9 Things Founders Should Know About Getting Acquired with Brett Goldstein, Former M&A at Google
Former member of the M&A team at Google, Brett Goldstein, now Founder at Micro and Co-Founder & CEO of Launch House Ventures, shares the nine things founders should know about getting acquired. It’s a common dream for founders to hope their startup be acquired one day, but what is a company, like Google, really looking for in their acquisitions? And what should all founders know about the process if the time comes?
Dear SaaStr: A Co-Founder is Asking for More Equity Post Fundraising. What Should I Do?
Dear SaaStr: A Co-Founder is Asking for More Equity Post Fundraising. What Should I Do? Listen. It usually means something is wrong. Or at least, off: If you got the equity splits right at first, usually, big issues don’t come up later. This may be a sign you need to...How Revenue Multiples Really Fall After Each VC Round
So Michael Ho did a visualization here of Carta data that IMHO illustrates the changes in valuations over multiple rounds in a way so many founders … miss. And misunderstand. At the end of the day, SaaS companies that get all the way to IPO end up trading at...What Venture Capitalists Look For in Leaders: Tips from a Founder-Turned VC with Ridge Ventures
As a founder, you may wonder what VCs are looking for these days. Akriti Dokania, Partner at Ridge Ventures shares traits they look for in founders.
Dear SaaStr: What Does “Old-School” Series A Funding Mean?
Dear SaaStr: What does “old-school” series A funding mean? Most likely: trying to buy 15-20%+ of a company, that is reasonably capital-efficient, and has at least product-market fit and some early traction, that hasn’t done endless seed rounds before...Dear SaaStr: What Is The Average Time it Takes a VC to Make an Investment Decision?
Dear SaaStr: What Is The Average Time it Takes a VC to Make an Investment Decision? For hot seed and even Series A investments? 20 minutes into the first face-to-face meeting. The average VC basically makes the initial decision to tentatively invest very quickly —...Dear SaaStr: What Kind of Background Checks Do VCs Do on Entrepreneurs They Fund?
Dear SaaStr: What Kind of Background Checks Do VCs Do on Entrepreneurs They Fund? It varies. Everyone does some background checks, or least they did outside of the Boom Times of late 2020 through late 2021. And some do very in-depth ones with lots of “off sheet”...Dear SaaStr: How Do Investors Feel About “Acquihires”?
Dear SaaStr: How Do Investors Feel About “Acquihires”? Back when I started investing, in 2013, VCs worked on getting acquihires for their struggling startups. A lot of energy was put in to find a “soft landing” for struggling investments...Dear SaaStr: Is It Normal for a Founder CEO to End Up With Just 10% Equity?
Dear SaaStr: Is It Normal for a Founder CEO to End Up With Just 10% Equity? Yes — if you are venture-backed. Roughly speaking, this is what generally will happen after 3 rounds of traditional venture capital. Expect it and plan for it. If the company sells...Dear SaaStr: How Big of a Return Are VCs Looking For in a Startup?
Dear SaaStr: How Big of a Return Are VCs Looking For in a Startup? For Angel, Pre-Seed: At least 50x, with a possible chance of more. The loss rate in general is so high here, the winners have to do 50x. And this is after dilution, so 100x from the valuation at...Dear SaaStr: Can A Startup Without Any Prior Experience Raise Money From VCs?
Dear SaaStr: Can a startup without any prior experience raise money from venture capitalists (VCs)? Of course, but the answer is a bit more complicated than that. The less proven you are, generally speaking, the further along you need to be to raise from VCs. A...A Look Back: Zoom At $100m ARR, Burning Almost Nothing (Video + Pod)
As we gear up for SaaStr Europa 2024 in London on 4-5 June and SaaStr Annual 2024 in the SF Bay Area on September 10-12, we wanted to take a look back at some of our most iconic speakers and sessions from over the year, that we can still learn from today. Today, Zoom...Dear SaaStr: My Investor Wants Weekly Meetings. Is This Too Much Time?
Dear SaaStr: I am a startup founder that writes extensive monthly report to investors. We are also doing weekly meetings, are they asking for too much of my time? Yes. Some rough rules: For every 1% of a company an investor owns, they get one meeting a year. This...2024 State of SaaS: Trends and Predictions with SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin
At Pavilion’s CEO Summit, SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin, took the stage to share what’s most top of mind for him at the start of 2024.