# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending June 21, 2019

Published: 21 June 2019
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-june-21-2019

## 1. SaaS METRICS

This list the top fifty (yup 50) metrics SaaS companies need to understand (and mostly measure) - [Shareable PDF Version](https://nztradeandenterprise-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/jon_davies_nzte_govt_nz/EZY7I3NFl21PmL4jmkl6i1YB-GNFm38UgrflYZBzZtHTOA?e=gfuMvz)! We also have Tomasz Tunguz coming into the mix with [Redpoint Ventures Spreadsheet version](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cdtqPcEcpP9lxqrOINH_FsxF8HBzaE6oKtAU9kPr6-k/edit#gid=0).

Link: https://nztradeandenterprise-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/jon_davies_nzte_govt_nz/EZY7I3NFl21PmL4jmkl6i1YB-GNFm38UgrflYZBzZtHTOA?e=gfuMvz

## 2. PLG

Another acronym for your tech dictionaries - that stands for Product Lead Growth, something that NZ’s [RayGun](https://raygun.com/) is leaning heavily into. One of our favorite tools at NZTE, [Calendly,](https://calendly.com/) is deeply driven PLG organization and their [VP of Product talks more about that strategy in this article](https://medium.com/@ojiudezue_23796/how-calendly-harnesses-plg-and-virality-for-growth-f55c2cd361b).

Link: https://raygun.com/

## 3. CONVERSION

From Incredo - [9 steps for SaaS companies to boost conversion rates](https://www.incredo.co/blog/8-steps-for-saas-company-owners-to-boost-conversion-rates) (beyond free trials)

Link: https://www.incredo.co/blog/8-steps-for-saas-company-owners-to-boost-conversion-rates

## 4. ENTERPRISE

Want to sell product to Enterprise customers? It’s lucrative, but it’s also hard. [Great post from openView on what is required](https://openviewpartners.com/blog/heres-what-you-need-to-sell-your-saas-product-to-enterprise-customers/#.XPa7edNKhTZ) (Time, reliability, integration, and Security, Security, Security!). Missing from this is also good old fashioned cash, to weather the often overlooked [SaaS Negative Cash Trough](https://sendgrid.com/marketing_campaigns/ui/campaigns/5993653/edit#).

Link: https://openviewpartners.com/blog/heres-what-you-need-to-sell-your-saas-product-to-enterprise-customers/#.XPa7edNKhTZ

## 5. VENTURE

Scott Kupor from a16z has [written a book](https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Sand-Hill-Road-Venture/dp/059308358X) attempting to demystify how VC funding works and [Fortune magazine has a great interview with him](http://fortune.com/2019/06/04/scott-kupor-andreessen-horowitz) (a TL;DR version of the book). Andrew Chen - one of his partners at 16z also wrote a [nice summary of his insights from the book](https://andrewchen.co/venture-capital-returns). BONUS: Scott has [this great article on how to raise money from a VC](https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-raise-money-from-a-vc-6637e31543a5).

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Sand-Hill-Road-Venture/dp/059308358X

## 6. DISCOUNTS

Are a great incentive for longer term contracts. But how much should the discount be? Ben "The SaaS CFO” Murray [reviews this in detail](https://www.thesaascfo.com/multi-year-saas-discounts/) AND provides a nifty Excel Template you can [access here](https://nztradeandenterprise-my.sharepoint.com/:x:/g/personal/jon_davies_nzte_govt_nz/Eb8K3RBBL4FPon4BTt30XfwBSqpUhskQCjkTsXjXzD80Vg?e=Usw57b).

Link: https://www.thesaascfo.com/multi-year-saas-discounts/

## 7. TERM SHEETS

During merger and acquisitions when founders agree to [sell their companies to larger entities](http://basisstate.com/sub-scale-saas-valuation-model-1-accelerate-a-roadmap/), the resulting conversations can be stressful. Atlassian wants to take some of that stress out of the process and earlier this week publicly [published its Term Sheet document](https://editorial.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ED/pages/262284/The+Atlassian+Term+Sheet) for acquisitions.

Link: http://basisstate.com/sub-scale-saas-valuation-model-1-accelerate-a-roadmap/

## 8. COACHING

Often times the best ways we can truly support founders are also the hardest to help address. The team at Founders Coach [list of bunch of dilemmas that founders face that keep them up at night](https://medium.dave-bailey.com/what-keeps-founders-up-at-night-7b65fe6cc8ab) (and broken out by company stage).

Link: https://medium.dave-bailey.com/what-keeps-founders-up-at-night-7b65fe6cc8ab

## 9. ON-BOARDING

Doing this well as an organization is critical for retention not only of customers but of your team. FirstRound provide [a list of 6 must-reads for on-boarding success of new hires](https://firstround.com/review/our-6-must-reads-for-onboarding-tactics-that-help-new-hires-succeed-and-stay).

Link: https://firstround.com/review/our-6-must-reads-for-onboarding-tactics-that-help-new-hires-succeed-and-stay

## 10. CHURN

[A definitive guide](https://medium.com/@priyom.sarkar/the-definitive-guide-on-how-to-prevent-churn-d332607a252e) (on how to prevent it).

Link: https://medium.com/@priyom.sarkar/the-definitive-guide-on-how-to-prevent-churn-d332607a252e

## POD OF THE WEEK

Brain Fanzo talks about digital empathy (another new concept for your tech dictionaries) -- [the notion of using digital tools to really understand a buyer.](https://catalystsale.libsyn.com/brian-fanzo)

Link: https://catalystsale.libsyn.com/brian-fanzo