# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending December 12, 2025

Published: 12 December 2025
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-december-12-2025

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK: SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK: CAC PAYBACK

The 'payback' period is the nuance of why we measure CAC. How long until we break even? Benchmark-wise, the negative trough is way longer than you think, so take a seat! New B2B customers, on ***average***, [take 2 years and 2 months](https://www.dropbox.com/s/z3tedek2i7ejen8/7%20%20-%20CAC%20PAYBACK.png?dl=0) to become profitable. This really highlights a deepening dependency on access to capital to fund a SaaS company's growth through these [SaaS Cash Flow Trough](https://www.forentrepreneurs.com/saas-economics-1/). BONUS: [Here are last week's CAC Payback benchmarks](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kels2cqmzrgleyi0iswwy/CAC-PAYBACK.jpg?rlkey=6bqrtzekuwfsi3ngbevzoafmf&dl=0).

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/z3tedek2i7ejen8/7%20%20-%20CAC%20PAYBACK.png?dl=0

## 2. TESTING (MARKETING)

According to [this Reforge article](https://www.reforge.com/blog/roi-of-testing), marketers often don't see the expected big returns from testing because they avoid major risks. Making bigger bets with strong business cases can lead to transformational success - it has some great IRL example bets from Groupon and Google, and there is also a "Big Bet Calculator" embedded in the article for you to use.

Link: https://www.reforge.com/blog/roi-of-testing

## 3. GOVERNANCE

Here is Mark Suster's series on his Medium Blog covering [StartUp Boards](https://bothsidesofthetable.com/startup-boards-ee3ad0389040). With a follow-up article that shows a [board structure by stage](https://bothsidesofthetable.com/who-should-be-on-your-startup-board-c099daa7178e)! He also provides a [blog post AND a 43-slide deck](https://bothsidesofthetable.com/managing-your-startup-board-a-short-presentation-4d709772bc00).

Link: https://bothsidesofthetable.com/startup-boards-ee3ad0389040

## 4. BUBBLE

The tech-ism cycle is generally always boom, bubble, bust, boom again (but a little more chill). Is AI going to be any different? Doubt it. Another good tech-ism is that we always overestimate short-term impact and underestimate long-term transformation. Crazy Stupid Tech [breaks this down](https://crazystupidtech.com/2025/11/21/boom-bubble-bust-boom-why-should-ai-be-different/): hype comes first, usefulness comes later, and the real returns go to whoever survives the whipsawing.

Link: https://crazystupidtech.com/2025/11/21/boom-bubble-bust-boom-why-should-ai-be-different/

## 5. AI MOATS

Fast follow-up from above, and this was discussed a [few weeks back](https://www.top10in.tech/top-10-in-tech/top-10-in-tech-what-to-know-for-week-ending-november-28-2025) - Stratechery now also [makes the argument that, when it comes to AI, the real moats aren't models](https://stratechery.com/2025/google-nvidia-and-openai/) - they're distribution and compute control. As of today, Google wins with integration, Nvidia wins with infrastructure, and OpenAI wins with velocity (for now). The takeaway for startups: your moat won't be "better AI," - side quest - here is a [list of AI Startups that have raised $100m plus](https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/26/here-are-the-49-us-ai-startups-that-have-raised-100m-or-more-in-2025/) this last year.

Link: https://www.top10in.tech/top-10-in-tech/top-10-in-tech-what-to-know-for-week-ending-november-28-2025

## 6. TECH DEBT

Hey - we all have it. Everyone knows they'll have to pay down tech debt sooner or later - Hyperact takes a Product perspective and claims that [tech debt is a product choice, not an engineering mistake](https://www.hyperact.co.uk/blog/tech-debt-a-product-perspective). Worth the read, as we all need to consider tech debt further up the decision tree.

Link: https://www.hyperact.co.uk/blog/tech-debt-a-product-perspective

## 7. VERTICAL SAAS

I got this report from Stripe - [Vertical SaaS is evolving](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/za25sn4cn8j9e86japu7j/Vertical_And_SMB_SaaS_Benchmark_Report_2025.pdf?rlkey=vt9ydz093v5rfdc0oop6h9mgs&dl=0) and the category is maturing fast: 70% of companies now sell more than one product, fintech is the second product for nearly half of them, and AI adoption sits just over 50%.

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/za25sn4cn8j9e86japu7j/Vertical_And_SMB_SaaS_Benchmark_Report_2025.pdf?rlkey=vt9ydz093v5rfdc0oop6h9mgs&dl=0

## 8. ENTERPRISE SAAS

Gartner says global IT spend will break $6T in 2026, with enterprise [software jumping 15.2%](https://www.saastr.com/gartner-enterprise-software-spend-will-grow-a-stunning-15-2-next-year-but-most-of-that-will-go-to-price-increases-and-ai-apps/). But here's the kicker: [most of that growth isn't new logos or usage](https://www.saastr.com/gartner-enterprise-software-spend-will-grow-a-stunning-15-2-next-year-but-most-of-that-will-go-to-price-increases-and-ai-apps/) - it's price hikes and AI add-ons. Budgets are rising, but tolerance probably isn't, so if you're selling into the enterprise, expect harder ROI scrutiny (even if those wallets technically "grow.").

Link: https://www.saastr.com/gartner-enterprise-software-spend-will-grow-a-stunning-15-2-next-year-but-most-of-that-will-go-to-price-increases-and-ai-apps/

## 9. FINANCIAL PLANNING

The end-of-year planning season is here, and SaaStr has a surprisingly [useful AI benchmarking tool that builds a C60-style financial plan](https://www.saastr.com/how-the-new-saastr-ai-benchmarking-tool-can-build-your-c60-plan-in-seconds/) in seconds. Revenue, burn, CAC, payback, hiring - all benchmarked instantly against thousands of SaaS peers.

Link: https://www.saastr.com/how-the-new-saastr-ai-benchmarking-tool-can-build-your-c60-plan-in-seconds/

## 10. CASE STUDY

Super interesting article [updating the classic startup playbook.](https://www.nfx.com/post/hidden-structure-startups) MVP → PMF → scale is old school - unlocking hidden loops, data flywheels, distribution hacks, and agent-driven workflows are all part of the new playbook, along with design roles around outcomes and what it takes to be a leader in this new company design.

Link: https://www.nfx.com/post/hidden-structure-startups

## POD OF THE WEEK

This one is for all you metric nerds (like me:-)) - [Don't forget to allocate CAC between new and existing customers](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dont-forget-to-allocate-your-cac/id1697566096?i=1000737235978). This oversight leads to misleading KPIs, inaccurate CAC payback, flawed LTV-to-CAC ratios, and unreliable unit economics.

Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dont-forget-to-allocate-your-cac/id1697566096?i=1000737235978