Boards
[Updated 5/1/18 to add net new ARR, LTV/CAC, and both customer and employee NPS.] In the course of my board and advisory work, I get to look at a lot of software as a service (SaaS) startups financials and I'm often surprised how people choose
Leadership
I read this New York Times editorial this morning, How the Truth Got Hacked, and it reminded me of a situation at work, back when I first joined Host Analytics some four years ago. This line, in particular, caught my attention: Imagine the conversation we’d be having if we
Startups
One of the hardest hires -- and one of the hardest jobs -- is to be the first VP of sales at a startup. Why? * There is no history / experience * Nobody knows what works and what doesn't work * The company may not have a well defined strategy so it'
Marketing
I was wondering the other day why Southwest would spend millions of dollars to remind people that Bags Fly Free. I’d argue there are two reasons: * It generally supports their friendly and transparent, low fees brand strategy * It reminds customers that a $500 fare on United might actually cost
Leadership
It was back in the 1990s, at Versant, when my old (and dearly departed) friend Larry Pulkownik first introduced me to the phrase: Win Them Alone, Lose Them Together And its corollary: Ask for Help at the First Sign of Trouble Larry told me this rule from the sales perspective:
Metrics
There are a lot of SaaS posts out there with some pretty fancy math in them. I'm a math guy, so I like to geek on SaaS metrics myself. But, in the heat of battle running a SaaS company, sometimes you just need to keep it simple. Here&
Management
"Well, he's never been a sales development rep (SDR) manager before, but he has been an SDR for 3 years at another company. The chance to be a manager is why he'd come here." -- Famous Last Words I can't tell you the
Leadership
I was speaking to my executive coach the other day and we had a great conversation about feedback. I'm going to adapt what she said into some pithy advice for managers on how to give feedback. Here are the three golden rules of feedback: * It has to be
Management
I think great learning can come from studying what cost your predecessor his/her job (on the assumption they weren't promoted out of it onto greener pastures). While such matters are invariably complex ("oh, there were a lot of factors, boss relationship, objectives attainment, sales confidence, ..."
Marketing
I'll borrow the title of one of my favorite books (Thinking, Fast and Slow) to make a few important points about lead nurturing in this post. While there is a strong argument that buyers should be nurtured before, during, and after the initial sale, I'm going
Leadership
I always cringe when I hear a young parent say something like, “Hey Buddy, don’t forget your toy shovel.” I feel the same way when I hear managers call subordinates “buddy” or when I see managers who are, in general, too preoccupied with being liked. One day I wish
HR
The first time I heard the VC adage "you can never fire someone too early," it rubbed me the wrong way. It sounded harsh and unfeeling. It seemed flippant. It felt trite. It seemed, frankly, like one of those things people say in the press box, but never