# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending November 24, 2023

Published: 23 November 2023
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-november-24-2023

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

The SaaS Magic Number is simply the balance between Sales and Marketing Spend and new ARR/MRR created. It's a great number for indicative over or under-spend on marketing and sales (ARR efficiency!). Check [the SaaS CFO](https://www.thesaascfo.com/calculate-saas-magic-number/) on how to calculate the Magic Number. [This article deconstructs it](https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/is-the-magic-number-a-bad-party-trick) and highlights that it's a complex metric influenced by factors like market conditions and company spending, making it difficult to pinpoint specific areas for improvement.

Link: https://www.thesaascfo.com/calculate-saas-magic-number/

## 2. AI part 1

We have to start here this week as we just experienced a crazy week-long year in Tech (and it's still unfolding, so this may already be old news). But to recap: Last Friday Sam Altman was the OpenAI CEO, this past Wednesday, Sam Altman was still the OpenAI CEO. I see no difference. 🤣. But in between, Sam was [fired](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/11/17/sam-altman-departs-openai-as-board-alleges-he-was-not-consistently-candid/) by his Board, a [new CEO](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/heres-what-i-know-about-mira-murati-the-interim-ceo-of-openai-743bc6d2) was then placed, Sam was almost [rehired](https://twitter.com/sama/status/1726345564059832609?s=20), then [not hired](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/breaking-sam-altman-will-not-return-as-ceo-of-openai) as [another CEO](https://x.com/eshear/status/1726526112019382275?s=20) was hired (for [55.5 hours](https://x.com/eshear/status/1727342399297630393?s=20)). Then, in a massive Coup, Sam was[hired by Microsoft](https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23968829/microsoft-hires-sam-altman-greg-brockman-employees-openai), [95% of OpenAI employees threatened to quit](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67470876) (including a [Board member](https://x.com/ilyasut/status/1726590052392956028?s=20) thought responsible for all this), then he was [rehired by OpenAI](https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/22/23967223/sam-altman-returns-ceo-open-ai), back to normal.....nothing to see here. As of the writing of this, we don't know why. Phew. Oh, and the [Board has been replaced](https://www.reuters.com/technology/openais-new-look-board-altman-returns-2023-11-22/).

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/11/17/sam-altman-departs-openai-as-board-alleges-he-was-not-consistently-candid/

## 3. AI part 2

In non-popcorn-related AI news, the new AI silicon chip gold rush continues. Sam Altman (see above) has been [investigating OpenAI producing their own chips](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/before-he-was-fired-openais-altman-sought-billions-for-ai-chip-venture/). Microsoft[will start using custom-designed AI Chips](https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-introduces-its-own-chips-ai-with-eye-cost-2023-11-15/) for their data centers, and NVIDIA, with hardly any current competition, [crushed current earnings forecasts](https://www.wsj.com/business/earnings/nvidia-nvda-q3-earnings-report-2024-c5fed357).

Link: https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/before-he-was-fired-openais-altman-sought-billions-for-ai-chip-venture/

## 4. OUTBOUND vs INBOUND

How you handle an inbound lead vs an outbound lead is quite different. Check [this article from Jack Jorgovan on how Outbound leads differ](https://jake-jorgovan.com/blog/how-to-close-outbound-leads) (and how to close them). Oh, and do you want to binge-watch some Outbound Sales TV? Yeah, I knew you would. The team at Predictive Revenue has been running over 50 outbound sales experiments to find out what works best (and what doesn't.). [Watch the whole series on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAxmz91coGiNze-0mTDjrgrGOnvTqJ9uD).

Link: https://jake-jorgovan.com/blog/how-to-close-outbound-leads

## 5. FINANCIAL FORECAST

Your 2023 new financial year is approaching! Now is always the second best time to start (the first being two months ago). [This is an excellent article](https://www.thesaascfo.com/saas-financial-plan/) with a complimentary [Excel download here](https://www.dropbox.com/s/peu5jijdvp1wahd/SaaS-Financial-Model-v1.64.xlsx?dl=0) from [The SaaS CFO](https://www.thesaascfo.com/) - it's a SaaS Financial Plan for Startups (and works for most SMBs). It also comes with a handy complimentary [video tutorial](https://youtu.be/yZbniuVi1aY) for the worksheet.

Link: https://www.thesaascfo.com/saas-financial-plan/

## 6. DLG

The post on [Scaling Developer-First Products](https://www.top10in.tech/top-10-in-tech/top-10-in-tech-what-to-know-for-week-ending-november-3-2023) was surprisingly popular a few weeks back. Do quite a few of you have a product that targets Developers? If so, then Developer-Led growth motion is the strategic choice. DLG is different from PLG as Devs are a finicky demographic. So get the [DevRel ("Dev Relations") Report for 2023](https://www.stateofdeveloperrelations.com/2023devrelreport). The report itself is well-designed and interactive. It is also handy as Developers influence at least two-thirds of the decision to buy your product.

Link: https://www.top10in.tech/top-10-in-tech/top-10-in-tech-what-to-know-for-week-ending-november-3-2023

## 7. SECURITY

In recent years, APIs have become business critical. How business critical? Well, Traceable released a report last week (based on 1630 respondents) focused on the [Global State of API Security](https://www.traceable.ai/resources/dl/report-state-of-api-security-global), and here are some numbers for you: 88% of firms use over 2,500 cloud apps, 60% reported a data breach in the past two years, and of these, 74% had at least 3 API-related breaches. And finally, an average of 127 third parties are connected to organizations' APIs.

Link: https://www.traceable.ai/resources/dl/report-state-of-api-security-global

## 8. VENTURE

Pitchbook notes that [17.1% of all U.S. VC funding rounds in Q3 '23 were down rounds](https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/us-vc-valuations-stay-on-a-downward-trend) - but there is some light - according to [a fresh Carta article, there is a shifting landscape in VC funding](https://carta.com/blog/deal-terms-q3-2023/) and deals, with a move away from investor-friendly terms despite a challenging environment for startups seeking funding.

Link: https://pitchbook.com/newsletter/us-vc-valuations-stay-on-a-downward-trend

## 9. GROWTH PLANNING

This is a two-part series: Part 1 outlines [four high-level ways to grow revenue](https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/how-to-build-your-growth-marketing), and Part 2 - What growth levers should you choose for 2024? [https://newsletter.mkt1.co/](https://newsletter.mkt1.co/)

Link: https://newsletter.mkt1.co/p/how-to-build-your-growth-marketing

## 10. CASE STUDY

Zapier - one of my favorite amazing facts is [Zapeir's 25k Landing Pages](https://blueprint.store/post/zapier-bring-in-5-5-million-unique-website-users-per-month-with-this-insane-seo-strategy). But check [this article as it's a massive deep dive on their journey from $0 to $230M ARR and $5B valuation](https://www.howtheygrow.co/p/how-zapier-grows): Bootstrapped with $1.3M funding, leveraging SEO (and landing pages!), partnerships, and a user-centric approach for rapid growth and Flywheels everywhere.

Link: https://blueprint.store/post/zapier-bring-in-5-5-million-unique-website-users-per-month-with-this-insane-seo-strategy

## POD OF THE WEEK

Great [Podcast from the SaaS CFO](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4q23-software-m-a-update/id1579374247?i=1000634899770&mc_cid=2d341b6373&mc_eid=7121c45a64) reviewing the current landscape of private equity deals, the changing dynamics of valuations, and the importance of understanding the actual business model in SaaS companies.

Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4q23-software-m-a-update/id1579374247?i=1000634899770&mc_cid=2d341b6373&mc_eid=7121c45a64