# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending June 17, 2022

Published: 16 June 2022
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-june-17-2022

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

(and accounting for the upsell). Often many base metrics (CAC, CAC/LTV etc.) are in service to VCs and operationally don't tell us enough to make good decisions. [This article takes an operator view on CAC Payback](https://www.saastock.com/blog/advanced-saas-metrics-upsell) that includes (and celebrates) the value of net revenue retention. Here[is a very relevant essay on the importance of CAC payback in our current Bear/recessive market](https://medium.com/parsa-vc/the-importance-of-cac-payback-in-todays-market-environment-db025df33d5b).

Link: https://www.saastock.com/blog/advanced-saas-metrics-upsell

## 2. CUSTOMER SUCCESS - Quota

this is an expansion of celebrating Customer Success Teams' contribution as NRR and CAC payback referenced in #1 above. In past newsletters, I have referenced [AE](https://medium.com/north-america-tech-for-kiwis/new-saas-report-from-the-bridge-group-680c2b7cd3d6) and [SDR](https://medium.com/north-america-tech-for-kiwis/2018-sdr-metrics-report-from-the-bridge-group-f7fee0ad46df) metrics and quotas. But what about renewal and cross-sell/upsell quota expectations within a Customer Success Team? [Tomasz Tunguz takes a look](https://tomtunguz.com/how-much-arr-can-a-csm-manage) based on a [report a couple of years back from Gainsight](https://www.gainsight.com/blog/customer-success-team-planning-cost-benchmarks). Most Customer Success Managers can handle between ***$2-$5M in ARR*** and between ***10-500 accounts*** (but it varies based on segment/ACMR).

Link: https://medium.com/north-america-tech-for-kiwis/new-saas-report-from-the-bridge-group-680c2b7cd3d6

## 3. PLG PILLARS

Last week, my post on Product Led Groth was popular, so I added another PLG link this week that focuses on [leveraging community play strategies](https://kylepoyar.substack.com/p/your-guide-to-plg-and-community?s=r) with a PLG mindset.

Link: https://kylepoyar.substack.com/p/your-guide-to-plg-and-community?s=r

## 4. SENTIMENT

Earlier this year, Tomasz Tunguz conducted a survey on Market Conditions and [shared his insights in last week's blog post](https://tomtunguz.com/2022-market-survey-results). TL;DR: 30% of respondents are seeing longer sales cycles. Companies selling to mid-market and enterprise see this pattern with about twice the frequency of those selling to small businesses. Longer sales cycles may be a leading indicator of slowing demand...

Link: https://tomtunguz.com/2022-market-survey-results

## 5. NO, NADA, NOPE!

An overlooked skill is how to say "No" well. This post was triggered by an article shared by one of my team from a programmer's perspective, and it's just way too good to not share as it [is one of the most important skills a programmer can learn](https://medium.com/free-code-camp/the-most-important-skill-a-programmer-can-learn-9d410c786baf). TL;DR - it's all about keeping the code base small and solving the right problems/jobs! On the flip side - when it comes to selling, "No" is almost a curse word. So[this article goes into depth about ways to be Yes, rather than have to say no](https://staysaasy.com/product/2020/09/01/enterprise-selling-dont-say-no.html) - it's a great way to think about how to say yes through the product. Want to get started on your "no" journey? [Here are a bunch of templates for ya](https://www.starterstory.com/how-to-say-no)!

Link: https://medium.com/free-code-camp/the-most-important-skill-a-programmer-can-learn-9d410c786baf

## 6. LAYOFFS

[Question of the quarter:](https://tomtunguz.com/is-10-percent-really-a-layoff/) Is the Tech Industry heading toward mass layoffs? According to Layoffs.FYI, a layoff tracker, [over 16,000 tech workers lost their jobs in May and June is off to a similar start](https://layoffs.fyi/). It's not as bad as the initial COVID layoff freakout - but it's the most significant bump since - but is this just a freakout phase or a new pattern? [Read here](https://www.protocol.com/workplace/tech-company-layoffs-2022) for a deeper dive that's updated often.

Link: https://tomtunguz.com/is-10-percent-really-a-layoff/

## 7. AI

I moderated a panel on AI in the insurance industry last week, so, FYI, the era of machine learning has arrived! I said as such. A Google Engineer backed up my claim earlier this week by [claiming a Google AI was sentient](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22058315-is-lamda-sentient-an-interview) (and also [asking for a lawyer,](https://www.tweaktown.com/news/86816/google-engineer-ai-chatbot-is-sentient-tells-the-to-lawyer-up/index.html) so........). CB Insights has just published [AI trends to watch in 2022](https://www.dropbox.com/s/nkh8hjycokq7l5c/CB-Insights_AI-Trends-2022.pdf?dl=0) following all of AI-based technology's positive and negative roles: Protecting the metaverse, the $67B AI chips race and weeding out all those deepfakes and Elon's fake Twitter accounts.

Link: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22058315-is-lamda-sentient-an-interview

## 8. IDEAS

here is a [framework for managing them](https://newsletter.sandhill.io/p/insights-that-drive-ideation) - I found this a beneficial article with a template that is now on my wall! An HD version of it is [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qB_0Jspito7MRe6z2rOFCoFPlHeKLScH/view). A little bonus is [a compilation of mental models that entrepreneurs and investors leverage to develop new startup ideas](https://medium.com/@AliKAfridi/systematic-ideation-for-startups-venture-theses-77b672ac1ae1) & venture theses from the same author.

Link: https://newsletter.sandhill.io/p/insights-that-drive-ideation

## 9. VENTURE CAPITA

L: What is the overall impact on the VC world in an economic downturn? We already know that deal cadence and valuations have rapidly cooled, but what about the rest? [Take a read of this article for more (including the upside)](https://ventureunlocked.substack.com/p/the-bull-market-is-over-what-are?s=r).

Link: https://ventureunlocked.substack.com/p/the-bull-market-is-over-what-are?s=r

## 10. CASE STUDY

ZOOM remains a total SaaS and PLG rockstar company. Last we visited Zoom in this section (March '21), [they were at $3.5B in ARR](https://www.top10in.tech/top-10-in-tech/top-10-in-tech-what-to-know-for-week-ending-march-12-2021), not just a year-and-a-bit later, [they are at $4.3B](https://www.saastr.com/5-interesting-learnings-about-zoom-at-4b-in-arr/). They have an extremely optimal [payback period of about 3-months](https://tomtunguz.com/payback_period_2020/) and a net dollar expansion of 130%+ while spending just half the average SaaS company spend on sales & marketing (25% vs. 50% of revenue).

Link: https://www.top10in.tech/top-10-in-tech/top-10-in-tech-what-to-know-for-week-ending-march-12-2021

## POD OF THE WEEK

[How to value startups](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-value-startups-vc-school-creating-diamonds-from/id315114957?i=1000566129352) from the team at This Week in Startups interviewing the CEO of Aether, Ryan Shearman.

Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-value-startups-vc-school-creating-diamonds-from/id315114957?i=1000566129352