SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Dear SaaStr: What Are The Biggest Problems You Face as a Startup Founder? The list of problems is endless (this is one of the hardest parts of the job), but let me try to order a few of the biggest challenges roughly based on stage: Pre-Revenue: Finding a Truly Great Co-Founder That is Just as Committed as You. It never ends.

Sales Recruiting 246

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Startup Scale 246

SaaStr

JUNE 16, 2023

So Carta recently put together some dat a on a topic I’ve wondered about: just how many startups allow option exercises beyond the traditional 90 day window? The answer: the general trend is just over 10% of startups have extended windows beyond the traditional 90 days for departing employees to exercise stock options.

Startup 222

Startup Trends Data Compensation 222

SaaStr

JULY 16, 2023

Dear SaaStr: Do Late Stage Startups Prefer to Get Acquired or Go Public? And being CEO is a very, very hard job. If all that matters is money, selling for a high price, especially late stage or just post-IPO is the way to go. It really varies. Especially these days, when the IPO markets are closed. It Was an IPO-a-Day in 2021.

Startup 219

Startup Acquisition Pricing SaaS 219

SaaStr

AUGUST 9, 2022

Dear SaaStr: What Should I Do After a Failed Startup? Get a Job or Try Again? I know it wasn’t just “a job”. There are 1000s and 1000s of startups that didn’t make it. The post Dear SaaStr: What Should I Do after a Failed Startup? Get a Job or Try Again? No one will care either way.

Startup 267

Startup Business 267

SaaStr

JUNE 27, 2020

I thought it would be worth a quick update of the post. Hire stretch reps if you want, but someone without any closing experience likely can’t close at your startup no one has ever heard of. Startups are a journey and you need reps that want to be on the journey. That has to have been her/his last job. A bit more here.

Sales Hiring 363

Sales Hiring Scale Startup Marketing 363

SaaStr

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Dear SaaStr: What Happens if One Founder Wants to Quit When the Startup Has Just Raised VC Funding? That’s your job. A related post here: Dear SaaStr: As a Co-Founder, When Do You Know It’s Time to Quit? This, unfortunately, is more common that you might think. As horrible as this is, it’s not the first time.

Startup 224

Startup Banking Leadership Engineering 224

SaaStr

DECEMBER 18, 2023

At SaaStr Annual , IBM’s VP of Software and Technology Raj Datta and Director of Startups Kylie Rutherford shared how AI is changing the game for companies of all sizes. AI is a very competitive landscape, so startups have to ask themselves how they’re going to gain a competitive advantage with it.

AI 229

AI Technology Scale Startup 229

SaaStr

OCTOBER 13, 2022

Dear SaaStr: What Are The Benefits of Having Your Own Startup? This is a subtle but huge benefit of having your own startup. But the flip side is you’ll never be bored when work is involved, and more importantly, you’ll never have the ennui of being in a meaningless job. Yes, startups take their toll on you.

Startup 235

Startup Innovation Education Engagement 235

SaaStr

AUGUST 26, 2021

You need startup folks to succeed at a startup. Many startup folks have no idea how to work at scale. If they start early enough, they can often learn on the job. It’s a reminder the same is true of SaaS startups. Folks that know startups, and what it takes to put those initial points on the board.

Sales Hiring 293

Sales Hiring Scale Startup Scaling 293

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

… 10 Rules to Being a VP of Sales in a Startup. It isn’t going to work in a startup. I went to a startup once where the prior VP of Sales had 13 opportunity stages with an average deal size of 6K. In a startup, million dollar deals are few and far between. Literally 100% failure rate. Let go of what you know.

Sales Hiring 286

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Startup Sales 286

SaaStr

MARCH 30, 2023

Dear SaaStr: What Does a Typical Day Look like for an Account Executive at a SaaS Startup With Under $1m ARR? This is a tough and very specific job. Usually, being the first start-up salesperson is a rewarding, but very tough job: Your boss has never probably managed a salesperson before. Most sales folks can’t do.

Startup 211

Startup SaaS Sales Hiring Sales 211

SaaStr

MAY 29, 2022

Just not at your startup. And the mistake so many founders make is they want to believe a VP of Sales that’s good in general, good somewhere, would work at their startup. Job #1 for a VP of Sales is recruiting. That’s 95% of them out there that just won’t be a fit at your startup. And VPs of Sales do, too.

Sales Hiring 246

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Startup Sales 246

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

Dear SaaStr: What Are the Danger Signs a Startup Isn’t Going to Work Out? That’s part of the job. And a related post here: How to Gracefully Miss a Quarter. The post Dear SaaStr: What Are the Danger Signs a Startup Isn’t Going to Work Out? Let me share my list. Manipulation and sociopathic behavio r.

Startup 267

Startup Scaling SaaS Revenue 267

SaaStr

AUGUST 1, 2022

If as a VC you invested at $10m pre initially, and say it’s 2021 and that same startup is doing a 100x round at a $300m valuation, this early VC fund can pick and choose whether to invest more or not. In fact, as founders, it’s your job to know. A related post here: Need a Second Check From Your VCs? Just ask.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Startup Investment Pricing 275

SaaStr

OCTOBER 27, 2022

Dear SaaStr: The Startup I’m Working At is Getting Acquired. Overall, your ability to negotiate in M&A in any context, in any job, is based on your ability to walk for something better, or just walk. Or you may just say No, and sometimes, lose your job. The post Dear SaaStr: The Startup I’m Working At is Getting Acquired.

Startup 215

Startup Sales Hiring Compensation Finance 215

SaaStr

APRIL 18, 2022

Dear SaaStr: Is it Bad to Leave a Failing Startup? If you’re a critical resource and leave a struggling startup — would that increase the odds it fails? The beauty to startups is its OK if they fail and it won’t hurt your resume, not usually. In the early days of Apple, Steve Jobs made this pitch.

Startup 193

Startup Engineering Data 193

SaaStr

MARCH 5, 2023

Check out this week’s top blog posts, podcasts, and videos: Top Blog Posts This Week: Does Anyone Want To Be a Unicorn Anymore? Ode to the $100,000,000 Exit Dear SaaStr: Should You Hire Someone That Seems Good … But Always Job Hops? TAM is Great. Dear SaaStr: Does Raising Funding From VCs Limit Your Exit Options?

Scale 196

Scale Sales Hiring CTO Hire Startup 196

SaaStr

JULY 26, 2021

Q: Dear SaaStr: Should a Startup Founder Handle Sales Themself When First Getting Started? Because her job isn’t to figure out how to sell your product. The post Dear SaaStr: Should a Startup Founder Handle Sales Themself When First Getting Started? The answer is yes – 95% of the time. That way, she knows.

Sales Hiring 265

Sales Hiring Scale Startup AWS 265

TechEmpower SaaS

JULY 24, 2023

At TechEmpower, we frequently talk to startup founders, CEOs, product leaders, and other innovators about their next big tech initiative. It’s part of our job to ask questions about their plans, challenge their assumptions, and suggest paths to success. What are your key Startup Metrics ? What channels will you use (e.g.,

Innovation 780

Innovation Development CTO Hire Technical Review 780

SaaStr

MARCH 20, 2022

Q: Where is the best place to launch a B2B-startup in 2022? If you could choose any country or place to launch a B2B-startup which one would you choose? Where is the best place to launch a B2B startup — when almost all of us are now running distributed teams? At least, for some SaaS startups. That’s something.

Startup 188

Startup SaaS B2B Investment 188

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Recently, Redpoint Office Hours welcomed Allison Pickens to clarify the COO role and when startups should consider recruiting one. Whereas a decade ago, a board might have hired a professional CEO to scale the operations of a startup, today, more boards seek COOs. Regardless of the reasons, more startups are looking to hire a COO.

Sales Recruiting 193

Sales Recruiting Startup Scale Sales Hiring 193

SaaStr

JULY 17, 2022

Q: Dear SaaStr: When Should a Startup Hire its First Sales Person, and What Should Their Profile Look Like? Don’t hire someone that hasn’t worked at a startup. The job of a VP of Sales generally isn’t to get the flywheel going. We’ve talked a lot about this on SaaStr, let me summarize my top learnings from 15+ years.

Sales Hiring 207

Sales Hiring Scale Startup Sales 207

SaaStr

MAY 26, 2021

Join Facebook or Square or Twitter or whatever as a VP before IPO, after building the skills to get the job. Yes, the odds of getting these jobs are low. The post What Inspires Founders to Create Startups appeared first on SaaStr. This is really the best way to go, logically.

Startup 158

Startup Banking 158

SaaStr

MARCH 6, 2021

I get the Steve Jobs thing. note: an updated SaaStr Classic post). The post Planning to Do a SaaS Startup? Lukewarm is even worse, because it says yeah it’s sort of interesting … but no way I’d buy … and implicitly … your idea is a huge waste of time. You just have to build it.

Interviewing 350

Interviewing Startup SaaS Enterprise 350

Kellblog

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

Today is the US launch of Startup Century , a new (and debut) book by Balderton partner James Wise. The This is neither a how-to book on building startups nor self-interested VC propaganda designed to foster more startup activity.  And to the public policy angle, what should we, as a society, do about it? 

Technical Review 86

Technical Review Technology Startup Entrepreneurship 86

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 7, 2020

Q: What makes a startup a huge success? This was my first start-up job. The post What makes a startup a huge success? My definition of “success” has changed over time. Yours may well too: At first, just being part of something “successful” was enough. Just being part of a hot start-up working with great people.

Startup 215

Startup Enterprise SaaS Software 215

Tom Tunguz

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Last week’s post on The Most Frequent Mishire in Startups generated the most comments on a post this year. Though the startup may have achieved product market fit, the company may not understand the fit. Over time, the startup’s growth demands a more specialized role. In particular, it was this section.

Product Marketing 245

Product Marketing Startup Marketing Interviewing 245

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Being the first salesperson into a start-up in a rewarding — but very tough job: Your Founder Boss likely will never have managed a salesperson before. So this is a tough job With not a truly typical day. note: an updated SaaStr Classic post). Ah, the first sales rep. Which may be wrong. Everything. More on that here.

Sales Hiring 265

Sales Hiring Startup Sales SaaS 265

SaaStr

DECEMBER 22, 2023

One last kick-in-the-arse post for the year: Don’t Be a Quitter Let me explain, as this is one of the most disappointing changes in my opinion in “tech” and startups over the last 12-18 months. And look, no one needs to stay in a soulless entry level job longer than necessary. It’s all over LinkedIn and TikTok. But not for you.

Social Media 241

Social Media Startup Revenue 241

SaaStr

MARCH 2, 2024

This week we have Job van der Voort, CEO at Remote! #1. Job is the CEO and co-founder of Remote, a global HR platform. Job previously worked as a neuroscientist before leaving academia to become the VP of Product at GitLab, the world’s largest all-remote company, where he hired talent in 67 different countries.

Artificial Intelligence 214

Artificial Intelligence Startup Communication Scaling 214

SaaStr

JANUARY 23, 2024

The vast majority of startups and companies allow a ton of work from home. Working for a startup that’s failing can do that, but it’s more than that. So look if you’re unhappy today, but have a good job, reflect a bit. If your job is truly unrewarding, yes find another one. And importantly — it’s not quality of life.

Sales Hiring 201

Sales Hiring Startup Sales 201

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

So the Wall Street Journal did a great job slicing and dicing IPO data recently. But the problem is this — when folks don’t make money off startups, everything gums up and slows down. But the problem is this — when folks don’t make money off startups, everything gums up and slows down. Buyer beware?

Pricing 250

Pricing Investment Startup Data 250

Intercom, Inc.

JUNE 1, 2018

The most important tasks for any early stage startup are to write code and talk to users. When we started Intercom the latter was my job. Founding a startup is a lot like this. I didn’t have a perfectly mapped out startup marketing strategy. There’s a great story in Dr. Seuss’ “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.”

Startup 201

Startup Strategy Marketing Social Media 201

SaaStock

MARCH 5, 2019

Christina Villa had a simple launch plan for Cledara: do it at the SaaStock Startup stage on October 16th, 2018. She had quit her job four months earlier and incorporated the company in London. The feat was so impressive that Cristina ended up winning the SaaStock ‘Best SaaS Startup of 2018’ competition. They all made it.

Startup 152

Startup SaaS Payments Payments Payment Services 152

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

I see so many SaaS startups hire someone likeable, who can talk the talk on sales hiring and processes — but never really understands what you do. Hiring a VP of Sales With No One Lined Up to Follow Them This is a classic SaaStr point and post from over the years, and it turns out it’s more true today than ever.

Sales Hiring 221

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Sales Interviewing 221

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Bill Gates coded, Jobs didn’t. But — Jobs had Woz. But still, I’ve found the SaaS startups without a strong technical background in the founders just … iterate more slowly. And the super agile startups just pull ahead as the years go on. But usually there is an amazing CTO from Day 1. How to be super agile.

Outsourcing Services 237

Outsourcing Services Engineering CTO Scale 237

SaaStr

APRIL 3, 2024

As a startup, you can look at it a few ways. They differ from startups because they’re Fortune 100 companies with a lot of legacy, incumbency, and regulation. As startup and tech leaders, we need empathy for where they’re coming from. There will be humans in the loop and fewer jobs to be done,” Jennifer says.

Generative AI 226

Generative AI AI Technical Review Software Review 226