SaaStr 110: Why Payback Period Is The Single Most Important Metric, How To Optimise Sales Efficiency & 3 Fundamental Developments In SaaS with Scott Friend, Managing Director @ Bain Capital Ventures

Scott Friend is a Managing Director @ Bain Capital Ventures where he has made investments in the likes of Jet and Rent The Runway. Scott joined Bain Capital Ventures in 2006 after selling the company he co-founded, ProfitLogic, to Oracle. At ProfitLogic, Scott saw the immense scaling of the company from its initial three founders to a 300 person global software and solutions business serving the retail industry. As a result, in 2005, Scott was named a winner of the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year Award”.  Following the acquisition, Scott was Chairman of the Executive Advisory Board and VP of Marketing and Science for Oracle Retail.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

• How did Scott make the transition from building a 300 man SaaS startup, ProfitLogic to being a VC with Bain Capital Ventures?
• What are the 3 fundamental ways SaaS has changed over the last decade? What does this mean for SaaS founders and investors today?
• What is the single most important metric for Scott when evaluating a SaaS investment opportunity? Why is this and how has that thought process changed?
• How can startups optimise for sales efficiency? Where does Scott see most startups make mistakes in this field?
• When is the right time to hire your first customer success rep? Does it have to be embedded within the founding team? How can startups look to scale this and analyse risk over time?

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Jason Lemkin

Harry Stebbings

SaaStr

Scott Friend