When it comes to startups, succeeding in the market demands a deep understanding of key performance indicators (KPIs). That said, the market can be unpredictable – making it necessary to prepare for different scenarios such as down rounds. Paris Heymann, from Index Ventures, provides insight on how to calculate Gross Dollar Retention and Net Dollar Retention (GDR and NDR) since these KPIs help to gauge the health of any business. After the downturn, investors have been increasingly demanding around SaaS profitability and growth, as such, it is ever more important for founders to gain full control over metrics that Matter to VCs.
VCs must also keep in mind the importance of empathy, equity and doing the right thing in order to build products with limited bias. Dominic Madori-Davis interviews four investors to discuss this topic, while Haje Jan Kamps shares insights on how to improve a seed deck. Furthermore, Founders planning trips to the USA should remember that their passport should have a validity period of at least 6 months in order to be granted entry.
ClassDojo is an educational technology start-up founded by Sam Chaudhary that provides an interactive platform to support face-to-face learning for teachers and remote learning for students. The platform helps to bridge learning gaps and helps identify student’s strengths and weaknesses. Signal Fire is another technology venture firm, founded and led by Chris Farmer, which just announced a record-breaking $900 million fund. Lastly, Alex Wilhelm shares insights about the trend of down rounds and their significance in the overall investments arena.
All in all, this shows that down rounds are a natural part of the market cycle and, chances are, the trend is here to stay. In such an unpredictable market, it is necessary to analyze KPIs and understand what investors are looking for. Additionally, it is important to consider the ethical implications of any product, taking into account empathy and equity.
