The Latest from SaaStr: Why You Don’t Actually Want Your Dream VP Candidate

THE LATEST FROM SAASTR

By Jason Lemkin  · Monday, August 15, 2022 | Growth, Hiring

Don’t hire the “Hot VP”. 

Not until you are equally hot, at least.

What do I mean?  So many founders, especially first-time founders, fall in love with That Great VP They’ve Heard Of.  The one on stage at SaaStr Annual.  The one that worked at Gitlab, or Slack, or Twilio.  The one on the podcast you listen to.  The one on Twitter.  The one that won the VP of the Year awards.

And if they did all that at, say, Shopify in early days … and your product is a little like Shopify … well, they’d do magic at your start-up! Won’t they?

SALES

By Jason Lemkin · Sunday, August 14, 2022 | Sales

Over the years at SaaStr we’ve done a lot of posts (and videos and sessions) on hiring your first great sales team.  I recently re-read a bunch using our excellent Algolia-powered search and wanted to share some of my favorites, updated.

#1. Your First VP Does Not Have To Be a VP of Sales.  Looking back, this is just so important, I wish I’d written this in the earliest days of SaaStr.  Yes, you know you want a VP of Sales.  We all need one, almost all of us, at least.  But don’t let that stop you from hiring any other great VP first.  They are all accretive.  They all add to sales.

It's time!!

Mark your calendars

Book your flights

Tell the team!!

2022 SaaStr Annual: Sep 13-15 in the SF Bay Area

• 40+ Acre Outdoor, Open Air Campus
• 10,000 Founders, VCs + Execs
• 1,000 Mentorship Sessions
• 500 Braindates
• 200 Speakers
• The Best of Cloud

FUNDRAISING

By Jason Lemkin · Monday, August 15, 2022 | Fundraising, Growth, Q&A

Be transparent. And show them an honest, data-driven path to a better future.

First, investors get most upset when founders hide things. And founders tend to hide things more when times are tougher. So … share more.

TOP CONTENT

By Amanda Beaty  · Saturday, August 13, 2022 | Videos

We’re excited to be crossing 5,000,000 YouTube views during SaaStr’s 10th year! So much to celebrate!

Here are our Top 25 Videos of All Time.

NEW VIDEO

By Amanda Beaty  · Monday, August 15, 2022 | Videos

Knowing how to get funding as a start-up is an invaluable skill. You have the vision, but you need to communicate it effectively for investors to believe in it and provide you with the capital needed to bring it to life. 

Payhawk’s CEO, Hristo Borisov, and VP of Marketing, Désirée Schildt, have cracked the code. They outline how to go from series A to unicorn in less than 12 months. 

DEAR SAASTR

By Jason Lemkin  · Monday, August 15, 2022 |  Compensation, Early, Q&A

The right answer is: just as soon as the company can afford it.

Taking a market salary when cash is very tight is, at best, penny-wise and pound foolish. If you own 20%-30%–50% of a company, the last thing you want to do is take a single dollar out when the company truly needs it.

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