Q&AWhat will SaaS companies look like in the future?
Q: What will SaaS companies look like in the future? I’m no brilliant futurist, but here’s what I see in the best SaaS companies today, so I assume will be…
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Q&AAs a salesperson, should I also learn marketing?
Q: As a salesperson, should I also learn marketing? In the start-up world, the earlier stage the startup, the more most roles overlap with other roles. In sales, at 100…
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Q&AIs Silicon Valley a giant Ponzi scheme, given that so many of the hottest startups are not able to generate a profit?
Q: Is Silicon Valley a giant Ponzi scheme, given that so many of the hottest startups are not able to generate a profit? Look, I mean, there may be an…
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Q&AWhich are the worst business ideas you have worked on?
Q: Which are the worst business ideas you have worked on? The worst business idea we worked on was a DVD-trading website right before we built EchoSign (Adobe Sign). The…
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Q&AAre there too many VC dollars seeking too few viable business opportunities in 2020?
Q: Are there too many VC dollars seeking too few viable business opportunities in 2020? Of course not. On the one hand, to any of this that have been doing…
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Career Growth & Advice, Q&AWhat can candidates do to stand out from the pack to break into top VC firms?
Q: What can candidates do to stand out from the pack to break into top VC firms such as Sequoia and/or Kleiner Perkins? It’s hard. First, bear in mind VC…
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Fundraising, Q&AAngel Investors Have No Guarantees
Q: Can the initial angel investment round be changed 2 years later to benefit the board members and not the remaining investors? There have been several safe note investments but…
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Q&AHow much should you pay a salesperson?
Q: How much should you pay a salesperson? Three ways to simplify the answer here, especially in the early days: In the end, in base salary AND commission, most sales…
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Q&AWhere can I find commission-only salespeople online to sell B2B software?
Q: Where can I find commission-only salespeople online to sell B2B software? Don’t. While there may be exceptions, I’ve never seen “1099 reps”, i.e. commission-only, work in B2B and SaaS….
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Blog Posts, Early, Q&AAre You Ready to Start a SaaS StartUp? 8 Things That Will Help You Figure It Out
Q: What is your advice for startup CEOs? For first-time CEOs, here’s my top list: Budget 24 months to get to initial traction. It always takes longer than you’d ever…
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Blog Posts, Q&A13 Things That Say “Don’t Fund Me” To VCs
Q: As a venture capitalist, what are some red flags that would make you reject a startup immediately? First, there is a lot of marginal behavior that doesn’t lead to…
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Q&AShould Google acquire Salesforce?
Q: Should Google acquire Salesforce? Maybe. It would move the needle. A key question for the Cloud infrastructure leaders (Amazon, MSFT, and Google) is how deep do they want to…
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Q&AHow do you hire account executives that rank in the top 5% of sales reps?
Q: How do you hire account executives that rank in the top 5% of sales reps? You probably can’t yourself hire proven, Top 5% sales reps. I wouldn’t even try…
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Blog Posts, Growth, Q&AThe Only 2 Things That Really Motivate a Salesteam
Culture matters. Growth matters. Mission matters. They all matter. You have to do this. And that may be enough for most of your early employees. They may even be OK…
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Q&AWhat is the best way to tell relatively new clients that you’ll be away for 1 week?
Q: What is the best way to tell relatively new clients that you’ll be away for 1 week? This may be controversial, but I say — you don’t. If it’s…
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