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 my ecosystem is the fastest moving and fastest growing startups I've invested in are either 100% returned to office (with some exceptions, but as a baseline) or 100% distributed. Now the ones that are 100% return to office often are more flexible than pre-2020. Few are as 100% as pre-2020. But they are 5 days a week in the office as a base, with the hiring trade-offs that come with that. They generally won't hire anyone that can't come into the office, and that limits the hiring pool substantially. I've also invested in some winners that are 100% remote. But they really, really work at it. And it's all they do. And it has trade-offs, especially on GTM and sales teams. But the ones that are some of a "best efforts" mix of maybe come into the office a bit a few times a week ... they just don't have the same urgency. They just don't. "Best efforts" just never really gets you ... the best outcome.
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
Solo Founder Sells $144K ARR CAD SaaS for $740K
These are the kinds of businesses you never hear about but they print money. Now live on @acquiredotcom: CAD + calculation SaaS for building engineers. > $144K ARR > $140K profit > Solo founder > Asking: $740K Full listing: https://t.co/WAQyftmp01 https://t.co/h9PkXiqvj7
AI Funding Surge Leaves Traditional SaaS Exits Stalled
🤔 Who Will Buy The SaaS Companies? We’re sitting on a problem many don’t want to talk about: the traditional SaaS exit playbook is breaking down. Even for very good SaaS companies For years, it was predictable. Build to $20M-$50M...
Startups Use Proxy Metrics to Fake Early Traction
SHOWING TRACTION BEFORE YOU HAVE TRACTION Everybody knows that startups thrive when they have “real” traction — that is revenue, active users, great retention curves, and a fast growth rate. However, startups also find themselves in a catch-22 where they're not...
Treat Founder Attention Like Cash: Say No
Founders: if it’s not a top priority, it’s a "no". If it might be later, it’s still a "no" for now. Protect your attention like cash. That’s how you win.
Originality Gives Innovators Edge Over Mere Copycats
It's easier to innovate when you're the original of something. People copying you can only copy a snapshot of your current state. They don't know which aspects of the snapshot are essential and which are random things you'd been about...
Bootstrapped Agency Sells for $1.6M, Defying VC Need
Nice way to end the week at @acquiredotcom. We just closed an agency for $1,600,000 cash. Completely bootstrapped. More proof you don't need venture capital to win. https://t.co/RMGykfRnMP
Choose the Right Location for Your AI Agents
It’s 9:30 AM. Do you know where your agent is? As we enter the era of agentic AI, this is an increasingly important question. ChatGPT launched the consumer use of AI, compressing all of human knowledge into a single model....
B2B Influencer Fees Need Tiered Pricing, Not Flat Rates
Dear CMO: Thanks again for offering me $800 to write 10 X and LinkedIn posts for you as a “B2B Influencer”! I do think these programs make sense. (If and until algos kill them.) Every B2B marketer seems to think...
AI Success Lies in Resegmenting, Not Creating New Categories
Most AI products aren’t creating new categories. They’re resegmenting existing ones. Understanding the difference shapes everything about how you build, market, and scale. Resegmentation means taking a job people already understand and making it faster, clearer, or more accessible. Category creation means...
Consumer Software Thrives on Community Co‑Creation and Feedback
Loved hosting this off-the-record talk w/ @southpkcommons founders about what’s next in consumer software. The beauty of consumer is a community that builds w/ you—immediate feedback loops, use case evolutions, evangelism. No better time than this current period of creativity and...
Kushner Brothers Leverage Billionaire Status for Tech Deals
Must be tough being a Kushner kid @JoshuaKushner - "Just raised $25B and invested in OAI, Stripe, Databricks" @jaredkushner - "Hold my beer, am heading to the Middle East"
Small SaaS Apps Can Yield Real Exits
Tom Ulman (@TomUlman) acquired two small SaaS tools (Text Run and Waitlist Email) that already had users, traffic, and potential. Then he did what great founders do best: executed. > Focused on paying users > Simplified the product > Improved support > Let SEO and...
Top Startups Hoard Cash, Rarely Spend Raised Funds
This is common among the most successful startups. It may seem wasteful, but it's a good idea to have some extra money in the bank as insurance against disasters, and the most successful startups have that luxury.
Navigating Friend Investments and Staying Top‑of‑Mind
I've certainly had the experience of opening LinkedIn, TechCrunch, Axios, or Term Sheet, only to read that someone I know well has started a new company or raised a round that I wish I had seen. It never feels great,...