# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending November 25, 2022

Published: 20 November 2022
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-november-25-2022

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK: The nag Metric

I'm bringing this one out of the archives, as I have been nagged a bit lately: A call to action within a site or customer journey is kinda like a parent trying to get their kid to clean up their mess. It gets a bit naggy after a while and gets mentally filtered out. This can impact your brand/NPS or irritate people into churn. The *Nag Score* - [outlined in detail here](https://lg.substack.com/p/the-nag-metric), is an attempt to quantify this.

Link: https://lg.substack.com/p/the-nag-metric

## 2. OKRs

Pioneered by Google a couple of decades back, OKRs have emerged as a part of the suite of modern product and company best practices (that include Lean, Agile, and Jobs-To-Be-Done frameworks). Tability has a (complete!) [2022 guide on the OKR Framework](https://www.tability.io/okrs/what-are-okrs-definition#okrs-grading).

Link: https://www.tability.io/okrs/what-are-okrs-definition#okrs-grading

## 3. DESIGN

Bringing good design into different elements of a business is nothing new to most modern businesses. But there are specialized branches of design constantly emerging. [Growth Design](https://firstround.com/review/defining-growth-design-the-guide-to-the-role-most-startups-are-missing) is one of my new favorites - merging typical HCD/Empathy Design but adding in the pragmatism of [designing the jobs that need to be done](https://hbr.org/2016/09/know-your-customers-jobs-to-be-done) by your customers.

Link: https://firstround.com/review/defining-growth-design-the-guide-to-the-role-most-startups-are-missing

## 4. COGS

Not every listing I write has to be exciting. Important is just as important. SaaS P&Ls are structured in specific ways, and defining what goes into the cost of goods sold (COGS) section is important. So [take a good read of what the SaaSCFO recommends to include](https://www.thesaascfo.com/what-should-be-included-in-saas-cogs). An eye opener for me - where do you record your Support, Professional Services, and Customer Success expenses?

Link: https://www.thesaascfo.com/what-should-be-included-in-saas-cogs

## 5. FUNDING

Startups go through a variety of fundraising lifecycles. [This article is a guide to understanding startup funding/investing](https://startupxplore.com/en/blog/types-startup-investing/) for all of you at the early stage of startup life.

Link: https://startupxplore.com/en/blog/types-startup-investing/

## 6. VALUE PROPOSITION

We have all been asked endless times about our company's [Value Proposition](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/write-value-proposition). In [this article](https://uxdesign.cc/understanding-different-types-of-value-propositions-to-design-better-products-350255cc578b), Bart Krawczyk argues that solving a painful problem for customers is hardly enough: You also have to win the market category you play in. There are also some excellent value prop examples in [this article](https://valueinspiration.com/ultimate-guide-to-value-proposition/).

Link: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/write-value-proposition

## 7. PROBLEMS

The complimentary how-to guide for #6 above: [7 Principles For Writing Great Problem Statements](https://fullstackresearcher.substack.com/p/7-principles-for-writing-great-problem).

Link: https://fullstackresearcher.substack.com/p/7-principles-for-writing-great-problem

## 8. CUSTOMER SUCCESS

ChurnZero has a great new report (surveying 1,037 customer success pros) - the [2022 Customer Success Leadership Study](https://churnzero.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-Customer-Success-Leadership-Study-ChurnZero-ESG.pdf): 50% of CS teams own renewals and 41% own expansion.

Link: https://churnzero.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-Customer-Success-Leadership-Study-ChurnZero-ESG.pdf

## 9. VENTURE

Ouch**:** Pitchbook's [2022 Global Fund Performance Report](https://files.pitchbook.com/website/files/pdf/2022_Global_Fund_Performance_Report_as_of_Q1_2022_with_Preliminary_Q2_2022_Data.pdf) is out, showing that the IRR ([internal rate of return](https://learn.angellist.com/articles/internal-rate-of-return)) for venture capital funds fell to -2.3% in Q2 2022. This is the first time since 2016 that the returns have dipped below zero. This a signal that the era of venture capital outperforming other private market asset classes is likely coming to an end. (Excel version of Data [here](https://www.dropbox.com/s/7fp5a1oht0l2uk0/2022_Global_Fund_Performance_Report_as_of_Q1_2022_with_Preliminary_Q2_2022_Data_Summary_XLS.xlsx?dl=0)).

Link: https://files.pitchbook.com/website/files/pdf/2022_Global_Fund_Performance_Report_as_of_Q1_2022_with_Preliminary_Q2_2022_Data.pdf

## 10. CASE STUDY

Figma famously wandered around in the wilderness in the early days until they found Product Market Fit. First Round Capital has [broken Figmas' growth down (from stealth to enterprise) into 5 phases](https://review.firstround.com/the-5-phases-of-figmas-community-led-growth-from-stealth-to-enterprise). This[article dives deeper into Figma's Early Days](https://medium.com/craft-ventures/conversation-series-figmas-early-team-how-patience-discipline-fostered-a-killer-product-1c78584eaff2) and how patience & discipline fostered a killer product and PLG motion.

Link: https://review.firstround.com/the-5-phases-of-figmas-community-led-growth-from-stealth-to-enterprise

## POD OF THE WEEK

From Stage2 Capital: How and when to [layer Sales into PLG](https://blog.stage2.capital/how-and-when-to-layer-in-sales-to-plg) with Tony Granados (DataDog and Airtable).

Link: https://blog.stage2.capital/how-and-when-to-layer-in-sales-to-plg