The 10 Most Popular Posts from the Visible Reading List in 2017
In 2017, we curated 200+ blog posts to the “Visible Reading Lists” covering everything from fundraising, investor relations, sales, and finance. Below, we lay out the 10 most popular posts among founders over the past year.
1. OpenView’s 2017 Expansion Benchmarks (link to article)
The team at OpenView Labs surveyed 300+ software companies and shares an in-depth report covering the takeaways from the research. In the report, you will find insights covering everything from CAC and churn metrics to employee count and leadership diversity.
2. What the “Rule of 40” Means at the Early Stage (link to article)
Greg Sands of Costanoa Ventures breaks down the Rule of 40 (Growth Rate + Profit > 40%) and why early stage companies should be more concerned with unit economics.
3. The Best VCs are Listeners (link to article)
Eric Tobias of High Alpha makes the case why the best VCs have the ability to “listen” to market movements and entrepreneurs reactions.
4. How Successful Founders Will Raise Money in 2018 (link to article)
Lars Kamp of Intermix.io takes a look at the changing fundraising environment and makes the case for AngelList syndicates being one of the best fundraising options.
5. Modeling Your Startup’s Future: Template for SaaS Startups (link to article)
Mike Simmons of CredSimple offers an open sourced Google Sheet template with explanations and resources for the components in the model; ranging from hiring, fundraising, and growth plans.
6. How to Write an Investor Update Email – Minimum Viable Investor Update (link to article)
Jens Lapinski of Techstars shares what he considers the “Minimum Viable Investor Updates”. The minimum update consists of 3 major items; Cash Flow/P&L, Major Changes/ Developments, and problems you are struggling to solve.
7. What has changed in starting, running, financing and selling a bootstrapped SaaS business? (link to article)
Clement Vouillon of Point Nine Capital breaks down the rise of bootstrapped companies and what it means for the SaaS market as a whole.
8. How To Balance Internal and External Focus (link to article)
Mike X Huang, Executive Coach, offers advice for answering the question most leaders face; “how do you know when you should turn your focus to external expansion versus internal growth?”.
9. This is How You Win the Term Sheet Negotiation Game (link to article)
Megan Becker of Hyde Park Angels sits down with Michael Sachaj (Principal at Hyde Park) and debunk common term sheet myths so founders can own the term sheet negotiations.
10. Lessons From The Internet Bubble: Growth vs. Profitability (link to article)
Brad Feld of Foundry Group draws on both Fred Wilson and Mark Suster’s post to lay out his thoughts on growth vs. profitability using his experience as a company executive.
