The Latest from SaaStr: Does Anyone Want To Be a Unicorn Anymore?

So few things were more coveted than unicorn status from about ‘16-‘19.

 It was a sign you were one of the elite, and it made recruiting and so much more easier.

Stewart Butterfield noted about how important it was for Slack at the time to become a unicorn — period.

Then things changed from mid-2020 to early 2022.  It seemed like everyone became a unicorn.  

Hundreds of new SaaS unicorns were minted, sometimes as early as $10m ARR and is some cases, even earlier.

And now things are … different.

The biggest issue?  They have nowhere else to go.

Today, the best late-stage deals are being done at 10x ARR, sometimes 15x ARR for the true break-out leaders.

Most will now just have to make do with whatever capital they have now.

Then the question becomes … what next?

Someone that can own a number.

There are tons of folks, especially in the Bay Area, who want to consult with you in a senior marketing role. Tons of them.

What very few will do is own a number:

• Own a lead commit.
• Own growing your pipeline.
• Own a marketing budget against a revenue commit.
• Etc. etc.

This edition of the SaaStr Daily is sponsored in part by SAP

Revenue has always been at the top of list of "Things Businesses Want More Of."

But not like this.

A global SAP survey shows companies are seeing beyond traditional growth tactics and are shifting focus on sustainability as a critical way to boost revenue, increase efficiency, and mitigate risk.

Over the last ten years, ICONIQ Growth has partnered with over 90 companies, seeing them grow through critical phases. The venture capital firm’s mission is to be “entrepreneurs backing entrepreneurs.”

Doug Pepper, General Partner at ICONIQ Growth, has invested in software and SaaS companies for 22 years, from seed to growth stage. Christine Edmonds, Partner & Head of Analytics at ICONIQ Growth, joins Doug to share insights from the company’s latest growth and efficiency report. They highlight aggregate trends over the past five to ten years, particularly how to think about these in today’s business environment.

I know there are a lot of views on this question, but I’ve reflected on many years of hiring here, and for me at least, here’s what I’ve learned:

If they haven’t stayed anywhere even a year, they will leave you within a year, too. 

It just happens again and again.

If they never stay anywhere much more than about 20-24 months (pretty common), they think they know how to do it … but they really don’t.

They didn’t stay long enough to truly run the playbook. That can be dangerous.

You never really get great at anything until about Year 3. That’s when you see the big promotions.

That’s when the team you built either flourishes, or wilts. That’s when you’ve made the mistakes — and learned from them. And executed the fixes. And it’s Year 4 when the best folks just run the place. No matter what level they started at.

This edition of the SaaStr Daily is sponsored in part by MERGE

Merge’s Unified API allows you to access 150+ integrations across HR, payroll, ATS, accounting, CRM, and ticketing systems.

SaaStr events couldn’t happen without our partners, and we wanted to give a special shout-out to some of our newest sponsors for SaaStr Annual 2023. At the 9th ever SaaStr Annual, ~200 of the best and hottest companies on earth will go BIG as partners/sponsors. Join these incredible companies to experience all the value of SaaStr!

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