Oren Kaniel

CEO COMPENSATIONS - Adam Foroughi, CEO of AppLovin, earned $83.4 million in 2023, 795 times the median pay of the company's employees. - The median compensation for S&P 500 CEOs in 2023 was $15.2 million, with a median CEO-to-worker pay ratio of 194 to 1. - Unity Software's two CEOs had a combined pay ratio of 224 to 1 compared to their employees. - CEO pay is increasingly diverging from employee salaries, largely due to stock compensation. - Some CEOs, like Michael Barrett of Magnite (29 to 1) and Adam Singolda of Taboola (44 to 1), have lower pay ratios compared to the industry average. Article by ADWEEK : https://lnkd.in/g_N9a-V6 ✉️Sign up for the Marketecture Media newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gm85yuaf

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At the first SaaS company I joined, pre Intercom, my manager, Tamir P., gave me a crash course in SaaS metrics. The first thing he taught me about was what he called "The Triangle of Death." 10+ years later, I'm redubbing that to the "Triangle of Despair." Understanding this "Triangle of Despair" is the key to understanding any SaaS business. The triangle of despair is the period on which any SaaS company is unprofitable for the customers it acquires. Every metric, from LTV to CAC to payback period and net revenue retention, burn multiple, magic number... they're all ways of triangulating the triangle of despair. :) Today on the blog we wrote a short piece on the triangle, adapted from the introduction to our 'Guide to SaaS Metrics' also published today. https://lnkd.in/ehQtcDHk

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Rolling into another day of the Primary Summit. Hit me up if we should connect onsite. Kudos to the Primary Ventures team so far, as yesterday’s Pre-Seed Summit was on point. Mar Hershenson, Benjamin Sun, Chris Douvos, Zach Weinberg, and Graham Pingree all dropping helpful nuggets for fund managers. Some paraphrased highlights: - Chris Douvos (AHOY Capital) - Most fund decks are terrible. Start with your people (not your strategy) and know you have about 6 slides of his attention. - Zach Weinberg (Curie.Bio ) - beleives SF’s AI talent is a significant advantage over NY, wouldn’t build AI in NY. Also questions if VC exits can keep up with VC expansion (generally hilarious and smart Twitter follow) - Mar Hershenson (Pear VC) - VC is so much more competitive now. It’s not enough to be an ex-founder with a great network and domain expertise. Have a better “why you are different” or do something else! - Benjamin Sun (Primary Venture Partners)- still sees arbitrage in going long NY venture (vs. SF). Do the work to keep various influential networking nodes aware of what you’re doing and how you think.

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SaaStrAnnual.com 2024 is ALMOST HERE!! Sep 10-12 SF Bay CEO Klaviyo CEO Bill CEO Apollo CEO Attentive CEO Vimeo CEO Ironclad CEO Jasper CBO Stripe President Brex President Plaid CPO Rubrik CPO Webflow CPO Procore CPO Loom CPO GitHub CPO Buffer CPO Onfleet CRO Rippling CRO Notion CRO GitHub CRO DeepL CRO Carta CRO Owner CRO One Paper Lane COO Checkr CMO Seismic CMO Sprout Social CMO Deepgram CTO AI Five9 CTO AI Zoom CTO Gorgias SVP Slack VPM OpenAi VPM Cohere VP Pricing Splunk VP Pricing Miro VP AI Freshworks and 100s more!! See. You. There!! It's Where the Cloud Meet

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You have the power to create a million dollar community business. How? That’s exactly what Gina Bianchini, CEO of Mighty Networks, explores with me on the most recent episode of The Expertise Economy Podcast. In this tactical conversation, Gina introduces us to the 'People Magic' framework—a revolutionary approach to building thriving and self-sustaining communities. From identifying your ideal member to the 9 steps for creating communities so valuable you can charge for them and so well-designed they run themselves, this episode is packed with actionable insights that can transform your business and your members' lives. Whether you're a #creator, #entrepreneur, or aspiring #community leader, this episode is your roadmap to success in the digital age - don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the leading voices in community building. Tune in and uncover the strategies that transform passion into profit: https://lnkd.in/dicjVMiB

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Check out the latest #TheGTMPack episode below 👇🏾 Al Sargent is a tenured #ProductMarketing leader who gives us leadership insights. It's never easy taking over an existing team as a new leader, figuring out how to measure PMM effectiveness, & creating an environment that gets the best out of your team. #gtm #b2b #pmm

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Our Founding Partner Shuly Galili just joined the Executive Summary - תקציר מנהלים podcast as a guest speaker. 🎙️ Drawing from the past 13 years at UpWest, Shuly revealed what it’s like writing the first check for early-stage startup founders while spilling some of the secrets on: 👉 What we look for in startups and founding teams 👉 How we evaluate and select companies to invest in 👉 How founders should prepare for VC meetings 👉 Understanding risk, uncertainty, and potential in early investments Interested in giving it a listen? 📌 Find the link to the full episode in the comments below.

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"Get intimately familiar with your ICP, and by intimate I don’t mean demographics [...] but you got to think about the nuances.” Jiga’s Go-To-Market journey is textbook material. In Buildcon’s Testing GTM Strategies in Early Stage Companies session, Adar Hay, the Co-founder and CEO, shared some of his learnings about selling to an unconventional industry. Like understanding that they should target prospects who already use their competitors, and what it means for them to hire from inside the industry. Adar is a rising star, and this is only the beginning. A link to the full panel, with Ryan Daniels, Ori Lavie, Adi Foksheneanu Gov, and the seasoned moderator Noa Urbach, is in the first comment.

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⚖️ JOY WAN. CEO of BestSign: Serving 200+ #Fortune500 Giants & Accelerating In #LegalAI CMS Offering! Joy Wan is a Founder and CEO of BestSign, Asia’s leading e-signature & legal AI contract management solutions provider. Over the incredible 10 year journey Joy has raised over $70M from some of the world’s best investors including #DCM, #Matrix, #ShunWei, #5Y (previously #MorningSide) and #TigerGlobal. Before BestSign, Joy worked as a senior management executive at Apple. --- 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝗼𝘆 𝗪𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀: 𝟏. 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧e𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐆𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬: 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧’𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 - What sets Bestsign apart from its competitors in a crowded market?  - What key go-to-market strategies are in place to fuel growth?  - Where is the company positioned now, and what major milestones lie ahead? 𝟐. 𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩  - Which technological advancements are a top priority for Bestsign’s continued innovation?  - What core mission and vision guide the company’s growth and direction?  - How has Bestsign established a strong, independent investor base, and what are the next steps for maintaining investor confidence? 𝟯. 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻’𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗜 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲  - How does Joy envision Bestsign influencing the legal tech landscape and transforming enterprise solutions globally?  - What AI strategies are being prioritized to maintain a competitive edge and drive impactful market change? --- 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 👉 https://lnkd.in/eTA6UdZ4 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞. 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 & 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐫 "𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 & 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬" 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 👉 https://lnkd.in/ePSUFPcf --- 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩? 𝟏. 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘐 𝟐. 𝘋𝘳𝘶𝘨 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘈𝘐 𝟑. 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘐 𝟒. 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘐 🔔 You can make a difference! ⚡ COMMENT the #s 👇. 🚀 We will F/U! --- #kaleaventures #kv #stanleychan #joywan #bestsign #venturecapital #ceo #foundermode #legalai #esignature #legal

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Hot Take… RIP #PLG, Long Live #SLG But before you throw shade, let me explain… 🔹 There are undoubtedly exceptions, I’m sure many will highlight monday.com, Freshworks, etc. 🔹 PLG works well for low ACV deals with low CAC… think SMB and mid-market customers. Target CAC payback <12 months 🔹 PLG is a fantastic top of funnel marketing channel for enterprise sales ⭐ But for 6-figure enterprise sales, you need enterprise salespeople pressing the flesh with customers

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I’m excited to share this one! Redactive has raised a $11.5M seed round -- their mission is to become the trusted GenAI engineer for enterprise teams. Blackbird co-led this round alongside Felicis with participation from Atlassian Ventures and Zapier. Andrew, Alexander and Lucas are working to solve an urgent problem hidden in plain sight – empowering GenAI applications to meet their promise of "magic" in an enterprise setting. GenAI applications are only as useful as the data that they have access to, and for most enterprises, the most valuable data is sensitive and permissioned. We all want a chatbot (“ChatGPT for…”) at work that can search the data that we share in private Slack conversations or store in private folders on Sharepoint but first, we need to trust that our data will be kept safe – from prying eyes and accidental disclosure to others in the organisation who should not see it. Redactive keeps your sensitive data safe, giving developers the trust to connect it to GenAI applications and build products that you will love. Here's to the next decade. https://lnkd.in/gPuEAFvW

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400%? Wow 🤯! I’m so incredibly proud of this team: Sami Ghoche, Rachel Link Robinson, Mitchell Hanson, Lindsay Fifield , Dalton Haughey, Al Martin and so many other incredible Forethinkers who make this happen. Building a company at the forefront of Generative AI for CX requires a lot of hard work and dedication from all of us. Many long nights shipping innovative products on time, like our agentic reasoning engine, Autoflows. Hours in the trenches with our customers, ensuring they have the best possible experience. And working to build an efficient business while we’re at it. The past few quarters were most difficult for me in learning how to trust in everyone’s superpowers while navigating rapid changes. I always say that the role of the CEO is to put the best people in the world into their zones of genius, and then getting out of the way. But that also means truly trusting my team to execute without micromanaging, and trusting myself enough to lead and to lean into the most critical areas in the business that maximally impact our outcomes (in my case it has been: spending as much time as humanly possible deeply getting to know our prospects, customers, and partners.) Knowing the right level of “abstraction” to operate at as a leader has been an important growth lesson for me. Since our inception, Forethought has been on a mission to deliver best-in-class customer support experiences. Our users, and their understanding of the need for human-centered, AI-powered customer support, have propelled our evolution as a company. We fundamentally believe that customer experience will be the most consequential use case for generative AI. In the coming months we’ll be developing even more ways our customers can use AI to transform their businesses and how they interact with customers. I’m so grateful to get to work with this amazing group of Forethinkers on behalf of our customers — industry leaders like Upwork, Thumbtack, Asana, Fetch, Airtable, Acorns, Gusto and more — and their customers. Wild to think that this vision of generative AI for customer support that we started in 2018, is starting to come to life. “The journey is only 1% finished.” Let’s go team! 💪🚀 #generativeai #genai #ai #customersupport #cx #leadership #entrepreneurship #tech #news

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It was great to talk with Greg Shuey on his 7-Figures & Beyond podcast about building partnerships and alliances to accelerate direct-to-consumer growth. Some of the key takeaways: Mutually Beneficial Partnerships: Any successful partnership must be win-win, benefiting all parties involved. It’s essential to ensure that the collaboration meets the goals of both brands, whether that’s increased market share, brand awareness, or revenue. Increase Brand Awareness and Strength: Partnerships should aim to increase brand awareness and elevate the brand’s image. Examples include SMEG’s collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana, and GoPro with Red Bull, where the alliances boosted the brand visibility and aligned with the brand’s core values. Expand Demographics and Create Buzz: Collaborations can help brands reach new demographics or strengthen relationships with existing ones. Unique pairings like e.l.f Cosmetics with Liquid Death or Balenciaga with Crocs can create significant buzz, drawing attention and new customers to both brands. Consider Risks and Practicalities: When forming a partnership, assess the potential risks and the practical aspects of the collaboration, such as the complexity of integration, the duration of the partnership, and the logistical requirements. It’s crucial to weigh these factors against the potential benefits. Metrics for Success: Establish clear metrics to measure the success of the partnership from the outset. These can include sales growth, revenue, margin changes, new customer acquisition, customer affinity, conversion rates, and overall brand vitality. https://lnkd.in/gfZJTbrZ

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As a founder and CEO, I’ve learned that true founder-market fit isn’t just about understanding your industry, it’s about the tenacity to push through when the inevitable challenges hit. Budget freezes, talent moves, customer churn, investor pullback, lost sales, and product or service quality issues are all part of the journey. Startups aren’t linear; the road is bumpy, and you need to be ready to navigate the unexpected. Building startup businesses in any sector is difficult but surviving and thriving in the technology arena is not for the faint of heart. You can have the best product-market fit in the world, but without the grit to keep going when constant change is afoot, key talent departs, or when you lose a big deal you thought was in the bag, it won’t matter. Your deep understanding, experience, expertise and comfort of the market gives you an edge, but it’s the ability to adapt, stay committed and push forward every day that ultimately drives success. Tenacity isn’t just a trait... it’s the backbone of every successful founder. It’s waking up every day, hungry to improve, iterate, and win. A results and outcomes disposition is key. Founders who embrace the uncertainty and keep the faith are the ones who move industries forward.

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Look! It's 2 leaders in AI companies hosting a Webinar *without* AI in the title! 😉 Excited an honored to share a screen and an hour in the interwebs with the legendary Udi Ledergor 🏳‍🌈 - a true industry pioneer in building category-defining brands, and a founding (Marketing) father of the Gong brand - creating the Revenue Intelligence category through amazing content, unique tone of voice and raving fans. Join us for a fun conversation and helpful tricks on how to create a memorable B2B brand in the noisiest time in Tech, learn about how AI (sorry, had to) can help you maintain a consistent and well-performing tone of voice, and get the scoop on how brand and content can drive real, measurable business results. Register in advance using the link below 🤘

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Instacart is a market leader when it comes to leveraging AI tools to boost productivity at work. I had an amazing conversation with JJ Zhuang, Instacart’s Chief Architect, who has shepherded over 50 AI-driven initiatives to market across the org. We explored what catapulted Instacart to the forefront of AI integration, supporting radically diverse use cases across various functional areas. One striking insight (echoed by Ethan Mollick and others elsewhere) is that you often don't need specialized tools for specialized work. Frontier models like GPT-4 can seamlessly adapt to a wide range of functions and use cases. They're not just for engineers; they're incredibly versatile tools used by marketing, comms, and legal teams. From generating code to proofreading and ideation, GPT-4 empowers every department to leverage AI for enhanced productivity and innovation. By integrating LLM’s like GPT-4 into their workflows, teams can streamline processes, automate repetitive tasks, and unlock bandwidth for new creative possibilities. How can you harness the power of AI in your own work to boost productivity? Share your thoughts below 👇 Want to hear more insights from JJ? Check out the full podcast episode by clicking the link in the comments.

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**When you have your custom AI reply instructions set to “sound like a pirate”** Our Director of Product Ops, Jessica Christoff shared a pretty funny screenshot from testing RevBoss AI generated email replies. You have to admit, the AI is spot on. If you’re not interested in sounding like a pirate in your email replies, that’s ok -- we’ve got your tone and voice covered. Check out more about the feature here: https://lnkd.in/enwtNpMm

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How companies purchase software is rapidly evolving, with cloud marketplaces expected to reach $100B in 2026, up from $15B in 2023. Simply put, if you are building and selling cloud software today, it's imperative that you can sell through a cloud marketplace. The journey, however, can be a little confusing, and management can be even harder. With 3x growth last year and 3/4th of our business now flowing through a cloud marketplace, CloudZero switched to Clazar earlier this year to handle our rapid growth, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Trunal B. and Aayush Bahuguna have a big vision for how cloud marketplaces will evolve and how software will be bought and sold in the future. No matter where you are on your journey, learning from them what's coming next is worth your time.

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