The Latest from SaaStr: 5 Interesting Learnings from Okta at $2 Billion in ARR

So Okta is one of the leaders in SaaS that has always just kept growing.  They had a bit of dip in growth as they worked to integrate the mega-acquisition of Auth0 — but then went right back to growth. 

Even now, even in times of tighter scrutiny of budgets.

Okta is now crossing $2B in ARR, growing a stunning 37%.

It's the New Year, and you may be seeking out new Sales Leaders.

You might be wondering, “how do I find the right sales leadership hire?” While someone in sales may ask, “how do I become a CRO someday?”

In today’s episode of CRO Confidential, Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund, discusses these very questions with the previous CRO of Lattice, Dini Mehta. 

You put them into a Get Them Back bucket and re-market to them with a dedicated program.  And you have sales especially follow-up twice.  Once in about 90 days, to see if they might want to come back — importantly. at no cost to them.  And then again in about 8-9 months.  A good time to steal before a renewal!

As painful as it is losing a customer of any material size, customers are often not gone forever. Yes, it’s really tough to lose them. But they may come back if they have a bad experience with a competitor. Or if other things change.  Or if a new leader comes in that knows you already, or wants to make a change.

Up Next: Wednesday, January 11th @ 10AM

Topic: Sales-led vs. Product-led? Today’s Startups Need Both

Speaker: Jason Eubanks, CRO @ Harness.io

Workshop Wednesdays is new series where we’ll be bringing some of the best SaaStr speakers to you LIVE, every Wednesday. 

Each workshop will be hosted in a live, interactive 30-minute format at 10am Pacific each and every Wednesday. This workshop will be 100% LIVE, not pre-recorded, and will be hosted in an, interactive 30-minute format, including Q&A.

So we just updated our SaaStr New Year’s Resolutions here, and it’s a great list.  Pick a few and you will without a doubt grow faster this year.

But a lot of advice takes some time to pan out. 

What are 5+ changes you can make today, or at least this week, to do better?

A few thoughts.

So a New Year is a time for reflection, and for many, it will be a time for change. A new role, a new company, maybe even starting one yourself.

That time comes. We all know it when it does.

I remember the first time I felt it.  In my first tech job, I was working at a firm helping startups … and then I knew one night, it was time. It was time for me to join one. I gave my notice the next day, with no job lined up, and zero savings. I just knew.

But I did give 60 days notice. That 60 days notice sounds long, but one of my bosses really needed it. And it cost me. I did end up joining a startup, and the strike price for my options doubled over those 60 days, costing me about $400,000.

Time has gone on, though. And I worked with that boss several times thereafter, including as my investor. It was worth it.

In the current economic climate, investors weigh profitability over growth. There’s a trend toward transitioning from growth at all costs to paths to profitability.

If you’re a go-to-market operator, you know this new imperative is not an either/or.

Your enterprise must grow, and profitably.

Kate Ahlering, CRO at Calendly, shares how revenue operations are every CRO’s secret weapon to revolutionizing enterprise sales growth.

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