Dear SaaStr: When Searching for a Co-founder, How Do You Know You Found The Right One?
Dear SaaStr: When Searching for a Co-founder, How Do You Know You Found The Right One? I think it boils down to 2 key factors: Someone that is both very good at, and better than you, in several key functional areas. If you are good at coding, she is good at sales and...
Dear SaaStr: How Long Should a CEO Continue Being the Head of Product?
Q: Dear SaaStr: How Long Should a CEO Continue Being the Head of Product? Roughly, for me, for as long as it’s about a 10-hour a week job. Or often, maybe only up to $3m-$5m in ARR or so. These days, especially, I see way too many SaaS companies at $8m-$10m ARR or...
Dear SaaStr: If You Sell a Multi-Year Deal, Does The Whole Amount Count Toward Quota?
Dear SaaStr: As a salesperson, if you sell a multi-year SaaS deal, does the whole amount count towards your current year quota? Or just the part attributed to your current year? Approaches vary here. First, what you pay on vs. quota retirement can vary. On commissions...
Dear SaaStr: How Do You Decide Between Hiring a VP or Director/Manager of Product?
https://twitter.com/jasonlk/status/1321210631198887936 Hiring too junior a resource to own product is almost always a huge mistake — 9 times out of 10. You can take a lot of “stretch” risk in sales. Sales breeds leadership. But what I’ve seen time and time again is...
Dear SaaStr: Is It Acceptable for VCs to “Ghost” Founders Who Have Invested So Much Time and Effort with Them?
Dear SaaStr: Is It Acceptable for VCs to “Ghost” Founders who have invested so much time and effort with them? How should founders respond to this? I understand the frustration, and it’s annoying, but you have to change your thinking. Working with VCs is...
Dear SaaStr: How Do I Compete with a Company that has Unlimited Capital — and I Don’t?
Q: Dear SaaStr: How Do I Compete with a Company that has Unlimited Capital — and I Don’t? First, does your highly-funded competitor have a dominant brand yet? If not, it may not matter. There is no “winner” yet. The #1 brand trumps capital. But if they...
5 Tips to Making Your Life as CEO Easier
Q: What are your top tips for making life easier as an early-stage SaaS CEO? For a start-up CEO, here’s my list, force-ranked: 1. Spend more of your time recruiting VPs and your senior team — and help in general. At least — 20% of your time. More...
Dear SaaStr: How Does a CEO/Founder Pick Their Own Salary?
Dear SaaStr: How does a CEO/founder/owner pick their salary? I’ll share my stories. In my first start-up, we raised $9m in our seed round — a large first round, but the times were different. The VCs set my salary without discussing or consulting with me...
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Things Startups Just Have to Get Right?
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Things Startups Just Have to Get Right? Let’s break it down. Let’s talk about what you don’t have to get right: Rockstar Founders? Not required. Yes, to build the next Slack, the next Amazon, the next Tesla, whatever, perhaps you need one of...
Dear SaaStr: What SaaS Metric is Most Important of All?
Dear SaaStr: What SaaS Metric is Most Important of All? Beyond MRR growth + managing the burn rate — which ultimately are really are all that matters … you should obsess over improving every key metric and KPI. You can’t change everything...
Dear SaaStr: Do VCs Work on Spring Break, Ski Week, Christmas And Other Holidays?
Dear SaaStr: Do VCs Work on Spring Break, Ski Week, Christmas And Other Holidays? The bigger the firm, the greater the number of partners, the less they “work” on holidays, “ski week”, and even over certain parts of the summer. The offices are generally very quiet...
Dear SaaStr: What Does a Typical Day Look like for an Account Executive at a SaaS Startup With Under $1m ARR?
Dear SaaStr: What Does a Typical Day Look like for an Account Executive at a SaaS Startup With Under $1m ARR? This is a tough and very specific job. Most sales folks can’t do it. Usually, being the first start-up salesperson is a rewarding, but very tough job:...
Dear SaaStr: How Early Should a Company Approach Venture Capitalists?
Dear SaaStr: How Early Should a Company Approach Venture Capitalists? There are basically two seemingly very different approaches you’ll hear: As early as you can, to build a relationship. Mark Suster summarizes how to effectively build relationships with VCs well...
Dear SaaStr: Why Don’t More VCs Replace Founders That Don’t Deliver?
Dear SaaStr: Why Don’t More VCs Replace Founders That Don’t Deliver? Yes, it did seem like in the old days, VCs replaced founder CEOs pretty often. It happened at Apple, Google, Cisco, and more. But it’s rare these days. In fact, ~90% of SaaS...
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