Published in parsa.vc·Sep 13, 2022Retention is King, But Are You Tracking the Right Metric?There is perhaps no more important metric for any business than retention. However, retention metrics are easy to mis-define and can lead teams in the wrong direction when defined incorrectly. One of the biggest mistakes I see is companies that focus on reporting static annual retention figures (e.g. month-12 retention)…Retention13 min readRetention13 min read
Published in parsa.vc·Jun 8, 2022The Importance of CAC Payback in Today’s Market EnvironmentOver the last few years, LTV / CAC has become the gold standard metric to determine the growth and profitability potential of a direct-to-consumer business. Somewhere along the way, the concept of CAC payback got lost, but it has huge implications on a company’s ability to scale efficiently. In today’s…Growth10 min readGrowth10 min read
Published in parsa.vc·Apr 19, 2022Jumping S-Curves: Building a High Performance StartupOne of the most important concepts for startup leadership teams to understand is the phenomenon of S-curves. An S-curve such as the one illustrated below represents the natural rhythm of growth, which follows a pattern of discovery, inflection, scaling, and inevitably decay. This pattern is found in many contexts: relationships…Startup6 min readStartup6 min read
Published in parsa.vc·May 27, 2021SaaS Fundraising HandbookBe Fully Prepared for Your Company’s Next Fundraise This post was jointly written with Michael Miao. The original post can be found here: https://www.ivp.com/saas-fundraising-handbook/ INTRODUCTION SaaS companies are characterized as having the perfect business model because of both the recurring and compounding nature of their revenue streams. Relative to other businesses…Saa S22 min readSaa S22 min read
Published in parsa.vc·Jul 22, 2020Consumer Subscription KPI Benchmarks: Retention, Engagement, and Conversion RatesFollow me on Twitter for my thoughts on startups and venture capital. In 2019, the average person in the US spent over $640 on digital subscription apps. The proliferation of the subscription model comes from its key benefits, which include a predictable, recurring revenue stream and stronger relationships with users…Startup6 min readStartup6 min read
Published in parsa.vc·Mar 15, 2020App Store Trends During the COVID-19 OutbreakFollow me on Twitter for my thoughts on startups and venture capital. As COVID-19 continues to spread, Zoom has emerged as the leading tool to help enterprises and schools continue to operate during the crisis. According to data from App Annie, over the weekend, Zoom eclipsed 500K daily downloads, a…App Store4 min readApp Store4 min read
Published in parsa.vc·Dec 4, 2019Operating Expense Benchmarks for SaaS Startups (S&M, R&D, G&A)Follow me on Twitter for my thoughts on startups and venture capital. I’ve written posts in the past aimed at helping founders benchmark their revenue growth and sales efficiency. This new post is focused on helping benchmark SaaS operating expenses (S&M, G&A, R&D) in more detail. …Startup5 min readStartup5 min read
Published in parsa.vc·Jun 11, 2019IVP’s Hyper-Growth Podcast with Co-Founder and CEO of Brex, Henrique DubugrasCongrats to Brex on announcing a $100M investment led by Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund. Read more about the financing here. In IVP’s Hyper-Growth Podcast series, IVP investors talk with CEOs from the fastest-growing companies to understand the ins-and-outs of company-building in the hyper-growth environment. In our sixth episode, I…Startup5 min readStartup5 min read
Published in parsa.vc·May 13, 2019Is Your Company Growing Efficiently? Sales Efficiency Benchmarks for SaaS StartupsFollow me on Twitter for my thoughts on startups and venture capital. I recently published a post on revenue growth benchmarking for startups. The data is helpful to benchmark whether your company is growing fast enough to be on the path to IPO. The data on its own, however, ignores…Startup6 min readStartup6 min read
Published in parsa.vc·Apr 12, 2019The power of wandering: Key takeaways from Jeff Bezos’ latest shareholder letterIn 2017 I published a post summarizing the key learnings from Jeff Bezos after reading each of his annual shareholder letters. Key themes on the company’s philosophy include a focus on the customer, long-term thinking, and constantly raising the bar. Earlier today, Bezos released his 22nd annual letter. In this…Amazon6 min readAmazon6 min read
