tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post5231994177420108148..comments2023-05-21T13:20:47.722+02:00Comments on The Angel VC: What we look for in early-stage SaaS startupsChristoph Janzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07905463949262014311noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-84758860274394551662014-05-07T08:16:27.426+02:002014-05-07T08:16:27.426+02:00Great article! I have a question. What do VCs look...Great article! I have a question. What do VCs look for in a SaaS company when they are looking to exit?Swati Jainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-70186737577999129342012-07-06T16:55:06.727+02:002012-07-06T16:55:06.727+02:00Although I'm not an angel, I'm interested ...Although I'm not an angel, I'm interested in "business ideas" (as a hopefully successful SaaS architect). <br />Not more than my personal experience tells, that nine out of ten "ideas" lack of a tiny but crucial fact: They have implemented what one could call "faillure garants" (what is something different to lacking of success factors!). One faillure garant often met, is the absence of a bullet proof defensive strategy for a good USP (e.g. like, if possible, having secured one's USP by international patents). One might argue, that out there exist very strong techniques, especially for well driven large competitors (which have efficient tools to lever out the subjectively felt "savety" for a small company with a 'subjectively good felt' patent strategy), but to me the large firms seem to be too heavy and slow in means of software developing speed, and the small, flexible and fast firms, have no tools nor know how (won't tell) for cracking patents efficiently. In other words: Despite the existance of the patent cracking tools, in my opinion any startup must have developed a quite sophisticated defensive strategy for their USP - best before their roll out. <br />If I were a VC, I'd have a very close eye on that, but I'm not and possibly I performed an error in reasoning. Could you please tell me why you don't care so much, as it seems? <br /> <br />Cheers, Nik.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-69853122398946740212012-05-07T22:11:27.248+02:002012-05-07T22:11:27.248+02:00Thanks for the insight. This article is very helpf...Thanks for the insight. This article is very helpful!Danielhttp://youtunez.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-91392175492019638182012-03-03T21:37:00.700+01:002012-03-03T21:37:00.700+01:00Daniel, thank you for your comment. I don't th...Daniel, thank you for your comment. I don't think there's a reason to work with a different standard for CAC in B2C markets <i>per se</i> but in reality, for Internet companies the CLTV of a B2B customer is usually an order of magnitude higher than the CLTV of a B2C customer โ and that determines how much you can spend to acquire the customer.Christoph Janzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07905463949262014311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-86427202731898139742012-02-29T18:09:02.957+01:002012-02-29T18:09:02.957+01:00Hi Christoph.
Congratulations for the great post!
...Hi Christoph.<br />Congratulations for the great post!<br />I have a question: do you have different standards for the values โโof CLTV and CAC because of the market type - B2B or B2C - in which the startup operates?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06068909772760674071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-85836020168816162162011-08-31T01:19:43.550+02:002011-08-31T01:19:43.550+02:00Yes, Jeb, I'm open to that in principle.Yes, Jeb, I'm open to that in principle.Christoph Janzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07905463949262014311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-46433441757036026592011-08-31T00:54:04.741+02:002011-08-31T00:54:04.741+02:00Christoph:
Great post, thanks. Would you ever inve...Christoph:<br />Great post, thanks. Would you ever invest in a SaaS startup in alpha, without any metrics towards LTV? <br /><br />In other words, would you consider other metrics, such as % of active users, as a proxy for CLTV in certain circumstances?Jebhttp://5degrees.usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-14004702559152159322011-08-12T13:57:32.155+02:002011-08-12T13:57:32.155+02:00Very nice summary, Christoph. Being one of your in...Very nice summary, Christoph. Being one of your investments I can tell it's always refreshing to work with a simple framework that allows you to look at facts and base your decisions on metrics rather than opinions. We are very lucky our investors think and act that way!Mikehttp://www.propertybase.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-48685580378059418092011-08-11T09:39:43.164+02:002011-08-11T09:39:43.164+02:00Thank you for your comment, nikisczevak. It of cou...Thank you for your comment, nikisczevak. It of course depends on a variety of factors and you have to take into account various aspects such as the product's price point. But as a rule of thumb, a good visitor-to-trial conversion rate is 2-3%, a good trial-to-paid conversion rate is 15-30% and a good churn rate is 1.5-3% p.m.Christoph Janzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07905463949262014311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18867375.post-63583236329767766602011-08-11T04:25:04.305+02:002011-08-11T04:25:04.305+02:00Christoph, I'd be really interested to know wh...Christoph, I'd be really interested to know what you consider high conversion rates for the first few points (visitors to trial, trial to paid, churn rate)?nikiscevakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03161111531392685144noreply@blogger.com