not a top priority today”, etc. — then that prospect is still an opportunity. Just for the future, not...
The Call for SaaStr Annual Speakers is closing October 31st!
“What’s the status of my speaking submission?” If you’ve submitted a proposal for a speaking slot or a session at SaaStr Annual 2018, this is a question you’ve probably asked yourself recently. Don’t worry, I’m here to give you a bit of an update,...
Building Sales Operations from $1M to $50M: Who to Hire, When, and Why (Video + Transcript)
Congratulations, you’ve managed to get to $1 million in ARR! That’s a huge accomplishment, but now you’re looking to the future. How exactly do you build a sales operations engine that will take you to $10 million and eventually $50 million? Matt Cameron, VP of Sales...
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