SaaStr

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

Topic: The Playbook to Building a High-Performing Team and Retaining Top Talent with Snowflake. Workshops topics are more specific, more actionable, and always have Q&A. We want to be able to connect some of the brightest minds and leaders in SaaS with our global SaaStr community in a regular, more interactive way.

Metrics 234

Metrics Engineering Enterprise SaaS 234

SaaStr

MAY 5, 2022

2,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue Leaders and VCs will join us for 2 days of tactical content, networking, and epic evening events when the Cloud comes to Barcelona. Braindates are 1:1 and small group networking sessions designed for you to share knowledge and network with like-minded SaaS leaders during SaaStr Europa.

Scale 204

Scale Engineering Cloud Pricing 204

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

Throughout her time there, she scaled the SaaS company from $1M ARR to pre- IPO, along the way, creating the category of customer success software, and paving the way for Gainsight’s $1.1B Today, she advises and invests in companies on these topics and others. Allison is an incredible builder of teams. If so, at what stage?

Scale 293

Scale Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Customer Success 293

SaaStr

JANUARY 1, 2022

Dear SaaStr: What is a Good Refund Policy for a SaaS Product? SaaS startups, especially those that sign customers to annual customers, will have customers that want to cancel those un-cancelable contracts and get a refund. And Sales especially hates this. In SaaS, you constantly have to re-earn your customers’ business anyway.

SaaS 234

SaaS Startup Branding Revenue 234

SaaStr

AUGUST 28, 2023

So times haven’t been tough for everyone in SaaS the past 12-18 months. Many SaaS leaders in sales and marketing spaces saw growth go from 100% to 10%, from 50% to 0%. At the end of the day, SaaS spend is massive and grows every year. Gartner: SaaS Will Still Grow 18% in 2023 to $200 Billion Worldwide.

Venture Capital 220

Venture Capital AI Startup Mobile 220

SaaStr

OCTOBER 8, 2021

As OpenView and many others have documented, Product Led Growth (“PLG”) is one of the dominant themes of the SaaS marketplace today. Unsurprisingly, Product Led Growth was one of the most popular discussion topics at SaaStr Annual 2021. Presented By: Rachel Wolan – GM & VP – Dropbox – @rachelwolan. Video: HERE.

Scale 355

Scale Engineering Revenue Scaling 355

SaaStr

AUGUST 22, 2021

A few metrics really stood out to me this year: Their “Cloud 100” top private Cloud and SaaS companies are now worth on average a stunning $5.2B. SaaS is scaling faster than ever. But Sales & Marketing / CX is #2. The SF Bay Area is still the HQ for the majority of public SaaS companies today.

Cloud 319

Cloud Scale SaaS Acquisition 319

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

You Have to Train Sales Reps 3–10. You have to start formal sales training by rep #3. A SaaS Founder’s Guide to PR Why PR works, when it doesn’t, and what to expect. A SaaS Founder’s Guide to PR Why PR works, when it doesn’t, and what to expect. And you can start very small. Or they fail.

Sales Hiring 236

Sales Hiring Technical Advisors Compensation Outsourced Development 236

SaaStr

JANUARY 12, 2024

Is it the end of an era for customer success in SaaS? We just wrote up how some of the biggest changes of SaaS are now coming, specifically in Customer Success and Sales. Back in 2015, when didn’t have the data or NRR or GRR of 115 public SaaS companies. Some other key learnings included: The power of the SaaS model.

Sales Hiring 252

Sales Hiring Customer Success Scale AI 252

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

So we’ve spent a ton of time over the years on SaaS talking about hiring a great VP of Sales. Not only because it really matters, but because hiring the wrong VP of Sales can set you back a year — or longer. So many VPs of Sales disagree with me here — at least at first when I make the point.

Sales Hiring 235

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Sales Interviewing 235

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

But to Go Big, almost everyone in SaaS at least eventually adds a sales team. But to scale it quickly added a very effective sales team : Yes, Atlassian for a long time had almost no “direct” sales team, well after the IPO. Yes, I know Stewart Butterfield said slightly different things on this topic at $10m and $20m ARR.

Scale 336

Scale Sales Hiring Sales Headcount 336

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

You know what’s back in fashion today in SaaS? And that’s a lot rarer in SaaS. But so many SaaS leaders aren’t really profitable at $1B ARR even, Why not? Let’s update a classic SaaStr post on the topic. Let’s update a classic SaaStr post on the topic. I’m an investor in maybe 30 SaaS startups.

Scale 280

Scale SaaS Banking AWS 280

SaaStr

JUNE 25, 2023

Unsurprisingly, Product Led Growth has been one of the most popular discussion topics at the past few SaaStr Annuals. We’ll have TONS MORE so see you and 12,000 of your SaaS BFFs in the SF Bay Area September 6-8!! In the comments below, let us know what Product Led Growth experts you want to speak at SaaStr Annual 2023?

Scale 183

Scale Engineering Churn Enterprise 183

SaaStr

JULY 29, 2023

We’re about Scaling SaaS here at SaaStr, after all. But the larger topic of when to change your name as a startup is an interesting niche topic. Salesforce has brute forced it, even though today only a minority of their revenue comes from sales software. I’m not going to be one of them, per se.

Startup 190

Startup Scale Branding Consulting 190

SaaStr

DECEMBER 20, 2022

Our top videos alone cover a wide range of topics important to SaaS Founders and CEOs: scaling, fundraising, building and retaining a high-performing team, PLG, and more. The 4 V’s of Sales: Volume, Value, and Velocity: Head of SMB Sales Fernando Belfort and Head of Sales Enablement Kendra Wrightson. #19.

Scale 213

Scale SMB Sales Enablement Innovation 213

SaaStr

DECEMBER 12, 2022

So I’ve written a bit about a topic that a lot of folks challenge me on. They are the great gifts in SaaS. The quality of the average CS experience I’ve had over the past decade has deteriorated as SaaS has grown. Everyone has gotten good at listening to sales calls through Gong, Salesloft, Outreach, etc.

Customer Success 253

Customer Success Systems Review AWS Software Review 253

SaaStr

JULY 8, 2022

Community has become one of the most talked about topics in marketing, and GitLab’s CEO joined us to share their learnings. #6.Top Top 5 Ways to Scale a Sales Team with Zoom CRO Ryan Azus and SaaStr VP of Sales Bryan Elsesser. How to Scale Outbound Sales with the CROs of Outreach, Malwarebytes, HubSpot, Seismic.

VP of Engineering 242

VP of Engineering Scale Outbound Sales Team SMB 242

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

We started off offering 5 free courses on scaling SaaS by stage, and on raising venture capital. You can sign up for them for FREE here: We’ve also now added daily discussions on hot topics like what the best reps do better, how to shorten sales cycles, and much more.

Venture Capital 229

Venture Capital Scale Scaling Engagement 229

SaaStr

JANUARY 29, 2023

Basically all of the SaaS CEOs/founders I know of have made at least one terrible VP+ level hire. It’s one of our enduring topics on SaaStr. Often the Great Guy from Salesforce or Shopify or ServiceNow or LinkedIn or whatever other leading SaaS company. 1/ Want the best startup VP Sales candidates in the world?

Sales Hiring 288

Sales Hiring Scale Underperforming Technical Team Startup 288

SaaStr

JULY 29, 2021

Q: What are the top 20 pieces of advice for building a successful SaaS startup? Ok my top list, with a SaaStr article on the topic: Take your time to find a great co-founde r. Someone great at something core you aren’t: Sales, Engineering, Marketing. Someone great at something core you aren’t: Sales, Engineering, Marketing.

Sales Hiring 300

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Interviewing Engineering 300

FastSpring

APRIL 26, 2024

This year’s themes cover the big topics in tech, including the Creator Economy, Gaming and eSports, B2B, and, of course, Artificial Intelligence. FastSpring is how SaaS companies sell online in more places around the world. Schedule a demo now or at VivaTech in person! The post FastSpring at VivaTech 2024!

Merchant Services 78

Merchant Services Payment Solutions Payment Methods Payment Services 78

SaaStr

JUNE 3, 2022

More importantly, it’s a great chill opportunity to meet a few other SaaS execs by the sea before things really rev up. SaaS Secret Sauce: How the CEO –> CRO Dynamic Drives Growth with Marketo’s Co-Founder. How to Run Sales and Marketing Ops Across Multiple Continents with LumApps CRO and VP of Growth Marketing.

Mobile 227

Mobile Scale SMB Travel 227

SaaStr

JUNE 22, 2021

The other day I saw a VP of Sales flame out and resign with no notice from a SaaS company doing $10m ARR growing quickly. So I thought it might be helpful to brush off the topic of alignment between Sales and Marketing by updating a classic post on the topic. What 3 factors/skills must every VP of sales possess?

Sales Recruiting 300

Sales Recruiting Scale Sales Hiring Revenue 300

SaaStr

JULY 24, 2022

To a Stunning $900 Billion. If we are headed into a recession, it’s a strange one — with SaaS still on fire, and total spend on business software increasing $100 Billion next year. The Ultimate Guide for Hiring a Great VP of Sale s. If sales are down — be honest about the root cause. A SaaStr Classic. It’s You.

Scale 246

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Pricing 246

SaaStr

JUNE 25, 2020

One of the classic original SaaStr posts was on the Top 10 Questions to Ask a VP of Sales Candidate. We did an update of that classic post below together with this brand new video on the topic: Use this script for hiring that first VP of Sales. Ready to hire your first VP Sales? But haven’t done it before?

Sales Hiring 309

Sales Hiring Scale Interviewing Sales 309

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

“Mastermind Masterclass: The SaaS Org Chart by Series with David Sacks” David Sacks, founder of Craft Ventures and Yammer, and ex-COO, leads us on a new Mastermind class on opening day. #2. “Mastermind Masterclass: The Most Common SaaS Sales Potholes and How to Avoid Them with Mark Roberge” Masterminds seem popular!

Scale 247

Scale New CTO CTO B2C 247

SaaStr

MARCH 1, 2021

Collin Cadmus, ex-VP of Sales of Aircall, has put together a new podcast on SaaS revenue. While there are plenty of SaaS podcasts these days ;), there aren’t that many from practitioners who took a SaaS leader to $40m+ ARR. It’s pretty good.

Sales Hiring 157

Sales Hiring Scale Scaling Revenue 157

SaaStr

DECEMBER 1, 2023

Hiring a VP of Sales isn’t new, but the conversations have evolved as the world has. Jason has written about the cheat codes for hiring VPs of Sales since 2012 and realized it was worth a deeper dive. Jason has written about the cheat codes for hiring VPs of Sales since 2012 and realized it was worth a deeper dive.

Sales Hiring 148

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Sales Interviewing 148

SaaStr

MAY 14, 2021

No matter how well you are doing post-Initial Traction in SaaS … you can almost always do at least 10-15% better. And SaaS is tiring. Because SaaS compounds. A waus back Salesforce.com asked me to write 5 ideas on the topic. But we all can do better than our current plans in SaaS. Pretty much almost always.

Sales Hiring 277

Sales Hiring Scale Engineering Customer Success 277

SaaStr

AUGUST 29, 2022

10.000 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue Leaders, and VCs will join us for 3 days of tactical content, networking, and epic evening events when the Cloud comes to San Mateo. How should marketing, sales, and product all work together? It is time to adopt a future-proof sales model that meets how today’s customers want to buy.

Scale 251

Scale Sales Hiring Marketplace as a Service B2B 251

Kellblog

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

In this episode we hit on a wide range of topics including: The metrics that matter in SaaS today Why CAC Payback is flawed and CAC ratio is better Why you need to hire sales reps three-at-a-time (aka, modulo 3) How to forecast in 2024 and in general (keyword: triangulate) The biggest mistakes made in forecasting, and how sales management practices (..)

Sales Hiring 87

Sales Hiring Forecasting Interviewing Customer Success 87

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

SaaStr Founder and CEO Jason Lemkin and Partner at QED Investors Amias Gerety chat on the Fintech Beat podstream about all things SaaS, money, and what makes a great founder. What Makes SaaS So Great If you’re here on SaaStr reading this, you don’t need to be told why SaaS is so great. Let’s dive right in. It took a while.

Sales Hiring 235

Sales Hiring Headcount Finance Technical Review 235

SaaStr

MAY 4, 2022

Roughly — very roughly — you want to be multiproduct in SaaS by the time you have 10,000 customers. So a top theme across SaaStr CEO interviews since 2017 or so, and across our 5 Interesting Learnings series with public SaaS companies, is … when should you go multi-product? For enterprise, this could be $300m-500m in ARR.

Scale 258

Scale SaaS SMB Scaling 258

SaaStr

MAY 27, 2022

They aren’t scientific, but they do poll out 25,000+ LinkedIn followers, who consist mainly of SaaS executives. 41% of you have sales do some customer onboarding, not just CS or other specialists. A niche topic, but one I’ve been learning a lot about lately and working on. Fix this, and watch sales go up. #16.

Sales Hiring 294

Sales Hiring Pricing Scale Interviewing 294

Sales Hacker

MARCH 6, 2024

Stephen started the company in 2019 after a sales career of being frustrated with bad data, and set out to build a prospecting tool that’s powered by live LinkedIn data. The recent acquisition of Drift by Salesloft and the topic of consolidation in the sales tech stack. The hardest lesson Stephen learned in sales.

Entrepreneurship 90

Entrepreneurship Consulting Acquisition B2B 90

SaaStr

JANUARY 7, 2021

Whether it was our interview with Podium’s Eric Rea on how he scaled with a team outside the Bay Area before it was really considered an option, or TripAction’s Megan Eisenberg on how to prioritize trade-offs in marketing without sacrificing pipeline, we’ve covered the gambit of relevant topics throughout the year. .

Scale 252

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling B2B 252

SaaStr

APRIL 9, 2022

Hiring has never been easy in SaaS. Today, it’s hard because there are 1000x more SaaS startups before. This is a big topic, and in part beyond the scope of this piece. Even today, most sales teams are 80% male, and many early stage dev teams are about the same. It’s always been hard. Not later. #4.

Revenue 264

Revenue Sales Hiring Compensation Startup 264