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#General #Development #Mobile Development #Cloud & DevOps #Cybersecurity & Privacy #AI & Data Science #Hardware & Gadgets #Design & UX5 Things to Do β¦ When You Donβt Know What to Do
Best things to do when .. you don't know what to do: 1/ More time w/existing customers. Zoom w/5 week, meet 5/mo IRL 2/ Hire 1 great VP 3/ Drive down churn. You grow faster even w/o more leads 4/ Join more sales calls. Everyone loves talk to CEO 5/ Focus leads on top reps... Continue Reading
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11 Signs To Predict If a Venture Investment Will or Wonβt Work Out
It's not a flag when a founder picks new VCs for the next one Many reasons for this It's a pretty big flag when none of a founder's last VCs want to invest in the next one Are exceptions, but usually a sign β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) May 4, 2025... Continue Reading
Webinars Almost Always Work. If You Really Commit. Start Next Week.
One thing if you are a first-time founder in SaaS that may seem as boring as you can imagine is β¦ webinars. You think: You yourself as a founder or exec never go to them. And they seem like something you do, well, later. When you are bigger. And so many seem of limited utility.... Continue Reading
What Happens When You Hire the Wrong VP
You know how everyone says you'll never look and wish you'd kept a bad VP as long as you did? That when you make a mis-hire, you'll always look back and say you should have made a change 3-4 month earlier? Well, everyone is right β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) September... Continue Reading
A Great VP of Sales Isnβt Great at Everything
Weβve talked a lot on SaaStr over the years about all different types of VPs of Sales. From Stretch VPs to stage-appropriate VPs. A great checklist here to make sure youβre making the right hire. Itβs worth also focusing on a related, high-level point. Especially if you sell to multiple customer segments (i.e., small, medium,... Continue Reading
Hiring Risks vs. Hiring Flags. Make Sure You Get it Right.
My biggest hiring mistake I've made past 5 years that I never made before: I hired folks who didn't really, really, really want the job So far, none have worked out β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) April 16, 2025 During the Boom Times of late β20-early β22, we all often... Continue Reading
Dear SaaStr: As a Founder, What Were the Sketchiest Things a VC Asked You To Do?
Dear SaaStr: As a startup founder, whatβs the shadiest thing a VC asked you to do (to get their funding)? I donβt think anything is truly shady in venture. Deals are generally made at armβs length, and founders donβt have to sell any shares if they donβt want to. But .. but like most founders,... Continue Reading
Dear SaaStr: How Long Does It Take the Average SaaS Startup to βExitβ?
Dear SaaStr: How Long Does It Take the Average SaaS Startup to βExitβ? I took a look a little while back at how long it took the average SaaS company that was sold for $1B+ to get that acquisition. The answer? 11.7 years on average, with a median of 10.0 years (maybe the better metric):... Continue Reading
Before You Start as a VP β Please, Please, Please. Do a 60-Day Plan. And Make Sure the CEO Agrees With It.
If youβre feeling relieved you finally got that great VP to join the company, read this from @jasonlk next. (And if you are that VP, definitely read it first.) https://t.co/cVodwksp3N β James Cham (@jamescham) July 23, 2022 Iβve now worked with or invested in ~30 successful start-ups beyond my own companies and Iβve watched a... Continue Reading
Big Companies Donβt Churn. They Quit You.
It is a lot of work to switch vendors. A total pain. So be very embarrassed when you lose an existing customer to the competition. And really find out why. No one wants to switch if they don't need to. And β do something about it before it happens again β Jason SaaStr 2025 is... Continue Reading
How to Handle, and Share, Bad News
Run toward bad news Sometimes you need a moment. That's OK. But after that, hiding makes it worse. Process it β¦ Then: Address itShare itTalk about itMake a planAct on it Your team and investors will rally β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) April 24, 2025 The past 12+ years Iβve had... Continue Reading
Need a Second Check From Your VCs? Hereβs How βReservesβ Work
"If a VC doesn't write second and third checks into their investments β¦ that VC just isn't as valuable as one that does. Ask. Just ask. Ask how often they write second checks." pic.twitter.com/yJ358OrpXA β Jason SaaStr.Ai Lemkin (@jasonlk) November 6, 2024 So right now is both good times in SaaS (IPOs are somwehat back,... Continue Reading
Are You Fundable Today? Just Ask Your Existing Investors. Just Ask Them.
So Venture Capital is back in force β but not for everyone. 71% of all VCs dollars are going into AI VC dollars are more and more concentrated into winners at growth stage Many traditional B2B VCs are now looking for faster growth than even T3D2 today, in the Age of AI So everything in... Continue Reading
Outbound Always Works. If You Do It Right. And You Put In The Time.
"Crummy outbound may not work that well these days. But great outbound still works like magic." pic.twitter.com/DwjcgRLOVA β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) January 31, 2025 These days, it can really feel like the Old Bag of Sales Tricks is starting to just not work anymore: With maybe 500x the SaaS vendors... Continue Reading
7 Of The Biggest Mistakes First-Time Founders Make. And How They Can Be Avoided.
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Biggest Mistakes First-Time Founders Make, and How Can They Be Avoided? Hereβs my list in SaaS: #1. Being reluctant to go up-market. Not everyone should go up-market. But if you have a bunch of $5 a month customers, and then a few offer to pay you $500 a month, at... Continue Reading
VPs That Canβt Hire β¦ They Arenβt Real VPs. At Least, Not Yet.
The best VPs can recruit in ways I barely understand You need someone for a key role? They somehow have 2-3 strong candidates in a week or two This is so, so hard But the very best VPs make it somehow look almost effortless It's also the only way to scale β Jason SaaStr 2025... Continue Reading
7 Changes You Can Make Today To Grow Faster
Since SaaS compounds, even doing just 5% better now can compound dramatically over time. Everything doesnβt have to be 10x better to move the needle, if it compounds. But a lot of advice takes time to pan out. What are 5+ changes you can make today, or at least this week, to do better?
Youβll Lose Customers. It Hurts. But Donβt Let Them Become Angry Ex-Customers.
When a customer leaves happy, they often still recommend you When a customer leaves unhappy, they always recommend a competitor β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) February 19, 2025 The other day, I had an experience Iβve never had in 14 years of building and buying SaaS: I became That Angry Customer.... Continue Reading
30+ Tough Learnings from Losing a Top Customer
On both SaaStr University and Twitter, we had 30+ founders, CEOs and execs share their top, tough learnings from losing one of their top customers. There are some great teachable moments here, and also some deja-vu if youβve been through it! βI should have been onsite with them + made sure they had my cell... Continue Reading
6 Key Signs a VP of Sales Canβt Scale Beyond $5m-$10m ARR
The best VPs can recruit in ways I barely understand You need someone for a key role? They somehow have 2-3 strong candidates in a week or two This is so, so hard But the very best VPs make it somehow look almost effortless It's also the only way to scale β Jason SaaStr.Ai Lemkin... Continue Reading
10 Marketing Tactics That Always Work for Early-Stage SaaS StartUps
Dear SaaStr: What are the best marketing techniques for an early-stage SaaS startup? My list of things that almost always work in B2B marketing: Try everything β and Double Down on anything that works. If your price point is very low, this sometimes doesnβt work. But in general, most startups find that, at best, 1β2... Continue Reading
10 Ways to Build a Moat in SaaS. But AI is Also Making Them Weaker.
The real moat in SaaS is brand Almost every market leader has a really, really good competitor or 2 or even 3 That would honestly do the job just as well β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) February 5, 2025 A while back we did an extra βDay 0β AMA session at... Continue Reading
At Least 20% of Your New Customers Should Come from Referrals and Word of Mouth. Ideally, 50%.
Dear SaaStr: What Percent of My Revenue Should Come from Referrals and Word of Mouth? "Word of mouth is ultimately the only way you can scale in SaaS." pic.twitter.com/UAsIkG4Ixx β Jason SaaStr.Ai Lemkin (@jasonlk) December 18, 2024 Ultimately, most top software companies end up getting 20-50% or so of their new customers from their existing... Continue Reading
Eventually β¦ Almost Everyone Has a Sales Team
The lure of freemium (like The Force) is strong. No headaches. Customers try and buy all on their own. Like magic. The appeal of No Salespeople can be strong. And freemium is certainly back in the Age of AI. ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Canva and more have all created incredibly powerful freemium offerings. Freemium is... Continue Reading
12 of the Most Common Mistakes Scaling Your First Sales Team
Dear SaaStr: What are the most common mistakes founders make hiring their first real sales teams? A few key mistakes I see start-ups making > 50% of the time: Hiring Early Reps (#1 β #3) That You Personally Wouldnβt Buy From. Donβt hire someone with the right resume. Hire someone youβd buy your own product... Continue Reading
Events Work. Events Are Back. But Are They Worth the Big Expense?
Just got an email from a CEO yesterday that they closed a $450,000 TCV deal from a buyer they met at SaaStr Annual in September Donβt say events donβt work Be where your customers are. Even in the age of AI. β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) December 21, 2024 Events. They... Continue Reading
The Confounding Logic of Discounting
There can be nothing more frustrating in the middle-early days than when sales closes some great deal for, say, $125,000 a year β¦ but you βknewβ they could have gotten $200,000 if they just held the line on discounting. Youβd talked to that customer yourself, they were basically already sold (in your mind, at least),... Continue Reading
Why Mergers & Acquisitions Are Weird and Unpredictable
Timing is such a critical part of M&A 2020: Salesforce buys Slack for $28B 2023: Salesforce disbands M&A committee, not planning any more big acquisitions If you say No to a deal, that's all good. Go long. But just assume they never offer again. β Jason SaaStr.Ai Lemkin (@jasonlk) March 2, 2023 There are 1000... Continue Reading
Sometimes All Your Bigger Customers Want is Just To Be Heard
Just remember, i know they stress you out and drive you a bit nuts But the customers that complain the most are often the ones that care the most. At least, it shows they aren't leaving. Yet. β Jason SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15 Lemkin (@jasonlk) December 9, 2024 A ways back we put together... Continue Reading
How Long It Roughly Takes to Close a Deal in SaaS. And Why.
Dear SaaStr: How long does it usually take to close a deal in SaaS? Ok, hereβs a really rough set of timelines to how long it takes to close an Opportunity in SaaS: So: A $5k deal, or say $499 a month, can often be closed in a call or two. Certainly the buying decision... Continue Reading
That Super-Successful VP of Sales. Great? Or Just Lucky?
I get sent this resume to review all the time. Director+ of Sales at Slack / Zoom / Mongo / Datadog / Qualtrics Your Brand Name SaaS Company. Took Hot Start-Up from $0 to $50m as VPS from Day 0. Was there βearlyβ through IPO and did amazing things. That all sounds impressive, for sure.But... Continue Reading
Yes Customer Testimonials β Done Right β Are Super Important
Do customer testimonials really matter in the age of AI? They still do. Maybe even more so. They are incredibly important. We spend so much time marketing and selling to customers. And building stuff for them. But almost no one thinks enough about what a buyer really goes through. Especially, sales and marketing teams often... Continue Reading
Dear SaaStr: Once Your Equity Vests In a Startup β¦ Why Stick Around?
Dear SaaStr: Once Your Equity Vests In a Startup β¦ Why Stick Around? Itβs an interesting and subtle question, especially these days in the Bay Area, where many barely stay 1 year to their cliff, let alone the full 4β5 years to vest. Even employees at OpenAI often leave in less than 2 years. For... Continue Reading