Issue 312 / 376 10 signals + pod 13 source links Markdown

The weekly top 10 for B2B tech operators · Every Friday

February 20th 2025

Friday 09:00 NZT Curated by Jon Davies
February 20th, 2025

SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

Fundraising Metrics. Make your fundraising way less chaotic by getting these metrics dialed in. Unless you are pre-revenue, Investors will expect to see detailed ARR, CAC, LTV, retention rates, and engagement metrics. A strong data deck (or data room) can answer investors' questions and show a clear path to growth.

PPG

Tech dictionary time - another acronym for you: PPG or People Powered Growth. This is a derivative of product-led growth, which consists of a cross-functional team with both customer-facing and non-customer-facing members. It's a People + Product partnership that develops and tests solutions, searching for ways to scale human interactions/intervention with a product. Some examples of PPG companies are Drift, Dropbox, and Loom.

PRODUCT-MARKET FIT

Finding Product-market fit isn't a one-and-done event—just like the product you ship, it's an ongoing process. This updated playbook breaks down the key signals, from retention curves to sales velocity, and the tactical moves to iterate faster. If you're still guessing, this is your roadmap.

MARKETS

Carta's Q4 2024 report is out and shows a fairly dynamic shift in private markets. Early-stage startups saw a 36% drop in deal activity. Series D rounds are up 60% YoY, and Series C bridge valuations doubled! Hopefully, this will give investors confidence in scaling ventures. Despite early-stage declines, median valuations rose by 22%, and M&A activity hit a record high, with 333 deals in 2H 2024.

FREEMIUM

AI is sparking a freemium renaissance in SaaS, according to Jason Lemkin. OpenAI and Claude offer robust free tiers, setting new customer expectations. Established players like PagerDuty, HubSpot, and Cloudflare are doubling down on freemium models to drive growth and enterprise pipeline. With AI costs plummeting, embracing freemium is both feasible and strategic.

GTM 2

Fast follow from above, Enterprise GTMs are a lil' different, as they aren't just about sales—it's orchestration. This article breaks down the critical pillars: cross-team alignment, stakeholder mapping, sales productivity, and support structures that make or break frustratingly complex deals.

SCALE

Hitting $1M ARR is part luck and part product (and PMF), but you don't get there without execution. Bessemer Ventures breaks down what separates those winners: selling before building, picking the right GTM motion early, and ruthlessly qualifying customers. If you're grinding through the early days, this is a solid playbook

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