The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

In 2020-2021, many SaaS startups faced a unique challenge. With teams spread across the globe, they had to find new working patterns to scale their businesses in a distributed environment. Wiz, one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies focused on security solutions, was one of them. The company helps enterprises internationally with contextual and actionable insights to secure their cloud infrastructure.  Today, Wiz is one of the highest-valued private tech companies, at $10 billion, as announced in Feb 2023. Wiz CRO Colin Jones shared with host Sam Blond how this traditional startup evolved, thrived and grew from 0 to $100 million in just two years.  Watch the video: https://youtu.be/yDS8xKlAeXw   ***** Vention provides technology leaders with the top engineering talent they need to accelerate their roadmap, innovate faster and more efficiently, and ultimately catapult their operation to new heights. Vention developers sync with clients' in-house teams, helping them get to market 30 percent faster and saving them more than $600,000 on average. Looking for the edge to outpace your competition? Vention is your partner. Learn more at ventionteams.com.   SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com   *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Building a company for $0-$1M in revenue differs wildly from $1-10M ARR. And scaling from $10M to $100M is wildly different still.  Sameer Dholakia, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners with decades of operational experience, shares what you need to change as you scale from $10M to $100M ARR.  The short answer is almost everything.  Keep an open mind as you move into the next chapter of your company.  “Everything that got you to where you are isn't going to get you where you want to be,” says Dholakia.    Watch the full video, including Q&A: https://youtu.be/ucgtUQiyEJE Sameer's slides: https://www.slideshare.net/saastr/sameer-dholakia-saastr-workshop-wednesdays   ***** SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com. *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

You'll never truly understand how to lead a SaaS company until you've done it firsthand. But it always helps to get advice from someone with experience.  Dan Robinson, current Advisor and former CTO at Heap, shares nine essential learnings from nearly a decade of building a SaaS business. Watch the video: https://youtu.be/FXdPe6tGE3A   ***** SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

At nine figures in revenue and 550 people, the CEO of Lattice, Jack Altman, has seen every stage of building a startup.    In this week's Workshop Wednesday — held every Wednesday at 10 a.m. PST — Altman talks more in-depth about his viral tweet storm, sharing the eight things you think as a first-time founder that usually aren't true.   This episode is an excerpt of Jack and Jason's conversation. Watch the full video, including Q&A: https://youtube.com/live/2sNsZdFjWOE?feature=share   ***** SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com. *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

People keep asking when we'll get out of this downturn in venture. The truth is: It's not a downturn—only a reset. For the people who haven't been raising capital or haven't seen this side of things since, say, 2018, they'll probably think this is a terrible time.    Black Mangroves Founder and Managing Director Arnaud Bonzom, and SaaStr Founder and CEO, Jason Lemkin answer some of the bigger questions about venture investing in 2023.     This episode is an excerpt of Jason and Arnaud's AMA at SaaStr APAC 2023. You can watch the full session on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JPEo8r2d3Oc   ***** SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com   *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

In this week's episode of CRO Confidential, host Sam Blond wraps up the founder-led sales series with one of the most accomplished sales leaders in the world, Ben Cassidy.  Cassidy was Blond's VP of Sales at Echosign and, before that, was one of the first sales leaders at LinkedIn. Post-Echosign, he was the first sales leader at Talkdesk, valued at $10+B. Cassidy is now a co-founder at CoSell, a.k.a. the relationship platform designed to organize your intro efforts.  The point of CRO Confidential is to help startups acquire customers, and Cassidy provides a unique perspective on founder-led sales as a current founder and highly talented sales leader.  So what secrets has Cassidy learned over the past decades of building businesses and acquiring customers?  Let's find out.  Watch the video: https://youtu.be/3m5s7tskuB4   ***** SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com.   ***** Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

We exist in a market where things are tougher. It's year two of the venture downtown, meaning it's flat, and the value of each dollar in the public market is at 5-6-year lows, making it hard for VCs to invest.    Jason Lemkin, SaaStr Founder and CEO, shares nine types of CEOs that are hard for VCs to work with. Why does it matter what VCs think? They play a small role, but it's an important one. It matters today because happy VCs mean it's easier to get that next check.    Watch the video: https://youtu.be/edPw60dHU5I   ***** SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com   *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Omni Co-Founder and CEO Colin Zima and CRO Confidential host Sam Blond discuss how leveraging your network can supercharge sales and recruiting in the early days. You don't have to be a former founder or be part of YC to have a great network. Everyone will have friends, family, former college classmates, former work colleagues, or other sources. Colin encourages founders to find your particular "cheat code," whether that's your network or an amazing skill, and lean into it.   Watch the video: https://youtu.be/9kQIke7x7F4   ***** SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com. *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta shares his top 10 mistakes in 10 years of running Gainsight. This is the second half of a Workshop Wednesday session in which SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin chats with Nick about his top mistakes as a CEO. You can hear the first half in episode 656.   You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/dtdh2Dkhpig   ***** SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com   ***** Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta shares his top 10 mistakes in 10 years of running Gainsight. This is the first half of a Workshop Wednesday session in which SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin chats with Nick about his top mistakes as a CEO. You can hear the second half in episode 657, which will air on May 5.   You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/dtdh2Dkhpig   ***** SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com.   ***** Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

In this episode of CRO Confidential, Roam Founder & CEO Howard Lerman sits down with Sam Blond to talk about Roam's unconventional approach to acquiring its first customers.   Full video: https://youtu.be/dGj6VZoi0Kw   ***** What if you could prospect in a single click?And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let's make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com   Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.   SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Growing and scaling your customer base requires robust systems, teams, and playbooks that work in lockstep with one another. One of the most impactful teams, yet often least invested in, is customer marketing. From determining the ideal org structure to understanding clear KPIs, the playbook for customer marketing is still being written and is often misunderstood. In this session, we'll discuss key strategies that can be leveraged to build and scale a high-performing customer marketing team. You'll walk away with actionable insights and a clear understanding of how you can improve net dollar retention and unlock growth, regardless of your stage or size.   Full video: https://youtu.be/8zgkk0DFQs8   ***** Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.   What if you could prospect in a single click? And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let's make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com.   SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com. *****   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

If you're looking for a marketing strategy to grow your SaaS business, SaaStr's very own Jason Lemkin has five things you can do today, this week, or this month that always work.     And the great news is that almost everything costs little to no money.    Most SaaS companies need to spend more on marketing. To save money, many freeze marketing spend, which is cool for a few months, but if it becomes the norm, they won't have enough pipeline for the rest of the year.    No matter what, you need to do more marketing in the back half of this year. If you don't, your teams are going to starve. As the saying goes, “You can't cut your way to growth.”    While many of these ideas seem basic, they aren't done enough. Instead of tackling all five strategies simultaneously, do just one thing better, and you'll get more leads.    This episode is the second half of Jason's Workshop Wednesday session. You can listen to the first half in Episode 652. You can watch the full session here: https://www.youtube.com/live/vc0nITbOlos?feature=share   ***** What if you could prospect in a single click?And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let's make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com   Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.   SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

If you're looking for a marketing strategy to grow your SaaS business, SaaStr's very own Jason Lemkin has five things you can do today, this week, or this month that always work.     And the great news is that almost everything costs little to no money.    Most SaaS companies need to spend more on marketing. To save money, many freeze marketing spend, which is cool for a few months, but if it becomes the norm, they won't have enough pipeline for the rest of the year.    No matter what, you need to do more marketing in the back half of this year. If you don't, your teams are going to starve. As the saying goes, “You can't cut your way to growth.”    While many of these ideas seem basic, they aren't done enough. Instead of tackling all five strategies simultaneously, do just one thing better, and you'll get more leads.    This episode is the first half of Jason's Workshop Wednesday session. We'll share the second half in Episode 653. You can watch the full session here: https://www.youtube.com/live/vc0nITbOlos?feature=share ***** Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.   What if you could prospect in a single click? And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let's make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com.   SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com. ***** Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Arnaud Bonzom, Founder and Managing Director @ Black Mangroves moderates a panel with Carmen Yuen, General Partner @ Vertex, Jenny Lee, Managing Partner @ GGV Capital, and Piruze Sabuncu, Partner @ Square Peg Capital on what founders should look out for when raising a Series A.   In this panel, Carmen, Jenny, and Piruze will discuss the lessons learned at Vertex, GGV, and Square Peg on the common pitfalls to look out for when you are raising your Series A. For each pitfall, they will provide tips and tactics on how to overcome them.   This episode is an excerpt of the VC session. You can watch the full video: https://youtu.be/nFUUTXlnaa0   ***** What if you could prospect in a single click?And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let's make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com   Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.   SaaStr Annual will officially be back in 2023. Join 12,500 SaaS CEOs, Founders, Revenue leaders, and investors. Annual 2023 will take place September 6-8, 2023 in the SF Bay Area. Podcast listeners can use code FAVE100 to save 100 off tickets. Use FAVE100 when you buy your tickets at saastrannual2023.com   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Generative AI has taken the world by storm, and VCs and SaaS founders are looking at new opportunities it can bring. Even considering the more conservative fundraising market in 2023, there are opportunities for startups to get investor attention with AI. Tomasz Tunguz, Founder & General Partner at Theory Ventures, believes that with the right GTM plan and capital efficiency, it is still possible to get funding. It's simply a matter of watching your burn: “The main difference in the market between 2021 and today is that efficiency matters more than growth.”   Full video with Q&A: https://youtube.com/live/xiYzzLe9BAs ***** Sage Intacct is a powerful cloud-based financial management system that delivers automation around billing, accounting, and reporting. Voted market leaders by G2, Sage Intacct is the ideal Finance Solution to scale your business. Visit us at sage.com/uk/intacct.   What if you could prospect in a single click? And what if that click came with accurate, intent data you need to meet your goals? Meet Klarity with One-Click Prospecting by DemandScience. Let's make your job easier. Visit demandscience.com.   SaaStr Europa is back! And this time, we're heading to London for 2 fun-filled days of content, networking, and SaaS. Join us June 6th and 7th for SaaStr Europa 2023. Use code FAVE100 for $100 off tickets at saastrlondon.com.   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

In a crowded and distracted world, it can be hard to break through with customers, the media, recruiting and investors. Capturing the zeitgeist is more important than ever in making you stand out. In this session Josh will share his story building DoNotPay and how building a movement has given his company an advantage and the non-traditional lessons that he has learned.   Video: https://youtu.be/kORBMIxRLs4   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Not every leader is created equally. A bad experience with a revenue operations leader might taint your view of the position at all future companies, but that would be a mistake, as CRO Confidential podcast host Sam Blond learned first-hand.  In this week's CRO Confidential episode, Blond talks to one of the best revenue operations leaders on the planet, Cherishma Shah, where she shares insights into the Rev Ops role, why your startup might need one, and how to maximize impact with this powerhouse position.  Shah is the Senior Vice President of Go-To-Market Strategy, Operations, and Enablement at Guild Education and formerly held the same role at Brex, working alongside Blond.    1:40 Intro  2:57 How Rev Ops fills critical gaps in the sales org   4:35 Cherishma's background, how that led to Rev Ops, and what a great Rev Ops candidate looks like  8:45 How to define Rev Ops  12:43 When is the right time to hire dedicated Rev Ops  20:47 More on the ideal candidate profile  24:11 Mistakes Cherisma has seen startups make as they make the first Rev Ops hires or build out the function  28:26 Where should Rev Ops sit within the org  35:07 Biggest opportunities for impact on the business for first hires  38:33 Scaling the Rev Ops org  40:35 How to structure the Rev Ops team and how to measure impact  47:00 Tactical examples of success Cherishma and Sam have seen    Video: https://youtu.be/S5JpOvgNtSY   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

The SMBTech economy is very different from enterprise software, and there is massive opportunity to capture it. There are over 400M small businesses worldwide. That's more than 90% of companies and 40-50% of GDP.    In this episode, Jeff Richards and Tiffany Luck, Managing Director and Partner at GGVCapital, share what it takes to win as a SMBTech startup in today's economy.    Full video with Q&A: https://youtube.com/live/pcgXYRMX2XU   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

There is plenty you could go deep on when talking about what it takes to scale a business from 1m to 1bn+, but in this session you'll hear 30 years of experience doing exactly that - compressed into a handful of key focus areas that really matter - principles that have proven to make the difference when surrounded by options and chaos.   Video: https://youtu.be/CQdAzSfhz54   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Significant strides in digital technology combined with the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted the world of corporate summits, events, and tradeshows. Many businesses changed their strategy to incorporate virtual or hybrid events recently. Before the pandemic, hybrid and virtual gatherings accounted for only 18.9% of all events. But after the pandemic, the number shifted, with 59.5% of event planners stating that they will focus more on hybrid events.   Is there still room for in-person events in 2023 and beyond? Further, can it drive value for your business? For Todd White, Co-Founder of GUIDEcx, the answer to both questions is a resounding yes. In this episode, Todd shares with SaaStr's Poya Osgouei why GUIDEcx finds live events so valuable, even beyond sales, and the playbook he uses to ensure his team gets the most out of events.   Watch the full webinar for even more about GUIDEcx and tips for successful events.    Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Ed shares 5 key ingredients to scale early-stage companies successfully.   Full video: https://youtu.be/FvYovHfm7rs   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Buying software has changed significantly over the past 27 years. Despite the economic headwinds we've seen, buyers still buy a lot. The average mid-size company has 111 SaaS applications. By next quarter, that's estimated to rise to 119.    Of course, companies are experiencing some economic impact, and average spend is coming down slightly. Chris Perrine, the Vice President of G2, Asia Pacific, shares what's holding up buyers in today's economy and how you can meet them where they are.   Video with Q&A: https://youtu.be/S9yQ1Oe30zU   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

If you're on the path to building a startup, you know what it means to fail. In this week's Workshop Wednesday, Tracy Young, CEO and Co-Founder of TigerEye and PlanGrid, says that “everything is going to fail.” Young took PlanGrid from nothing to $100M ARR before passing the baton and shares the biggest lessons learned, the biggest failures, and how to navigate them.   Full video with Q&A: https://youtube.com/live/w9-lMhAyJeo   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

With product-led growth, your product is the main driver of revenue growth; companies can scale up faster while keeping sales and marketing costs low. Conversely, sales-led growth puts human interaction at the center of sales processes. But sometimes, choosing a single path when it comes to a sales-led or a product-led growth model isn't enough. In this session, Amplitude's Mark Velthuis will share how companies can embrace a mix of the two strategies, how it will affect our traditional understanding of sales, marketing, and product, and how leaders can get everyone on board.   Video: https://youtu.be/7DQPNB6AU2o   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

How did the largest product-led growth enterprise company in the world find success? In this week's episode of CRO Confidential, Cameron Deatsch, CRO of Atlassian, shares his wisdom with Founders Fund Partner Sam Blond. Atlassian is trading at over $40B with revenue north of $3B. When the company started 20 years ago, it didn't hire salespeople. Not because they planned to start as a product-led company but because they couldn't afford to. So what should earlier-stage companies do: immediately build out a big sales team or focus on product-led growth?   Video: https://youtu.be/s897t3MSAxM   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Having scaled the APAC region for 3 US companies, with a big emphasis on building culture as a foundation for success, Scott will speak of his learnings and lead a discussion for: Recruiting Enabling  Creating Culture Video: https://youtu.be/CfW0W0E3F4A   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Chris Merritt, Chief Revenue Officer of Cloudflare joined Cloudflare nearly a decade ago when annual revenue was around $1M with one sales person — and has since been scaling the sales organization and helping grow Cloudflare into the multi-billion dollar business it is today. When building a sales team and business at scale, organizations go through various stages of growth with key milestones along the way—from 1-10 million in revenue, to 50-100 million, to 100 million, and onward. While no two businesses are the same, we'll dive into a few areas that are most likely to change, with Chris sharing some findings along the way to help others effectively scale their organizations.   Full video with Q&A: https://youtu.be/YkmDl59sDkg   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

In this illuminating session, ICONIQ Growth general partner Doug Pepper and head of analytics Christine Edmonds will share some of the latest insights from ICONIQ's annual “Growth and Efficiency Study” which utilizes aggregated operating data from a large set of enterprise SaaS companies, about half of which have gone on to IPO and/or been named to the Cloud 100 list. From the metrics most indicative of healthy business fundamentals and what top quartile performance looks like across these KPIs, to how those core metrics may be impacted in the current environment and where leaders are focusing in response to the macroeconomic uncertainty of today, Doug and Christine will share what strength looks like at all stages of company growth.   Updated slides: https://www.slideshare.net/saastr/unveiling-the-data-behind-effective-scaling-with-iconiq-growth-253098692   Video: https://youtube.com/live/oRtla9psS_8   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Stripe CTO David Singleton shares insights from the company's focus on going the extra mile to obtain user feedback and even more extreme lengths to turn that feedback into successful products. He'll show how one simple rule helped the company grow from a single API to a sophisticated platform, and discuss the challenges of managing change, defining product-market fit, and designing infrastructure that can scale.   Video: https://youtube.com/live/N2BPdAk_riU   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

While the allure of customer acquisition can pull a founder's attention, it's equally important to dedicate resources to fighting churn and expanding revenue from existing customers. One company that has unlocked the secret to solid retention and revenue expansion is Brex, an easy-to-use corporate cards and spend management software in an integrated global solution.   In this edition of CRO Confidential, Sam Blond (former CRO at Brex and current Partner at Founders Fund) hosts his former colleague Lucas Fox (GM of Brex for Startups). They discuss how Fox helped build a churn-fighting, upselling, and cross-selling machine that continues to generate revenue.   Video: https://youtu.be/_dfDqPJqqFU Blog post: https://www.saastr.com/cro-confidential-how-customer-first-focus-drives-retention-and-revenue-with-brex-gm-of-startups-lucas-fox-pod-635-video/   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

What do some of the most successful PLG companies have in common? How do you build a best-in-class go-to-market model to get to 100mn ARR and beyond? Iconic PLG companies share how they integrated GTM into their growth strategy to go from single digits to over a billion in ARR. Lightspeed Partner, Anoushka Vaswani, is joined by Raj Sarkar, CMO at 1Password, Kim Walsh, SVP, Sales, Partnerships and Customer Success at Apollo.io, and Chris De Vylder, CRO at Sentry, to pass along key lessons from their growth journey.    Video: https://www.youtube.com/live/4mzgUHp2Dtc?feature=share   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

As Chief Product Officer at DigitalOcean and a developer-turned-entrepreneur himself, Gabe Monroy is deeply familiar with some of the pitfalls that founders encounter on the road of product development. In this session, Gabe will discuss how founders can avoid the trap of over-engineering products, as well as why focusing on the must-haves (developing “painkillers” for your customer's problem) will better serve your business versus focusing on the nice-to-haves (developing “vitamins”).   Video: https://youtu.be/KwWxIURQVRg   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Every week, more and more companies are doing big layoffs. As news of layoffs continues, many are left wondering what happened and how to shift course. Many startups missed 2022 revenue goals and are forecasting slower growth for 2023, especially compared to the explosive growth of teams and revenue during the Boom of 2021 and early 2022.   In this week's episode of CRO Confidential, Founders Fund Investor Sam Blond sits down with the SVP of Sales at Modern Health, Hannah Willson, to discuss how companies can adapt to the current sales environment and how to correct course when you don't have a right-sized sales team.   Video: https://youtu.be/24tKS8g_QJg   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Jason recently joined Harry Stebbings on 20VC to discuss VC in 2023. Hear why you shouldn't wait to raise (if you're fundable), even though the venture landscape will look better by the end of 2023.   This episode is an excerpt of Jason and Harry's discussion. You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/dHIWdwljt7Q   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

What is the right Go-To-Market strategy for a startup getting out of the gate? Sales-led vs. product-led is a hot topic right now, and Jason Eubanks, Chief Revenue Officer of Harness, shares the answer.    At Harness, Eubanks leads go-to-market. Everything is defined by customer interactions, from how they find Harness to becoming a customer. What's his response to startups figuring out which strategy to begin with, product-led or sales-led? “It doesn't really matter where you start because you'll need to do both,” Eubanks said.    Full video with Q&A: https://youtu.be/aJqNJfph4Mw Blog post: https://www.saastr.com/sales-led-vs-product-led-todays-startups-need-both-with-jason-eubanks-cro-at-harness-video/   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

As the past few years have demonstrated, it's wise to expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to hiring. In particular, hiring for your sales team is critical in an uncertain economic outlook. Additionally, sales professionals looking for a new role should choose their next company wisely.   In this edition of CRO Confidential, Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund and former CRO at Brex, discusses the current SaaS sales landscape and tips for hiring in 2023 with guest Ben Braverman, Head of Flexport Fund and former Flexport CRO and CCO.    Video: https://youtu.be/oONsrUYsQtw   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

In many companies, the longtime dispute between sales and marketing prevents them from collaborating or agreeing on a goal. Divvy's CRO, Sterling Snow, created a structure aligning these two teams with others to create a formidable revenue team. This structure drove the company to a $2.5 billion-dollar acquisition by Bill within five years. In this episode, Snow shares the journey to realizing the strength of revenue alignment through sales, marketing, and customer success and the principles for implementing this structure to yield tremendous results.   Video: https://youtu.be/1L2P-fi6gfM   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Sure, strong collaboration between Sales and Marketing is critical - but this CPO and CMO contend that the Product to Marketing connection might just be the most critical dynamic within your executive team. Learn how Meron Colbeci (CPO) and Leela Srinivasan (CMO) are driving the right outcomes through close collaboration.   Full video with Q&A: https://youtu.be/gWub2D4XZCQ   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Reaching unicorn status is nice validation, but the luster fades when founders can't navigate the hidden challenges that come with uncharted territory. David Cancel and Elias Torres, co-founders of Drift, share their insight on steering a company to a $1B valuation with both the tenacity to problem-solve and a fearlessness to fail. They'll take you through their own personal experiences, from creating a scalable product strategy to building an enduring company that puts people and purpose before profit. Find out how the steps they took not only helped nurture a company's success, but also allowed its leaders to retain a growth mindset long after they hit the $1B milestone.   Full video: https://youtu.be/gGVSaRcZkOs   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Join Colin Jones, CRO at Wiz, as he shares key takeaways from building and scaling a sales organization that went from $0 to $100 million ARR in less than two years, making Wiz the fastest company to reach the $100M ARR. Colin will share key lessons he learned along the way, along with real-life examples of things that break when you grow at such unprecedented speeds, how to fix them, and how to build a team that consistently performs with grace under pressure.   Full video with Q&A: https://youtu.be/setOmORB76g   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Jason and Pete chat about SaaStr Fund, the state of VC funding in Q1 2023, and whether LPs play a role in the former "grow at all costs" mindset that prevailed in 2021 and early 2022.   Video: https://youtu.be/cvYe2jf2gOE   This conversation is an excerpt from a Modern Sales Pros fireside chat. You can find that video on their channel: https://youtu.be/fVckRPSUG-U   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

In any given day, the enterprise buyer has many priorities that will come before your product. How do you ensure your solution gets implemented and retained? In this session, we walk through some of the lessons learned at Attentive on their path to over 5,000 customers in 5 years. We will dig into real world examples for reducing friction in sales, product and customer success.   Full video: https://youtu.be/47ReBgKEgEY   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

It may seem counterintuitive to seek out a sales leadership hire during this time of slowed hiring, but it's the number one topic that many founders talk about and many SDRs, AEs, and sales managers ask about.  Founders may ask, “how do I find the right sales leadership hire?” While someone in sales may ask, “how do I become a CRO someday?” In today's episode of CRO Confidential, Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund, discusses these very questions with the previous CRO of Lattice, Dini Mehta.   Video: https://youtu.be/6eyB4G8y214   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Join Cliff Bockard, Senior Vice President of Revenue at DigitalOcean, as he discusses how DigitalOcean has won “big numbers” from “small customers” by tapping the underserved market of startups and SMBs. Cliff will discuss how companies can prioritize the success of their customers and benefit in turn, as well as why customer-centric and responsible, profitable growth matters more than ever.   Full video: https://youtu.be/vbj20ekVKsE   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Ready to kick-start 2023? Worried about team morale after a less-than-stellar Q4 (and Q3)? Jason shares 8 ideas that you can use right now to keep your sales team motivated and have a better Q1.   Full video: https://youtu.be/ji8mYoAGGjU   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

Join Sarah Patterson as she shares key lessons on scaling marketing engines from her experience as a Marketing EVP at Salesforce and now the CMO at Samsara. Sarah will share three key lessons she has learned along the way, from building successful feedback loops to knowing when to invest for the long term or push for rapid growth.   Video: https://youtu.be/z7qITAzT5wc Blog: https://www.saastr.com/3-lessons-from-building-a-marketing-engine-to-grow-pipeline-from-millions-to-billions-with-samsara-cmo-sarah-patterson-pod-619-video/   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

For many SaaS companies, serving the world's largest businesses requires evolving some of its most critical business strategies and operations. In this session, Airtable's Howie Liu sits down with Coatue's Caryn Marooney to share the lessons he's learned from scaling Airtable. From how to think about competitors and categories, to the importance of building the right organizational culture, Howie and Caryn reveal what SaaS leaders need to consider as they move upmarket. Video: https://youtu.be/if4nKnNMl4s Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

In today's CRO Confidential, Sam chats with Rippling VP of Sales Matt Plank. Matt was employee #5 and the first sales hire at Rippling. In this episode, he shares how he built and scaled Rippling's sales team. Video: https://youtu.be/yAloXeNI1Qw Blog post: https://www.saastr.com/saastr-cro-confidential-founders-fund-partner-sam-blond-rippling-vp-sales-matt-plank-pod-617-video/   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

There are so many interesting things everyone selling to SMBs can learn from HubSpot. Don't miss this talk with Hubspot's and SaaStr's CEOs Yamini Rangan and Jason Lemkin where they'll dig into how HubSpot is growing a stunning 41% year-over-year at $1.7 Billion in ARR.  Yamini and Jason discuss: -why Hubspot "took a step backward" by moving from sales-led to product-led -why focusing on free makes your product better -the importance of having multiple products -why NRR should be a North Star metric for SaaS businesses -working with partners -international expansion and localization: why less is more   Full video: https://youtu.be/sNU4h7LpHOI   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the

SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin recently moderated a session with 3 of the best investing in SaaS:  Doug Pepper, GP at Iconiq, Arun Mathew, GP at Accel, and Alex Kayyal, VP and head of all of Salesforce Ventures. The four deep-dive on the real state of venture capital today and into 2023.   This podcast was recorded live during G2's digital reach event. Check out the rest of the sessions over at Reach.G2.com   This episode is an excerpt from the session. Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/hTvNqr395nY   Want to join the SaaStr community? We're the