# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending April 18, 2025

Published: 17 April 2025
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-april-18-2025

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

Multiples. Valuation multiples are so important for determining a company's worth. But they also seem so mysterious as they vary wildly based on growth stage, industry, and deal size. [Dealroom has a multiples valuation guide](https://dealroom.co/guides/multiples) with some great visuals and charts to help us all understand this mysterious metric better and also make data-driven decisions.

Link: https://dealroom.co/guides/multiples

## 2. ENGINEERING

Here is a [sharp take on the identity shift ahead](https://annievella.com/posts/the-software-engineering-identity-crisis/)**.** Software engineers are facing a [massive identity crisis in the AI age](https://annievella.com/posts/the-software-engineering-identity-crisis/) (and so are Product Designers). As coding commodifies (is that a word?), devs must shift from "builders" to "designers of intelligent systems." Product design shifts from crafting UI to orchestrating intelligent workflows.

Link: https://annievella.com/posts/the-software-engineering-identity-crisis/

## 3. CAPITAL

Non-dilutive funding is [having a moment](https://www.thevccorner.com/p/non-dilutive-funding-startups). Startups are increasingly turning to grants, revenue-based financing, and venture debt to extend runways without giving up equity. This post breaks down when and how to tap each one.

Link: https://www.thevccorner.com/p/non-dilutive-funding-startups

## 4. MARKETING

Do you also feel personally attacked by the title of this article, "[You Suck at Marketing](https://cra.mr/you-suck-at-marketing/)." As an operator wearing many hats, including marketing, I begrudgingly have to agree. Most of what works for us inbound, and the result of Content Marketing - so read [this article from the team at Organic SaaS Growth on how to be less sucky at that](https://thoughtlytics.substack.com/p/28-maneuvering-the-biggest-content).

Link: https://cra.mr/you-suck-at-marketing/

## 5. PRODUCT

Product Compass has rounded up a bunch of the best [Product management frameworks](https://www.productcompass.pm/p/product-frameworks-inspiration)—from Jobs-to-be-Done to RICE—and shows how to apply them contextually (not religiously). An excellent resource for not just PMs, but people who want signal over structure.

Link: https://www.productcompass.pm/p/product-frameworks-inspiration

## 6. SEED-STRAPPING

A new for our tech dictionaries: [Seed Strapping is the middle ground between bootstrapping and blitzscaling](https://henrythe9th.substack.com/p/seed-strapping-vs-boot-scaling-in)—raising just enough to find product-market fit while keeping burn and dilution low. Smart, flexible, and, in this new kinda venture market, increasingly popular.

Link: https://henrythe9th.substack.com/p/seed-strapping-vs-boot-scaling-in

## 7. AI

Stanford University is back with a 2025 version of their [Artificial Intelligence Index Report](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bm2g2dvmlil6ttyjdjrmj/hai_ai_index_report_2025.pdf?rlkey=3c5i07bywuewysw9t9620rpk7&dl=0) (the 2024 version can be found [here](https://www.top10in.tech/top-10-in-tech/top-10-in-tech-what-to-know-for-week-ending-may-10-2024)). It's not a quick read. Private AI investment hit a record $252.3B, U.S. funding in GenAI alone hit $109B—12x China. 78% of companies are now using AI (up from 55%), inference costs (cost of running AI prod) dropped 280x in 2 years, but performance is plateauing, and the AI marketplace is getting cramped!

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bm2g2dvmlil6ttyjdjrmj/hai_ai_index_report_2025.pdf?rlkey=3c5i07bywuewysw9t9620rpk7&dl=0

## 8. 12-FACTOR APPS

Another entry for your tech dictionaries, [this framework laid the foundation for scalable, maintainable SaaS](https://12factor.net/). From config to logging to dev/prod parity—it's essential reading for any of us building modern software.

Link: https://12factor.net/

## 9. AI STACK

Inspired by the 12-Factor Apps methodology in #8 above, [this Git-Hub repo outlines what it takes to build 12-Factor AI Agents](https://github.com/humanlayer/12-factor-agents) - from runtime modularity to tool use, feedback loops, and logging. If you're more on the techy-side and serious about deploying LLM agents in production, this is a great read.

Link: https://github.com/humanlayer/12-factor-agents

## 10. CASE STUDY

ChatGPT [doubled its weekly active users](https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/06/chatgpt-doubled-its-weekly-active-users-in-under-6-months-thanks-to-new-releases/) in \<6 months, hitting 180M+. Credit goes to GPTs (custom bots), voice features, and Assistants API. Product velocity + sticky features = growth.

Link: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/06/chatgpt-doubled-its-weekly-active-users-in-under-6-months-thanks-to-new-releases/

## POD OF THE WEEK

Adding onto #5 above**,** Tried and tested AI tools for product managers. Dave Killeen, VP of Product at Pendo, shares his [go-to AI tools that can help make life a little easier for product managers](https://www.mindtheproduct.com/tried-and-tested-ai-tools-for-product-managers-dave-killeen-vp-product-pendo).

Link: https://www.mindtheproduct.com/tried-and-tested-ai-tools-for-product-managers-dave-killeen-vp-product-pendo