4 Reasons to Send Investor Updates Even When Times Are Tough
VCs have always checked out when founders stop sending investor updates But today I think even more so The opportunity cost of investing time in a startup that can't be the next Cursor is high If you don't even get monthly updates anymore, well, you just write...
The #1 Sign Your New CRO, CMO, CCO, CTO Will Fail: They Aren’t Doing It Themselves
Every time I see a CRO that doesn't sell themselves, they fail. Every time I see a CTO that doesn't code themselves, they fail. Every time I see a CMO that doesn't market themselves, they fail. Every time I see a CCO that isn't constantly meeting with...
Dear SaaStr: My Co-Founder is Threatening to Quit Unless I Give Him More Equity
Dear SaaStr: My Co-Founder is Threatening to Quit Unless I Give Him More Equity; what should I do? Generally, this is the last, best chance to fix things. Founder equity splits are a tough thing. What seems fair on Day 0 may seem less fair on Day 720. The one that...
Dear SaaStr: How Can I Make Sure My Board Doesn’t Fire Me?
Dear SaaStr: How Can I Make Sure My Board Doesn’t Fire Me? Founders are often guarded toward most VCs. Perhaps they should be. That’s a different, and longer conversation. And one thing founders tend to worry about is — can I be fired by my...
Great VPs of Sales Never Hide from a Miss
I've never seen a great VP of Sales hide from a miss — Jason ✨👾SaaStr.Ai✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) August 26, 2023 We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr over the years about how to hire a great VP of Sales — and how to course-correct if you’ve made a mis-hire. The two...
The Irreplaceables. The Employees to Never Let Go. Even If You Have to Invent a Role.
There’s one thing you will look back on regret: letting one of those truly Irreplaceable folks on your team … leave. Mainly it happens as you scale. Things chance. You need larger teams, different processes. And you bring in new executives that maybe don’t seem them...
Dear SaaStr: How Do We Close Bigger Deals?
Dear SaaStr: How Do We Close Bigger Deals? If you already have a few bigger deals under your belt, but most are smaller … a few higher-level suggestions: #1. Hire a Very Good CRO / VP of Sales that has sold at your “high end” price point. They will be much better at...
Dear SaaStr: When My Startup Raises $10m, Would It Be Appropriate to Take a $170k Salary (no co founders)?
Dear SaaStr: When My Startup Raises $10m, Would It Be Appropriate to Take a $170k Salary (no co founders)? Yes, not a problem. You should take a “market correct” salary as soon as it’s economically immaterial to the company. I don’t write $10m...
The #1 Clear Sign a VP Will Fail. Be Honest With Yourself When You See It
I’ve seen it again and again across 30+ investments, 10+ unicorns, and hundreds of portfolio company board meetings. There’s one pattern that predicts VP failure better than anything else I’ve seen. Not their resume. Not their pedigree. Not even...
The New Career Path: Joining a 0% Grower. Maybe For Many, It’s Better.
So there’s a new option for seasoned B2B execs now: join something growing … 0%. Ok maybe 0%-10%, let’s call it. This sounds a little wacky described as a career choice. But it’s something some execs have always quietly done, and there are more and...
The #1 Hack To Making Sure a VP of Sales or Top AE Will Work Out
We’ve talked a ton on SaaStr over the years on how to make sure your CRO / VP of Sales and top hires really work out. That they are the right ones. We can pretty much summarize a lot of it into the following: Your VP of Sales should have lots of experience...
10 Things That Would Have Helped Me Go From $1m to $10m Faster with Less Stress
Recently I put together a quick list on Twitter of the Top 10 things that with hindsight, I could and should have done to get from $1m to $10m ARR faster — and with less stress. I thought it would be worth drilling down deeper into each of them and sharing the...
Dear SaaStr: How do VCs Really Feel About Founder Salaries? I Was Told That a General Rule of Thumb is 75% of Market
Dear SaaStr: How do VCs Really Feel About Founder Salaries? I Was Told That a General Rule of Thumb is 75% of Market The 75% Rule once you are VC Funded for more than a few million dollars is a good one. But if you raise less than that — 75% may well be too...
5 Non-Obvious Things To Know About VCs
I was catching up with a VC friend the other day and asked him about a company I’d referred to him. They’d passed on the investment (which is of course fine), despite the company meeting basically every investment criteria I knew about the firm. I asked...
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