Top 25 IoT Startups To Watch In 2019
26,792 startups are relying on IoT as one of their main technologies to launch new products and services and support platform-based business models according to Crunchbase. 78.4% of IoT startups Crunchbase tracks have had two funding rounds or less with seed, angel and early-stage rounds being the most common. IoT startup funding reached $16.7B in […]
Slides from My SaaStr Annual 2019 Presentation (5 Questions CEOs Struggle With)
Thanks to everyone who attended my session yesterday at the amazing — and huge — SaaStr Annual 2019 conference in San Jose. In this post, I’ll share the slides from my presentation, Five Questions SaaS CEOs Wrestle With (and some thoughts on how to answer them). The folks at SaaStr recorded the session, so at […]
Rule of 40 Glideslope Planning
Enterprise SaaS companies need a lot of money to grow. The median company spends $1.32 to acquire $1.00 in annual recurring revenue (ARR) [1]. They need to make that investment for 14 years before getting to an IPO. It all adds up to a median of $300M in capital raised prior to an IPO. With such vast amounts […]
SaaStr 2019 Presentation Preview: Five Questions SaaS CEO Wrestle With
I’m super excited for the upcoming SaaStr Annual 2019 conference in San Jose from February 5th through the 7th at the San Jose Convention Center. I hope to see you there — particularly for my session from 10:00 to 10:30 on Tuesday, February 5th. Last year they ended up repeating my session but that won’t be […]
Two Natural Reactions That Great Managers Suppress
Most employees tolerate their managers more than love them. According to a year-old survey in Forbes: Only about 50% of employees say the boss values their opinion. Only 35% of employees feel inspired by their boss. Some 25% say they can do a better job than their boss does. Almost 20% say that their boss […]
Kellblog Predictions for 2019
Because I’ve been quite busy of late with the sale of my company, I’m doing a somewhat quicker and lighter (if not later) version of my annual predictions post. Here goes, starting with a review of last year’s predictions. 2018 Kellblog Predictions Review 1. We will again continue to see a level of divisiveness and social discord […]
Should Your Startup Have a Quota Club? (And How Much to Spend on It.)
December is when most SaaS startups are closing out the year, trying to finalize next year’s operating plan (hint: I know a software company that can help with that), starting to get a clear view on which salespeople are going to make their number, and thus beginning the process of figuring out who to invite […]
Highlights from the Fenwick & West 3Q18 Venture Capital Survey
It’s been a few years since I wrote about this survey, which I post about less to communicate recent highlights and more to generate awareness of its existence. The Fenwick & West Venture Capital Survey is must-read material for any entrepreneur or startup CEO because it not only makes you aware of trends in financing, […]
Lost and Founder: A Painful Yet Valuable Read
Some books are almost too honest. Some books give you too much information (TMI). Some books can be hard to read at times. Lost and Founder is all three. But it’s one of the best looks I’ve seen when it comes to giving the reader a realistic look at the inside of Silicon Valley startups. […]
Using “Win Themes” to Improve Your Sales Management and Increase Win Rates
At most sales review meetings what do you hear sales management asking the reps? Questions like these: What stage is this opportunity in? What value do you have it at in the pipeline? Is there upside to that value? What forecast category is it in? In what quarter will it close? What competitors are in […]
