Entries by Paolo DiVincenzo
Sub-Scale SaaS Valuation Model 1: Accelerate a Roadmap
When acquirers buy a sub-scale SaaS business, it’s rarely for the business’s revenue. The revenue-based valuation rules that apply for scaled SaaS companies do not apply sub-scale. Instead, sub-scale SaaS valuation is based on the particular reason the target is receiving interest, and this can vary. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, there are three […]
Study the Wall Before You Focus on the Road
“When they teach you how to drive a racecar, they tell you to focus on the road when you go around a turn. They tell you that because if you focus on the wall, then you will drive straight into the wall.” – Ben Horowitz Ben Horowitz has a great point. There are a myriad of pitfalls […]
The VC-backed Bullseye, and What Happens When You Miss
Building a successful VC-backed company requires getting everything just right. Getting it right means hitting a bullseye where three factors intersect: Founder Competency, Market Reality, and Investor Approach. When you hit that intersection, you have a big exit and sail away to your private island. When you miss, you either hire or negotiate, depending on […]
Yes, You Can Make Your Feature a Successful Business
“Sounds like a feature, not a product.” Anyone who has been on the VC trail a few times has probably heard these words. It’s one of the most common reasons for VCs to pass on your business. It makes sense. Features don’t get to VC scale, and they can easily get knocked-off by large platforms. […]
The Destruction of Perfectly Good Tech
Startup failures send perfectly good tech to the scrap heap. That’s nothing new. What is new is that more and better tech is getting abandoned earlier. It’s an inefficiency created by our convergence around a common playbook. It starts with taking the path down a very narrow funnel The standard startup playbook goes something like […]