Thread by @briannekimmel

1/ “The next generation of applications for the workplace sees people spinning out of Uber, Coinbase and Airbnb,” Kimmel said.

If you're thinking about building something for the workplace, here's what you should know

⚠️ Tough feedback ahead ⚠️

2/ In the early days of the company, things will come easy

It feels a lot like building a consumer product, but maybe better (early users pay $)

Keep in mind: these users are the easiest to acquire

Selling to other startups is a great strategy, but that well easily dries up

3/ Startups churn at a higher rate & have a lower expansion rate

Learn more about the challenges of a purely self-serve business here:

briannekimmel.com/sales_assisted…

4/ Purely self-serve businesses are easily commoditized.

Think you're the only "product person" working on this problem?

You'll quickly uncover others, especially as you are out fundraising.

To quote @davidu: "Good ideas comes in bunches."

5/ Behind closed doors, every self-serve SaaS companies talks about revenue they missed by not figuring out sales sooner.

Find an advisor who has done it before and build the muscle before you need it

6/ Now, here's the really tricky part...

Self-serve is a life phase and you've chosen to build in a space with an evolving business model

I call it "horses for courses"

The people you hire today are likely not the same people you'll have around in later funding rounds

7/ On the product side, product people love joining self-serve SaaS businesses.

But once the core tech is built, those same people don't want to be handed feature requests from large customers

medium.com/pminsider/cons…

8/ On the sales side, there will always be challenges

If a sale team doesn't hit their quota, guess what?
They'll leave for a company where they will

In the early days, I suggest a Head of Sales and Customer Success someone who can partner directly with founders

9/ But eventually, you'll need to layer in a more traditional sales org

If you're a product person, this will feel uncomfortable

Company culture will change and guess what?
You're now running a real B2B company.

10/ As you think about the transition from consumer to workplace tech, talk to folks who have made the switch

Be mindful of the changes that come with a constantly evolving business model

11/ Somedays it will feel like a consumer business, other days you're flying across the country for one meeting.

But trust me, you're not flying to SXSW...

You're going to Newark, San Jose, Omaha and Orlando for conferences😄