About
Helping, founding, funding, and growing B2B start-ups. Making it a positive-sum game for…
Articles by Jason M.
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Why SMB Sales Reps Struggle to Sell Into The Enterprise. And Vice Versa.
Why SMB Sales Reps Struggle to Sell Into The Enterprise. And Vice Versa.
By Jason M. Lemkin
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My Top 10 Year One SaaS Mistakes. Save Yourself Some Pain & Just Don’t Make Them Yourself.
My Top 10 Year One SaaS Mistakes. Save Yourself Some Pain & Just Don’t Make Them Yourself.
By Jason M. Lemkin
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9 Thoughts on What Makes For a Good Pricing Page
9 Thoughts on What Makes For a Good Pricing Page
By Jason M. Lemkin
Contributions
Activity
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Who's coming to SaaStr Annual in SF in Sep? Checking to see who's coming.
Who's coming to SaaStr Annual in SF in Sep? Checking to see who's coming.
Liked by Jason M. Lemkin
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Ok we might have just had a new low experience with a CRO. But I think the root cause is illustrative. The root cause is trying to find every last…
Ok we might have just had a new low experience with a CRO. But I think the root cause is illustrative. The root cause is trying to find every last…
Liked by Jason M. Lemkin
Experience
Licenses & Certifications
Publications
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Jason Lemkin Just Raised a $70 million Fund; Here’s How he Did It
TechCrunch
Two-time entrepreneur Jason Lemkin just closed a debut venture fund with $70 million called SaaStr Fund. It’s an impressive feat and the latest in a string of interesting opportunities that Lemkin has created for himself since selling his most recent company, EchoSign, to Adobe four years ago.
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Box Will Hit $1 Billion In Revenues Before You Know It
TechCrunch
"And there’s one thing we now know after Box’s recent SEC filings on its run up to an IPO: Box will be at a billion dollars in revenue before we know it. In fact, probably right around 2019."
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Inc.: Is It Easy To Be a Good VC? No, It’s Pretty Hard.
Inc.
"To return 4x on "just" a $250m fund, you're going to need many nine figure+ exits and/or multiple unicorns ($billion+ exits) out of a fund that maybe does 30-40 investments."
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Inc.: Being Acquired? Here’s How You Negotiate Your Retention
Inc.
Jason M. Lemkin talks carrots and sticks when negotiating retention during your startup's acquisition.
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Inc.: What it Takes to Get to $100 Million in Revenue
Inc.
"Lemkin says founders erroneously think of customer success as a cost center instead of a source of increased profits."
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Inc.: What It's Like to Be a Startup CEO. Hint: Not Glamorous
Inc.
"You'll be in the Founder CEO club if you have any success at all. And it's a fun club because it lasts for life as long as your startup is at least somewhat successful."
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TechCrunch: Selling Your Company? Prioritize Dollars Over Prestige
TechCrunch
The thing is, though, once you sell, It’s Not Yours Anymore.
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RedditAMA: Ask Me Anything on SaaS
Reddit
I'm Jason M. Lemkin, aka SaaStr, CEO and co-founder of EchoSign (acquired by Adobe). Was VP Web Biz Services at Adobe. Now Enterprise/SaaS VC. AMA!
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Why Being a Partner at VC Fund is Like Running a Rising Startup
The Next Web
"From the standpoint of a founder, the life of a venture capitalist can seem very, very different. It certainly did to me when I was an entrepreneur ..."
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Wall Street Journal: "Find Someone to Help Carry the Emotional Load In Your Start-Up"
Wall Street Journal
"In my first startup, where I was a co-founder, our investors pulled out after giving us a signed term sheet. We had no money in the bank, and I didn’t have two cents to my name. And I had to make payroll in 10 days. We already had eight full-time employees. How do you cope?"
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Wall Street Journal "It's 2013, not 2007. Don’t Always Follow Conventional Venture Funding Wisdom"
Wall Street Journal
"The traditional wisdom has been that too many investors is a problem because it brings too much overhead management, disinterested investors and a signaling risk if your early VCs don’t lead the next round of funding.
The conventional wisdom remains true, to some extent, but it doesn’t mean you have to follow it if it doesn’t work best for you." -
Wall Street Journal: "If You Want to Go Big, You Need a Patent"
Wall Street Journal
"The bottom line is if you want to go big, you’ve got to play the game. Part of that game involves getting core patents, if for no other reason than defensive purposes and to be a player in the space."
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Wall Street Journal: "B2B In the Early Days: It’s Not Just About The Revenue"
Wall Street Journal
"For a startup selling a product or service to businesses, measuring progress in the first 18 months can’t be done by looking at revenues.
In most cases, your revenues are too small in an absolute sense to predict the future ..." -
Wall Street Journal: "When Your Co-Founder is Attracted to the Job for the Wrong Reasons"
Wall Street Journal
"Before we get to the solutions, let’s understand how founders get into this pickle. Many people are very attracted to the idea of being a founder. Whether it’s the title, the chance to be in well-known publications or the idea of getting rich without working for The Man — it’s seemingly glamorous."
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Wall Street Journal: "Founders: Don't Wait Too Long to Pay Yourself"
Wall Street Journal
"One of the biggest mistakes that founders is make is going without a salary for too long. If you aren’t getting paid, then doing your best becomes good enough after a while."
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Wall Street Journal: "The Value of Bringing Overseas Workers to the U.S."
Wall Street Journal
"The simple fact is the labor market is so extraordinary tight for talented internet developers and engineers that virtually every startup and larger technology company is forced to hire off-shore talent."
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Forbes: Yahoo and Tumblr: What Do You Actually Gain from an Acquisition?
Forbes
"The hard part is figuring the right amount of both integration and nurturing."
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Forbes: How Long Does It Take To Get Paid Cash After An Acquisition?
Forbes
"So net-net, whatever the price is, you’ll probably get 60-70% of it upfront, with the rest staggered out over several years thereafter."
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Forbes: What Are You Paying For In An M&A Advisor?
Forbes
"When I sold my first company, I used a banker, an M&A advisor. When I sold my second, I did not. It was a mistake not to."
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Forbes: In SaaS, You Have to Love the One You're With
Forbes
But the thing is, in SaaS you have to love the Business you’re with, the business you grow into, not the one you thought you’d have on Day 1. Because I can almost guarantee you it will change.
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Forbes: How To Figure Out Your Competitors' Revenues In About 70 Seconds
Forbes
A friend of mine who heads business intelligence at a public web company taught me a little hack that does seem to work pretty well to figure out the revenues of any pre-public SaaS/web services company.
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Forbes: What Information Shouldn't A Founder Give To Investors Prior To Term Sheet, Due Diligence, Or Investment?
Forbes
Ok, given that you have to talk to VCs if you want their $$$, and you have to take some risk to get some reward, what’s actionable here? My only suggestions are don’t do the following without a term sheet (even if the term sheet isn’t really binding as 99% aren’t):
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TechCrunch: Defining The M&A “Nibble” And What To Do When You Get One
TechCrunch
If you are in a reasonably hot and/or interesting space, and you have a modicum of traction (or perhaps even perceived traction), after X months or X years (likely years in SaaS), you’ll probably have a day when you get an M&A nibble. And later, two or three or four ...
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Mashable: How to Craft a Smart Startup Exit Strategy
Mashable
Entrepreneurs often speak of their startups as if they were beloved children. The infant business must be protected, nurtured and loved. Its owner must be willing to feed it late at night, to fend off hurtful strangers, to sacrifice in multiple, unexpected ways. And often, those business owners must find a way to let go.
Courses
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SaaStr University
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Honors & Awards
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Quora Top Writer of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013
Quora
"Quora's Top Writer program recognizes its best contributors–who provide the lifeblood of the site–based on three criteria: best quality contributions over the past year, and best contributions overall, and topic expertise in a specific area."
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Forbes 100 Best Websites for Entrepreneurs
Forbes
"We’ve searched high and low to bring you the first annual list of FORBES 100 Best Websites For Entrepreneurs. Whether you’re seeking advice on raising capital, scaling your business or looking for general industry insight, these sites are worth reading."
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emjl45gkke/saastr/
Languages
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COBOL
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Integer BASIC
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Organizations
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SaaStr
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