Thoughts on software, AI, and company building, with occasional sneak peeks at P9’s kitchen table.

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues that for low-touch SaaS, the website functions as the primary marketer and must maximize trial signups. The core job: attract traffic and convert with a simple, compelling value proposition and clear calls to action, aligned with AIDA. Effective sites share patterns: high-quality product imagery, screenshot tours or videos, concise homepage benefits with deeper subpages, easy-to-find pricing, social proof (testimonials, press, badges), prominent “Sign up/Take the tour” buttons, and minimal-field signup forms. Bonus practices include analyzing proven SaaS sites while experimenting, simplifying over time, offering secondary conversions (newsletter, callback, whitepaper, chat, webinar) to capture emails, and personalizing the homepage (e.g., geo-targeted local proof) to lift conversion. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS website best practices, SaaS marketing site, low-touch sales, trial conversion optimization, call to action (CTA), AIDA model, SaaS onboarding, pricing page design, social proof, screenshot tours, product marketing website, signup flow friction, conversion rate optimization (CRO), homepage personalization, geo-targeting, lead capture tactics, newsletter signup CTA, SaaS landing page design, SaaS content strategy, customer testimonials

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz extends Marc Andreessen’s “software is eating the world” by emphasizing dematerialization: smartphones, primarily via software, absorb single‑purpose devices and services. Citing Bill Joy’s framing and Steve Jobs’s 2007 “three devices in one” iPhone launch, he notes that phones now integrate dozens of functions. Personal replacements include wristwatch, translator, GPS running watch, alarm clock, address book, calendar, MP3 player, camera, camcorder, and calculator; others add radios, TVs, stand‑alone GPS, flashlights, game consoles, mirrors, and landlines. He anticipates the wallet’s demise next—credit cards, loyalty cards, and keys moving into the phone. Core insight: the smartphone is a primary vector of software‑driven disruption of physical goods. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): dematerialization, device convergence, smartphone replaces devices, software is eating the world, iPhone three devices in one, mobile substitution, app ecosystem disruption, mobile wallet, contactless payments, NFC payments, digital keys, loyalty cards on phone, smartphone as camera replacement, smartphone as GPS navigator, Steve Jobs 2007 keynote, Marc Andreessen essay, Abundance dematerialization, walletless future, multiservice smartphone

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues that SaaS startups targeting the “Fortune 5,000,000” with a low-touch, self-service model must design for frictionless evaluation and activation. Treat the entire journey—first visit, trial signup, onboarding, early use—like an e-commerce checkout, where small frictions reduce conversion. Hide initial complexity and use progressive disclosure to create a smooth learning curve and frequent “aha” moments, borrowing patterns from game design. In contrast to legacy enterprise software that needed field sales, setup, and training, this approach aligns with the consumerization of enterprise software: build for non-IT business users so they can start a trial and realize value with minimal intervention. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS product design, low-touch sales, self-serve SaaS, user onboarding, progressive disclosure, frictionless UX, product-led growth (PLG), trial-to-paid conversion, aha moments, consumerization of enterprise software, SMB SaaS (Fortune 5,000,000), bottom-up adoption, reduce signup friction, game-inspired onboarding, product discovery, activation and retention

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz describes how Point Nine Capital operates primarily with cloud applications, prioritizing collaboration and adaptability over full feature parity. Google Drive and Basecamp handle most documents despite product gaps because real-time collaboration is decisive. The core system is Zendesk, repurposed from customer support to manage deal flow: inbound emails auto-create tickets, stages track evaluation, follow-up timers resurface prospects, and email/mobile apps enable updates and replies. After an investment decision, Basecamp manages portfolio collaboration. Tags and custom fields capture deal source and location for later analysis. He highlights the broader shift to cloud and consumerized enterprise software, and notes a potential opportunity for better online word processing/spreadsheets. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): cloud-based venture capital operations, VC deal flow management, Zendesk for deal tracking, ticketing system as CRM, venture capital pipeline management, email-to-ticket automation, Google Drive collaboration for VCs, Basecamp portfolio management, office-free setup, consumerization of enterprise software, eating your own dog food, SaaS tools stack for VCs, follow-up reminders automation, tags and custom fields tracking, mobile workflow for investors, repurposing helpdesk software, CRM alternative for venture firms, cloud workflow for investment teams

Summary (80–120 words): The author argues that early SaaS success hinges on a founder team covering three cores: domain expertise, UX/product leadership, and strong engineering—especially for SMB-focused, self-serve products (“Fortune 5,000,000”). Domain knowledge can be acquired relatively quickly; product and engineering must be in-house and not outsourced. Recommended hiring sequence: additional developers; customer support (initially done by founders, later also aiding inside sales and trial conversion); inside sales; and then marketing, timing-dependent. Early hires can be junior “raw talent,” with experienced leaders like a VP Sales added later. Discussion highlights that design direction must be internal and that indirect channels are not a shortcut to traction. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS founding team, SaaS hiring plan, early-stage SaaS roles, domain expertise, product management (CPO), UX/UI design, CTO engineering leadership, in-house development, avoid outsourcing engineering, customer support to inside sales, trial conversion, inbound leads, low-touch sales, self-serve SaaS, product-led growth (PLG), SMB SaaS (Fortune 5,000,000), founder-market fit, VP Sales hiring, team composition, go-to-market (GTM) strategy

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz argues early-stage SaaS founders must deliberately choose the right market before committing years and capital. An attractive SaaS market enables a painkiller solution for many companies underserved by incumbents. Bonus attributes: room to expand TAM by broadening features, moving upstream, or adjacent markets; potential for network effects, platform position, or a defensible data asset; and buyers still stuck on desktop tools or generic apps. Example: start with SMB invoicing, then expand to accounting and payroll; leverage e-invoicing for network effects, build a platform for adjacent apps, and aggregate benchmarking data to increase defensibility and pricing power. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS market selection, choosing a market for SaaS, SaaS idea validation, product-market fit for B2B software, painkiller vs vitamin products, underserved incumbents, total addressable market (TAM), TAM expansion, network effects in SaaS, platform strategy, data moat, legacy desktop software migration, online accounting software, SMB invoicing, e-invoicing network, moving upstream to mid-market, adjacent markets expansion, lean startup MVP

Summary (80–120 words): The post adds two observations to a prior argument for grandfathering. First, “grandfathering” originates from late-19th-century “grandfather clauses” that exempted certain voters from literacy/property tests and effectively disenfranchised African Americans, a negative historical origin for today’s benign pricing term. Second, a pricing model shows that, assuming constant churn, the relative revenue forgone by grandfathering existing subscribers after a price increase is largely insensitive to churn. Example: the year‑3 forgone share shifts only slightly—about 7.35% at 1% monthly churn, 7.22% at 3%, and 7.08% at 5%—because churn similarly affects new-customer revenues, offsetting changes in existing cohorts. Absolute forgone dollars still grow with lower churn. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): grandfathering pricing, legacy pricing, price lock, price protection, raising prices for existing customers, subscription price increase, SaaS pricing strategy, churn rate impact, churn insensitivity, cohort revenue modeling, customer lifetime value (LTV), MRR uplift, ARPU increase, price segmentation, customer goodwill vs revenue, grandfather clause origin, voter suppression laws history, etymology of grandfathering

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues SaaS startups should grandfather existing customers when raising prices. While charging legacy customers more gives an immediate bump, fast growth quickly dilutes the impact. With assumptions of 2.5% monthly churn, 5% monthly customer growth, and a 50% price increase, non-grandfathered legacy customers account for only ~7% of total revenue by year 3; if 5% cancel due to the hike, the gain drops below 2.5% by year 3 and turns negative by year 4. Beyond the math, price hikes reduce goodwill and referrals. The author recommends clear policies (a “Customer Bill of Rights”) and focusing price changes on new plans or editions rather than penalizing loyal users. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): grandfathering SaaS, grandfathered pricing, legacy pricing, price lock-in, SaaS price increase, subscription price hike strategy, tiered pricing, edition pricing, pricing axes, plan migration vs grandfathering, price increase churn, churn modeling, cohort revenue analysis, MRR impact of price changes, switching costs SaaS, price elasticity in subscriptions, customer goodwill and referrals, Customer Bill of Rights (pricing)

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues that SaaS pricing should align with customer value and willingness to pay by selecting one or more “value metrics” (axes) that scale with usage or benefit. Beyond per-user pricing (e.g., Salesforce), effective axes include clients managed (FreshBooks), emails sent (Mailchimp), recipients (Constant Contact), storage (Dropbox), or events (KISSmetrics). Multi-axis pricing—combining usage, features, and support—enables affordability for small customers while capturing more from larger ones and can drive negative churn via expansion revenue. Practical guidance: start cheaper to acquire users, iterate quickly based on feedback, raise prices alongside new value with generous grandfathering, offer transparent self-service free trials, expose full features during trial, provide monthly cancel-anytime plans, and an annual prepay discount. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS pricing strategy, value-based pricing, value metric, pricing axes, per-user pricing, per-seat pricing, usage-based pricing, consumption pricing, metered billing, tiered pricing, feature-based pricing, multi-axis pricing, negative churn, expansion revenue, net revenue retention, grandfathering pricing, free trial self-service, pricing page design, annual prepay discount, pay-as-you-go subscription

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues that cohort analysis is essential to understand product usage and retention and avoid misleading aggregate trends. Using an example with signups and active-user charts, Janz shows that apparent growth can mask a 50% monthly drop-off, leaving only 4% active after six months. He explains right-aligned (calendar-month) vs left-aligned (lifetime-month) cohort tables and how to derive totals. He warns that counting users who signed up in a period as “active” in that same period inflates activity; exclude the period’s new signups from active counts. He urges collecting data early and recommends cohorting for SaaS churn and ecommerce repeat purchases. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): cohort analysis, user cohorts, signup cohort, retention analysis, churn analysis, cohort retention curve, right-aligned cohorts, left-aligned cohorts, lifetime month, calendar-month cohorts, drop-off rate, active users definition, SaaS metrics, cohort-based analytics, churn cohorts, repeat purchase cohorts, customer cohorts (B2B SaaS), engagement cohorts, cohort spreadsheet template, Google Sheets cohort analysis

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz argues that the defining trait of successful founders is “animal”-level obsession and drive, adopting Paul Graham’s “animal test” as a Point Nine Capital heuristic. “Animals” span roles—sales, engineering, design, PR—marked by compulsive perfectionism and refusal to quit. He cites examples from his portfolio: Stefan Smalla scaling Westwing to 15 countries within a year, and Guk Kim (Cibando) and Ryan Fyfe (ShiftPlanning) launching solo, doing everything early, and now scaling effectively. The practical takeaway: when assessing startups or hires, prioritize relentless execution, ownership, and perfectionism as predictors of outsized outcomes. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): Paul Graham animal test, startup founder obsession, relentless execution founders, perfectionism in startups, Point Nine Capital investment criteria, founder grit and tenacity, sales animal startup, coding animal mindset, design perfectionism startup, PR hustle cold-calling journalists, Westwing Stefan Smalla expansion, Cibando Guk Kim founder, ShiftPlanning Ryan Fyfe founder, evaluating founders in venture capital, hiring for intensity in startups, How to Start a Startup Paul Graham

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz outlines a simple, assumption-driven spreadsheet for early-stage, low-touch SaaS financial planning. The model’s core drivers are signup volume split into trackable (paid) and non-trackable (organic) sources, a 30-day trial leading to a one-month conversion lag, one conversion rate, ARPU, and churn. Revenue is estimated as mid-month customers times ARPU; add detail for tiered or per-seat pricing. Costs are input assumptions. For early stages, P&L is simplified with EBIT ≈ operating cash flow (monthly billing, no taxes, interest, or capex). He stresses sanity checks to avoid implausible margins and to size support (e.g., customers per agent). High-touch, sales-led models should incorporate sales headcount-driven growth; templates must reflect the specific business. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS financial model, SaaS financial planning, startup financial plan template, low-touch SaaS (self-serve), trial-to-paid conversion rate, customer acquisition cost (CAC), organic vs paid acquisition, ARPU (average revenue per account), churn rate, MRR (monthly recurring revenue), ARR (annual recurring revenue), unit economics, CAC payback period, per-seat pricing, tiered pricing, P&L and operating cash flow, customers per support agent, sales headcount modeling (high-touch)

Summary (80–120 words): The post outlines the evolution from Team Europe Ventures (TEV) to Point Nine Capital. TEV, founded in 2008 by Lukasz Gadowski and Kolja Hebenstreit with Pawel Chudzinski and Steffen Hoellinger, both built companies (e.g., Delivery Hero, madvertise, SponsorPay) and invested in others. In 2009 TEV raised a ~€6M fund managed by Pawel, investing in 24 companies; 16 were co-investments with Christoph Janz. In 2011, Christoph and Pawel spun out an independent firm, Point Nine Capital, renaming the existing TEV fund to Point Nine Capital Fund I and launching Point Nine Capital II, managed by them. Lukasz and Kolja continued company building and became Venture Partners. Focus areas: SaaS, marketplaces, lead generation, eCommerce, mobile. One disclosed investment: Jobber. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): Point Nine Capital history, Team Europe Ventures, TEV fund, Point Nine Capital Fund I, Point Nine Capital II, spin-out from company builder, seed-stage VC, micro VC, early-stage investor, European venture capital, German startup ecosystem, SaaS-focused investor, marketplace investing, lead generation startups, eCommerce investors, mobile startup investment, Lukasz Gadowski, Kolja Hebenstreit, Pawel Chudzinski, Christoph Janz, Delivery Hero, SponsorPay, Jobber investment, venture partners, co-investment strategy

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz argues that early-stage startup financial plans often fall into Parkinson’s Law of Triviality: over-detailing small cost items while hand-waving revenue. He recommends simple, driver-based models—ideally a single Excel tab—built from the conversion funnel, ARPU, churn, and other key metrics. Assumptions should be explicit and easy to change; avoid hard-coded numbers except for historical data. Group minor expenses to keep focus on material drivers. Include sanity-check lines since reviewers will run them anyway. Complexity can grow later, but in the beginning investors want transparent, revisable projections anchored in operational drivers, not generic templates. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): Parkinson's Law of Triviality, bikeshedding, startup financial plan, SaaS financial model, driver-based forecasting, bottom-up revenue model, conversion funnel modeling, ARPU forecast, churn modeling, assumption-driven model, sanity checks, unit economics (LTV/CAC), expense aggregation, lean financial planning, early-stage budgeting, VC financial projections, Excel one-tab model, revenue drivers, revenue projection methods

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz argues that pre-revenue SaaS companies work best with three founders, with two as a close alternative; one, four, or five are less optimal. A trio delivers more output at lower cash cost than a duo, while avoiding the communication overhead and equity dilution of larger teams. He asserts the founding team must cover three core capabilities: engineering/technology (build the first version and evolve into CTO), product/UX (own UI and later product management), and domain/market expertise (deep understanding of customers, problems, and market). Sales, marketing, and general management can be hired later. His view is based on experience and intuition, not a systematic study. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS founder team composition, ideal SaaS team size, three cofounders vs two, technical cofounder, product/UX cofounder, domain/market expertise, pre-revenue SaaS startup, bootstrapped SaaS team, founding team roles and skills, CTO cofounder, designer cofounder, product management leadership, equity split and dilution, communication overhead in founder teams, hire sales and marketing later, founder-market fit

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz argues early-stage founders and investors should target SMBs (“the Fortune 5,000,000”) rather than consumers. He gives three reasons: (1) many consumer internet models, especially ad-supported, require massive scale due to low ARPU and exhibit winner-takes-all dynamics, raising capital needs and risk; (2) incumbents are locked into high-price, on-premise enterprise sales, leaving a gap for easy-to-use, on-demand, pay-as-you-go SaaS tailored to SMBs (e.g., FreeAgent, inFakt, samedi, Vend); (3) SMBs are moving online for discovery and booking, creating demand for services that get them found and transacting (e.g., Lieferheld, DigitaleSeiten, StyleSeat). He notes an “unsexyness dividend”: less glamorous SMB niches often face less competition and better risk-adjusted outcomes. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SMB SaaS, small business software, Fortune 5,000,000, long-tail SMB market, B2B vs B2C startups, low ARPU consumer models, winner-takes-all dynamics, pay-as-you-go SaaS, cloud vs on‑premise software, self-serve SaaS distribution, product-led growth, online presence for SMBs, local marketplaces and booking platforms, vertical SaaS for professionals, web-based POS systems, online accounting for freelancers, enterprise sales model vs SMB sales, unsexy markets (“unsexyness dividend”)

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues that the criterion for a good board meeting is effectiveness, not entertainment. Ineffectiveness often stems from information asymmetry: founders know far more than investors, so meetings devolve into updates better handled via calls or email. The remedy is a detailed Board Pack sent at least 48 hours in advance, with investors reading and clarifying questions beforehand, so the in-person time focuses on 3–4 strategic or tactical questions. Allocate ~80% of the meeting to those topics, aim for clear decisions and next steps, and curb digressions. If there are no critical questions, replace the meeting with an update call. Maintain investor context with weekly KPI emails and dashboards; use shared tools for ongoing discussion. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): effective board meetings, board pack, board pre-read, board materials, board deck, information asymmetry founders investors, startup board governance, board meeting agenda prioritization, decision-focused meetings, update vs strategy meeting, virtual board meetings, investor weekly KPI updates, SaaS KPI dashboard, Geckoboard dashboard, Basecamp board portal, founder–investor communication, timeboxing and facilitation, venture capital board best practices

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz announces partnering with Team Europe to form Point Nine Capital, an early-stage venture fund positioned as “The Angel VC.” The model combines venture capital resources with angel-like behavior: no large investment committees, faster decisions, and simple, founder-friendly terms (supporting the Seedsummit term sheet initiative). Janz frames the move from entrepreneur and angel investor to VC as a continuation of founder-focused investing, offering his network and the experience of partners like Pawel Chudzinski. The post situates Point Nine as following in the footsteps of Team Europe Ventures and references prior coverage, outlining an early-stage approach aiming to provide speed and alignment at the earliest stages. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): Angel VC, angel-VC hybrid, founder-friendly venture capital, simple term sheet, Seedsummit term sheet, seed-stage VC, early-stage investing, Point Nine Capital, Team Europe Ventures, Christoph Janz, Pawel Chudzinski, fast investment decisions, no investment committee, seed fund, startup funding, angel investor to VC transition

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz explains why early-stage investors must decline most pitches and why founders often receive vague “too early” responses. He argues that high selectivity and large deal flow require triage, so only ~10% get deeper evaluation; the best VCs review hundreds per investment. Specific “no”s can be helpful; generic ones reflect limited excitement, expertise, or competing opportunities. Founders should recognize volume and timing effects beyond their control. Investors should make go/no-go criteria transparent and quantifiable; he cites Bessemer’s SaaS metric (e.g., CAC ratio above 1 merits aggressive spend and funding) as a model. He promises to publish his own criteria. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): venture capital rejection, investor pass reasons, VC deal flow, angel investing decision criteria, investment screening, startup pitch evaluation, “too early” feedback, founder traction requirements, metrics-driven investing, SaaS fundraising metrics, customer acquisition cost ratio (CAC), CAC payback and LTV/CAC, investor selectivity, venture pipeline triage, Bessemer 6Cs (Cloud Finance), transparent investment criteria, early-stage funding process, venture thesis and filters

Summary (80–120 words): The post questions the mantra that launching a web startup is now “10x cheaper.” Using DealPilot.com (1997) as evidence, the author shows a competitive service could be launched for about $100 in hosting, reach hosting break-even by month two, and add a ~$3,000 server later, with outside funding only nine months after launch. He distinguishes “state-of-the-art by contemporaneous standards” from shifting technology baselines (e.g., a 2011-competitive product might require an iPhone app that didn’t exist in 1998). He proposes that late-1990s mega-rounds reflected abundant capital and an arms race, not inherently higher build costs, and urges reconsidering the 10x narrative. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): startup costs, web startup cost, cost to launch an internet startup, bootstrapping, lean startup, open-source software, cheap hardware, cloud hosting, viral user acquisition, SEO for startups, Facebook/Twitter virality, venture capital funding, dot-com bubble IPOs, funding arms race, minimum viable product (MVP), 1990s vs 2010s startup economics, Christoph Janz, DealPilot