# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending April 14, 2023

Published: 13 April 2023
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-april-14-2023

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

**RETENTION**: Hey! Capital is currently costly for startups, so prioritizing customer retention is critical. Gross revenue retention (GRR) and net revenue retention (NRR) are key metrics to master. [Here is a valuable guide to all things retention](https://alleged-peace.flywheelsites.com/gross-vs-net-retention/) (and having merry customers).

Link: https://alleged-peace.flywheelsites.com/gross-vs-net-retention/

## 2. VENTURE

New [data out from Crunchbase last week](https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/global-vc-funding-falls-q1-2023/) puts the state of Venture Capital funding worldwide down 53% in Q1, and this includes the mega [OpenAI (of ChatGPT fame) raise](https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2023/01/27/microsoft-confirms-its-10-billion-investment-into-chatgpt-changing-how-microsoft-competes-with-google-apple-and-other-tech-giant) ($10B) and [Stripes Series I](https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/stripe-series-i--485aaa1e) (their 18th round overall) of $6.5B.

Link: https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/global-vc-funding-falls-q1-2023/

## 3. PRODUCT DESIGN

Getting better at Product is a '23 Goal, so I love this [step-by-step guide](https://dribbble.com/resources/product-design-case-study?) (along with some solid examples/case studies) on how to package up and present all that extraordinary research, design, functionality, and user testing that product designers have to endure.

Link: https://dribbble.com/resources/product-design-case-study?

## 4. MISTAKES FEATURETTE

A morbid list of mistakes and failures to learn from this week. First up is a list of [Seven deadly ones startups make](https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/the-seven-deadly-mistakes-of-startups-aa665a2155be). Next, Jason Lemkin [lists his top 10](https://www.saastr.com/what-was-the-little-thing-that-you-didnt-think-mattered-caused-your-startup-to-fail/). Failory has a free Notion Document [from over 80 startups who have failed and identified some of their common mistakes](https://www.failory.com/blog/startup-mistakes) (some fatal). Marketing problems seem the most abundant (and deadly) - but product-market-fit, market size, and value add are all creeping around too. CBInsights also lists their [top 12 reasons Startups fail.](https://www.cbinsights.com/research/startup-failure-reasons-top)

Link: https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/the-seven-deadly-mistakes-of-startups-aa665a2155be

## 5. IP

If you have not noticed Facebook's general MO, many startups in the software space are vulnerable to their competitors producing copycat technologies. Now [Twitter is in Zuck's cross-hairs](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64917397). Please read [this interview from Nico Hodel of Start It Up NYC](https://thriveglobal.com/stories/nico-hodel-of-start-it-up-nyc-protect-your-ip%E2%80%8A/) on how to better protect your Tech IP and Entrepreneur magazine: [4 IP Mistakes startups make and how to avoid them](https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/4-intellectual-property-mistakes-entrepreneurs-often-make/434958).

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64917397

## 6. CONTENT

Viewing content (of your content marketing) as a "product" was an aha moment for me, as was being told that the strategy of "producing ten blog posts" is wrong. Instead, read this Two-part blog ([part 1](https://mkt1.substack.com/p/high-impact-content) and [part 2](https://mkt1.substack.com/p/content-roadmap)) to change your mindset on what good content should be.

Link: https://mkt1.substack.com/p/high-impact-content

## 7. SECURITY

It's table stakes that Tech companies should be continually concerned about the security of the software being built (it's why [DevSecOps](https://www.heavybit.com/library/article/what-teams-should-know-about-devsecops/)is a thing). But for all of you in the B2B Enterprise-y space, technical Due Diligence is also a critical part of the sales cycle (there is a [growing need for chief compliance officers](https://www.complianceweek.com/cyber-security/solarwinds-hack-turning-into-pandoras-box-of-cyber-risk/30001.article), for example). Having some kind of compliance, certification, or training, such as SOC-2 or ISO-27001, can reduce security/audit friction. Here is a guide to getting started on [SOC-2](https://microconf.com/latest/soc-2-checklist) and an [ISO-27001](https://www.romexsoft.com/blog/iso-27001-compliance-how-to-prepare-saas/) guide. BONUS - I'm currently trialing [trustshare.com](http://trustshare.com) as my compliance portal.

Link: https://www.heavybit.com/library/article/what-teams-should-know-about-devsecops/

## 8. DIFFICULTY

Having all your security and compliance ducks in a row is MEGA hard, so the payoff (in terms of customer ACV) has to be worth it. Payoff > Difficulty. This is called the Difficulty Ratio - [discussed more in a Substack post from David Sacks](https://sacks.substack.com/p/the-difficulty-ratio) earlier this month.

Link: https://sacks.substack.com/p/the-difficulty-ratio

## 9. AI

Weekly AI posts will likely be the norm for a bit - because the space is moving that fast right now. This week is a [SaaStr Workshop Wednesday](https://www.saastr.com/workshop-wednesday/) presentation from Tomasz Tunguz that he created via Ai Startups (Gamma, Midjourney, and IA Presenter) covering [the four questions a startup should ask themselves about building a startup that uses generative AI](https://tomtunguz.com/generative-ai-saastr/). BONUS: [The Video is a must-watch](https://www.youtube.com/live/xiYzzLe9BAs?feature=share), too (starts at watch the whole thing as there is a BUNCH of value before Tomasz even gets to the presentation - and the Q&A after).

Link: https://www.saastr.com/workshop-wednesday/

## 10. CASE STUDY

Complimenting #4 above: The[top 10 Mistakes from the CEO of Gainsight](https://www.saastr.com/top-10-mistakes-in-10-years-from-gainsight-ceo-nick-mehta)- Nick Mehta - on his way to 100m ARR.

Link: https://www.saastr.com/top-10-mistakes-in-10-years-from-gainsight-ceo-nick-mehta

## POD OF THE WEEK

Complimenting #4 above and probably one we all need to share around - this [brilliant video covering all aspects of failure and resiliency](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)- and how to get back up when you get let down.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ