Expert insights. Personalized for you.
SalesLoft, the First Ecosystem Partner of SaaStr Annual 2021 Conference . MORE
As a company founder, were there any early hires that almost ruined the company? I’ve had one or two each time. Try to avoid it! In my first start-up, I found the Dream COO. He had 20 years of industry experience (vs. me, I had none). The customers loved, loved, loved him. MORE
Q: Dear SaaStr: Should a Startup Founder Handle Sales Themself When First Getting Started? The answer is yes – 95% of the time. The “best” sequence for building a repeatable sales engine is roughly: The CEO/founder should close at least the first 10 (or 20 or whatever) customers. MORE
I’ve written a lot about this, but for most start-ups, you can boil it down to two criteria any first VP of Sales just has to meet: Has she built at least a small team before? Have they hired at least 2–3 reps that have performed well? MORE
We’re gearing up for the first 100% outdoors, open-air SaaStr Annual Sep 27-29 and a lot is going on! Take a look at our latest speaker additions here: Martin Mickos, CEO, HackerOne, Inc. Zach Kitschke, CMO, Canva. Zeb Evans, Founder & CEO, ClickUp. Tom Clayton, CRO @ Bill.com. MORE
Q: I’m starting a job at a SaaS company after years in consumer apps. What should I know that might not be obvious to a newcomer? You have to love customers and all the struggles and dramas around making and keeping them happy. I know this doesn’t sound profound, but it is. MORE
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. Get best price tickets here!!! This session is particularly fun to look back on. In 2017, Zapier, Walkme and Dialpad were all beginning to break out. MORE
Q: At what stage should SaaS founders fully stop being individual contributors? I’ve come up with 2 rough rules here to avoid stalling out: Try to have a complete 1.0 management team by $4m ARR at least. Earlier is better, of course. And try to hire at least 1 strong VP by $1m ARR. MORE
Secrets to a solid interview: 1/ Interview your heroes 2/ Do an hour of research 3/ Write out 5 great questions + 5 back-up questions 4/ Listen, and ask +1 follow-up question on the great responses 5/ Share questions ahead of time. Most will read them, some will add good ideas. MORE
Nick Mehta, CEO of Customer Success leader Gainsight, recently did a short post above on his Top 7 takeaways talking with customer success leader for the first time in-person in a long time. These points are so interesting I thought I’d add a few thoughts on to them. 7 takeaways: 1. MORE
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. This was certainly one of them. Jyoti Bansal, Founder and CEO of harness.io and Dev Ittycheria, President and CEO of MongoDB held a fireside chat at SaaStr Annual. MORE
Q: What would a good Sales Comp Plan for a B2B SaaS Company with ACV ~$1,200 / ARPU ~$100 look like? This is a pretty low price point for a sales-driven SaaS model, but it can be done. You do have to be ruthlessly efficient, however. MORE
Your API. If you are a B2D company, it’s your product itself, your API. But for most B2B companies, your API, your partner programs, and the like are extensions. Not your core product, but an important layer for improving customer experience. MORE
You can back into it. First, figure out how much revenue you need to close in the next twelve month s. Because that’s more than now. Second, calculate a reasonable attainable quota for your closers, your Account Executives. This is generally derivate of your deal size. MORE
Reg is open for FREE SaaStr Money 2021 next week!! The top sessions will likely change a bit by the time we get there, but here are the Top 5 session so far. Just click on the links / images to sign up for any of them!! #5. MORE
Q: What are some common blind spots and mistakes startups make when hiring for and building out a sales team? Some of the top blind spots founders and even VPs of Sales make: #1. You hire a sales rep to sell before you can prove you can do it yourself. You have to prove it’s sellable first. MORE
Q: What are the most common challenges of a VP of marketing transitioning into a Chief Revenue officer CRO role? I’ve almost never seen this work. But I see more and more VPMs wanting to be CROs in the past few years. Be wary. Way, way too many senior marketers think CRO is “the next step” for them. MORE
A less-known part of SaaStr’s Equality, Inclusion and Balance program is that U.S. armed services veterans come as VIP guests for Free on us. Our only ask is that CEOs at $2m+ ARR, VCs, and others who can easily afford a pass please not apply). MORE
212 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. It may seem like you are in a hurry, but in the end, anything less than a great co-founder will set you back. MORE
There’s a pattern I see again and again, probably with 30% of venture-backed start-ups, maybe 40%. Their burn rate sneaks up on them, and becomes a bit out of control — without feeling like it. MORE
Q: What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in your career? My list: Slow down big decisions, speed up the rest. I’m not the first to say this, but boy it’s correct. Wait and find a truly great co-founder. I’ve done so, so much better when I had a great co-founder. MORE
We’ve written this point before, embedded in other posts. We’ve talked about it in many presentations. But it’s time to call out One Simple Hack to getting sales going in your SaaS start-up, in the early-ish days. One of the best there is in SaaS. I’ll tell you the trick. MORE
Q: Dear SaaStr: Should I Publish My Pricing? If you aren’t sure — then yes. Transparent pricing has many advantages: It makes the sales process simpler. It allows prospects and leads to do more discovery work on their own. And it places you app in pricing context with other apps. MORE
Q: What is the meanest thing that venture capitalists can do to founders? Even today, a lot of founders worry about raising VC capital. They hear the stories about how things went sideways. And those stories often are true. MORE
So Monday.com has filed to IPO with some pretty incredible numbers, especially considering just how competitive the space is. At $240m in ARR, they are growing a stunning 85% year-over-year! MORE
So Microsoft announced that LinkedIn, which it bought in 2016, has now crossed a stunning $10 Billion in ARR — and growing 27% year-over-year. That’s pretty incredible. And in the last quarter alone, LinkedIn grew 46% (!). MORE
Q: What’s the proper way to commission a multi-year SaaS sale with increasing ACV each year? There’s no perfect answer here, but at least until you are at $10m+ ARR , my strongest recommendation is align around cash. MORE
Yes for sure. I also think, as a case study, @jenntejada is a great example of CEO that adds value to the product itself like @levie. Being out there & inspiring people about your mission, I think makes customers on balance choose you. and keep you top of mind much more often. MORE
Q: Dear SaaStr: What Percent of My Revenue Should Come from Referrals and Word of Mouth? Ultimately, almost all software companies end up getting 20-50% or so of their new customers from their existing customers once they hit scale. Sometimes even more. From referrals. From brand. From word-of-mouth. MORE
In the run-up to 2021 SaaStr Annual, we’re looking back at some of the top all-time sessions. One of the most popular sessions at SaaStr Annual, Busting the Myths About Startup Success with BlackLine CEO and Founder Therese Tucker is up at the top of our must-watch list. MORE
Byron Deeter, general partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and I caught up on SaaS and Cloud in general and the upcoming Cloud100 awards and learnings. The full session is below and sign up for the Cloud 100 for FREE here. A few of the takeaways: #1. MORE
Avalara is a leading public SaaS company we probably should all know more about. Avalara manages a big problem — tax and related compliance automation. Its roots are in SMEs sold directly, a market a lot of us attack as well. MORE
SaaStr
JULY 28, 2021
Byron Deeter, general partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and I caught up on SaaS and Cloud in general and the upcoming Cloud100 awards and learnings. The full session is below and sign up for the Cloud 100 for FREE here. A few of the takeaways: #1.
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. It may seem like you are in a hurry, but in the end, anything less than a great co-founder will set you back.
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SaaStr
JULY 22, 2021
Q: Dear SaaStr: What Percent of My Revenue Should Come from Referrals and Word of Mouth? Ultimately, almost all software companies end up getting 20-50% or so of their new customers from their existing customers once they hit scale. Sometimes even more. From referrals. From brand. From word-of-mouth.
SaaStr
JULY 22, 2021
Avalara is a leading public SaaS company we probably should all know more about. Avalara manages a big problem — tax and related compliance automation. Its roots are in SMEs sold directly, a market a lot of us attack as well.
Advertiser: Heap
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SaaStr
JULY 25, 2021
You can back into it. First, figure out how much revenue you need to close in the next twelve month s. Because that’s more than now. Second, calculate a reasonable attainable quota for your closers, your Account Executives. This is generally derivate of your deal size.
SaaStr
JULY 26, 2021
Q: Dear SaaStr: Should a Startup Founder Handle Sales Themself When First Getting Started? The answer is yes – 95% of the time. The “best” sequence for building a repeatable sales engine is roughly: The CEO/founder should close at least the first 10 (or 20 or whatever) customers.
SaaStr
JULY 7, 2021
Q: What is the meanest thing that venture capitalists can do to founders? Even today, a lot of founders worry about raising VC capital. They hear the stories about how things went sideways. And those stories often are true.
SaaStr
JULY 23, 2021
We’re gearing up for the first 100% outdoors, open-air SaaStr Annual Sep 27-29 and a lot is going on! Take a look at our latest speaker additions here: Martin Mickos, CEO, HackerOne, Inc. Zach Kitschke, CMO, Canva. Zeb Evans, Founder & CEO, ClickUp. Tom Clayton, CRO @ Bill.com.
SaaStr
JULY 6, 2021
Q: What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in your career? My list: Slow down big decisions, speed up the rest. I’m not the first to say this, but boy it’s correct. Wait and find a truly great co-founder. I’ve done so, so much better when I had a great co-founder.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
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SaaStr
JULY 21, 2021
Nick Mehta, CEO of Customer Success leader Gainsight, recently did a short post above on his Top 7 takeaways talking with customer success leader for the first time in-person in a long time. These points are so interesting I thought I’d add a few thoughts on to them. 7 takeaways: 1.
SaaStr
JULY 28, 2021
In the run-up to 2021 SaaStr Annual, we’re looking back at some of the top all-time sessions. One of the most popular sessions at SaaStr Annual, Busting the Myths About Startup Success with BlackLine CEO and Founder Therese Tucker is up at the top of our must-watch list.
SaaStr
JULY 11, 2021
Q: At what stage should SaaS founders fully stop being individual contributors? I’ve come up with 2 rough rules here to avoid stalling out: Try to have a complete 1.0 management team by $4m ARR at least. Earlier is better, of course. And try to hire at least 1 strong VP by $1m ARR.
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. This was certainly one of them. Jyoti Bansal, Founder and CEO of harness.io and Dev Ittycheria, President and CEO of MongoDB held a fireside chat at SaaStr Annual.
Speaker: Johanna Rothman, Management Consultant, Rothman Consulting Group
Join Johanna Rothman, Author and Consultant, for her session that will discuss why instead of designing for the users, CTOs and their teams should collaborate with empowered users to create a great product together.
SaaStr
JULY 10, 2021
Q: Dear SaaStr: Should I Publish My Pricing? If you aren’t sure — then yes. Transparent pricing has many advantages: It makes the sales process simpler. It allows prospects and leads to do more discovery work on their own. And it places you app in pricing context with other apps.
SaaStr
JULY 11, 2021
Q: I’m starting a job at a SaaS company after years in consumer apps. What should I know that might not be obvious to a newcomer? You have to love customers and all the struggles and dramas around making and keeping them happy. I know this doesn’t sound profound, but it is.
SaaStr
MAY 19, 2021
So Monday.com has filed to IPO with some pretty incredible numbers, especially considering just how competitive the space is. At $240m in ARR, they are growing a stunning 85% year-over-year!
SaaStr
JULY 15, 2021
A less-known part of SaaStr’s Equality, Inclusion and Balance program is that U.S. armed services veterans come as VIP guests for Free on us. Our only ask is that CEOs at $2m+ ARR, VCs, and others who can easily afford a pass please not apply).
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SaaStr
JULY 12, 2021
Q: What are some common blind spots and mistakes startups make when hiring for and building out a sales team? Some of the top blind spots founders and even VPs of Sales make: #1. You hire a sales rep to sell before you can prove you can do it yourself. You have to prove it’s sellable first.
SaaStr
JULY 30, 2021
As a company founder, were there any early hires that almost ruined the company? I’ve had one or two each time. Try to avoid it! In my first start-up, I found the Dream COO. He had 20 years of industry experience (vs. me, I had none). The customers loved, loved, loved him.
SaaStr
JULY 5, 2021
First off, the axiom that companies are bought, not sold, is mostly right. 95 times out of 100, you can’t wake up some morning and just go sell your start-up.
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. Get best price tickets here!!! This session is particularly fun to look back on. In 2017, Zapier, Walkme and Dialpad were all beginning to break out.
Advertiser: ZoomInfo
In our 24-criterion evaluation of B2B marketing data providers, we identified the 11 most significant vendors — Data Axle, Dun & Bradstreet, Enlyft, Global Database, InsideView, Leadspace, Oracle, SMARTe, Spiceworks Ziff Davis, TechTarget, and ZoomInfo Technologies — and researched, analyzed, and scored them. This report shows how each provider measures up and helps B2B marketing professionals select the right one for their needs.
SaaStr
JULY 29, 2021
So Microsoft announced that LinkedIn, which it bought in 2016, has now crossed a stunning $10 Billion in ARR — and growing 27% year-over-year. That’s pretty incredible. And in the last quarter alone, LinkedIn grew 46% (!).
SaaStr
MAY 21, 2021
Yes for sure. I also think, as a case study, @jenntejada is a great example of CEO that adds value to the product itself like @levie. Being out there & inspiring people about your mission, I think makes customers on balance choose you. and keep you top of mind much more often.
SaaStr
JULY 2, 2021
I’ve written a lot about this, but for most start-ups, you can boil it down to two criteria any first VP of Sales just has to meet: Has she built at least a small team before? Have they hired at least 2–3 reps that have performed well?
SaaStr
JULY 8, 2021
Q: What’s the proper way to commission a multi-year SaaS sale with increasing ACV each year? There’s no perfect answer here, but at least until you are at $10m+ ARR , my strongest recommendation is align around cash.
Speaker: Dr. Joe Perez, Senior Systems Analyst at NC Dept. of Health & Human Services, and Chief Technology Officer at SolonTek
Join Dr. Joe Perez, Senior Systems Analyst at NC DHHS, and Chief Technology Officer, SolonTek, to learn how you can capitalize on your ideas by blending internal with external while leveraging them into a cohesive strategy for both the short term and the long term.
SaaStr
JULY 2, 2021
Q: What would a good Sales Comp Plan for a B2B SaaS Company with ACV ~$1,200 / ARPU ~$100 look like? This is a pretty low price point for a sales-driven SaaS model, but it can be done. You do have to be ruthlessly efficient, however.
SaaStr
JUNE 28, 2021
We’ve written this point before, embedded in other posts. We’ve talked about it in many presentations. But it’s time to call out One Simple Hack to getting sales going in your SaaS start-up, in the early-ish days. One of the best there is in SaaS. I’ll tell you the trick.
SaaStr
JULY 21, 2021
Secrets to a solid interview: 1/ Interview your heroes 2/ Do an hour of research 3/ Write out 5 great questions + 5 back-up questions 4/ Listen, and ask +1 follow-up question on the great responses 5/ Share questions ahead of time. Most will read them, some will add good ideas.
SaaStr
JUNE 28, 2021
There’s a pattern I see again and again, probably with 30% of venture-backed start-ups, maybe 40%. Their burn rate sneaks up on them, and becomes a bit out of control — without feeling like it.
Advertiser: Heap
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SaaStr
JULY 6, 2021
Q: As a SaaS company should you include professional services in your ARR number? Include professional services in your total revenue run rate. But — break it out.
SaaStr
APRIL 10, 2021
Your API. If you are a B2D company, it’s your product itself, your API. But for most B2B companies, your API, your partner programs, and the like are extensions. Not your core product, but an important layer for improving customer experience.
SaaStr
JULY 29, 2021
SalesLoft, the First Ecosystem Partner of SaaStr Annual 2021 Conference .
SaaStr
JULY 8, 2021
Reg is open for FREE SaaStr Money 2021 next week!! The top sessions will likely change a bit by the time we get there, but here are the Top 5 session so far. Just click on the links / images to sign up for any of them!! #5.
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