Seed Investing: Hear Future Voices, Not Predict Outcomes
Just did a deep dive with @mariogabriele for The Generalist. The core idea: great seed investing isn’t prediction: It’s noticing the faint whispers from those already living in the future. 7 takeaways from that conversation. 🧵
Tel Aviv's Golden Age Fuels 30‑40% Venture Portfolio
1. Excluding SpaceX - We have 30%-40% of our venture portfolio here. 2. Tel Aviv feels like the MOST exciting city in the world right now. There is an electricity...and it is inspiring! 3. Golden Age for the region. 4. Israel is defending...
Great Teams Transform Bad Ideas Into Success
Even a terrible startup idea can turn into a great one with the right team.
Transparency in AI Builds Trust Through Visible Thinking
When people trust humans, they trust intent. When they trust AI, they trust transparency. The best AI agent interfaces will reveal complexity with clarity. A good experience helps people see how an agent thinks, not just what it does. That’s how confidence...
Identifying Future Buyers of SaaS Companies
New!! "Who Will Buy The SaaS Companies?" https://t.co/m1tppdUsFM
Thomas Laffont on Navigating AI, Investments,
I had a blast having Thomas Laffont on Uncapped. He's the cofounder of Coatue, a $70B AUM firm investing from inception through IPO. We discussed how he makes sense of the current AI cycle, what he thinks will happen to software...
Condensing 6,000‑Word LP Update for Podcast Listeners
Finalizing our next LP update with @vedikaja_in. It's nearly 6,000 words. Maybe we should ask Chat to generate a shorter version for "2x podcast people". 🤔
Future AI Breakthroughs Will Rely on Adaptive Learning, Not Size
If Adaption Labs is right, the next leap forward in AI won’t come from trillion parameter models, it’ll come from systems that learn on the fly. https://t.co/t4EXiWHf8Z
BoxGroup Launches Two $275M Funds for Early-Stage Founders
BoxGroup is excited to continue to be in the business of funding early stage ambitious founders building products they dream about - we've raised two new funds, each $275m, to give to founders as early as possible BoxGroup More here:...
AI Video Creator: Profitable, Ready for Acquisition
AI + video = huge market. This tool on @acquiredotcom helps creators generate and schedule short-form videos automatically. You can spin up YouTube Shorts, TikToks, and AI-style clips (even Pixar-like animations). Zero editing skills needed. > $107K TTM revenue > $79K profit > 100+ customers >...
Tiny Check, Massive Return: Don't Underestimate Winners
My single best investment from 20VC Fund I broke advice everyone gave me. Don’t write small checks. If it is less than 1% of the fund, it won’t move the needle. Wrong. I wrote a $50K check. Today it is...
Feature Bloat Dilutes Focus, Turns Users Into Habit
Somewhere along the way, growth stopped meaning progress and started meaning more. More features. More dashboards. More categories to chase. Every successful product faces this moment. You build something people love. It works. Then comes the temptation to widen the story....
Choose Location that Multiplies Luck, Not Stifles Momentum
well put (on eu vs us) “When you build something ambitious, you realize geography isn’t neutral. It either multiplies your luck or quietly kills your momentum. I chose to go where luck compounds.”
Accrual Accounting Essential for SaaS Founder Valuations
Many of the private SaaS founders we work with don't realize that recognizing revenue in accordance with principles of GAAP and accrual accounting is not just a practice for publicly traded companies. We've found that SaaS founders, for convenience and...
Winning Startups Choose Either Full Office or Full Remote
One of the best CEOs I know said to me the other day, "I wish we'd never allowed work from home I know this is a complex issue even today, and for many, a triggering one. What I can tell you in...
Deep AI Immersion: The New Must‑Do for Founders
Every major platform shift rewrites the playbook for founders and investors. Sarah Tavel saw it during the rise of mobile — and now knows that to truly excel in a new era, you can’t just observe from the sidelines. You...
Early Traction Hinges on Story, Not Metrics
Early on traction is a story problem, not a metrics problem. The best founders know which narrative unlocks the next stage.
VCs Preach Agility, Yet Respond at a Glacial Pace
VC irony: We preach agility, yet often take forever to respond…
AI Agents Turn CRM Into Passive Data Warehouse
AI is a pretty big threat to CRM. Not the need for CRM, but to its value proposition. I didn’t totally get it until we deployed 11+ AI Agents. But what they do is push your CRM to the background....
Simple Slack Email Tool Generates $22K Profit Autopilot
I love simple tools like this on @acquiredotcom. Manage team emails directly inside Slack. > $22K TTM revenue > $20K profit > 200+ customers > Runs on autopilot > Lean, profitable, dead simple Full listing: https://t.co/b3BlAnxTAb https://t.co/1DDfmVFl2z
Benchmark Your Pitch Deck Against 4,000 Startups
Wondering how you stack up? Try the new https://t.co/iXj7ZJdxfx VC Pitch Deck Analyzer -> https://t.co/S5UFYzoN7a We’ll share how you stack up against 4,000+ other start-ups. And we’ll provide you honest and confidential feedback on how to do better. https://t.co/YtZxaYnamq
Heidi Roizen Shares Top Cold Emailing Tips
Very good cold emailing advice from @HeidiRoizen of @thresholdvc https://t.co/Ak8orSOI2F
Deel Acquires: Replace Core Assets, Rebuild Adjacent
"At Deel, we do two types of acquisitions. 1. Buy an asset in our core market. Buy the team, revenue, bring them in-house, rip and replace their infrastructure with ours pretty fast. 2. Buy smaller companies that are in adjacent...
Project Europe Delivers Rapid Product-Market Fit, Secures Major Wins
Project Europe has product market fit so much faster and so much stronger than even we hoped. In the first 6 months: - 10 cracked teams invested in So what… of those 10: - 1 acquired by category leader - 1...
Limited AI Still Fuels Revolutionary Momentum, Like Beam Engines
Prediction: LLMs in their current form may not be able to do everything, but AI now has enough momentum that this won't matter. Beam engines couldn't do everything either, but they were enough to set off the Industrial Revolution.
AI Voice Boosts Ecommerce Revenue, Solving Phone Conversion Gap
Proud @saastrfund is joining the round for @Consio_AI and the team building the AI voice layer for ecommerce!! Here's why we invested: 1⃣The Obvious Problem: Phone Converts Better Every ecommerce brand knows phone calls convert 3-5x better than web. But staffing a phone...
AI-Driven VC Matchmaking for Fundable Startups Only
We’re launching something different at SaaStr AI. VC Matchmaking that actually works. Because most founders are pitching the wrong VCs. Or pitching before they’re ready. Join the waitlist → https://t.co/x5NqYcTMbt Here’s how it works: 1️⃣: You upload your pitch Real revenue. Real metrics. Real traction....
Own Your Software: Essential for Scaling Success
"A lot of SaaS is not tailored enough to the needs of the company. Owning most of the software makes a significant difference in what you can do. It is the dumbest thing to do when you are small. It...
AWS Outage? Try Our Always‑On Startup Valuation Calculator
AWS down for you? 👉Take a break and try our StartUp Valuation Calculator! -> https://t.co/jvgsU2zIKA It only takes seconds, it's super cool, and ... it's still up!! https://t.co/lVUsOvUCJR
Scaling AI: Strategies for Building Intelligent Systems
How do you build AI systems that scale? On Nov 12 in SF, I’ll host Calvin French-Owen (Co-founder & former CTO @Segment, led @OpenAI's Codex launch) for a Theory Ventures Office Hours conversation on scaling intelligent systems. We’ll dig into: ⚙️ Building...
AI Isn't a Bubble, Unlike the Dot‑Com Era
this time last year post-@stateofaireport we heard lots of “is ai a bubble” chatter, just like we do today we wrote a piece on @airstreetpress arguing that ai is not like the dot com thinking of writing up a v2...
Alfred Lin: Deep Business Insight Makes Board Exceptional
"I would have most liked to have @Alfred_Lin on my board. He is one of the best investors in the world. He understands the business he invests in a lot more deeply than other board members." @Bouazizalex What have been...
Early AI‑GTM Adopters Scaling Fast, Laggards Scrambling
It's time. 🏃♀️It's time to get ahead of the pack in AI + B2B. At SaaStr AI London Dec 1-2 -> https://t.co/ufOgU4yrs6 The companies that figured out AI + GTM this year already are now scaling aggressively—closing bigger deals, reducing...
AI's Rapid Evolution Sparks Bubble Debate and Nvidia Dominance
got to chat about the @stateofaireport on @tbpn last fri w/@johncoogan @jordihays, incl. bits on financing dynamics, how today's ai is magical vs. 12 years ago when i started, ai bubble (yes, no?), nvidia's dominance, ai search/agent experience, industrial policy...
Real Traction Speaks: Customers Return, Pay, and Refer
Most founders waste time trying to look like they have traction. When traction’s real, you don’t need to choreograph it. It shows up when people return, pay again, and bring their friends. Customers end up doing the advertising for you.
Deel’s $300M Raise Reveals Aggressive Acquisition Strategy
I fricking hate podcasts where the guest does a podcast tour to promote something. @Bouazizalex just raised $300M+ at a $17BN+ valuation. He did one podcast to discuss the round and the crazy last 12 months. 20VC. - Raising $300M from Ribbit, a16z and...
Back AI’s Good Guys to Drive Safe Innovation
1/ I want to state plainly: in all industries, especially in AI, it’s important to back the good guys. Anthropic is one of the good guys. More thoughts about why we need to fuel innovation and talk safety at the same...
Biannual Mock Fundraises Sharpen Founders' Reflection
Raising can be a grind, but it’s a good forcing function to reflect. Founders (and VCs) might benefit from doing biannual mock fundraising prep.
Join SaaStr Fund: Fast-Track Venture Deal Experience
I’m hiring an Associate at SaaStr Fund ($200m AUM) The job: 1️⃣ Screen 50+ inbound deals/week, find the 2-3 worth the deep dive. 2️⃣ Help manage the new https://t.co/D1x4RaX5t7 which over 5,500 founders have used in 5 years anywhere else for...
Angel Fundraise Details Reveal Top 1% Founders
You can tell a top 1% founder purely from how they structure the angel component of a fundraise. The blurb they suggest. The forwardable email they send for each. The specific angels they want in. All says so much about their...
Innovation Quest Launches: 70+ Founders Ignite AI Ventures
2025 USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy Founders Bootcamp 🚀 Friday we kicked off the annual Innovation Quest with our 2025 Founders Bootcamp. Standing-room only & filled with energy, insight, & community. Over 70 IYA undergraduate & graduate founders...
Bootstrapped Screen‑mirroring App Nets $1.8M Profit
Some mobile apps are crazy profitable. This one generates $1,800,000 per year!🤯 Now live on @acquiredotcom: Top rated iOS apps for screen mirroring and remote control. > 570K monthly users > $3.5M revenue > $1.8M profit > Bootstrapped Full listing: https://t.co/T7kDgxkfQp https://t.co/p6BkZYUyqN
Incumbents Erode OpenAI Share; Coding Tools Decline
Here are two very important charts about the current AI boom. Chart 1: Distribution Matters Open AI is still the clear leader but, interestingly, they are loosing percentage share as the market grows. This is normal for a category leader but...
Four Free AI Tools to Accelerate Fundraising
SaaStr.ai just launched four FREE AI tools that can save founders 100+ hours in fundraising prep. And maybe even get you funded: 1️⃣ AI Start-Up Valuation Calculator. Get VC-grade valuations using data from 5,000+ recent rounds, public comps, and AI...
Startups Funding Peers: Warning Sign of a Bubble
Startups investing in other startups... is this peak bubble behavior? https://t.co/1paenKbhQh
Speed Is a Feature of the Best
Just sent a deal to a dear friend and mentor who is one of the greatest of our time. Sent at 8:12AM PST and response provided to me and founder by 8:18AM. Speed is a feature of the best.
Get Pre‑Screened Dealflow Directly on Our Waistlist
VCs: Want more dealflow? With deals pre-screened, selected, and analyzed for you? Get on our waistlist here -> https://t.co/t0woGMPLz6 https://t.co/LWckPofGUm