SaaStr

Ironclad CEO Jason Boehmig recently joined Seema Amble from a16z on stage at SaaStr Annual to unpack the realities of building and scaling AI in SaaS. Here’s the insight that hit home: AI works best when it complements, not replaces, human expertise. From automating routine tasks to personalized onboarding, the key is thoughtful human-AI collaboration. At Ironclad, we’ve embraced this approach by staying close to our users’ workflows, leveraging vertical data, and delivering real, measurable results in contract lifecycle management. “Finding repeatable value in AI” isn’t just a soundbite—it’s our north star. https://lnkd.in/gQ5x_zQ3

🚀 Your SaaS New Year’s Resolutions for 2025! 💡 2025 is just around the corner, and whether you’re scaling fast or in survival mode, Jason M. Lemkin's from SaaStr 10 must-do resolutions are bound to resonate: 1️⃣ Hire That Missing VP! 🕵️♀️ Your #1 lever to do better in 2025. Stop trying to do it all yourself. Identify the leadership gap—Sales, Marketing, Product, or Engineering—and bring in the expert you need to take your company to the next level. 2️⃣ Control Your Burn Rate. 🔥💰 Overspending by just 10% can double your risk of running out of cash. Stay disciplined with your spending. Tight control of your burn ensures survival and positions you to scale when the time is right. 3️⃣ Target Thriving Customer Segments. 🎯 vSaaS vendors targeting non-IT buyers are seeing high CAGR. Focus your sales team on booming sectors, such as healthcare or e-commerce. Selling into the right markets makes growth significantly easier. 4️⃣ Push for NRR + 20% Growth. 📈 Top SaaS leaders achieve 130%+ NRR by doubling down on retention and upsell. Retention is the new growth. Make sure your happiest customers stay with you and buy more over time. 5️⃣ Launch a Second Product. 🛠️ Companies with multiple products see 30-50% lower churn. Expand your offerings to delight existing customers and attract new ones. Your happiest customers are your biggest expansion opportunity. 6️⃣ Introduce a Premium Edition. 💎 Tiered pricing models grow 20-30% faster. Create a premium version of your product for your most loyal customers. Upsell opportunities here can significantly increase your Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). 7️⃣ Address Underperformance Promptly. 🚪 Founders often wait 3-6 months too long to act. Move swiftly and humanely when performance issues arise. Each day you wait costs your team productivity and your company revenue. 8️⃣ Promote Your Best and Give Extra Stock Grants. 🏅 Your top 10% hires are your most valuable asset. Promote your top ICs and consider moving a Director into a VP role. If promotions aren’t possible, reward your best hires with extra stock grants to ensure they stay motivated and loyal. 9️⃣ Communicate Better with Investors. 📧 Many founders became slack on this during the boom years. Send prompt monthly updates, hold real board meetings every 8-10 weeks, and prepare a detailed budget to get approved. Strong communication keeps your investors engaged and ready to help when you need them. 🔟 Grow Faster Than the Competition. 🏃♀️ If your market is challenging, focus on relative growth. Challenge your team to outpace your Top 2-3 competitors and take market share. Even in tough times, growing faster than the competition is a win and proves your strength in the market. Deep dive into each resolution in detail below https://lnkd.in/gNpD6rRu 🌟 Here's to a 2025 of continued growth, innovation, and success! 💪  

"You have to both expand your product line earlier than even today in SaaS ... and be focused at the same time. You have to do both as a founder. Not easy." with Harry Stebbings

New!! Top SaaStr Posts and Videos of the Week: A16Z, Ironclad’s CEO, HubSpot’s CRO, YCombinator’s Secrets, and More! Top Posts: #1. Inherent Churn vs. Fixable Churn: You Have to Attack Both #2.  We Just Left a Vendor We’ve Used for 5+ Years. They Don’t Even Know It Yet. #3.  How Many Sales Reps You Really Need for Next Year #4.  Is SaaS Back? (TL;DR: It Sure Feels Like It) #5.  4 Truly Great... Continue Reading The post Top SaaStr Posts and Videos of the Week: A16Z, Ironclad’s CEO, HubSpot’s CRO, YCombinator’s Secrets, and More! appeared first on SaaStr.

New!! 5 Great SaaStr Sessions with Databricks CEO, CMO, GM, VPP and VPS! So with Databricks announcing the largest VC round ever this week, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at the top SaaStr sessions and podcasts with Databricks’ founders and top execs: #1.  The Future of AI, Open Source and Enterprise SaaS with Databrick’s Founder CEO Ali Ghodsi: #2.  “Lessons Learned in... Continue Reading The post 5 Great SaaStr Sessions with Databricks’ CEO, CMO, GM, VPP and VPS! appeared first on SaaStr.

Mastering Outbound Sales: The New Era of Effective Emails Discover how AI is transforming SDR emails and impacting online engagement. We share insights from our journey in outbound sales and the importance of timing and authenticity in reaching potential clients. Say goodbye to generic outreach and elevate your sales strategy! #OutboundSales #AIinBusiness #SDRStrategies #EmailMarketing #SalesInsights #LinkedInEngagement #SalesAutomation #CustomerAcquisition #TechTrends #MarketingInnovation

New!! Dear SaaStr: What Are Some Ways to Keep Investors From Firing You?: Dear SaaStr: What Are Some Ways to Keep Investors From Firing You? Founders tend to worry a bit too much about getting fired — and not enough about transparency. Yes, it does happen. And sometimes, it’s very dramatic, see e.g., Travis Kalanik at Uber. But most investors absolutely do not want to fire founders. Because:... Continue Reading The post Dear SaaStr: What Are Some Ways to Keep Investors From Firing You? appeared first on SaaStr.

Want to do your own start-up? Before you start ... use Jason M. Lemkin's 5 Point Test to make sure being a founder is really the right path for you.

New!! Carta: Only 18% of Sales Execs Are Women: So have we made any real progress in diversity in SaaS the past 5 years?  The past 10? In some ways, for sure yes.  But we have a long way to go, still.  A long way. Per Carta’s latest data, only 18% of tech sales execs are women, and 26% of reps overall: I’m slightly... Continue Reading The post Carta: Only 18% of Sales Execs Are Women appeared first on SaaStr.

“30 direct reports and no 1-on-1s? Sounds like a dream—or a nightmare.” This article (https://lnkd.in/gZMQBcpq) by Jason M. Lemkin dives into why 1-on-1s work for some leaders and not for others. In sales, though, 1-on-1s aren’t optional. Sales managers typically hold at least one weekly 30 minute check-in with each rep, ideally focusing on personal catch-up, deal coaching, and skills coaching. While I loved these weekly 1-on-1s as both a rep and a manager, they can completely take over your day because they almost always run long. Why do they run long? ⏱️ 5-10 minutes catching up on life. ⏱️ 5-10 minutes getting caught up on one deal. ⏱️ 5-10 minutes coaching on one deal. Problem? 🚨 Managers don’t have the data they need to coach effectively. Half the time is spent getting caught up on deals rather than coaching on them. Result? 🌦️ Coaching on 2-3 deals when a rep might have 10+ in the pipeline. It's easier to coach on deals than skills, so skills coaching gets de-prioritized. Leadoff.ai solves this. Our Winning Behaviors framework creates a personalized coaching playbook for each rep, highlighting their strengths and areas for improvement across all of their deals. Leadoff's Deal Summaries significantly decrease time getting caught up on a deal. Our solution makes personal catch-up, deal, and skill coaching possible in a 30-minute meeting—so managers can focus on what matters most. #ForRepsByReps #salescoaching #salesmanagement #effectivemeetings