SaaStr

JANUARY 23, 2025

One great enterprise reference customer is worth 20 mid-market logos. Build the Right Team for Enterprise Success Enterprise selling requires a fundamentally different skillset.

Enterprise 244

Enterprise Sales Hiring Scale Outsourced Development 244

SaaStr

OCTOBER 30, 2024

1 Do reference checks Talk to as many founders they’ve invested in as you can and do reference checks. A bad investor doesn’t come off the cap table until you sell the company or years after an IPO. And so much happens in that time, in that decade or more. So here are 8 signs to help you avoid bad investors. #1

Venture Capital 316

Venture Capital Software Review Investment Startup 316

SaaStr

JANUARY 28, 2025

Proof of Concept and Early References One of the hurdles in the early days is that every customer wants to do a proof of concept (POC) that’s 100% customized, but having success cases and references can help alleviate this issue.

AI Search 244

AI Search AI Artificial Intelligence Technical Review 244

SaaStr

MARCH 23, 2025

And finally, they need to drive customer advocacy turning your best customers into references and case studies. The VPCS should also own time-to-value (TTV) how quickly customers realize ROI from your product. A shorter TTV means happier customers and faster expansion opportunities.

VPCs (Virtual Private Cloud) 162

VPCs (Virtual Private Cloud) Customer Success Churn Retention 162

TechEmpower SaaS

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Structured Data refers to information organized in a defined manner, making it easier to search and analyze. Here's a suggested approach: Ground Truth Creation: Design a test dataset with established answers or recognized documents to serve as a reference point.

AI Search 519

AI Search Artificial Intelligence Generative AI AI 519

TechEmpower SaaS

DECEMBER 11, 2023

References: The company should willingly provide references. Do they assist with the transition to in-house or other developers? How do they handle hosting and support? Client Retention: Do they have repeat or long-term clients?

Software Development 443

Software Development Development Software Review Software 443

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 1, 2025

Its just hard to fly in sales selling something much harder to sell than your last role. But sell something even a smidge easier to sell than the last one?

Sales Hiring 188

Sales Hiring Sales compliance Interviewing 188

SaaStr

MAY 24, 2022

Many mediocre hires were made to fill slots, reference checks not made, etc. Do reference checks, on and off sheet. Often with zero reference checks or diligence. So maybe it’s time to get back to the Old Ways, with more interviews, more time, and real reference checks. So did startups. jasonlk) May 23, 2022. Probably.

Sales Hiring 323

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Interviewing Startup 323

USIO

JULY 1, 2024

How to Implement a Referral Program: Create a Referral Incentive : Offer existing customers a discount, a free month of service, or other perks for every new customer they refer. Simplify the Referral Process : Make it easy for customers to refer others by providing them with a unique referral link they can share via email or social media.

Payments 306

Payments SaaS Payments Payment Solutions Payment Services 306

Tom Tunguz

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

The AI even references images in the post. They reference a pasted image & the contents of the image - in this case a schematic of the Initia stack. There are some inaccuracies : the AI references TVL (total value locked) as cash, which isn’t exactly right in this case, but it’s close.

AI Search 272

AI Search AI Generative AI Advertising 272

The Daily Egg

JUNE 9, 2020

Recruiting software is commonly referred to as an applicant tracking system (ATS). From the initial job vacancy listing through the employee onboarding process, leveraging software helps you fill vacant positions faster while attracting top-level talent. However, these two terms […].

Software Review 337

Software Review Software Systems Review Onboarding 337

The Daily Egg

APRIL 7, 2020

Mobile optimization refers to optimizing a website specifically for mobile devices. For a long time, responsive design dominated the web as the format of choice for business and personal sites. Now, however, mobile optimization has begun to gain credence as a potentially preferable strategy.

Mobile 66

Mobile Strategy Business 66

SaaStr

JULY 22, 2021

To get that word-of-mouth/viral/refer ral engine going faster. The more you share success with your existing customers — the more they will refer more of their friends to you. If you see 20% or more of your new customers coming from word-of-mouth by $2m-$3m ARR, Things are going really well. Do it for rea l. More on that here.

Sales Hiring 358

Sales Hiring Scale Customer Success Branding 358

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

In my opinion, the most informative and useful SaaS content “speaks for itself” and is well suited for future reference. Just like David Sacks’ SaaS Org Charts talk + slides , this Battery slide on the evolution of PQLs versus MQLs by company stage is a great standalone reference point. #3

Scale 354

Scale Cloud Forecasting Pricing 354

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

And some do very in-depth ones with lots of “off sheet” references (i.e., Many do few references checks beyond the CEO, but not all. 1 rough reference isn’t going to stop a deal. Everyone does some background checks, or least they did outside of the Boom Times of late 2020 through late 2021. ones not provided by the CEO).

Investment 273

Investment Leadership 273

SaaStr

JANUARY 8, 2022

References Really Do Matter Here — from Customers Too if possible. Sometimes, references are just a Check the Box exercise. If they won’t provide a positive reference — that’s a big flag. But even in that case, the products don’t have to be remotely similar. Not here.

Sales Recruiting 290

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Sales Pricing 290

SaaStr

JUNE 27, 2020

Easy / quick back-door reference checks. Formal reference calls. Typical pre-term sheet diligence for Seed or Series A: A couple of customer calls. Often just 2 or 3. But quickly confirm they love the product. Basic financials and model review. But often only a cursory one. Competitive review — up to a point. Post term sheet.

Software Review 324

Software Review Banking Education Software 324

SaaStr

JUNE 4, 2023

A few tells: No CEO-level reference. Please, do real reference checks — and find at least one CEO or boss that says they are truly great. Reference checks are not a waste of time. But they actually aren’t that good. They didn’t really do it. They just worked there. Maybe not everywhere. Zero is an issue.

Sales Hiring 308

Sales Hiring SaaS Interviewing Startup 308

SaaStr

AUGUST 14, 2020

I’ll give you 5 tips: First, ask her for 3 customer references. Second, ask her for references from 3 sales reps she hired. But they don’t learn these skills. Not sure if she or her is great at sales? Call those 3 customers. Ask how the candidate helped their customer. You’ll hear and learn if they can sell.

Sales Recruiting 363

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale Sales 363

SaaStr

MAY 6, 2021

Additionally, after Sandi had checked Kathy’s backdoor references, Kathy asked those references how they felt about Skilljar and Sandi. People’s past accomplishments and references tell you more than their interview. She used her interviews with investors to find out how they really felt about the product and their why.

Sales Hiring 305

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Interviewing Revenue 305

SaaStr

MARCH 5, 2021

Finally, some founders after deciding who can help the most, and how important and big a brand they can get, move on to reference checks. But mostly, reference checks sort of tease at personality fit, which is important. Actual value is more important than brand, but brands are a proxy for some sort of value. And these are important.

Venture Capital 360

Venture Capital Branding Pricing Investment 360

SaaStr

OCTOBER 12, 2022

He has one terrible reference. Yes, but what about the other 3 great references? True, but it got the journey going. Don’t leave. I’ll pay you $50,000 to stay. A lot of money. But it was time. Don’t hire that VP. The best in startups often break a little glass. Too much is a problem.

Investment 290

Investment Startup Technology 290

SaaStr

APRIL 30, 2024

If you aren’t sure … then check references. So pick investors: You trust ; that Can help the most. Everything else is secondary. But those two points do encompass a lot of variables. The post Dear SaaStr: How Can I Remove a Troublesome Investor from my Cap Table? appeared first on SaaStr.

Leadership 289

Leadership 289

SaaStr

MARCH 18, 2025

Creating a Data Moat A “data moat” refers to a unique and defensible data set providing competitive advantage. Tolerance for errors varies dramatically by industry and application.

Technical Review 189

Technical Review Artificial Intelligence AI Marketplace as a Service 189

Tom Tunguz

JULY 10, 2022

She refers you to a friend, who buys software from you and then tops up again. ” which leads to a nonchalant upsell: “You’re over your usage and we love that. We should probably increase your contract.” ” The customer is in control. Other stakeholders compliment the champion on a great choice.

Strategy 356

Strategy Sales Compensation Retention 356

SaaStr

MARCH 12, 2024

Do Reference Checks — Thoughtfully VC reference checks are a bit nuanced. A lot of VCs publish today. Blog posts. Read, watch, and listen. Do this enough, you will get a sense of what they are truly like. #5. What will failed founders say? What about folks that never hit the plan? They may give negative feedback on VCs.

Sales 304

Sales 304

TechEmpower SaaS

JULY 31, 2023

channels (search, social, viral, new media), cost-efficient distribution We often reference Dave’s work when talking to innovators. Be sure to check out the entire presentation. Conclusion Startup metrics are an invaluable tool for founders and innovators. Focus on building an MVP to gather startup metrics.

Metrics 390

Metrics Startup Scale New CTO 390

SaaStr

MAY 25, 2022

If a user refers you to a friend, you will want to live up to the expectation of their referral. Nobody wants to refer a service that may not be able to deliver. The Shield: market consensus. If you have a product-led business model, your growth via word of mouth depends on people talking about you.

Scale 311

Scale Marketplace as a Service Advertising Business Model 311

SaaStr

APRIL 1, 2023

We stopped doing reference checks. While layoffs are all across the news today, looking back, July 2021 was the nadir for layoffs. Everyone was hiring everyone, anyone, back in mid-2021. This data from Carta helps illustrate it: So we cut corners. No time, didn’t want to know.

Sales Hiring 316

Sales Hiring Investment Leadership Startup 316

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 26, 2025

They change with time as your marketing team builds a brand, develops reference customers, and creates ROI case studies. Push for it as early as possible. Employing static pricing. Price demand curves aren’t static. Failing to embed concessions in the proposal.

SaaS Payments 281

SaaS Payments Pricing Strategy Scale 281

Tom Tunguz

JULY 24, 2024

” Better for large enterprises to wait until there’s a reference architecture that’s been proven to work. So AI products aren’t electric motors with one or two moving pieces, but more like the gas powered engines with many moving parts. Plus, data movement is less expensive than in the previous era.

AI 303

AI Artificial Intelligence AWS Innovation 303

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

First meetings, second meetings, references, hiring committee meetings - it adds up quickly. Managers bear another major responsibility: building their teams. In high growth companies, leaders may spend upwards of 30% of their time recruiting - about one to two days a week.

Startup 312

Startup Scale Underperforming Technical Team Scaling 312

Payrix

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

A master merchant, often referred to as a payment facilitator or merchant aggregator, is a third-party agent that acts as the link between acquirers and online merchants. The master merchantis the primary account holder for a payment processing system, overseeing and managing multiple subordinate accounts, often referred to as sub-merchants.

Merchant Services 130

Merchant Services Payment Services Payments SaaS Payments 130

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 7, 2024

They refer all single-user prospects to a competitor — right on their website. Put the Customer First Fast — Including When It’s Not the Right Fit Mangomint today at eight figures in ARR isn’t just focused on SMBs, it’s focused on the “M” in SMB (much like HubSpot historically was).

SaaS Payments 317

SaaS Payments Payments Payment Methods SMB 317

SaaStr

APRIL 15, 2022

Send the reference list, if asked. Everyone is looking for the same thing — but they have different approaches and risks. Ask what more they want to learn. Make it easier on them. The easier you make it on a prospect, the easier it is to close the deal. Send the deck. Send a competitive analysis. Do research.

Startup 348

Startup Investment Sales Data 348

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

37,400 agencies and web design shops referred a customer to Shopify in the last 12 months. You don’t have to in many cases. Referrals and agencies can really work as channels with SMBs. We’ve seen this with Hubspot as well. What are you doing to really incent agencies, designers, third parties, partners, etc. to promote your app?

Payments 363

Payments Merchant Services Payment Solutions Scale 363