Real AI Wins: Speakers Reveal What’s Actually Working
We asked every speaker coming to SaaStr AI 2026 one question: 🤖"What's actually working with AI in your business right now?" No theory. No hype. Just what's shipping and what's converting. May 13-15 in SF Bay https://t.co/A02gn7heZm
World‑Positive Progress Requires Business, Humanity, Planet Integration
👏 Great job James Joaquin Vishal Vasishth Andrew Beebe on your 1st World Positive Investor Summit. ❤️ the focus on on how economic, human, and planetary health function as connected systems. Fantastic entreprenerus in the portfolio. Throughline was clear: world-positive...
Prioritize Strong Intro to Associate Over Weak Partner Intro
I’ve completely changed my mind about this. A strong intro to an associate is much better than mediocre intro to a partner.
AI Agent Deals Carry Built‑In Churn Risk
I was in a board meeting for a breakout AI B2B leader at $100m+ ARR and the team was excited … but stressed. Why? So many of their largest customers were happy to sign relatively large checks for the AI...
AI Social Listening SaaS Generates $63K ARR, 2000% Growth
Cool microSaaS finding high intent leads on social. Live on @acquiredotcom: AI-powered social listening that alerts you when people are actively looking to buy. > $63K ARR > $26K TTM profit > 2000% YoY growth Full listing: https://t.co/4n3HSzCddv https://t.co/nou58zuOi3
VCs Push Startups to Scale Faster with AI
your VC board member who tells you to “grow faster” and asks “do we have an AI strategy?” https://t.co/zZEvCAtTTO
Build a Profitable, Buyer‑ready Business, Not Just a High Valuation
Most founders ask “how do I get a higher valuation?” The answer is boring and kinda annoying. Build a business buyers actually want. > Automate your processes and operations so growth isn’t tied to you. > Improve retention. CAC Be prepared...
Investors Fund SPV to Lock in Anduril Equity
how it feels raising an SPV at 5 and 20 to buy forward contracts on Anduril employee equity https://t.co/XjfQa1Z54u
Avoid Boiling the Ocean: Prioritize Small, Impactful Wins
Boil the Ocean https://lnkd.in/gqrf2J2v
Moltbook’s Hidden SKILL File Fuels Unstoppable AI Agent Growth
The growth engine behind Moltbook's explosion to 1.5 million AI agents is a bit sinister. Everyone's sharing screenshots of bots debating philosophy and having existential crises. Good content. Very shareable. But it's a distraction from what's actually happening underneath. Mason...
Market Size Irrelevant; Success Can Exceed Initial TAM
One of my biggest takeaways from talking to @dugsong and @jonoberheide: Market size doesn't matter. They ultimately sold Duo to Cisco for $2.35B, which was bigger than the initial TAM when they started the company.
California Policies Threaten Fintech’s Growth Engine
Vlad Tenev: California is killing the golden goose https://lnkd.in/gi_PUuHa
AI Optimism Splits: Vertical Software Drops 43%, DevTools 21%
Vertical software has fallen 43% this year. DevTools, just 21%. The gap between them, twenty-two percentage points, tells you what markets actually believe about AI. https://t.co/D8KOXY1iu6
Reject Monthly Retainers, Minimum Fees, and Conflicts in Bank Engagements
Here are a few items you should always say "no way" to when structuring an engagement letter with an investment bank: 1. Ongoing monthly retainers Ongoing monthly retainer fees could incent the banker to stretch out the process unnecessarily. Opt...
Gym Revenue Soars with Subscription‑Based Hardware SaaS
$255K in profit from fixing how gyms sell. Live on @acquiredotcom: hardware + SaaS that turns in store visits into guided consults, subs, and recurring revenue for gyms. > $1.16M TTM revenue > $255K TTM profit > 206% YoY growth Full listing: https://t.co/8TlNbA4mqT https://t.co/H2XkQg3xJK
Decoding RevTech: CFOs, Growth, and AI FOMO
Today, the only companies getting headlines are tripling year on year. The landscape is ripe with talk of startup vs. incumbent. AI FOMO is real. And… what the heck is RevTech? Join me Monday on Run The Numbers as I...
AI Startups Outpace Legacy Firms in Revenue Efficiency
🧔♂️ Non-AI startups: - Lots CSMs (vs FDEs) - AI is slow / noncompetitive, not true #1 focus of company - Not gaining market share - Customers don’t want to pay 2x-10x more for AI Agent (honest truth: not great)...
Excited to Join Venture Underground in San Francisco
Thank you Adeo for having me, and I'm excited to do this with the Venture Underground team this coming week in SF!
OpenAI’s Unlimited Plan Outshines Anthropic’s Limited Pricing
pricing on openai vs. anthropic is interesting and i think oai is missing out for example, chatgpt biz for $25/month buys you all the value prop of the service - i never hit rate limits meanwhile, claude pro for $20/month i max...
VCs Accept AI Startups Only With Insane Growth
"VCs are OK in the Age of AI with tons of competition. But they aren't OK if the growth isn't just ... insane." @tbpn https://t.co/6XVHHmKshC
VCs Once Hailed Online Mattresses as Groundbreaking
It's kind of comical to think that 10 years ago VC's thought that selling mattresses and luggage online was innovation.
Xi Signals: Move From SaaS to Hard Tech
1/ 2+ years ago I advised the shift from SaaS to Hard Tech Why? Because I saw a signal. It wasn't from Buffett. It was from Xi Jinping. He signaled software was done + aerospace, defense, biotech + hardware was next.
Seeking Founders Using AI Sales Agents for Collaboration
Any founders using AI sales agents creatively? Would love to connect you with a founder we backed to trade notes. DMs open. https://t.co/oPpD4IzGfC
Classic SaaS Scaling Model Is Dead, AI Reigns
SaaS isn’t dead, even with the massive sell off this year (and really since July 2025). But … what is dead is the classic pattern and way to scale: - 1, maybe 2 players, take over a space by $10m-$20m...
Use AI Now or Get Left Behind
If you know AI can already do a part of your job, you should be the one taking advantage of that. Aggressively. If you're waiting for permission, someone else isn't. Here's what happens when you wait. Your competitor figures it out....
Inside Benchmark's Unmatched Early‑Stage VC Playbook
New episode of Uncapped with the full Benchmark partnership. They're arguably the best early stage venture firm of all time and have retained a model and approach that very few others have. I learned a ton, hope you enjoy. https://lnkd.in/gEVbjkxN
VCs Fund Any Future They See Thriving Today
Thought: VC's can bet on different versions of the future. But there is only one version of the present. In other words, VCs will believe any version of the future if they are excited by what's happening right now.
Pear Deck’s Deal Showcases High Value, Competitive Bidding, Low Risk
Pear Deck was a fantastic company to work with. Some of the highlights from their transaction include: * A strong enterprise value resulting from high growth * A highly competitive process with multiple buyers * A short exclusivity period with...
From MEMS Startup to $7.5B TI Acquisition
Over 15yrs ago Lux partner @Farshchi and I worked close with Lux family co Silicon Clocks (MEMS resonators on CMOS circuits for timing products) thru their sale to Silicon Labs… Today Silicon Labs got acquired by Texas Instruments for $7.5B
Turn a Simple Shopify Pain Into a Sellable App
Renata Raya (@reraya) built a profitable Shopify app called GoRecover and sold it on @acquiredotcom. She was running a Shopify agency in Mexico City and kept seeing the same issue. Customers abandoned carts and email recovery wasn’t working. Most merchants were...
Reviving the Lost Culture of Building Together
We used to build things? What happened? And what do we have to do to get back to building again? https://lnkd.in/gKUa7cNe
Scale Faster with Seasoned Talent and Evolving Leaders
Not everyone has the same skill set, and sometimes bringing in a more seasoned crew to help transition your company from early-stage to scaling up can be a smart strategy. On TWiST, Amanda Bradford, William P. Barnes and I discuss...
AI‑Powered SaaStr: 47% Revenue Rise, 3‑Person Team
We've spent the last year rebuilding SaaStr with 20+ AI agents. Revenue is up 47%. Team down to 3 humans. It's been the most intense learning curve of my career. I'm sharing all of it at SaaStr AI 2026. May...
MVPs Must Be Reliable Every Time, Not Feature‑Heavy
Even in its MVP form, the Uber app needed to be 100% trustworthy and reliable. When you use an app to get a ride somewhere, you need to know that you’ll also be able to get a ride back. If...
Standard Capital Helps Without Sitting on Your Board
"@Standard_Cap's whole model is that they don't need to be on your board to be helpful"
V7 Labs Go Scales Across Finance
wait til folks see @v7labs go is doing already at scale across finance, legal, insurance, tax - not in research preview https://t.co/S8OtBtIsvI
CesiumAstro Secures $270M to Boost Defense Contracts
Spacecom company @CesiumAstro announced that it closed a $270M round of funding—which will help the company to cement further contracts in the defense sector, and build out its natsec business. https://t.co/yg15DTFTWo
Public Markets Now More Concentrated; Non‑consensus Ideas Undervalued
to those worrying about the hyper concentration in VC: consider that public markets are more concentrated than they’ve been in ~ever. this isn’t a VC story, it’s an everything story. …which means: - the consensus is consensusing more than it’s ever consensed -...
M&A Often Beats IPO for Founder Liquidity
Many founders view an IPO as the ultimate goal, but going public doesn’t always deliver what founders actually want: true liquidity and diversified financial risk. In this video, I talk through why M&A is often the more practical and rewarding...
AI Materials Startups Flooded with Pitches In
in less than 12h i got 3 inbound pitches for ai-first materials companies tis the season, again?
Evolving as a VC: Lessons in Firm Building
I've been thinking a lot about where I am as a VC in terms of firm building and what feels different now than when I first got started and put together some thoughts - a lot of this was inspired...
Invisible Economies Drive Exponential Value Through Relationships and Design
The most valuable signals are invisible. Most leaders are still optimizing for yesterday's. We're not in one economy anymore. We're in at least 10 at once. These are behavioral ecosystems. Basically invisible overlays intersecting with your brand, culture, innovation pipeline,...
Massive Pre‑Product Funding Could Bring AI To
Now that you can raise a 9-figure round pre-product, there's a non-zero chance we see a Super Bowl ad for pre-revenue AI company this year.
Varo Raises $124M Despite $92M Loss
The sunk cost fallacy is alive & well: Varo announced it has raised ANOTHER $123.9 million. Varo posted a net loss of $91.7 million in 2025, per its just-released call report. https://t.co/iGHX1ILeL9
Listing Isn’t Enough—Actively Drive Your Startup Sale
Sometimes founders list their startup and then wait. They assume buyers will just show up, ask questions, and magically move things forward. That almost never happens. Selling a business requires running an actual sales process. After NDAs are signed, you need to reach...
Build Deployable AI Workflows at SaaStr AI 2026
Not just talks. At SaaStr AI 2026, we're running 100s of hands-on workshops where you'll build actual AI workflows for your company. Sales. CS. Product. Ops. Leave with something you can deploy Monday. May 12-14. SF Bay. https://t.co/IsMOos9H4H
19‑Year Curated Lists Power New AI‑
I just went through my CS Academics list, moved everyone over to other lists, then deleted it. People have no idea how much time it takes to curate great lists. Been working on them for 19 years. While doing that...
Join Airstreet AI Meetups in Munich, Zurich, Paris
swing by the @airstreet ai meetup in: - munich 17 feb - zurich 19 feb - paris 11 mar more on: luma(dot)com/airstreet https://t.co/9ZuRL4Kk0A
Price SaaS Realistically: Focus on Profit, Not Hype
“I want to sell for 10x revenue because I heard that’s the average SaaS multiple.” That mindset usually leads to disappointment. Those outsized multiples exist, but they’re rare. They’re not the norm. And anchoring on them can stop you from selling at...
NIMBYism Costs U.S. Workers $8,775 Annually
I found a paper that actually quantifies the amount of money that is lost by society because NIMBYism prevents NY, SF Bay Area from building enough housing for their highly productive workers: $8,775 for every worker in America every year....
