View from Seed

MARCH 3, 2015

Ellie Mirman was the first marketer hired by the CMO of HubSpot, the Boston-based marketing software startup that IPOed in 2014. It’s so important to line up the type of marketer and leadership that fits the business model, the product, or even the founder’s philosophy or early attempts at marketing.

Marketing 120

Marketing Sales Cycle Startup CTO Hire 120

VC Cafe

JUNE 6, 2024

Benchmark: Serena Capital advises B2B SaaS startups to target a gross margin of 80% or higher to demonstrate the scalability and profitability of their business model. I also recommend checking out my post on conversion, retention and churn benchmarks for various business models (B2C subscription, marketplaces, etc).

B2B 97

B2B Burn Rate Generative AI Retention 97

ConversionXL

SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

Let me ask you two questions: Would you like to see and use a software product before buying it? Or would you prefer to go through a lengthy sales process to see if it’s a good fit? This doesn’t apply just to small and mid-size businesses. As you can see in the graph below, high-touch sales is a leading indicator of CAC.

Marketing 289

Marketing Sales Cycle Acquisition Sales 289

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

Next, Umakant Soni discussed Vimagino.com , a software for Web-based Q&A support to engage customers better on sites that are trying to draw people in and convert them into customers. Now, the Web self-service software market is very crowded with major players like RightNow already deeply entrenched. Vimagino.com. PowerStores.in.

India 114

India Silicon Valley Incubator Bootstrapping 114

Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 1, 2020

Here’s a short summary of the discussion: Guy, you launched Snyk in 2015, and a large part of your success was driven by your freemium model. With COVID, we’re getting into a world with tighter budgets and likely longer sales cycles. Providing free tools allows you to provide value and strike up a conversation.

Early Stage 62

Early Stage Open Source Development Team Review Security 62

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Business Model I would like to propose that in addition to team, product, and market, there is actually a fourth, equally important, core element of startups, which is the need for a viable business model. These new business models focused heavily on how buying behavior has changed because of the power of the web.

Acquisition 103

Acquisition Cost Customer Entrepreneur 103

A Crowded Space

AUGUST 27, 2014

Some marketplace businesses have started monetizing at least in part through higher-margin software fees. . There is a new trend emerging which combines two of the most beloved business models in tech. . SaaS (software as a service) models are very well understood and straightforward. SaaS + Marketplace.

Sales Cycle 110

Sales Cycle Software .Net Business Model 110

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

Consumer approach to software for business users. Distributed version control model – first in the industry like ours and we are filing patents. Page 4: Business Model. Page 6: We already have several pilot customers including a very large, unnamed software firm. Folksonomy. Free product.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Term Sheet San Diego Viral 274

Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

You can check out part one of this series here: Part 1: Which Is The Best Business Model For Your Startup – B2B Or B2C? B2B” – means that you are selling a product or service to other businesses. What Is “B2B&# ? Ex2: Selling office equipment to companies who wish to upgrade their existing furniture.

B2B 92

B2B Business Model B2C Agile 92

Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

For example, a lot of software investors don’t invest in e-commerce companies. (We 3) Your business model seems flawed OR is not the right fit I talked a lot about unit economics and sales cycles in my last post. Sometimes this can be incredibly difficult to see. We do not.). We are currently a small fund.

Sales Cycle 54

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 54

K9 Ventures

AUGUST 13, 2010

In fact, at the time (1996-1997) we offered both a downloadable product, that our customers could install on their own servers, and a “hosted-offering”, which came to be known as “On-Demand”, then the “ASP” (Application Service Provider) model, and today we call it “SaaS” (Software as a Service). being the dominant one at the time).

Revenue 72

Revenue Developer Java Customer Development 72

Hippoland

AUGUST 16, 2018

For example, a lot of software investors don’t invest in e-commerce companies. (We 3) Your business model seems flawed OR is not the right fit I talked a lot about unit economics and sales cycles in my last post. Sometimes this can be incredibly difficult to see. We do not.). We are currently a small fund.

Sales Cycle 48

Sales Cycle Differentiation Early Stage Bootstrapping 48

Lightspeed Venture Partners

APRIL 13, 2015

SaaS is no longer a new business model. What are the areas that haven’t seen a modern piece of software in years? I believe most of the greenfield opportunities in SaaS today are beyond the traditional horizontal/vertical enterprise software areas. Sure, and I’m actively looking for those.

Sales Cycle 60

Sales Cycle Government Demand Distribution 60

K9 Ventures

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

.” If the company adopted this model, not only would they have more revenue ($24K/year vs. $20K one-time) from the sale of the robot, but they would end up with a recurring revenue model, which would make for a much better business model for the company rather than selling complex widgets.

Widget 48

Widget Sales Cycle Business Model Revenue 48

ReadWriteStart

MAY 4, 2011

Manoj is experiencing a long sales cycle of close to 12 months, but he has already created a sustainable company that has revenues and profits. He is exploring outside financing, but my concern is that unless the growth rate accelerates, this particular business may not fit the venture model.

India 116

India Entrepreneur Silicon Valley Massachusetts 116

BeyondVC

NOVEMBER 4, 2004

Adam Bosworth has an interesting post on the evolution of software and why software delivered as a service will be the business model of the future. Software delivered as a service enables that and packaged software does not. For the vendor, it makes it: 1. the economics speak for themselves.

Software 60

Software Bandwidth Sales Cycle Business Model 60

Startup Lessons Learned

APRIL 14, 2009

What matters is proving the viability of the company’s business model, what investors call “traction.&# Of course this is not at all true of many profitable small businesses, but they are not what I mean by startups.) In these examples I was selling enterprise software where the vocab matched perfectly.

Customer 167

Customer San Francisco Lean Hockey Stick 167

ConversionXL

APRIL 7, 2021

Compared to selling sophisticated software bundled with professional services to large enterprise companies (Fortune 500) which involves navigating a lot of complexity in the buying cycle. Again, the way F500 buy software is very different from the way you & I pay for productivity tools or how small businesses buy software.

IP 98

IP Marketing Technical Review Software Review 98

Duct Tape Marketing

MARCH 23, 2017

How to Use Facebook Ads to Drive Sustainable Traffic & Boost Sales written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing. Regardless of your business model, incorporating Facebook ads into your marketing funnel can be a dependable way to drive customers to your site and, ultimately, boost sales. About the Author.

Sales 49

Sales eCommerce Campaign Audience 49

BeyondVC

AUGUST 26, 2008

There are various grades of friction between these two extreme points like open source business models, software as a service, and reseller/OEM-type models as other forms of packaging and delivering a product/service. Seizing on this, investors bought into online-software companies in a big way.

Cost 60

Cost Sales Sales Cycle Demand 60

YoungUpstarts

AUGUST 19, 2016

WeVue co-founder Taylor Wallace told me he doesn’t have a lot of time for training in the competitive software development industry, so he hires the “naturally curious” to fit with the company’s product-oriented business model. Depending on your startup’s needs, it can be a toss-up on whether to hire for attitude or skill.

Startup 100

Startup Burn Rate Cofounder Salary 100

ConversionXL

JUNE 2, 2022

This shift in focus results in more efficient use of your marketing budget, shorter sales cycles, and a better customer experience. How you approach it will depend on your business model and ideal accounts and how (or if) you plan to expand campaigns. That’s the power of marketing to a chosen few rather than everyone.

Customer 98

Customer Marketing Channel Acquisition 98

ConversionXL

JUNE 14, 2021

The USP that communicates this is: “ConvertKit helps you find your audience, turn them into true fans, and earn a living as a creator with our audience building and email marketing software.”. This message appeals to customers who value a comfortable shave without leaning solely on the subscription business model.

Software Review 158

Software Review Audience Differentiation Framework 158

www.forentrepreneurs.com

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

Since SaaS businesses (or any other subscription-based business) are different from standard software businesses, there are some interesting elements that we will uncover. SolidWorks 2: The best VAR management program in the world? Prioritize so that you are only running a few at a time up and down the funnel as well.

Metrics 55

Metrics Design Entrepreneur Startup 55

conversionxl.com

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

The product or website (be it software, e-commerce, or a service) might be awesome , but if it puts itself in front of the wrong market, or packages itself so the right market can’t figure out why it’s awesome, the startup will fail. Most startups fail. Facts about your customers don’t come from your friends and families.

Customer Development 60

Customer Development Conversion Developer Customer 60

ConversionXL

MAY 19, 2016

It’s only going to get more complicated and it’s important to have the right analytics software that can handle it. Like any model it has its pros and cons. sales page, cart, purchase, etc.) The best way to describe this change is going from 2 dimensional to 3 dimensional funnels.

Analytics 78

Analytics Metrics Channel Software Review 78

BeyondVC

DECEMBER 7, 2005

There are various grades of friction between these two extreme points like open source business models, software as a service, and reseller/OEM-type models as other forms of packaging and delivering a product/service. Free software grows revenue opportunities. It means a more capital-efficient business.

Sales 60

Sales Java Open Source Software Review 60

Cracking the Code

OCTOBER 10, 2008

Thoughts from a Venture Capitalist on Software, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Cloud Computing, Internet and more. “Just say no” to on-premise deployments The most important part of Software-as-a-Service isn’t “Software” it’s “Service”! Cracking The Code. at 11:09 AM.

Software Review 48

Software Review North America Europe Metrics 48

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2011

Sometime around 2003/04 my technology team turned me on to “Spolsky on Software&# a periodic newsletter served up blog style from Joel Spolsky of FogCreek Software, a maker of bug-tracking software. Blogs weren’t popularized yet so it was an oddity for me to read the founder of a software company spewing out advice.

Software Review 285

Software Review Software St. Louis API 285