The Latest from SaaStr: 10 Common Misconceptions About Getting Funded

By Jason Lemkin · Friday, June 24, 2022 | Fundraising

One common misconception about getting funded is that things are magically better when you get funded. It helps a bit, but in the first few rounds, you rarely raise enough to let you hire everyone you want, do every campaign you want, etc. It helps, but it’s not a radical change.  At least, raising a seed round is rarely as much a radical change as many first-time founders think.

Read the full article: 10 Common Misconceptions About Getting Funded

By Amanda Beaty · Friday, June 24, 2022 | Leadership, Sales

We’ve recently been posting polls on SaaStr’s LinkedIn account to get a feel for what SaaS companies are doing in the current environment. Jason did post briefly about the results in two posts, but at SaaStr Europa, he did a deeper dive into 16 of the surveys. In this video, he discusses the results and where he thinks SaaS companies are on track or need improvement.

Read the full article: 16 Ways to Level Up in 2022 with SaaStr Founder Jason Lemkin (Pod 567 + Video)

By Jason Lemkin · Friday, June 24, 2022 | Compensation

Options are rarely worth as much as anyone expects, unless the start-up is worth $10b+.

One big problem: the pie only adds up to 100%. That sounds silly, but it isn’t. You literally can’t give everyone as much as you want, especially after the very early days.

Here’s a more practical way to think of it: each year of a start-up generally leads to 5%-7% dilution. That’s your budget. Max.

Read the full article: There Are Never Enough Stock Options To Go Around

By Jason Lemkin · Thursday, June 23, 2022 | Blog Posts, Fundraising

Year after year, VCs show up to SaaStr Annual locked and loaded, term sheets in hands, on the hunt for soon-to-be Unicorns to add to their portfolios.

From the Founding Partners, Managing Directors and big name SaaS VCs who grace the stage. to the firms that send over a dozen of their Partners and Associates — everyone who invests in SaaS has a presence at SaaStr Annual.

Whether you’re in it for the long haul and need cash to scale, or you’re looking for a speedy exit — or even if your dream is to become part of something bigger, where you can watch your product live on as part of a legacy brand — the folks who can make it happen will be here. And they want to meet YOU.

Read the full article: Over 400 VCs Already Coming to 2022 SaaStr Annual!

By Jason Lemkin · Thursday, June 23, 2022 | Blog Posts, Fundraising

With times much tougher in the venture and public markets, you’ll see a lot more talk about tougher “terms” in VC rounds, especially later rounds.

Early-stage investors, especially, will complain about all these terms.  They force founders and earlier-stage investors to take more risk than a nice, clean unicorn round at a clean price.

But here’s the thing — almost all these terms, in the end, are just about price.  Price is … what it is in a venture round in the end.  You might want it to be higher, but in the end, it’s what clears.  And sometimes, more of these terms make it easier for a price to clear.

Read the full article: The Only Truly Terrible Venture Term is a Tranche

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