Trending Articles

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How The Top 25 B2B Public Companies Have Performed In 2025 So Far — And What They Tell Us About the Future

SaaStr

We analyzed every major public SaaS company’s YTD performance through just about the end of the first half of 2025. The results may change how you think about building software. TL;DR: The SaaS market has clearly bifurcated in 2025. AI-native + mission-critical = strong performance (Palantir +165%, ServiceNow +12%). Traditional horizontal SaaS faces big headwinds (Salesforce -18%, Asana -31%).

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Why Data is More Valuable than Code

Tom Tunguz

In “ Data Rules Everything Around Me ,” Matt Slotnick wrote about the difference between SaaS & AI apps. A typical SaaS app has a workflow layer, a middleware/connectivity layer, & a data layer/database. So does an AI app. AI makes writing frontends trivial, so in the three-layer cake of workflow software the data matters much more.

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Dear SaaStr: Should I Hire a Sales Consultant as My First Sales Rep?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: Should I Hire a Sales Consultant as My First Sales Rep? No, you shouldn’t hire a sales consultant as your first sales rep. Here’s why: As the founder, you need to be the one to close the first 10–20 customers yourself. This isn’t just about getting deals done—it’s about deeply understanding your sales process, your customers, and what works (and doesn’t) in your pitch.

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What is Vertical SaaS?

Stax

Software tailored to your industry? That’s the main premise of vertical SaaS. Unlike horizontal SaaS solutions that serve a broad range of businesses, vertical SaaS solutions are designed with deep knowledge of specific markets—making them more intuitive, efficient, and impactful. This article explores what vertical SaaS is, its advantages, challenges, and how companies can win in this focused, fast-growing space.

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Build the Case: Quantify the Real Costs of In-House Testing and QA Gaps

Underinvesting in software testing costs more than you think, and now you can prove it. This guide helps you quantify hidden costs like developer time, support overhead, tech debt, and lost revenue. Use the companion calculator to model your own data, and present your findings with a ready-to-edit presentation template. Whether you're making the case to leadership or validating outsourcing, this toolkit gives you the numbers and tools you need.

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Clouded Judgement 6.20.25 - The Dropping Cost of Intelligence

Clouded Judgement

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Follow along to stay up to date! Subscribe now Cost of Intelligence It continues to shock me how quickly the cost of tokens (ie intelligence) has dropped. The chart below shows the evolution of the o-series of models (o1 and o3) pricing from the beginning of the year to today.

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Fighting for Context

Tom Tunguz

Systems of record are recognizing they cannot “ take their survival for granted.” One strategy is to acquire : the rationale Salesforce gives for the Informatica acquisition. Another strategy is more defensive - hampering access to the data within the systems of record (SOR). Unlike the previous software era where SORs built platforms on top of themselves to develop broader ecosystems (in Salesforce’s case Veeva & Vlocity ), the AI shift does seem to be more defensive.

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How Do SaaS Companies Actually Make Money from Payments?

USIO

Picture this: You’re building an awesome SaaS tool—maybe for managing booster clubs (like BoosterHub) or for streamlining medical offices (like PracticeSuite). You’ve nailed scheduling, workflows, and analytics. But then you think, “Why not also offer payments to our users?” For example, PracticeSuite doesn’t just help medical offices automate appointments—it also gives them a built-in way to collect payments from patients directly through the PracticeSuite platform.

Payments 130
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Contactless payments: Definition, types, and examples

Payrix

What are contactless payments? A contactless payment is a transaction that occurs without the physical contact of a credit card to a payment terminal, device, or other point-of-sale system. When a contactless payment is initiated, customers are usually instructed to “tap-to-pay,” meaning they only need to hover their card near the contactless reader and the payment will be accepted.

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How To Run a Quick CRO Audit and Fix Your Biggest Leaks

The Daily Egg

This CRO audit guide is written for people who are going to sit down and do the work. There’s no sales pitch, no free CRO. The post How To Run a Quick CRO Audit and Fix Your Biggest Leaks appeared first on The Daily Egg.

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The Next Evolution in Subscriptions and Recurring Payments

Rise to the next level of recurring revenue. Discover how recurring payments are reshaping industries beyond simple subscriptions, driving a $1.5 trillion market. Learn the crucial strategies for building scalable, secure, and seamless recurring payment infrastructure to boost customer retention and fuel growth.

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The Top 3 Reasons AI Sales Tools “Don’t Work” (Spoiler: They Actually Do)

SaaStr

Rolling out our AI SDR this morning. It took a bunch of training, tooling, etc. But … 🔥Already got 15 meetings from it, 7.5% hit rate That’s more than any human SDR did in 30+ days before (More to come) — Jason ✨👾SaaStr.Ai✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) June 16, 2025 The Top 3 Reasons AI Sales Tools “Don’t Work” (Spoiler: They Actually Do, If You Use The Tools Properly) I get this question at least 3x a week: “Jason, we tried AI sales tools and they just don’t wor

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Value First, Automation Second

Predictable Revenue

Tools pitch speed, scale, and simplicity. But here’s the reality: reply rates tank. Messages blend into the noise. Targeting gets lazy. The post Value First, Automation Second appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

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Why Embedded Payments Are the Future of Business Transactions

USIO

If you’re running a business today, Embedded Payments aren’t just a tech buzzword. They’re a competitive edge. Let’s explore what these payments really are, why they matter, and how your business can leverage them to streamline operations, improve customer experience, and unlock new revenue streams. What Are Embedded Payments? In the simplest terms, these payments are payment capabilities built directly into your digital product, platform, or service.

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How to Future-Proof Your SEO Strategy with Relevance Engineering

The Moz Blog

Future-proof your SEO strategy with Relevance Engineering, a new framework for AI search. Learn how to optimize content for LLMs, build topical authority, and adapt to Google's AI Mode for increased brand visibility.

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What’s New in Apache Airflow® 3.0—And How Will It Reshape Your Data Workflows?

Speaker: Tamara Fingerlin, Developer Advocate

Apache Airflow® 3.0, the most anticipated Airflow release yet, officially launched this April. As the de facto standard for data orchestration, Airflow is trusted by over 77,000 organizations to power everything from advanced analytics to production AI and MLOps. With the 3.0 release, the top-requested features from the community were delivered, including a revamped UI for easier navigation, stronger security, and greater flexibility to run tasks anywhere at any time.

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Wishpond Review | Reluctant to Recommend to SMBs

The Daily Egg

Half marketing automation platform, half agency for small businesses (SMBs). That’s what Wishpond is all about. The company targets folks with limited digital marketing literacy, The post Wishpond Review | Reluctant to Recommend to SMBs appeared first on The Daily Egg.

Marketing 147
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5 Interesting Learnings from Okta at $2.75 Billion in ARR

SaaStr

So Okta rose to rapid growth and IPO as the stand-alone leader in enterprise identity for apps, acquired Auth0 to own it for developers, and now coming up on $3 Billion in ARR, it has settled into a more mature state: $2.75B in ARR Growing 12%, projected to slow to 10% Non-GAAP operating margins of 27% Free Cash Flow margins of 35% (!) $18B market cap, so ~6x ARR Net net it’s a story of new customer growth of 7% combined with slowing NRR of 106%.

Scale 230
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Global AI Race: Top 7 Countries Leading Full-Stack AI in 2025

How To Buy Saas

The global AI race is heating up as nations race to develop full-stack AI systems – integrated pipelines from data and hardware to models and applications. AI is already everywhere: in 2024, 78% of organizations reported using AI ( up from 55% in 2023 ). Governments and companies now invest billions: the U.S. poured $109.1 billion into AI in 2024 (about 12× China’s $9.3B).

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The Top 8 Embedded Payment Processors of 2025

USIO

Embedded payments have become the financial backbone of modern SaaS, fintech, and marketplace platforms. In 2025, choosing the right embedded payment processor is about more than just rates and APIs — it’s about revenue share potential, support quality, payout flexibility, and long-term partnership. This guide breaks down the top players in the embedded payments space, comparing revenue share models, payment rails, and — often overlooked but critically important — support and service quali

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Agent Tooling: Connecting AI to Your Tools, Systems & Data

Speaker: Alex Salazar, CEO & Co-Founder @ Arcade | Nate Barbettini, Founding Engineer @ Arcade | Tony Karrer, Founder & CTO @ Aggregage

There’s a lot of noise surrounding the ability of AI agents to connect to your tools, systems and data. But building an AI application into a reliable, secure workflow agent isn’t as simple as plugging in an API. As an engineering leader, it can be challenging to make sense of this evolving landscape, but agent tooling provides such high value that it’s critical we figure out how to move forward.

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What I Learned From Analyzing Google’s AI Mode Patent

The Moz Blog

Google's stateful chat patent reveals how AI Mode is disrupting traditional SEO. Explore key takeaways and practical strategies to adjust your content strategy.

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Thrive Leads Review—The Good and the Bad

The Daily Egg

Thrive Leads is a WordPress-specific plugin designed to help site owners grow their email lists. With customizable opt-in forms, advanced targeting, and built-in analytics, it’s. The post Thrive Leads Review—The Good and the Bad appeared first on The Daily Egg.

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The $939B Question: Is AI Eating SaaS or Feeding It?

SaaStr

The Great Spending Showdown: AI vs SaaS in 2025/2026 — What Every B2B Leader Needs to Know We’re witnessing the most dramatic shift in enterprise tech spending since the cloud migration began 15 years ago. And if you’re a B2B leader, founder, or investor, you need to understand what’s happening — because it’s about to reshape your entire world.

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How to Get Hired Before the Role Is Posted

Sales Hacker

Hello and welcome to The GTM Newsletter by GTMnow – read by 50,000+ to scale their companies and careers. GTMnow shares insight around the go-to-market strategies responsible for explosive company growth. GTMnow highlights the strategies, along with the stories from the top 1% of GTM executives, VCs, and founders behind these strategies and companies. 80% of exec-level jobs never hit job boards.

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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What Most Founders Miss About the First $1M with Mike Zayonc

Predictable Revenue

Mike Zayonc, co-founder at Kodif, shares what finding real traction looks like: testing, selling, and staying close to the problem. The post What Most Founders Miss About the First $1M with Mike Zayonc appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

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How To Drive More Conversions With Fewer Clicks [MozCon 2025 Speaker Series]

The Moz Blog

Are rankings and traffic still your main SEO goals in 2025? Learn how to build a conversion-first strategy that boosts revenue—even when clicks are down.

Revenue 101
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The Psychology Behind Banner Blindness (and How to Overcome It)

The Daily Egg

It’s one of digital marketing’s most persistent challenges: your carefully crafted banner ad gets served, but your audience hardly sees it. Banner blindness, the phenomenon. The post The Psychology Behind Banner Blindness (and How to Overcome It) appeared first on The Daily Egg.

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Welcome Back Duplo Cloud & Pylon to SaaStr Annual 2026! 🎉

SaaStr

We’re thrilled to announce the return of two incredible partners coming back to SaaStr Annual + AI Summit 2026 ! May 12-14 again at our 40 acre campus in SF Bay!! Duplo Cloud – Our 6-Time Champion! 🏆 A massive welcome back to Duplo Cloud , who continues their incredible streak as a 6th-time sponsor of SaaStr Annual! Their unwavering commitment to our community speaks volumes about their dedication to supporting SaaS growth and innovation.

Cloud 236
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A Strategic Roadmap for AI Integration in Software Testing

Implementing AI in software testing can accelerate release cycles, boost efficiency, and enhance software quality—but only with a clear strategy. This guide offers a step-by-step roadmap to help you evaluate readiness, strengthen infrastructure, upskill teams, and meet compliance needs. Discover how to automate up to 70% of testing tasks, enhance defect detection, and integrate AI into your CI/CD workflows without disrupting your SDLC.

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BetterCloud recognized as a Leader in G2’s Summer 2025 Report

BetterCloud

BetterCloud continues to be named a Leader across multiple categories in the G2 Summer 2025 Report. Thanks to real reviews from our customers, G2 has awarded us top honors, recognizing our commitment to customer satisfaction and innovation. BetterCloud was ranked in 140+ G2 reports, including: #1 choice for SaaS Operations Management User Provisioning and Governance Tools SaaS Spend Management Zero Trust Networking Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Why does this matter?

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Want the Cheapest Credit Card Processing? Surcharging May Be the Answer

Stax

Running a business comes with numerous costs, and credit card processing fees are among the most significant. These fees can eat into profits, especially for small businesses operating on tight budgets.   Unfortunately, these fees are unavoidable. There is no such thing as a “free” payment processor, but there is a solution that can help to alleviate the financial burden: surcharging.

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How to Define and Calculate ARR

The SaaS CFO

Defining and calculating ARR is a hot topic. I have been talking to a lot of SaaS founders and finance leaders about how to properly calculate annual recurring revenue. Not too easy with today’s pricing and business models. The shift in pricing models (usage, consumption, outcome-based) has made the lives of tech CFO’s more difficult. […] The post How to Define and Calculate ARR appeared first on The SaaS CFO.

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