SaaStr

JUNE 2, 2024

The post Maybe Only 10%-15% of VC Backed Startups Can Raise Another Round Right Now appeared first on SaaStr. And at the growth stage, top decile may not even be enough to raise another round. Ask your existing investors. They will know. More on that here: Are You Fundable in 2024? Just Ask Your Existing Investors. Just Ask Them.

Startup 332

Startup Metrics Data Software 332

SaaStr

DECEMBER 2, 2023

But for many startups, the hangover from the Excesses of 2021 is a real and tough one. Startups shutting down are up 238% this year — already. So, so many SaaS startups got funded in the Boom, and they just can’t all make it. And the latest Carta data here supports that. Now it sort of has to be that way.

Startup 292

Startup Cloud Pricing Data 292

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 28, 2024

What drives the acquisition market of startups? It’s the big deals. In the last decade, the total number of venture backed software M&A by count has remained relatively constant. The black line shows the linear trend across US venture backed companies with disclosed values of $50m or more.

Acquisition 255

Acquisition Venture Capital Startup Software 255

SaaStr

JUNE 19, 2024

Dear SaaStr: Does a SaaS Startup CEO Need to Have Sales Skill? The post Dear SaaStr: Does a SaaS Startup CEO Need to Have Sales Skill? Yes, if you have customers that talk to humans. Possibly no, if you only have “users” and/or are a freemium + no-touch model. But if you build Snowflake or Datadog or Box, you have to get good at it.

Startup 270

Startup Sales SaaS Enterprise 270

SaaStr

JANUARY 27, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What are some common reasons for the failure of startups? My experience across leading 30+ seed investments, including 4 billion+ exits so far, on why startups fail: Not 200% committed to winning no matter what. That might be OK for a few months, but beyond that, startups fall into a decay curve they don’t recover from.

Startup 233

Startup Scale CTO Pricing 233

SaaStr

MAY 30, 2024

So I firmly you believe you can build an incredible SaaS startup from anywhere now, or at least, any major-ish tech center. Of Pre-Seed Rounds Are to California Startups per Carta appeared first on SaaStr. See, e.g., Atlassian, Canva, Cloudflare (CEO now in Park City), Adyen, etc. Heck, Oracle apparently is moving to Nashville!

Startup 279

Startup Investment SaaS Data 279

Tom Tunguz

MARCH 8, 2022

Startups create products. When a business is ready to scale, a startup ought to develop an organizational roadmap. The question for early-stage startups is how to start building this structure. Most startups begin either with a product marketer or a demand generation specialist. Who should be the first marketing hire ?

Startup 356

Startup Acquisition Product Marketing Scaling 356

SaaStr

JANUARY 2, 2024

ARR, Zendesk today gets 14% of new business from startups. On top of that, if you look at their top accounts globally, 33 of the top 50 customers by ARR are startups. This is where they started, but startups weren’t adopting the product as much with a discount, and there was a lot of conflict with the sales team. A free term.

Startup 197

Startup Scale Underperforming Technical Team AWS 197

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

Dear SaaStr: What is The Biggest Difference Between Running a 10 Person Startup and a 100 Person Startup? VP of Nothing image from here ) A related post here: What Your First 100 Hires Will Look Like The post Dear SaaStr: What is The Biggest Difference Between Running a 10 Person Startup and a 100 Person Startup?

Sales Hiring 283

Sales Hiring Startup Scale Scaling 283

Tom Tunguz

MARCH 10, 2022

I’m going to tell you a bit about two startups and I’d like you to guess the name of each company. Both startups provide database software to developers to build applications. Both of these businesses are publicly traded. Both have grown very fast. In fact, their revenue trajectories through 2020 are nearly identical.

Startup 321

Startup Pricing Revenue Software 321

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 18, 2023

SaaS products and services like Pilot track the finances of 1,000s of SaaS and other startup so they’re an interesting source of hard data. Something that’s both not surprising but also pretty impactful: 57% of venture-backed startups will have to go “back to market” in 2024 to raise more capital. Carpe Diem.

Startup 328

Startup Venture Capital Azure AWS 328

The Daily Egg

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

As startups look to the latest, The post Why Startups Opt for SIP Servers They Never Touch appeared first on The Daily Egg. For many up-and-coming businesses, every decision, every resource, and every minute can count–especially with phone plans.

Startup 269

Startup Business 269

SaaStr

APRIL 12, 2024

Dear SaaStr: When You Sold Your Startup, What Were the Downsides? The post Dear SaaStr: When You Sold Your Startup, What Were the Downsides? When you sell: it’s not yours anymore; and your upside is capped. Start with Challenge #1. Ask yourself 4 “Are You OK With” questions: The name being changed? I was the first time.

Startup 259

Startup Acquisition Business Strategy 259

SaaStr

JUNE 11, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What does a COO do in a tech startup/company? Image from here ) The post Dear SaaStr: What Does a COO Typically Do at a SaaS Startup? How would the team be structured? Can you give an example? COO is a bit of a made-up job. What I mean is, there is no organizational “need” for a COO per. You need a CEO.

Scale 222

Scale Sales Hiring Startup SaaS 222

SaaStr

MAY 21, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What Were the Biggest Mistakes You Made Getting Your Startups Going? Both these stories are more here: The post Dear SaaStr: What Were the Biggest Mistakes You Made Getting Your Startups Going? The biggest two mistakes I made, I made twice, maybe thrice. They were: One, starting with too incomplete a management team.

Startup 257

Startup Management Marketing Leadership 257

SaaStr

JUNE 15, 2024

In the end, a liquidity cycle is what creates the endless treat of venture capital to invest in startups. What That Means for Startups. Right now, it’s down -50%. It will bounce back. But Founders should at least understand the stresses at the input levels for funding. When liquidity is at a decade+ low for private investments.

Venture Capital 220

Venture Capital Startup Investment 220

SaaStr

APRIL 10, 2023

However, what many businesses may overlook is the startup segment. Often, startups are lumped in with small businesses, yet this approach fails to recognize what motivates and attracts these early-stage companies. Why Seek Out Startups? How is it that you want to sell to startups differently than the rest of your customer base?”

Startup 222

Startup Scale SMB Venture Capital 222

SaaStr

JUNE 15, 2024

Dear SaaStr: Is It Normal for a Startup to Not Disclose Burn Rate and Other Details to its Employees? Knowing — and Sharing — Your Zero Cash Date (Updated) (image from here ) The post Dear SaaStr: Is It Normal for a Startup to Not Disclose Burn Rate and Other Details to its Employees? That’s about right.

Startup 286

Startup Metrics Leadership 286

Tom Tunguz

MAY 15, 2022

As the fiscal quarters of many startups draw to a close, board members and management teams are having one of four conversations: The World is Your Oyster, Time to Strategize, Chewing Gravel, or Go Big/Go Profitable. The x-axis is the Zero Cash Date: when the startup runs out of money. The north star should be efficiency.

Startup 330

Startup Outsourced Development Scale Banking 330

SaaStr

APRIL 16, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What Do You Do When Your Startup is Not Growing Anymore? The post Dear SaaStr: What Do You Do When Your Startup is Not Growing Anymore? First, be honest about why. You can blame it on macro issues if you want, but if growth has radically decelerated, it’s likely because you are less competitive than you were before.

Startup 277

Startup B2B Metrics Product Marketing 277

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 272

Sales Hiring Startup Marketing Technical Review 272

Tom Tunguz

JANUARY 6, 2024

Hang around startups & venture capital long enough, & you’ll hear this aphorism. In any given year, there’s an 82% chance the value of startup liquidity will change by more than 77% - both up & down. Here’s the volatility visualized across web3, consumer, & software startups.

Startup 231

Startup Venture Capital Software Marketing 231

SaaStr

APRIL 6, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What Will Venture Capitalists Do if Our Startup is a Loss? Bill said] ‘most startups do fail, so the odds were that Fanbase would fail , not succeed. Especially, if you’ve only raise one VC round or so. appeared first on SaaStr.

Startup 249

Startup Investment Leadership 249

SaaStr

APRIL 21, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What Are The Top 5 Things I Should Know Before Starting a SaaS Startup? The post Dear SaaStr: What Are The Top 5 Things I Should Know Before Starting a SaaS Startup? My Top 5: It will take you at least 24 months to really get anywhere. Everyone mentally budgets 10–12 months. It’s never enough. appeared first on SaaStr.

Startup 287

Startup CTO SaaS Interviewing 287

SaaStr

APRIL 22, 2024

Dear SaaStr: How Do I Craft a Winning Investor Deck for an Early-Stage Startup? The post Dear SaaStr: How Do I Craft a Winning Investor Deck for an Early-Stage Startup? Not using 6 point font. Then fill out each section, and functional area, and the model, and the team, and the competition, etc. appeared first on SaaStr.

Startup 246

Startup Investment Leadership 246

SaaStr

JANUARY 26, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What Was Your Biggest Early Days Mistake In Your Startups? But I’d have to say in both my startups, the biggest mistake was not taking the time in the beginning to get the founding team right. I survived this in both of my startups. Boy it’s tough to pick just one mistake. This is tough. You want to go, go, go.

Startup 236

Startup Leadership 236

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

I don’t see it at the truly most successful startups. But investing in startups requires a tremendous amount of trust. The post Tech and Startups Have Changed. But what I see today is many founders putting themselves higher up on that list above. But I do see it at ones that are close to the top. Mock VCs if you want.

Startup 246

Startup Venture Capital Investment Scaling 246

SaaStr

JANUARY 25, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What happens to employees after your startup gets acquired? The post Dear SaaStr: What Happens to Employees After Your Startup Gets Acquired? It varies — a lot. But as a rule: Top engineers will all be given retention packages, extra money / RSUs / options designed to keep them for 2-4 years.

Startup 237

Startup Sales Hiring Finance Acquisition 237

Tom Tunguz

MARCH 13, 2022

Thanks to the many readers who wrote in to Guess the Startup on Friday. I had three goals for the Guess the Startup Post. growth rate in a year would be the envy of most seed stage startups. There were a torrent of ideas: Mongo, Twilio, Snowflake, Databricks, Niantic, Klayvio, Microsoft, DataStax, Zoom, and Peloton.

Startup 262

Startup Scale Retention Enterprise 262

Tom Tunguz

MAY 16, 2023

Startups operate with a broader variance with commercial teams : Canva & Databricks should paint the ends of the spectrum. The correlation with scale is effectively zero, meaning that ratio holds throughout the life of a business, barring the pre-commercialization epoch in a startup’s lifespan.

Headcount 246

Headcount Startup Scale Engineering 246