


Dear SaaStr: What are The Top Challenges of Venture Capital Firms?
Dear SaaStr: What are The Top Challenges of Venture Capital Firms? Generally there are three major challenges. The first one is non-obvious. Challenge #1: Raising Another Fund. While Sequoia, Benchmark, Founders Fund, etc. etc. can all basically raise a new fund in...
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Pros and Cons of a Double Trigger with a 6 Year Vest for Founders of a Startup?
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Pros and Cons of a Double Trigger with a 6 year Vest for Founders of a Startup? I think there are no cons and this is a great idea. First, a 6+ year vesting schedule protects you from the less committed founders. The last thing you want is...
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Typical Components of CEO Compensation For an Outside CEO?
Dear SaaStr: What are the typical components of an Outside (non-Founder) CEO’s compensation? How are CEO contracts typically structured? I’ll answer this from a start-up perspective, and assume you mean bringing in an outside CEO to run your start-up....
A Look Back: The Secrets to Going Big, Going Multi-Product and Going Public with Amplitude CEO Spenser Skates (Pod 546 + Video)
Amplitude CEO Spenser Skates lays out the mistakes young companies will often make as they grow, and how he positioned Amplitude for growth and success.

Strategic Finance in Today’s Market: A Tactical Guide to Building & Scaling Your Team with IVP
IVP Partner Michael Miao shares his thoughts on how finance teams can contribute to a SaaS company’s strategy and grow revenue.

The Most Important SaaS Metrics In 2023 with monday.com CEOs and Co-Founders Eran Zinman and Roy Mann, and SaaStr Founder Jason Lemkin
Learn about the most important SaaS metrics for founders in 2023 with the CEOs of the most metric-oriented company, monday.com and the founder of SaaStr.

5 Things to Do … When You Don’t Know What to Do (Updated)
Best things to do when .. you don't know what to do: 1/ Spend more time w/existing customers. Zoom w/5 more ea week 2/ Hire 1 great VP 3/ Drive down churn. You grow faster even w/o more leads 4/ Join more sales calls. Everyone loves to talk to CEO 5/ Focus leads...
Job #1 Once You Hit Initial Traction — Stop Owning Anything
We all screw a lot of things up. But I think the biggest, #1, mistake successful first-time entrepreneurs in SaaS make time and time again these days is they own a key function area or two too long. They stay the VP of Sales, Marketing, Product, etc. for far longer...
Dear SaaStr: None of The 3 SaaS Products I Developed Have Any Sales. What Am I Doing Wrong?
Dear SaaStr: None of The 3 SaaS Products I Developed Have Any Sales. What Am I Doing Wrong? You may not have product-market fit. You may not have built a product people will actually pay for. But assuming you have … well — are you doing any marketing? There...
Dear SaaStr: Does Having a Board of Advisors Increase Your Chances of Getting Funding?
Dear SaaStr: Does Having a Board of Advisors Increase Your Chances of Getting Funding? No. Or maybe — only barely, a tiny bit. It does show you are hustling, if the advisors are truly great. If you get Eric Yuan or Marc Benioff to be an active advisor — well, then,...
Beware The Arrogant Chief of Staff
So this is a niche post on a niche issue, but I think an important one because I see it creating real problems all the time. The Arrogant Chief of Staff that is empowered to make big decisions, but goes rogue and makes bad ones. Or at least, lacks the life experience...
Dear SaaStr: We sold 30% of our Company Pre-Money During our Friends and Family Round. Will VCs Care?
Dear SaaStr: We sold 30% of our Company Pre-Money During our Friends and Family Round. Will VCs Care? No. In the old days, 30% in your friends-and-family round was pretty common. It may become common again, as times are tougher for many these days in venture. What...
Dear SaaStr: What’s a Fair Amount of Founder Secondary in a Series B VC funding round?
Dear SaaStr: What is considered a fair or happy medium secondary amount for the founders to take off the table at a Series B VC funding round? Secondary sales done right truly align founders and the company and incent them to go long. See Brian Halligan’s (co-founder...
How to Grow Revenue Faster in the Second Half of 2023 with Founders Fund
In a special workshop, Sam Blond shares advice on how to spot bottlenecks, reallocate the right resources, and grow revenue in 2023.