Investigating Workforce Data, SaaS Sales Mistakes, Financial Close Strategies • TechCrunch

Over the past 24 months, Thomvest Ventures has recorded headcount data for 150 Series A-C enterprise SaaS startups, and we have the numbers.

This report prepared by Eddie Ackerman, operational partner in strategic finance of Thomvest, examines the speed of hiring of startups since February 2021 by region, type of company and, in particular, how long has passed since the last fundraising .

Ackerman says he expects to see another tranche of layoffs in several weeks, after the startups hold their fourth quarter 2022 board meetings.

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It’s not something a worker wants to read a few days before Christmas, but forewarned is forewarned.

“For companies with strong balance sheets, strong backers, product market fit, or weak consumption, now is the best time to make critical hires,” Ackerman says.

And if that doesn’t describe your business, you should already be planning to downsize.

“The tough decision to freeze hiring needs to be made early, even if your balance sheet is in good shape,” Ackerman writes.

If you’re a founder reading this: When layoffs are planned, you have a moral and ethical responsibility to let your employees know as soon as possible. Do the right thing.

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TechCrunch+ will publish on a light schedule next week, and we’ll resume our regular cadence on Monday, January 2. I’m taking a short holiday break and will send out the next TechCrunch+ newsletter/recap on Tuesday, January 3.

Thank you so much for reading us in 2022. Happy New Year!

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist

How to get the most out of your investor relations in 2023

As Santa revises his list of who’s been naughty and nice, it’s also a good time for startup founders to take stock of their investor relations.

Vidya Raman, Partner at Sorenson Ventures, wrote a TC+ article with the do’s and don’ts for upcoming board meetings, her thoughts on which communication channels are best for different requests for help, and the specific data points you should raise in your discussions.

“Be ruthless about how you spend your time,” she advises, “especially with your investors.”

Holiday shipping is easier this year, but technology still lags

Global supply lines are in better shape than this time last year, but that doesn’t bode well for the future, writes Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport.

“This year’s improvements in shipping largely reflect a decline in consumption rather than an improvement in the underlying infrastructure,” he says, noting that labor shortages, the Global instability and high fuel prices have created persistent bottlenecks.

“Fortunately, the data available today is rich beyond measure, and we also have the tools to harness it in ways that increase efficiency.”

Pitch Deck Teardown: Card Blanch’s $460,000 deck for his angel turn

Fintech startup Card Blanch recently closed a $460,000 round for its pre-launch service that promises to let customers track their personal spending from a centralized app.

To see why this deck has brought smiles to the faces of good news angel investors, we share the unredacted Founders deck:

• cover slide
• problem slide
• Market Size Slide
• Solutions Slide
• Product slide
• Slide “How it works”
• Competition slide
• Revenue Model Slide
• Market Opportunity Slide
• “Next Steps” – the request slide
• “Your entire wallet in one card” – value slide prop
• “Comprehensive spend analysis in one place” – summary slide

Dear Sophie: What are the advantages and disadvantages of the E-2 and L-1A visas?

Dear Sophia,

We co-founded a startup in Colombia, and we are thinking about opening a sales office in the USA! I would move and my co-founder will continue to lead our engineering team from Colombia.

I am currently considering the E-2 investor and L-1A executive visas. What are the pros and cons of each?

— Brave Colombian

How to Solve the Financial Close Dilemma: 3 Strategies That Never Fail

Be honest: did you rush your November end-of-month close because of the December vacation?

New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep, but since it’s the slowest time of the year, it’s a good time to establish healthier bookkeeping habits.

Before you run your December numbers, look for ways to automate the month-end close, advises Shagun Malhotra, CPA and CIA who is also an experienced auditor.

In a TC+ article, she shares three strategies for digitizing this process, along with suggested sub-metrics to track that will give you accurate insight into your financial health.

“The data collected during these stages will allow you to quickly identify the fundamental problems in your business, which will then allow you to assess what to do next.”

3 black investors talk about what they are looking for in 2023

Investors are generally optimistic about the tech’s long-term ability to recover, but when it comes to expanding opportunities for black founders, Dominic-Madori Davis says they’re largely fatalistic.

She interviewed three black investors to get their thoughts on impact investing, what trends they plan to take off in 2023, and how they prefer to be approached by founders:

• Alexis Alston, Director, Lightship Capital
• Richard Kerby, General Partner, Equal Ventures
• Jadyn Bryden, Vice President, Xfund

Avoid 3 Common Selling Mistakes Startups Make During Downturns

Analysts believe IT spending will rise in 2023, but tell that to SaaS sales teams trying to close deals with customers who have been instructed to cut spending.

“What every business needs now is effective sales,” says Anand Shah, CEO and co-founder of Databook, who explains why reactive measures such as increasing sales quotas or increasing prices do not will not move the needle.

“Make real changes to meet the needs of your buyers. Use the macroeconomic context to make necessary improvements in sales productivity. »