{"id":3585,"date":"2016-03-15T17:47:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T16:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chartmogul.com\/blog\/?p=3585"},"modified":"2024-08-06T11:01:24","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T09:01:24","slug":"saas-syllabus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chartmogul.com\/blog\/saas-syllabus\/","title":{"rendered":"If there ever was a SaaS syllabus, this would be it."},"content":{"rendered":"

At ChartMogul we eat, sleep, and breathe SaaS. Most of the time… it\u2019s specifically metrics. But the rest of the time, we\u2019re thinking about how to share everything we learn with YOU \u2014 how to educate and spread valuable information about SaaS business, to our customers and beyond.\u00a0It can be a crowded, noisy space on the web, so knowing where to go\u00a0for quality insights is\u00a0vital.<\/p>\n

Whether you like to dive into the blog of an industry thought leader, receive a curated list of top content in an email newsletter, or engage with a variety of perspectives and peers in a community forum \u2014 there\u2019s something in this list for you.<\/p>\n

Figures<\/h1>\n

\"TomaszTomasz Tunguz
\nVC, Redpoint
\n@ttunguz<\/a> | http:\/\/tomtunguz.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

Tomasz Tunguz is a partner at Redpoint Ventures. With a background in engineering and entrepreneurship, he has plenty of thoughts to share on the subjects of startups, software, and SaaS. And he publishes them regularly on his blog, most often with excellent data-driven analysis. We never miss a post.<\/p>\n

Start with… 5 Mistakes SaaS Startups Often Make with Pricing
\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"ChristophChristoph Janz
\nVC, Point Nine Capital
\n@chrija<\/a> | http:\/\/christophjanz.blogspot.de<\/a><\/h3>\n

Now a managing partner at Point Nine, Christoph Janz spent his earlier years as an internet entrepreneur and an angel investor. Janz\u2019 blog is stacked with data-driven and evidence-based pieces, some of the most thorough and detailed out there. Plus if he sees a certain post is popular, he\u2019ll follow up on the topic shortly after with another blog post, answering readers\u2019 questions and providing further explanation. All of this makes for a very educational follow!<\/p>\n

Start with… A KPI dashboard for early-stage SaaS startups
\n<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"JasonJason M. Lemkin
\nFounder,\u00a0SaaStr
\n@jasonlk<\/a> | https:\/\/www.saastr.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

Jason M. Lemkin is a jack-of-all-trades in the Enterprise SaaS world, and you will definitely come across him in the SaaS discussion online. Whether keeping up with his posts on the SaaStr blog, following him on Twitter, reading his answers on Quora \u2014 or reading his new book \u2014 there is a lot to learn from Lemkin and no shortage of places to learn it.<\/p>\n

Start with… How to Know You’ve Hit Initial Traction in SaaS<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Skok
\nVC, Matrix Partners
\n@bostonvc<\/a> | http:\/\/www.forentrepreneurs.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

A five-time entrepreneur turned VC, David Skok is putting all of his comprehensive experience and advice into his blog, which is targeted specifically to founders and early startup teams. In fact, he kicked off the conversation around SaaS metrics years ago. Forbes and Inc. both laud his site as a top resource for entrepreneurs, and ChartMogul does, too.<\/p>\n

Start with… SaaS Metrics 2.0: A Guide to Measuring and Improving What Matters<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"LincolnLincoln Murphy
\nFounder, Sixteen Ventures
\n@lincolnmurphy<\/a> | http:\/\/sixteenventures.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

Lincoln Murphy is a self-described \u201csecret weapon\u201d for SaaS entrepreneurs, with advice on nearly every topic related to getting a subscription\u00a0company off the ground: business model, customer acquisition, growth hacking, churn reduction, and especially customer success. Murphy has been working in the space for nearly ten years, and publishing regularly on his blog since 2009, so there\u2019s a rich archive and a lot to learn.<\/p>\n

Start with… Customer Success: The Definitive Guide<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"SteliSteli Efti
\nFounder, Close.io
\n@steli<\/a> | http:\/\/blog.close.io\/author\/steli-efti<\/a><\/h3>\n

Steli Efti is THE sales guy of the SaaS world. From sales tactics to sales metrics, he lays it all out there in a candid style on his blog, which also includes YouTube videos of him presenting his ideas if you feel like giving your eyes a break.<\/p>\n

Start with… The no-BS guide to understanding churn<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Bonus!<\/h3>\n

\"Point9The Point Nine Capital team
\n@PointNineCap<\/a> | https:\/\/medium.com\/point-nine-news<\/a><\/h3>\n

Point Nine is an early-stage venture capitalist firm that focuses on SaaS and online marketplaces \u2014 and that also invests in ChartMogul! Members of their team collaborate to supply both unique observations of the industry (\u201cOpen Source is losing, SaaS is leading, APIs will win\u2026\u201d) as well as stories about life inside a VC (\u201cWhat Point Nine Invests In\u201d).<\/p>\n

Start here… 7 Trends that Will Shape the SaaS Industry in 2016<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Newsletters<\/h1>\n

\"SaaStrSaaStr
\n@saastr<\/a> | https:\/\/www.saastr.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

SaaStr began as a community for SaaS founders and executives in 2012, and has since established itself as essential reading for SaaS and B2B entrepreneurs. Focusing on long-form content, the site features Jason M. Lemkin\u2019s excellent commentary and advice on everything to do with the industry. You can also come across the blog\u2019s content in other channels, be it Quora, other media publications, or SaaStr\u2019s own podcast.<\/p>\n

\"SaaSSaaS Club
\n@SaaSclub<\/a><\/h3>\n

SaaS Club is a simple, barebones newsletter that pops up in your inbox every week, alerting you to five \u201cunder the radar\u201d SaaS products and five top-quality SaaS articles.<\/p>\n

\"SaaScribeSaaScribe
\n@saascribe<\/a> | http:\/\/saascribe.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

SaaScribe is a community-driven newsletter where the content comes not from SaaS companies or VCs, but from everyday people who work in and are passionate about SaaS business \u2014 from sales and marketing to customer success and strategy. This makes for a multi-faceted collection of articles on the SaaS and startup scenes, with global perspectives and diverse styles.<\/p>\n

Hiten\u2019s SaaS Weekly | http:\/\/hiten.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

Run by Hiten Shah, co-founder of analytics company KISSmetrics, this is \u201ca weekly email of useful links for people interested in SaaS businesses.\u201d \u2014 we couldn\u2019t say it any better than Hiten\u2019s homepage. Each newsletter compiles articles from around the web to fall into these categories: business, product, marketing, sales, growth, and a quick tip of the week.<\/p>\n

\"ChartMogulChartMogul’s SaaS Roundup
\n@ChartMogul<\/a>| https:\/\/chartmogul.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

Every Friday we send out a simple newsletter of our top-rated pieces of content for the week, gathered from all over. Sign up on our site and let us know what you think!<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

Communities<\/h1>\n

\"GrowthHackersGrowthHackers
\nhttps:\/\/growthhackers.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

The internet\u2019s largest community based around Growth, growing any part of your business or audience. Users can share content they like, ask questions they\u2019re curious about (and answer others), engage in discussions, and participate in AMAs (Ask Me Anythings) with business leaders from all verticals. If you specifically follow SaaS-related topics, it\u2019s a great tool for discovering new ideas, opinions, and information on the subject.<\/p>\n

\"Inbound.orgInbound
\nhttps:\/\/inbound.org<\/a><\/h3>\n

Inbound is a marketing-centric community. It has a pretty simple content feed, where users pose questions that garner answers or post content that sparks conversation. Common topics range from brand management to engagement tactics to SEO, but there is a lot of valuable discussion around SaaS and startup business, as well.<\/p>\n

\"HackerHacker News
\nhttps:\/\/news.ycombinator.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

Hacker News, around since 2007, is a forum where anyone can submit content or start a discussion. While the general rule for content is “anything that gratifies one’s intellectual curiosity,\u201d the site is run by Paul Graham’s investment fund and startup incubator, Y Combinator \u2014 so there\u2019s a lot of content to do with entrepreneurship, technology, startups, and SaaS. Though the format and the topics may be slightly less accessible, slightly more difficult to follow, than GrowthHackers or Inbound, Hacker News is worth having on your radar and diving into if you\u2019re interested!<\/p>\n

\"quoraQuora
\nhttps:\/\/www.quora.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

Quora is the king Q&A website, with a global community and a wealth of information on the broadest and most minute of topics \u2014 it boggles the mind. So we suggest tailoring your Quora experience by following specific topics, such as \u201cSoftware-as-a-Service.\u201d<\/a> VCs and other SaaS thought leaders regularly moonlight on Quora, as well as fellow entrepreneurs, each offering their own experience or evidence to the discussion.<\/p>\n\n

Have a favorite resource of your own that we missed? Tell us about it in the comments!<\/p>\n\n

Share and follow<\/h1>\n
\n

NEW: If there ever was a #SaaS<\/a> syllabus, this would be it. https:\/\/t.co\/BpcK7T5WTi<\/a> @ttunguz<\/a> @jasonlk<\/a> @lincolnmurphy<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/XJKJ4TTlEH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ChartMogul (@ChartMogul) March 15, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n