I’m sometimes asked what makes a hired “professional” CEO different than a founder CEO. The obvious answer is experience. Some great questions to ask are: “What does experience specifically give a ‘professional’ CEO that is typically lacking from founder CEOs? Can the latter supplement that knowledge gap in some way to remain CEO without the typical downsides […]
The “Professional” CEO Read More »
Most well-established marketing departments in SaaS companies have one or more people in demand generation or “demand gen.” I have always hated this term because I think it completely misunderstands the purpose (and the limits) of marketing. You can not generate demand where none exists. You can only channel demand that inherently exists in a
The Lie Called SaaS Demand Generation Read More »
I thought I’d address a recent question I received: What is the main difference between a “financial buyer” vs. a “strategic buyer”? A financial buyer is buying your P&L and growth rate of key metrics. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), EBITDA margin, and growth rate all have certain market values. The SaaS valuation multiple per million dollars is
SaaS Exit: Strategic Buyer vs. Financial Buyer Read More »
Silicon Valley culture is hyper-focused on growth and scalability. There is a right time to grow and scale. Many founder CEOs get the timing wrong. The three prerequisites to effectively scaling are: Product/Market Fit Sales Message Resonance Favorable Customer Conversion Economics Let’s discuss each one. 1. Product/Market Fit Product/market fit means you’ve identified a problem
The 3 Prerequisites to Scaling a SaaS Business Read More »
Over the last two years, I’ve been active in my local emergency response volunteer community. I’ve participated in several mass casualty training exercises (e.g., earthquakes, plane crashes, collapsed building structures). In several of those exercises, I had the opportunity to train in the role of incident commander (IC) and other leadership roles. It was a
Assess, Decide, and Act Cycle Read More »
The topic of when, how, and why to hire your first CFO has come up not once, but three different times this week. Once a business crosses $2 million in sales, there is a strong need for a CFO. But the problem is that most businesses can’t afford the cost of a full-time CFO. Most
Why SaaS CFOs Are Essential Read More »
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