The document is a presentation by Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB Insights, listing 68 things not to do when running a SaaS company. Some of the key things mentioned include not tolerating high-performing assholes, not believing your own hype, not worrying about losses early on, not hiring under pressure, and not ignoring sales advice. The presentation provides advice across various areas like product, marketing, sales, and culture.
1. www.cbinsights.com 1
DONâT
do these 68 things in
your SaaS company
From HR to product to marketing, hereâs some of our screwups.
Presented by Anand Sanwal, CEO & co-founder
3. www.cbinsights.com 3
âI just think it is serving a different kind of need. Itâs a different
business segment onto itself. And the segments that we are serving
largely, I think, will remain separate and distinct from that. I donât
think customers suddenly woke upâŠand aid, âWe really donât care
about consistently high quality products, and we donât need service
and we donât need amenities.â I just donât buy it.â
â Chris Nassetta, CEO of Hilton on Airbnb
TECHNOLOGY IS EATING
EVERY INDUSTRY
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5. (if these three had a tech focused baby)
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62
9 16
211
490
1200
1400
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 (YTD)
From the NY Times to Bloomberg, CB Insights data and analysts are cited
by hundreds of leading media outlets every month.
THE MOST TRUSTED SOURCE FOR
INSIGHT ON TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
CB INSIGHTS MEDIA CITATIONS PER YEAR (THROUGH Q3 2016)
9. Because people are
fixated on fundraising,
the chart to the left
shows our revenue of
last year as funding
rounds
Healthy 8-Figure
Revenues
Grown revenue by
100%+ for last 3 years
10. Anand Sanwal
CEO / Co-founder, CB Insights
Ran American Express $50M Chairmanâs
Innovation Fund
Prior work in venture capital and M&A
Author of âOptimizing Corporate Portfolio
Managementâ (Wiley 2007)
Graduate of Wharton (Finance/Accounting) and
University of Pennsylvania (Chemical Engineering)
@asanwal
Questions / Help
asanwal@cbinsights.com
3 Miscellaneous Facts
1. Worked at Kozmo.com â
an infamous NYC dot
com bust darling
2. Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro
3. Have run all 5 NYC
borough œ marathons
11. www.cbinsights.com 11
This will be
useless for
wantrepreneurs, people who
believe VC is required to build a
biz, folks who canât grind, or folks
selling $9.95/month SaaS
products (and many others)
12. www.cbinsights.com 12quote by Mark Cuban
#1
DONâT
take advice from non-
customers
âOnly take advice from those who have to live with the consequencesâ
85. www.cbinsights.com 85
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87. Anand Sanwal
CEO / Co-founder, CB Insights
Ran American Express $50M Chairmanâs
Innovation Fund
Prior work in venture capital and M&A
Author of âOptimizing Corporate Portfolio
Managementâ (Wiley 2007)
Graduate of Wharton (Finance/Accounting) and
University of Pennsylvania (Chemical Engineering)
@asanwal
Questions / Help
3 Miscellaneous Facts
1. Worked at Kozmo.com â
an infamous NYC dot
com bust darling
2. Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro
3. Have run all 5 NYC
borough œ marathons