Social•Jan 29, 2026
Even Industry Titans Can't Guarantee Startup Success
In 2020, Jeffrey Katzenberg raised $1.75 billion for Quibi. At CES, he faced a skeptical crowd and said: "I've been doing this before you all were f*&king born." Eight months after launch, Quibi was dead. Reality doesn't care about your résumé. https://t.co/ZYMpP1jLFX
By Mike Maples Jr.
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Five Centuries of Venture Capital: A Visual Evolution
Cool graphic on how the venture industry has evolved over the past 500 years. h/t @pavelprata https://t.co/2CL76j0nvR
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Vast VC‑LP Matching Opportunities Revealed in New List
Wow - that's a lot of opportunities for VCs and LPs to find each other...👇 🙏 Pavel Prata for collecting this list
By Beezer Clarkson
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Keep Re‑incorporating Daily Until Your Funding Closes
if you don't close your round in the first day just re-incorporate every day until you close
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Wrong Leaders Cost Years of Lost Potential
Picking the wrong VP reverberates for 2+ years Picking the wrong cofounder reverberates for 10+ years You don’t fail, it’s just you could have done so much more. And that compounds, too.
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Master Your Pitch, Meet Top VCs, Secure Term Sheets
- Know your worth - Hone your pitch - Meet the best VCs - Collect term sheets That's SaaStr AI VC -> https://t.co/XzJ5d0OqGr https://t.co/qulPugatLR
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 29, 2026
VCs Can't Fund Ex‑OpenAI Founders Indefinitely
“VCs can’t just keep giving OpenAI employees billions of dollars to start a new company forever” VCs: https://t.co/lVyo5wnDoI
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 29, 2026
Scaling AI Developer Infrastructure: Lessons From Meta’s Internal Agent
Office Hours: Building Developer Infrastructure at Scale with Jim Everingham In the world of AI, how do the very best companies build their developer infrastructure? To answer that question : On Tuesday, February 24, I’ll be hosting an in-person fireside...
By Tomasz Tunguz
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Regulation Relief Fuels SaaS Boom in Cannabis Retail
Here’s how increased access to cannabis led to Sparkplug’s explosive growth… The startup — a LAUNCH portfolio company — offers a SaaS product that educates and rewards and benefits the dispensary clerks and “budtenders” who actually sell cannabis to clients,...
By Jason Calacanis
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Intercom's AI Pivot Redefines SaaS Economics
Intercom has pivoted from traditional SaaS to AI better than any company I can think of. I spoke to the CFO behind the customer support juggernaut, and the outcome based product Finn. Dan Griggs is mastering the new economics of...
By CJ Gustafson
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Don't Mistake High Volume for Real Market Size
Related, and also worth remembering: make sure you aren't chasing a small market masquerading as a large market. Big transaction volume doesn’t always translate to real market opportunity for startups.
By Sequoia Capital
Social•Jan 28, 2026
AI Revolutionizes Enterprise Sales and Organizational Structure
New @ThePeelPod with @JacquelineSYC19 How AI is changing data, getting enterprise customers from cold emails during YC, building an AI BDR in-house, why most functions at @artie_labs report to the CTO (not CEO), and what it's like raising a Series...
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Cheering on Gabriel Stengel’s Next Move
Let's go Gabriel Stengel @rogoai...
By David Tisch
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Startups Should Ditch Annual Plans for Quarterly Reset
Annual planning is one of the most over-copied “big company” rituals in startups—and it quietly creates a lot of bad decisions. In large companies, annual planning makes sense. They’re hiring hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people, mobilizing new strategies, changing systems,...
By Mark Roberge
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Acquiring Existing Startups Cuts Risk, Boosts Execution
One of the reasons people are successful acquiring startups is simple: they’re not starting from zero. Zach Simmons is a good example of this. Instead of building something new from scratch, he acquired Appraiva (@appraiva) on @acquiredotcom which already had real...
By Andrew Gazdecki
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Software and AI Profit From Margins, Not Price
Jeff Bezos said, "Your margin is my opportunity." Does this apply in software & AI? Yes—but not on price. 🧵
By Tomasz Tunguz
Social•Jan 28, 2026
Founders Reveal Real AI Metrics, Pricing, GTM Strategies
At SaaStr AI 2026, no vanity metrics Founders are sharing real numbers: What AI features actually convert. What pricing actually works. What GTM motions actually scale. May 12-14. SF Bay Bring your Granola. Or even a notebook. https://t.co/BCPo2TiqOt
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 27, 2026
OpenAI Turns Into Venture Hub, Monetizing Research Tools
>be openai >announce plans to take a cut of openai-aided discoveries >release prism, free tool for research teams >rate limit prism >announce prism+, more free credits, latest models >just promise small equity if you build co >openai becomes next yc >sama used to run yc
By Yohei Nakajima
Social•Jan 27, 2026
Early‑Stage Investors Wanted: Join Katie Jacobs Stanton’s Team
📣 Calling early stage, early career investors looking for a GREAT team to work with. Katie Jacobs Stanton and Moxxie Ventures is hiring. See posting below. 👇
By Tina Sharkey
Social•Jan 27, 2026
Customer Success Compensation Lacks True Variable Incentives
How are Customer Success team's incentivized? Despite WHERE we tend to put CS on the P&L, they are NOT paid like sales I surveyed 132 companies on their CS compensation structures. And the VAST majority of CSMs are on plans...
By CJ Gustafson
Social•Jan 27, 2026
Nvidia Fuels Europe's AI Stack with Massive 2025 Investments
Nvidia quietly went on a European shopping spree in 2025. 14 funding rounds, double the year before, backing names like Mistral, Revolut and Lovable. Excess cash recycled straight into the AI ecosystem. This looks less like opportunistic VC and more like long-term...
By Spiros Margaris
Social•Jan 27, 2026
VC Deals Flat, Funding Doubles – Concentration Rises
Per latest data from @cartainc, from 2023-2025: VC Deals Up Only 3%, But Dollars Up 130% From Q1 2023 to Q4 2025, the number of deals went from 802 to 823. Basically flat. But dollars deployed? $12.8B to $29.5B. That's 2.3x. VCs...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 26, 2026
Double Down on Winners: Increase Ownership Every Round
I'm a co-investor with a mega VC fund we don't talk about as much here but they are wildly successful in many top IPOs and top decile returns. And they have a really simple way they do follow-on checks: ✅If the company...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 26, 2026
Zoom Jumps 10% as Anthropic Stake Finally Priced
Zoom is up 10% today, or about what its Anthropic position would be worth (I'd guess closer to 50x than 85x). It's trading at a $28B market cap as of right now, and its Anthropic position is probably worth ~$2-3B. Insane this...
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 26, 2026
Free Ultimate Guide for First-Time Angel Investors
We wrote the ultimate angel investing guide to help first-time angels. And it’s 100% free. More>> https://t.co/IiGiQKSHBR
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Jan 26, 2026
Lower‑Middle Market M&A Thrives;
I’ve had so many conversations with founders who tell me they almost sold during ZIRP, then decided to wait because they were sure the market would only get better. They expected multiples to keep rising, capital to stay cheap, and buyers...
By Andrew Gazdecki
Social•Jan 26, 2026
Stop Talking, Start Building AI Solutions
There’s an AI GTM startup I really like the founders of, they’ve been asking us for 6+ months to try them. I appreciate the emails, calls, DMs, etc. And the endless offers to “get on the phone” to see a...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 26, 2026
Deal Flow Quality Trumps Picking Skill for VC Success
Deal Flow Quality beats “picking skill” The figure below is a reminder that most VC chest-thumping is aimed at the wrong variable. In venture, outcomes are driven by two levers: >Pool quality (base rate): how many real winners exist in what you see >Picking...
By BowTiedBiotech
Social•Jan 25, 2026
Customer Success Benchmarks: Pay, Staffing, and P&L Guidance
“How the hell do I plan for customer success?” -How should I pay the CS team? -Where should it go on the P&L? -What ratio should I use to staff it? -How big should the team be? Here are the...
By CJ Gustafson
Social•Jan 25, 2026
Entrepreneurs Often Run Jobs, Not Independent Businesses
Many entrepreneurs think they’re independent simply by starting their own business, but if you have a complex cap table, a bank loan that’s always on your mind, or silent (or loud) partners who see things different ways, there’s a very...
By Jason Fried
Social•Jan 24, 2026
Full-Team Commitment Fuels AI Startup Success
🤷♀️"AI Native" startups don't have access to better LLMs 🤷They often don't have smarter engineers 🤷♂️They don't know the space any better 🤷♀️Their sales team are often tiny and mediocre So why do they win? 100% of their team wants to do, and are willing...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 24, 2026
AI's Rapid Progress Outpaces Bubble Concerns, Driving Profits
"There’s pockets of bubble-ish dynamics. But the technology is improving so fast, there’s so much more room to improve, and companies accelerating in AI are printing money."
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 24, 2026
AI Era Triples ARR per Employee, Winners Pull Ahead
Per @a16z, the gap in ARR/employee has widened dramatically in the Age of AI $700k per FTE vs. $200k per FTE You're either pulling away here, or falling way, way behind https://t.co/6CD2h5yM6X
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 24, 2026
Investors Diverge, Favor B
Five founders pitched, and these investors came to wildly different picks. Maxwell Weiss, of Pacific Bays Capital, and Fred Almeida, of American Medical Intelligence, chose B2B SAAS startups building for air quality testing and supply chain risk.
By Jason Calacanis
Social•Jan 23, 2026
AI Generates Real‑Time Investor Flow Reports From X
How much value is locked up here on X? Or, what is the money doing in AI? I had @blevlabs's AI (a state of the art cognitive architecture that works a lot better than Grok or ChatGPT for these kinds of...
By Robert Scoble
Social•Jan 23, 2026
Data Room Activity Reveals Buyer Seriousness for Better Negotiations
All of our clients use a data room. A data room is a secure, online document repository to host important resources related to selling a business/raising capital. The primary reason for utilizing data rooms is to stay organized and make...
By Michael Lyon
Social•Jan 23, 2026
AI Startups Outperform Non‑AI: Higher ARR, Faster Growth
👨🦳Non-AI startups: - Lots CSMs (vs FDEs) - AI agent is slow / not truly great, not #1 focus of company - Not gaining market share - Customers don’t want to pay 2x-10x more for AI Agent (honest truth: not great) - Still very large...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 23, 2026
PE Shifts Away From Vanilla SaaS, Seeks AI Growth
There’s a tough topic that it’s time to be honest about in 2026: PE is no longer coming to the rescue. It was a great run. From 2012-2023 or so, almost any B2B or SaaS company that hit $20M ARR,...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 23, 2026
Founders Overraise, Ignoring YC’s “Default Alive” Wisdom
YC’s best advice is “default alive” - have enough cash to survive without the next raise. Great advice… nobody f*cking does it. Paul Graham (the founder of YC) once said he’d raise $500K, get ramen profitable, and probably never raise...
By Adam Robinson
Social•Jan 23, 2026
Venture Funding Hits Decade Low Amid AI Optimism
For decades, venture capital has expanded practically by default. More funds, more managers, more capital. Today, fundraising, firm formation, and LP participation are all moving in the same direction: down. After 20+ years, we are now facing the first meaningful...
By Beezer Clarkson
Social•Jan 23, 2026
AI Agents: Cost‑Effective Workers Who Never Quit
"Why did we go all-in on AI Agents?" with @kylecnorton CRO @kylecnorton "I just got tired of paying folks six-figures, letting them work from home with plenty of agency ... and still quitting. The AI Agents aren't perfect. But they...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 23, 2026
Cracking B2B AI Pricing: Experts Share Proven Models
How do you price AI features in B2B? Per seat? Per outcome? Usage-based? Founders are still figuring this out in real-time. At SaaStr AI 2026, we're bringing together the ones who've cracked it. May 12-14. SF Bay https://t.co/4l6Rm5He3B
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 23, 2026
GitLab Spurs 12.8% Rally, SaaS Index Up 3.
📊 https://t.co/D1x4RaX5t7 Market Pulse - Thu, Jan 22 The https://t.co/D1x4RaX5t7 Index delivered a strong performance on January 22, 2026, with an average gain of 3.47% as 23 out of 25 stocks advanced. GitLab led the rally with a remarkable 12.82% surge,...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 22, 2026
Gain Control in 2026 with a Simple Cash Flow Forecast
A simple forecast lets you see what’s coming before it arrives. It helps you test scenarios, plan hiring or investment, and make choices without holding your breath. If 2026 is the year you want fewer surprises and more control, start here. We’ve...
By Michelle Kvello
Social•Jan 22, 2026
Growth Trumps Efficiency in AI Era IPOs
A tough truth: getting more efficient, getting profitable, might have been necessary the past few years for many. But it also got you … nowhere. The markets still reward growth far more than efficiency. You do need both now when...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 22, 2026
Deep Dive: AI Trends and Investment Strategies with Nathan Benaich
Fun convo going deep on all things AI and how to invest in it with the 🐐 @nathanbenaich
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 22, 2026
The Term “Seed Round” Is Officially Retired
We are now officially retiring the term "seed round". Thank you for your attention to this matter. https://t.co/NzL2sy9dUJ
By Alex Johnson
Social•Jan 22, 2026
SMBs Trade Higher Volume for Lower NRR than Enterprises
In theory, SMB > Enterprise More customers, much faster sales cycles, faster PLG and viral cycles But even 100% NRR is tough to hit with SMBs, While 120%-140% common in Enterprise Most SMB SaaS goes at least bit enterprise or at least into more...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 22, 2026
VC Success Lies in Platforms or Specialists, Not Verticals
This is actually a very interesting discussion. It's near consensus now that the only strategies that make sense in VC is large platform or small specialist. So it's kind of a hot take to say that verticalized venture doesn't work. A couple...
By Rob Go
Social•Jan 22, 2026
Most Series A Founders Overestimate Their $50M Worth
I talk to delusional Series A founders every day. I now just send them this post. If your company does under $10m ARR, burns over $200k/mo and has low Gross Retention, you are not worth $50-100m dollars to ANYONE despite...
By Adam Robinson