
Big Data | Thinking Outside the Firewall
A few months back, Gartner placed big data at the peak of its hype cycle for cloud computing, meaning most big data products are solutions looking for a problem. I always find this bad entrepreneurial habit to be one of the most frustrating of our industry. Having recently joined Meltwater as head of marketing and […]

Social Sales | 10 Social Sales Lead–ership Tips
Sales professionals are some of the earliest adopters and most annoying users of social networking. The problem is that most sales reps treat LinkedIn like a prospecting database for cold calling. To succeed at social sales you must have something to offer beyond your product. You must be someone your prospects want to know.

What is MRR Churn? | SaaS Metrics FAQs Part 2
Why measure SaaS MRR churn? Show me the money! SaaS MRR churn is an important SaaS metric that measures the financial impact of churn. While customer churn is an important operational metric, CFOs always prefer MRR churn. In this second SaaS Metrics FAQs article, I explore ways to analyze SaaS MRR churn.

B2B Social Business Bill of Rights | Don’t Get it Wrong!
Which is more important in B2B social media, social or media? For way too many B2B marketers, the answer is media, because they see social media as a marketing communications channel. It is not! Social media is a tool to energize your B2B social business network.

Professional Social Networking with B2B Social Media
I believe many B2B professionals struggle in their adoption of social media for professional use, because they see it as a marketing platform as opposed to a professional networking tool. However, I think if they really understood the purpose and value of B2B social networking, then they would make the time for it and they would use it well. The is the second post in a series designed to help B2B marketers create better B2B social strategies by thinking in terms of B2B social networking over B2B social media.

B2B Social Networking | What’s In a Name?
The term “social media” clouds our thinking about social networking with advertising concepts. In particular, when it comes to B2B social networking, the term “B2B social media” misses the mark entirely.

SaaS Metrics FAQs | What is Churn?
A little over two years ago, I published a series of well received articles on SaaS metrics that culminated in the SaaS Metrics Guide to SaaS Financial Performance. Since then, I’ve received numerous inquiries regarding the many practical quirks encountered in day-to-day SaaS metrics implementation. In response, I’ve decided to revisit the SaaS metrics topic […]

Startup Scaling | Overcoming 5 Key Operational Challenges
Startup scaling from zero to $100M is 10% strategy and 90% execution. You’d never know that from reading the Web, because the advice you’ll find online is 90% strategy.

The New B2B Buyer | 6 Rules of Engagement eBook
B2B buyer behavior has evolved in adaptation to the Internet. A new B2B buyer species has arisen that is more connected, more impatient, more elusive, more impulsive, and more informed than its pre-millennium ancestors. Just as the new B2B buyer has evolved in adaptation to the Internet, B2B sales and marketing professionals must adapt their strategies and tactics to the expectations of the new B2B buyer for online independence and instant gratification.

CloudFlare | Crowdsourcing Web Traffic Control
CloudFlare is a creative and rapidly growing SaaS startup that wants to eliminate website spam the way Postini did for email, only more, a lot more. So much more that the two year old Cloudflare is already rumored to be valued in excess of $1B

SaaS Sales Model and Organization Strategy – the eBook!
One of the most difficult SaaS challenges is choosing the right SaaS sales model. This eBook provides a a simple, powerful strategic framework for choosing right.

SaaS Branding | 6 Challenges of Killer Cloud Brands
SaaS branding has some unique challenges that aren’t covered in the average MBA program. As a new communication channel, the Internet has altered the rules of branding for almost every category of product. However, cloud brands that owe their very existence to the Internet often find that the message, the medium and the merchandise are […]

B2B Startup Marketing | Blog Your Way to Leads
B2B startup marketing is tough. It used to be that you could polish off a high level message and a slide deck and let the salesperson handle it from there. Today, online marketing is the primary driver of revenue at the typical B2B startup. The new breed of B2B buyer expects your online content to […]

Startup Business Growing Pains | Staying Focused
There are a few good things in life that you can never have too much of, and at a startup business that good thing is growth. However, we all know there is always a price to pay for overindulgence. To my way of thinking, the key to being a glutton is to balance your consumption […]

Cloudburst Expected on Wall Street | Xignite Raises $10M
When not moonlighting at Chaotic Flow and Cloud Ave, I’ve been toiling away at Xignite for the better part of the last three years, and I’m happy to announce that the company has successfully closed $10 million in B round funding. The round was led by of Starvest Partners‘ Deborah Farrington who is #77 on […]