


Dear SaaStr: Why Are So Many CEOs Former Engineers, or At Least Have Technical Backgrounds?
Dear SaaStr: Why Are So Many CEOs Former Engineers, or At Least Have Technical Backgrounds? I’ve come to almost exclusively invest in founder-CEOs that are engineers. Or at least where the co-founder CTO is a true equal partner to the CEO. Why? Well to get something...
Dear SaaStr: What Are the Best Arguments Against Raising Venture Capital?
Dear SaaStr: What Are the Best Arguments Against Raising Venture Capital? TIRED: “We’re raising a small $3m round before we do a Big $20m Series A later this year” WIRED: “We’re raising $3m to build a $100m+ business. Period.” — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin 🇮🇱...
Dear SaaStr: Is 5 Co-Founders Too Many When Raising Venture Capital?
Dear SaaStr: Is 5 Co-founders Too Many When Raising Venture Capital? Yes, it can work. My first venture investment was Pipedrive, it had 5 co-founders and sold for $1.5 Billion. 10 Years of Investing pic.twitter.com/zsSupe0CRP — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin 🇮🇱...
Dear SaaStr: Why Do VCs Want to See At Least 2 Co-Founders?
Dear SaaStr: Why Do VCs Want to See At Least 2 Co-Founders? First off, note that clearly it is possibly to build a huge SaaS company without a traditional co-founder. It’s not the most common path, but now we can see that a number of leaders have done it: Zoom,...
My Top 8 Mistakes Investing in SaaS Startups
Dear SaaStr: What are some of the most costly mistakes done by novice investors? The #1 rule never to bend in startup investing: Never invest in a founder that isn’t better than you When I look back, this is really the only reason I’ve lost money — Jason ✨Be...
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...
Lessons on Scaling Customer Success from $1M to $300M in ARR with Success Venture Partners
Learn what it takes to scale Customer Success at every stage of growth — from $1M to $300M+ in ARR — with founder and Managing Partner at Success Venture Partners and former VP of Customer Success at Motive.

7 Signs an Angel Investor … May Really Be a “Devil” Investor
What are some signs that an “angel investor” is really a “devil investor”? Some top signs trouble may come later from an “angel” investor: The terms are way, way, way too complicated. To me, this is flag #01 by far. Angel investing...
The Key To Unlocking Profitability and Growth in SaaS with Expensify’s COO Anu Muralidharan
How do you build a successful, high-growth company that is also profitable? Expensify’s COO, Anu Muralidharan, debunks the fallacy that profitability comes at the expense of growth.

Dear SaaStr: What Is “Uncalled Capital” in a VC Fund?
Dear SaaStr: What Is “Uncalled Capital” in a VC Fund? This is worth understanding as a founder. In any venture fund of a material size (even just $50m+), the vast majority of the fund is not used for initial checks into startups. Yes, that’s right. ...
Scaling Beyond Founder-Led Sales with Atomico Partner Laura Connell
Discover what it takes to scale beyond founder-led sales on your path to Series B with Atomico Partner Laura Connell.

How to Pitch Your Seed Stage Startup with Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel (Video + Podcast)
Discover the best ways for a seed-stage startup to pitch to investors and successfully fundraise from Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel.

What To Do if Your TAM is Too Small for VCs
If your TAM really does seem too small for VCs, 2 choices really: 1. Just find that 1 VC that still believes This can work 2. At least build a 1.0 of a product expansion that shows a larger TAM This often also works. Even if you have just a few customers to start....