#1 most important tactical thing to do for 2022: get those core, missing VPs hired
#1 more important strategic thing to do for 2022: expand your product footprint
No one’s true initial TAM is big enough
— Jason ✨BeKind✨ Lemkin ⚫️ (@jasonlk) December 3, 2021
So I know many of your are furiously working on drafting, updating, and tweaking your plans for 2022. The base plan, the stretch plan, the worser case plan. We talked about how to build those 3 plans quickly here.
And having solid financial plans for next year is critical. To hitting your top line and burn goals, and to aligning the team around everything they need to get done in 2022.
But beyond the plan, as founders, there are 2 things that are most important to do. I know you know both of these, but it’s worth a quick review to challenge you, and at least talk through with your co-founders.
- Tactical Job #1: get those core, missing VPs hired. We’ve talked about this so many times on SaaStr, but it’s time in 2022 to stop running any functional area. It’s time to just go hire than VP of Marketing, finally. It’s time to top any stretch VPs that have stalled out. It’s time. Stop putting this off. Do 30 interviews a week.
- Strategic Job #2: expand your product footprint. The reality is almost no version 1.0 SaaS product has a huge TAM. You have to add to it. What are you going to do in 2022? Expand more enterprise? Grow into a new vertical? Launch 1 or 2 key, new integrations? Add a new, adjacent product line? I don’t know, but it probably needs to be something. It can be useful to get the senior team together and talk about adding One Big Core New Initiative next year and One Smaller New Initiative next year that can each move the needle, i.e. add at least 20% to your new bookings.
The best founders constantly grow their SaaS companies at top-tier rates. But they do it in large part by expanding their product footprint.
How are you doing that next year?
Some other ideas around this here, too:
