Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending August 15, 2025

​1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK: Headcount. Headcount accounts for 60-80% of early-stage burn, which means most burn starts with hiring. So check out this headcount planning module to track every hire and salary


2. SALES TRANSITION: On the mission of moving from founder-led to AE-led sales? This article from Bain Capital Ventures makes the case that it's all about the "MVP/ICP Handshake." Nailing the alignment between your Minimum Viable Product and your Ideal Customer Profile is a key step. Without this, bringing in AEs too early can stunt growth (which has been seen time and time again in startup land). Solidify the customer segmentations and product-market fit before even thinking of adding a sales force.


3. VIBE CODING: Those "Vibe coding" tools like Replit, Lovable, and Cursor blend code, creativity, and collaboration. The TAM? Jason Lemkin takes a look, and it's likely much bigger than it looks once you count non-devs building with AI.


4. AI MARKETS: According to Elad Gil, core AI markets like Code, Legal, and Customer Support now have clear leaders. But sectors like Compliance, Security, and Sales are still wide open—and ripe for disruption. A great map of where AI is and where it's going.


5. FULL BREADTH: You heard of full-stack devs - so how about Full breadth? A new one for your tech dictionaries. These are engineers who go beyond deep tech skills, adding product sense, design taste, and business insight, making them deadly effective in those early-stage teams.


6. AI INFRASTRUCTURE: A post on the new AI Data Centers I posted earlier this month was a popular one, so it's obvious that AI infra's second act is here—moving from just GPUs to the 3 E's: environments (realistic testing), evals (robust benchmarks), and experience (seamless dev tools). The next wave is about trust, usability, and real-world performance.


7. AGENTIC AI: Lots of agentic hype at the moment. In this paper, Deloitte outlines why Agentic AI is the (obvious) next leap beyond GenAI; autonomous, reasoning systems executing complex, multistep tasks with minimal oversight (what could go wrong?) Success hinges on process fit, tech readiness, governance, good QA, and upskilling teams for human-AI collaboration


8. VENTURE: According to this new report I've found (The Big Book of Venture Capital), $205B wass raised in H1'25 (up 32% YoY), mega-rounds up, valuations near 2021 highs, and M&A re-surging (driven by AI). But it's not really a comeback, more just a reshuffle favoring top firms, some AI plays, and strategic capital.


9. WINNERS: a16z breaks down why top startups pull ahead, they compound their advantages, build faster loops, and leverage market power. Success isn't just product or timing; it's how to build momentum that's hard to catch.


10. CASE STUDY: Check out how Carta built their own AI agent "Equity Concierge" to automate complex equity tasks for startups. The team focused on high-value workflows, some tight human–AI loops, and fast iteration, which delivered real actual ROI.


POD OF THE WEEK: How the heck do you scale an insanely fast growth company like OpenAI's Sales Team? Check how Maggie Hott does it (along with three other Unicorns).