Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 19, 2014
'We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. I think this is a Seriously great example of how this process works for at least one VC – Upfront Ventures. But I’m guessing the narrative is similar elsewhere. I first met Andrew Stalbow , the founder & CEO of Seriously in August of 2013.
Gust
OCTOBER 19, 2014
'Image via Flickr by Joshua Gajownik for opensource.com. I always advise software startups to file patents to protect their “secret sauce” from competitors, and to increase their valuation. The good news is that a patent can scare off or at least delay competitors, and as a “rule of thumb” patents can add up to $1M to your startup valuation for investors or M&A exits (merger and acquisition).
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Tomasz Tunguz
OCTOBER 21, 2014
Bill Macaitis, the former CMO of Zendesk, articulates how a SaaS marketing team should operate better than anybody else I’ve met. At a recent Point9 conference, Bill outlined the 9 marketing disciplines of great SaaS companies and how they fit together to create a marketing powerhouse. I’ve copied my notes from Bill’s talk below. Ops & Analytics Team.
This is going to be BIG.
OCTOBER 22, 2014
'I probably do some kind of speaking event at least every other week. This week, I''ve got three things on the docket. Needless to say, I have a fair amount of startup event experience. What I find a bit frustrating is how easily some people get onto panels and are put up in front of an impressionable crowd of new entrepreneurs as "experts". You''ll get a venture capital analyst from a brand name firm who has just recently taken his job talking about what makes a company successful.
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For Entrepreneurs
OCTOBER 22, 2014
'Last week I shared the results from Part 1 of our survey in which 300+ SaaS companies shared data on their growth and go-to-market strategies. This week we dive into the results from Part 2 of the survey where we compare application delivery methods, operational costs and gross margins, contract terms, churn rates, capital requirements and accounting […].
Startup Catalyst Brief brings together the best content for the entrepreneurial ecosystem from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Tomasz Tunguz
OCTOBER 23, 2014
I met a really smart vice president of sales a few weeks ago working in a company with mid-market customer values in the $10-100k per year range. When I asked her about her sales process, she described how her team employs statements of work (SOW), which isn’t something I hear about very frequently in startups, despite the fact they are very powerful sales tools.
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 23, 2014
'It’s a big issue within any company. With easy access to Internet shopping, games, social networks and more, employees are able to find many ways to focus on personal issues while at work, detracting from productivity and demonstrating a dis-respect for the time paid for by their employer. In fact, if we were to be direct, we might label it “stealing time,” and consider it a crime of sorts.
This is going to be BIG.
OCTOBER 20, 2014
'It starts early. You''re a founder and you''re super busy just keeping the company afloat. You don''t have a lot of time for much more than eating, sleeping, and selling--whether that means raising capital, pitching to investors, marketing your product or ringing the bell with early revenues. You don''t have time to do things like write an HR handbook or a values statement.
Gust
OCTOBER 22, 2014
'Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin makes some excellent points, most of which are ones that I would have made. In particular, getting to critical mass (of entrepreneurs, angel investors, engineers, et al) is perhaps the most important thing you can do. Whether this is by City (the most useful) or pan-Australian (perhaps a bit easier), it provides a host of benefits both in terms of availability of resources and visible success stories for new entrepreneurs.
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Tomasz Tunguz
OCTOBER 19, 2014
Of the ten most important metrics on a startup’s financial statements , revenue might seem to be the most important. But it isn’t. Gross margin matters more because it is directly tied to a company’s ability spend to grow and achieve profitability. Imagine two startups, both selling products at $1M price points. The first has 5% gross margins and the second has 95% gross margins.
Tomasz Tunguz
OCTOBER 22, 2014
Startups struggle to set the right price for their products because pricing dynamics in the field don’t obey the laws taught in the classroom. The standard supply and demand curves, drawn above, imply that as price increases demand decreases; that buyers act rationally and that this law is immutable. But this simply isn’t the case. Buyers in the market place violate the traditional supply and demand model all the time.
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