Fredrik Haga

Wouldn’t it be nice to run a SaaS business if there was zero churn? Since this is not possible in this particular universe the next best to do is to do churn deep dives every now and then. In addition to the obvious exit survey responses we gathered all the information about customers that have ended their subscriptions: the source of these customers, stated intent at signup, product usage, support tickets, call notes from CRM — everything. Then myself and Markus sat down in a meeting room and pulled data from various sources for all of these accounts. It’s worth pointing out we focused on customers that had started the subscription during the last 18 months and more or less ignored older accounts that may have joined for legacy features or very old pricing plans. Here’s a sneak peek into our Q4 churn deep dive. Roughly 25% of churned customers stated cost/price as the primary reason. Fixing this is more nuanced than dropping prices. For example, when you don’t pay for the subscription of NYTimes - is it because you can’t afford it, because you think the content is not worth quite as much, or because you think you get the same information elsewhere for a better price or even for free? Further nuance: half of these users were only using one feature ie. getting relatively little value out of the product. Another 25% of churned accounts were cancelled by us because payments had started failing and we could not get these customers to respond. And almost all of these accounts were using the product relatively little. What about the remaining half? Around 12% of churns happened in a way where customers churned not only from Outfunnel but from CRM as well. For example they may have cancelled their Pipedrive and Mailchimp accounts and switched everything to HubSpot. Relatedly, 6% of churns happened due to changes in go-to-market and/or tools. 15% of customers left because of bugs/issues. (This is way too high but relates to a specific thing that kept breaking in Q4 and was largely fixed by the end of the quarter) 6% left because they were missing a feature. And then there were a bunch of smaller churn reasons that we see very infrequently. For example, a requirement to get advanced security documentation from all vendors we couldn’t immediately comply to. And here is where it gets interesting. We then made our best guess on what would have kept them as a user. In theory, we could have kept nearly half of said customers. Of the saveable ones: - 30% could have been saved with more/different features - 25% could have been saved with better communication and/or support - 17% could have been saved with better reliability / no issues - another 17% could have been saved by lowering the price - the rest we could have saved with one-off initiatives All in all, doing this analysis was a very good use of time and we’ll surely do this again. Any good tips for understanding and fighting churn on your end? 

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Raising Money the Right Way: The Dos and Don'ts of VC Fundraising Don't Be a Rookie When Fundraising: - Connect on a personal level to make VCs fall in love with your idea. - Skip the NDAs, as VCs respect your uniqueness and avoid conflicts of interest. - Avoid mass emails and spam, opt for thoughtful and personalized outreach. - Accept the final "no" from VCs, it usually means it's a "no." - Don't ask for referrals after a rejection, it puts them in an uncomfortable position. - Surround yourself with a team, solo founders face challenges in fundraising. - Don't over-rely on patents, especially in software businesses. #StartupJourney #VentureInsights #Entrepreneurship #TermSheets #TohundGuide

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🔑 Unlocking customer retention: The secret behind decreasing churn by 28% in a $20M B2B SaaS company in just 3 months! You have asked, and now we have documented our renewal process, and even included a granular template to ensure successful client retention that you can make your own. For companies that have seen a decrease in customer retention, we outline a 3-month strategy that focuses on increasing engagement, communication, and value-adds for customers. Navigating the choppy waters of customer churn can be tricky. But with a strategic approach, understanding of customer behavior, and data-driven decision-making, it's possible to steady the ship. A carefully crafted renewal template helped us achieve this feat. The journey involves various steps - strategy formulation, showcasing value, negotiation, and finally closing. All these steps are underpinned by personalization and proactive addressing of issues. One of the key elements is the Joint Success Plan (JSP), which helps in identifying risk signals and incorporating qualitative data into a customer's health score. This approach helps gauge customer loyalty, satisfaction, and likelihood of renewal. Automation plays a pivotal role too, especially for low-paying customers. Automating the auto-renewal process significantly improves efficiency. Preparing for a renewal meeting? Understand your customer's background, have the renewal paperwork ready, and discuss potential at-risk factors. Remember, clear communication, follow-up, and expressing gratitude goes a long way in fostering relationships. 🤝 Leverage customer advocacy to build credibility and foster organic growth. And if you need a hand, the Infinite Renewals team is here with its expertise in customer success. To dive deeper into our methodology, check out our latest blog post: Decreasing Churn by 28% for a $20M B2B SaaS Company in 3 Months with This Renewal Template (link in comments) PS- Marketing made me do this. Apologies for being sales-ish 🤷‍♂️  #CustomerSuccess #ChurnReduction #SaaS #RenewalStrategy #DataDriven

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🇬🇧 As a VC leader, you invest in startups with very limited data. Even when you go for an investment with confidence, it is likely many question marks will remain. A bad investment decision can translate into a missed opportunity. But a startup failure can cost you hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros. Every VC investment is a calculated risk. However, due diligence often falls short in assessing the human element. A perfect resume can mask toxic behaviour; The early successes of a new venture do not guarantee there will be a long term fit between co-founders, Etc. What if you could access unique people insights about a startup BEFORE betting on it? "Pick my brain... and my intuition" sessions were designed for that. They are aimed at executives who seek an external perspective on key decisions - including startup investments. When is it useful? You have studied a startup investment, reviewed pitches, BPs and market analyses, analysed the available data, gathered references, weighed the arguments. Before making a decision, you'd like an outside perspective 👀 on people: 1. FOUNDERS ➜ Uncover the true potential of people beyond resumes and references. 2. TEAM ➜ To assess teams - avoiding talent issues, conflicts, and burnout. 3. STARTUP-VC PAIR ➜ To understand what the entrepreneurs really seek, resolve conflicts, and align interests. In 1.5 hours of exchange, you will benefit from: 🔭 1. Insights founders and teams. 💡 2. Advice and ideas to enhance communication with the team. 🤝🏼 3. Increased confidence,** in yourself, but also between the VC and startup. All this, thanks to a combination of: 🧠 my analytical brain, 🎂 my experience,✨ and my intuition You remain in control of your decisions. I only share advice and ideas with you, and alert you to risks (which allows you to dig deeper, and analyse things further if need be). In my professional life, intuition has been tremendously helpful (links in comments). How does my intuition translate into a business context? It is easier said with a couple of examples (link in comments). Below examples of situations where my advisory sessions are hugely valuable. 📌 You are considering a startup investment. As part of the due diligence process, you seek guidance in the assessment of the founder(s) and team.  📌 You wish for insights to help address disagreements (or conflicts) with a startup (that is part of your portfolio, or one you are considering for investment). ⏱️ One session lasts 1h30 min 🏢 It can take place at the VC’s premises 👩🏼‍💼 or via video call 👩🏼‍💻. 👤 Startup founders/teams do NOT need to attend - I only need basic info about them. 👂🏼 I intervene either in English 🇬🇧, or in French 🇫🇷 Does your VC need an external eye on people before signing a deal? Get in touch and book 1h30 of people advice to make the best startup investment decision - with confidence! Photo credit: JP Valery #VC #startupinvestment #deal #duediligence #duedil #investing #people

We have been advising B2B SaaS companies on how to leverage community-led growth for over a year now. Those companies are tapping into the power of community to drive serious growth. They're winning trust, loyalty and priceless user insights. Five examples of companies who are killing it: 1. Notion - This workspace app has over 100K members in their buzzing online community. They get users involved in product development, creating a real sense of ownership. 2. Figma - The design platform brings its community together through virtual events, workshops and hackathons. Designers get to connect, upskill and directly shape the tool. 3. Personio - The HR tech firm takes community offline with regular meetups for HR pros to network and share know-how on the future of the industry. 4. Miro - Over 35 million whiteboard wizards make up this online community. Forums, user groups and events help members collaborate and innovate together. 5. Airtable - This spreadsheet-database hybrid harnesses its community's knowledge through forums, templates and integrations created by users themselves. Want to dive deeper into this community-led growth movement? Don't miss "The Power of Community in B2B SaaS" at the Personio office in Amsterdam on May 22nd. We'll have Julia Pilkes (HubSpot), Koen Stam (Personio) and Lorenzo Tiberi (Crono) breaking it down while you network with other community builders from the best sales and marketing teams in tech. Spots are limited: https://lnkd.in/eP8D3ymM

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How do you build a profitable revenue factory? Philipp and I hosted 🐶 Jacco van der Kooij on our podcast RevOps Lab to chat about: 1. What is a revenue factory? A revenue factory has 3 goals: 1. Driving (revenue) growth; 2. optimizing operational costs, and 3. improving product quality. 2. What is a GTM motion There are 5 GTM motions - no touch, low touch, mid touch, high touch, dedicated - that all correlate with ACVs. 3. Six essential models to building a scalable, sustainable, and durable recurring revenue engine. - Revenue Model - Data Model - Mathematical Model - Operating Model - Growth Model - GTM Model To learn more about this fantastic approach to running revenue, follow 🐶 Jacco van der Kooij, buy his book Revenue Architecture, and listen to our wonderful episode. Thanks again for joining! PS: Sorry for poor quality -we recorded from RevOps AF in San Diego attending the first RevOps summit from our friend Matthew Volm & his awesome RevOps Co-op crew

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Matias Ketonen led growth at Typeform where he and his team drove millions in ARR. He then joined Pitch as their first growth hire and helped them build their acquisition engine from 0 to 1. He's been a founder, advisor to startups, and today he is the Head of Growth at Flow Engineering. Matias knows what it takes to win in the challenging world of early-stage startup marketing. In this episode, we discuss why complexity is the enemy of startups, why you should hire generalists, product-led growth, how to create high-ROI content and much more. Check it out on: - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xWMIOG - Apple: https://apple.co/3VTRt3v - YouTube: https://bit.ly/3RTQCPj p.s., If you listen on Spotify or Apple, would you mind rating us? It'll help us grow, and I'd appreciate your support!

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Our strategy at PeakSpan is simple - scaling a growth company successfully should be an iterative, incremental process. The decisions and options you have in front of you at $3M of ARR scale are vastly different than those at $10M and different still from those at $25M and beyond - scale your way into success sensibly, putting your foot on the gas more and more when the data asserts that you’re ready for it and it’s the right thing to do. This video encapsulates our approach in a nutshell - swinging as hard as you can for a statistically unlikely outcome when you’re a young, still very much evolving business, simply isn’t the value maximizing strategy. https://lnkd.in/e96AzU_N

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Why do startups use tools that cause problems? Here’s one issue that arises: The Budget Buster: When Tools Eat Your Profits Those monthly subscriptions add up fast: Significant Costs: A typical small business might spend well over $375/month per user on various tools, which can quickly escalate with additional users. Hidden Fees: Setup fees, integration costs, and ongoing maintenance fees can inflate your expenses further, making budgeting a challenge. Zweelie's Approach: A single, cost-effective subscription that covers all your business tool needs, making budgeting simpler and more predictable. By consolidating your toolset, you can reduce overhead and allocate resources more efficiently. Check out https://www.zweelie.com and sign up for our waitlist for a launch discount!

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Getting into Y Combinator and building a unicorn (not to mention two) is not easy. Tom Blomfield knows more about it than possibly anybody. In his recent appearance on the 20VC podcast, Tom shared his thoughts on how great founders show signs of exceptionalism early on. This perspective strongly resonates with our vision at ETA Technologies. If these signs can be identified and presented in a sophisticated as well as quantified format, it can significantly aid in discovering the next unicorn founders. After all, investors always invest in people. #startups #venturecapital #fundraising https://lnkd.in/gaF-7zed

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Here are 5 things that sales leaders do wrong when comparing discount policy strategies between PLG & Sales-Led-Growth Some mistakes I frequently observe: ⚠️ Too transparent pricing page on website: if for 100% of your sales, a salesperson's intervention is necessary, providing price indications (use the magic word "from") can suffice. ⚠️Not enough discount rules whereas good rules allow for balanced discussions (or negotiations) with prospects. The consequences are: 1. Lower conversion rates 2. Missing opportunities to gauge prospects' reactions and identify future improvements. 🔍 ps: this is what I use to quickly identify if a company is on the wrong track with its discounts. Feel free to share and let me know what you think.

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📣 Venture fund managers looking for a fundraising deck that'll impress LPs... Below is an ultimate VC fund deck template you can download and customize from M'idea Hub with tips on making your next fundraising deck more impactful, which slides to include, and how to design your layout best to convey your message and highlight the key numbers. This PowerPoint Template includes: 👉 Over 20 pre-made slide designs with proven layouts 👉 A variety of assets (charts and icons) ⬇ Download here or below: https://lnkd.in/gZEKEdkB #FundraisingDeck #OpenLP #Fundraising

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DealHub.io 🤝 Deel What happens when one of the fastest growing software companies *in history* needs to level-up their quote-to-revenue workflow to support their continued hypergrowth? For Deel, their due diligence and research led them to one place: DealHub. According to Austin Kiessig, Senior Revenue Operations Director at Deel, continuing to operate without a more robust #CPQ solution meant their team "would've had to grow with a volume of quotes that was literally doubling every month... an exponential growth curve. And that simply wasn't a sustainable path for any of the people involved." Find out how Deel cut the time it takes to generate the average quote from the better part of a day to just ten minutes and were up and running with their implementation in less than half the time other solutions would have taken. Check out the full case study here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eZWWArYW

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(Sound on for full effect) Want to know the deal with startups? 🤔 Getting a startup running is hard, but that’s just the beginning of it. Once you do, you still have to deal with: ✅ launching MVPs to validate your offer ✅ setting up deal rooms for fundraising ✅ executing sprints to gain data and traction and a whole list of other things that startup founders we talked to describes as a constant unending headache. 🤕 The best solution is to delegate to an expert 👩‍💼who understands the headache + knows how to organize efforts into clear-cut outcomes. ⭐️ Visit www.taotter.com if you’re interested. ✨✨✨ #hireanexpert #startupspecialist #outsourcing #operationsmanager

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Founder Question of the Week! 🤔 Ever wondered what the biggest mistake startup founders make when pitching to investors? Here’s a key insight from our latest guest: 1. Lack of specificity when targeting investors 2. Failing to build relationships before asking for funding 💡 What’s your burning question about startup success? Drop it below, and let’s get answers! #ForgingTheFuture #StartupTips #AskAFounder

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Where to find investments when your startup is on an early stage without traction? Or even when you have only an idea? 🤔 From my experience, the best way is to apply to accelerators! At Fluently we were accepted to Y Combinator. That was a life-changing experience for me and my company. And it is definitely the top 1 accelerator to apply to. However, besides YC, there are dozens of other great options. Here are my top 10 accelerators that you can apply at a super early stage: 1. Y Combinator | Pre-Seed, $500k for ~10% 2. Entrepreneur First | No team, $250k for ~9% 3. South Park Commons | Pre-Idea, $1M 4. Antler Global | Pre-Seed, $250k for 9% 5. Sequoia Capital Arc | Pre-Seed, Seed $500k - $1m 6. HF0 Residency | Pre-Seed, $500k uncapped + 3% 7. Pioneer | Pre-Idea, $20k for 1% 8. Pear VC | Pre-Seed, $250K - $2M 9. Techstars | Pre-Seed, $100k for 6% 10. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Start Program | Pre-Seed. $500k - $1m And remember fundraising is a low-probability game. At the end of the previous year I submitted 20 applications, and only 1 succeeded (it was YC). So don’t give up, because every "no" gets you closer to that one "yes" 💪

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