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

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz shares Point Nine Capital’s internal updates aimed at founder support and community building. Rodrigo moves to a Venture Partner role to focus on portfolio companies and new projects in Spain. Jenny departs to become Typeform’s Director of People Operations but remains active in the P9 community. Zack Urlocker joins as a portfolio advisor, bringing operating experience (Zendesk COO, 10x revenue growth) and a track record with companies like Duo Security, Zendesk, MySQL, and Active Software. P9 formalizes event operations by hiring Oana to run the #P9EUTour (Kiev Apr 24, Berlin May 9). Promotions: Louis to Principal; Paula to Legal and Operations Manager. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): Point Nine Capital updates, P9 team changes, venture partner role, portfolio advisor, Zack Urlocker, Zendesk COO, Typeform People Operations, SaaS founder meetup, #P9EUTour, Kiev tech event, Berlin tech event, founder community events, B2B SaaS VC, portfolio support, advisor network, principal promotion, legal and operations manager, #p9family, Duo Security, MySQL

Summary (80–120 words): Christoph Janz contrasts angel investing with managing a VC fund. He gives eight reasons to stay an angel: greater flexibility in stage/sector/geography; remote, self-paced work; easier access to hot rounds with small checks; fewer conflicts with other investors when not leading; no adverse signaling in bridge/follow-ons; lower admin, reporting, regulatory, and fundraising burden; no 10–12 year fund commitment; and viable returns without unicorns. He then outlines four fund advantages: financing 15–18 months of runway; more value via team, LPs, and a founder community; better decision-making through collaboration; and the satisfaction of building a firm. He underscores fund economics (e.g., $50M seed funds needing $300–500M outcomes) and recommends optimizing for personal fit over incentives. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): angel investing vs venture capital, raising a VC fund, micro VC, seed fund economics, signaling risk, follow-on financing, LP fundraising, fund administration overhead, fund lifecycle 10 years, seed round lead investor, small check “angel ticket”, runway extension 15–18 months, value-add platform VC, founder community flywheel, Point Nine Capital, Christoph Janz, AngelList syndicates, unicorn-driven returns, seed stage portfolio construction, competitive deal access

Summary (80–120 words): The post updates a framework mapping ARPA to customer count needed to reach $100M ARR and the resulting go-to-market choices. Changes: retire $10 ARPA “flies” to focus on B2B; add a $1M ARPA “whale” segment; and switch axes to place ARPA on the x-axis. It argues scaling profitably is easier at higher ARPA: near-zero or negative churn is required, and outbound sales only works with large ACVs, prompting many firms to move upmarket (rabbits → deer/elephants). Evidence: of 61 public SaaS, only 15 had ACV. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): $100M ARR SaaS, ARPA vs ACV, average revenue per account, average contract value, SaaS customer segmentation, moving upmarket, enterprise SaaS sales, SMB vs mid-market vs enterprise, scalable customer acquisition, CAC/LTV ratio, net revenue retention, negative churn, land and expand, outbound sales economics, product-led growth, self-serve SaaS, whale customers, elephant deals, pricing strategy for SaaS, SaaS go-to-market strategy

Summary (80–120 words): Robin Dechant, an early-stage VC, distills his 2019 Hannover Messe talk on how investors assess the industrial market and what shifted since 2018. He synthesizes conversations with founders and corporate leaders, noting that progress depends on tighter collaboration across startups, corporates, and investors. He urges corporates to assume more risk and make stronger commitments to working with startups, rather than limited pilots, to accelerate adoption in manufacturing and Industry 4.0. The post points readers to his slides for specifics and frames the discussion as actionable lessons from the field on aligning incentives and speeding industrial innovation. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): Industry 4.0, industrial market, manufacturing startups, venture capital in manufacturing, early-stage VC perspective, industrial innovation, corporate–startup collaboration, Hannover Messe 2019, B2B industrial SaaS, manufacturing digital transformation, industrial technology investment, startup pilots and procurement, corporate venture partnerships, proof of concept (PoC) in industry, startup–corporate adoption, Point Nine Capital, Robin Dechant, industrial IoT (IIoT)

Summary (80–120 words): The post distinguishes “autocompletion” from full automation: software that accelerates and improves human tasks by predicting next steps from context and user behavior. Enabled by machine learning, autocomplete has evolved from simple dictionary matching to context- and habit-aware suggestions (e.g., search queries and Gmail Smart Compose). The idea extends beyond text: driver assistance features; music co-creation (Magenta); generative design (Autodesk); developer code completion (Kite); sketch-to-image tools (Nvidia); presentation layout tools (DeckRobot); and legal research (ROSS). The author argues these products will proliferate, augmenting speed, quality, and creativity rather than replacing people, while acknowledging standardization risks. AlphaGo exemplifies AI expanding human creativity. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): autocompletion software, AI autocompletion, assistive AI, augmented intelligence, human-in-the-loop AI, AI copilots, predictive text suggestions, context-aware suggestions, machine learning personalization, code autocomplete (Kite), Gmail Smart Compose, generative design (Autodesk), driver assistance systems, sketch-to-image AI, legal research AI (ROSS Intelligence), creative AI tools, automation vs augmentation, semi-autonomous software, decision support in SaaS, contextual recommendation engines

Summary (80–120 words): The post challenges the “tool-first” strategy for SaaS-enabled marketplaces, arguing it’s increasingly difficult due to the need for deep workflow understanding, significant product build, standalone competitiveness, and rising CAC—despite early successes like OpenTable, Zenefits, and StyleSeat. It proposes a “network first, tool later” sequence: launch the marketplace, achieve liquidity, then add SaaS that leverages proprietary transaction and user data to optimize workflows, deliver insights, reduce churn, increase loyalty and LTV, and create predictable subscription revenue—often becoming the primary monetization. Examples include Docplanner (booking software for doctors), Xeneta (paid benchmarking from contributed pricing data), Hired and Upwork (matching/benchmarking tools), and Metalshub (trade analytics). Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS-enabled marketplace, software-enabled marketplace, tool-first go-to-market, network-first strategy, two-sided marketplace, chicken-and-egg problem, marketplace liquidity, GTM strategy, data network effects, workflow software, upsell motion, churn reduction, customer lifetime value, subscription revenue, benchmarking tools, pricing data platform, marketplace monetization, customer acquisition cost, Docplanner, Xeneta

Summary (80–120 words): The post outlines when SaaS startups should add finance leadership and what to expect at each stage. Pre‑revenue, founders can handle basics with outsourced accounting/payroll. Around $0.5–1.5M ARR, hire a finance generalist to own accounting, budgeting/FP&A, metrics, and process setup. At $3–5M ARR, bring in an experienced finance leader to manage working capital, credit/payments, multi‑currency, expense control, subsidiaries, audits, ESOP, and to partner on pricing and strategy; a fractional CFO can bridge but seldom provides full business partnership. By ~$5–10M ARR a great CFO may pay for themselves; at $20–25M+ you likely need a CFO with fundraising, M&A, debt/equity, and IPO readiness. Optimize for the next 2–3 years. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): when to hire a CFO, startup CFO, SaaS CFO, VP Finance vs CFO, fractional CFO, finance business partner, FP&A, financial modeling and budgeting, working capital management, cash management, pricing strategy, fundraising data room, M&A readiness, multi-entity accounting, international expansion finance, ESOP valuation, FX risk management, ERP implementation, outsourced accounting, controller vs CFO

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues that developer APIs have shifted from raw, text-based documentation to modular, visual interfaces that accelerate building and broaden access. Functionally, tools now offer higher-level, customizable blocks above endpoints, avoiding “reinventing the wheel” while retaining extensibility. Examples include Voiceflow’s preprogrammed blocks for voice assistants and Mason’s customizable front-end components that can connect to services like Stripe or Facebook. Visually, WYSIWYG, drag-and-drop builders let users assemble and preview results in the browser. This approach speeds development and expands the user base to non-developers without sacrificing power for experts. The core challenge is choosing the right abstractions and block modularization. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): modular APIs, component-based developer tools, API UI/UX, developer experience (DX), low-code API integration, no-code development, WYSIWYG interfaces for APIs, drag-and-drop API builder, block-based programming, composable architecture, API abstraction layers, front-end as a service (FaaS), prebuilt components for developers, visual programming for services, Voiceflow Alexa skill builder, Mason UI components, citizen developers

Summary (80–120 words): Louis Coppey proposes a monitoring system for seed‑stage SaaS across marketing, sales, and customer success, plus three profitability ratios founders should track. He urges defining a “Right Now TAM,” aligning MQL→SQL handoffs, enforcing strict CRM stages, and instrumenting the full funnel to monitor conversion rates, sales cycle, demo volume, average deal size, and quota attainment per rep. On retention and expansion, he recommends cohort analysis of activation, usage, churn, and expansion revenue to inform hiring and payback modeling, anchored on unit economics such as LTV, CAC, and CAC payback period; he also points to related frameworks from SaaS operators for pipeline visualization and forecasting. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): seed-stage SaaS metrics, SaaS KPI dashboard, Right Now TAM, ideal customer profile (ICP), MQL to SQL handoff, sales funnel conversion rates, sales cycle length, quota attainment, demo volume per rep, average deal size, ACV, ARPA, LTV to CAC ratio, CAC payback period, churn rate, net revenue retention (NRR), cohort analysis, expansion revenue, pipeline coverage, sales efficiency (magic number), CRM pipeline stages, activation metrics, product usage analytics, unit economics, gross margin, ARR growth, MRR forecasting

Summary (80–120 words): The post explains how SaaS app stores can be used as a core go-to-market lever. Founders can: 1) validate demand by first launching native plugins/extensions as constrained MVPs that bypass building full infrastructure; Clearbit’s Gmail extension is the example before expanding to standalone products. 2) Reach defined customer segments by selecting platforms whose users match the ICP (e.g., Salesforce, Intercom, Zapier, Marketo). 3) Acquire users via app directories, rankings/reviews, and platform co-marketing (PR, social, newsletters, content like use cases; Okta’s promotion programs noted). 4) Experiment with pricing models and tiers inside marketplace channels without altering the main product’s pricing. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS app stores, SaaS marketplaces, platform go-to-market (GTM), marketplace-led growth, ecosystem-led growth, Salesforce AppExchange strategy, Intercom app store integrations, Zapier integration directory, Marketo LaunchPoint apps, Okta integration promotion, plugin MVP, native extension MVP, product-market fit validation, ICP targeting via platforms, app directory rankings and reviews, co-marketing with platforms, SaaS channel distribution, pricing experiments in app marketplaces

Summary (80–120 words): The post explains why industrial startups struggle to reach product-market fit quickly—complex factory integrations, long enterprise sales cycles, and limited problem awareness—and outlines two pre-PMF funding paths. Strategy A: raise a large round early (rare, suited to repeat founders), citing Onshape and Desktop Metal, with the cautionary case of Rethink Robotics and a note that such rounds are more common in the US, with some European convergence via firms like Atomico (CloudNC, Oden). Strategy B: run capital-efficiently—optimize for deep adoption over logo pilots, monetize consulting/implementation, secure non-dilutive grants, keep burn low and hire late, price assertively (especially on-prem), and shift from services to licenses. Celonis and UiPath illustrate long PMF journeys followed by accelerationhttps://medium.com/point-nine-news/industrial-startups-how-to-determine-your-funding-strategy-57163c930b66 Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): industrial startups funding strategy, manufacturing SaaS funding, Industry 4.0 startups, product-market fit industrial, PMF for deeptech, capital efficiency startup, bootstrapping industrial tech, non-dilutive grants Europe, enterprise sales long cycles, adoption vs pilot conversions, professional services revenue, founder-led sales playbook, on-premise pricing strategy, raise pre-PMF funding, US vs Europe venture funding, Celonis process mining, UiPath RPA scaling, Onshape Desktop Metal funding, Rethink Robotics failure, Atomico CloudNC Oden Technologies

Summary (80–120 words): The post reviews Dealroom’s analysis of 22,000 European funding rounds (2012–2018) to answer: after a seed round, what is the likelihood of raising Series A? Using standardized seed/A definitions via relabeling, Dealroom finds an average seed-to-Series A conversion of 19%, with stark variation by seed investor: top quartile seed funds’ companies convert at ~40%, roughly triple third-quartile funds and ~65% above second quartile. The author notes selection vs value‑add causality is unclear. Applying Dealroom’s methodology to Point Nine’s portfolio (PNC I–III; 92 seed investments ≥18 months old), 46 have raised Series A (50%). Sensitivity: excluding edge cases lowers overall to 48.3%; excluding PNC I alone, PNC II–III remain 50%. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): seed-to-Series A conversion rate, Series A graduation rate, follow-on financing, European early-stage funding, seed investor quartiles, top quartile seed funds, venture funnel conversion, seed to A benchmark, Dealroom early-stage report, Point Nine Capital portfolio analysis, Seedcamp LocalGlobe Connect Ventures, B2B SaaS fundraising, marketplaces fundraising, MQL to SQL analogy, seed round definition methodology, round relabeling, Series A probability, seed fund signaling effect, seed-to-A success rate, venture conversion metrics

Summary (80–120 words): The post outlines a simple customer discovery plan for early-stage SaaS teams to sharpen Persona–Pain Point–Value Proposition fit. It prescribes ending with a ranked spreadsheet of two to three validated combinations supported by >10 interviews per persona and keeping a backlog of hypotheses. It flags three issues indicating more discovery is needed: too few interviews, vague personas/pains/Value Props, and an unprioritized sprawl of segments and problems. The process: set a weekly interview quota (e.g., five), form a three-person cross‑functional committee, take/share notes in a common doc, review weekly/biweekly, report learnings, and run in sprints. Interviews are for learning, not selling: deeply map daily workflows, prioritize pains from “nice to have” to “must have,” and iterate. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): customer discovery, customer development, SaaS customer research, persona pain value proposition, problem–solution fit, prospect interviews, qualitative user interviews, B2B SaaS go-to-market, market validation, value proposition design, persona prioritization, pain point prioritization, must-have vs nice-to-have, discovery sprints, interview cadence, voice of customer (VoC), hypothesis backlog, early-stage SaaS, founder-led discovery, jobs-to-be-done (JTBD)

Summary (80–120 words): The article argues that making founders personally liable for representations and warranties in early-stage VC deals is counterproductive. Company-level guarantees are sufficient: where cash payments are restricted by capital maintenance or solvency rules, firms can issue shares or defer claims, avoiding cash leakage. Personal guarantees rarely improve recovery because founders typically have limited assets and liabilities are often capped (e.g., one-year salary); transferring founder shares is economically equivalent to a compensatory capital increase. Fraud is already non-excludable, so personal guarantees add no incremental protection. If personal recourse is needed to ensure honesty, investors picked the wrong founder. Removing personal guarantees fosters collaboration; contracts should specify equity-compensation mechanics and claim suspension. US NVCA practice relies on company liability. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): personal founder guarantees, founder personal liability, representations and warranties, reps and warranties, venture capital financing, early-stage funding terms, company indemnity, founder indemnity, equity compensation for warranty claims, compensatory capital increase, dilution remedy, capital maintenance rules, solvency test, cash leakage, fraud carve-out, NVCA model documents, European VC practice, US VC market practice, warranty caps and materiality thresholds, founder share transfer

Summary (80–120 words): Point Nine aggregates 2019 predictions across sectors: a macro cool‑down makes venture more selective yet fertile for new startups; millennial, digital‑native buyers accelerate replacement of legacy tools while ML unlocks new use cases (drones, robotics, voice, synthetic biology). Manufacturing favors human–machine collaboration over “lights‑out” factories, driving partnerships and M&A (e.g., Tulip–Bosch). Crypto shifts from ICOs to security tokens and asset tokenization, but infrastructure and liquidity lag. B2B software adopts algorithmic, personalized feeds with data network effects. “NewLaw” firms use AI/automation and value‑based pricing to challenge BigLaw (Atrium, Juro, ROSS). Mobility consolidates toward integrated providers (Uber IPO). SaaS strategy splits: SMBs align to platform app stores; enterprises win via vertical SaaS. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): 2019 tech predictions, venture capital outlook, millennial B2B buyers, digital native decision makers, human–machine collaboration, collaborative robots (cobots), manufacturing productivity software, security tokens, tokenized securities, asset tokenization, STO (security token offering), tokenized equities, B2B personalization algorithms, data network effects, NewLaw legal tech, value‑based legal pricing, mobility consolidation, micromobility (scooters, bikes), vertical SaaS, SaaS platform ecosystems (app stores)

Summary (80–120 words): The article differentiates four profiles within SaaS bootstrapping and links each to distinct financing and support needs. Incorruptible bootstrappers reject VC, prioritize profitability and control, and often seek non-dilutive, cash-flow financing later (e.g., debt). Open bootstrappers remain flexible: they bootstrap unless growth justifies raising VC. VC-backed founders turned bootstrappers have experienced VC tradeoffs (loss of control, growth pressure) and may raise angel capital on founder-friendly terms, influencing new funding models. Solopreneurs focus on building a product rather than a company and value operational support (sales/marketing) as much as capital. The author argues no single “VC alternative” fits all; multiple tailored approaches will emerge. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS bootstrapping, bootstrapped SaaS, self-funded SaaS, indie SaaS founders, non-dilutive financing, venture debt, revenue-based financing, MRR financing, angel funding, alternative to VC, founder control vs growth, lean SaaS, cash-flow financing, solopreneur SaaS, product-focused founders, founder-friendly terms, VC-compatible startup, profitability over hypergrowth, operational support for developers, SaaS financing options

Summary (80–120 words): A fireside discussion between Jason Lemkin (SaaStr) and Christoph Janz (Point Nine) analyzes SaaS market cycles, noting a brief 2016 dip and sustained outperformance of public cloud stocks since. They argue valuations may correct but the secular shift from on-premise to SaaS and automation expands total software value. Examples (Okta, Shopify, Atlassian, Zendesk) illustrate higher growth bars, yet 100% YoY at ~$1M ARR can still raise capital; T2D3 is a useful but not mandatory heuristic. Winner-take-most dynamics benefit strong brands; competition can slow growth post-$10M ARR. They compare Bay Area vs Europe: SF offers veteran GTM talent and peer density; costs and churn are high. A dual-hub model (e.g., Algolia) and SMB-from-anywhere (e.g., Pipedrive) are viable patterns. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS IPOs, Bessemer Cloud Index, cloud software valuations, ARR growth benchmarks, T2D3 (triple-triple-double), winner-take-most dynamics, network effects in SaaS, post-10M ARR growth, enterprise vs SMB go-to-market, Bay Area vs Europe SaaS, SF talent density, dual headquarters model, European SaaS expansion, GTM veterans (VP Sales/Marketing), access to capital US vs Europe, venture capital vs private equity in SaaS, Okta Shopify Atlassian Zendesk examples, SaaStr Jason Lemkin, Point Nine Christoph Janz

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues that early-stage (pre-product/market fit) SaaS companies should prioritize brand marketing over performance marketing, since weak growth often reflects insufficient customer discovery rather than a lead-gen gap. Founders should choose a “north star” topic and consistently communicate it via any format (blog, social, podcasts, events). Effective themes include: sharing the founder journey and metrics (e.g., Front), presenting a differentiated market vision (e.g., Juro focusing on design + legal rather than templates), or making company culture public (e.g., Sqreen). Expected outcomes: improved recruiting, clearer messaging/positioning, market education, a small set of early adopters, community awareness that later expedites sales, and some investor interest. Success factor: organic, founder-led execution; outsourcing early brand rarely works. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): early-stage SaaS marketing, pre-product/market fit marketing, brand marketing vs performance marketing, brand awareness, awareness marketing, founder-led marketing, thought leadership content, content marketing for SaaS, positioning and messaging, market education strategy, north star topic, community building for startups, employer branding for startups, early adopters acquisition, category design, category creation, top-of-funnel marketing, social media strategy for founders

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues 2019 will be a rebuilding year after 2018’s crypto crash: expect layoffs, refunds, and project shutdowns as regulation tightens and adoption lags (e.g., Basis closure; SEC settlements with Airfox and Paragon). It anticipates forks and upgrades, including projects dropping or avoiding native tokens (DDEX forking 0x; Uniswap vs Bancor; Connext vs Raiden), Ethereum’s Constantinople changes, Bitcoin’s Schnorr signatures, and Lightning Network progress. Consolidation accelerates (≈145 M&A deals in 2018). The narrative shifts from ICOs to security tokens and asset tokenization (e.g., DX.Exchange), but infrastructure and liquidity remain bottlenecks. Stablecoins grow (USDC/TUSD/PAX/GUSD >$5B on-chain; MakerDAO ~1.8% ETH collateral). Institutionalization advances slowly (Fidelity, BitGo, Nasdaq futures, Bakkt). Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): 2019 crypto outlook, crypto winter, ICO bust, SEC crypto enforcement, Basis shutdown, security tokens, STO (security token offering), tokenized securities, asset tokenization, tokenized equities, Ethereum Constantinople upgrade, Bitcoin Schnorr signatures, Lightning Network scalability, decentralized exchange (DEX), 0x fork DDEX, Uniswap vs Bancor, MakerDAO DAI collateral, stablecoin adoption, crypto M&A 2018, institutional crypto custody and trading

Summary (80–120 words): The post catalogs 50 B2B SaaS app marketplaces and argues app stores are becoming key distribution and integration channels as SaaS matures. It defines app stores as third‑party app directories augmented by reviews, ratings, recommendations, payments, co‑marketing, deep integrations, and developer portals. Four observations: (1) many models, from simple directories to rigorous platforms like Salesforce AppExchange; (2) rapid spread across categories (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Intuit/Xero, Zuora, Slack, InVision, Intercom); (3) different maturity levels create trade‑offs—new stores offer exposure, mature stores offer scale but competition; (4) strongest fit is SMB/mid‑market given faster decisions and lighter integrations. A linked spreadsheet lists 50 marketplaces. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS app store, B2B software marketplace, SaaS marketplace landscape, Salesforce AppExchange, HubSpot App Marketplace, Zendesk Marketplace, Slack App Directory, QuickBooks App Store, Xero App Store, Zuora Marketplace, Intercom App Store, InVision integrations, third-party SaaS integrations, developer portal, developer ecosystem, platform go-to-market, marketplace listing strategy, app reviews and ratings, co-marketing programs, SMB SaaS distribution

Summary (80–120 words): The author outlines five 2019 predictions for applied ML: (1) wider adoption of GANs beyond art into code generation and synthetic environments, citing Uizard, Nvidia, and Christie’s auction; (2) consumer-style algorithmic feeds coming to B2B software, powered by logistic-regression ranking and collaborative filtering, with defensibility from engagement-driven data network effects; (3) interfaces purpose-built to capture rapid user feedback to retrain models, exemplified by Rossum.ai; (4) startups pursuing “data monopolies” in B2B, with uncertain feasibility and regulatory response; and (5) rising AI nationalism, where nations leverage corporate data assets, foreshadowed by Huawei-related controversies. The piece links product design, data loops, and market structure. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): applied machine learning, GANs, generative adversarial networks, generative design, AI-generated art, algorithmic feed, content ranking, recommendation systems, collaborative filtering, personalized B2B software, data network effects, engagement metadata, human-in-the-loop, active learning, feedback loop UI, model retraining, data monopolies, AI nationalism

Summary (80–120 words): Rodrigo Martinez outlines 2016 tech predictions across security, Bitcoin, APIs, developer tools, data/AI, and hardware/IoT. He expects a major breach to bankrupt a company, ransomware to touch many, and SMB-targeted cyberattacks to scale. Banks may launch altcoins that fail for lack of network effects, while a practical bitcoin use case emerges in enterprise/SMB cross-border payments. Software shifts API-first with early machine-to-machine (IoT) APIs and APIs-as-a-business supplanting open-source models. Dev tools unbundle (Atlassian) as Slack’s platform spawns a unicorn and Docker consolidates. Big data commoditizes via third-party services; ML appears in most pitches with limited impact; AI hype cools into a disillusionment phase with first real wins. Workplaces add connected devices; drones see rapid industrial adoption and drone racing. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): cybersecurity breach bankruptcy, ransomware attacks, SMB cyberattacks, Bitcoin volatility, bank-issued altcoin, enterprise bitcoin payments, blockchain network effects, API-first development, machine-to-machine APIs, IoT APIs, APIs as a business model, open source monetization vs SaaS, developer tools unbundling, Slack platform ecosystem, Docker ecosystem consolidation, big data commoditization, machine learning in startups, industrial drones adoption, cross-border crypto payments, AI hype cycle disillusionment

Summary (80–120 words): The post analyzes how quickly large SaaS companies reach $100M in ARR by reconstructing revenue histories for 70 leading firms using public GAAP revenue (for publics) and online estimates (for privates), with simple fiscal-year alignment and noted caveats. Key findings: there are likely 100+ SaaS unicorns; among these leaders, average time to $100M is ~10 years; for companies founded in the last 15 years, the average drops to ~8 years, showing T2D3-level growth is achievable but not typical. After $100M, average y/y growth falls from ~75% going in to ~50% afterward, reflecting scale-driven deceleration. Methodological nuances (e.g., ARR vs GAAP, founding vs launch year) are acknowledged. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS unicorns, time to $100M ARR, time-to-100 million ARR, SaaS growth benchmarks, T2D3 growth, triple triple double, ARR vs GAAP revenue, B2B SaaS scaling, SaaS revenue milestones, growth rate deceleration, Mendoza line SaaS, Christoph Janz analysis, Point Nine SaaS, path to $100M ARR, startup revenue trajectory, benchmarks to $100M ARR, public SaaS revenue data, scaling to $100M ARR

Summary (80–120 words): Erik Torenberg and co-host Brianne Kimmel interview Christoph Janz of Point Nine Capital on evaluating early-stage SaaS. Janz outlines Point Nine’s geography-agnostic thesis and preferred entry stage, then uses case studies (Zendesk, Typeform) to assess product quality, early branding, founding team, and sales strategy. They examine trade-offs in vertical SaaS and enterprise, when founders should shift focus to sales, and the difficulty of hiring a first VP Sales at small scale (referencing Jason Lemkin’s “48 Types of VP, Sales”). Janz argues that “SaaS” as a label is less distinctive today and notes multiple viable paths to $100M in revenue, emphasizing flexible go-to-market patterns over a single playbook. Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): early-stage SaaS evaluation, SaaS investing thesis, Point Nine Capital SaaS, Christoph Janz interview, Brianne Kimmel podcast, evaluating SaaS startups, product-market fit signals, SaaS go-to-market strategy, vertical SaaS vs horizontal, enterprise SaaS sales, hiring VP Sales in SaaS, Zendesk case study, Typeform case study, geography-agnostic investing, seed-stage SaaS metrics, branding in early SaaS, sales-led vs product-led growth, PLG in SaaS, path to $100M ARR, SaaStr 48 types of VP Sales

Summary (80–120 words): The post argues that while T2D3 hypergrowth can reach $100M ARR fast, it often demands high burn and creates risk due to front-loaded CAC, long sales onboarding and deal cycles, and the SaaS cash flow trough. Because CAC scaling and churn at larger spend levels are uncertain, missing net new ARR targets quickly widens the gap between revenue and costs, shortens runway, and complicates fundraising. A budgeting sanity check is to model costs as planned but hold net new ARR flat (linear), revealing downside exposure; an example shows a 33% miss adding ~$6M extra burn. The author suggests aligning stakeholders, monitoring leading indicators, and acknowledges reaching $100M over 10–12 years can be prudent. References include T2D3, Slack/Dropbox/UIPath, and Rory O’Driscoll’s “Mendoza Line.” Search Terms & Synonyms (10–20 total): SaaS growth to $100M ARR, T2D3 (triple-triple-double), hypergrowth tradeoffs, customer acquisition cost (CAC), CAC payback period, churn rate reduction, SaaS cash flow trough, net new ARR, burn multiple, runway management, sales ramp and onboarding, enterprise sales cycle, pipeline coverage, quota attainment, product-market fit (PMF), growth rate decay (Mendoza Line), SaaS budgeting model, ARR growth calculator, go-to-market scaling, VC fundraising strategy