September, 2023

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The Top 20 Symptoms of a Weak Development Team

TechEmpower SaaS

When speaking with founders and CEOs, we often hear concerns like this: My project manager is losing confidence in the development team. The PMs are seeing late deliveries and bugs that suggest the devs just aren’t capable enough. I think that poor communication and differing team cultures might be part of the problem, but how can I know for sure? It’s a good question.

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Dear SaaStr: What is The Biggest Difference Between Running a 10 Person Startup and a 100 Person Startup?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: What is The Biggest Difference Between Running a 10 Person Startup and a 100 Person Startup? The biggest structural difference is you have to hire all the VPs by employee 50–100. You won’t be able to scale this far without a full management team — VPs of Sales, Marketing, Product, Engineering, Customer Success at least. But the toughest personal challenge for many CEOs is letting go.

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Building a Generational Business Databrick by Databrick

Tom Tunguz

Last week, Databricks announced their Series I financing at $43b. At the same time, they released quarterly figures similar to a public company’s reporting. Those numbers provide the first public view into one of the most valuable private companies in the world. It’s also an opportunity to compare Databricks to Snowflake. Two mammoths competing for customers’ workloads offer different architectures.

Business 289
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Permissionless Pilots – the fastest way to Wow!

For Entrepreneurs with David Skok

A decade ago my partner (and SaaS legend) David Skok wrote about “Time to Wow!” – which helped you highlight how powerful it can be when the buyer experiences a Wow! moment, when they fully see the value of your … The post Permissionless Pilots – the fastest way to Wow! appeared first on For Entrepreneurs.

SaaS 265
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SaaS Essentials: Failed Payment Solution Guide

For SaaS businesses, improving retention is one of the easiest and most effective ways to drive revenue and profits. With a clear link between failed payments and customer churn, having a robust failed payment recovery solution isn’t optional—it’s essential. Achieving your retention goals starts with the right solution.

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Selling Smarter, Not Harder: Rethinking the Sales Cycle with L’areal Lipkins

Predictable Revenue

Collin Stewart of the Predictable Revenue Podcast sought answers to pressing questions in an engaging conversation with L’areal Lipkins. The post Selling Smarter, Not Harder: Rethinking the Sales Cycle with L’areal Lipkins appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

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Clouded Judgement 9.29.23 - Rates Keep Going Up

Clouded Judgement

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Follow along to stay up to date! Subscribe now Rates Keep Going Up Rates continue to push higher, as the aftershock of the Fed’s “Higher for Longer!!” messaging reverberates through the markets. Yesterday the 10Y hit 4.7% which was up from it’s high of ~4.5% last week.

Cloud 183
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Salesforce, Samsara, Monday and More: “Layoffs are Over. We’re Back to Hiring. Thousands.”

SaaStr

So tougher times aren’t over for everyone that has had them. But we’re lapping tougher times for many, and for many others, it’s just plain time to hire again. So many Cloud and SaaS leaders kept hiring flat for the past 12-18 months, and yet still grew. That works for a while, but you end up with not enough headcount if you do freeze hiring but still want to grow.

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The Rise of Data Lakes in Software Architecture

Tom Tunguz

Historically, software-as-a-service (SaaS) has been built on databases with structured data, as you might find in an Excel spreadsheet. But the ability of large language models to extract insights from unstructured information changes this architecture : data repositories like data lakes are becoming essential parts of modern SaaS stacks. For example, next generation marketing software might ingest structured data from Google Analytics and lead capture software as before.

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How Are Consumers Using Generative AI?

Andreessen Horowitz

It’s been 9 months since ChatGPT was released and 7 months since it became the fastest consumer application to reach 100 million monthly active users , ushering in a new era of generative AI. But other than ChatGPT, how are consumers interacting with generative AI (GenAI) products? In which categories do incumbents dominate—and where are new companies breaking out?

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An Omnichannel Payment Solution––Without the Complexity

Simplify omnichannel payments with a solution that unifies every channel through your platform. By integrating front-end systems like online, mobile, and in-store payments with robust back-end infrastructure, you can deliver a seamless payments experience without the need for heavy engineering. Omnitoken technology enhances security by tokenizing card transactions for reuse, enabling merchants to drive cross-selling opportunities.

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Release Notes | September 2023: FastSpring Improves ACH Authorization Rates and Updates Trial UI

FastSpring

Release notes is our monthly highlight of our great features coming out on the FastSpring platform so you’ll be able to pick up and go with the latest features for your store. If you want to know more about FastSpring, reach out to our sales team for a demo , or try it yourself. Improved User Experience in Free Trial UI We’re always looking for ways to improve user experience in our application.

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ClickTime Review

The Daily Egg

The times, they are a-changing, and so are work schedules. As a result, a lot of business owners are having trouble keeping. The post ClickTime Review appeared first on The Daily Egg.

Business 252
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Clouded Judgement 9.1.23 - Are Software Companies Over or Undervalued?

Clouded Judgement

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Follow along to stay up to date! Subscribe now Are Software Companies Over or Undervalued? Today I wanted to dig in to this question and its implications: “Are software companies fairly valued today?” Every week I post a number of charts and tables, but the most popular chart shows the software universe’s median revenue multiple, the long term average, and the 10Y (below).

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Dear SaaStr: We Don’t Need It. Should We Still Go After Venture Capital, and When?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: We Don’t Need It. Should We Go After Venture Capital, and When? There are only two reasons to raise Venture Capital: You need it. If the only way you can get to the next level is to raise capital, then do it. I needed to for both my start-ups, up to a point, for different reasons. Whatever the dilution, cost, headaches — if you need VC to thrive, and you can raise it, then raise it.

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Usage-Based Monetization Musts: A Roadmap for Sustainable Revenue Growth

Speaker: David Warren and Kevin O'Neill Stoll

Transitioning to a usage-based business model offers powerful growth opportunities but comes with unique challenges. How do you validate strategies, reduce risks, and ensure alignment with customer value? Join us for a deep dive into designing effective pilots that test the waters and drive success in usage-based revenue. Discover how to develop a pilot that captures real customer feedback, aligns internal teams with usage metrics, and rethinks sales incentives to prioritize lasting customer eng

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4 Key Takeaways from the AI Panel at Saastr 2023

Tom Tunguz

Last week at Saastr 2023, I had the privilege of hosting a panel with Maggie Hott , GTM leader at OpenAI, Sharon Zhou , cofounder & CEO of Lamini, & Jordan Tigani , founder & CEO of MotherDuck talking about the implications of AI for the software industry broadly. Four themes resonated throughout the session. First, large language models like GPT-3 are making AI accessible to the masses.

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20+ LinkedIn Profile Tips (Guaranteed Ways to Stand Out)

Buffer Resources

Having a strong LinkedIn game is no longer an option. What we’re witnessing in today’s tough economy is the inevitable rise of social selling. This trend leverages social media platforms to build connections and establish meaningful relationships with potential business prospects — and when it comes to social selling, LinkedIn is the MVP.

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Commercializing AI in Healthcare: The Jobs to be Done

Andreessen Horowitz

In enterprise healthcare, there are many “Jobs to be Done” (JTBD) for AI. To this end, we present the first part of the 6th episode of the Digital Health Go-to-Market Playbook series –Commercializing AI in Healthcare. This piece, Part A, uses Clay Christensen’s Jobs to be Done lens, along with an assessment of viable product wedges and business models, to share what we see as the most promising applications of AI in enterprise healthcare.

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StoreApps Review

The Daily Egg

If you use WooCommerce to run your online store, you need quality tools to take your business to the next level. That’s. The post StoreApps Review appeared first on The Daily Egg.

Business 246
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15 Modern Use Cases for Enterprise Business Intelligence

Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?

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A Look Back at Q2 '23 Public Cloud Software Earnings

Clouded Judgement

Q2 earnings season for cloud businesses is now behind us. The 62 companies that I’ll discuss here (which is not an exhaustive list, but is still comprehensive) all reported quarterly earnings sometime between July 27th – September 8th. In this post, I’ll take a data-driven approach in evaluating the overall group’s performance, and highlight individual standouts along the way.

Cloud 169
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Can We Even Afford to Do SMB Sales in the U.S. Anymore?

SaaStr

So I’ve been doing SaaS for a while, and the costs of doing business have just gone up. Inflation is everywhere. Salaries have gone up. Marketing expenses have gone up. And expectations for OTE have gone way up. The net effect I see this happening today is a squeeze in U.S.-based SMB sales positions. SaaS sales execs with even a little bit of experience at other SaaS companies are looking for higher and higher OTEs, often with lower effective attainment and high support costs.

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Building Applications with AI - Lessons from LangChain, Hearth, & Context.ai

Tom Tunguz

Yesterday at TechCrunch Disrupt, Harrison Chase , founder of LangChain , Ashe Magalhaes founder of Hearth , & Henry Scott-Green , founder of Context.ai , & I discussed the future of building LLM-enabled applications. We assembled the panel as a three layer cake : Hearth, the application ; Langchain, the infrastructure ; Context.ai, the product analytics.

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I've Used Bluesky for 6 Months – Here's What You Should Know

Buffer Resources

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, or X as it’s now called, a number of new social media apps have either come into the limelight or been developed to capture the users that have been leaving. Although the flood of users leaving has slowed to a trickle with several new initiatives from the platform, several Twitter alternatives have been developed.

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Prepare Now: 2025s Must-Know Trends For Product And Data Leaders

Speaker: Jay Allardyce, Deepak Vittal, Terrence Sheflin, and Mahyar Ghasemali

As we look ahead to 2025, business intelligence and data analytics are set to play pivotal roles in shaping success. Organizations are already starting to face a host of transformative trends as the year comes to a close, including the integration of AI in data analytics, an increased emphasis on real-time data insights, and the growing importance of user experience in BI solutions.

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Instacart

Andreessen Horowitz

Investing in Instacart was perhaps the hardest decision I had to make as a venture capitalist. It was April 2014, and the company was raising its Series B. And by the time we saw the pitch, they already had multiple term sheets. We pulled from my prior marketplaces experience and dove into their business quickly to develop a point-of-view on the opportunity.

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FS Poster Review

The Daily Egg

Crafting a beautifully written post on your WordPress site only to have it go unread can be heartbreaking. But if you aren’t. The post FS Poster Review appeared first on The Daily Egg.

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Clouded Judgement 9.8.23 - Early Q2 '23 Earnings Recap

Clouded Judgement

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Follow along to stay up to date! Subscribe now Q2 Earnings Recap Preview We’re now through Q2 earnings season! I’ll post a much longer recap soon, but today I wanted to post the highlights. Overall, I’d describe Q2 as “Buying environment didn’t get worse, but we’re not out of the woods yet.” We saw some green shoots in AWS and a few other consumption names, and overal

Cloud 169
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The Top 10 Mistakes Founders Make After $10m ARR

SaaStr

So the other day I looked back at about 25 SaaS seed investments I’d made that had scaled well past $10m-$20m and reflected on the top themes. Including — the top mistakes founders make again and again as they cross $10m ARR. Trust me. Here they are. They are all avoidable : #1: Stepping Out of Sales Ok really this is mistake #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5.

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Launching LLM-Based Products: From Concept to Cash in 90 Days

Speaker: Christophe Louvion, Chief Product & Technology Officer of NRC Health and Tony Karrer, CTO at Aggregage

Christophe Louvion, Chief Product & Technology Officer of NRC Health, is here to take us through how he guided his company's recent experience of getting from concept to launch and sales of products within 90 days. In this exclusive webinar, Christophe will cover key aspects of his journey, including: LLM Development & Quick Wins 🤖 Understand how LLMs differ from traditional software, identifying opportunities for rapid development and deployment.

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A Little Yellow Book in the Corner Bookshelf of a Coffee Shop

Tom Tunguz

I recently stumbled across a book that profoundly impacted me over 20 years ago. Called the Art of Possibility by Rosemary Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, there it was in the sharing library of a local cafe, nestled underneath a few spy novels. There it was the bright yellow cover, a banner of optimism contained within the pages.

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15+ YouTube Shorts Ideas For Your Next Video

Buffer Resources

With more than 50 billion daily views, YouTube Shorts offers a unique opportunity for content creators to reach a wider audience, promote longer videos, and even increase subscribers. For content creators and small businesses, Shorts can be a game-changer. Whether you're repurposing old content, sharing clips from live streams, promoting exclusive content, or hopping on the latest trend, Shorts provide a versatile medium to engage viewers and potentially go viral.

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What Builders Talk About When They Talk About AI

Andreessen Horowitz

The foundation models we use today aren’t just beating humans at Jeopardy, or playing Go at a supernatural level, or powering better recommendation engines—they’re changing and creating new user behavior across art, design, games, medicine, coding, and even human relationships. And the broad impact of this wave of AI is already creating the sort of massive value we’ve seen with other platform shifts, like the internet, mobile, cloud.