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The AI Dividend: Why startup efficiency keeps rising, even without reallocating spend
There’s been a transformation brewing in how startups operate. Startups are accelerating again, with topline momentum...
Is AI coming for VC jobs? We hope so
Venture capital has always been a mix of art and science. And training more apprenticeship than algorithmic. It seems...
Q1 flash update: Startups are back on offense
It feels rough out there, at least from the headlines. But despite broader market volatility (liberation day anyone?),...
From survival to strength: Startups reaccelerate growth into 2025
We now have full year data and can say for sure: growth is back. After the low of 2023, 2024 showed real acceleration...
Splitting spend: How to allocate your 2025 budget across OpEx categories
Over the past couple of weeks, a number of founders and startup teams have reached out to us to help them think through...
Q324 Flash update: Growth reacceleration holds steady
This quarter’s flash report shows more of the same from last quarter, and the forecast indicates a steady finish for...
Q224 flash report: Growth is trending up
Our flash reports use real data from a representative sample of enterprise software startups and public companies to...
2024 Whisper Numbers: The Year of Efficient Growth
As we kick off the 2024 annual planning season, we’re sharing an early view of what we’re seeing in early-stage...
“Year of efficiency” in review: How companies reduced burn rates in 2023
At the beginning of 2023, we saw CEOs and founders across the board herald the beginning of the year of efficiency....
Growth ticks down again in Q223: Scale Studio Flash Update
Scale’s quarterly Scale Studio Flash Updates use our proprietary data platform, Scale Studio, to analyze a...
The Liquidation Survival Guide and Model: Vol 3
With participation, they don’t have to make that choice and can get their preference while also participating in any...
The Liquidation Survival Guide and Model: Vol 2
In the first installment of our Liquidation Guide, we showed how to calculate liquidation under the cleanest scenario,...
Slowdown Mirrors Public Markets: Flash Update Follow-Up
We can clearly see above that public tech companies are seeing similar drop-offs in NDR to private SaaS startups. The...
Growth slows beyond expectations in Q1: Scale Studio Flash Update
Q123 data indicates that the growth slowdown is continuing - and most companies failed to meet even the conservative...
The Liquidation Survival Guide and Model: Vol 1
This is a guide for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and others who have questions around terms, definitions, high-level scenarios, and structure.
Growth Slows while Companies Sprint to Efficiency: Scale Studio Flash Update
No one can tell exactly what 2023 will bring, but one thing is for certain: there is a sprint to efficiency with...
2023 Whisper Numbers: Growth Expected to Continue at Around 2022 Levels
Here's the data we're sharing with our portfolio companies as they develop 2023 annual plans.
Scale Studio Flash Update: Economic Gravity Pulls on Software Startups
With the bulk of 2022 behind us, attention now turns to planning for 2023. The topic of conversation in every boardroom...
Scale Studio Flash Update: Median Growth Steady, But Pullback in Growth of High Flyers a Warning Sign
Scale Studio Flash Updates analyze a representative sample of enterprise software startups to measure industry growth...
Benchmarking SaaS Growth and Burn
This post walks through the data and methodology behind our growth and burn multiple benchmarks, summarizing some of...
Growth and Burn Benchmarking Tool
A founder's tool to compare growth and burn across two years relative to similar-sized SaaS comps
Scale Studio Flash Update: Steadiness Amidst Market Turbulence
Scale Studio Flash Updates analyze a representative sample of enterprise software startups to measure industry growth...
Four Vital Signs of SaaS: The Definitive Metrics & Benchmark eBook
This eBook distills 20 years of SaaS metrics in to one, definitive guide complete with benchmarks of growth,...
Rule of 40 Does Not Compute for Early-Stage Startups
Startups should ignore the Rule of 40 in the early going. It comes down to two factors that together are pretty convincing.
Scale Studio Flash Update: 4Q Saw Continued Strong Performance
Preliminary Scale Studio data on 4Q shows strength across enterprise SaaS as companies accelerate into 2022.
Growth Time: $70M in ARR Left on the Table?
Dale Chang unpacks "perfect execution" in this look at growth trajectories for startups that hit $1M in ARR.
Scale Studio: 2021 Themes and 2022 Preview
Recapping the key 2021 trends that set the backdrop for 2022 startup performance and annual plan attainment.
Look Five Years into Your Future with this ARR Projection Tool
A founder's tool to generate 5-year growth projections based on an early-stage SaaS startup's current ARR
From $0 to $1M: Renewal Rate vs Retention Rate
Renewal and Retention rates both use customer cohorts, but those cohorts are different and tell you different things about customer behavior.
2022 Whisper Numbers: Growth Rolls On (With an Asterisk)
Here's the data we're sharing with our portfolio companies as they develop 2022 annual plans.
Scale Studio Flash Update: Enterprise Saas Growth Continues
And the bar gets even higher: Early Q3 data indicates that year-on-year ARR Growth in Q321 continues to accelerate. New data from Scale Studio.
From $0 to $1M: The New Gold Standard for Growth
Remember the Triple Triple Double Double Double? Better start thinking “quintuple”. New growth data on top $1M ARR startups.
Annual Planning for Early-Stage Startups (Tools and Templates)
Scale Studio has an Annual Planning Tool that generates a first draft annual plan for next year using just 4 data...
From $0 to $1M: Stepping on the (Scaling) Pedal Too Soon
When is the right time to go all-in on scaling your startup? Scale analyzed 2,000 quarters of SaaS startup data to answer that important question.
From $0 to $1M: The Magic of 0.7
The relationship between money spent on Sales and Marketing and revenue generated from it is captured by the Magic...
From $0 to $1M: The Magic Number
How much growth is generated by the dollars you’re investing in Sales and Marketing? Getting started tracking sales efficiency using the Magic Number.
From $0 to $1M: What’s the Difference Between Churn and Renewal?
Churn and Renewal are the yin and yang of customer retention metrics. Here's a quick look at how to use both metrics.
From $0 to $1M: A Common Mistake with Churn Metrics
Here's a look at one common mistake getting the Churn calculation to accurately reflect a company's business model.
From $0 to $1M: Tracking the Growth of Every $1 in Sales
How effective is your company at upsell and expansion? Annualized Net Retention is a key SaaS metric for tracking how every $1 in sales grows over time.
Scale Studio Flash Update: Re-Acceleration Continues
Q2 marked another quarter of strong performance where the majority of our portfolio companies met or exceeded plans and continued to accelerate growth.