Sat.May 27, 2023 - Fri.Jun 02, 2023

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Dear SaaStr: When is a Startup Ready to Raise Venture Capital These Days?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: When is a Startup Ready to Raise Venture Capital These Days? First, bear in mind, start-up fundraising has gotten a lot harder than it’s been the past few years. A lot harder. The latest Carta data summarizes it well: But while raise VC capital has gotten harder, the rough rules in B2B / SaaS haven’t really changed: Seed Round: $10k-$100k a month in revenue Growing 150% annually or more Strong founders, including strong technical co-founder Series A: $2m ARR or more ($

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The New and Improved Predictable Revenue

Predictable Revenue

Cristina Esposto and Gray Norman join the podcast to discuss new changes to the Predictable Revenue brand, changes in service offerings, and the new methodology. The post The New and Improved Predictable Revenue appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

Revenue 130
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Observations Using LLMs Every Day for Two Months

Tom Tunguz

I’ve been using large-language models (LLMs) most days for the past few months for three major use cases : data analysis, writing code, & web search 1. Here’s what I’ve observed: First, coding incrementally works better than describing a full task all at once. Second, coding LLMs struggle to solve problems of their own creation, turning in circles, & debugging can require significant work.

Revenue 101
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Generative AI is Coming for Insurance (May 2023 Fintech Newsletter)

Andreessen Horowitz

TABLE OF CONTENTS Generative AI is Coming for Insurance Because underwriting, selling, and servicing rely so heavily on humans processing large quantities of written or verbal communication, existing tools have struggled to properly automate these services and materially impact loss … The post Generative AI is Coming for Insurance (May 2023 Fintech Newsletter) appeared first on Andreessen Horowitz.

AI 110
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The Forrester Wave™: AI/ML Platforms: Vendor Strategy, Market Presence, and Capabilities Overview

As enterprises evolve their AI from pilot programs to an integral part of their tech strategy, the scope of AI expands from core data science teams to business, software development, enterprise architecture, and IT ops teams. Enterprises need a platform that can make broader AI teams more productive, implementing more complex use cases and harnessing the fast pace of new AI technologies.

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Thanks to Carta, Make, Outreach, SAP, and Worldline for Sponsoring SaaStr Europa 2023!

SaaStr

At SaaStr, our partners are an integral part of our events. In June 2023, we’re heading back to London for SaaStr Europa and we wanted to give a special shout-out to some of the companies that will be there with us! We’ll see 2,500+ of the best SaaS founders, execs, and VCs NEXT WEEK June 6-7 at 2022 SaaStr Europa ! Grab tickets here. Join these incredible companies to experience all the value of SaaStr!

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Survey Data Analysis for SaaS: Understanding User Feedback At Scale

User Pilot

Wondering how to unlock the full potential of your survey data and if survey data analysis will be of any help? The sheer volume of data generated can quickly become overwhelming, and this is where survey data analysis can help you. Survey data analysis is a powerful tool that allows you to delve deep into your user base's thoughts, opinions, and sentiments.

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Microsoft Edge is getting a bit pushy

IT World

Edge, sit down. We need to talk. (You too, Bing.) Lately you’ve gone from a browser that was ignored by many but had the potential to be a very well-behaved and secure browser to one that is being, well, a bit pushy. And Bing has been taking a page from your playbook and gotten a little pushy as well. Let’s take a recent change with Edge that is now exposed with controls.

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When the Player-Coach is Just That. And No More.

SaaStr

We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about not screwing up that VP of Sales hire. Done right, it will accelerate your company to the next level. Done wrong — you can lose the better part of a year, and half of your last round of capital. And we’ve talked a lot about the trade-offs in the hire, including how to think about Stretch VPs … the ones that haven’t quite done it yet, but working for you is their shot.

Sales 237
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How I’ve Built a Million-Dollar Business in 3 Years Using the Power of Referrals

Buffer Resources

Landing my very first client was surprisingly easy thanks to the power of referrals. The startup I had been working for had just folded, and I turned to the network of marketing leaders I had built from that job and let them know the types of client work I was looking for: digital brand management, content creation , and paid media strategy. In no time, someone recommended me to a woman who was just starting to build her digital brand—and she’s been a client ever since.

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Top Fraud and Payment Trends for 2023: What SaaS Pros Need to Know

Fraud is ever changing – especially for merchants that offer online services and subscriptions. This report outlines the most common types of fraud to look out for in 2023 and offers merchant-reported preferred best practices to help minimize fraud losses. In the report, you’ll find: The scale and type of fraud seen in the global marketplace. How fraud changes based on the size of business.

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How to Create a Persona in 4 Steps: A Guide with Template & Examples

User Pilot

Every successful product marketer has at some point wondered how to create a persona. Good user personas are critical to any successful product marketing campaign. They help you decide what product or service to prioritize, streamline your advertising and marketing, and better connect leads with their goals and pain points. Put simply, user personas impact your entire business model.

Churn 98
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WWDC: Apple gets back to the Mac in PC sales attack

IT World

What do you need to go with a new cutting-edge mixed reality product ? Computers to create virtual worlds on. That seems to be what Apple plans to introduce at WWDC next week. Is Apple about to turn AR hype into happening? All eyes are on Apple in the prelude to the company’s big developer jamboree beginning June 5. AR and VR industry leaders are hoping hard that the company’s announcements will be wind beneath the wings of a business opportunity that hasn’t really manifested itself beyond the h

Sales 92
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5 Interesting Learnings from Snowflake at $2.4 Billion in ARR

SaaStr

So Snowflake is the high flier in Cloud. It’s one of the few still commanding a premium multiple in today’s world, and still growing at tremendous rates: Snowflake is also a barometer of everything in SaaS and Cloud, because a significant amount of its revenue is consumption-based, at least in part. So when CFOs and others tighten budgets, they’ll also try to buy less Snowflake.

Headcount 209
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The Indie Stack: The Ultimate Sales Software Stack for Your Startup

CloseSaaS

All-in-one tools are so last year. Learn about the Indie Stack—5 tools that can maximize your sales efforts and lead to impressive growth for your startup.

Startup 98
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The Hidden Costs of Poor Customer Onboarding

Churn starts within the first 30 days of customers purchasing a product. A lot of it comes down to the first impression customers get through the onboarding process. A poor experience can result in losing current and future customers, and unnecessary overhead. It’s important to know what a poor onboarding experience looks like, the associated hidden costs, and how to build a top-tier onboarding experience for your customers so you can avoid losing hard-earned revenue.

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Product Management Funnel: 7 Funnels PMs Should Track

User Pilot

What is a product management funnel? What are the different funnels that PMs should track? And why do they matter? If you’re after the answers to these questions, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what we explore in our article. We also look at how you can harness the power of analytics tools to optimize your funnels. Ready to dive in?

Churn 98
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Does business need a giant Apple iPhone?

IT World

When is an iPhone not an iPhone? When it’s almost as big as an iPad mini. Is a 7-inch iPhone Ultra really on the Apple road map, and is this the gadget mobile professionals need? A computer, a tablet, a smartphone The story so far is that Apple may not ship an improved iPhone SE until next year. Also next year, reputable speculation mongers claim , the company intends to launch a larger model iPhone, the 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Ultra.

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43% of You Are Still Hiring. Just Not All That Much.

SaaStr

So one of the latest SaaStr surveys confirms what I’m seeing, and we’re seeing across many public SaaS companies. Hiring has way slowed down, but many folks are still hiring, albeit at a reduced rate. 56% of you aren’t hiring, or barely hiring. And very few of you are doubling headcount, vs everyone in 2021. But a good chunk of you are still hiring, albeit in moderation.

Headcount 205
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Come to my SaaStock Presentation: How to Connect Your C-Suite to the Ground Truth

Kellblog

This is a quick post to remind everyone who’s attending SaaStock USA in Austin later this week to come to my session at 2:30 pm on Thursday, June 1 on the Scale Stage, entitled How to Connect Your C-Suite to the Ground Truth. I’ve always believed that the hardest part of strategy is not figuring out what to do given what’s going on, but instead, more fundamentally, figuring out what’s going on — and getting consensus about that with your C-suite team.

Scaling 79
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ChatGPT for SEO: the comprehensive guide

When I saw chatgpt is extremely powerful, I decided to make a comprehensive guide covering start to end. this means keyword research to link building.

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Building Your Customer Engagement Framework: All You Need to Know

User Pilot

Customer engagement and customer retention go hand in hand. Having a customer engagement framework in place will make it easier to organize your customer engagement efforts and track their results. In this article, we’ll show you what a customer engagement framework looks like, go over the five stages of customer engagement, and look at a few customer engagement strategies that you should use for your own SaaS products!

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ChatGPT creators and others plead to reduce risk of global extinction from their tech

IT World

Hundreds of tech industry leaders, academics, and others public figures signed an open letter warning that artificial intelligence (AI) evolution could lead to an extinction event and saying that controlling the tech should be a top global priority. “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” read the statement published by San Francisco-based Center for AI Safety.

AI 92
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Dear SaaStr: How Many Board Seats Do VCs Typically Get?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: How Many Board Seats Do VCs Typically Get? Let me try to simplify, generally speaking: 1. Generally, “proportionate” boards are usually seen as fair, and easy to agree to. I.e., if the investors own 20%, and founders 80%, then investors get 1 board seat, that’s it. Founders can have 2 (or more) now, etc. If the investors own 50%, then split the board 50:50 (often with an outside to break a tie).

Strategy 191
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Ask Buffer: What is Short-Form Video, and How Can You Use It?

Buffer Resources

Question: Why have short-form videos become so popular in the past few years, and how can I use them for my social media? Move over software — there’s a new world eater in town. Short-form video snuck up on us, becoming the most consumed online content in a few years. It’s your best bet if the consensus is anything to go by — 85% of marketers say short-form video is the most effective format on social media.

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10 Keys to AI Success in 2023

An organization’s path to AI success can be full of obstacles, from a proper assessment of its own AI maturity, to a better alignment between business and technical teams, many factors can influence the outcomes. All of this is tightly intertwined with a myriad of complicated technical decisions that can make or break any long-term AI strategy. While AI progress is hard, companies don’t have to get stuck in an endless loop of inertia on their path to value-driven AI.

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How to Choose CDP Tools: A Guide + Alternatives

User Pilot

Understanding how to choose CDP vendors that help you harness data, make the most of the insights you gather, and drive growth is a tricky challenge. In this article, we’re going to unpack what a customer data platform (CDP) is, explore the best tools out there, and share a few attractive alternatives. Let’s get into it! TL;DR A customer data platform is a tool enabling you to collect, manage, store, and analyze data, which ultimately helps you better understand customer behavior.

Azure 84
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What are large language models — and how are they used in generative AI?

IT World

When ChatGPT arrived in November 2022, it made mainstream the idea that generative artificial intelligence (AI) could be used by companies and consumers to automate tasks, help with creative ideas, and even code software. If you need to boil down an email or chat thread into a concise summary, a chatbot such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard can do that.

AI 83
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Only 18% of Your Sales Teams Are Really Hitting Plan Right Now

SaaStr

So in one of the latest SaaStr surveys , we saw what a lot of us are feeling … it’s just hard to hit quota out there. Only 18% of you were hitting the 70%+ quota attainment that high-performing sales teams generally try to hit. And only 43% of you had sales teams that were hitting even 43% of quota attainment. That left 58% of you with sales teams seeing 20%-40% quota attainment … or less.

Sales 156
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Creator Longevity: 4 Tips for Building a Lasting Content Career

Buffer Resources

In Antler’s 2023 Creator Economy report , 24 percent of creators surveyed highlighted longevity as a major concern — and for good reason. Even though it’s common to come across creators who are making enough income to go full-time, it’s just as common for creators to fade into oblivion. YouTuber Matt Koval puts the average creator career span at five to seven years (and that’s for the really persistent ones).

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The Path to Payment Control: How SaaS Companies Can Maximize Enterprise Value

For software company executives, maximizing revenue, profitability, and enterprise value is of utmost importance. A key factor in achieving these goals is having a solid integrated payment strategy in place — one that allows for control, ownership, and leverage over customer relationships and payment service contracts.

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How to Read a Retention Table [+ Different Retention Analysis Alternatives]

User Pilot

Have you ever come across a retention table and wondered what it all means? Cracking the retention table will provide invaluable insights into user behavior and retention. So, if you want to boost your customer retention , you should know how to interpret and analyze the retention table. Reading retention tables is just the tip of the iceberg when analyzing customer retention, and many other beneficial retention analysis alternatives are available.

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The metaverse: Not dead yet

IT World

The metaverse has been described as the next phase of the internet: interconnected and persistent 3D spaces where we will work, play, and, so it seems, purchase virtual real estate. But metaverse-related technologies have failed to keep up with the considerable hype, the vision of ultrarealistic virtual environments offered by tech vendors miles away from the current reality of cartoony avatars and cumbersome, expensive headsets.

AI 74
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The Power of Content: Driving Growth Through Storytelling with Monte Carlo CEO Barr Moses and Head of Content and Communications Molly Vorwerck (Video)

SaaStr

When you think about Nike, it’s not just a pair of shoes that comes to mind. Instead, you imagine yourself as an unstoppable athlete, sprinting towards victory or pushing your limits in the gym. This is because Nike has mastered the art of storytelling, transforming their products into symbols of determination and athletic prowess. Monte Carlo’s CEO and Co-founder, Bar Moses, and Head of Content and Communications, Molly Vorwerck, engage in a captivating dialogue, drawing from their unique