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Ryan Floyd is a venture capitalist with 25+ years of experience and a penchant for B2B SaaS startups. Ryan co-founded the firm Storm Ventures, and his investments were acquired by companies like Microsoft and Nvidia. Through sharing his own wisdom - and interviewing enterprise industry leaders - Ryan helps startup founders unlock massive growth for their businesses. From sales efficiency to cold emailing investors to surviving as a first-time founder, no topic is left uncovered. New episodes ...
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Storm Ventures Managing Director Ryan Floyd and Go-to-Market Consultant Mark Stephenson discuss how early-stage companies can hire the right VP of Sales using a few essential strategies.#b2bsaas #venturecapital #hiring #salesexecutive #gotomarket Here's what's covered:0:00 Intros: Ryan & Mark1:13 Hiring the Right VP of Sales2:58 Preparing with a St…
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Will every SaaS company become an AI company? Will AI unlock guaranteed ROI? Is the promise of AI real and what’s the hype anyway? Storm Ventures Managing Director Ryan Floyd and Entrepreneur-in-Residence Ajay Awatramani answer these questions and more in the latest episode of Ask A VC! #b2bsaas #AI #venturecapital Make sure to also:- Follow Ryan o…
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Remote work is here to stay. But it’s not what you think. Storm Ventures’ managing director Ryan Floyd reflects upon the new way people work and what that means for founders and investors going forward. Make sure to also: - Follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanFloyd for more content on building SaaS B2B startups, venture capital, and entrepreneurship in gen…
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The venture capital world is notoriously elusive - even for the founders seeking investments. But the process isn't intended to be secretive. Venture Capital investor Ryan Floyd and fellow partner at Storm Ventures, Pascale Diaine take you behind the scenes, revealing their firm's process step-by-step. Find out what happens after your initial pitch…
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The only certainty in business is uncertainty! No founder or investor could have predicted events like the Covid-19 pandemic or the war in Ukraine - both of which had profound effects on the economy, and therefore SaaS and the venture capital investment trends. But there are ways that startups can prepare for unforeseen ups and downs. Venture Capit…
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Net dollar retention and customer experience are highly critical for the success of your SaaS business. I had a chance to connect recently with Gaby Moran, director of customer experience at Workato. Before her current role, Gaby spent quite a few years at Medallia, customer experience management software with a world-class NPS of 60+. Our conversa…
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In this episode, I talk about the latest cybersecurity threats you should be aware of as a founder of a small business (what your startup essentially is). Alastair Paterson, Co-founder and CEO of a cybersecurity company Digital Shadows, joined me to answer your questions about the dark web and more. How has the global pandemic affected the cybersec…
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Net dollar retention (NDR) is critical to your SaaS startup's success. I talked quite a bit about churn in the early days of this channel. Mastering NDR is the next logical step you should consider as you continue to grow your startup. In this episode, I am sharing 4 tips that will help you take control of your net dollar retention metric - and tak…
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In the latest #AskAVC episode, we talk about understanding and the importance of diversity, inclusion, and equity in startups. I am joined by Aubrey Blanche, Director of Equitable Design at Culture Amp, The Mathpath (Math Nerd + Empath), and a startup investor and advisor. Aubrey is a recognized thought leader when it comes to building more equitab…
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In this episode, I share with you 8 ways to finance your startup - and that doesn't include venture capital! It might seem odd coming from a VC investor. However, my goal for you as a startup founder is to be aware of all the options that are available to finance your business - along with their respective pros and cons. When you do partner with a …
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As you grow your enterprise SaaS startup, opportunities to engage various sales channel partners will most certainly come your way. The prospect of partnering with a leading telco or some other big corporation might seem very appealing. However, there is a lot you need to know before entering any agreements - and to make sure it works out well in t…
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Startup equity and convertible notes are about to be fully explained! Early-stage entrepreneurs have to learn a lot of new vocabulary, technical & legal details, to ensure their initial rounds of outside financing go well. In this video I am being interviewed by Fellows at ASIF Ventures, European micro-VC, focused on student-led startups, and we do…
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"How much to pay startup advisors" is the question I often get asked by even experienced entrepreneurs. In one of my previous episodes, I gave an intro to the topic of startup advisors - what do they do, how to find them, etc. In this one, I dive deeper into the specifics: What's the difference between consultants and advisors for your startup? How…
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This episode is something I have not tried on my channel before. This is a deep dive into a specific concept - in this case, enterprise automation - from a technical point of view. We dive deep into the idea of workflows automation, talking about its definition and benefits, as well as giving specific examples. In the 24th episode of the #AskAVC ch…
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As your startup company will become more successful, naturally there will be more and more people eager to share their advice with you. It's a smart strategy to surround yourself with people who know more than you in various business areas - be it sales or security. There are a few things any founder needs to keep in mind, however, to make sure tha…
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In this video, I talk about the biggest enemy of all SaaS businesses - customer churn. It is safe to say that nearly every single startup faces this problem at some point or another. As scary and uncomfortable it might be, having customer churn is not the end of the world - but you do need a war plan. Have you asked yourself: How is your product co…
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There is so much content out there about the legal language of term sheets, valuations, etc. However, it would be a mistake to see your interactions with potential investors as purely transactional. The key is to build a relationship with a person on the other side of the table. And a lot of goes into it: - Should you be spending time with junior t…
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When you are ready to raise some outside capital to scale your business, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered to make the process successful. For example, there are many different types of investors you can turn to. One of the most frequently asked questions I get is - what is the difference between angel investing and venture capi…
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The prospect of asking for multi-million dollar investment in a cold email to someone you never met is undoubtedly daunting. Do cold emails even work? Believe it or not, but that's how we met one of the most valuable investments in Storm Ventures' portfolio! Even if you do manage to get a warm introduction to a potential investor, principles and te…
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Digital transformation might easily be one of the most hyped terms in the IT industry in the past couple of years. Separating myth from reality could be easier said than done. After all, it's something that many companies have invested millions of dollars in - and the results are not always there. Is digital transformation was truly dead on arrival…
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In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I "sat down" with Tim Crawford, one of the Top 100 Most Influential Chief Information Technology Officers (#4), and the host of the CIO In The Know (CIOitk) podcast. For SaaS founders, dealing with repercussions of the ongoing global pandemic while selling into the enterprise, this interview offers inva…
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Being a first-time founder & CEO presents a unique set of challenges. Thinking you might be able to avoid mistakes altogether is, of course, unrealistic - even geniuses have flaws! It doesn't mean, however, that tried-and-true advice is not available to you - and some of it might just make or break your business. In the latest episode of the #AskAV…
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The past few weeks have been crazy for everyone in the world, not just me - hence, the pause I took with putting out the new episodes. Now I am back with the latest from my makeshift studio in the dining room. In this episode, I reflect on how the ongoing pandemic changed things for the entire venture capital ecosystem - both from an investor, as w…
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Remote teams are all the rage these days, especially in the tech industry. You get to hire the best people everywhere, and maybe even realize cost savings through salary arbitrage. However, as this trend is still relatively new, there is a lot you need to know if you'd like to leverage it for your business. In this episode of #AskAVC podcast, I tal…
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Did you know that the average tenure of a VP of sales across businesses is 18 months? Imagine all the time and money spent on finding this person, investing in them building a team - only to have it all go out of the window a couple of months later. In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I share 3 ingredients critical for successful VP of sa…
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Finding an investor and securing their commitment is just the beginning of the journey. If you are a first-time founder, negotiating a term sheet can be a daunting task. In this episode, I will walk you through the key terms and techniques to make sure that the deal will be closed successfully. Why knowing the basic difference between pre-money and…
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In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I give entrepreneurs advice on researching potential investors in their business. Due diligence is the mutual process! How to get to know your future partners? How to "test drive" an investor with thoughtful questions? How to look for clues in an investor's past? Listen to the episode to get answers to …
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In the latest episode of #AskAVC podcast, I and Dominique Levin, co-CEO of Winning by Design that helps B2B companies grow by turning sales into a science, talk about common pitfalls and the successful strategies for customer onboarding. Turns out, onboarding customers is not just a technical challenge! What role customer expectations play in the s…
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In the previous episode of #AskAVC podcast, I and Dominique Levin, co-CEO of Winning by Design that helps B2B companies grow by turning sales into a science, did a deep dive on how to generate more B2B sales leads. As we learned, however, not all leads are created equal - and you must optimize your lead generation strategy to ensure good conversion…
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Welcome to the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast - and the first in the series of interviews with Dominique Levin, co-CEO of Winning by Design that helps B2B companies grow by turning sales into a science. What are leads and how they are different from opportunities? What is the role of marketing in generating leads? How the type of market you …
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In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I go back to basics and dive deeper into some of the core concepts behind software as a service (or SaaS). Why this term should not be confused with "subscriptions"? What do you need to know about the market size for SaaS businesses? What are some of the technical challenges you might run into when buil…
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In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I give founders and entrepreneurs tips on how to deal with acquisition interest. While it's undeniably a great problem to have, there are a few things you need to know to make the most out of the situation. How to make sure you take the right meetings with the right people and don't waste your time? How…
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Startup life is inherently complex and unpredictable and no matter how hard we try, failures - small and large - are inevitable. Yet, delivering bad news could be very uncomfortable. In episode #5 of the #AskAVC podcast, I give techniques and tips for leaders, founders - and anyone, really - that, in my experience, make those unpleasant moments eas…
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Your business might be in great shape, but still, you might be having a hard time delivering your story and convincing potential investors to join you on your journey. What are the components of the successful presentation? How to tell your story? How to keep people's attention? In the new episode of the #AskaVC podcast, I am sharing the best pract…
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In the previous episode of the #AskaVC podcast, we defined churn and looked at ways to measure it. Losing customers is never fun, but it's not the end of the world! In this video, we are going to figure out how to fix churn if your business metrics are not looking so good. Disclaimer: This podcast is based on the #AskAVC YouTube channel (youtube.co…
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One of the advantages of SaaS businesses is that you build a customer base that should not only continue to renew over time but also expand if you are delivering value. The opposite is the dreaded revenue churn. What is it and how to measure it is the topic of episode #2 of the #AskAVC podcast. You can also check out the blog post based on this vid…
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In the first episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I talk about sales efficiency - the magic number that, if calculated right, helps tech startups to scale and unlock growth. How it's different from CAC and LTV, the relationship between sales efficiency and go-to-market fit - all this and much more I tackle in this video. For a deep dive, make sure also …
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