Why The Law of Large Numbers is Just an Excuse
Everyone has tough quarters, and usually, at least one tough year (more on that here). As we approach $10m, and then again as we approach $20m, and then again as we approach $X0m … we often blame a factor that I believe rarely is really real — The Law of Large Numbers. The Law of […]
The Top 10 Worst Pieces of SaaS Advice
Advice is very context sensitive, so take this post with a grain of salt. But for me, it’s “Blue Monday” … so I thought I’d take a stab at the Top 10 Pieces of Classic SaaS Advice … that in my experience at least are usually Just Plain Wrong. The advice and thinking that leads you […]
Digital experience and white glove customer service at Brooks Brothers
The Brooks Brothers clothing brand is an iconic name in American business. Founded in 1818, the company has outfitted 39 US presidents and prides itself on offering white glove service to its customers. How does a 200-year old brand translate and deliver high-end service in the digital age, especially when in a price-sensitive consumer […]
A New Chapter In My Life; Google
When I decided to leave SAP to take a short sabbatical I didn’t really know what to expect. Six months later I am happy to report that it was one of the best decisions I ever made. These were some of the best weeks and months of my life. After this short period of disconnecting […]
FinTech and Blockchain: Are banks dead?
Banking and financial services are under threat from a combination of technology innovations, a difficult economic environment, and changing consumer expectations. During a recent CXOTALK conversation with banking technology leader, Oliver Bussmann, we explored the dynamics underlying these challenges to financial services. Oliver was Group CIO for UBS, largest private bank in the world […]
CIO view: Inside the World Health Organization
Photo from NPR The World Health Organization was founded in 1948 as a part of the United Nations. WHO works within the UN system in these focus areas: Health systems Promoting health through the life-course Noncommunicable diseases Communicable diseases Corporate services Preparedness, surveillance, and response I spoke with WHO’s Chief Information Officer, Marc Touitou as […]
CIO leadership: Two female role models
Image from Istockphoto In part one of my conversation with Kim Stevenson and Adriana Karaboutis, we discussed the challenges and opportunities facing women in technology Also read: Women in technology: Advice from Intel and Biogen This second post offers advice from Andi and Kim on how CIOs can add value to their organizations. Both women […]
10 SaaS New Year Resolutions For You. A Pick List.
So you had a great December, added a great VP or two last year, won some bigger deals, and in general — you’re feeling good. You’ve even got a decent financial plan for this year in place. Even better. With all that behind you … let me challenge you to 10 SaaS New Years Resolutions. […]
Let Me Point out to you How Ridiculous the Trump Tech Meeting Was
A room full of some of the top tech leaders in our country: Apple, Facebook, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Amazon, Tesla and so forth. It’s a breath of fresh air to see that Marc Benioff, who has become a beacon for protecting the rights of our most vulnerable citizens, is not in attendance. But […]
Why You Can’t Search for a Job From a Remote Location
I’ve had this conversation many times. A friend calls me up from: Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, wherever and says, “I’m thinking about moving to Los Angeles (or SF, NY, etc) and I’d love to start interviewing. Let me know if you hear of anything interesting.” I usually slip into counsel mode and tell […]
Secrets of a successful enterprise software startup founder
It seems every entrepreneur wants to start an enterprise software company. However, many of these founders do not possess a realistic understanding of what selling to the enterprise actually means. While it is true that enterprise budgets can be large, convincing managers to buy your products is often difficult, complex, and time-consuming. Enterprise buyers tend […]
Time Doesn’t Kill All Deals. But It Puts Them At Risk.
There’s a little bit of death-by-a-hundred cuts that many SaaS companies box themselves into. As they scale, they get out of the hackey way they do contracts, NDAs, proposals, and other documents. They have their controller, then their VP of Finance, then their CFO review things, then hand off to the General Counsel. Which takes […]
Venture Capital is About Human Capital
Gregg Johnson, CEO of Invoca For the first 5 years or so after I became a VC I didn’t talk much about what I thought a VC should be excellent at since frankly I wasn’t sure. I was mostly doing my job and trying to figure out how to be better every day. After a decade […]
Josh Stein, Partner @ DFJ: What Makes a Great SaaS CEO (Video + Transcript)
As a partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Josh Stein has invested in some of the most well-known SaaS companies in the world like Box and Yammer and spent plenty of time with truly remarkable SaaS CEOs. In this session he and Jason Lemkin sit down and dive into what really makes a great CEO, and how that […]
A Newbie’s Guide to Dreamforce. Hint: You Can Go For Free. And You Will Learn at Ton.
Next week is the largest SaaS event on Planet Earth: Salesforce’s Dreamforce. (The SaaStr Annual ’17 will be #2). I’ve been going since 2005, from ’06-’11 as a vendor, and ’12-today as a participant / speaker / etc. I went first in ’05, when I knew nothing about SaaS. Back then, I think it just […]
