SaaStr

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

Check out this week’s top blog posts, podcasts, and videos: Top Blog Posts This Week: The Thing Is, Maybe 10%-15% of Venture-Backed Startups Are Still Running the 2021 Playbook. Tech and Startups Have Changed. Bringing Product-Led and Sales-Led Growth Together For Go-To-Market Success with Zapier’s CRO 4.

Growth 87

Growth Go To Market Product Customers 87

SaaStr

APRIL 8, 2024

Dear SaaStr: Why Do VC Backed Startups Seem To Almost Always Be Running Out of Money? But … but: A sales rep that can’t hit quota in a few months = cash drain. And so that’s a great use of your precious, expensive, equity capital. And so the money goes far, far faster than anticipated. You gotta move on.

Quota 77

Quota Engineering Customers Sales 77

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Let’s take a look at a few recent $1B+ “exits”, i.e. sales in SaaS: Pipedrive acquired by Vista for $1.5B. It was a Private Equity firm. What exactly is Private Equity? What exactly is Private Equity? In about 2012 or so, Private Equity entered SaaS in force. It was a Private Equity firm.

Price 132

Price Up-sell Sell Start-ups 132

SaaStr

JANUARY 5, 2021

It’s been a fun experience being on Quora for … a decade We’ve crossed 60,000,000 views of our answers there, so let’s take a look at the Top 50 most viewed SaaStr Answers on Quora in 2020: Why do many startup owners sell their firm and move on instead of planning on making it a big player like Google, Microsoft, etc.?

Cross-sell 111

Cross-sell Commission Legal Negotiate 111

SaaStr

MARCH 18, 2023

Q: Dear SaaStr: Is it Ethical For a Startup CEO to Accept a Sales Commission for Deals They Close Themselves? But not a deal-by-deal commission like a sales rep. It’s a bit of a flag of someone not going big, of not seeing the real win in their equity, not just in a short term contract or two. But still — I did it once.

Commission 86

Commission Closing Contract Sales 86

SaaStr

JUNE 1, 2023

Carta is a platform that helps people manage equity, build businesses, and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Our mission is to unlock the power of equity ownership for more people in more places. Carta manages over two trillion dollars in equity for nearly two million people globally. SAP for Startups?

Growth 79

Growth Pipeline Trust Technology 79

SaaStr

APRIL 11, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank specialized in venture capital-backed startups, primarily in tech. Wait And See DiTargiani has worked in sales and business development roles in Silicon Valley for a long time. Over the years, he shifted into consulting with early-stage founders on go-to-market strategies and sales. How much equity is there?

Pitch 83

Pitch Consult Gaming Networking 83

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

C-suite employees get an equity grant, 9+ times out of 10, based on the current cap table. What this means in practice is VPs and CXOs often get far more equity by joining … later. And far, far more risk-adjusted equity by joining later. I.e., imagine you grant a VP of Sales 1% of the company at $1m in ARR.

Start-ups 40

Start-ups Up-sell Closing Sell 40

Sell Or Die

JANUARY 23, 2024

Brandon Chicotsky is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in Marketing and Co-Founder of the TCU Sales Center. Chicotsky enjoys bookings with his swing jazz ensemble, playing in the Fort Worth wooden bat baseball league, and various startup ventures.

Real Estate 40

Real Estate Appointment Sales Technology 40

SaaStr

JULY 29, 2023

I’m not a branding expert but when I met with some true experts a ways back, their advice always stuck in my head: “Don’t ever change your name if it has strong brand equity, even if the history is mixed. But the larger topic of when to change your name as a startup is an interesting niche topic. My instinct was to change the name.

Niche 74

Niche Consult Service Product 74

Hubspot

MAY 29, 2024

Did you know that a disagreement between founders can lead to an entire startup business failing? In fact, 65% of startups fail due to founder conflict (Noam Wasserman, author of The Founder's Dilemmas ). Table of Contents What is startup due diligence? Pro Tip: Have these items to have ready during this step.

Legal 49

Legal Contract Growth Negotiate 49

Hubspot

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

Raising startup funding is one of the most exciting, challenging times for a company. If successful, the startup has the capital to continue building its products or providing new features to customers. Fortunately for entrepreneurs, startup funding is at an all-time high. How Startup Funding Works. The downside?

Non-Profits 78

Non-Profits Minimum Viable Product Finance Growth 78

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

After “Founder Confidential” ends, emerging SaaS startups network in person with leading VCs in our CoWorking area as part of our “ Meet A VC ” program. . Fulcrum Equity Partners. JMI Equity. Level Equity. TZP Growth Equity. Startup Advice”. No VCs are invited. First Ascent Ventures. FTV Capital. High Alpha.

Meeting 91

Meeting GTM Legal Presentation 91

SaaStr

AUGUST 10, 2023

Cockroach Labs’ CEO Spencer Kimball shares hard-won lessons from scaling from $0 to $5B and his time as an angel investor for more than 80 different startups. How do you provide equity to early employees? And his answer, like many answers in startups, is it depends. The chart above shows equity vs. risk in practice.

Growth 74

Growth Engineering Meeting Appointment 74

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

We put together a basic 50/50/25 VP of Sales comp plan early on at SaaStr, and it seemed time for an update. Incentives are critical, and the VP Sales will likely be the Seemingly Most Expensive hire you ever make. A few basic ground rules so your VP of Sales is a guaranteed win-win hire – not a stressor: No best efforts cr*p.

X-functional 119

X-functional Quota Teamwork Sales 119

ConversionXL

JANUARY 18, 2022

Coca-Cola has brand equity that makes people gravitate towards it. With the right framework, any startup can achieve this in their industry. In this article, you’ll understand what brand equity is and how to build it so your audience reaches for your product, service, or solution over the rest. Brand equity. Image source.

Trust 94

Trust Follow-up Campaign CRM 94

SaaStr

JUNE 13, 2023

Here’s what I’ve learned across 3 startups of my own, and investing in 25+ more: Underpaying certainly leads to departures. Sales folks in particular will stay until a big bonus check. But I’ve found non-sales folks will leave even days before a bonus and don’t care. Yes, if their salaries are unfair, unequal, or below market.

Sales 83

Sales Growth 83

SaaStr

OCTOBER 26, 2023

Getting off the ground is one thing — an easy pitch of being an HR tech startup focused on improving hiring. In a year like this, SMB is doing worse, with a lot more churn and startups going out of business. The great part about having a couple of thousand startups using your product every day is there is so much innovation.

Pitch 84

Pitch Manufacturing Finance Management Consulting 84

Sales Pop!

JANUARY 10, 2024

Discounting Wisdom and Experience The whole venture startup financing scenery is removing the real entrepreneurial approach. Risk and Responsibility Up to 90 percent of startups fail, so it, in fact, is a real risk. Therefore, we will invest, but will increase our equity. Both risks have their complexities.

Gambling 52

Gambling Government Finance Service 52

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Here are our most popular answers over the past 12 months: How do VCs value startups? Which startup did you leave too early? (74k Are there any examples of a unicorn startup that was bootstrapped? How much equity do you give to extremely early employees? Is Y Combinator asking too much equity for 120k worth of funding?

Pitch 87

Pitch Start-ups Customers Sales 87

Sales Pop!

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Partnering with an expert accounting firm can help startups build a foundation for success. Read on to see why startup bookkeeping services are such an invaluable asset. Navigate financing options Very few startups are fully self-funded. Minimize tax liability Startups face complex tax scenarios given their evolving nature.

Service 52

Service Finance Referrals Growth 52

SaaStr

MAY 16, 2023

In a special workshop session, Jay Levy shares insights into successful founder-investor relationships and why they are so crucial to the success of your startup. Levy explains, “Startups don’t seem to give too much credence and weight to investor relations, and I think this is, unfortunately, a missed opportunity.” Sign up for free.

Legal 82

Legal Launch Follow-up Presentation 82

SaaStr

JANUARY 29, 2023

Sometimes it’s VP Sales (OK, often, this is the most common mishire — another post here on what a really great VPS can do for you, and how a poor one can wreck your company, coming). Mercenaries leave when the war gets tough, because the pay (the equity) can’t keep up. It’s one of our enduring topics on SaaStr.

Start-ups 112

Start-ups Up-sell Meeting Closing 112

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?”

Sell 82

Sell Referrals Up-sell Growth 82

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

I’m tired of running my (very) successful (VC funded) startup after 5+ years. What is your advice for the 21st Century Startup Founder? Why are founders and startup employees expected to take minimal salaries while VC partners rake in $500K-$1M per year plus carry? How can a SaaS startup survive in a crowded market?

Cross-sell 68

Cross-sell Legal Up-sell Follow-up 68

SaaStr

JANUARY 4, 2022

A specific amount of equity, for senior folks especially. Every startup I’ve talked to that does profit sharing says the same thing. This doesn’t mean competing with Google / Facebook / Huge Public Companies, but it does mean being top-of-market vs. other startups. This is especially important to sales reps.

Promote 102

Promote Start-ups Sales 102

ClickFunnels

AUGUST 3, 2021

The post 10 Prospecting Tips To Explode Your Sales appeared first on ClickFunnels. Prospecting is a crucial part of the sales process. You need to identify prospects, reach out to them, and persuade them to take the next step in your sales funnel. Table of Contents: What Is Sales Prospecting? #1 Attend sales conferences.

Prospecting 130

Prospecting Cold Call Objectives and Key Results Quota 130

Gong.io

MARCH 8, 2021

We’re also VERY proud of what we’ve done INSIDE Gong this year in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We heard that employees wanted something more equitable, and while our response is NOT typical for a startup of our size and scale, it IS the right thing to do. Ranking #1 on G2 felt great!) Next steps.

Commission 62

Commission Sales Growth Pipeline 62

Highspot

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

A comprehensive sales and marketing plan sets up organizations for long-term growth and success. In this guide, we’ll dig into the differences between sales and marketing plans, how to create your plan, and templates to get the ball rolling. What is a Sales and Marketing Plan?

Objectives and Key Results 52

Objectives and Key Results Cross-sell Click Through Rate Lead generation 52

Highspot

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

A comprehensive sales and marketing plan sets up organizations for long-term growth and success. In this guide, we’ll dig into the differences between sales and marketing plans, how to create your plan, and templates to get the ball rolling. What is a Sales and Marketing Plan?

Objectives and Key Results 52

Objectives and Key Results Cross-sell Click Through Rate Lead generation 52

SaaStr

JUNE 18, 2021

For many folks, dilution from an equity fundraise is a luxury. The vast majority of startups struggle to raise even a tiny bit of angel funding, let alone a single round of venture funding. I’ve never met a founder who had a co-founder quit in the first 24 months who felt the post-split equity split was fair.

Finance 115

Finance Price Market share Start-ups 115

SaaStr

JUNE 28, 2022

All startups have issues and challenges, and all deals have some “hair” on them. While startups have ups and downs, if you tell the VCs you’re going to hit $250,000 in revenue this month … make 100 percent sure you hit that projection. Venture-inappropriate debt and equity docs. Most importantly, minimize surprises.

Finance 111

Finance Territory Trust Negotiate 111

SaaStr

JANUARY 14, 2023

Should startups prioritize growth? Why does Jason believe that any operator who joined a $BN company in the past few years will not make any money on their equity? Marketing and Sales: We Need To Change Budgets and Targets. How do sales targets need to be amended in the face of changing buying patterns? Profitability?

Growth 81

Growth Price Sales 81

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 22, 2021

I’ll defer to those with more data than me, but here’s what I’ve learned across 3 startups of my own, and investing in 25+ more: Underpaying certainly leads to departures. Sales folks in particular will stay until a big bonus check. But I’ve found non-sales folks will leave even days before a bonus and don’t care. And equally.

Promote 97

Promote Sales 97

SaaStr

APRIL 9, 2022

Oh, you are CEO of a 4-person startup? You still get a lot of equity and don’t have to take the risk of getting something off the ground. Most founders, in fact, get a bit lost once they sell their startups, or move on as CEO. (@jasonlk) April 6, 2022. It’s not what you’d think. It’s not : A power trip. Not necessarily.

Meeting 81

Meeting Sell Product Sales 81

SaaStr

OCTOBER 31, 2023

With nine figures in revenue, Ariel and SaaStr founder and CEO Jason Lemkin talk about all things Navan, rebranding when you have brand equity, building B2B software for people, pricing and business models, and much more. Is Rebranding Okay When You Have Brand Equity? Navan used to be TripActions.

GTM 87

GTM Price Angle B2B 87

SaaStr

MAY 19, 2021

Monday is putting 10% of its equity into its new Equal Impact Initiative Foundation. Many SaaS startups that start outside the U.S. Added a true sales team and function around $30m ARR. Eventually, almost everyone adds a sales team and goes upmarket. At $240m in ARR, there are now 365 employees in sales and success.

Legal 144

Legal Cross-sell Government Launch 144