# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending August 26, 2022

Published: 25 August 2022
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-august-26-2022

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

Another from Andrew Chen of a16z this week (who is now LA-based - see #3 below as to why that's important): [An 80-page slide deck of the red flags and magic numbers that investors look for in your startup's metrics](https://andrewchen.co/investor-metrics-deck/). The article is the best part due to Andrew's commentary, but if you want the PDF I got, just[click here](http://1g1uem2nc4jy1gzhn943ro0gz50-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/a16z_growth_deck.pdf).

Link: https://andrewchen.co/investor-metrics-deck/

## 2. PR

Getting good PR if you're an unknown startup is hard (and also can be seen as a low priority in the endless stable of things-to-get-done) - but it's not as hard as you think without a publicist. [Here is a great 101 article from Point Nine Capital](https://medium.com/point-nine-news/how-to-get-press-coverage-fe9dfb1249c8)(they call it PR for dummies) on how to get great press coverage. ChartMoguls also have [this article late on PR for SaaS](https://blog.chartmogul.com/pr-for-saas) - with some sample scripts!

Link: https://medium.com/point-nine-news/how-to-get-press-coverage-fe9dfb1249c8

## 3. UNBUNDLED

This is a great read (at least for me). For years the common VC adage was that if you are not located in Silicon Valley or in later pre-COVID years, San Fransisco, you ain't worth considering. But last month, Andreessen Horowitz (aka a16z) declared that Silicon Valley, the Region, is philosophically over and that their "[headquarters will be in the cloud](https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/21/andreessen-horowitz-ditches-physical-hq-in-return-for-global-outposts/)" going forward. I think this is a pretty big deal for most global Tech Companies - read more [via this interview](https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/19/a16z-fintech-interview-the-unbundling-of-silicon-valley/).

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/21/andreessen-horowitz-ditches-physical-hq-in-return-for-global-outposts/

## 4. MARKETING

For me, the main goal of any marketing campaign is value-based. I'm trying to convert people that consume some of our marketing efforts into happy customers. Knowing what works can be complicated: measuring ROI, attributing revenue, measuring brand awareness, overall campaign success, etc., etc. So bookmark [this marketing attribution dashboard](https://databox.com/marketing-attribution-dashboard) like me: It covers all the attribution model types and metrics, best practices, tools de jour, and more.

Link: https://databox.com/marketing-attribution-dashboard

## 5. COMMISSIONS

How should you pay your different sales channels? Commission sales levels are stable across sale types at [about 10-14%](https://dskok-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/img_5d9cb635cd5e8-e1570551370186.png). Commissions on renewals are [only 3%, and upsell is 9%](https://dskok-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/img_5d9cb6e187f9b-e1570551598475.png) - however, about 50% of the time, this is not paid at all. (Bringing up another subject on [how much revenue a Customer Service Manager](https://tomtunguz.com/how-much-arr-can-a-csm-manage)can manage).

Link: https://dskok-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/img_5d9cb635cd5e8-e1570551370186.png

## 6. VENTURE

According to [The Entrepreneurs Report for 1H 2022](https://www.wsgr.com/a/web/3vzWYRRXq6Q2ntYf6rPcy7/entrepreneursreport-1h-2022.pdf) from Wilsons Sonsini, eleven percent of Series B and later financing deals were considered down rounds, the largest share of down rounds since the beginning of the COVID pandemic (Q2 '22). Flat rounds have also increased to 7%. However, valuations are still rising (in series A and B deals).

Link: https://www.wsgr.com/a/web/3vzWYRRXq6Q2ntYf6rPcy7/entrepreneursreport-1h-2022.pdf

## 7. BRIDGE LOANS

In the Wilsons Sonsini report above, Median bridge loan amounts decreased for both pre-and post-Seed companies in Q2 22 and had shorter maturity periods (50% had less than 12 months), so understanding Bridge Loans may be more critical now than ever. [Here](https://avc.com/2022/08/bridge-loans/) is how Fred Wilson likes to structure investor Bridge Loans.

Link: https://avc.com/2022/08/bridge-loans/

## 8. NET INCOME

In 2020, [revenue growth was the most important factor](https://tomtunguz.com/correlates-to-forward-multiple/) explaining a public software company's forward multiple. NDR has been popular of late - but none of these dramatically matter anymore - [it's now Net Income](https://tomtunguz.com/multiple-correlates-2022/).

Link: https://tomtunguz.com/correlates-to-forward-multiple/

## 9. PRICING

As stated in previous newsletters, pricing is never correct, and [we are not charging enough](https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2004/12/15/camels-and-rubber-duckies/). But 2022 is adding another challenge to our attempts at pricing: Inflation and a recession. FastSpring chimes in on this by deep diving into these challenges via [this report](https://fastspring.com/recession-proof-pricing). Fun Fact: 37% raised prices by over 10% between Q1 21 and Q1 22. Those that did raise prices grew 15% more than companies that didn't, demonstrating an older article that a [1% increase in price can generate up to an 11% increase in your profits](http://web.nchu.edu.tw/~hjlee/files/Pricing_Strategy/03_Managing%20price,%20Gaining%20Profit.pdf)!

Link: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2004/12/15/camels-and-rubber-duckies/

## 10. CASE STUDY

Shopify has been in [the news](https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/shopify-does-something-no-business-should-ever-do-fire-via-email.html) a fair bit lately, and their pandemic boom may be over. But they are still reporting revenue of $5B ARR! Jason Lemkin of SaaStr [looks at the top 5 interesting things from their last financial report.](https://www.saastr.com/5-interesting-learnings-from-shopify-at-5-billion-in-arr/)

Link: https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/shopify-does-something-no-business-should-ever-do-fire-via-email.html

## POD OF THE WEEK

Complementing #9 above is from SaaSclub: [SaaS Pricing Strategy: Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid](https://megaphone.link/AHARO1472975189)

Link: https://megaphone.link/AHARO1472975189