SaaStr

JUNE 10, 2023

Dear SaaStr: Can Founders Force a Reluctant VC to Exit (Assuming There is a Reasonable Return for All)? Sort of. Generally speaking, there is no legal or contractual way to make a VC sell / exit. There can be some exceptions, but usually there are no “drag along” or forced put rights in standard terms and conditions. But …unless (x) the VCs control the company (own > 50%+) AND (y) are willing to step in and put a CEO in, or be the CEO … the founders have a lot of de facto power here.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Scale Startup Pricing 265

Tom Tunguz

JUNE 14, 2023

If a company adds AI to their pitch or nabs a.ai domain, will they raise money at a higher valuation? Nvidia’s sudden surge to $1t in market capitalization in the public market suggests it could be the case. The data tells a different story. I plotted the 75th percentile valuation of all US software companies by stage compared to AI companies over the last twelve years.

AI 278

AI Marketing Pricing Software 278

Predictable Revenue

JUNE 14, 2023

Gray Norman joins Collin Stewart on The Monthly Meta Podcast to talk about the ins and outs of building an effective outbound sales strategy, including triggers, crafting messages, and more. The post Mastering Outbound Sales: Strategies, Triggers, and Campaigns with Gray Norman appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

Strategy 130

Strategy Sales Revenue Development 130

Andreessen Horowitz

JUNE 14, 2023

How do you scale from a scrappy, early-stage startup with a handful of employees to a growth-stage company with hundreds, or even thousands, of employees? Hire the right executives. These first principles lay the foundation for making those key hires. … The post The First Principles of Executive Hiring appeared first on Andreessen Horowitz.

Startup 92

Startup Scaling 92

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While data platforms, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and programming platforms have evolved to leverage big data and streaming data, the front-end user experience has not kept up. Holding onto old BI technology while everything else moves forward is holding back organizations. Traditional Business Intelligence (BI) aren’t built for modern data platforms and don’t work on modern architectures.

Artificial Intelligence

User Pilot

JUNE 14, 2023

The customer journey is all the interactions a user has with your product from the moment they sign up. And learning how to analyze the customer journey will help you to ensure product growth and positive business outcomes. In this article, we’ll cover the definition of customer journey analytics, discuss ways to analyze the customer journey, and review customer journey analytics tools.

Software Review 92

Software Review Trends Churn Onboarding 92

ChurnZero

JUNE 14, 2023

This article was originally published in Forbes. As the downturn starts to bite and every dollar matters more, many CEOs are asking the same question. How should I wrangle a constricted company budget to outlast 2023? For subscription businesses, the focus is clear: retaining customers. Older research from Fred Reichheld of Bain & Company showed that, in financial services, “a 5% increase in customer retention produces more than a 25% increase in profit.” When times are challengi

Scale 52

Scale Customer Success Technical Review Sales Hiring 52

BetterCloud

JUNE 14, 2023

Businesses today are all about being efficient, and that’s what many CIOs prioritize. IT leaders are constantly seeking ways to streamline their operations and increase efficiency. We have expanded automation capabilities to enhance the IT automation journey. We integrate with BambooHR, a top HRIS provider that serves as the central hub for automations in companies that use it.

Technical Review 52

Technical Review Systems Review Innovation Operational efficiency. 52

CloudKettle

JUNE 12, 2023

Trailblazers from around the world gathered at the highly anticipated Salesforce Connections 2023 event last week. The event was filled with fresh updates, new releases, and groundbreaking announcements. As a marketer, I was particularly inspired by the collaborative journey that the Marketing Product teams and the Trailblazers community are taking to shape the future of […] The post A Marketer’s Takeaways from Connections 2023 appeared first on CloudKettle.

Marketing 59

Marketing 59

SaaS Metrics

JUNE 15, 2023

Introduction In today’s fast-paced and digitally-driven world, content management has become vital for businesses and organizations aiming to establish a strong online presence. From blog posts and social media updates to website content and marketing materials, managing and curating content plays a pivotal role in engaging audiences and achieving business objectives.

Strategy 52

Strategy Management Social Media Metrics 52

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Payments

SaaStr

JUNE 12, 2023

We’re SUPER excited to announced that Expensify has returned as a second-time SaaStr Annual sponsor for 2023 Annual on September 6-8, this time as a Unicorn Sponsor! We’ve used Expensify ourselves at SaaStr for years to manage our team’s expense reports, and we’re excited to have Expensify back even bigger and better this year, and to partner with Expensify on their Chat app as well.

Payment Solutions 290

Payment Solutions Payment Features Travel Cloud 290

Tom Tunguz

JUNE 10, 2023

In the last month, Hubspot launched ChatSpot. Zendesk AI automates customer support. Salesforce launched AI Cloud. Adobe’s released Firefly. What do all of these launches & many other similar ones have in common? The largest SaaS companies in the world have released English-language APIs. Anyone can write English to enter some input (e.g., “What are my top leads for this week?

Software Review 211

Software Review SaaS Systems Review AI 211

The Daily Egg

JUNE 12, 2023

Kixie is a sales-oriented business phone service and contact center solution. Self-branded as a sales engagement and acceleration platform, the software lets. The post Kixie Review appeared first on The Daily Egg.

Software Review 161

Software Review Branding Engagement Software 161

Clouded Judgement

JUNE 16, 2023

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Follow along to stay up to date! Subscribe now Growth Adjusted Software Multiples The last 6 weeks (since the start of May) has been quite the run for software companies. The WCLD index is up 30%! The Nasdaq is up 12%. Given this move, where do multiples stand today?

Cloud 130

Cloud Software Revenue Subscription 130

Speaker: Timothy Chan, PhD., Head of Data Science

Are you ready to move beyond the basics and take a deep dive into the cutting-edge techniques that are reshaping the landscape of experimentation? 🌐 From Sequential Testing to Multi-Armed Bandits, Switchback Experiments to Stratified Sampling, Timothy Chan, Data Science Lead, is here to unravel the mysteries of these powerful methodologies that are revolutionizing how we approach testing.

Innovation

SaaStr

JUNE 16, 2023

Dear SaaStr: How Many Sales Reps Do I Need? More than you probably would think. You can back into how many sales reps you’ll need in SaaS. First, figure out how much revenue you need to close in the next twelve months. 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.

Scale 276

Scale Sales Hiring Sales Headcount 276

IT World

JUNE 13, 2023

The acquisition of Eve Systems by Swiss multinational firm ABB represents a watershed moment in the evolution of smart homes and smart buildings. Eve Systems (formerly El Gato) is a veteran name in the Apple ecosystem. The company has been a large exponent of HomeKit, Thread, and Matter. It sells a catalog of solutions that run the gamut of smarthome items, from connected light switches to gardening timers and blinds.

Acquisition 116

Acquisition 116

Buffer Resources

JUNE 12, 2023

We couldn’t be more excited for this one. You can now enjoy all of the benefits of Buffer with an Instagram Creator account. For years, we’ve heard from folks that they want to connect a variety of Instagram accounts to Buffer. We have over 1 Million people who have connected an Instagram channel to Buffer, so we get this request a lot.

Social Media 104

Social Media Branding Management Metrics 104

Andreessen Horowitz

JUNE 14, 2023

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half. —John Wanamaker, United States Postmaster General from 1889–1893 Of all your executive roles, the one that’s likely to turn over the most is … The post Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer appeared first on Andreessen Horowitz.

Marketing 101

Marketing Advertising 101

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Payments

SaaStr

JUNE 16, 2023

So Carta recently put together some dat a on a topic I’ve wondered about: just how many startups allow option exercises beyond the traditional 90 day window? The answer: the general trend is just over 10% of startups have extended windows beyond the traditional 90 days for departing employees to exercise stock options. But that is extended in tougher times, like just after lockdown in 2020 … and in 2023.

Startup 253

Startup Trends Data Compensation 253

IT World

JUNE 12, 2023

Mike Rockwell, Apple vice president for the technology development group, says that from the first second of wearing Apple Vision Pro the experience is designed to be “ special.” Most of the fortunate few who spent time using Apple Vision Pro admit to being stunned by what Apple's built. But where will it be in two years’ time? “Who is it for?” and “Where’s the killer app?

Technology 111

Technology Development 111

Unbounce

JUNE 15, 2023

Alexa, add organic baby carrots to my grocery list and play Walk This Way by Run-D.M.C.! Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way we live. From virtual assistants to self-driving cars, AI-powered technology is transforming us into a more efficient species by automating mundane tasks, providing personalized recommendations, and helping us make informed decisions.

Artificial Intelligence 98

Artificial Intelligence AI Search AI ChatGPT 98

User Pilot

JUNE 14, 2023

Looking to leverage the product feedback survey template to gather valuable insights from your customers? Crafting an effective product feedback survey requires careful consideration. You want to ask the right questions in the right way to extract meaningful user sentiment insights. A product feedback survey template can help you here by streamlining the feedback collection process with the most relevant questions.

Scale 96

Scale SaaS User Experience Market Research 96

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In the rapidly-evolving world of embedded analytics and business intelligence, one important question has emerged at the forefront: How can you leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance your application’s analytics capabilities? Imagine having an AI tool that answers your user’s questions with a deep understanding of the context in their business and applications, nuances of their industry, and unique challenges they face.

Artificial Intelligence

SaaStr

JUNE 13, 2023

Dear SaaStr: Does paying higher salaries increase employee retention? Yes, if their salaries are unfair, unequal, or below market. Otherwise — maybe not. Here’s what I’ve learned across 3 startups of my own, and investing in 25+ more: Underpaying certainly leads to departures. Employees that are underpaid get bitter and leave. Don’t let it go. Review salaries quarterly, not just annually.

Retention 231

Retention Startup Investment Sales 231

IT World

JUNE 14, 2023

The European Parliament has approved a draft of the EU's AI Act, taking a major step toward what could be the first comprehensive set of regulations for AI in the West. However, the legislation did not pass unanimously, with the final vote at 499 in favor, 28 against, and 93 abstentions. While today’s vote marks a huge step forward in the regulation of AI technology, the draft legislation is still subject to change, with each EU country needing to agree on the bill before it becomes law.

AI 105

AI Artificial Intelligence Generative AI ChatGPT 105

Andreessen Horowitz

JUNE 14, 2023

As a technical and product founder, this is likely one of the most emotional hires you’ll have to make. While you’ve already hired product managers or even a head of product, you’ve largely remained in charge of the product vision … The post Hiring a Chief Product Officer appeared first on Andreessen Horowitz.

Management 93

Management 93

SaaS Metrics

JUNE 13, 2023

In the ever-evolving landscape of today’s business world, countless businesses are making their mark in the digital marketplace. It has become imperative to employ intelligent strategies that increase your visibility in target markets and connect with a broader consumer base. Among various other digital marketing tactics, search engine optimization (SEO) is the.

Engineering 90

Engineering Metrics Strategy SaaS 90

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User Experience

SaaStr

JUNE 11, 2023

Dear SaaStr: Do VCs Want To Talk To Senior Execs That Quit a Portfolio Company? Generally, if the issues are around: harassment or any inappropriate conduct, or fraud or misleading financials, etc, or something else that is wrong legally, ethically, morally, financially, etc. then I definitely need and want to have the meeting. I absolutely want to hear about it, immediately.

Startup 230

Startup Management Company Culture 230

IT World

JUNE 14, 2023

Currently available in beta, iPadOS 17 at first glance doesn’t deliver the same magnitude of productivity improvements we saw in the previous version of the tablet OS. Still, there are some useful additions , many of which are shared across all relevant Apple platforms. Stage Manager is a lot more flexible Stage Manager now lets you resize app windows.

Management 94

Management 94

Sales Hacker

JUNE 13, 2023

I hear this a lot from business leaders — and it’s always kind of sheepish: “Chris, how do we actually make a sales process?” And I get it. Sales processes don’t just happen. They don’t just appear out of thin air. Instead, growing companies realize that they don’t actually have a sales process in place, so they either let their sales reps do their own thing — or they cobble something together that pleases no one.

Sales Hiring 87

Sales Hiring Sales Finance Education 87