# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending June 13, 2025

Published: 12 June 2025
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-june-13-2025

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

Here is a new one - [The Customer Success Ratio](https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/how-much-should-you-invest-in-customer). Calculate this as CSM expense ÷ Net New ARR from Existing Customers. Track it to see if your post-sale team drives growth or burns margin. Rule of thumb: keep it \<10%.

Link: https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/how-much-should-you-invest-in-customer

## 2. AI

Bond Capital's monster [340-slide AI report](https://www.bondcap.com/report/pdf/Trends_Artificial_Intelligence.pdf) is a goldmine: ChatGPT scaled 20x faster than the internet (*p. 20*), 73% say AI sounds human (*p. 26*), inference costs down 99% (*p. 40*), agent apps surging (*p. 93*), revenue scaling fast (*p. 102*), 70% of GenAI users seeing productivity gains (*p. 109*).

Link: https://www.bondcap.com/report/pdf/Trends_Artificial_Intelligence.pdf

## 3. UNICORN

The [30-year unicorn backlog](https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/exits-unicorn-backlog-shrinks-ai-cyber-health/) may finally be moving (this is referencing the 700+ unicorns stuck in private markets). Q2 saw 20 unicorn exits (vs. six last year), led by AI, cyber & health. Wiz's $32B buyout, CoreWeave IPO & more signal some kinda thaw—but with 700+ unicorns still waiting, this logjam may take some time.

Link: https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/exits-unicorn-backlog-shrinks-ai-cyber-health/

## 4. VENTURE

VCs seem to be funding two things: [AI & SaaS](https://mondaymorning.substack.com/p/vcs-are-funding-two-things-right)—but in very different ways. AI receives massive rounds, but even pre-revenue SaaS companies must show traction and efficiency. AI = 'fund the vision,' SaaS = 'fund metrics.' Same VCs, two mindsets.

Link: https://mondaymorning.substack.com/p/vcs-are-funding-two-things-right

## 5. GROWTH

Unlike the focus of #3 above, [mostlymetrics breaks down why 10-15% annual SaaS growth](https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/it-aint-much-but-its-honest-work) is just fine for many. Not every startup is a rocket ship—and that's OK. Realistic growth expectations & compounding wins > unicorn-chasing.

Link: https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/it-aint-much-but-its-honest-work

## 6. PRODUCTIVITY

I've been having lots of productivity talks over the past few weeks, and [this is a great article](https://newsletter.eng-leadership.com/p/15-productivity-hacks-every-engineer) that validates a lot of the discussions (and, tbh, gave me a few hard truths to act on). It's targeted at engineers, but the 15 productivity hacks here apply to any knowledge worker IMO. High-signal, no fluff.

Link: https://newsletter.eng-leadership.com/p/15-productivity-hacks-every-engineer

## 7. MARKETING

Here is a GitHub treasure trove: [Marketing for Founders](https://github.com/EdoStra/Marketing-for-Founders). Crowdsourced, no-nonsense advice across positioning, pricing, SEO & more. A really practical resource worth bookmarking for revisits.

Link: https://github.com/EdoStra/Marketing-for-Founders

## 8. PRICING

Check out [this go-to pricing guide for early-stage founders](https://www.thevccorner.com/p/the-go-to-pricing-guide-for-early). It covers freemium, premium, usage-based, and hybrid models—plus when (and how) to charge more.

Link: https://www.thevccorner.com/p/the-go-to-pricing-guide-for-early

## 9. MOATS (AI)

Clouded Judgement [dives into what modern SaaS moats in the modern AI world look like](https://cloudedjudgement.substack.com/p/clouded-judgement-53025-moats-in): Speed isn't just important; it is the moat. As well as scale, network effects, brand, and distribution. But because AI compresses product moats, this all matters more than ever. (also read the rest of that post - tons of nuggets always in there - benchmarks on multiples, revenues, gross margin, etc., etc.)

Link: https://cloudedjudgement.substack.com/p/clouded-judgement-53025-moats-in

## 10. CASE STUDY

Perplexity AI is scaling fast! Check [this deep dive on its acquisition and retention machine](https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com/p/how-perplexity-grows-dissection-acquisition-and-retention). Sixty percent of traffic is direct, mobile usage is exploding, and SEO and product-led virality do the heavy lifting.

Link: https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com/p/how-perplexity-grows-dissection-acquisition-and-retention

## POD OF THE WEEK

Adding on to number 9 above on speed as a Moat - Sam Parr and Shaan Puri talk to Jason Lemkin about [cloning yourself with AI and how ChatGPT will be the end of incumbent apps.](https://youtu.be/53ADYulqo8w?si=nsaXBy12AAJD0aZf)

Link: https://youtu.be/53ADYulqo8w?si=nsaXBy12AAJD0aZf