# July 10th, 2025

Published: 10 July 2025
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/july-10th-2025

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

Not all ARR is created equal - and some is [faster](https://www.saastr.com/everything-now-is-just-faf-have-you-adjusted)! This week's breakdown from The SaaS CFO explains [how to separate AI ARR from traditional SaaS ARR](https://www.thesaascfo.com/ai-arr-vs-saas-arr-how-to-define-and-calculate), which is vital as more tools incorporate AI features, infrastructure, [services](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/top10intech_this-week-were-spotlighting-the-9-slot-activity-7347806208826740738-glmo?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAACrkI8BULv18qWu35SugsZE8nUlV5smaTQ), and usage-based models.

Link: https://www.saastr.com/everything-now-is-just-faf-have-you-adjusted

## 2. VENTURE-STRAPPED

This is a Top10inTech-ism's for your tech dictionaries for a hybrid startup that is a mash-up of the old debate of [bootstrapped vs VC financing](https://www.pitchdrive.com/academy/exploring-pros-and-cons-bootstrap-vs-venture-capital-for-startup-financing) and applies to startups who raise only once. Which, anecdotally, seems like a [more common practice](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/one-and-done-fundraising-startups-aki-kakko-kcf5f/?trk=public_post_main-feed-card_feed-article-content) in these [new market conditions](https://bryce.medium.com/one-round-and-done-197e5dd167be) (and includes Klaviyo and Zapier). Jason Lemkin notes this new [one-and-done third way](https://www.saastr.com/venture-backed-theres-a-third-way-just-raise-one-round/).

Link: https://www.pitchdrive.com/academy/exploring-pros-and-cons-bootstrap-vs-venture-capital-for-startup-financing

## 3. UNDERSELL STRATEGY

If expansion fits into your growth strategy (it should) take a read of two-part series from Tomasz Tunguz and Bill Binch - part one is [deliberately underselling as a sales strategy](https://tomtunguz.com/deliberately-underselling/) to minimize churn and increase upsell/expansion opportunities as a land and expand strategy and post 2 is an expansion of land and expand witch details [how to structure a Startup sales team for optimal land & expand](https://tomtunguz.com/how-to-structure-land-and-expand-ae/).

Link: https://tomtunguz.com/deliberately-underselling/

## 4. GROWTH

a16z's [AI revenue benchmarks are](https://a16z.com/revenue-benchmarks-ai-apps/)[*bonkers*](https://a16z.com/revenue-benchmarks-ai-apps/): the **median** enterprise AI startup hits **$2.1M ARR by month 12**. That's not the outlier—that's the middle. Consumer apps? Also wild: top quartile = $1.3M ARR in 12 months.

Link: https://a16z.com/revenue-benchmarks-ai-apps/

## 5. EU AI ACT

The [EU's AI Act](https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/) is now real policy, and compliance isn't optional - talking to you, Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, et al. Vanta's new [EU AI checklist](https://www.vanta.com/resources/eu-ai-act-checklist?submissionGuid=7cc79a64-8125-4462-9532-c5fc84b9070f) breaks down what companies (especially those selling into Europe) need to do to stay above board.

Link: https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/

## 6. VENTURE 1

Check the Pitchbook [Global VC First Look](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/is2utahmdmma50j45gy1z/Q2_2025_Global_VC_First_Look_19571.xlsx?rlkey=1xdxqazyhxyme3i2x5213juyf&dl=0) (yup - it's an Excel "book" ): VC is still in a liquidity nowhere land. IPOs remain scarce ([for now](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/01/figma-moves-closer-to-a-blockbuster-ipo-that-could-raise-1-5b/)), exits are rare. But AI? It's pulling in 'poke-me-in-the-eye-please' valuations and dragging the market back to some 2021 energy levels. Not sure if that means a bubble or bounce-back, this all needs to play out - AI is also gobbling up [more than a third of venture debt](https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/ai-startups-gobbling-more-than-third-venture-debt-dollars-2025).

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/is2utahmdmma50j45gy1z/Q2_2025_Global_VC_First_Look_19571.xlsx?rlkey=1xdxqazyhxyme3i2x5213juyf&dl=0

## 7. VENTURE 2

First impressions matter. [This tactical guide](https://www.thevccorner.com/p/vc-intro-call-guide) walks you through how to nail your first VC call—what to say, what not to say, and how to leave them wanting more.

Link: https://www.thevccorner.com/p/vc-intro-call-guide

## 8. PRICING

Pricing your SaaS too low won't make you a product-led success (but it'll make you broke). [This guide](https://www.thevccorner.com/p/the-go-to-pricing-guide-for-early) breaks down early-stage pricing strategies that can actually work, from value-based to tiered.

Link: https://www.thevccorner.com/p/the-go-to-pricing-guide-for-early

## 9. GO-TO-MARKET

This is my kind of report! From Chartmogul comes their SaaS [Go-To-Market Report](https://chartmogul.com/reports/saas-go-to-market-report/), examining how SaaS companies acquire and convert customers. CAC payback is now 19 months, and inbound is king—75% of sales-led SaaS companies still rely on it.

Link: https://chartmogul.com/reports/saas-go-to-market-report/

## 10. CASE STUDY: PRODUCT MARKET FIT

A big Startup-ism - [More than 50% of the time, the lack of Product-Market Fit (PMF) factors into the reason a startup fails](https://startupos.com/finding-market-fit-going-through-the-paces/) (keep reading this article, though, as it goes through how StartupOS figured their PMF out). AirTree (an early-stage VC) has [just published this article, taking a look at what metrics VCs like them look at for signs of Product-Market Fit](https://medium.com/airtree-venture/b2b-saas-benchmarks-what-metrics-do-vcs-look-at-for-signs-of-product-market-fit-pmf-608e3133c516) - and also what the red flags are. Also, [this article](https://gopractice.io/blog/what-is-product-market-fit-and-how-to-measure-pmf) has some great PMF definitions. PMF was called "[the only thing that matters](https://pmarchive.com/guide_to_startups_part4.html)" to early-stage startups by Marc Andreessen 12 years ago. Now his team gets a little more nuanced, suggesting to [focus on Product-User-Fit](https://a16z.com/2019/09/16/product-user-fit-comes-before-product-market-fit/) as an indicator towards achieving PMF. A similar nuance is also true post-PMF, with repeatable and scalable ***revenue*** models as a precursor to a repeatable and scalable business model (you know - the one with actual profits).

Link: https://startupos.com/finding-market-fit-going-through-the-paces/

## POD OF THE WEEK

Reed Hastings, ex-Netflix CEO, [breaks down how to scale trust, talent, and bold bets](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2aMYpRHVeuu7cP5WEwNzos) - without turning your company into the Hunger Games. No PIPs, no micromanagement—just clear values, adult treatment, and $100M risks.

Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2aMYpRHVeuu7cP5WEwNzos