SaaStr

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

After several years of booming business in SaaS, the world of fundraising nearly gave everyone whiplash when capital stopped flowing as freely in 2022 as it did in 2021. So, what exactly is happening in the venture capital world, and what do startup founders need to know? For Lemkin, the answer is yes and no.

Venture Capital 178

Venture Capital Sales Hiring Social Media Healthcare 178

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

During an enlightening session at SaaStr Europa 2022, Zach Coelius (Managing Partner at Coelius Capital) and Tiffany Luck (Investor at GGV Capital) share the secrets and lesser-known players in the world of venture capital. A scout is an individual who has a contractual relationship with a venture fund.

Venture Capital 192

Venture Capital Management Metrics Investment 192

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

These are the Best of Times for venture capital. And as part of this, more and more big corporations are adding and expanding their venture arms. Traditional VCs usually reserve another 1x-2x of their first check for later investments. If the synergies are real, they’ll happen irrespective of some token investment.

Outsourcing Services 330

Outsourcing Services Investment Venture Capital Pricing 330

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Dear SaaStr: What Percentage of Total Incoming Deals Do VCs Invest In? But … First, a whole bunch are simply “not on point” The team, product, or space obviously does not meet the venture bar. A seed stage fund meeting a Series B investment opportunity is a waste of time. Right here, right now?

Investment 204

Investment Venture Capital Leadership 204

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 10, 2024

3x “net” (of fees and costs) is pretty darn solid, though for the fund overall — the cumulative returns of all the investments (usually 15–40) in a given fund. So if the VCs don’t “see” the chance of 10x or more, they’ll pass on investing. Top results for a VC fund itself is 3x-4x for strong funds. the winners need to do 10x.

Venture Capital 216

Venture Capital Startup Investment Leadership 216

Andreessen Horowitz

DECEMBER 22, 2023

In true CLF fashion, we brought together leaders across entertainment, sports, music, and business and tech at our annual Cultural Leadership Summit to celebrate the undeniable influence and impact of culture, and foster real connections to build the future together. But making next-level moves requires discomfort and learning something new.

Leadership 52

Leadership Entertainment Venture Capital AI 52

SaaStr

APRIL 8, 2024

The #1 issue I see is not understanding what investments really are accretive — and which aren’t. Venture capital, if you raise it, is there to invest. Dear SaaStr: Why Do VC Backed Startups Seem To Almost Always Be Running Out of Money? And so the money goes far, far faster than anticipated.

Sales Hiring 179

Sales Hiring Scale Startup Venture Capital 179

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

These are the Best of Times for venture capital. And as part of this, more and more big corporations are adding and expanding their venture arms. Traditional VCs usually reserve another 1x-2x of their first check for later investments. If the synergies are real, they’ll happen irrespective of some token investment.

Outsourcing Services 169

Outsourcing Services Investment Venture Capital Pricing 169

OPEXEngine

JANUARY 28, 2020

Is RBF simply an alternative to venture capital funding? Companies can use RBF instead of working with VCs, but often, RBF is highly complementary to venture capital funding. Those who eventually seek venture capital funding very often find that VCs are then more receptive.

Venture Capital 61

Venture Capital Finance Payments Revenue 61

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It worked out, but only barely, and I had to strike the worst deal in all of venture capital and sign away my house and all my savings to fund it. The moment I realized I would be half decent at investing I should have just chilled. Maybe could have gone a little more slowly. More here: How did you fund your first startup?

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital Startup Investment Leadership 225

SaaStr

JUNE 22, 2021

Especially these days, when more and more seed, Series A and even Series B rounds are being done by less traditional sources of venture capital. A Weak Investor or Syndicate, or group of investors: Is all tapped out and has little to no more money to invest in the company. How did the investment happen? More on that here.

Venture Capital 239

Venture Capital Investment Cloud Branding 239

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

Even these days, in The Best of Times for SaaS, many founders are wary of Venture Capital. But early-stage venture capital is so risky. And VCs usually are investing in you, in the CEO, as much as the start-up, at least in the early days. And be honest. Is your startup really worth millions today? Probably not.

Finance 269

Finance Venture Capital Consulting Investment 269

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

You can raise ever more venture capital to fund it, or you can try to stay more capital efficient but often trade off some growth just when it’s getting going. Once you cross 10% market share in your core niche / segment — start investing in the next one. And just when the competition starts to catch up.

Sales Recruiting 235

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Startup Scale 235

SaaStr

JULY 7, 2021

First, If you need to raise more venture capital, and aren’t doing incredibly well, a VC not being supportive can be a gating item to getting further funding. If your prior investors aren’t 100% positive, or at least, 90% positive on the investment … usually … the Next Round guys simply won’t invest. You can game this.

Banking 349

Banking Venture Capital Finance Investment 349

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

VCs are expecting a positive return on their investment. Venture fundraising should not be done because it can be done. You should only raise Venture Capital if you (x) have to, or (y) it’s “cheap”. And even 1x, if the company fails or deeply struggles. If you need VC $$$ to survive, don’t worry about it.

Venture Capital 227

Venture Capital Pricing Investment Revenue 227

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

With more rounds of venture capital come more board seats, and after a few rounds, the founders often don’t control the board. Most VCs can afford to lose the first check they invest in you. First, it’s tough to be truly fired if you control the majority of the board, voting shares, et c.

Venture Capital 338

Venture Capital Sales Hiring Forecasting Startup 338

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

Many start-ups think they need to net venture capital to jumpstart their growth. UserZoom invested in a model where they didn’t just provide software, but services, in a model known as SaaS++. This focus can be a risk because it is shrinking your market. Be creative with funding. Combine software with services.

Scale 196

Scale Venture Capital Sales Hiring SMB 196

SaaStr

JUNE 5, 2022

But, over the years as both a founder and a start-up exec, I have raised over $40m in Venture Capital across 4 successful start-ups. I ended up making almost 10x on this equity, so in the end, all was well and it was a great investment I guess. It’s great to have 20 cool execs invest in your company. Yes, 110.

Venture Capital 207

Venture Capital Technical Review Finance Investment 207

SaaStr

MARCH 15, 2021

The same is true in venture capital, when you go to raise money. Someone that hasn’t been investing that long? Proven VCs with strong track records have a ton of folks that want to invest in their companies. Everyone wants to invest in the new hot startup from a hot VC. They likely have better networks.

Venture Capital 275

Venture Capital Branding Investment Startup 275

Andreessen Horowitz

JANUARY 23, 2024

I’ve developed my own method of investing and have learned to trust my insights even when they aren’t obvious. I love seeing founders mature in their leadership, finding themselves in the process. There are many folks that I’m grateful to… Marc and Ben, true mavericks who rewrote the rules of what venture capital could look like.

Venture Capital 94

Venture Capital Travel Startup Investment 94

SaaSOptics

AUGUST 11, 2022

So what should you do if you’re strapped for cash and have your sights set on venture capital? In this case, you may not be prepared to take on a round of venture capital. The following questions will help you determine whether or not you’re ready to dive into the VC pool. Do you have a clear growth strategy? .

Scale 97

Scale Scaling Technical Review Venture Capital 97

SaaStr

JUNE 30, 2023

When I look at the purpose of venture capital, it’s not to burn a dollar five in order to grow a dollar of revenue,” says Magnuson. Those companies will have a headstart on the competition when the market arrives.

Scale 181

Scale Mobile Venture Capital Scaling 181

SaaSHolic

MAY 5, 2023

The speakers believe that the next 10 years will be better for the region, with opportunities for investment in various industries using technology to solve problems. Latin America has interesting characteristics that make it a viable place for investment, including a high level of internet penetration and social engagement.

Technical Review 90

Technical Review VP of Engineering Development Team Review Software Review 90

The Angel VC

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Inspired by Ben Horowitz’ excellent “Good product managers, bad product managers” post and Stefan Smalla’s “Good leader, bad leader” masterpiece I’ve tried to put together my thoughts on what I think makes a great venture capital investor. Feedback and discussion with other VCs and entrepreneurs is very welcome. Inch by inch.”

Technical Review 248

Technical Review Venture Capital Investment Finance 248

SaaStr

MARCH 7, 2023

Pepper shares that ICONIQ, a venture capital firm with $10B under management, made fewer investments last year than ever before. General Partner of ICONIQ Growth, Doug Pepper, and General Partner and Head of Analytics, Christine Edmonds, joined us for Workshop Wednesday , held live every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Outsourcing Services 159

Outsourcing Services Scaling Venture Capital Forecasting 159

Mattermark

AUGUST 22, 2017

Natasha Azur of Osage Partners takes a look at trends in venture capital activity ( which we’ve also been digging into lately on the Mattermark blog ) in “ What’s the Pulse on 2017 Midyear VC Investment? Believing in the product is most of the reason I like coming to work.

VP of Engineering 40

VP of Engineering Leadership Venture Capital Technical Review 40

SaaStr

MARCH 7, 2021

Even if you have almost no capital, you can afford to fly to visit your top customers, prospects and partners more often. Less and you under-invest. That was great and created freedom from venture capital and many other benefits. 10/ Investing aggressively in brand as you approach $10m ARR. on the balance sheet.

Part-Time VPE 246

Part-Time VPE Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale 246

Chart Mogul

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

In many ways, 2022 (Q2-ish) marked the end of the glory days and we entered the “SaaS slump” We saw new business plummet and an 82% year-over-year drop in venture capital investment in 2022. From what we can see in the VC landscape it doesn’t seem like investment and funding are going up.

AI Search 52

AI Search Benchmarks Venture Capital AI 52

Kellblog

DECEMBER 27, 2021

Before diving in, let me remind readers that I do these predictions in the spirit of fun, they are not business or investment advice, and that all of my usual disclaimers and terms apply. Management changes , as leadership teams drift from a spirit of value creation for customers to value extraction from them.

Blockchain 143

Blockchain Technical Review Venture Capital Sales Hiring 143

Chart Mogul

JUNE 13, 2018

Christoph Janz ( @chrija ) is managing partner at Point Nine Capital — a venture capital firm that’s highly prevalent in the world of SaaS. Today, Point Nine invests in early stage companies with a focus on SaaS and marketplaces. What it takes for SaaS startups today to raise venture capital.

Venture Capital 40

Venture Capital Startup Data SaaS 40

The SaaS Garage

APRIL 26, 2017

Positioned for Continued Growth and Market Leadership: riskmethods Receives an Additional 13.5 Million Euro Growth Capital. Previous investors, EQT Ventures, Senovo and Bayern Kapital all co-funded the round. Senovo is an independent venture capital company based in Munich. million euros. million euros.

Venture Capital 69

Venture Capital Finance Innovation Machine Learning 69

SaaStr

JULY 17, 2020

Some of these businesses, maybe even many of these businesses, have started investing more and more in selling online to their preexisting in store customers. I mean, including IAA and now four investments over the last month, let’s say. Everybody wants to invest in it or most funds are looking into those.

Venture Capital 169

Venture Capital Travel PayPal Scale 169

SaaSOptics

FEBRUARY 17, 2020

With the model’s explosive growth, more money than ever is being invested in SaaS. We talk a lot about metrics and the KPIs you should track in order to scale, but which indicators do investors use to evaluate the potential risk vs. return of SaaS investments? The yield on venture investing is really small.

Systems Review 52

Systems Review Venture Capital Investment Metrics 52

Tom Tunguz

JULY 14, 2013

With more than 80% of venture capital investments occurring in enterprise and with the public markets disproportionately rewarding SaaS companies with huge enterprise value-to-revenue multiples ( median is 7.6 ), it’s no surprise that interest Software-as-a-Service is booming. Characteristic 5: Market Leadership.

Sales Hiring 100

Sales Hiring Venture Capital SaaS Machine Learning 100

Chart Mogul

AUGUST 15, 2019

This is a guest post by Brian Parks, Managing Partner at Bigfoot Capital. New investment structures are gaining traction in the early-stage SaaS financing market. You may have heard of Revenue-based financing (RBF), venture debt or hybrid structures blending a revenue or profit share concept with an equity ownership stake.

Finance 85

Finance Payments Revenue Payment Solutions 85

OpenView Labs

MARCH 17, 2021

We invested more capital than in any prior year in the firm’s history, and we returned more capital than we’ve raised across all OpenView funds combined. Tom focuses on infrastructure, security and application software and has been a part of our investments in Axonius , Buildkite , and Intezer.

Sales Recruiting 62

Sales Recruiting Venture Capital Construction Investment 62

SaaStr

MAY 1, 2020

As for Navin, under his leadership Mayfield has raised over $2.2Bn in new funds and he has backed some of the best of the last decade including Poshmark, Lyft, Hashicorp, CloudGenix and more. During his career Navin has invested in 50 companies, 17 have gone public, 20 have been acquired. Navin Chaddha: Yeah.

B2C 173

B2C Investment B2B Pricing 173