# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending May 31, 2024

Published: 30 May 2024
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-may-31-2024

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

Fundraising Metrics. Make your fundraising way less chaotic by [getting these metrics dialed in](https://wrap-text.equals.com/p/saas-metrics-for-fundraising). Unless you are [pre-revenue](https://www.antler.co/academy/pre-seed-metrics), Investors will expect to see detailed ARR, CAC, LTV, retention rates, and engagement metrics. A strong data deck (or data room) can answer investors' questions and show a clear path to growth.

Link: https://wrap-text.equals.com/p/saas-metrics-for-fundraising

## 2. GROWTH LOOPS

Elena Verna (Head of Growth at Amplitude) gave [a great presentation about predictable and defensible growth loops](https://youtu.be/9FHYtjw6mjs?si=-260IKSDmmKdWWiB) and how to make money from them. Elena makes the interesting argument that revenue is an outcome and should not be a KPI in Growth. Reforge has a recent article with some examples and feedback on [how to put Growth Loops into action](https://www.reforge.com/blog/growth-loops).

Link: https://youtu.be/9FHYtjw6mjs?si=-260IKSDmmKdWWiB

## 3. WEB

Super interesting read from The Pew Research Center: Digital Decay, [a quarter of all pages that existed from 2013 to 2023 are now unreachable](https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/), with pages often deleted on otherwise functional websites.

Link: https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/

## 4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (AI)

Historically, in the Tech World, many startups have been vulnerable to their competitors producing copycat technologies - looking at you [Meta/Facebook](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/06/threads-isnt-the-first-copycat-app-from-mark-zuckerberg.html). Generative AI raises newer questions on intellectual property – who owns AI-generated content, and who benefits? ([Google AI search already has ads](https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/21/24161724/google-ai-search-results-ads-test) - gross!) [This article from Benedict Evans](https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2023/8/27/generative-ai-ad-intellectual-property?lh_aid=3853160&lh_cid=cyx1i5mmy8&di=48aa3e8d2ff36f93930b183ac621d5c5) delves into the complexities - looking at ownership, moral rights, and potential exploitation.

Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/06/threads-isnt-the-first-copycat-app-from-mark-zuckerberg.html

## 5. UN-SCALE

Sometimes, while building a repeatable scaleable business model, some un-scaleable things have to be done. [This article highlights three specific non-scalable things sales teams should be doing right now](https://www.forbes.com/sites/steliefti/2020/08/14/why-doing-things-that-dont-scale-is-a-must-in-b2b-sales/#2d7e0b1e3992).

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/steliefti/2020/08/14/why-doing-things-that-dont-scale-is-a-must-in-b2b-sales/#2d7e0b1e3992

## 6. INVESTMENT

Carta's "[State of Markets Q1 2024 Report](https://carta.com/blog/state-of-private-markets-q1-2024)" is out with some quality insights critical for those of us looking to raise a round (or others of us planning our runway). Funding rounds are down by almost a third, and investors are being selective (if not AI, then solid growth potential and fiscal sustainability). In the Seed/Series A side of town, over 40% of funding was directed at bridge rounds, which I assume are VCs protecting their existing startups and funds.

Link: https://carta.com/blog/state-of-private-markets-q1-2024

## 7. PRICING

This is an excellent report from Vendr: [The SaaS Trends Report for Q1 2024](https://www.vendr.com/insights/saas-trends-report-q1-2024) (B2B only). You can compare quarters from Q1 2020 to now: Renewal ACV and Net New ACV (after a remarkable drop last year) remain flat, and buying life cycles are getting longer. Cybersecurity is the leader in new-category purchases. A cool feature at the top is that you can select and compare the category your SaaS may be in.

Link: https://www.vendr.com/insights/saas-trends-report-q1-2024

## 8. MARKETING

Hubspot continues to report on marketing data gathered via the platform with the [State of Marketing report](https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing). TL;DR: Marketers focus on AI, with 77% saying AI helps create personalized content. In this business environment, efficiency, personalization, and innovative tools will drive marketing success in 2024. This[other Hubspot page pulls some good stats](https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics). Again, TL;DR, the average landing page conversion rate is less than 10%, the average bounce rate is 37%, and the SEO click-through rate is 13%.

Link: https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing

## 9. TEAM

Check this stat: [VCs say startup success depends on your TEAM DYNAMICS](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ilyavcandpe_stanford-stanfordgsb-venturecapital-activity-7198363196158599169-KJ5X/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop)(56% of them), then timing (12%), and tech (9%). Tech sector likes teams more (64%) than healthcare (42%).

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ilyavcandpe_stanford-stanfordgsb-venturecapital-activity-7198363196158599169-KJ5X/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

## 10. CASE STUDY

Notion is a great product, and notably, to me, they also run some pretty impressive marketing tricks. First Round Capital agrees and has [a great case study on their different strategic layers of Marketing](https://review.firstround.com/how-notion-does-marketing-a-deep-dive-into-its-community-influencers-growth-playbooks/), especially with community.

Link: https://review.firstround.com/how-notion-does-marketing-a-deep-dive-into-its-community-influencers-growth-playbooks/

## POD OF THE WEEK

**F** rom a16z: [Metrics and mindsets for retention and engagement](https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/retention-engagement-metrics-cohort-analysis-platforms-marketplaces-zKgUegIs) as marketplaces and other platforms evolve over time.

Link: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/retention-engagement-metrics-cohort-analysis-platforms-marketplaces-zKgUegIs