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Haut Tech: SaaS Insights from Scio Consulting
We ended 2009 and kicked off 2010 with two articles on our blog that you could say are part of a series of lists. Way back in October, I wrote the SaaS: 10 Ways to Fail, part 1 and followed up with part 2. Bessemer Venture Partners released their Top 10 Laws of Cloud Computing and SaaS around the same time covering the financial aspects of SaaS companies. Looking back at the trends we saw emerging in last year and the conversations these and other “year-ending summaries” were pointing to – I wrote SaaS: 10 Trends for 2010.
The response to this series has been very strong. But, with upcoming workshop in Dallas, I realized that there was one missing piece – we didn’t have a clear model for success. With that in mind, this week I wrote 6 Points for Successful SaaS and it too has gotten a lot of response in the social sphere that helps us gauge how our readers interpret our articles. My friend Justin Pirie also released his Startup Pyramid v2 Thoughts covering product market fit and sales for SaaS at the same time.
All this is great and it is just part of what I have wanted to happen for a long time. A body of knowledge on SaaS best practices is emerging from the industry that is very useful for entrepreneurs in the field. But it is also a bit overwhelming. In this selected group of articles, out of all of those that have been written recently, you’ve got a pool of at least 40 points to digest and put into your context if you want to leverage the knowledge to help guide your thinking on a new SaaS product. It’s way too much!
So, I’m going to make one suggestion and I want to be sure you get a chance to take advantage of it. As I have mentioned several times, Luis Aburto and I am giving an all day workshop as a part of SaaS University in Dallas on January 28. We’re going to be taking all of these points, and the experience we have from years in the field, and helping our guests put them in the context of their individual plans. Our workshop will be highly interactive, personal, and is for a very limited number of guests. We will be working on your problems and you’ll have time to network with us and the other members of the workshop during the day and the included buffet lunch. You can use the discount code SCIO100 to save on the combined registration for both the workshop and SaaS University.
I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the great mix of presentations the whole conference offers – if you are considering a new offering this year it is a critical resource. But, I also realize that not everyone can take the week, with travel, it will involve to be there for both SaaS University from January 26-27 and our all day workshop on the 28th. If that is a problem for you – you should know you can join us for the workshop only, but only if you call us directly at 408-404-3897, Extension 303. The signup forms on the SaaS University site are only for a combined registration. Ariana Ochoa, our Marketing Assistant, will take your call and sign you up for the workshop only for $595 per person. If you cannot reach her by phone you can also email her with your contact information and she will get back to you.
This is a great time to be thinking about new ventures. We’re starting to see some positive signs in the economy, there are lots of new technical product announcements, and we’re all looking forward to a better year. We’re planning for new directions in the near future and I’m very excited about the direction we’re going. I know I will see many friends at SaaS University, but if I don’t see you, don’t hesitate to reach out this year and get in contact. I’m always interested to hear how you and your business are meeting the challenges of online services.
See you in Dallas? Regardless – All the Best in 2010!
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