Enterprise
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
Positioning
This morning we announced that Vector Capital has closed the acquisition of Host Analytics. As part of that transaction I have stepped down from my position of CEO at Host Analytics. To borrow a line from The Lone Ranger, “my work is done here.” I’ll consult a bit to
Leadership
Startup VPs sometimes lament that their CEOs don't really know the people on their teams, don't realize how smart and talented they are, or fully appreciate the value of their teams' work. How, they wonder, can they build a better bridge between their boss and
Leadership
Well, when you run a company focused on corporate finance, you don't get a lot of Holiday Party scandals. At Host's very nice 2018 Holiday Party the closest thing we had was an employee conversing with me about books (Bad Blood) and then wholeheartedly suggesting that
M&A
I’m delighted to say that Host Analytics has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Vector Capital, a San Francisco private equity (PE) firm with over $4B in capital under management. Before diving into some brief analysis of the deal, I want to thank Host Analytics customers, employees,
Marketing
"The last thing I want at Quota Club is to be lying on a chaise lounge by the pool, roll over, and see some effing marketing guy next to me."
Entrepreneurship
In an industry obsessed with the 1 in 10,000 decacorns and the stories of high-flying startups and their larger-than-life founders, Lost and Founder takes a real look at what it's like to found, fund, work at, and build a quite successful but not media-
Boards
While most companies put real thought into how they present numbers in their post-quarter board decks and other management reports, one area in which you'll find a lack of discipline is in how they present quarterly sales forecasts to the board. They're typically done as
Enterprise
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
Churn
Since Customer Success is (sadly, perhaps) still a relatively new discipline in enterprise software companies, I'd say the whole field is evolving quickly, so it's important to keep up with the changes
Churn
While I've blogged about this presentation before, I only recently stumbled into this full-length video of this very popular session -- a 30-minute blaze through some subtle SaaS basics. Enjoy! I look forward to seeing everyone again at SaaStr Annual 2019.
Churn
Most of the thinking, definitions, and formulas regarding SaaS unit economics is based on assumptions that no longer reflect the reality of the enterprise SaaS environment. For example, thinking in terms of MRR (monthly recurring revenue) is outdated because most enterprise SaaS companies run on annual contracts and thus we