So two recent data analyses across both private and public SaaS companies interestingly showed basically the same thing: for the best SaaS companies, on average, growth in Q1 was down about 33% or so from a year ago. The time periods are different, but they also are sourcing the data at slightly different times. ChartMogul’s…
Continue Reading

A life poorly lived is a trap Go for it at least once — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin  (@jasonlk) May 5, 2023 BusinessInsider had a great story a ways back on Datto’s $1b exit to Vista Private Equity (more on the role of PE in SaaS here). So much of it resonated with me,…
Continue Reading

So this post isn’t meant to be a sub-tweet, or a sub-post — it’s just a general learning over the years. So please, no one take this personally. It’s not about you. But I’m still going to make one simple suggestion when you go to hire your first set of VPs, your second, or even…
Continue Reading

The top SaaStr content you might have missed for the week of June 4th, 2023.

If someone is looking for another job in Year 1, Even if they don’t take it … You’ve already basically lost them. Do more 1-on-1sGet more 360 feedbackTalk more I know you don’t have time Make it — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin  (@jasonlk) October 11, 2020 So these are interesting times. On the one…
Continue Reading

So we wanted to do a little weekly look at who in SaaS and Cloud is doing well. These are tougher times for almost everyone than the Go Go Days of 2021. Budgets are being scrutinized, and even the best are growing more slowly in many cases. But many are still doing well — as…
Continue Reading

I suspect we’re about to see this chart for 4 year degree completion as well https://t.co/fX7vqmIKqp — Dylan Field (@zoink) May 3, 2023 It’s not a myth, but I think the reasons for it are confusing. Yes, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Aaron Levie of Box, etc. dropped out of college, and Dylan Field of Figma…
Continue Reading

In 2020-2021, many SaaS startups faced a unique challenge. With teams spread across the globe, they had to find new working patterns to scale their businesses in a distributed environment. Wiz, one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies focused on security solutions, was one of them. The company helps enterprises internationally with contextual and actionable insights…
Continue Reading

Dear SaaStr: Does Bootstrapping Through an Agency/Services Business Work? Running two businesses at once well is really, really hard. But I think if you are thoughtful about it, using an agency/services business can be a viable way to bootstrap your way into a SaaS business — as long as you transition over fairly early to…
Continue Reading

So in one of the latest SaaStr surveys, we saw what a lot of us are feeling … it’s just hard to hit quota out there. Only 18% of you were hitting the 70%+ quota attainment that high-performing sales teams generally try to hit. And only 43% of you had sales teams that were hitting…
Continue Reading

Join us for SaaStr Europa in London June 6-7, 2023!

Dear SaaStr: How Difficult is It To Fundraise Over the Summer? There’s still seasonality to venture fundraising, even now with so much being done over Zoom. Yes, deals get done every day in venture. But especially in bigger partnerships, it’s just harder to get everyone together to approve a deal when some of the folks…
Continue Reading

So Snowflake is the high flier in Cloud. It’s one of the few still commanding a premium multiple in today’s world, and still growing at tremendous rates: Snowflake is also a barometer of everything in SaaS and Cloud, because a significant amount of its revenue is consumption-based, at least in part. So when CFOs and others…
Continue Reading

Building a company for $0-$1M in revenue differs wildly from $1-10M ARR. And scaling from $10M to $100M is wildly different still. Sameer Dholakia, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners with decades of operational experience, shares what you need to change as you scale from $10M to $100M ARR. The short answer is almost everything. Keep…
Continue Reading

So one of the latest SaaStr surveys confirms what I’m seeing, and we’re seeing across many public SaaS companies. Hiring has way slowed down, but many folks are still hiring, albeit at a reduced rate. 56% of you aren’t hiring, or barely hiring. And very few of you are doubling headcount, vs everyone in 2021. …
Continue Reading