# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending October 25, 2019

Published: 25 October 2019
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-october-25-2019

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

RUNWAY! This is the number every founder hates talking about - How much cash you have left to either a) Raise more or b) Be profitable. The SaaS CFO [covers this metric in detail](https://www.thesaascfo.com/cash-runway-forecast/) (along with a free download on how best to calculate it). Also references [this site](https://startuprunway.io/) - which seems great!

Link: https://www.thesaascfo.com/cash-runway-forecast/

## 2. AUTOMATION

Like it or not, automation is on the rise. [McKinsey discuss what the impacts of automation could be](https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/automation-and-economic-disparity-a-new-challenge-for-ceos) (and the challenge it holds for CEO’s) in relation to Economic Disparity. Brookings also [weigh in on the possible impacts](https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2019/10/21/automation-isnt-the-only-trend-affecting-workers-but-thats-no-reason-to-ignore-the-threat/) from a policy perspective.

Link: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/automation-and-economic-disparity-a-new-challenge-for-ceos

## 3. DIVERSITY in VC

[Total VC deal value has reached $96.7 billion](https://files.pitchbook.com/website/files/pdf/3Q_2019_PitchBook_NVCA_Venture_Monitor.pdf) through the first three quarters of 2019 (on pace to be the second highest in terms of venture capital investment behind last year’s record totals), Crunchbase just released their [2019 Q3 Diversity Report](https://news.crunchbase.com/news/q3-2019-diversity-report-over-20b-invested-in-female-founded-co-founded-startups-this-year-alone): $20B of that has been Invested In Female-Founded, Co-Founded Startups. Not bad, but still only just above 20% of total. Also keep in mind - [the gender gap in pay at VC’s](https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/heres-a-breakdown-of-vc-firm-compensation-by-gender) is still very real.

Link: https://files.pitchbook.com/website/files/pdf/3Q_2019_PitchBook_NVCA_Venture_Monitor.pdf

## 4. WHEN TO QUIT

With the right (curiously optimistic) lens, [this is a really great article](https://medium.com/lessons-from-startup-ceos/flogging-a-dead-horse-how-to-tell-when-to-give-up-on-your-startup-8f4e0bff4644) with really sound pointers a start-up should be asking around traction, use, and market potential of your product. This is also a great complimentary one on [a strategy to make hard decisions](https://marker.medium.com/10-habits-for-making-wicked-hard-decisions-872fda5eda91).

Link: https://medium.com/lessons-from-startup-ceos/flogging-a-dead-horse-how-to-tell-when-to-give-up-on-your-startup-8f4e0bff4644

## 5. SUSTAINABILITY

A reality check has hit the tech (and psuedo-tech) industry hard this year. In essence companies can build products and experiences leveraging tech that consumers absolutely love (such as Uber, WeWork, Lime, and Bird) - but all of these businesses suffer from the inevitable flaw of being far away from having any semblance of profitability. Crunchbase [look hard at the economics of Scooternomics](https://news.crunchbase.com/news/as-lime-looks-to-raise-more-scooternomics-still-appears-strained) and micro-mobility, Investorplace [suggest Uber could go Bankrupt](https://investorplace.com/2019/10/the-owners-of-uber-stock-should-be-worried-about-bankruptcy) and [WeWork just had a MASSIVE down-round](https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/newsletters/politico-new-york-real-estate/2019/10/23/wework-accepts-rescue-package-328484).

Link: https://news.crunchbase.com/news/as-lime-looks-to-raise-more-scooternomics-still-appears-strained

## 6. MARKETING SPEND

How much does the average SaaS Company spend on Marketing? Tomasz Tunguz has [taken a look](https://tomtunguz.com/sales-marketing-spend-model/) and even supplied a [simple worksheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RgDvUTqazEoDB_rEN2Bk3Pj79nrXeIJeUT1WtxKXCds/edit#gid=0). Looks like [10% (of your revenue) is](https://www.bigdropinc.com/blog/how-much-should-your-saas-marketing-budget-be) [about](https://www.bigdropinc.com/blog/how-much-should-your-saas-marketing-budget-be) right.

Link: https://tomtunguz.com/sales-marketing-spend-model/

## 7. LAND AND EXPAND

A [word of warning on this strategy](https://www.saastr.com/silos-in-the-enterprise-good-but-not-all-they-are-cracked-up-to-be) from The Godfather of SaaS, [Jason Lemkin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmlemkin/) - don’t assume a small deal at a big company will magically blossom into larger, pan-enterprise deals, without putting in a lot of work.

Link: https://www.saastr.com/silos-in-the-enterprise-good-but-not-all-they-are-cracked-up-to-be

## 8. TEAMS

At scale this is the biggest challenge to address for success. [Here are some key lessons learned](https://open.buffer.com/scaling-teams/) from 4 different tech startups. Convincing someone to join your startup is a sales pitch all in itself. Y-Combinator partner [Dalton Caldwell gives his advice on how to pitch this](https://blog.ycombinator.com/how-do-you-convince-someone-to-join-your-startup/) and here is solid advice on [how to level up as a leader](https://books.firstround.com/management/pdfs/Digital_book_EM_v2.0_03.pdf).

Link: https://open.buffer.com/scaling-teams/

## 9. SEGMENTATION

From Point Nine Capital is [a great article on Customer Segmentation](https://medium.com/point-nine-news/the-importance-of-customer-segmentation-in-saas-f9fc947fd68a) with a complimentary article here [on Cohort Analysis](https://www.thesaascfo.com/cohort-analysis-explained-for-your-saas-business/) (with a free Cohort Analysis template!)

Link: https://medium.com/point-nine-news/the-importance-of-customer-segmentation-in-saas-f9fc947fd68a

## 10. TRAILBLAZER

My office is situated next to the SalesForce towers (there is more than one) and overlooks SalesForce Park, so I have a more acute interest than most on what it’s CEO has to say (HINT: It’s a lot for the head of a CRM business). But he is certainly full of amazing insight and value, especially for his shareholders - who are up something like 3,500% since Salesforce went public in 2004. The [Dreamforce conference](https://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce) is also looming in my neighborhood (with 180,00 hoody-clad Salesforce attendees about to show up on the streets as well as Neil Finn and the rest of Fleetwood Mac), so [here is an interview from Mark Benioff via Fortune Mag](https://fortune.com/longform/marc-benioff-billionaire-business-advice-salesforce/) - it’s seriously a really great read.

Link: https://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce

## POD OF THE WEEK

[Todd Farnham](https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddfarnham/) tuned me on to this one. It’s a really great listen to [understand ways to solve challenges on staff Incentivisation](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rationally-speaking/id351953012?i=1000450550416) (Also called Goodharts Law - who knew?)

**BONUS**: This is just straight up cool. Harvard have published this new data visualization tool data which can be used [to understand the economic dynamics and new growth opportunities for every country worldwide](http://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/) - have a play! Tech for NZ weighing in at 5.35%.

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddfarnham/