12 Things You’ll Look Back On in B2B … And Regret
A little ways back on LinkedIn and Twitter, I put together a list of things that later, once you are successful, even very successful, you’ll regret. It got a lot of engagement from the B2B veterans out there, so I thought it would be worth digging in more on...
Before You Start as a VP — Please, Please, Please. Do a 60-Day Plan. And Make Sure the CEO Agrees With It.
I’ve now worked with or invested in ~30 successful start-ups beyond my own companies and I’ve watched a lot of VP / CXO-level hire train wrecks. Probably the most common is “the wrong VP of Sales / CRO”. We’ve talked about that for 6+...
Don’t Hire a CRO / VP of Sales Everybody Loves
So this is a seemingly simple post, and one with a title that is purposefully a bit binary. Yes, sometimes it’s OK to hire a CRO / VP of Sales that everyone loves. But not usually. At least 9 times out of 10, if everyone on the team loves a VP of Sales, it’s the...
The Top 10 Mistakes Folks Make Hiring Their First Sales Team (Updated)
Times for many are so different in B2B than they used to be. For those with AI tailwainds, growth is like nothing we’ve ever seen. For those without, it can seem like everyone wants to downgrade or cut. For some, it’s somewhere in the middle. It can seem like...
Dear SaaStr: What’s the #1 Way I Can Accelerate My Career Growth?
Dear SaaStr: What’s the #1 Way I Can Accelerate My Career Growth? My uber-learnings: Find the best boss you can; and Take on every initiative, project, task, and endeavor you possibly can from her. And work for them for a while. Long enough to get promoted once,...
The Top 5 Reasons I See CROs Flame Out
I saw about 10 CROs leave or get fired the past 12 months across the startups I work with or have invested in at SaaStr Fund. That’s a lot. That’s actually a ton. It may be a record. I suspect it is. AI is the root cause of some of it. As many startups...
Dear SaaStr: One of Our Most Respected Team Members Quit and Folks Are Leaving. What Do I Do?
Dear SaaStr: One of Our Most Respected Team Members Quit and Folks Are Leaving. What Do I Do? Promote someone great that everyone respects into a leadership role. Right now. This is really the only answer I’ve seen to this situation. We’ve all been in it at least to...
When You Hire Your First Sales Rep — Just Make Sure You Hire Two
"When you go to hire your first few sales reps — they have to be folks you'd buy from. They have to be. Or they never work out. And once you have a VP of Sales, they can hire folks … you wouldn't." pic.twitter.com/BZUExzX4LQ — Jason...
If You Don’t Think You Need a VP of Product, VP of Marketing, Etc. — Then You Haven’t Worked With a Great One
If you are between $1m and $20m ARR, and maybe even a bit later, this might be the #1 most important post and piece of advice I can give you: That yes, a truly great VP for any role will move the needle. A truly great one. And if you don’t think so —...
Hire the Right Type of VP Marketing — Or You’ll Just End Up With a Bunch of Blue Pens with Your Logo On Them (Updated)
"When you go to hire your first marketer, there's just one criterion they have to meet. They have to have help a commit. They have to have owned a number in the pipeline. They aren't a fit for startups if they haven't." pic.twitter.com/y3z40fTkxW...
The 20 Minute Test in VP Hiring. Maybe All Hiring
Investments rarely work out if you don't believe within the first 20 minutes I think I'm there on hiring, too now If you don't believe at least by minute 20 of the first Zoom that they're the VP for you … I'd pass — Jason ✨👾SaaStr.Ai✨...
If Your VP Sales Isn’t Going to Work Out — You’ll Know in 30 Days
New SaaStr Fund portfolio company CRO his first week on the job: Note: he also started before he started. We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about how to make that critical hire: the VP Sales. I’ve done it right, and I’ve done it wrong. When it’s...
What Happens When You Hire the Wrong VP
A lot of classic SaaStr content has been how to spot the best potential VPs. When to hire them. How to interview them and qualify them. What they really do. Etc. etc. Some classics here: How My VP, Sales Doubled Our Sales in 90 Days. And No, It Wasn’t Magic. If...
9 Signs a Startup Isn’t Going to Make It with SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin
In a recent Workshop Wednesday, SaaStr Founder and CEO, Jason Lemkin sat down to discuss 9 signs a startup isn’t going to make it.
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