Thinking out loud

The current market is flooded with AI products that all promise to be 10x faster, smarter, or more intuitive. This has made onboarding the moment of truth and the true battleground for which products stick.

Jim Barksdale famously told investors that 'there are only two ways I know to make money in business: bundling and unbundling.' Here's a framework for when to do each.

As an early-stage growth advisor for startups, one of the most common questions I'm asked: how do I figure out how much to charge my customers, particularly in AI?

In the past two years, AI has already dramatically changed the tech landscape. New AI products and applications have flooded the market, with funding to AI companies doubling quarter-over-quarter to $234B in Q2 2024.

In 2024, AI continues to make headlines with high valuations and eye-popping venture deals. Funding to AI companies more than doubled quarter-over-quarter to $24B, representing 30% of all invested dollars in Q2 2024.

I started reading Mike Maples' newly released Pattern Breakers this week, and was charmed by his breakdown of great startup ideas. This sparked my curiosity about how consumer trends driven by Gen Z are hidden catalysts for what will propel the next wave of vertical SaaS growth.

In the last five years, SaaS companies have outperformed other venture-backed companies by nearly 5.5%, with the average return on deals between 2000 to 2023 sitting at 23.1%. Horizontal SaaS remains the darling of most investors, but vertical SaaS is about to steal the spotlight as AI advances.