SaaStr

APRIL 21, 2024

Dear SaaStr: What Are The Top 5 Things I Should Know Before Starting a SaaS Startup? My Top 5: It will take you at least 24 months to really get anywhere. Everyone mentally budgets 10–12 months. It’s never enough. At least, not to get enough paying customers from Code Zero. A little more here: [link] A co-founder not equally committed will blow up on you, and best case, is a disaster you will have to clean up later.

Startup 287

Startup CTO SaaS Interviewing 287

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 23, 2024

Snowflake announced Artic , their open 17b model. The LLM perfomance chart is replete with new offerings in just a few weeks. Overall knowledge performance is asymptoting as expected. It’s hard to discern the most recent dots. One thing stands out from the announcement - the positioning of the model. “The Best LLM for Enterprise AI” Snowflake focuses on the model’s enterprise performance : SQL generation, code completion, & logic.

Artificial Intelligence 206

Artificial Intelligence B2B Marketing AI 206

Predictable Revenue

APRIL 24, 2024

Joe Sullivan sheds light on balancing educational outreach with sales tactics and how to position your brand as a thought leader. The post How to get in front of your audience before they’re ready to buy appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

Education 130

Education Branding Revenue Sales 130

Payrix

APRIL 24, 2024

Andy Meadows, the Head of Partner Success at Payrix joins host Ian Hillis to continue their conversation about building a successful Embedded Payments strategy. As the last episode of a four-part series on the topic, Andy and Ian tackle how software companies can minimize attrition and why it’s important to the payments conversation. Did you miss Parts 1-3?

Payments 162

Payments Embedded Payments Merchant Services Payment Solutions 162

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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.

Payment Solutions

USIO

APRIL 22, 2024

SaaS companies are continually seeking innovative strategies to not just maintain but amplify their growth trajectory and increase revenue. One pivotal yet often overlooked area is payments. Integrating efficient payment systems along with offering revenue share will significantly impact a SaaS company’s revenue streams and overall expansion. We’ll delve into how SaaS companies are leveraging Usio Integrated Payment Solutions to propel their growth and increase revenue.

Payment Services 130

Payment Services SaaS Payments Payment Solutions Payments 130

FastSpring

APRIL 25, 2024

Through the integration, the companies aim to provide the best payment experience to Brazilian clients through local payments via the fast-growing and highly adopted Pix CURITIBA, Brazil, April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — FastSpring , the leading merchant of record for global SaaS and software companies, and EBANX , a global technology company specializing in payments for rising markets, announce today a partnership to enhance users’ payment experience within FastSpring’s product s

Payment Services 104

Payment Services Merchant Services SaaS Payments Payment Methods 104

User Pilot

APRIL 24, 2024

Usability testing is an invaluable resource for UX researchers…but only if you’re able to recruit participants in the first place. This is a problem that our own UX researcher at Userpilot, Lisa, faced when she tried recruiting participants the traditional way. But when things don’t work out, we are reminded of the importance of eating your own dog food, aka using your own product to solve the problem you set out to address for your customers.

Interviewing 77

Interviewing B2C B2B Advertising 77

The Moz Blog

APRIL 24, 2024

Discover key strategies for SEO and product teams to collaborate effectively, from joint UX optimization to unified performance metrics.

Metrics 121

Metrics Strategy 121

Kellblog

APRIL 20, 2024

Just a quick post to share the slides of a presentation I recently gave on six principles that can help you optimize both your results and your career. The material, which should be familar to long-time Kellblog readers, is largely based on posts that I’ve written over the years and the last slide of the deck has links to specific posts. The six principles are: Answer the effing question (ATFQ).

Management 100

Management Development 100

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ClinicSense is a SaaS platform that supports over 7,000 massage therapists who use it for appointment management, payments, scheduling, marketing activities and more. Despite having a relatively low payment failure rate, the company discovered that the failures disrupted the customer experience. This often led to churn as customers decided to cancel or abandon their account, preventing ClinicSense from realizing the full lifetime value (LTV) of its users.

Payments

SaaStr

APRIL 22, 2024

So this is the time of the year when founders step down. Often quietly. Folks recover a bit from the end-of-year push, reflect, and sometimes … decide it’s time to bring in someone new. A CEO to take things to the next level. Etc. And even more of us think about it. Heck, I’ve thought about it several times over the years. I always try to talk founders out it handing over the reigns.

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Tom Tunguz

APRIL 21, 2024

In “Do software companies actually have good margins?”, Benn Stancil makes a case for a counterintuitive point : Software companies are much less profitable than they might seem. Why? Because the research & development costs associated with software should be part of their cost of goods sold. Software companies don’t invest once in R&D & then sell copies of the software as we did in the 90s on CDs.

Software 234

Software Business Construction Government 234

Clouded Judgement

APRIL 26, 2024

Every week I’ll provide updates on the latest trends in cloud software companies. Follow along to stay up to date! Subscribe now Azure Report - Cloud Infra Looks Good! Microsoft kicked off earnings season with a bang! For software, all eyes were on Azure - which grew 31% YoY (ahead of expectations closer to 29%). What was arguably more impressive (and a better indicator of what’s to come for the rest of infrastructure software than overall Azure growth) was the Azure growth excluding

Azure 180

Azure Cloud Software AI 180

USIO

APRIL 26, 2024

In the heart of Austin, where the vibrant culture and musical heritage intersect, lies a celebration that resonates with the soul of the city—the Austin Blues Festival starting April 27 and running through April 28, 2024. As the city gears up for another unforgettable gathering of music enthusiasts and performers, one name stands out as a beacon of support: Usio Akimbo.

Banking 130

Banking Entertainment Government Finance 130

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

Revenue

SaaStr

APRIL 20, 2024

"We all need more hackers on our team. Marketing hackers, sales hackers, product hackers. We lost too much of that. People that want to do the work because they enjoy the work." @searchbrat @zapier @kippbodnar @HubSpot @jasonlk pic.twitter.com/dUudpe9s2Q — SaaStr (@saastr) April 16, 2024 HubSpot and Zapier’s CMO had us on their “Marketing Against the Grain” pod / videocast.

Sales Hiring 266

Sales Hiring Startup Marketing Technical Review 266

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 22, 2024

On Friday May 3rd at 9:30 Pacific time, Office Hours will host Jordan Tigani, CEO of MotherDuck. Jordan’s path through data starts with being the founding tech lead on Google Big Query to SingleStore’s Chief Product Officer to MotherDuck’s CEO. He wrote the Big Data is Dead , explaining that a power law applies to most companies’ data.

Data 225

Data Innovation Cloud Marketing 225

Sparktoro

APRIL 22, 2024

I don’t mind the generative AI craze. While some folks rail about the AI-generated comments that dominate their LinkedIn feed, I say, thank you for the engagement boost. Do these comments make social media a better place? Not really. But neither do the human-written, “Nice post, totally agree,” comments.

Social Media 126

Social Media Generative AI AI Engagement 126

FastSpring

APRIL 26, 2024

Ready to join Europe’s biggest startup and tech event with the leading startups, investors, executives, and media from 174 countries? If so, join FastSpring in Paris at VivaTech 2024 at Booth C45! We’d love to talk with you in person! Join us at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, in Paris, France, on May 22nd – 25th, for an extraordinary event dedicated to all things tech.

Merchant Services 107

Merchant Services Payment Solutions Payment Methods Artificial Intelligence 107

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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?

Enterprise

SaaStr

APRIL 25, 2024

Dear SaaStr: When Do VCs Try To Replace Founders as CEOs? You’re worried about a bunch of VCs replacing you. That’s fair. You should be. It happens. Regularly — but not usually. A few high-level things to think about. First, if you really screw up, shouldn’t you be replaced? Second, if you don’t end up being a great CEO in the long-run, shouldn’t you be replaced when someone can do the next stage materially better than you can?

Finance 246

Finance Investment SaaS Marketing 246

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 25, 2024

If it wasn’t clear before, AI is the single biggest revenue driver in cloud. Microsoft’s Azure is winning share directly from Amazon. In Feburary, Microsoft grew 2% & Amazon lost 2%. Google is also taking share - 1% in the last year. A one percentage point share shift represents about $750 million of spend or about $5b in market cap.

Azure 182

Azure AI Search Marketing ChatGPT 182

Buffer Resources

APRIL 24, 2024

Spoiler alert: it’s not organic vs paid social media – it’s organic and paid social media. Businesses often grapple with which to focus on, but that mindset ignores the value of both organic and paid social media to enhance the success of your overall marketing strategy significantly. Both approaches require different methods but will be equally effective overall.

Social Media 121

Social Media Strategy Scale Branding 121

FastSpring

APRIL 23, 2024

When considering Paddle alternatives, it’s important to note that Paddle is a merchant of record (MoR). The company handles transactions for sellers of digital products, providing the infrastructure for global online payments while taking responsibility for tax collection and remittance, fraud prevention, and other aspects of the checkout process. It’s a capable solution, but by no means is Paddle a universal, one-size-fits-all option.

Payment Methods 100

Payment Methods Payment Services Merchant Services Payment Solutions 100

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Choosing the right Embedded Payments partner can feel overwhelming. This comprehensive buyer’s guide simplifies the process by breaking down seven key criteria to consider, from platform technology to security and growth potential. Learn how to assess partners that align with your goals, offer personalized support, and drive long-term success. This guide equips software companies with the insights to make confident, informed decisions that enhance customer experience and fuel business growth.

Payment Solutions

SaaStr

APRIL 25, 2024

We’re gearing up for 2024 SaaStrEuropa.com in London on June 4-5, which will be awesome. 3,500+ of the best in SaaS and Cloud together in London! See You There! But then comes The Biggest Non-Vendor SaaS Event of the Year! SaaStrAnnual.com 2024 on Sep 10-12 in SF Bay!! 12,000+ of the best founders, CEOs, CTOs, CROs, CMOs and more! 1,000+ Braindates, workshops, and mentorship sessions 800+ of the top VCs in SaaS and Cloud 250+ speakers and sessions Founder-VC matchmaking Awesome networking

Cloud 243

Cloud Pricing Enterprise Technology 243

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 24, 2024

Enterprises spend more on security but aren’t benefitting from the extra spend. Palo Alto Networks’ customers who buy security across 3 platforms spend more than 40x those that secure just one. Despite those dollars… “Adding incremental point products is not necessarily driving a better security outcome for them.” - Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks The average enterprise uses upwards of 70 security products.

AI 147

AI Systems Review Innovation Enterprise 147

Buffer Resources

APRIL 22, 2024

Unique circumstances will forever mark the first half of the 2020s, but those alone won’t capture the decade's legacy. A layer deeper, we see how the events accelerated new trends that shape our world today, like the rise of solopreneurship. A solopreneur is any business driven exclusively by one person. Modern solopreneurs commonly run their businesses, at least in some part, through the Internet.

Social Media 117

Social Media Scale Growth Hacking Headcount 117

The Moz Blog

APRIL 26, 2024

Join us in this Whiteboard Friday as we delve into the art of combining various data sources. Discover why this holistic approach is crucial for prioritizing tasks and gaining invaluable insights, and learn practical tips for seamless data integration.

Data 112

Data Marketing 112

Speaker: Jay Allardyce, Deepak Vittal, and Terrence Sheflin

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.

Trends

SaaStr

APRIL 23, 2024

Databricks had an incredible scale-up from $400M to $1.5B+ during former VP of Product Nadim Hossain’s time there. The company has gone from 1600 employees to over 5500 and most recently crossed the $2B ARR mark. Now, he shares his top five learnings during his time at Databricks. His role covered about 40% of the engineering roadmap, which was all things Enterprise-focused.

Technical Review 240

Technical Review Government Innovation Engineering 240

Andreessen Horowitz

APRIL 23, 2024

At a16z’s recent Connect/Fintech event, a16z Partner Alex Immerman sat down for a broad conversation with Immad Akhund , co-founder and CEO of banking startup Mercury , and René Lacerte, founder and CEO of financial services company BILL. They discussed the wide-ranging implications that generative AI will have across fintech and how it will boost jobs, rather than replace them.

Payments 110

Payments Forecasting Payment Services Sales Hiring 110

Buffer Resources

APRIL 25, 2024

Search engine optimization (SEO) sounds like a fancy jargon word that has a suit with elbow patches on. But it’s really just a way to be easily visible and discoverable to your target audience.  In this article, I’ll explain what SEO is for social media, why you should care about it, and how you can use it to your advantage. What is social media SEO?

Social Media 114

Social Media Travel Engineering Trends 114