SaaStr

JANUARY 15, 2023

Half of You Are Giving No Raises for 2023. SaaStr 624: Investing and Venture Capital in 2023 with SaaStr Founder and CEO Jason Lemkin and Atrium Founder and CRO Pete Kazanjy. . Founder Confidential: The Secrets to Scaling with HubSpotchannel’s Founders and SaaStr’s CEO. But … You Still Gotta Grow.

Scale 226

Scale Venture Capital Sales Hiring Scaling 226

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

based SMB sales positions. SaaS sales execs with even a little bit of experience at other SaaS companies are looking for higher and higher OTEs, often with lower effective attainment and high support costs. based sales reps often aren’t really willing to work, or excel, at sub-$100k OTEs anymore. for non-enterprise sales.

SMB 268

SMB Scale Sales Hiring Sales 268

SaaStr

OCTOBER 20, 2022

In my own portfolio , more of my investments had a record month in October than a rough month. Sales tools seem under more pressure right now than infrastructure, for example. Sales tools seem under more pressure right now than infrastructure, for example. to $880 Billion in 2023 appeared first on SaaStr. Be honest.

Forecasting 240

Forecasting Artificial Intelligence Software Business 240

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

“I don’t know about you, but I fail a lot,” Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight, says as his opener at SaaStr Annual 2023. You have to lead the team, live up to the values, hit quotas and targets, and make money. A Head of Sales who was a sales rep nine years ago. A CMO who was the person doing sponsorship sales six years ago.

Scale 235

Scale Sales Hiring SaaS Scaling 235

SaaStr

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Lower interest rates lead to SaaS multiple reflation, likely during 2H’24 It’s not clear how truly tight the link is between interest rates and SaaS multiples, but the overall correlation is clear. Lower inflation and the fed lowering interest rates should lead to an expansion of SaaS multiples. It’s just math.

Scale 253

Scale SaaS AI Innovation 253

SaaStr

OCTOBER 12, 2023

Harry Stebbings of 20VC was kind enough to have us back on the latest VC Roundtable with 2 of the very, very best in growth / late-stage investing — the leaders of Insight Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures. They’ve led later stage investments in the best in SaaS and Cloud. And Where is Growth Investing?

Investment 229

Investment AI Cloud Scale 229

Sales Hacker

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Over the past year, we’ve had tons of founders ask where they should be prioritizing their marketing dollars and resources considering the wild economic year that 2023 has unfolded as. The annual Gartner 2023 CMO Spend and Strategy Survey was conducted in March and April 2023. Thanks for reading The GTM Newsletter!

Scale 103

Scale Marketing AI Search ChatGPT 103

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

As you finally begin to scale, you’ll have enough revenue to hire some great folks, but not enough to build very redundant teams. More here: From Initial Traction to Initial Scale (~$10M in ARR): The Hardest Phase. Why is my sales team less efficient at $20m ARR than at $2m in ARR? And tenacious at it. And to always be doing it.

Sales Recruiting 253

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Startup Scale 253

SaaStr

DECEMBER 21, 2022

No Downturn in 2022, and None Predicted for Now in 2023. Adobe was very bullish for 2023. Decades later, going into 2023, it’s the fastest growing division at Adobe, growing 24% currency adjusted at $2.4B And it proves just how long a life so many B2B products have — especially if you keep investing in them. #5.

Scale 262

Scale Cloud Subscription Payment Features 262

SaaStr

DECEMBER 21, 2023

What’s your most recent disclosed investment? What’s your sweet spot for investing — check size, stage, type of deal? What’s your sweet spot for investing — check size, stage, type of deal? Canvas Ventures manages $835 million in AUM, currently investing out of our third, $350 million fund.

Scale 224

Scale Venture Capital AI Generative AI 224

Totango

JANUARY 3, 2024

With Totango, businesses can integrate data to get a 360° view of customer health, collaborate to manage their customer portfolio , engage with customers when and where it matters, monitor and improve the metrics that matter , and scale CS faster with the power of people + AI. Plus, industry experts agree.

Software Review 112

Software Review Scale Customer Success Innovation 112

SaaStr

JANUARY 10, 2024

It’s still time to invest! The Big Efficiency Cuts Have Been in Sales & Marketing Procore got more efficient and its operating margins up mainly by cutting sales & marketing expense — down almost 10% this past year. Procore is still growing its customer count by a healthy 10% a year at scale.

Scale 207

Scale Payment Services Payment Features Construction 207

SaaStr

JULY 5, 2023

2022 Saw a Slowdown in Usage Growth, But 2023 Saw a Potential Bounce Back. The start of 2023 (FY ‘4) may have seen a partial bounce back, however. I like this chart a lot showing both the awesome power of high NRR, and also how you have to invest in customers that scale with you over time. Go long, invest long.

Scale 180

Scale cloud efficiency Cloud Business Model 180

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 19, 2024

Their GAAP revenue grew 5% in 2023, and 29% in Q4 ‘23 YoY. Rubrik’s subscription ARR was $784m at the end of 2023 and growing 47% YoY. For context, full year GAAP revenue in 2023 was $628m. NTM revenue multiple for a business growing >40% (at significant scale) that is operating at roughly breakeven.

Cloud 141

Cloud Scale Subscription Payment Features 141

SaaStr

JANUARY 22, 2023

SaaStr 626: 10 Lessons Learned Scaling to $1B Valuation with Drift Co-founders David Cancel and Elias Torres  2. SaaStr 627: Move Over, Sales: Why Product & Marketing are the C-Suite’s New Power Partnership with Checkout.com CMO Leela Srinivasan and CPO Meron Colbeci    4. with Brex’s VP Product Marketing 5.

Scale 193

Scale Customer Success Venture Capital Sales Hiring 193

Sales Hacker

JULY 31, 2023

It’s easy to find thought leaders on LinkedIn giving tips on using LinkedIn Sales Navigator. But when one of my reps was struggling to book meetings in Q1 this year, I couldn’t find a comprehensive guide to LinkedIn Sales Navigator — so I decided to write it. If Sales Navigator is connected to your CRM: Choose ‘My CRM Accounts.’

Scale 52

Scale Sales Hiring Sales Headcount 52

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Many startups missed 2022 revenue goals and are forecasting slower growth for 2023, especially compared to the explosive growth of teams and revenue during the Boom of 2021 and early 2022. On top of that, sales teams must still communicate with those functional leads, who then have to try and sell up internally.

Sales Hiring 130

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Strategy 130

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 17, 2023

SaaStr 684: A Deep Dive Into G2, The Power Of AI, Going Multi-Product, And The 2023 Ecosystem  4. LIVE from SaaStr Annual 2023 Stage A Masters: What The Top Founders Do Better to Scale Even Now with Y Combinator’s Managing Director Michael Siebel 3. The Next Best in About 5 Years. appeared first on SaaStr.

Scale 215

Scale Management SMB AI 215

SaaStr

DECEMBER 29, 2023

It can replace humans for those companies that can’t find someone to send emails, update the website, or do sales. Q: As you scale, how metrics-oriented should the company be? The multiples fell off a cliff in 2022 for SaaS and remained crummy in 2023. But, what didn’t get more efficient was the sales and marketing expense.

Scale 229

Scale Sales Hiring Customer Success AI 229

SaaStr

JANUARY 12, 2024

We just wrote up how some of the biggest changes of SaaS are now coming, specifically in Customer Success and Sales. Customer Success Is Vulnerable to Cuts Jason shared that he didn’t realize how vulnerable customer success was to cuts until 2023. So e ven if you had a hard 2023, there’s magic in this chart. Let’s dive in.

Sales Hiring 245

Sales Hiring Customer Success Scale AI 245

SaaStr

AUGUST 30, 2023

G2 CEO Godard Abel deep dives into his original vision for G2, going multi-product, selling with multiple sales teams, demand gen spend, and why AI is the most important thing right now. When he came back to G2, his co-founder, Tim Handorf, had scaled the platform and got it to critical mass. Zero cost of sale.

AI Search 195

AI Search AI ChatGPT Scale 195

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Rajeev Dham and Karan Singh, Partners at Sapphire Ventures, and Jane Lee, Vice President at Sapphire walk us through how to double your “Magic Number,” a shorthand for your sales and marketing efficiency. Magic Number is your growth in ARR over a quarter divided by the sales and marketing spend in the prior quarter. Let’s find out.

VP of Engineering 221

VP of Engineering Scale Marketing Benchmarks 221

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

jasonlk) October 26, 2023 Pick your jaw off the floor while we dive in with 5+ Interesting Learnings: #1. Most SMB-focused businesses need shorter CACs to make the model wok, but with 111% NRR, Bill can invest at > 12 months here. 15% Customer Growth Leads to 48% Revenue Growth Always helpful to me to see this math broken out.

Payment Services 287

Payment Services Payments SaaS Payments Payment Solutions 287

Valuize Consulting

DECEMBER 20, 2023

2023: A Year Of Accelerated Evolution In 2023, rapid technological innovation and shifting market dynamics have profoundly impacted B2B technology companies. Amidst this year of evolution, what was top of mind for B2B recurring revenue leaders in 2023? Watch Webinar 2.

Scale 52

Scale Operational efficiency. Customer Success Innovation 52

Tom Tunguz

DECEMBER 31, 2023

We also see more ARR-based web3 businesses achieving scale. US VC investment falls from $275b in 2022 to $200b in 2023 & sustains at about $200-220b in 2024 as LP interest in venture attenuates after the euphoria in 2020 & 2021. The hangover from web3’s raucous 2022 extends into 2023. Score : 0.5. 3 KnowBe4 4.6

AI Search 218

AI Search AI Scale Headcount 218

Chart Mogul

DECEMBER 22, 2022

We spoke with SaaS leaders across different sectors to bring you insights on sustainable growth strategies for 2023. We spoke with SaaS leaders across different sectors to bring you insights on sustainable growth strategies for 2023. How to grow sustainably in 2023? Track how efficiently you’re bringing in new business.

Strategy 95

Strategy Scale Finance Acquisition 95

SaaStr

AUGUST 10, 2022

Cloud revenue growing 55% — and Atlassian reaffirms 50% Cloud growth for 2023 and 2024 also! It fuels Atlassian’s confidence in predicting a strong 2023 and 2024 as well. #3. 20% growth in customer accounts leads to 36% revenue growth. That leads to 36% revenue growth at $3B in ARR. The Power of High NRR.

Scale 224

Scale Headcount Cloud Business Model 224

SaaStr

APRIL 2, 2023

In February 2023, I hit my 10-year anniversary (or “Gainaversary,” as we say) of running Gainsight. This thought is usually accompanied by a vague statement like “this person isn’t scaling.” But I should have looked more carefully at leading indicators and had a clear system to evaluate if we were on track or not.

Sales Hiring 262

Sales Hiring Scale Scaling Customer Success 262

SaaStr

JANUARY 11, 2023

Many do need help scaling up their learning systems. The LMS category is a large time investment, so it makes sense to try to get customers to do longer deals. #8. Billion with a sales-driven motion …. — Jason Be Kind Lemkin  (@jasonlk) January 11, 2023. Just under 7% of their revenues come from services. #4.

Scale 334

Scale Pricing Scaling Enterprise 334

SaaStr

MAY 17, 2023

So what’s that worth in 2023? ARR folks pic.twitter.com/2UlOfY37KS — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin  (@jasonlk) May 11, 2023 5 Interesting Learnings: #1. That’s the theme of 2023 — efficiency. A reminder that if your sales are 100% direct, you may be missing a lot of opportunities. #5.

Scale 226

Scale Cloud Enterprise Trends 226

ChurnZero

JUNE 14, 2023

How should I wrangle a constricted company budget to outlast 2023? ” When times are challenging, and the sales pipeline slows, the disparity between the cost to acquire and retain customers tends to grow. In a growing market, your sales team takes the lead in bringing in new sales. Its tech stack is new.

Scale 52

Scale Customer Success Technical Review Sales Hiring 52

FastSpring

AUGUST 3, 2022

and decrease again in 2023. There are several things you can do to prepare your go-to-market teams for changes in your prospects’ and customers’ buying behaviors and priorities. Account-based sales companies are accustomed to defining sales regions. Note: FastSpring helps companies scale with fewer company resources.

Scale 136

Scale Revenue Sales Compensation 136

SaaStr

JANUARY 30, 2023

20X year 1⃣ 12X year 2⃣ 5X year 3⃣ #deelspeed @deel [link] — Shuooo (@shuoshuooshuooo) January 23, 2023 When we look at SaaS companies’ success stories, everything looks great on their growth maps. Delivering the best customer experience With the surge in inbound leads, the business was growing exponentially.

Sales Hiring 227

Sales Hiring Payment Services SaaS Payments Scale 227

SaaStr

DECEMBER 28, 2023

What’s your most recent disclosed investment? My most recent was a $4M seed round in Class Companion, announced in October 2023. What’s your sweet spot for investing — check size, stage, type of deal? We invest across all stages — seed, early venture, and growth, with a primary focus on early-stage.

Technical Review 205

Technical Review Software Review Payment Solutions Venture Capital 205

Intercom, Inc.

MARCH 28, 2022

Third, the lines between sales, marketing, product, and support are blurring. When a customer reaches out with a question while they’re on a free trial, is that a support issue or a sales issue? They predict that by 2023, 75% of organizations will have comprehensive DX implementation roadmaps, compared to only 27% in 2020.

Scale 228

Scale Engagement Technical Review Business 228

SaaStr

MARCH 27, 2022

Go Long — if you get to Initial Scale with happy customers and good growth. This one took me a little while to figure out (thanks to Auren Hoffman for helping me see this clearly), but if you’re a founder, the best investment you can make is in yourself. And I put in a very large capital commitment into investing.

Scale 361

Scale Sales Hiring Venture Capital Startup 361

Chart Mogul

DECEMBER 20, 2023

In January, venture capitalist Fred Wilson wrote “Surviving is thriving in 2023” and I think he couldn’t have been more right. Sure, there are a lot of CRMs on the market, but our unique ability to combine subscription data with sales opportunities and customer communication all in one place has proven powerful.

Scale 52

Scale Subscription Payment Features Benchmarks 52