Sat.Jun 10, 2023 - Fri.Jun 16, 2023

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Dear SaaStr: Can Founders Force a Reluctant VC to Exit (Assuming There is a Reasonable Return for All)?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: Can Founders Force a Reluctant VC to Exit (Assuming There is a Reasonable Return for All)? Sort of. Generally speaking, there is no legal or contractual way to make a VC sell / exit. There can be some exceptions, but usually there are no “drag along” or forced put rights in standard terms and conditions. But …unless (x) the VCs control the company (own > 50%+) AND (y) are willing to step in and put a CEO in, or be the CEO … the founders have a lot of de facto power here.

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Does an AI Premium Exist in the Fundraising Market?

Tom Tunguz

If a company adds AI to their pitch or nabs a.ai domain, will they raise money at a higher valuation? Nvidia’s sudden surge to $1t in market capitalization in the public market suggests it could be the case. The data tells a different story. I plotted the 75th percentile valuation of all US software companies by stage compared to AI companies over the last twelve years.

AI 304
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Mastering Outbound Sales: Strategies, Triggers, and Campaigns with Gray Norman

Predictable Revenue

Gray Norman joins Collin Stewart on The Monthly Meta Podcast to talk about the ins and outs of building an effective outbound sales strategy, including triggers, crafting messages, and more. The post Mastering Outbound Sales: Strategies, Triggers, and Campaigns with Gray Norman appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

Strategy 130
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The First Principles of Executive Hiring

Andreessen Horowitz

How do you scale from a scrappy, early-stage startup with a handful of employees to a growth-stage company with hundreds, or even thousands, of employees? Hire the right executives. These first principles lay the foundation for making those key hires. … The post The First Principles of Executive Hiring appeared first on Andreessen Horowitz.

Startup 91
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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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How to Analyze the Customer Journey: Practical Techniques & Tools

User Pilot

The customer journey is all the interactions a user has with your product from the moment they sign up. And learning how to analyze the customer journey will help you to ensure product growth and positive business outcomes. In this article, we’ll cover the definition of customer journey analytics, discuss ways to analyze the customer journey, and review customer journey analytics tools.

More Trending

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Why and how 2023 can become the year of Customer Success

ChurnZero

This article was originally published in Forbes. As the downturn starts to bite and every dollar matters more, many CEOs are asking the same question. How should I wrangle a constricted company budget to outlast 2023? For subscription businesses, the focus is clear: retaining customers. Older research from Fred Reichheld of Bain & Company showed that, in financial services, “a 5% increase in customer retention produces more than a 25% increase in profit.” When times are challengi

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BetterCloud’s New Automation Features Optimize IT and HR Operations

BetterCloud

Businesses today are all about being efficient, and that’s what many CIOs prioritize. IT leaders are constantly seeking ways to streamline their operations and increase efficiency. We have expanded automation capabilities to enhance the IT automation journey. We integrate with BambooHR, a top HRIS provider that serves as the central hub for automations in companies that use it.

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A Marketer’s Takeaways from Connections 2023

CloudKettle

Trailblazers from around the world gathered at the highly anticipated Salesforce Connections 2023 event last week. The event was filled with fresh updates, new releases, and groundbreaking announcements. As a marketer, I was particularly inspired by the collaborative journey that the Marketing Product teams and the Trailblazers community are taking to shape the future of […] The post A Marketer’s Takeaways from Connections 2023 appeared first on CloudKettle.

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Ten Proven Strategies to Simplify Content Management

SaaS Metrics

Introduction In today’s fast-paced and digitally-driven world, content management has become vital for businesses and organizations aiming to establish a strong online presence. From blog posts and social media updates to website content and marketing materials, managing and curating content plays a pivotal role in engaging audiences and achieving business objectives.

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Harness the Full Power of Integrated Payments to Drive Revenue

Your payments integration is more powerful than you think. In today’s complex business landscape, treating payments as just a software feature is a missed opportunity for significant growth and customer acquisition. With the right partner, payments can become a strategy that leads to competitive advantages. Designed for software leaders, this playbook outlines how to harness the full power of a payments strategy to drive substantial revenue and enhance the overall customer experience.

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Expensify Joins 2023 SaaStr Annual as Unicorn Sponsor!

SaaStr

We’re SUPER excited to announced that Expensify has returned as a second-time SaaStr Annual sponsor for 2023 Annual on September 6-8, this time as a Unicorn Sponsor! We’ve used Expensify ourselves at SaaStr for years to manage our team’s expense reports, and we’re excited to have Expensify back even bigger and better this year, and to partner with Expensify on their Chat app as well.

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What if Every SaaS App Spoke English?

Tom Tunguz

In the last month, Hubspot launched ChatSpot. Zendesk AI automates customer support. Salesforce launched AI Cloud. Adobe’s released Firefly. What do all of these launches & many other similar ones have in common? The largest SaaS companies in the world have released English-language APIs. Anyone can write English to enter some input (e.g., “What are my top leads for this week?

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Kixie Review

The Daily Egg

Kixie is a sales-oriented business phone service and contact center solution. Self-branded as a sales engagement and acceleration platform, the software lets. The post Kixie Review appeared first on The Daily Egg.

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How to Build a Personal Brand (Using A Simple Framework)

Buffer Resources

In a study to understand why certain individuals (called “ Visible Experts ”) suddenly rose to become top voices in their fields, Hinge Marketing found that most of them were no more skilled or talented than others in their profession. What did make them different was how they communicated their work. At its core, that’s what personal branding is – the cumulative efforts to communicate an individual’s work.

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From Start to Scale: Driving Growth Through Seamless Payments Implementation

Speaker: Michael Veatch, Senior Director, Implementations & Ella Aguirre, Director of Solution Consulting

Embedding payments can be a transformative step for software companies looking to enhance their platform capabilities, boost customer satisfaction, and drive long-term growth. However, the success of payments hinges on a single thing: implementation. Drawing on real-world insights and experiences, payments implementation experts Michael Veatch and Ella Aguirre will explore actionable strategies that can lead to a transparent, friction-free launch and mitigate potential challenges like technical

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Dear SaaStr: How Many Sales Reps Do I Really Need?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: How Many Sales Reps Do I Need? More than you probably would think. You can back into how many sales reps you’ll need in SaaS. First, figure out how much revenue you need to close in the next twelve months. Because that’s more than now. Second, calculate a reasonable attainable quota for your closers, your Account Executives. This is generally derivate of your deal size.

Scale 322
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Clouded Judgement 6.16.23 - Growth Adjusted Software Multiples

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 Growth Adjusted Software Multiples The last 6 weeks (since the start of May) has been quite the run for software companies. The WCLD index is up 30%! The Nasdaq is up 12%. Given this move, where do multiples stand today?

Cloud 130
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HomeKit is going to be everywhere as ABB buys Eve Systems

IT World

The acquisition of Eve Systems by Swiss multinational firm ABB represents a watershed moment in the evolution of smart homes and smart buildings. Eve Systems (formerly El Gato) is a veteran name in the Apple ecosystem. The company has been a large exponent of HomeKit, Thread, and Matter. It sells a catalog of solutions that run the gamut of smarthome items, from connected light switches to gardening timers and blinds.

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How This Ex-TikTok Employee Approaches Being A Creator

Buffer Resources

Welcome back to Creators Unlocked , a series where we interview creators about their best practices. Today, we’ve got Ayomi Samaraweera, TikToker and creator economy startup founder, on the docket. 💡 To keep up with Ayomi, check out her website , TikTok and LinkedIn. Ayomi’s journey as a creator immediately stands out because she didn’t start in the creator economy as a TikToker, as many do, but as a TikTok employee (TikTokee, if you will).

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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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About 10% of Startups Allow Longer Option Exercise Windows. But Recently, That’s Doubled.

SaaStr

So Carta recently put together some dat a on a topic I’ve wondered about: just how many startups allow option exercises beyond the traditional 90 day window? The answer: the general trend is just over 10% of startups have extended windows beyond the traditional 90 days for departing employees to exercise stock options. But that is extended in tougher times, like just after lockdown in 2020 … and in 2023.

Startup 278
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Fix Your Sales Process by Asking This One Question

Sales Hacker

I hear this a lot from business leaders — and it’s always kind of sheepish: “Chris, how do we actually make a sales process?” And I get it. Sales processes don’t just happen. They don’t just appear out of thin air. Instead, growing companies realize that they don’t actually have a sales process in place, so they either let their sales reps do their own thing — or they cobble something together that pleases no one.

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What will Apple’s vision for Apple Vision be in 2025?

IT World

Mike Rockwell, Apple vice president for the technology development group, says that from the first second of wearing Apple Vision Pro the experience is designed to be “ special.” Most of the fortunate few who spent time using Apple Vision Pro admit to being stunned by what Apple's built. But where will it be in two years’ time? “Who is it for?” and “Where’s the killer app?

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How to Automate Your Content Repurposing in 5 Steps (From Someone Who Has Done It!)

Buffer Resources

The advice is everywhere: repurpose your content! Get more mileage out of your blog by turning it into social posts! Turn your LinkedIn posts into several tweets! But this advice lacks the logistical aspect: how can you keep track of something you published today and repurpose it over the next few weeks? As a freelance content marketer and journalist, my online presence is critical.

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The GTM Intelligence Era: ZoomInfo 2025 Customer Impact Report

ZoomInfo customers aren’t just selling — they’re winning. Revenue teams using our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform grew pipeline by 32%, increased deal sizes by 40%, and booked 55% more meetings. Download this report to see what 11,000+ customers say about our Go-To-Market Intelligence platform and how it impacts their bottom line. The data speaks for itself!

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Dear SaaStr: Does Paying Higher Salaries Increase Employee Retention?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: Does paying higher salaries increase employee retention? Yes, if their salaries are unfair, unequal, or below market. Otherwise — maybe not. Here’s what I’ve learned across 3 startups of my own, and investing in 25+ more: Underpaying certainly leads to departures. Employees that are underpaid get bitter and leave. Don’t let it go. Review salaries quarterly, not just annually.

Retention 276
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Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer

Andreessen Horowitz

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half. —John Wanamaker, United States Postmaster General from 1889–1893 Of all your executive roles, the one that’s likely to turn over the most is … The post Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer appeared first on Andreessen Horowitz.

Marketing 101
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EU Parliament approves AI Act, moving it closer to becoming law

IT World

The European Parliament has approved a draft of the EU's AI Act, taking a major step toward what could be the first comprehensive set of regulations for AI in the West. However, the legislation did not pass unanimously, with the final vote at 499 in favor, 28 against, and 93 abstentions. While today’s vote marks a huge step forward in the regulation of AI technology, the draft legislation is still subject to change, with each EU country needing to agree on the bill before it becomes law.

AI 105
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Now You Can Use Buffer With Your Instagram Creator Account

Buffer Resources

We couldn’t be more excited for this one. You can now enjoy all of the benefits of Buffer with an Instagram Creator account. For years, we’ve heard from folks that they want to connect a variety of Instagram accounts to Buffer. We have over 1 Million people who have connected an Instagram channel to Buffer, so we get this request a lot.

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How Clinic Sense Reduced Churn and Unlocked More Revenue

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.

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If You’re Raising Prices — Did You Raise Value More?

SaaStr

If you do raise prices, how about also adding more value than price increase? E.g., add: – More great features – Close feature gaps – Better support – New integrations, partners – Better API, security – New stakeholders, dashboards, analytics Turns a Rip-Off into a Good Deal — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin  (@jasonlk) June 4, 2023 For the last few years, SaaS has felt less like a service than it used to. 2023 has become the year of not just the aggressive pri

Pricing 271
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5 Best Practices for Lead Routing in 2023

Sales Hacker

According to the HubSpot Sales Trends 2023 Global Report, setting and meeting sales quotas this year will be harder than ever. So I’m here to tell you about a secret weapon: dynamic lead routing. I’ll start with the basics. What is dynamic lead routing? A lead comes in to your sales team — which rep is going to handle it? Assigning leads is called lead routing.

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AI might kill organic traffic—here’s what SEO marketers need to know

Unbounce

Alexa, add organic baby carrots to my grocery list and play Walk This Way by Run-D.M.C.! Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way we live. From virtual assistants to self-driving cars, AI-powered technology is transforming us into a more efficient species by automating mundane tasks, providing personalized recommendations, and helping us make informed decisions.