AI Enables High Earnings with Lean, Efficient Teams
So I saw a LinkedIn post from a sales executive I like a lot and have known for a long time looking for his next role. The headline: “Looking to Make The Most Money For The Least Amount of Work.” You might think it was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but no it was just him being honest. This is what so many folks thought but didn’t say out loud from late 2020-2023. Honsetly, in the Age of AI, I’d rather either (1) buy an AI Agent or (2) concentrate leads in folks that really want it. Everyone isn’t just doing AI. They’re intentionally running leaner teams. Everyone. Shopify has held headcount growth flat for 3 years, while accelerating growth even at scale. That's what everyone wants to do. And even more so with AI. Are you up for that? I get it if you aren’t. It’s a lot different.
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...
Buy AI Agents only From Vendors with Trusted Engineers
"If you want to buy an AI Agent, first find our who your FDE (Forward Deployed Engineer) will be. Talk to them. If you 100% believe they can help you deploy it, buy from that vendor." https://t.co/pViaS8CKNe
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
SaaStr AI 2026: Expect Even Bigger Funding Deals
Last year at SaaStr AI Annual, over $500M in funding conversations started in the hallways This year at SaaStr AI 2026, the deals will be even bigger Founders + investors + 3 days May 12-14. SF Bay Be in the room https://t.co/QB6XhsPio4
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...
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,...
CEOs Accelerate Growth Beyond Natural Business Pace
So much of your job as CEO is one way or another getting the company to grow a bit faster than it otherwise naturally would
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...
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
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,...
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...
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...
AI SDRs: Your Job Isn't Over, Just Adapt! #shorts
The video argues that AI‑driven SDRs won’t replace humans but require workers to adopt agentic tools. Speakers advise focusing on a single, painful workflow—such as inbound qualification or support—and deploying a leading AI vendor’s platform. By training the model on...
Salesforce AI: Deliver ROI BEFORE Signing Documents! #shorts
The video spotlights a seismic shift in how Salesforce and its AI‑powered products are sold: buyers expect measurable return on investment before they even sign a contract. The speaker argues that the old playbook—long pilot phases, incremental rollouts, and...
AI Agents in GTM Tech Poised for 10x Improvement
"Now is a great time to be in GTM tech. "All the AI agents we use are good. But they could all be 10x better." with @kylecnorton CRO @owner "It's just getting good. The AI Agents are still just...
AI Cuts Sales Headcount, Supercharges Top Reps
GTM tools made the mid-pack reps more effective. That was the story from 2005-2024 or so. They created repeatability and efficiency so that 50%, 70%+ of your team could run the exact same playbook and at least hit quota. Many...
Treating Top and Low Performers Differently Sends Harmful Message
Small talk with your top performers: fun and bonding Small talk with low performers: brutal
Learn How to Build True AI-First B2B Companies
Be honest: Do you actually know how to build an AI-first B2B company? Or are you just bolting GPT onto your existing product and hoping? SaaStr AI 2026. May 12-14. SF Bay. Come learn from founders, execs + leaders who've...
Visible, Honest CEOs Accelerate Startup Growth
What I see CEOs at struggling start-ups do: - Go dark - Hide - Lash out - Tweet about lots of things non-work - Invest time on tiny expenses - Argue internally What should do: - Be Present - Be Honest - Be the Rock - Be Realistic/Optimistic You just plain grow...
B2B Shifts to 70% AI, Old GTM Obsolete
The best B2B companies are now running with 30% humans and 70% AI agents. Or even higher. The old GTM playbook is dead. At SaaStr AI 2026, we're going deep on what the new playbook actually is. And what really...
Six Threats Force SaaS to Deliver Smiling AI
“Can your team ship AI features that make you truly smile? If you don’t smile — your customers won’t either” Traditional enterprise software and SaaS is under assault. The leaders are all still growing, but in many cases slower than...
Dominate AI-Driven GTM at SaaStrAnnual 2026
AI is changing every GTM role. You can run from it. You can argue with it. Or ... you can learn to dominate the new world at SaaStrAnnual.com 2026. Join us.
Late AI Adoption Sparks 100% Growth for Veteran SaaS
Just got an investor update from a 10+ year old vertical SaaS company I invested in a looong time ago. Founders never quit, know space cold, but man it’s been a grind. And they are far, far from “AI Native”. However … They...
Public Software Stocks Tank, Private AI Startups Soar
Strange World Indeed, 2026 January edition: - The worst time in our history to be invested in public software stocks - The best time in our history to be invested in private hot (AI fueled) startup stocks
Hire Talent Superior to You, Scale Infinitely
You can scale infinitely as a CEO or VP if you are relentless in recruiting people truly better than you to work for you You will slow down within months if you recruit VPs and execs under you that aren't
AI B2B Landscape Shifts: Lawsuits, Billion‑Dollar Valuations, and Market Moves
📰 Top AI+B2B News - Sun, Jan 18 https://t.co/MWFHfEuzpm Top Stories: 1. Musk Seeks Up to $134 Billion Damages From OpenAI, Microsoft 2. ClickHouse Lands $15 Billion Valuation in AI Database Race 3. Figma (FIG) Is Down 13.2% After AI Deal With OpenAI Top SaaStr...
AI Sales Agents: Outperforming Humans in 2024! #shorts
The video tackles the hype around turnkey AI sales agents, debunking the claim that simply turning on a product will instantly generate revenue. It stresses that successful AI‑driven go‑to‑market requires feeding the system the language and tactics of a company’s...
Salesforce Emerges as Central Hub for AI GTM Agents
"When you have 5, 10, 20+ AI GTM agents ... you need a hub. And for the most part, that hub is @salesforce today. It's a Renaissance for @salesforce." with @kylecnorton CRO @owner https://t.co/IaEh5Zt3Gh
VC Expectations Escalate: From $1B to $100B Targets
10 years ago, VC was optimized around $1B+ outcomes, for the most part. 5 years ago, VC was optimized around $10B+ outcomes. Today, VC is optimized around $100B+ outcomes. It’s exciting and bold and startups in the Age of AI...
AI Can Close Deals: The Future of Sales Is Here #shorts
The short video argues that artificial‑intelligence agents can now close sales as easily as a text message, positioning AI as the next frontier in revenue generation. It spotlights LennyBot, a conversational AI that can converse by text and voice, and...
Built Custom AI VP to Drive 10K Attendees, $10M Revenue
So this year we’ve built an AI VP of Marketing for SaaStr. The v1 at least. We didn’t want to, we wanted to buying an AI agentic solution that does what we need in marketing. But we just couldn’t find...
Skip “Strategist” Hires Until You Hit $20M ARR
Before $20,000,000 in ARR Maybe even before $50,000,000 in ARR Do not hire anyone with "strategist" in the first few lines of their LinkedIn bio
AI Replaces Sales SDRs: What's Next for Sales? #shorts
The video argues that traditional, email‑driven Sales Development Representative (SDR) positions are on the brink of obsolescence, with AI expected to replace roughly 90% of those roles by next year. It frames the shift as inevitable, suggesting that the classic...
Add AI to Inbound for Instant Deal Qualification
"Which AI Agent vendor should you pick?" with @kylecnorton CRO @owner "The lowest hanging fruit is adding AI to Inbound. To instantly qualify deals, instantly answer customer querstions, and instantly set up a meeting with a human AE." https://t.co/TUcLRTLEiB
Replit's AI Agent Now Delivers 99% Accurate Code
When I started using @Replit last summer, agent v1, you didn’t really know if anything you told the agent to do … would really work in practice when it created the code. You hoped. But you just didn’t...
VC Breakfast Traditions Fade in the AI Era
Back in the day, folks talked about Sand Hill VCs going to Bucks and doing deals over breakfast But the hipper VCs were in Palo Alto. And they did breakfast at Il Fornaio Another one that couldn’t make it in...
Specialized GTM Agents Vie to Become Primary Customer Touchpoint
This is also true with GTM agents The very best agents for sales, marketing, support, post sales can also function as strong general agents with just a bit of work That means all are going to compete with each other to win...
AI Agents Need a GTM Specialist, Not Just Sales Teams
"You can't just hand an AI Agent to the sales team or marketing team to deploy. Not if they don't have the skills to implement the agent, train it, manage it." with @kylecnorton CRO @kylecnorton "You have to find that GTM...
Join 250k+ B2B Leaders at SaaStr AI 2026
250,000+ B2B founders and operators in the SaaStr community. For 3 days in May, we're all going to be in the same place. SaaStr AI 2026. May 12-14. SF Bay Area. If you've ever gotten value from SaaStr—this is the...
AI Accelerates Partners Turning Into Competitors by 2026
One thing that has really really accelerated the past 12 months is your partners competing with you. Expect the trend … to continue even more, and much faster, in 2026. The pace of the AI Age is leading to partners becoming competitors...
Vibe Coding Enables AI‑Built Apps Without Developers
I think the hype around “vibe coding” has confused what it really does, and why it’s actually so disruptive. It’s not about “one shotting” Salesforce or Notion. That’s just not possible. You can’t build anything like that in 100 days...
Dilution Can Propel You to Trillion‑dollar Valuation
Sometimes, it takes a little dilution to reach Trillionaire status Where will you land? Try https://t.co/NlPWFTrkQ8 https://t.co/kU3hxso4IY
AI Must Boost Revenue or It Doesn’t Count
If your AI feature, your AI product, your AI team, your AI copilot didn’t materially boost revenue … 👎 It doesn’t count Try again
Begin with a Single, High‑impact, Easy‑to‑deploy AI Agent
"My CEO says we need to do AI, but my CFO won't give my budget. What do you we do?" with @kylecnorton "The answer: start with one AI Agent that solves a high ranking problem ... that is easy to deploy."...
Founder’s $370B Net Worth, Only $19M Liquid
Typical equity rich, cash poor founder on https://t.co/E5wtQ9xial $370B net worth, but only $19M liquid https://t.co/oF2st2owCX
ElevenLabs Poised to Outvalue Twilio by 2026
ElevenLabs will probably be worth more than Twilio by mid-2026 Really seems like a missed opportunity there
VCs Inflate Valuations to Secure Next Fund
So at the end of the year I wrote an investment down to $0, my biggest write-off so far. $4m to $0. But my co-investor? He marked up his investment. From about $15m to $30m. How is this possible?...
Deep Product Knowledge Outweighs CEO Polish
For a long while, you probably aren't a great CEO But you know the customers The software The feature gaps The roadmap The competition How to sell it How to market it How to build it So maybe as flawed as you are You are still the best CEO
AI Outperforms Average Sales Reps, Not Elite Teams
"AI can't beat the best sales teams," like CRO @owner + @kylecnorton. "No way." "But can it beat the sales folks that less hot startups hire? The 'mid pack' sales folks? The ones that never really learn the product? Yes....