So we’ve covered HubSpot on our 5 Interesting Learning series more than any other SaaS leader, but it’s for a reason.  First, so many of us HubSpot itself every day, so it’s … well, tangible.  And second, it’s similar to the apps many of us build, sell, and market ourselves. 

We all at least sort of know HubSpot. 

If they are doing well, then hey, that’s a challenge to all of us.  And if they are seeing headwinds, then many of us will, too. They’re a barometer of sub-enterprise B2B SaaS in many ways.

And what’s the latest?

Well, HubSpot has now passed a stunning $2 Billion in ARR, growing 30% in constant currency.

And while that growth level is a bit off the crazy pace of 2021, it’s still mighty impressive in the current macro environment. And a good natured-challenge to all of us to keep growing!

So when I was a founder, I didn’t pay much attention to how VC funds themselves worked. I just pitched them.

But fast forward to today, and there is an incredible amount of information about how the industry actually works, and we put a bunch of the best stuff on SaaStr itself.

Most important today is for founders to know (1) how active the venture markets are, at each stage and (2) how healthy venture is overall. 

This you should know as a startup CEO or founder or executive. And importantly, I find most founders are still too optimistic here.  They still think it’s all easier right now than it really is.  So you have to see the data, and speak with it.

In terms of each stage, everything is now down. Most dramatic is later-stage investing, with the latest Crunchbase data showing Series D rounds are now own 92% (!) from the peak and 86% from a year ago.

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

Free trials and freemiums can be a powerful sales strategy. But it’s not a one-size fits all! Learn how to increase conversion by leveraging other PLG modules, such as sandbox product experiences, and show prospects how your product can solve their challenges. 

In this week’s episode of CRO Confidential, host Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund, continues a mini-series on founder-led sales with Colin Zima, founder and CEO of Omni. 

Omni is trying to build the next-generation business intelligence (BI) platform. In a year’s time, they’ve built a team with more than 150 years of experience in BI, all because they tapped into their own cheat codes for success. 

A few unforced errors I made as a founder pitching VCs:

• Meeting too early. I pitched a few friendly VCs before EchoSign was really ready. Sometimes, that’s OK, but not with these 2 funds. They wanted us to be at least close to launch. Know Thy Funder.
• Being too aggressive. I blew perhaps the most important VC meeting I needed for my first startup by being too aggressive on price. Ironically, I didn’t personally care. I was just following bad advice from a pre-seed / angel investor. Bad advice. I was too pushy and alienated my top choice, and really, my best choice.
• Having a key team member quit during fundraising. While I didn’t fully plan for this, I should have been clearer on the risk. A fund pulled their term sheet, as they should have.
• Taking money from jerks. Even when it seems like your only offer. Yes, sometimes you have no choice. Sometimes you just get 1 offer. But try even harder. Having a toxic investor, even a subtly toxic one, ripples for years. Maybe decades.
• Hiding anything. OK, I didn’t actually do much of this myself, but the one time I did it (a customer issue). I got burned hard. And I’ve ended up not investing in several promising founders that hid stuff. Don’t hide stuff. Get it out early, in either the first meeting or before the second — and just address it. No early stage VC expects things to be perfect. But they don’t like having to figure out the issues on their own.

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

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One of the most essential things SaaS founders need to get right is their sales strategy. From day one, it’s critical to drive results to impress your investors, acquire customers, and set your sales team up for success.

Dave Kellogg –EIR at Balderton Capital, and author of the Kellblog –– knows a thing or two about successful sales.

In an in-depth workshop, Kellogg shares seven things that every founder should know about results-driven selling.

The “Managing General Partner” or “Managing Director” or a similar title.

In tiny VC firms, 2 partners may truly be equal and both run the place. But almost all firms that are a tiny bit bigger have different types of partners.

At the bottom are often plain old “Partners” which nowadays, generally have no role in true management. One level up is “Non-Managing” Partners”. That typically suggests more economics, but again, a very limited role in governance.

Managing Partners often have the real votes.

Then there is a question of who owns the Management Company — the related entity that collects the management fees. Sometimes, it’s equal in smaller entities. In larger ones, sometimes it’s just 1 person that owns it all, or the vast majority. The real Managing General Partner.

Look for that title on the website. You’ll often see a subtle ranking. The top dog often owns a far larger share of the economics, and often controls the place.

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