SaaStr

MAY 5, 2021

Did you hire a good enough VP? 4 part test: – who great did they hire in the first 60 days? — Jason BeKind Lemkin (@jasonlk) May 4, 2021. Hiring your VPs as a founder is tough. How do you know, quickly, if you’ve hired a “good enough” VP? 50% of the job of a real VP is recruiting.

Part-Time VPE 239

Part-Time VPE Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Metrics 239

SaaStr

APRIL 16, 2021

— Jason BeKind Lemkin (@jasonlk) April 15, 2021. Support and partner with sales. Having a CMO that is present, that is visible, is great for recruiting and much more. So my only advice is just this: when the time comes to hire a CMO, take a look at their LinkedIn, their Twitter profile, their blog posts.

Sales Recruiting 337

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Branding Product Marketing 337

SaaStr

OCTOBER 28, 2022

In 2021, there was much less focus on efficiency and more on revenue metrics like ARR. In 2021 there was a lot of emphasis on top-line revenue growth, what percentage year-over-year was the business growing, and less emphasis on things like gross margins and quality of revenue.”. A New SaaS Playbook.

Sales Recruiting 260

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Leadership Interviewing 260

SaaStr

APRIL 7, 2021

. — Elkanah Carnell Reed (@ElkanahReed) April 6, 2021. There are roughly 2 types of start-up management teams. The first type is the kind of management team hired by second+ time founders. Often folks they convince to once again be a VP of Eng or VP of Sales. Even though they already did that before.

Part-Time VPE 275

Part-Time VPE Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting CTO Hire 275

SaaStr

MARCH 20, 2024

They discuss Sam’s learnings at Founders Fund, what the 2024 playbook looks like, hiring and motivating sales teams, and a handful of audience questions. For folks in SaaS, what got confusing in 2021 is that growth blew up so much in SaaS that the venture bar got lower. On the sales side, people hired way too much.

Sales Hiring 300

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Scale Headcount 300

SaaStr

DECEMBER 1, 2023

Hiring a VP of Sales isn’t new, but the conversations have evolved as the world has. SaaStr’s own Jason Lemkin shares the top 10 mistakes he sees during the hiring process during Workshop Wednesday, held every Wednesday at 10 a.m. The last 18 months have seen the biggest changes in the VP of Sales in his SaaS career.

Sales Hiring 157

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Sales Interviewing 157

SaaStr

JUNE 2, 2023

In 2020-2021, many SaaS startups faced a unique challenge. Recruit diverse leaders The goal of hiring a revenue leader is to put gasoline on finding product market fit success. Hire a leader who will not only agree with you but someone you can disagree with in a respectful and productive way.

Sales Recruiting 261

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale Branding 261

SaaStr

JUNE 27, 2024

In 2021, they grew from 50 people to 650 people in one year, and now they have over 1,100 people in 170+ countries and tens of thousands of customers. As it grows, it changes significantly, especially as you move from hiring people who can do everything to hiring more specialized roles.

Scale 261

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Sales Recruiting 261

SaaStr

AUGUST 11, 2021

— Jason BeKind Lemkin (@jasonlk) August 11, 2021. A ways back at SaaStr, we did a post “If Your VP Sales Isn’t Going to Work Out — You’ll Know in 30 Days” At first, so many VPs of Sales I know hated the post. A great VP can’t always double sales in a month or two. They can’t hire.

Sales Recruiting 307

Sales Recruiting Scale Sales Hiring Scaling 307

SaaStr

JULY 25, 2021

As we gear up for 2021 SaaStr Annual, I wanted to highlight some of my very favorite Annual sessions from the past you may have missed. They talked about product adoption, sales alignment, freemium models and lessons they have learned throughout their successful SaaS careers. Jyoti Bansal: Let’s switch topics to sales.

Sales Recruiting 261

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale VP of Engineering 261

SaaStr

JULY 13, 2023

Startups come in all shapes and sizes on various stages of a timeline, yet it’s not surprising how many have the same questions and concerns about how to scale from x to y to z, the right time to hire and fire, and how to keep a team motivated during hard times. Q: Where Should SDRs Report — Marketing or Sales?

CTO Hire 242

CTO Hire Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale 242

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

In this Ask Me Anything Part 1, Lemkin answers the questions: Many VCs talk about funding, yet you’re so focused on sales. Question #1: Why Are You So Focused On Sales When Other VCs Are Focused On Funding? That VP of Sales came out of Salesforce. Lemkin’s Hail Mary was hiring Brendon Cassidy when that first VP of Sales quit.

Outsourcing Services 285

Outsourcing Services Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting 285

SaaStr

JULY 1, 2021

As part of the run up to 2021 SaaStr Annual in the SF Bay Area Sep 27-29, we’re taking a look back at some of our top sessions of all times. Certainly, at YC where our version of hiring is basically choosing which founders to fund. I don’t think that answers the question of how you actually hire. Get tickets here.

VP of Engineering 293

VP of Engineering Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Underperforming Technical Team 293

SaaStr

JULY 14, 2022

Fast forward 1 year, 8 digital events, and 2 shots later, we announced in May 2021 that SaaStr Annual 2021 was on ! Founders were able to recruit on-site. total attendees, e.g., a CEO + a VP of Sales and a VP of Customer Success, or two Co-Founders, or CEO + CTO, etc. VPs were able to recruit and make new hires.

Scale 307

Scale Sales Recruiting CTO Hire New CTO 307

OpenView Labs

MARCH 8, 2021

B2B sales involves one business selling its product to another business. Those with experience in both B2B and B2C sales know that B2B is a lot tougher—the deals are bigger, there’s often more than one decision-maker, and the competition is intense. For all those reasons, hiring and management must be on point.

Sales Hiring 98

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting B2B 98

SaaStr

APRIL 7, 2022

— Jon Ma (@jonbma) March 27, 2021. We took the series A, interesting enough, the first executive hired by, thanks to the sales coaching, actually was marketing. Growth for us is about massive scaling and hiring. seed round. 2015: $1m rev. 2016: $3.5m 2017: $30m rev. 2018: $155m rev. 2019: $336m rev. 2020: $607m rev.

Sales Hiring 274

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Outsourcing Services 274

Sales Hacker

DECEMBER 30, 2020

B2B sales is always changing, but nothing could’ve quite prepared us for the wild ride that 2020 ended up being. While most of us have settled into the new normal and the challenges that come with it, sales leaders are looking ahead with uncertainty. Best Sales Statistics to Know in 2021. Short on time?

Sales Hiring 132

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Underperforming Technical Team Revenue 132

SaaStr

JULY 10, 2021

As part of the run up to 2021 SaaStr Annual in the SF Bay Area Sep 27-29, we’re taking a look back at some of our top sessions of all times. As a founder/CEO, building your first management team is something that you often lose sleep over. Which role should you hire for first? Get best price tickets here!!! And for good reason.

Sales Hiring 261

Sales Hiring Underperforming Technical Team Development Team Review CTO Hire 261

OpenView Labs

DECEMBER 16, 2019

And according to Gartner , by the time 2021 hits, the software industry will have grown another $113 billion. So if scaling your sales organization is a priority in 2020, here are the things you need to be aware of to make sure you do so successfully. Hiring sales leaders will get harder. How to build a magnetic brand.

Sales Recruiting 78

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale Trends 78

FastSpring

MARCH 8, 2021

With high numbers of men in leadership positions and a lack of emphasis on hiring women for those leadership roles, you can see the issue here. Having more women in technology will help close the gender gap and creates more female mentorship opportunities.” – Elizabeth Faddis – Recruitment Manager.

Technical Review 148

Technical Review Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Leadership 148

Sales Hacker

JANUARY 28, 2021

That idea might sound crazy, but it’s actually part of a new trend sales organizations are using to hit their revenue targets. Social selling is a way for sales professionals to use social media platforms to connect with prospects and start building relationships. These are our best LinkedIn profile tips for 2021.

Sales Recruiting 128

Sales Recruiting Technical Review Sales Hiring Software Review 128

Sales Hacker

JUNE 3, 2025

Over his 15-year career at Meta, Rick was instrumental in driving international expansion, especially across Europe, the Middle East, and Africahelping to localize strategy, scale high-performing sales teams, and bring new ad products to market. Rick is the former managing director of Meta Ireland. Rick Kelley: You’re right.

Sales Hiring 87

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Sales 87

Sales Hacker

DECEMBER 19, 2022

As the president of Sales Xceleration, a firm specializing in assessing and implementing sales strategy , sales processes, and sales execution to drive growth, I’ve seen how job hopping can affect otherwise stable sales teams. million workers left their jobs in 2021 — 70% of them voluntarily.

Sales Hiring 103

Sales Hiring Underperforming Technical Team Sales Recruiting Compensation 103

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

They started in the point of sale market, and then as the company scaled, they rolled out new value props and modules for payroll, or Toast capital, or ways to manage your employee base. This is really founder-led sales. Byron gave a great example with Toast, one of my favorite portfolio companies. That’s your CAC.

Sales Hiring 228

Sales Hiring Scale Payments Sales Recruiting 228

OpenView Labs

JANUARY 31, 2022

You are looking for tips on how to hire top talent, so now what? . It is no surprise that 2022’s job market is just as hot as 2021 , and the competition for talent is more saturated than ever. Just a few bullet points with a basic overview of what the hire is responsible for can come easily. Prepare your materials .

Sales Hiring 94

Sales Hiring Interviewing Sales Recruiting SMB 94

Sales Hacker

JUNE 13, 2025

In 2021, capital was abundant, valuations were soaring, and venture moved fast. The bar is higher, but so are the stakes “This isn’t 2021. This is visible in two places: Startup formation is down – just 40% of 2021’s peak, according to AngelList. Founders raised rounds in days. 2025 is a different world.

AI Search 88

AI Search Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Scale 88

Sales Hacker

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

At Sales Hacker, our Community Leaders help build relationships with our members. Add them to your network and give them a warm welcome, because you’ll be seeing them all over Sales Hacker in the coming months! WHY SALES HACKER? Sales Hacker provides a network of sales professionals dedicated to helping others in similar roles.

Scale 126

Scale Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Sales 126

Sales Hacker

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

Hiring was a common thread in conversations at both community dinners we hosted this week – one in San Francisco and the other in Austin (included a picture further along – great time as always!). It’s a strange hiring market out there especially at early-stage companies. Almost every company seems to be hiring.

Interviewing 116

Interviewing Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Underperforming Technical Team 116

Tom Tunguz

OCTOBER 24, 2021

And then from 2004 to 2014, she was at Google and managed lots of different things, including the self-driving cars project, global sales and operations, and the business teams for checkout in Google Apps. ” In the hiring committee meeting. I’m not just pushing to hire. I do my own reference calls.

CTO Coach 164

CTO Coach Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting CTO Hire 164

Intercom, Inc.

MAY 13, 2021

Although Linda started her career in sales, she has spent the past twelve years scaling post-sales teams and moving hyper-growth companies like Zendesk, Slack, and now Gong upmarket into the enterprise realm. Your first SaaS customer success hire. Since then, you’ve spent over 12 years in post-sales leadership.

Customer Success 177

Customer Success Scale Sales Hiring Strategy 177

Valuize Consulting

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Is it going to come from the Sales and Marketing budget, or General Administrative budget? In 2021, standard segmentation shifted to 4 tiers, signaling an industry-wide switch to digital engagement. Where does Sales, Support, Training & Education play and what does the handoff look like? leverage Training & Development.

VP of Engineering 98

VP of Engineering Customer Success Sales Hiring Interviewing 98

OpenView Labs

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Average seed round in 2021: $5.6M. The exciting thing about prototypes is that large-scale experiments can be built through open-source projects , which companies like Netflix and Linkedin will do as a strategic way of recruiting top talent. . Why startup founders should treat fundraising like a sales funnel. Phase 1: Idea.

Sales Hiring 98

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Marketing 98

OPEXEngine

APRIL 8, 2021

What Are the Most Significant Factors Impacting the Business Environment for Your Company in 2021? Fundamental shifts in customer buying, big changes in workforce expectations, and rapid movement in the competitor landscape are what SaaS companies expect to have the most impact on business in 2021. Many companies slowed hiring in 2020.

Sales Hiring 59

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting SaaS Business 59

Intercom, Inc.

JULY 19, 2021

In fact, when we engaged Forrester Consulting, an independent research firm, in April 2021 to explore how channel preferences are changing, they found that preference for messaging-based support has significantly grown since the beginning of the pandemic. Teams that benefit: Sales, marketing.

Underperforming Technical Team 129

Underperforming Technical Team Scale Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting 129

OpenView Labs

JUNE 3, 2021

Note: This post was originally published in January 2016 and was updated in June 2021. Engineering manages IT. Hiring managers take on HR responsibilities. Specifically, I’m talking about product management and product marketing. Related read: 5 Major Product Marketing Trends to Watch In 2021.

Product Marketing 98

Product Marketing Sales Hiring Startup Scale 98

Sales Hacker

APRIL 21, 2021

Do you love chasing down the sale? What about using data analysis to create sales strategies? Revenue operations (RevOps) is a centralized org within a company that supports all revenue-generating business operations including Sales Ops, Marketing Ops, Customer Success Ops, and systems management. Unified data problems.

Sales Recruiting 114

Sales Recruiting Scale Technical Review Technical Advisors 114

SaaStr

AUGUST 7, 2020

359: The Secrets to Vertical Growth, What it Really Takes to Build a $1B SaaS Company with Matt Garratt, SVP, Managing Partner @ Salesforce Ventures, Trisha Price, Chief Product Officer @ nCino and David Schmaier, CEO & Founder @ Vlocity. They need fewer sales as a percentage of overall employees. David Schmaier: Sure.

Payment Solutions 208

Payment Solutions Pricing Payments Payment Services 208