Dear SaaStr: Does It Make Sense For Your First Marketing Hire Be a Product Marketer?
Dear SaaStr: Does It Make Sense For Your First Marketing Hire Be a Product Marketer? No. Strong Disagree. It does not make any sense, 99 times out of 100. And you can see in this short clip, the CMOs of Zapier and HubSpot agree 😉 "The Importance of Hiring a...
How to Gracefully Ask a VC To Leave Your Board
So a little ways back a bit of a Board of Directors soap opera broke out. The Information broke the story, with Sequoua asking its ex-active partner and leader Mike Moritz to step off the board of key portfolio company Klarna in favor of an active partner, Matthew...
How To Reverse-Engineer a $100M Exit: SaaStr on My First Million Pod
How do you reverse-engineer your first million as a SaaS startup founder? SaaStr founder and CEO Jason Lemkin chats with Sam Parr on the popular YouTube channel and podcast My First Million about what’s required to make it on the map for a $100M exit and then reverse engineers the steps to get there.
Rule 1: New minimum is $400K per employee
Rule 2: Go multi-product
Rule 3: Your second product must be bigger than your first product
Cheat code: Double your prices
Rule 4: 30% of your revenue is international
Rule 5: Localize your product
Cheat code: Remove friction
Rule 6: 100% net revenue retention
Rule 7: Don’t raise double digit millions
What Sponsorships Are Left for SaaStr Europa in London on 6-7 June!!
Ok, get EXCITED for SaaStr Europa 2024, we’re back time in London! We’re looking forward to hosting 4,000 SaaS founders, execs, and VCs in hip East London at Tobacco Docks across 2 packed days, 4-5 June. About 70% of our sponsorships are sold out, but...
Don’t Overdiscount When Things Get Harder. It Only Makes Things Worse.
So when things get tougher, and deals get harder, it’s natural to reach for almost anything to close deals. There are only so many levers sales can pull. And discounting is one. And while Atlassian and a few ones hold the line on never discounting at least...
Why Customers Hate So Many Salespeople. And Why They Love Some. And How to Do Better Here.
Dear SaaStr: Why do customers hate salespeople? Disalignment. A truly great salesperson is a resource. They help you: They educate you on the product. They honestly answer your questions. They address your concerns, seemingly patiently. They help you pilot / test the...
In The Early Days, What You Think is a “Sales” Problem is More Likely a Marketing Problem (Updated)
"You probably don't need as many reps as you think you do" @kylecnorton CRO @owner. "More likely you have a pipeline problem. Spend the money there until your reps' calendars are truly full." cc @samdblond pic.twitter.com/XqfgZOlafj —...
5 Interesting Learnings from Rubrik at $784,000,000 in ARR
So it’s been a long IPO drought since HashiCorp was the last IPO of the Boom Times in December 2021. Since then, we’ve had just one — Klaviyo. But now a second SaaS security leader has filed to IPO, Rubrik. They’re still transitioning from...
What I Learned Selling My Company for $130M with Harry Glaser Founder of Periscope Data and ModelBit
Harry Glaser of Periscope Data and ModelBit shares his experience of selling his SaaS company for $130M and the challenges he faced during the process.
How Much Equity Should a CEO Ultimately Have? Answer: 8%-10% On Average At IPO
Dear SaaStr: How Much Equity Should a CEO Have in a Startup? There’s no magical answer, but for venture-backed start-ups, for years VCs have aligned on around 6%-8% equity for a non-founder / outside CEO. As you approach IPO and very late stage, that often goes down....
The 20 Minute Test in VP Hiring. Maybe All Hiring.
Investments rarely work out if you don't believe within the first 20 minutes I think I'm there on hiring, too now If you don't believe at least by minute 20 of the first Zoom that they're the VP for you … I'd pass — Jason ✨Be Kind✨...
Dear SaaStr: What Do You Do When Your Startup is Not Growing Anymore?
Dear SaaStr: What Do You Do When Your Startup is Not Growing Anymore? First, be honest about why. You can blame it on macro issues if you want, but if growth has radically decelerated, it’s likely because you are less competitive than you were before. You...
200+ Top VCs Already Coming to 2024 SaaStr Europa on June 4-5 in London!
SaaStr Europa 2024 is June 4-5 in London and it will be full of VCs! Just a sampling of who’s already coming: 20VC Accel Partners Activum SG Ventures Albion VC Altair Capital Atomico B Capital Backbone Ventures Beacon Capital Beringea BlackRock Caixa Capital...
Is SaaS Dead?
There’s a bit of a malaise hanging over the SaaS world today. AI excitement obscures it a bit, but it’s there. A feeling that: Growth has slowed everywhere (true overall. The average public SaaS company is now growing less than 20% a year!) Sales is so much harder,...
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