Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending August 30, 2024

1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK: CUSTOMER SCORECARD - This article from ProductLed introduces the "Customer Scorecard" and highlights the power of a key metric, the "North Star," to align team and user interests.


2. SCALE: This is a must-download. Mark Roberge, the founder of Stage 2 Capital and member of the founding team at HubSpot, has launched this incredible playbook for scaling. In this detailed book, Mark has defined different stages of scale, established quantifiable measures for each stage, structured the sequence and signals of when to move from one stage to the next, and explored the optimal go-to-market design of each one.


3. VENTURE-STRAPPED: This is a Top10inTech-ism for your tech dictionaries for a hybrid startup that is a mash-up of the old debate of bootstrapped vs. VC financing and applies to startups who raise only once. Which anecdotally seems to be a more common practice in these new market conditions (including Klaviyo and Zapier). Jason Lemkin notes this new one-and-done third way.


4. VALUATIONS: Despite the economic doom and gloom and VC challenges, early-stage companies are seeing high valuations driven by strong investor interest, especially with AI still frothy, but also in biotech.


5. LAW: From CBInsights is a 67-page report covering the 11 laws driving success in tech. These law-isms cover concepts such as Amazon's 2-pizza rule, the 80/20 principle, and more.


6. AI (SALES): AI sales reps are seeing rapid growth, but VCs look to be cautious due to long-term sustainability concerns and competition from incumbents (Salesforce has released agents that execute tasks such as answering inbound lead questions and booking meetings (RIP SDRs?).


7. RAISE: Whoa - a whopper guide (149 pages) that provides actionable insights for navigating the complexities of raising capital, covering investor relations, pitching essentials, market awareness, and the fundraising process.


8. PLG: Bessemer Venture Partners outlines an updated-for-2024 ten key principles for driving product-led growth (PLG); it's all about user experience, data-driven decision-making, and seamless onboarding. The article also touches on the need for continuous product iteration, clear value communication, and alignment of the entire organization around PLG strategies.


9. IT SPEND: Last week's copy of Clouded Judgement took a look at how Generative AI could double software's share of IT budgets (from roughly 25% to 50%). This increase would also result in a reduced headcount and outsourcing spend as AI-driven solutions become more integral to IT strategies. And in a separate report from IDC, worldwide spending on AI is forecast to hit $632B by 2028.


10. CASE STUDY: ONBOARDING: Kate Syuma breaks down key behavioral principles and dark patterns in user onboarding, with examples from Dropbox, Figma, and more. Learn how to optimize onboarding to improve user activation and retention. BONUS: The article also offers insights from "The Holistic Growth Playbook," including a deep dive into user psychology.


POD OF THE WEEK: A great episode of Carta's Data Minute that covers how VC investment strategies work, pre-seed deals, the differences between multi-stage and small funds, and how SAFEs and pre-seed investing have changed.