193. SaaS Acceleration, Sales Savvy Founders & The Rise of Tech-Enabled Services (Michael Cardamone)
This post is by Nick Moran from The Full Ratchet: VC | Venture Capital | Angel Investors | Startup Investing | Fundraising | Crowdfunding | Pitch | Private Equity | Business Loans
Michael Cardamone of Acceleprise joins Nick to discuss SaaS Acceleration, Sales Savvy Founders & the Rise of Tech-Enabled Services. In this episode, we cover:
- What is Aaron Levie like to work for?
- Backstory and path to Acceleprise
- When you started Acceleprise a lot of folks told you not to -- the world doesn't need another accelerator. Why did you proceed?
- Why an Accelerator and not a traditional VC fund?
- Check size then and now?
- The biggest criticism of accelerators that I'm hearing from investors is that accelerators admit companies that need a lot of help and can't figure things out on their own -- and those are not the companies that one wants to invest in. What's your response to these folks?
- You've mentioned your interest in working w/ founders that have a "willingness to sell." How specifically do you develop the sell-skills of founders that are willing but green w/regards to sales. What are some the best demand-gen techniques that you use?
- Talk to us about how you think through pricing models and strategies at early-stage SaaS businesses.
- ACV initial vs. expansion rev opportunity
- Lemkin.. TAM... initial traction in SOM/Beachhead niche market is most important. Any company that gets traction here can find a $1B market. Agree, disagree?
- We talk a lot, on this show, about either why SF is the best place to build a company or why any place but SF is the best place to build a company. You've done both -- Objectively, can you break (Read more...)