Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events
The US Open thrilled in NYC while the cloud came together at SaaStr in San Ramon
The SaaS cloud came together in the Bay Area and we spent the week at the US Open in New York City. What we learned.
SaaStr experts online proved nobody knows sh-t. And the most sure of themselves experts? Tune them out the fastest.
Remember when there was only one way to do things in SaaS? When being responsible with money and growing a great business wasn't good enough if it wasn't "doubling year-over-year no matter what?"
That was one year ago.
Now, all of a sudden, FCF, burn-rate multiplier, and (gasp) bootstrapping are the sexy presenters and investors are telling us 20-30% growth is "outstanding."
Comparing the online experts from two years ago to the experts this year watches like a comedy. If they actually believed anything they were saying two years ago, there would be a lot more aggressive players out there at 10x ARR.
Build a great business that can stand up in all markets. Forget the fads.Live events have never been more expensive and the US Open is no different.
Markets mature as sellers better understand buyers. Basic capitalism. The live events industry has been very slow to evolve, but they are evolving thanks to private equity and venture investment driving providers to better segment inventory/offerings. The most popular events are setting records with the USTA, and their partner Elevate, on pace to shatter previous hospitality revenue records - even when inflation adjusted.
CNBC discussed "Funflation" and the rising costs of live events.
Liberty Media buying hospitality provider Quint Events (congrats to our friends and partners at Quint), is the latest domino to fall as private investment continues to flow into hospitality. Sixth Street bought into Legends. Atairos bought into Learfield. Silverlake bought into Oak View Group. WME bought into On-Location. And on and on.
Eventually, the market will be squeezed of every penny and the game will go south. But, for now, these investments have been winners.Be irreplaceable.
Private money is looking for efficiencies everywhere now. If our job can be done cheaper and just as well from elsewhere or by someone else, we're at risk. An example: We have salespeople in New York, Chicago, and LA. These are expensive places to have offices and hire salespeople. But it is worth it to be in front of customers. If we're not in front of customers, however, what are we paying for? We can hire salespeople in Boise for half the price to do Zoom calls. Same with CS, which we do from a center in Arizona.