SaaStr

APRIL 13, 2025

Dear SaaStr: How Much of a Threat is AI to Traditional B2B Startups Today? link] — Marc Benioff (@Benioff) March 29, 2025 In most cases, AI wont outright kill SaaS B2B startups now or even soon. Explosion of Competition : AI has lowered the barriers to entry for new startups. In fact, they are embracing it.

AI 151

AI B2B Startup Innovation 151

SaaStr

OCTOBER 19, 2024

Note I did take out a few that would have made the list but were a bit dated etc: #1, 279,000 Views: “How To Perfectly Pitch Your Seed Stage Startup With Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel: Ycombinator is pretty popular #2. So if you want to catch up, here are The Top 10 Most Popular SaaStr YouTube Sessions of All Time.

Acquisition 284

Acquisition Innovation Startup Engineering 284

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

This is epic opportunity to showcase your AI Startup. If you’re building the next AI breakthrough in SaaS, pitch your startup at the MayfieldAI AI Demo Stage at SaaStr. Selected founders will demo their innovation to leading SaaS CEOs, founders, and investors at SaaStr Annual (May 13-15, SF Bay Area ).

AI 295

AI Startup Innovation Investment 295

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 6, 2022

As I’ve explored web3 I’ve been forming a mental model of the major innovations powering this enormous wave of innovation. What’s a startup to do? Because this technique is so new, startups have the upper hand: Innovator’s Dilemma redux. Twenty years ago, startups IPOed after 4 years.

Innovation 267

Innovation Banking Government Advertising 267

SaaStr

JUNE 20, 2025

And the evidence is mounting that AI startups aren’t just complementing SaaS — they’re actively hunting traditional SaaS incumbents for lunch. The Billion-Dollar AI Unicorn Factory The scale of AI startup funding isn’t just impressive — it’s existential for SaaS: The AI Billion-Dollar Club: OpenAI : $8.4

AI Search 235

AI Search Artificial Intelligence AI CTO Hire 235

SaaStr

APRIL 28, 2025

Cross-Vertical Market Expansion Creates Unexpected Innovation Synergies While many startups laser-focus on dominating a single vertical, Sekar’s experience at both Meraki and Samsara showed that deliberate cross-vertical expansion creates powerful network effects of innovation.

Scale 259

Scale Transportation Scaling SMB 259

SaaStr

AUGUST 4, 2021

Innovation holds the key to brilliant products and successful business outcomes. Yet, it’s critical to understand what product innovation looks like across various company stages. Typically startups have a small team grinding out product improvements based on early customer feedback. Startup Phase: Survival.

Innovation 261

Innovation Startup Leadership Investment 261

Tom Tunguz

JUNE 10, 2019

And then, right then, product innovation decelerates to zero. Every innovation requires a Herculean effort to achieve. Without someone driving the product roadmap, product innovation decelerates. You’ve raised a meaningful round of capital. Suddenly, the product and engineering teams are bogged down. Third, inertia.

Innovation 252

Innovation Engineering Acquisition Product Marketing 252

Intercom, Inc.

NOVEMBER 9, 2022

Few books have chronicled how innovation takes place – and how market leaders fail to seize it – as well as Clayton Christensen ’s seminal book The Innovator’s Dilemma. First published in 1997, the bestseller has influenced several generations of entrepreneurs, startup founders, and tech enthusiasts.

Innovation 226

Innovation Scale Startup Government 226

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Startups are innovation machines. Others want to innovate in every dimension and re-invent every discipline from pricing to marketing to support to customer success. Others want to innovate in every dimension and re-invent every discipline from pricing to marketing to support to customer success.

Pricing 277

Pricing Startup Sales Hiring Innovation 277

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

Offers workshops, networking, and investor matchmaking for startups and enterprises. Other major SaaS events include: SaaStock (Europe-focused) Gartner Tech Growth & Innovation Conference Dreamforce (Salesforces massive event) Would you like recommendations based on your specific SaaS goals?

Software 229

Software Scale Venture Capital SaaS 229

Tom Tunguz

JUNE 8, 2025

Where venture capital flows, innovation follows. An analysis of their investment patterns since 2020 doesn’t just reveal the accelerator’s strategy—it provides a map to the entire startup ecosystem’s next chapter. Similarly manufacturing startups have seized on the tariff-induced reshoring opportunity.

Investment 200

Investment Venture Capital Cybersecurity AI 200

SaaStr

JUNE 6, 2025

Even as the world has gone more remote and distributed, there are unique advantages to being based here—especially for startups that want to build something really big. They’ll pay higher valuations and take bigger risks on ambitious startups. It’s expensive, competitive, and not every startup needs to be here.

Sales Recruiting 208

Sales Recruiting Scale Sales Hiring B2B 208

USIO

AUGUST 12, 2024

Innovative SaaS Payment Gateways for Startups In the highly competitive world of startups, managing payment processing can indeed be a significant challenge. However, innovative SaaS payment gateways for startups offer a comprehensive solution, effectively simplifying the payment experience through advanced technology.

SaaS Payments 130

SaaS Payments Payment Services Payment Solutions Payment Methods 130

SaaStr

MAY 27, 2025

Lemkin (@jasonlk) May 27, 2025 10 Unexpected Learnings from SVB’s 2025 State of the Markets Report Beyond the AI boom headlines, the 1H’25 data reveals surprising shifts that could reshape how we think about venture capital, startup operations, and the innovation economy. Companies are reaching the end of their options.

Outsourcing Services 163

Outsourcing Services Venture Capital Outsourced Development Data 163

SaaStr

MAY 19, 2025

Is your B2B startup now part of the past … because it was founded before 2023? VCs especially are obsessed with AI-native startups. We’re seeing a classic diffusion of innovation curve: the AI-native startups of 2023 were the innovators. No one’s coming to save you. It’s not too late.

AI Search 173

AI Search AI ChatGPT Innovation 173

SaaStr

JANUARY 28, 2025

Their innovative approach involves a wearable device that captures and contextualizes user interactions, creating a personalized AI assistant that promises to enhance individual productivity in unprecedented ways. Dan Siroker of Limitless AI is pioneering a personal AI platform centered on augmenting human capabilities.

AI Search 243

AI Search AI Artificial Intelligence Technical Review 243

SaaStr

MARCH 5, 2022

The life of a startup is not a smooth ride. Despite their founders’ ambition and good intentions, any innovative idea that results in millions of dollars in revenue and funding is bound to come with growing pains. Start-ups can be chaotic places.

Startup 311

Startup Leadership Innovation Scaling 311

SaaStr

OCTOBER 13, 2022

Dear SaaStr: What Are The Benefits of Having Your Own Startup? This is a subtle but huge benefit of having your own startup. Your mind will always be working, processesing, and innovating. Yes, startups take their toll on you. The post Dear SaaStr: What Are The Benefits of Having Your Own Startup?

Startup 293

Startup Education Innovation Engagement 293

SaaStr

AUGUST 9, 2024

From startup to $500M CARR, Spencer Burke, SVP of Growth at Braze, shares how Braze scaled a growth and customer success team. As an early startup team, you’re doing every job under the sun. We get lazy writing job descriptions, and taking shortcuts is a luxury most startups don’t have. But that was it.

Scale 289

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Startup 289

Intercom, Inc.

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

You used to obsess about innovation and being at the front of the market, and now you’re feeling bogged down shipping table-stakes features. “You grow into the big, bloated company once you stop being a startup” This talk I gave at Web Summit 2021 is about pushing back against that. . The key takeaway?

Startup 257

Startup Scaling Innovation Company Culture 257

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Dear SaaStr: Is It Ridiculous To Call Yourself the CEO When Your Startup is Tiny? I used to look at tiny little startups and wince when a founder went around talking about himself as “CEO”. They expect innovation and a personal touch back as quid-pro-quo for taking that risk. I used to feel that way, at least a bit.

Startup 284

Startup Innovation Customer Success Retention 284

SaaStr

JUNE 5, 2025

The market is moving so fast that yesterday’s innovative feature becomes tomorrow’s table stakes, and only teams that can iterate at AI speed will survive. The Paradox of Large Enterprise Leadership Conventional wisdom suggests that technology adoption flows from agile startups to conservative enterprises. ” Why?

Software Review 222

Software Review Technical Review AI Development Team Review 222

SaaStr

MARCH 14, 2024

Dear SaaStr: How Can You Land Big Customers If You’re a New Startup No One Has Heard Of? So they have budgets and often even innovation departments to work with emerging vendors. View original question on quora The post Dear SaaStr: How Can You Land Big Customers If You’re a New Startup No One Has Heard Of?

Startup 273

Startup Innovation Enterprise Software 273

SaaStr

APRIL 20, 2024

Product Marketing and Early-Stage Priorities Product marketing is not a priority for most startups. In the early stages of a startup, skills in distribution and acquisition are more important than product marketing or communications. Consistency is key in marketing. Do things every week, not just when you have time.

Sales Hiring 300

Sales Hiring Startup Marketing Technical Review 300

SaaStr

JUNE 7, 2025

The shift from “innovation budget” to “operational budget” means AI tools must compete directly with established software investments—and many aren’t winning those comparisons yet. ROI scrutiny is intensifying. CFOs who initially approved AI experiments are now demanding concrete business outcomes.

AI 272

AI Payment Services Payments Scale 272

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Most startup companies in earlier stages don’t have the most mature product. Customers you have a bond with will give you positive reviews on G2, become your reference customers, share their success stories, and work together with you on product innovation. This is where customer success comes in.

Customer Success 284

Customer Success Scaling Social Media Enterprise readiness 284

SaaStr

APRIL 27, 2023

Startups are solving the world’s important challenges with agility, innovative technology, and determination. So whether you’re starting out, building your startup, or scaling up to meet the needs of consumers, business, and society, we connect you with the right people, products, and best practices to help you thrive and grow.

Cloud 260

Cloud Scale Startup Sales Hiring 260

SaaStr

MARCH 13, 2024

Is Generative AI going to be transformative or incremental for your startup? The beauty of startups is you’re agile, and with LLMs, it’s language-driven. So, as a startup, you need to think deeply about the customer experience and what GenAI can do for you. Many startups build a thin layer on top of OpenAI or whatever stack.

Generative AI 271

Generative AI AI Cloud Startup 271

SaaStr

APRIL 14, 2025

150+ Sponsors Driving Innovation From the biggest names in cloud to the most exciting startups, our 150+ sponsors are showcasing the latest innovations in SaaS and AI. VIP Summits for Every Role Weve expanded our VIP events to include summits for CROs, CMOs, CFOs, and CCOs. And networking.

VP of Engineering 175

VP of Engineering CTO Coach VPCs (Virtual Private Cloud) Scale 175

SaaStr

APRIL 16, 2025

Pitch your startup at the Mayfield AI AI Demo Stage at SaaStr. Selected founders will demo their innovation to leading SaaS CEOs, founders, and investors at SaaStr Annual (May 13-15, SF Bay Area). LAST CHANCE: Apply for the Mayfield AI Demo Stage & Pitch Competition! Screenshot Building the next AI breakthrough in SaaS?

AI 193

AI Travel Consulting Startup 193

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Dear SaaStr: How Do Startups Really Sell to Big Enterprises Before They’re Proven? But they are looking for two things, which allows start-ups to break though into big companies before they have brands: True innovation in their core processes. You solve their problems. If it’s not budgeted, you can still win the deal.

Enterprise 239

Enterprise Startup Scale Innovation 239

Tom Tunguz

AUGUST 8, 2021

A common topic today in software startup board rooms is: should the company price by seat or by usage? He is the co-author of Monetizing Innovation , which I wrote about in this blog post. Pricing is one of the questions that persist through the evolution of a company. It’s the canonical book on modern pricing.

Pricing 244

Pricing Startup Strategy Innovation 244

SaaStr

JANUARY 10, 2025

He was at a design tool startup called Diagram, making AI plugins for Figma, and one day Figma’s founder Dylan called him to join Figma itself to build out its AI features. ” Cloudflare divides AI innovation into three horizons. His time at Figma actually started outside of Figma, as a fan.

AI Search 311

AI Search AI Strategy Scale 311

SaaStr

MAY 11, 2025

Some of the notable VC firms on the list include Accel, A16Z, Base10 Partners, Emergence Capital, ICONIQ Growth, Innovation Endeavors, Mayfield, Redpoint Ventures, and Softbank, among many others. This program ensures that VCs review your startup profile before the event, increasing your chances of securing a meeting.

Venture Capital 163

Venture Capital Technical Review Innovation AI 163

SaaStr

MARCH 8, 2025

From Parabus to Ramp: The Power of Asymmetric Bets When Karim Atiyah, CTO and co-founder of Ramp, first arrived in the United States from Lebanon in 2007, he couldn’t have predicted he’d build not one but two successful startups in the fintech space. But this challenge also presents opportunity.

CTO Hire 185

CTO Hire CTO Coach Scale CTO 185