The SaaStr Annual Diversity + Inclusion Program

by Jason Lemkin | Jan 15, 2018 | Blog Posts, Diversity & Inclusion, Human Resources, SaaStr Events | 0 comments

We just a few weeks out from the world’s largest non-vendor event in business software — The SaaStr Annual! We’re proud to have 45%+ women speakers this year (of 200+!) and over 60% women + multicultural speakers. We have set aside 200 VIP tickets...

Why do female entrepreneurs receive less than 3% of all venture capital funding?

by Jason Lemkin | Dec 11, 2017 | Diversity & Inclusion, Early, Fundraising, Leadership, Q&A | 0 comments

There are many root causes, but one thing I can tell you when I entered venture capital in 2013, is that I felt like I had gone back in time. All-male partnerships were everywhere. Inappropriate jokes and sexist comments were laughed at, and commonplace. And VCs made...

How bad is the age discrimination in the technology industry for people who are older than 40 seeking a career or who are seeking funding for their startup?

by Jason Lemkin | Nov 19, 2017 | Diversity & Inclusion, Growth, Leadership, Q&A | 0 comments

I think it’s pretty predominant (and awful) with many young, first-time founders in their 20s. But … Once founders hit their mid-’30s and/or have been at it for 4–5 years, it tends to fade away. As we scale and learn, we learn we need specialists. We need folks...

Where You’ll End Up in SaaS If You Do Nothing About Gender Inclusion: 81%/19%. If You Are Lucky.

by Jason Lemkin | Nov 13, 2017 | Blog Posts, Diversity & Inclusion, Early, Hiring, Human Resources | 0 comments

I hope everyone reading this is thinking much more about taking action re: diversity and inclusion than they were 12 months ago. It’s a big topic, but there is one piece from SaaStr data I thought it might be helpful share. We have a small “list”...

Byron Deeter + Kristina Shen, Bessemer Venture Partners: The State of the Cloud: 2017 Edition (Video + Transcript)

by Team SaaStr | May 17, 2017 | Diversity & Inclusion, Hiring, Human Resources, Videos | 0 comments

In this talk with Byron Deeter and Kristina Shen of Bessemer Venture Partners, we get an illuminating glimpse into the state of the cloud for 2017-2018. They run through what 2016 was like – M&As were at a record high; IPOs were at a record low – and...

Sameer Dholakia (SendGrid), Josh McFarland (TellApart, Twitter), Raj De Datta (BloomReach): The Second Five Years (Video + Transcript)

by Gretchen DeKnikker | Sep 16, 2016 | Company Culture, Diversity & Inclusion, Growth, Videos | 0 comments

The first few years of a SaaS startup are all out war. Random short-lived moments of sheer elation while waging the daily battle to beat the odds and live to see another day. A lot of us never get there. And for those that do survive and thrive, the problems they face...

Why Equal Pay is So Important

by Jason Lemkin | Feb 2, 2016 | Blog Posts, Company Culture, Compensation, Diversity & Inclusion, Growth, Human Resources | 2 comments

It’s great to see Marc Benioff focusing more time and energy on Equal Pay.  A sustained effort here should open more eyes. Since this is SaaStr, I’d like to add a few more tactical thoughts here. Now yes, I am a White Male who grew up On a Coast and went...

Is it responsible to make an investment decision based on founding team racial composition?

by Jason Lemkin | Oct 12, 2015 | Diversity & Inclusion, Early, Fundraising, Human Resources, Q&A | 0 comments

Q: Is it responsible to make an investment decision based on founding team racial composition? I think all us of who have been founders know one thing — diversity, broadly defined, is a huge asset. Diversity in thinking. Diversity in backgrounds. Diversity in...