Shiv Narayanan’s Post

Will be doing an Ask-Me-Anything session on marketing due diligence tomorrow. Register and save your spot! 👇

On this episode, I got to chat with Andrew P., Co-Founder of XO Capital We discuss XO Capital’s highly-targeted investments into small, PLG, single-purpose SaaS companies, and how their thesis contrasts with typical VC attitudes. Learn why micro-investing presents a blue ocean opportunity, how Andrew’s technical capabilities inform the ways XO Capital creates value, and how XO is able to scale companies profitably with limited resources. #microSAAS #venturecapital #PLG #investing

Focusing on demand gen is a mistake when other fundamental pieces of your growth engine are broken. The 4 essential areas to focus on: 1. Fix Churn: Improve metrics like 90-day retention, LTV and net retention. 2. Drive Expansion: Scale revenue from your existing customer base with cross-sell and upsells. 3. Improve Adoption: Increase usage from customers with better onboarding as they try or buy your product. 4. Increase Close Rates: Ensure your SQL to Close Rates are above 30%, ideally above 40%. Once you've handled the above 4, focusing on improving demand gen becomes a lot easier. You can spend a lot more money to acquire customers because your ACV/LTV is higher and you need fewer leads to reach CAC Payback Period. #marketing

The more a company invests in expanding its Total Customer Value, the more its enterprise value increases. A good way to think about it is to ask yourself, “What are some of the first things a buyer of this business would do upon acquisition to maximize their return?” The reason for asking this question, even if you don't want to sell? A business worth buying is one worth owning and operating. Plain and simple. There are 4 core levers to maximize Total Customer Value of existing customers: 1. Seat Expansion: Selling more users and growing current accounts 2. Pricing: Increasing how much customers pay for existing products and services 3. Upsell / Cross-Sell: Selling additional products and services 4. Retention: Maximizing product stickiness and reducing churn The most productive and efficient type of revenue is revenue from existing customers because the CAC is as close to zero as you can get. The additional revenue is gravy on top that increases gross margins and total customer value.

Do you produce content reactively or proactively? ✍   A scenario I see too often is marketing functions reactively producing content for all departments ad-hoc. It becomes a support function instead of it's full potential a revenue-generating activity. Swipe through this to get a 5-step process for building out a consolidated content roadmap that supports revenue while setting and meeting expectations 👇 #marketing #content #contentmarketing

Analyzing Single Customer Cash Flow is more important than your CAC Payback Period. While CAC Payback Period is a critical metric for companies to evaluate their marketing performance, it misses how cash actually flows in and out of the business. For example, if a lot of your customers pre-pay for annual plans, you can receive cash for two years by month 13. This cash can help you break even on your CAC much earlier. While it is true that pre-payments for annual plans are to be recognized across all 12 months of the year, from a cash flow standpoint you break even on CAC much earlier. The better you understand the cash flow break-even point, the more aggressive you can be with your marketing efforts. #marketing

I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Solomon from Thoma Bravo on the Private Equity Value Creation podcast 📈 Thoma Bravo is one of the biggest PE firms in the world with over $134 billion in assets under management spread across 76 portfolio companies at this time. They're backing incredible companies like SolarWinds, Quorum Software, Pendo.io, ServiceTitan, and more. Adam and I discussed: ➡ Thoma Bravo's investment criteria and strategy ➡ Value creation levers the firm commonly leans on ➡ Diligence & benchmarking processes Plus lots more... Give it a listen here 👇 https://lnkd.in/etkAztq4

The problem with most nurture sequences is that they are linear. A customer fills out a form for an educational asset and enters an indefinite nurture sequence across email, social and paid channels. - Does a whitepaper download really warrant a 10-email sequence on all your features and benefits? - Should a sales rep really follow up with anyone who attends a webinar? This is where segmentation and context is critical. You need to meet customers where they are not where you want them to be. Nothing is more annoying than receiving sales emails when all you did was read an educational piece of content. If someone only engaged with you at an educational level, keep your nurture educational. If someone engages with you at a sales level, only then should your cadences be sales-oriented. This form of respect for the customer’s needs often breeds far more trust in a brand and product than non-contextual messaging. With this approach, customers are also far more likely to self-select into sales cadences. To get it right, you need to commit to producing enough content to engage with customers when they are not ready to buy from you.

In this episode, I'm thrilled to be joined by Bryce Youngren, Managing Partner at Polaris Partners. Bryce and I discuss how Polaris creates value in smaller businesses, and why this area of the market is under-leveraged. Learn about the tried-and-tested process that has helped them generate impressive returns, including a founder-friendly approach and strategic acceleration teams. #privateequity #venturecapital #growthfund #investing #businessgrowth

In today's startup ecosystem, it often feels like it's unicorn or bust. But some investment firms are embracing the concept of an alternative pathway—an "offramp" for companies that aren't going to be unicorns but are still valuable in their own right. My conversation with Lauren Bonner at MBM Capital helps shed some light on this. Mistakes happen in every company, big or small. The impact of those mistakes can vary greatly depending on timing and market dynamics. For some companies, a misstep can be nearly fatal. That’s why creating a resilient pathway that allows companies to recover and continue innovating is crucial. These businesses often have products that deliver significant value to their customers and clients. Recognizing this value and finding ways to preserve and enhance it is essential to support innovation and growth. How do you think we can better support startups to thrive beyond the 'unicorn or bust' mentality? #innovation #startupculture #businessstrategy