Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending November 29, 2024

1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK: DAU/MAU. The DAU/MAU ratio is a popular metric for companies that need to measure user engagement. Rule of thumb: Average is 13%, apps with over 20% = good. If you have 50%+  - you're world-class.


2. AI: Every year, Benedict Evans goes on an absolute blinder in PowerPoint, exploring macro and strategic trends in the tech industry. He's back with this year's version, noting that across his 90-page slide deck,  it's really all about AI again (which is also what he discussed in last year's presentation: "AI, and everything else").....but this year is really about the post-hype investment surge where proven market value hasn'thasn't yet to be firmly established (by that I mean investment vs. Value Creation). He still recognizes that this is the new platform shift - but scale is hard and REALLY expensive, which limits competitiveness. Slide 59 is the best TL;DR: The future can take a long time.


3. TESTING (MARKETING) 1/2: According to this article at Reforge, marketers often don't see expected big returns from testing because they choose to avoid major risks. Making bigger bets with strong business cases can lead to transformational success - it has some great IRL example bets from Groupon and Google, and there is also a "Big Bet Calculator" embedded in the article for you to use.


4. TESTING (MARKETING) 2/2: Experimentation and benchmarking are crucial for goal/KPI setting when starting with Paid advertising experiments and calculating Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) to scale those advertising efforts efficiently. Take a read here on how to maximize ROI on your early paid advertising efforts.


5. PLG vs PLS: Product-led sales (PLS) and product-led growth (PLG) are definitely different: PLG uses product experience for growth, while PLS prioritizes and nurtures leads for sales, leveraging product insights for personalized campaigns and user nudges - learn more here.


6. AI ADOPTION: Slack has released a 2024 Workforce Index for this Fall, which reveals a cooling in AI enthusiasm among desk workers. However, 76% of those surveyed expressed a desire to become AI experts but get it together, y'all - 61% have spent less than five hours learning AI tools. Top concerns include the perception of AI as akin to cheating (and fears of being seen as less competent). Execs, however, remain committed to AI innovation, ranking it above external factors like politics or the economy. It's a bit of a disconnect - which means training and clear guidelines/governance can bridge the gap between those leadership ambitions and employee perceptions.


7. VENTURE: Carta's Q3 2024 report looks to be indicating some stabilization in VC activity. Late-stage deal activity and M&A are trending upward, but early-stage stilll looks to be a struggle, with 20% of rounds being down rounds.


8. CONTRACTS: This is the report none of us knew we needed - but it's the unsexy stuff that matters as there are some insightful gems: A guide on SaaS Contracts, complete with benchmarks such as customer signature roles (3/4 are Executives), AI and ML clauses (big increases in recent years), and the big one, time to sign - 3-5 days-ish (SMB to Enterprise). Have a read - I bet you will have some serious takeaways.


9. TECH TRENDS: Check out the 2025 Tech Trends report from CB Insights. TL;DR highlights include the future of LLMs, the rise of gen AI in education, decentralized identity frameworks (web 3.0 v2?), and quantum-proof cryptography.


10. CASE STUDY: Microsoft leans heavily on the "growth mindset" as a cultural cornerstone of the org. This article takes a deep dive into the concept and how MSFT has adopted it into their decision-making and employee performance assessments. The unintended consequences look to be a culture that discourages dissent and critical thinking.


POD OF THE WEEK: This is a great and timely Podcast covering Founder Led Sales with TONS of good and tactical advice for those of us at the early stage (or who have a heavily weighted Founder_led Sales strategy).