# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending June 27, 2025

Published: 26 June 2025
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-june-27-2025

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK: BURN MULTIPLES.

In this neo-capital-efficient SaaS market, operators are expected to find the balance between growth and efficiency. So it's time to brush up on those efficiency metrics in this 2 part post covering [Burn Multiple](https://www.airtree.vc/open-source-vc/startup-metrics-burn-multiple) and Sales Efficiency metrics (see post 2). A Burn Multiple measures how much a startup is burning to generate each incremental dollar of ARR. [The higher the Burn Multiple, the more the startup is burning](https://sacks.substack.com/p/the-burn-multiple-51a7e43cb200) to achieve each unit of growth. [Here is how to calculate this metric](https://www.klipfolio.com/metrics/saas/burn-multiple), and [here is an example](https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/burn-multiple/).

Link: https://www.airtree.vc/open-source-vc/startup-metrics-burn-multiple

## 2. GROWTH

I love [this article from First Round Capital](https://firstround.com/review/from-zero-to-ipo-how-growth-needs-to-evolve-at-every-startup-stage/). Mainly as it justifies my sentiment around rigor, data, and insight. To quote: "*Growth is about implementing a rigorous, customer insight and data-driven process with sustained effort to remove friction*."

Link: https://firstround.com/review/from-zero-to-ipo-how-growth-needs-to-evolve-at-every-startup-stage/

## 3. SPEED MATTERS

I write this newsletter during downtime, such as "Coffee Spints ."I prioritize speed and finding quality content over spelling, editorial tightness, and grammar. (My bad!) [James Somers feels the same](http://jsomers.net/blog/speed-matters). [As does Google](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/organizational-culture/time-management-tips-productivity), they[obviously also made speed a priority](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/experience-design/mobile-site-speed-importance/) for their tech stack, and speed is UX moat for tech companies. Netflix is another great speed-focused tech company that (amazingly to me) [de-prioritized uptime in favor of speed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTKIT6STSVM&feature=youtu.be) and also [became their own CDN](https://openconnect.netflix.com/en) as part of their speedy experience solution.

Link: http://jsomers.net/blog/speed-matters

## 4. REVERSE TRIALS

Reverse Trials are a play on freemium, where new users [start with a time-limited trial of all your paid features. At the end of the trial, they can either buy or downgrade to a fully free tier](https://openviewpartners.com/blog/your-guide-to-reverse-trials/?). This article also explains how Airtable does this well. The benefit here is that, emotionally, users experience loss aversion, where the pain of losing something is twice as powerful a motivator as the pleasure of gaining.

Link: https://openviewpartners.com/blog/your-guide-to-reverse-trials/?

## 5. METRICS

SaaS Capital's latest [2025 report is out](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ke7vqbjbohccaw48s74wn/RB33EM5-2025-B2B-Benchmarking-Private-SaaS-Company-Growth-Rates.pdf?rlkey=scjkclqhptpw57k285pmaxg1c&dl=0). Median ARR growth across all private B2B SaaS companies? 22.4%. Growth drops fast with size: under $1M, ARR companies grow ~66%, $20M–$50M grow at just 16%. Tuck this one away for board decks and sanity checks.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ke7vqbjbohccaw48s74wn/RB33EM5-2025-B2B-Benchmarking-Private-SaaS-Company-Growth-Rates.pdf?rlkey=scjkclqhptpw57k285pmaxg1c&dl=0

## 6. AI-FIRST

a16z outlines [what an "AI-first" company really looks like](https://a16z.com/ai-enterprise-2025/). Key traits: systems built for agents from day one, constant fine-tuning, and orgs designed around feedback loops—not functions. If AI feels bolted on, this is a good blueprint reference point.

Link: https://a16z.com/ai-enterprise-2025/

## 7. MARKETING

Great question - [Does every marketing channel suck right now](https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/does-every-marketing-channel-suck)? According to MKT1… kinda. Acquisition is way harder, and it looks like the best teams aren't just optimizing channels—they're building long-term growth engines. Strong POVs on attribution, sequencing, and content that converts.

Link: https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/does-every-marketing-channel-suck

## 8. LEAN

Notion VC's [new data shows that startups are getting radically leaner](https://www.notion.vc/resources/the-rise-of-the-lean-organisation); it's a whole new LEAN startup paradigm from the old [Lean Canvas](https://www.leanfoundry.com/tools/lean-canvas) one. Median team sizes are down from 25 to 14. AI is the driving force behind this shift. The best Cloud Challengers are AI-native, founder-led, and operationally tight. They embed AI across workflows, automate decision-making, and scale without bulk.

Link: https://www.notion.vc/resources/the-rise-of-the-lean-organisation

## 9. EVALUATION

[This VC Corner guide](https://www.thevccorner.com/p/startup-exit-strategy-guide) breaks down startup exit strategies—acquisitions, IPOs, secondaries—and when to consider each.

Link: https://www.thevccorner.com/p/startup-exit-strategy-guide

## 10. CASE STUDY

What should your marketing team look like? MKT1 breaks down [how org charts shift by stage](https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/marketing-org-charts), with templates from Seed to Series D. Real-world examples, trade-offs, and when to hire what.

Link: https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/marketing-org-charts