Kick off to SaaStr APAC with SaaStr's CEO Jason Lemkin

1. Kick off to SaaStr APAC
with SaaStr CEO
1
Jason Lemkin
Founder & CEO
SaaStr
@jasonlk

2. 2023: Strange Days
“It's not over, but so far, it will be our best Q1 ever.
Historically Q1 is not that great for us. Feels good to
get a big win from time to time!”
vs
“Our top line growth has really slowed due to a
material drop in net retention“
vs
“Tough month for sales team with -1.0% growth”

3. 2023: Strange Days
“It's not over, but so far, it will be our best Q1 ever.
Historically Q1 is not that great for us. Feels good to
get a big win from time to time!”
vs
“Our top line growth has really slowed due to net
retention“
vs
“Tough month for Direct sales w. -2.0% growth”
All 3 Were on Fire 12 months ago!
And while not competitive, do somewhat
similar things

4. Public Markets Have Similar Winners, Middlers and Losers
Cloudflare: 42% at $1.3 Billion in ARR (!)
ZoomInfo: 36% at $1.2 Billion in ARR
Monday: 60% at $600 Million in ARR (!)
Twilio: 21% Growth at $4.1 Billion in ARR
Salesforce: 19% Growth at $31 Billion in ARR
Zoom: 7% Growth at $4.4 Billion in ARR

5. Nov ‘21 -> Nov ’22: From the SaaS Peak to the a Bottom
From the top to the bottom In Just 12 months!
We’re still dealing with the whiplash, and fallen
unicorns will still take years to work out
We’re 15 months into a reset
But … have we begun a slow rebound?

6. Nov ‘21 -> Nov ’22: Markets Probably Past the Nadir
From the top to the bottom In Just 12 months!
We’re still dealing with the whiplash, and
fallen unicorns will still take years to work out
But … have we begun a slow rebound?

7. Feb ‘23: We’re Probably Past the Nadir of Nov ‘22

8. 2023 and 2024: The Big Question Will Be Multiples
Multiples have gone up and down in SaaS over the
years, but never before have we seen such
relatively low multiples with such still relatively
strong revenue growth
Multiples up a bit from Nov 2022, but still at 5 year
lows, and still materially below 2019
Higher multiples are startup oxygen

9. 2023 and 2024: The Big Question Will Be Multiples
We forget how
hard it was until 2018 or so
VC Optimist bet: end up
Between New Normal and ‘19
Trend Line

10. 2023 and 2024: The Big Question Will Be Multiples
If Multiples Stay Low:
- “Mez” Rounds will Be At $500m-$1B
- $50m+ Rounds Will Be Rare
- $10m Series A Will Be Back
- Everyone will have to get twice as far
… on half as much
But … even a modest multiple rebound will
take stress out of the system … & is room
for margin expansion
No one knows

11. 2023 and 2024: The Big Question Will Be Multiples
Multiples have gone up and down in SaaS over the years,
but never before have we seen such relatively low multiples
with such still relatively strong revenue growth
Higher multiples are startup oxygen
Most founders have not really lived in a 6x ARR world.
Hopefully we don’t stay there! But … this is the biggest
open question.

12. Overall, Buyers Are Still There. It’s Just Harder Than 2021.

13. Overall, Buyers Are Still There. It’s Just Harder Than 2021.

14. Agenda for Day
Braindates: 1:1s, 1:4s, and 1: Many. Learn
and share something new at these
Mentorship sessions
3 stages: Everyone from Sequoia to
Figma, sharing their learnings from now til
5pm. We’ll close with an AMA back here
as we kick-off Happy Hour
Co-Working & Sponsors We Love: Next
door, all the food, lunch, coffee,
braindates, co-working & sponsors we
love - ALL DAY
Happy Plus Hour: We’ll start at 4pm with
the final sessions, beer, wine, canapes
and toasts to new friends

15. Up Next

16. Up Next