SaaStr Podcast #179: Dave Kellogg, CEO @ Host Analytics On The Most Commonly Misunderstood SaaS Metrics
Welcome to Episode 179! Dave Kellogg is the CEO @ Host Analytics, the leader in cloud-based enterprise performance management (EPM). Previously, Dave was SVP/GM of Service Cloud at Salesforce and CEO at unstructured big data provider MarkLogic. Before that, Dave was CMO at Business Objects for nearly a decade as the company grew from $30M […]
Why SMB Sales and Enterprise Sales Have Nothing In Common
When you go to hire a VP of Sales or even your first sales rep, one of the top qualifying questions I always recommend is making sure they have experience at your deal size, your ACV. There are different cadences, and different skills, in closing $100 vs $1,000 vs $10,000 vs $100,000 vs $1,000,000 a […]
The Two Archetypal Marketing Messages: “Bags Fly Free” and “Soup is Good Food.”
There are only two archetypal marketing messages, exemplified by: Bags Fly Free, a current advertising slogan used by Southwest airlines. Soup is Good Food, a 1970s campaign slogan used by Campbell’s soup [1]. Quick, what’s the difference between these two messages? Soup is Good Food answers the question “why buy one (at all)?” while Bags […]
Growth and Burn Rates at $1m ARR for 20+ Fast Growing SaaS Companies
The other day, for the first time ever, I put together a little bit of analysis on the 24 SaaS companies I’ve invested in since late 2013. 20 have crossed $1m ARR now, a bunch have crossed $10m ARR since, and a handful $50m ARR. I wanted to go back in time and look at […]
More Catfished By A Candidate: Why Not Hire Him Anyway? And Answers To Other Burning Questions
Since I published my Catfished by a Candidate blog post a couple of weeks ago, our website traffic has increased by 250% and it has become the number one most viewed post on our site from the last 12 months. Plus, it has a 700 comment thread on Hacker News and a podcast on Hacker […]
The Domo S-1: Does the Emperor Have Clothes?
I preferred Silicon Valley [1] back in the day when companies raised modest amounts of capital (e.g., $30M) prior to an IPO that took 4-6 years from inception, where burn rates of $10M/year looked high, and where $100M raise was the IPO, not one or more rounds prior to it. When cap tables had 1x, […]
The Two Engines of SaaS: QCRs and DEVs
I remember one day, years ago, when I was a VP at $10M startup and Larry, the head of sales, came in one day handing out t-shirts that said: “Code, sell, or get out of the way.” Neither I, nor the rest of marketing team, took this particularly well because the shirt obviously devalued the […]
Talking Competition: Methinks Thou Doth Protest Too Much.
From time to time marketers and executives need to talk about the competition with those outside the company, including analysts, partners, and prospective investors. In this post, we’ll cover my 4 rules for this type of communication. Be Consistent. The biggest mistake people make is inconsistency, often because they’re trying to downplay a certain competitor. […]
Squeezing Out That Last 10%-20% Growth
Once you have something in SaaS, somewhere on the path from $1m to $10m where you’re either on your way to Initial Scale or getting past it, you’ll often end up with a subtle choice: Should you go for the extra 10%-20% of growth a year? After a few years, a few management team mistakes, […]
I Got Catfished By A Candidate: The True Story and How to Keep It From Happening to You
What follows is a true story. Names, places, and companies have been changed to protect the innocent (or not so innocent). I was catfished by a candidate. And not just during a phone screen. This guy made it through a recruiting agency, a phone screen, and three rounds of interviews. We were about to make […]
