SaaStr · 2023-09-19 · 989d

VP Hiring Strategy: When to Compromise and When to Hold the Line

Jason Lemkin examines the tension between hiring exceptional VPs versus settling for adequate candidates due to time pressure. He provides specific guidance on where compromises are acceptable for Customer Success, Marketing, and Sales leaders, emphasizing that waiting 6-9 months for perfect hires can cost more than hiring strong stretch candidates.

5 metrics· Cited 0× in the knowledge base ·Open source ↗

Metrics in this report

Critical scaling period

1-10$M ARR

range

Initial Traction to Initial Scale phase

Growth rate example for ready-made marketing VP

20%

MoM

SaaS companies with recent $20M fundraise

Minimum ARR context for Head of Marketing evaluation

10$M

threshold

SaaS companies with established lead generation

Minimum ARR for hands-off Customer Success VP

15-20$M

threshold

SaaS companies with mature customer success operations

Time to wait for perfect VP hire

6-9months

typical range

VP recruitment cycle in SaaS