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Jason SaaStrAnnual.com Lemkin 🦄 @jasonlk
, 5 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
Young Me, 2011: $100m ARR seems very far from $10m ARR

Old Me, 2017: But it Compounds. In 2018, that same business will be $140m ARR. Possibly much more.

Young Me, 2011: But what if we can't IPO?

Old Me, 2017: You can sell to PE, or do a secondary sale. Don't worry.
Young Me, 2011: I don't really want to do another round. That will be 3 VCs on my board.

Old Me, 2017: Just hold out a bit to $15m ARR. Raise at $200m, don't give up a board seat.
Young Me 2011: The competition just raised $50m+. They will outspend us.

OId Me 2017: That is stressful. But even if they do, it compounds. You will still get to $100m+ ARR by 2016 at the latest.
Young Me 2011: But my team is tired.

Old Me 2017: I know, I know. Recruiting is hard. Push through and go find a great COO or SVP to help you. Just one more. It will refresh the team. And you.
Young Me 2011: The other CEOs around me, like Box and Veeva and Yammer, are doing much better.

Old Me 2017: I guess they are. But it doesn’t matter. You are doing plenty well to build a unicorn. It will just take you a bit longer. It won’t really matter in the end.
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The simplest way to sell more, for a customer from $500-$50,000:

Sell faster.

- Simplify your contract
- Get the contract out within 15 minutes of the call
- Don't create review in legal
- Make pricing simple & fair
- Don't force someone to talk to a BDR if they don't want to
- remove all objections
- train your team on the competition
- allow trials, pilots, whatever makes it better
- don't "break up" with prospects. help them
- don't play games with discounting
- make switching from another vendor seamless
- don't force multiyear contracts
- don't create sucker-autorenew terms. if they forget to autorenew, let them cancel later.
- allow customers to downgrade effortlessly.
- tell them thank you for closing this month, it is a favor. earn it, don't push it.
Read 4 tweets
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The term "the bite size is too small" is confusing to process as a founder -- I didn't get it myself

But I no longer do smaller investments:

1. It means taking on an obligation to help for 10+ years

2. Most investors don't actually help, puts more burden on those that do
3. "You can just help us build our sales and marketing team" is still a pretty big obligation

4. Founders get frustrated later if you don't help enough

5. Creates confusing signaling for later rounds. Am I on the hook for the next round, even partially?
6. What happens when the company does OK but not great? Other investors check out. You can't.

7. No real way down the road to say "my time to help was the earlier days". Only way is if company is rocket ship.

8. In the end, better to just be a fan and a friend.
Read 3 tweets
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Secrets to putting on a good event

Secret #1: most moderators are truly terrible. Start there. A great moderator can turn an OK panel into a very good session.
Secret #2: most CEOs do not want to be interviewed by their VC board members. Those are generally low rated.

Secret #3: everyone >wants< to be on "the main stage". but want they >need< is to be on a packed stage.
Secret #4: you >can< build a diverse set of speakers. Start early. Ban Manels. Tell panel leaders they have no choice. No diversity, no panel.

Secret #5: a smaller event that is packed is much better than a larger event that isn't. much, much better.
Read 5 tweets

Related threads

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#Thread!

THE JOURNEY OF #AfricaTweetChat

1. ATC, @AfricaTweetChat, was launched on 1st February 2018 by @janetmachuka_ & the co-founder, @barryonyango as a platform to bring African individual brands and start-ups to one #digitalmarketing learning space.
2. The second chat was led by @Ugaman01 on 8th February on "How can #Startups leverage on #socialmedia to cost effective #marketing." The chat was successful drawing in a new audience from Uganda. #AfricaTweetChat
3. Name: @Komana_MN from Zambia. She is a charming heart and as pretty as she is, she is a Digital Marketing specialist and founder of @IdeaBizDM. She handled the topic: "Why Building a #brand needs #Content."

#AfricaCareerChat
Read 41 tweets
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Dr. Susan Bradley, founder of Toronto's gender identity clinic for children, has decades of clinical experience with gender dysphoric and autistic youth. She knows whereof she speaks. Listen to her interview on "Wrongspeak" here.
Interview with Dr. Bradley touches on #ROGD , Lisa Littman's study, the huge increase in girls presenting to gender clinics, the link between ASD and/or same-sex attraction w/gender dysphoria, & much more.The feeling of "not fitting in" is a key factor for these vulnerable teens.
Susan Bradley has a deep understanding of (in particular) girls who have issues w/social communication and/or "repetitive/obsessive interests," and how this contributes to gender dysphoria. "The dilemma is that we didn't appreciate this was an issue until about 15 years ago."
Read 11 tweets
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I'm going to chat a bit more about #LincolnGreen🏹 this morning, even if it isn't #Greenwoodensday.

I want to talk about the Oaths, advancement, design goals & something I'm going to awkwardly describe as player in-roads into GM territory in a traditionally GMed game. 😐
So #LincolnGreen🏹 is "traditionally GMed" in that there's a player, called the Game Warden, in a GM role that 30 years ago Eppy would recognize. Well, 32 years ago—before the Bullwinkle & Rocky Role-Playing Party Game. Or 1 BBRRPPG as we in the industry like to measure time.
BBRRPPG I understood GMs to be benevolent, but darkly mischievous, near omnipotent totalitarians. Give or take a little on each of those dials, of course.

The Warden is a similar role. The Warden knows the world and represents it to the other players.
Read 56 tweets
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So, I've waded through the Evangelical Alliance's new pastoral "guidelines" for interacting with trans people (ughh, the things I do to expose #transphobic #ciswits to the world), and let's just say it's time to tear this particular sh*t-bag a new hole.

1/n
CW: #Transphobia, #ConversionTherapy, #Zucker, #Religiously #driven #zealotry

2/n
So, straight off the bat, first page of text, the use of #language is . . . well, yeah, see for yourself:

"It is important to remember that transgender is not simply an issue to be debated;" - p5, #Transformed

*sigh*

When such language gets reinforced by insisting...

3/n
Read 176 tweets
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Will live tweet Zuck hearing here.

In opening, Thune crushed Zuck. Cannot remember the last time I heard a Republican so adamant re regulation.

Feinstein now reminding everyone that she may be the oldest sitting Senator, but she is one of the smartest on this new tech /1
(Zuckerberg looks like he is having a nightmare about showing up for college on finals day having never been to class) /2
Feinstein also says: Cambridge Analytica accessed private/direct messages on Facebook. She also says CA worked for the Internet research agency. Which is a huge announcement of true. /3
Read 97 tweets
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Its #Nethui time!
Now its "Sex Sells: who's paying?"

With @theJDuce & @NatDudley!

#Nethui
Quick interlude: #shoesofnethui

#Nethui
Read 186 tweets

Trending hashtags

#disability #GrandPalugaw #Transforms #WomeninScience #HappyNewYear2019 #brandfinancing #Nethui #mobile #cis #SanctuaryCities #Pharmaceutical #ROGD #targetedtherapeutics #TrueLove #discipline #step #Communication #challenge #respectforpeople #disabled #equalpay #GenderEquity #coffee #PhDsupervisor #traveling

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