Dear SaaStr: How Do I Hire a Great VP of Sales?
Dear SaaStr: How Do I Hire a Great VP of Sales? It’s a classic SaaStr topic and a great deep dive is here: Hiring a Great VP of Sales: The New, Latest Edition with Jason Lemkin (Video + Pod) Hiring a great VP of Sales is one of the most critical decisions...
Dear SaaStr: How Should I Calculate Gross Dollar Retention For Our Investors?
Dear SaaStr: How Should I Calculate Gross Dollar Retention For Our Investors? Gross Dollar Retention (GRR) is a critical metric for SaaS businesses, especially when presenting to investors. It tells them how much of your revenue base you’re retaining, excluding any...
Dear SaaStr: What Quota Should I Give to my Enterprise Sales Reps?
Dear SaaStr: What Quota Should I Give to my Enterprise Sales Reps? For enterprise sales reps, quotas typically range from 3x to 5x their fully burdened on-target earnings (OTE). This means if your rep’s OTE is $200K, their annual quota should be somewhere between...
Dear SaaStr: How Do I Ramp a New Sales Rep at a Seed Stage Start-Up?
Dear SaaStr: How Do I Ramp a New Sales Rep at a Seed Stage Start-Up? Ramping a sales rep quickly at a seed-stage company is critical because you don’t have the luxury of time or resources to wait for them to figure things out. Or usually, a VP of Sales to handhold...
Dear SaaStr: I’m Joining a Start-Up as Head of Sales At Just $1m ARR. What Should I Do First?
Dear SaaStr: I’m Joining a Start-Up as Head of Sales At Just $1m ARR. What Should I Do First? First off, congrats on the role—it’s a big deal. But seed stage is tough. You’re building from scratch, and there’s no playbook handed to you. And you really are going...
Dear SaaStr: How Should Startup Founders Approach Early-Stage Hiring?
Dear SaaStr: How Should Startup Founders Approach Early-Stage Hiring? Early-stage hiring is one of the most critical things a founder will do—it sets the foundation for everything else. Here’s how you should approach it: Be relentless about recruiting. Relentless. To...
Dear SaaStr: How Should Founders Build Their First Customer Success Team?
Dear SaaStr: How Should Founders Build Their First Customer Success Team? Building a Customer Success (CS) team early is critical for SaaS startups. Here’s how early-stage founders should approach it: Hire Early, Even Before It Feels Necessary Don’t wait until churn...
7 Of The Biggest Mistakes First-Time Founders Make. And How They Can Be Avoided.
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Biggest Mistakes First-Time Founders Make, and How Can They Be Avoided? Here’s my list in SaaS: #1. Being reluctant to go up-market. Not everyone should go up-market. But if you have a bunch of $5 a month customers, and then a few offer to...
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Rough Benchmarks for Raising a Series A?
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Rough Benchmarks for Raising a Series A? When it comes to raising a Series A, the benchmarks can vary depending on your market, growth trajectory, and the type of B2B business you’re building. But here are some general guidelines: ARR (Annual...
6 Key Signs a VP of Sales Can’t Scale Beyond $5m-$10m ARR
The best VPs can recruit in ways I barely understand You need someone for a key role? They somehow have 2-3 strong candidates in a week or two This is so, so hard But the very best VPs make it somehow look almost effortless It's also the only way to scale —...
At Least 20% of Your New Customers Should Come from Referrals and Word of Mouth. Ideally, 50%.
Dear SaaStr: What Percent of My Revenue Should Come from Referrals and Word of Mouth? "Word of mouth is ultimately the only way you can scale in SaaS." pic.twitter.com/UAsIkG4Ixx — Jason ✨👾SaaStr.Ai✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) December 18, 2024 Ultimately, most...
Dear SaaStr: What is a Normal Commission for an Account Exec as a Percentage on Revenue of a Deal?
Dear SaaStr: What is a Normal Commission for an Account Exec as a Percentage on Revenue of a Deal? For SaaS account executives, commissions typically range from 8-10% of the first-year Annual Contract Value (ACV) of a deal. This is pretty standard for inside sales...
Dear SaaStr: How Much Equity is Typically Given Out to the First 50 Employees?
Dear SaaStr: How Much Equity is Typically Given Out to the First 50 Employees? Typically, for the first 50 employees, you’re looking at allocating around 10%-20% of the company’s equity in total. This is usually set aside in the employee stock option pool (ESOP) early...
Dear SaaStr: My CAC Has Doubled Over The Last Year. Should I Stop Hiring?
Dear SaaStr: My CAC Has Doubled Over The Last Year. Should I Stop Hiring? It’s something to dig into and potentially alarming. But … if growth remains strong and the burn rate overall is manageable and isn’t growing out of control, maybe don’t...
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