Dear SaaStr: Why Do VC Backed Startups Seem To Almost Always Be Running Out of Money?
Dear SaaStr: Why Do VC Backed Startups Seem To Almost Always Be Running Out of Money? The #1 issue I see is not understanding what investments really are accretive — and which aren’t. And so the money goes far, far faster than anticipated. Venture capital, if you...
8 Top Takeaways from Lenny Rachitsky + Jason Lemkin on “Building a World-Class Sales Org”
So just a little while back, Lenny Rachitsky had me on his hyper-popular podcast to talk about scaling sales, from the perspective of a founder who hasn’t really done sales. It ended up being super popular, and a fresh take on a lot of topic we talk about a lot...
Should You Build a Feature Just to Close a $50k Deal? Probably, In the Early-ish Days.
Does the advice to always say no to sponsored features would also apply to a SaaS startup selling to mid-market (ACV 20k to 50k+) and has relatively few clients? No. This is not wise advice, it is bad advice in many cases. As long as the deal size is big enough. At...
Dear SaaStr: What Will Venture Capitalists Do if Our Startup is a Loss?
Dear SaaStr: What Will Venture Capitalists Do if Our Startup is a Loss? Move on. Especially, if you’ve only raise one VC round or so. This is telling article re: Bill Gurley, one of the best VC investors of all time: “I give Bill a lot of credit because Bill...
Discounts, Expiring Deals, and Urgency: Understanding Human Behavior in Sales
I’m not that great at sales myself (not really), but I am a student of it. A few things I’ve observed about human behavior, negotiation, and good and bad sales processes in SaaS: Customers that expect a discount really expect a discount. It’s generally easier to mark...
CRO Confidential: How to Sell in a Hyper-Competitive Space with Apollo CRO Leandra Fishman
SaaStr’s CRO Confidential podcast host Sam Blond chats with the CRO of Apollo, Leandra Fishman, about Apollo’s success in a competitive market, emphasizing product differentiation, value-based selling, and the importance of customer relationships in driving sales success.
Dear SaaStr: Is It Normal to Feel Like a Pest When Prospecting for Customers For a Startup?
Dear SaaStr: Is It Normal to Feel Like a Pest When Prospecting for Customers For a Startup? Yes. Get better at it, get over it, and hire folks who know how to do it. Boy sales is hard. It’s being told No a lot. It’s having literal, or virtual, doors shut on your...The 21 Top Excuses for Not Closing A Deal (Updated)
Things mediocre sales reps say: 🤷"So it turns out they don't have budget after all" ❓"I had a great call with a customer! Not sure about next steps, though." 💸"Can I discount even more?" 🤣 "Where do I find the collateral...
Dear SaaStr: How Hard Is It To Get to $1m ARR Without Investors?
Dear SaaStr: How Hard Is It To Get to $1m ARR Without Investors? My learnings are three-fold. First, it depends on the team. Most of the SaaS unicorns have been built on at least some venture capital … but a number haven’t. Atlassian ($30b market cap), Qualtrics...
Do Sales Execs Need to Be Micromanaged? It’s Complicated
So a few stories from the past few weeks reminded me of a meta-challenge in managing a sales team in the founder-led sales: so many sales execs need to be micromanaged, at least up to a point. It’s not just me. Sam Blond, CRO of Brex made a similar point at our...
Dear SaaStr: Funding Aside, What Are The Top 3 Things That Stop SaaS Companies From Growing From ~$25k MRR to ~$250k MRR?
Dear SaaStr: Funding Aside, What Are The Top 3 Things That Stop SaaS Companies From Growing From ~$25k MRR to ~$250k MRR? Let’s step back. If you have gotten to $25k in MRR ($300k in ARR) … you have something. Real. It’s not big enough yet. But it’s real. So … You...
Champion Change: You Gotta Jump On It
You think your Big Co Customers are old & established,And you are new & tiny Yes it's true But as the years go by, you'll still be thereAnd your champions at the BigCos will move on You have to re-sell Big Customers every 2 years or so — Jason...
How to Build Happier Employees – Lessons From HubSpot’s CTO Dharmesh Shah and Chief People Officer Katie Burke
At SaaStr Annual we had a great session with HubSpot Founder & CTO, Dharmesh Shah, and their Chief People Officer, Katie Burke, on building happier employees. We’ve had a ton of great HubSpot content over the years but you may have missed this one, and it...
The 6 Most Common Mistakes Founders Make When They Are Just Starting to Scale Revenue
Dear SaaStr: What are The Most Common Mistakes Founders Make When They Are Just Starting to Scale Revenue? Let me list some of the ones I see most often going from say $1m to $10m in ARR: Chasing the Shiny Penny. One of the biggest mistakes I see after $1m in trying...
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