# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending July 5, 2024

Published: 4 July 2024
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-july-5-2024

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

We all know the core SaaS Metrics - CAC, LTV:CAC, ACV etc, etc. But Kyle Poyar from OpenView Partners is [making the case for the next era of core metrics](https://openviewpartners.com/blog/saas-metrics-2-0-the-case-for-next-era-metrics-playbook). With product lead, expansion, and margin profiles (such as ARR per FTE) being at the core of this new potential playbook.

Link: https://openviewpartners.com/blog/saas-metrics-2-0-the-case-for-next-era-metrics-playbook

## 2. SEED

Too raise or not to raise that is the question most often asked at the Seed stage. [Peter Walker of Carta posits that founders should not raise a small seed round](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/peterjameswalker_cartadata-seed-seriesa-activity-7206686908016394240-4vp5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop). He reviewed 4,000+ software startups and concluded (with a bunch of caveats) that small seed rounds have a lower probability of getting to a Series A in under two years.

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/peterjameswalker_cartadata-seed-seriesa-activity-7206686908016394240-4vp5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

## 3. CAPITAL

Last week, liquidity posts were popular - so here is some more data. Emergence has released a report titled "[Beyond Benchmarks 2024](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tcnzjfg52lcxy1l7lk9pz/Emergence-Beyond-Benchmarks-2024.pdf?rlkey=2sewiplqsb2v465xr7v26ygf9&dl=0)," packed with data from B2B startups (60% of which released GenAI features last year). At the early stage ($1m-$5m ARR), top startups are growing 100%, and the median is 53%. For companies $5m-$20m ARR, top quartile are growing 58% but the median is only growing at 29%. It gets really out of whack with companies at the $20m-$50m range. The top quartile is at 38%, but the bottom bunch is at -7% (yup, that's negative growth).

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/tcnzjfg52lcxy1l7lk9pz/Emergence-Beyond-Benchmarks-2024.pdf?rlkey=2sewiplqsb2v465xr7v26ygf9&dl=0

## 4. MULTIPLES

Dealroom has [a great guide on multiples with in-depth reviews of valuation multiples for public companies, VC rounds, and exits](https://dealroom.co/guides/multiples). These multiples vary by stage, sector, and geography, with a big focus on growth and profitability. The guide also explains methodologies for calculating and interpreting these multiples, providing a comprehensive resource for understanding company valuations.

Link: https://dealroom.co/guides/multiples

## 5. CHURN (AI)

Bessemer Venture Partners has a good [guide for B2B and B2C AI apps with seven strategies to reduce churn](https://www.bvp.com/atlas/seven-product-strategies-to-prevent-churn-for-b2b-ai-app-leaders), from enhancing user onboarding to leveraging AI-driven insights for customer retention (B2C AI apps are showing weaker long-term retention rates compared to standard app churn rates).

Link: https://www.bvp.com/atlas/seven-product-strategies-to-prevent-churn-for-b2b-ai-app-leaders

## 6. LANDING PAGES

Want to get better at creating effective landing pages? Scrapbook's [SaaS landing page optimization checklist](https://www.getscrapbook.com/landing-page-checklist?) provides a guide to creating compelling headlines, using high-quality visuals, optimizing for mobile, indexing, and, of-course, using include strong CTAs to boost conversions. BONUS: [How to write killer CTAs](https://www.marketingexamined.com/blog/how-to-write-killer-ctas?ref=saas-weekly).

Link: https://www.getscrapbook.com/landing-page-checklist?

## 7. STATE OF THE CLOUD 1

The Bessemer Ventures [State of the Cloud Report is out](https://www.bvp.com/atlas/state-of-the-cloud-2024). It's packed full of highlights and well worth taking a deeper look at. But here are some highlights: AI is transforming the cloud, [but concentrated at the model layer](https://www.bvp.com/assets/uploads/2024/06/ai-value-creation-sotc24-atlas-image-min.jpg). AI investments have soared, and now every cloud company is, at some level, an AI company. We're certainly all [more efficient at building, apparently](https://www.bvp.com/assets/uploads/2024/06/copilots-reimagine-software-development-atlas-sotc24-min.jpg).

Link: https://www.bvp.com/atlas/state-of-the-cloud-2024

## 8. STATE OF THE CLOUD 2

The [consumer cloud sector is experiencing a resurgence](https://www.bvp.com/assets/uploads/2024/06/eight-years-of-cloud-100-consumer-trends-atlas-sotc24-min.jpg) (see the other Bessemer post at #5 above), driven by new innovative AI applications. This trend signals a revitalized market with new opportunities for growth and investment.

Link: https://www.bvp.com/assets/uploads/2024/06/eight-years-of-cloud-100-consumer-trends-atlas-sotc24-min.jpg

## 9. STATE OF THE CLOUD 3

The AI wars are well underway, and Big Tech's investment in AI is setting the stage for a major tech battle. All of the Big Tech companies are seeing [big rebounds to "normal" multiples](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ob6taqaiqau9y4vhb7370/ai_giants_vs_bvp_cloud_index_atlas_image_sotc24-min.jpg?rlkey=0pn0u3zv1fxo79mztbtmazt5v&dl=0) (along with big outliers like NVIDIA at 22x) and also on [AI-quisition burns](https://www.bvp.com/assets/uploads/2024/06/v2_bigtechgobblesup_sotc2024.jpg).

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ob6taqaiqau9y4vhb7370/ai_giants_vs_bvp_cloud_index_atlas_image_sotc24-min.jpg?rlkey=0pn0u3zv1fxo79mztbtmazt5v&dl=0

## 10. CASE STUDY

Three well-known [SaaS success stories with very diverse paths, strategies (and financial health)](https://www.saastr.com/a-tale-of-3-very-different-stories-monday-atlassian-and-asana). Monday.com has robust revenue growth and solid free cash flow (also in scale-up mode). Atlassian is more established, with capital-efficient growth and high profitability. Despite strong revenue growth and being around forever, Asana struggles with high cash burn.

Link: https://www.saastr.com/a-tale-of-3-very-different-stories-monday-atlassian-and-asana

## POD OF THE WEEK

Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, [talks about the amount of compute used in training (compute costs for models have been increasing ~4x a year)](https://youtu.be/Nlkk3glap_U). Dario is also predicting $1 billion and even $10 billion training runs soon!

Link: https://youtu.be/Nlkk3glap_U