After an impressive career in SaaS, SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin knows a thing or two about growing business in today’s competitive climate. Boast.AI Co-Founder Lloyed Lobo recently interviewed Jason about his experience and advice for SaaS leaders. Stay the Course: Avoid...
Dear SaaStr: When Should You Sell Your Company? I was with the CEO of a $XB+ SaaS CEO a little while back He was acquiring a leanly-funded startup. The founder owned so much, he would make more than the CEO. I asked how that felt. "That's his journey....
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.
Datto getting acquired for $6.2B looks like a pretty good deal: – $600m ARR, but– Only growing 19% YoY Potential key: – 28% EBITDA It's a cash machine pic.twitter.com/Efjrh7F4pa — Jason ✨BeKind✨ Lemkin #ДобісаПутіна (@jasonlk) April 11,...
There’s been a run of incredible M&A, from Salesforce buying Slack for $27B, to Qualtrics’ $8b acquisition by SAP (and later IPO at $20b+), to Github’s $7.5b exit to Microsoft to Mulesoft to Salesforce for $6.5b to Write to Citrix for $2.2b,...
Q: Dear SaaStr: How Much Does The VC On My Board Make If We Sell for 1 Billion? A lot, yes. But often not as much as you might think. Each general partner might make $5m here on a $1B exit. Let’s say you as a founder own 10% at a $1B exit, and a seed VC fund...
A little while back I had coffee with a very successful VC and we chatted about our views of what’s happening in SaaS. The things we are both interested in are very similar, our thoughts on risks and markets were well aligned. At the end, he noted how the key...
When I sold my first company, I used a banker, an M&A advisor. When I sold my second, I did not. Not using a banker the second time was a mistake. The benefits are nonobvious, somewhat counterintuitive — and large. You don’t get THAT much from a...
BVP partners Byron Deeter, Mary D’Onofrio, and Elliott Robinson share a state of the cloud economy, tactical lessons and case studies for early-stage founders, private market analysis, alongside key predictions and trends driving innovation in SaaS around the globe.
18 years to $100m ARR and unicorn exit You want it to be faster, but sometimes, it just takes longer Stay with it https://t.co/8EAqHBQy6S — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) November 2, 2020 Mailchimp just had the largest exit yet for a private SaaS company. ...
Sold my companies, twice,At first, it was so great.Take a walk,See old friends,Smell the roses for once But after a while you see,Builders have to build.If you stop, you get lost.The purpose is gone The struggle is real,It never gets easier,But builders gotta build...
Q: After an acquisition, how long before severance packages are offered due to layoffs/downsizing? Layoffs and downsizing are less common in most tech acquisitions today. Why? Generally, most acquirers have decided its best to commit to mostly leaving teams be, and...
At least a few times a week, I am sent a deck or exec summary that includes an “Exit Strategy”. The slide sometimes references a nice acquisition by an adjacent company, or a prior competitor or player in the space. It’s all fine and good, though I...
Q: When startup founders exit, how many start new companies? It’s pretty common. Many founders learn they aren’t “done” after all after selling. Sometimes it takes some time to see that, and the gap between starting a new one in many cases is a year or longer. But...
Q: What are the primary reasons for corporate mergers? There are a lot of nuances here, but the simple reason for most really big acquisitions is a BigCo has fallen behind. Not necessarily in revenue, and often not in their core market. But in a related market that...