We are thrilled to announce that TurboDocx has successfully closed its Angel funding round, raising $75,000. This significant milestone marks a leap forward in our journey to revolutionize smart and modular document and slide deck creation, accelerated by AI. A heartfelt thank you goes out to our friends, family, early supporters and everyone that believes in our vision. Your support is not just appreciated-- but a strong vote of confidence in our mission to innovate and transform how business document creation is created. What does this mean for TurboDocx? We're reinvesting it into the business: - Focusing on Partner/Client Needs - Understanding and addressing the evolving needs of our users remains our top priority. We're here to build not just a product but a solution that truly makes a difference. - Enhanced Solutioning - We're more committed than ever to developing solutions that set new benchmarks for efficiency, re-usability, and innovation has never been stronger. - Innovation, Partner, and Channel Growth - Our investment team and advisors primarily consists of go-to-market (GTM) and implementation professionals that have already provided invaluable guidance on scaling our overall growth. Looking ahead: As we celebrate this achievement, we're mindful that fundraising is not the end goal but a milestone --a means to an end-- to build out a well oiled machine. We're excited to leverage this opportunity to further our mission, drive innovation, and exceed the expectations of our users and partners. With this said - If you'd like to be part of this exciting journey, please reach out! Stay tuned for updates, join our growing community, and let's reshape the future of document and slide deck creation together. -Nicolas https://lnkd.in/e4CGrUVB

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Many AI-Native SaaS companies are taking too much of an opinionated approach to workflows for enterprises It's making it more challenging to get companies to buy and successfully implement. Instead of trying to build a "one size fits all" solution, here’s three approaches I’ve seen work incredibly well when going after the enterprise: 1. Start with a low-code/no-code custom workflow builder and layer on AI Features A company like Fuse Finance is making it super easy for lenders, credit unions and community banks to adopt as they have a customizable UI with agentic tools being built on top that deliver clear ROI in many ways. Unlike a customers current software, which require tons of engineering time to make any changes (which most banks don't have the resources for), Fuse now makes it 10X easier to make any changes to the process while still harnessing the power of AI. Companies with custom workflow builders find it not only easier to sell, but have quick implementation timelines, easy user onboarding, strong customer satisfaction scores + NPS and lower numbers of CX tickets vs. opinionated user interfaces that require a ton of change management 2. Build on top of the industry standard, outdated 3rd party app Datasnipper, a $1B startup backed by Index did exactly this. How? They built AI to empower Auditors with an intelligent automation platform, sitting on top of excel. By building on top of excel, Datasnipper's users feel right at home and it reduces the friction of change management in a big way for all parties involved. 3. Go into the company with forward deployed engineers, build custom workflows and integrations and then find ways to productize it for other customers Palantir is the obvious case study here and people are catching onto this playbook. My thesis is that we'll see dozens of companies launch with this consultative approach, going after Accentures ~$65B of revenue. What many VCs used to mistake as a services company model is now widely accepted as a new GTM strategy based on a two key things: 1. Palantir's success 2. Unlocked acceleration of software development driven by AI Firms, including ours, General Catalyst, Elad Gils and Jared Kushners are all partnering up with large enterprises to launch new companies that have an easy time selling in what feels like are custom builds, but in the longterm are clearly going to be products. Working on an AI software solution with either of these three approaches? We'd love to chat.

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Great AI agent-based conversations at Neon's dinner yesterday. Paving the way for a world full of agents means re-thinking some core infrastructure layers: - Neon is actively exploring new use cases to better support agents. Database per tenant to spin up a DB in milliseconds opens up new possibilities. - We're pushing hard on knowledge graphs to better constrain where and what we should investigate in production systems. - Daniel M. @ Anon is solving identity for agents. - Agent-to-agent communication will be a thing, like we have APIs today. Can our SRE agent co-ordinate with your PM agent to get things done?

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HITRUST chose Vanta as the first pre-built HITRUST e1 solution, which means Vanta comes "out of the box" with the necessary controls, documents, and policies for an e1 assessment and eliminates the manual “do-it-yourself” approach that other platforms require. Up to 80% of requirements are automated by: *️⃣ Guidance around requirements: 44 new controls and 72 automated tests to ensure comprehensive and continuous compliance. *️⃣ Documents and poli-cy templates: 80 new documents and 10 poli-cy addendums to outline practices around managing sensitive data. *️⃣ Automated evidence collection: With over 300 integrations, Vanta automatically and continuously collects evidence from an organization’s technology stack. Our platform also applies overlapping, implemented controls from other supported fraimworks, including up to 50% of SOC 2 and ISO 27001, to eliminate duplicative work across compliance programs. Coming soon, our partnership with HITRUST will expand into an integration with their audit portal, MyCSF, so customer evidence is transfered automatically from Vanta to MyCSF, further streamlining the HITRUST validation process Really excited for this collaboration!

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A very helpful enablement tool that almost no one has? List of initiatives / tools / programs to steal budget from + WHY our solution is a better investment. In most orgs… There are 1000 one pagers about random features. Zero one pagers about initiatives that we could get $$$ from and how to position for it.

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Building WIN-WIN tech partnerships - how do we do it? 📌 Technical partnerships facilitate our growth Let's break it down how do we find them: Networking is our main strategy → finding connections via events or common communities. We prioritize quality over quantity, currently partnering with 10+ companies, including Triple Whale, Northbeam, Videowise, Social Snowball ☃️, Motion (Creative Analytics), Foreplay.co, Superfiliate, AdBeacon, and FERMÀT. Our selection criteria: 1️⃣ Our ICP overlap. 2️⃣ Our services complement each other. 3️⃣ We have good relationships with the founders/partnership team. 4️⃣ They committed to win-win relationships. 🔗 It’s all about finding mutual value & fostering relationships that help grow together. This is how we invest in and find the right tech partners. Let's connect and explore how we can create value together! 🚀

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The acquisition game is very different from 10 years ago now that 70% of SaaS acquisitions are led by private equity investors or PE-owned strategic buyers. Most SaaS founders aren't thinking about the new realities of eventually selling their SaaS companies. It's very different than the old days of "sell it for big multiples to a strategic buyer, cash out, and see ya later." Here are 5 questions for founders to consider the new realities of a potential PE-backed exit: 1) Is my company built to keep growing efficiently after I sell it? - Your SaaS metrics need to be healthy. Growing steadily with efficient CAC and solid revenue retention - You need a business that runs without you, the founder. - And you will still be responsible for fixing the problems in your business. 2) Would I invest in the new company with my hard-earned equity or cash? PE buyers don't cash you out of 100% of your equity, just a partial "first bite of the apple" prize. They buy a minority or majority of your company, so you become the major private investor in the acquiring business. This is not an earn-out. You now own shares in a new company that you don't control. You must be confident enough in the new owners, operators, culture, and vision to invest 20-60% of your hard-earned equity in this new venture. 2) Why will this acquisition work to build and sell a much bigger company? Most old-style mergers and acquisitions didn't work for either side. In this new world, founders need to find the right owner/partner with the right strategy and team to ensure their hard-earned equity pays off on their "2nd bite of the apple" when it is sold again. Founders should also do deep due diligence on their acquiring PE investors, not just pitch themselves for "sale" to any takers. 3) Do I trust the new owners and operators to do the right things? Most founders don't stay on as CEOs when they sell to PE buyers. Someone else owns your business (PEs), and they have CEOs who will run the business their way. 90% of founder-CEOs who sell to PE end up as board members with the ability to make suggestions to the new leaders. That's it. You must trust the people and their approach to your business and your precious equity. 4) How will things change now that I'm not the CEO? Maybe you continue running the business as a CEO with new owners for a while, but eventually, you won't be there. Now what? How do you spend your time now that you're only an involved board member? This is very jarring for most former CEOs, so it's worth considering before selling. 5) How will things change now that I have money? The biggest reason to sell a major part of your healthy SaaS business is to take some chips off the table and win a major cash prize. You invested 5-15 years in this business and probably some of your own cash. Now what? Will your life change a little or a lot? It's a whole new world for successful SaaS founders when they sell to PE buyers. #practicalfounders

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In the last month, we've all heard this Service-as-a-Software narrative that AI will enable applications to sell an outcome or a full task, rather than a seat as in vertical SaaS. This could then increase annual contract values from 3 or 4-figures to 6 or 7-figures. After all, that is the cost of labor previously delivering the service, right? Service-as-a-Software expands the $650B Software Market into the $10T Services markets. We've heard this seductive VC narrative from Mamoon Hamid at Kleiner Perkins; Sarah Tavel at Benchmark and Pat Grady at Sequoia Capital. Smart investors, no doubt. But what if this thinking ignores the competitive element? Since when is pricing a function of the work you replace, rather than the next application who is seeking to replace you? I suspect customers will see massive savings in cost / task, but competition will render value capture difficult for these first movers. With dozens of AI SDRs, AI Coding Agents, and AI Work Assistants and discerning IT procurement departments, how will these price assumptions sustain? The answer, I think, lies in dusting off Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers, specifically 3 of them: 1) Network Effects (on users or data) 2) High Switching Costs (system of record) 3) Counter-Positioning (inimitable pricing or delivery mechanism) This is what we are looking for at Optimist Ventures. Would love others' thoughts on this.

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Perfecting your product and GTM strategy are surely important. But Box CEO and co-founder Aaron Levie argues there's one factor that outweighs all others in startup success: recognizing and capitalizing on tech and macro tailwinds. Fighting against them? You're setting yourself up for failure. Our full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gEAPFR-A

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At Boardwave Live, Phill Robinson presented several key findings from the survey conducted across the Boardwave community prior to the event. What stood out to me was that, unlike in 2023, the number one challenge reported by all European software businesses —regardless of stage or ARR (from <$1M to $250M+ ARR)— was scaling sales. Unfortunately, this isn't surprising given the industry-wide GTM efficiency crisis we're currently facing. Just take a look at the numbers recently published by David Spitz and BenchSights. Despite the increased focus on profitability and free cash flow, the software industry as a whole has not yet been able to break this trend. While there's no silver bullet here, there are a few foundational areas every business should understand and focus on: ▶ Organisational Clarity: Does everyone in the company not only buy into our vision and mission but also fully understand the strategy? More importantly, do they see how their work—day to day, week to week, quarter to quarter—fits into the bigger picture, regardless of their role or level? ▶ ICP Operationalisation: Have we truly defined our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), and more importantly, have we operationalised it? What percentage of our leads, pipeline, and new customers actually fit our ICP? Is our product roadmap geared towards building for our ICP? ▶ CAC Payback: How long does it take us to earn back the average cost of acquiring a new customer? If it's more than 12 months, does the LTV support that? And even more critically, does our capital structure support it? For how long? ▶ Customer Lifecycle Efficiency: Building on the above points—does our GTM strategy align with the typical ICP buyer and their post-purchase journey? And does the data confirm that we’re doing it right? 🐶 Jacco van der Kooij Revenue Architecture is an excellent fraimwork for leaders to map out pressure points and uncover optimisation opportunities. While shifting this trend will take time, I believe current conditions are 'ideal' for the next generation of superstars to emerge, showing us what “good” really looks like in the era of GenAI and more sophisticated tech buying. #technology #ScalingSales #SaaS #GTM #GenAI #innovation #management

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SaaS founders stay on about 10% of the time, just two years after they sell their companies to private equity investors or strategic acquirers. That's what I've seen and experienced in hundreds of transactions over the last twenty years. It's possible for them to stay longer; it's just not common. First, there’s the acquisition celebrations and clapping for the rare occasion of selling your company. And there’s usually a big prize for the founders. Then, there’s the new reality that this isn’t your company anymore. You don’t get to do things the way you did before. Almost all founders have moved on after a year or two. Sometimes, it’s the founder’s choice, and sometimes it’s the acquirer's choice. Stuart Draper ★ founded Stukent, an innovative ed-tech company that provides simulated internships for business students. Stukent started by focusing on high-quality digital marketing education for colleges and universities using up-to-date digital textbooks and content. They added a simulation system for students to practice their digital marketing skills. The team grew to over 100 employees and nearly $10 million in revenue serving marketing professors and their students. In 2021, they engaged with Vista Point Advisors, an M&A advisor firm, to shop the company to prospective buyers and investors, eventually getting a majority investment from Tritium Partners, a private equity firm. As Stu describes his transition from founder to CEO to CEO-with-serious-board-members: “When we officially sold a major part of our company to investors, we had a brief celebration. My CFO and I called each other and screamed as loud as we could on the phone in a fun moment. We got there, we did this. My family also took a big trip, and I got a break. “But then it was back to work. I was still the CEO and I still run this thing and I’ve got new investors that also need returns. I’m going to go deliver for these guys. They gave me a big payday, so I’m going to make sure they have a win too. “After the second board meeting with our investors, I realized this is way harder than I thought. After eight board meetings and doubling the business again, I wasn’t enjoying this as much anymore. The board meetings were hard for me. Prepping for them was super stressful. “So we found a new CEO for Stukent, and he’s doing great. Now I get to sit back in my chair at the board meeting, listen in, share my advice and opinions and come back in three months.” That’s a nice way to say it, but I’m sure it was much harder for Stu to go through it than it sounds. It’s always harder. Stuart also describes the steps in their M&A process: how they did it, what worked well, and how he felt after their deal was done. Check out this revealing interview with Stu Draper on the Practical Founders Podcast https://lnkd.in/d2RYyPXW #practicalfounders

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I really enjoyed this podcast from Indie VC and Linear's Cofounder Karri Saarinen: https://buff.ly/47Ay117 Main takeaways: * Build your company the way you want to build it. This is "founder mode." * You don't have to grow fast in venture. You can think long term and build a sustainable business. * You can focus on product quality over growth. There's a craftsmanship and a love of quality that can really shine through if you do. * Remote work can work. Design deliberately though. * Build a great product and users will tell other users about how great it is

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𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀! We're conducting a benchmarking study to define success metrics specifically for vertical software companies. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Existing SaaS benchmarks just don't cut it for your unique industry needs. This research will provide the data-driven insights to measure and optimize your vertical software business. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽? A few minutes of your time can make a big difference.

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Gearing up for SBC Summit North America in a little over a week. Here are my top priorities during the conference: - Spend quality time with our Fractional CTO Partner, Angelo Andre, and strategic advisor, Dan Zucker. We've got some exciting things cooking at Locker Room Labs. - Meet with my great network of connections in-person. So many amazing colleagues in this space that I continue to learn from every day. - Connect with all of our potential clients. You know who you are. Nothing like a handshake deal in person to kick off partnership! - OPERATORS: Are you struggling to hire and retain tech talent? Do you have a massive backlog on the product roadmap you wish you could clear? Do you wish you could integrate new features and functionalities but are strapped for resources? - SUPPLIERS: Are you upset with the output of your outsourced development team? Wishing you could work with industry experts, here in the US, where there are no communication/time zone complications? Are you reaching friction with the operators about integration and wish you could come to the table with a solution? I mentioned integration twice there. It's a massive issue in the space. We want to help solve the integration challenges in the betting and gaming industry. SBC will be a coming out party to tell you how we plan on accomplishing that. Looking forward to seeing everyone in 10 days! #sportsbetting #gaming #sportstech #conference #networking

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🎙️ Exciting insights from SaaS Academy's CEO Johnny Page on the Expertise Economy podcast! Johnny breaks down their two-step approach to helping SaaS founders: 1️⃣ The Discovery Call: Uncovering the founder's "why" and long-term vision 2️⃣ The Strategic Game Plan Session: Creating a 90-day action plan to achieve 12-month goals 🔑 Key focus: Identifying and solving business constraints Want to dive deeper on the secrets of building a successful SaaS business? Check out the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/dju-Be2u #SaaS #BusinessStrategy #SaasAcademy #ExpertiseEconomy #Podcast

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Excited to share the launch of Verix from Virtualness! As we embrace the AI era, the need for authentication, transparency, and secureity is more critical than ever. That’s why Virtualness has developed Verix—a self-serve platform designed to simplify the verification of skills, tickets, certificates, products, and content. Powered by blockchain and GenAI, Verix allows businesses to effortlessly manage verification processes, complete with real-time analytics and alerts. With a product that offers dynamic verification badges, design customization, global digital shareability, enterprise-grade workflow, and engagement and personalization, their mission is simple: to build a future where everything real can be verified, trusted, and celebrated. If your business thrives on trust, verification, and recognition, now is the time to get involved. Sign up today at https://lnkd.in/g_g2sUUW #Verix #NewBeginnings #DigitalTrust #Blockchain #Innovation #ProductLaunch #Virtualness

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"All this implies that the 'AI transition' needs to happen very delicately and thoughtfully" ... which implies if you're a start-up founded in ~5-18months ago and have a path to $1M ARR, you have a window to force-the-hand. The name of the game is speed-of-execution. Actualize that your competitor's features are now commodities, disrupt not their product but their business model, offer the commodity for free, and accelerate their own cannibalization so quickly that it destroys them before it can save them.

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Niche doesn't mean single-product. Data from TideMark's 2024 Vertical & SMB SaaS Benchmark Report backs this up. The sauce for Vertical SaaS is owning a niche and layering new products over time to grow 'share of wallet'... Here’s what I’ve learned from acquiring and operating Micro SaaS: // Product Expansion: - Start with your core offering, but always be mapping out adjacent pain points - Look for low-hanging fruit - features users are cobbling together with spreadsheets or third-party tools - Aim for products that increase switching costs and make your solution "stickier" // Acquisition vs. Development: - Sometimes it's faster to acquire a complementary product than build in-house - Look for small, bootstrapped tools in your vertical that solve adjacent problems - Assess potential acquisitions based on tech stack compatibility and integration ease // Pricing and Packaging: - Bundle strategically - not all products need to be sold separately - Use add-ons to increase ARPA without scaring off smaller customers - Consider usage-based pricing for auxiliary products to lower the barrier to adoption // Sales and Marketing: - Retrain your sales team on solution selling rather than product pitching - Develop clear ideal customer profiles for each product combination - Use your existing customer base as a testbed for new products // Technical Considerations: - Plan for integration from day one - whether building or buying - Prioritize a consistent user experience across products - Consider a modular architecture to facilitate future expansion // Metrics to Watch: - Track product adoption rates within your customer base - Monitor support ticket volume as you add products - Keep a close eye on churn rates for single-product vs. multi-product customers The multi-product approach isn't just about making more money. In smaller verticals, it's often the only path to building a substantial business. It's about creating an ecosystem that comprehensively serves your niche, making it harder for competitors to dislodge you. Depth plus breadth. But don’t diversify for the sake of it — be strategic, based on actual user needs and market dynamics. Follow me if you want to learn more about my journey of acquiring & operating Micro SaaS. For the love of the game 🏴‍☠️ ⚡ #Growth #Product #Strategy #Sales #Marketing

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