5 Good Days and 5 Bad Days Leading a SaaS Company from $0 to $30M ARR
Jason Lemkin reflects on the most meaningful highs and lows experienced as a SaaS CEO during the journey from $0 to $10M ARR and beyond to $30M. He illustrates that startup extremes—the highest highs and lowest lows—exceed any other professional experience, using specific moments like securing unexpected prepayments, achieving cash flow positivity, and losing key talent as examples. The article emphasizes that retaining great employees and following your gut on strategic decisions like acquisitions are critical factors for success.
Metrics in this report
$4M-$5M$
achieved at
SaaS company in early growth stage
$30Mannual revenue
current
SaaStr Inc as of article writing
$300,000$
single transaction
Unexpected customer prepayment providing runway extension
3-4 yearsyears
minimum for mastery
Time required for great employees to reach maximum effectiveness
$1M$
minimum threshold
Revenue goal that company couldn't reach in early analysis