SaaStr

MAY 9, 2025

The marketing site looked like a flashback to 2018. They cancelled their Free edition a few months back — an even worse sign of a vendor in trouble. There was no support link. Bad vibes up and down. And then — with no notice, they dropped a feature bomb so perfect it erases years of frustration overnight.

Social Media 175

Social Media Outsourced Development Interviewing Retention 175

SaaStr

MARCH 21, 2025

I’m fortune that SaaStr Fund was the first investor in RevenueCat in 2018 and today it’s grown into the #1 tool to manage mobile subscriptions, powering 40% of all mobile subscription apps, and even ChatGPT’s mobile app itself. So they see 40% of all mobile subscriptions — and a ton of data from it.

Data 208

Data ChatGPT Mobile SMB 208

SaaStr

JULY 2, 2025

3: The Maturity Sweet Spot Is 7-14 Years The peak founding years for current $5B+ unicorns were 2011-2018, meaning most are between 7 and 14 years old. The takeaway: If you’re building in AI or other frontier categories, the ceiling for initial valuations has been completely blown off. #3:

AI 142

AI Acquisition B2B Scaling 142

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

We are proud that the 2018-2024 SaaStr Annuals have featured over 50% women and multicultural speakers at each event. SaaStr is committed to having the most inclusive community in Cloud, SaaS and AI.

Venture Capital 229

Venture Capital Travel Cloud AI 229

SaaStr

MARCH 28, 2025

Shopifys partner revenue grew from 8% in 2018 to 20% by 2020, but it took years of investment to get there . Its not a quick win. For example, Salesforces partner ecosystem didnt become a major revenue driver until a decade after the company was founded. Expect your sales cycle to double when working with partner s.

Scale 147

Scale Sales Hiring SMB Enterprise 147

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

So Carta has some interesting new data from all of its start-ups from The Class of 2018 here. Every start-up dataset is a bit different. Some are broader than Carta, some narrower, but Carta is a good proxy for typical tech start-ups that raise a seed round. And what happens after that seed round? Within 7 years, 62% of start-ups shut down.

Metrics 265

Metrics Data 265

How To Buy Saas

MAY 26, 2025

Early models like BERT in 2018 managed with strictly curated data (Wikipedia + a book corpus), but as models grew larger, they needed more data to reach their potential. For example, OpenAIs GPT-3 was trained on about 300 billion tokens of text, which includes a weighted blend of the above source types. In practice, its a bit more nuanced.

Artificial Intelligence 64

Artificial Intelligence Data Software Review SaaS 64

SaaStr

JUNE 25, 2025

CAGR Competitive Moat : Pure-digital strategy vs. hybrid competitors Founded in 2008 … so 17 years to IPO!

Scale 238

Scale Headcount Business Model Acquisition 238

SaaStr

JULY 1, 2025

What FAF Actually Looks Like in the Wild Capital Concentration Goes Extreme : OpenAI’s $40B raise in 2025 is larger than the top fundraises from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 combined. You’re either in the top tier or you’re fighting for scraps. 2025 median return: 24% vs -52% for ZIRP era IPOs.

AI 185

AI Software Review Technical Review Sales Hiring 185

SaaStr

JUNE 27, 2025

. #4: Private Capital is Unlimited for Top Companies – OpenAI’s $40B Raise Bigger Than All 2018-2024 Combined The Winner-Take-All Capital Market The concentration of venture funding has reached extreme levels: OpenAI’s $40B raise in 2025 is larger than the top fundraises from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 combined Top (..)

AI 249

AI Scale Headcount Revenue 249

Chart Mogul

DECEMBER 18, 2024

Check out the 2023 , 2022 , 2021 , 2020 , 2019 , 2018 , 2017 , and 2016 posts. To everyone in SaaS (and especially our incredible customers): heres to a productive, profitable close to 2024 💪 The future looks brightand I can’t wait to see what we build together.

Technical Review 52

Technical Review Benchmarks Innovation Payment Features 52

User Pilot

JULY 19, 2025

Since 2018, we’ve evolved from building a product engagement tool for startups to a comprehensive suite of tools for product-led growth, suitable for both startup and enterprise clients.

Software Review 66

Software Review Systems Review Customer Success Onboarding 66

Buffer Resources

APRIL 8, 2025

Fake news has been rampant on Facebook , so they've been doubling down on looking for signals that indicate misinformation or misdirection since 2018.  Some clickbait links can cross the line into fake news, especially when they make claims that are both exaggerated and untrue.

Social Media 121

Social Media Systems Review Technical Review Branding 121

User Pilot

MAY 29, 2025

One popular example is Snapchat’s major redesign in 2018. Over 90% of mobile app users churn within the first 30 days , and the primary culprit is poor UX. Even power users can churn or drastically reduce engagement when you make app changes that ruin their experience.

Mobile 87

Mobile Underperforming Technical Team Software Review Systems Review 87

SaaStr

JUNE 18, 2025

The Numbers Don’t Lie: A Tale of Two Eras The Golden Age (2017-2018): When VCs Were Heroes Looking at 2017 funds—the darlings of the previous cycle: 81% returned capital after 5+ years Median IRR of 11.5% (that’s actually good!)

Venture Capital 272

Venture Capital Technical Review AI Compensation 272

SaaStr

JUNE 11, 2025

We dove into Carta’s dataset of 42,000+ primary funding rounds from US startups between 2018-2024 to settle this debate once and for all. But what if this conventional wisdom is just that – conventional, but not actually wise? What we found will surprise you (and maybe change your fundraising timeline).

Venture Capital 175

Venture Capital Startup Investment Data 175

Buffer Resources

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

In 2018, we made the decision to  spend $3.3M We have continued to carry out buybacks each year since 2018, and at this stage we are majority founder and team owned. We've had to work hard at times to maintain control over our destiny. to buy out the majority of our VC investors  and be able to go our long-term path.

Social Media 61

Social Media Innovation Government Leadership 61

SaaStr

MARCH 19, 2025

Up from 20% in 2018. 20% of deals even in 2018 were start-ups buying start-ups. And the dollar value has gone up, it’s doubled since 2018 , although down from a 2023 peak. And it’s a record: 33.7% of all VC-backed start-ups that are acquired are by VC-backed buyers. And start-ups have gotten bigger.

Acquisition 216

Acquisition Startup Cloud Data 216

Neil Patel

JUNE 16, 2025

By 2018, Dunkin’ Donuts had spread to 46 states and territories. Case Study #2: Dunkin’ Donuts Became Dunkin’ Dunkin’ Donuts got its start in Massachusetts, USA in 1950. With an offering of coffee and donuts, Dunkin’ Donuts became a staple of New England commuter life. So they asked, “What’s next?”

Underperforming Technical Team 62

Underperforming Technical Team Social Media Branding Communication 62

Buffer Resources

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

Initially, people originally used WhatsApp to send text messages to their family and friends, but the launch of WhatsApp Business in 2018 has seen the messaging platform become a popular choice for brands.  WhatsApp 2.78 billion MAU WhatsApp  is a messaging app used by people in over  180 countries , boasting an estimated 2.78

Social Media 126

Social Media Payments Branding Payment Methods 126

FastSpring

MARCH 6, 2025

And then at some point we released Spiff our second plugin in 2018, grew the company to up to about six, seven people. So reaching out and just getting to geek out with other people about the plugins that we have was the best kind of marketing, again, word of mouth, getting the word out there. Jesse Paliotto (27:37) Yeah.

Payment Methods 146

Payment Methods Business Payment Solutions SaaS Payments 146

SaaStr

MAY 7, 2025

2018-2021 was so, so different: 4. Today, DBNER is up to 107%, with Communications at 108% and Segment dropping to 94%. But at $2 Billion ARR, in the Go Go Days of SaaS, Twilio’s NRR was a stunning 140% (!) Segment Is Struggling Even More A year ago, Segment was growing at 5% year-over-year with a DBNER of 100%.

Headcount 175

Headcount AI Scale compliance 175

SaaStr

MARCH 30, 2025

." – @mitchellh on one thing he wish he knew earlier, on @saastr panel with @glennsolomon #SaaStrAnnual2018 #SaaStrAnnual #SaaStr pic.twitter.com/J5XkHWDjqQ — Notable Capital (@notablecap) February 7, 2018 Its a tough adjustment for many. And many take too long to make it. And those that dont, never do something really big.

Scale 162

Scale Sales Recruiting B2B Sales Hiring 162

Buffer Resources

MAY 22, 2025

This Instagram feature, first introduced in 2018 , lets you handpick a close friends list — a private group who can view exclusive content through your Instagram Stories. But sometimes, the real value of social media comes from smaller , more meaningful interactions. That’s where Instagram Close Friends can be a game changer.

Software Review 75

Software Review Social Media Engagement Branding 75

Sales Hacker

JUNE 3, 2025

You know, an example from the gaming industry is that there were a lot of misleading gaming ads back in like 2018, and it was big revenue. Alternatively, you’ve got pieces of business that may not be great pieces of business for your brand. It was almost like that.

Sales Hiring 92

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Sales 92

Tom Tunguz

JANUARY 4, 2019

How far along was the typical SaaS Series A in 2018? The chart below shows a representative sample of SaaS Series As’ ARR and projected ARR growth rate for 2018. The median business was at $1.8M in ARR and growing at 250%. Breaking this down a bit more into quartiles, the ARR quartiles were: 25th.

Benchmarks 261

Benchmarks Startup SaaS Data Analysis 261

Tom Tunguz

DECEMBER 26, 2018

The market pushed higher for nearly 36 months to a new high in September 2018 at 9.5x Multiples at IPO will be lower in 2019 than for most of 2018. But 2018’s multiples were at decade highs, and 2019s figures are are 40%+ larger than the trailing 8 year median. In February 2014, forward multiples touched 7.7x.

Pricing 213

Pricing SaaS Startup Investment 213

Tom Tunguz

OCTOBER 18, 2020

It hovers around 5x until 2018, then spikes to 8x, and despite some volatility, reaches its current zenith at a bit more than 10x. In 2017 and 2018, the median high-growth private company raised at a higher forward ARR multiple than in the public markets. The valuation multiple has doubled in about two years. This is a critical shift.

Software Review 363

Software Review Finance Enterprise Acquisition 363

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

In 2018, most Datadog customers used 1 product. 28% of Datadog’s customers use 4+ products, but they make up the vast majority of revenue: And 75% use 2 or more products, up from just 15% in 2018: #4. More product, more products, more products. 10 new products this year. Customers don’t buy all the products at first.

Scale 362

Scale Cloud Enterprise Scaling 362

Tom Tunguz

JUNE 23, 2024

Before 2018, only one company IPOed with more than $200m in revenue. If we divide the data set into two eras : before 2018 & 2018 onwards, we see a clear shift in the average revenue at IPO & the difference is statistically significant with a p value of 0.0063. In fact, the median revenue at IPO at $90m.

Revenue 306

Revenue Finance Trends Startup 306

SaaStr

MAY 6, 2022

The Bear Case: Multiples are still elevated compared to the pre-2018 period. So they can fall another 20%-30% just to revert back to that mean: SaaS was already on a tear starting in 2018. The argument here is that SaaS even in 2018 was overvalued. You can see a lot of VCs and others talking about this on Twitter.

SaaS 348

SaaS Azure Cloud AWS 348

SaaStr

MARCH 11, 2022

And so, Cloud multiples have rationally fallen back to where they were in 2018 and 2019. The argument here is multiples have fallen too far, since the best SaaS and Cloud companies are growing so, so much faster than in 2018 and 2019. Multiples exploded when we all lived in the Cloud, quarantined in whole or in part in the Cloud.

Scale 327

Scale SaaS Cloud Pricing 327

Tom Tunguz

AUGUST 26, 2020

Smartsheet went public in 2018. Let me know which you prefer. SmartSheet. TTM Revenue, $M. Revenue Growth. Gross Margin. Net Income Margin. -48%. Cash Flow Margin. -44%. Since its IPO, Smartsheet has increased its market cap 2.6x today, which is a favorable omen for Asana.

Payment Solutions 364

Payment Solutions Payments Outsourced Development Payment Services 364

SaaStr

MARCH 15, 2022

jasonlk) January 18, 2018. #3: jasonlk) September 21, 2018. #4: jasonlk) February 25, 2018. #5: jasonlk) February 25, 2018. #6: jasonlk) September 6, 2018. #7: jasonlk) January 14, 2018. #9: jasonlk) October 3, 2018. . — Jason BeKind Lemkin #???????????? Remind me the other rules again.

Startup 273

Startup Scaling 273

SaaStr

APRIL 29, 2021

Shopify’s first quarter revenue: Q1 2021: $989 million Q1 2020: $470 million Q1 2019: $321 million Q1 2018: $214 million Q1 2017: $127 million Q1 2016: $73 million Q1 2015: $37 million Q1 2014: $19 million Q1 2013: $9 million. NRR of 110%+ since 2018 — sort of. — Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) April 28, 2021.

Merchant Services 316

Merchant Services Payment Methods SaaS Payments Payments 316

SaaStr

JUNE 24, 2021

While Sprout Social has “only” added 13% new customers each year since 2018, those customers even with 110% NRR compound, leading to 32% ARR Growth. In 2018, even at $75m in ARR, Sprout Social only had 868 $10k+ customers. A reminder of the incredible power of NRR of 110% over say 100%.

Social Media 325

Social Media SMB Cloud Scale 325

The Daily Egg

JULY 23, 2022

Since Paychex acquired Oasis Outsourcing in 2018, Oasis PEO is now a part of the Paychex brand. Currently, the Oasis professional employer. The post Oasis PEO Review appeared first on The Daily Egg.

Branding 310

Branding 310