How to Accelerate Production Deployment and Embed Trustworthy AI into Commercial Solutions with IBM Embeddable AI Leader George Kreitler
Designing AI systems with explainability and data governance ensures transparency and trust. At SaaStr’s AI Day, George Kreitler, Global IBM Embeddable AI Sales Leader, talks about the paradox of AI, three equations that relate to the world productivity and AI, a little math to help guide the next decade, top use cases, and the importance of responsible AI.
Dear SaaStr: When Should I Hire a CFO?
Dear SaaStr: When Should I Hire a CFO? I think at a minimum you should have a real experienced finance lead at $2m ARR, a real VP Finance once you raise $20m, and a CFO once you are at $20m+ ARR — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin 🇮🇱 (@jasonlk) April 12, 2022 Most...
Dear SaaStr: Why Do VC Backed Startups Seem To Almost Always Be Running Out of Money?
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...
8 Top Takeaways from Lenny Rachitsky + Jason Lemkin on “Building a World-Class Sales Org”
So just a little while back, Lenny Rachitsky had me on his hyper-popular podcast to talk about scaling sales, from the perspective of a founder who hasn’t really done sales. It ended up being super popular, and a fresh take on a lot of topic we talk about a lot...
Should You Build a Feature Just to Close a $50k Deal? Probably, In the Early-ish Days.
Does the advice to always say no to sponsored features would also apply to a SaaS startup selling to mid-market (ACV 20k to 50k+) and has relatively few clients? No. This is not wise advice, it is bad advice in many cases. As long as the deal size is big enough. At...
Dear SaaStr: What Will Venture Capitalists Do if Our Startup is a Loss?
Dear SaaStr: What Will Venture Capitalists Do if Our Startup is a Loss? Move on. Especially, if you’ve only raise one VC round or so. This is telling article re: Bill Gurley, one of the best VC investors of all time: “I give Bill a lot of credit because Bill...
CRO Confidential: How to Sell in a Hyper-Competitive Space with Apollo CRO Leandra Fishman
SaaStr’s CRO Confidential podcast host Sam Blond chats with the CRO of Apollo, Leandra Fishman, about Apollo’s success in a competitive market, emphasizing product differentiation, value-based selling, and the importance of customer relationships in driving sales success.
Dear SaaStr: Is It Normal to Feel Like a Pest When Prospecting for Customers For a Startup?
Dear SaaStr: Is It Normal to Feel Like a Pest When Prospecting for Customers For a Startup? Yes. Get better at it, get over it, and hire folks who know how to do it. Boy sales is hard. It’s being told No a lot. It’s having literal, or virtual, doors shut on your...The 21 Top Excuses for Not Closing A Deal (Updated)
Things mediocre sales reps say: 🤷"So it turns out they don't have budget after all" ❓"I had a great call with a customer! Not sure about next steps, though." 💸"Can I discount even more?" 🤣 "Where do I find the collateral...
I’m Thinking of Joining an Early Stage Startup as the First Sales Exec. How Do I Pick Right?
Dear SaaStr: I’m Being Recruited by a Startup That Just Raised $5m. How Do I Vet Them? First, there’s probably something there if they raised $5m. That’s never as easy at it sounds. It means the early traction looks good, or the team looks strong, or...
5 Interesting Learnings from Klaviyo at $800,000,000 in ARR
So we’ve covered Klaviyo several times at SaaStr, and we’re super excited CEO Andrew Bialecki is coming to 2024 SaaStr Annual Sep 10-12 in SF Bay to share his learnings!! (We also have a great deep dive we did a little ways back with Andrew below)....
How to Navigate the Shift to Generative AI with PagerDuty’s CEO Jennifer Tejada
Jennifer Tejada, CEO of PagerDuty, discusses the influence of AI on business workflows, focusing on automating operations, maintaining customer trust, and navigating generative AI challenges. Together with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin, they addresses the role of AI in managing incidents, improving efficiency, and changing decision-making in enterprises. Lastly, we delve into how AI and human roles can coexist, foreseeing a shift towards high-value work as automation increases, with a call for leaders to embrace AI’s potential while adapting to technological advancements.
Dear SaaStr: How Hard Is It To Get to $1m ARR Without Investors?
Dear SaaStr: How Hard Is It To Get to $1m ARR Without Investors? My learnings are three-fold. First, it depends on the team. Most of the SaaS unicorns have been built on at least some venture capital … but a number haven’t. Atlassian ($30b market cap), Qualtrics...
The Most Important SaaS Metric of All: Net New Customer Growth
HubSpot is at $2.3 Billion in ARR (!) There's a lot to be impressed with, but #1 is that it is >still< growing its new customer count 23% a year Even at 200,000+ customers Even at $2,300,000,000 in ARR This is the #1 KPI for me in SaaS. Net new customer...
Founder SaaStr
Related Posts
Industry News
- AI startup Stability lays off 10% of staff after controversial CEO's exit: Read the full memo
- SF exec defends 'brutal' tech trend: Lay off workers to free up cash for AI
- Once-hot tech office in SF's SoMa sells for a fourth of its 2019 price
- Flatpay rings up $47M to target smaller merchants with simple payment solutions
- Vista Equity raises more than $20 billion for new fund
- Security Startup Wiz in Talks to Acquire Lacework for $200 Million
- The 20 Minute Test in VP Hiring. Maybe All Hiring.
- Solving RevenueCat's data ingestion challenges into Snowflake
- Scoop: Andreessen Horowitz closes $7.2 billion for new funds
- The Trade Desk's Moat Is Wide, But Also Vulnerable To Attack