School of Startups

If you are looking to exit your SaaS company one day and get the maximum amount of value in what you're selling for. In this video, I'll be talking about 5 different ways in which you can increase the valuation of your company and make it more attractive for an investor or acquirer.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:09 - Financials: Growth rate, cash flow, EBITDA, recurring revenue.
• 02:37 - Operational metrics: LTV Churn, CAC, MRR.
• 05:07 - Market: Market trends, competitions, TAM.
• 06:37 - Product/Service: Quality, features, onboarding.
• 07:59 - Company profile: Owner involvement, team, age.

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Have some capital saved and wondering how to invest it in acquiring your own SaaS company?

Good news! In this episode, I'm going to tell you how to start with 4 different ways of how you can put that money to use and make the best ROI.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:56 - Straight cash deal of business for 200k.
• 03:15 - Use debt financing such as SBA or DBC.
• 05:42 - Co-invest as an LP.
• 06:52 - Raise outside investor capital for equity.

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Imagine deciding to start your very own business and you were super successful, profitable and a major hit from Day 1. Does that normally happen in real life?

In this episode, I explore the advantages and disadvantages of buying an established business through the process of entrepreneurship through acquisition.

Some advantages:

• 1) Cash flow and profitable from Day one
• 2) Freedom to choose the type of business
• 3) Location independence to manage from anywhere
• 4) Feel like making an impact and real change
• 5) Easier to get financing as seen as lower risk

Some disadvantages:

• 1) Higher upfront cost then starting from scratch.
• 2) Buying other persons "problems”.
• 3) Easy for seller to manipulate or hide flaws in business.
• 4) Requires a lot more capital upfront and to improve bad performance.
• 5) May be tied to seller's personality or established relationships tied to owner.

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In this episode, I cover 5 productivity hacks for entrepreneurs to start using their day to win more time and be more efficient.

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When things are going well for your business, you stop giving the attention to every single one of your customers as you should. However, in times like this is when we have to go above and beyond for every single one of the customers to stop them to turning away on your SaaS product.

In this episode, I'll talk about the 5 ways to reduce churn for your SaaS product in a recession.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:49 - Re-tune your digital engagement strategies.
• 01:59 - Be proactive and deliver value.
• 03:18 - Communicate effectively.
• 04:47 - Perfect your onboarding experience.
• 06:16 - Build a community.

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In this episode, I'll talk about the top 10 reasons why startups fail. Whether you are looking to start your own business or buy an existing startup. I want to make sure you don't fail and you have all the tools you need to make sure you succeed at your startup.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:00 - FOUNDER ISSUES: The founders didn't get along.
• 02:00 - FOUNDER ISSUES: Not enough startup experience.
• 02:57 - FOUNDER ISSUES: They couldn't make their own luck.
• 03:55 - FOUNDER ISSUES: Undisciplined/raised too much.
• 05:05 - FOUNDER ISSUES: EGO.
• 06:07 - PRODUCT/MARKET FIT ISSUES: Tech hard to build.
• 07:02 - PRODUCT/MARKET FIT ISSUES: NICE to have, not NEED to have.
• 08:20 - PRODUCT/MARKET FIT ISSUES: Poor pricing model.
• 11:00 - PRODUCT/MARKET FIT ISSUES: Not real customers.
• 11:47 - PRODUCT/MARKET FIT ISSUES: High churn.

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A question that I get often is: "Where do I go and find my own company?" or "Where do I find high quality businesses?". So if you're looking to buy or acquire your own SaaS company, this video is perfect for you.

I'll talk about 6 different ways to find high quality SaaS companies, how to start looking for your own deals and acquire a company for yourself. There's two different ways I'm breaking down: Privately source and partnerships.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:45 Private: Networking/Events.
• 01:44 Private: Directories
• 02:37 Private: Marketplace
• 04:24 Partnership: River guides
• 05:36 Partnership: Brokers
• 06:50 M&A Advisors

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In this episode, I'll give you a few tips when you are trying to validate your business idea so you don't have to spend thousands of dollars just to learn if it's a good idea.

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:52 - Contact your potential customers
• 01:54 - Separate the really interested people
• 06:18 - Analyze your competition
• 10:23 - Create a landing page
• 12:51 - Summary

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With your sales demo, you are showing the client how your product works and how it can solve their problems, most companies have a template for all their presentations. They forget that all clients are different and that is why in this video I will help you create the best demo for your product so you can get the close.

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:12 Prove the value
• 02:23 Do your research
• 04:17 Personalize your demo
• 05:56 Be direct and ask for the close
• 06:58 Understand their hesitation
• 09:08 How long should my demo be?
• 10:25 Closing

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When people talk about investing your money, they always say that you have to look for the best ROI. They think this means how much money you get back, but one of the best ROI you can make is Books. For less than $10 you can get the knowledge that took someone years to acquire.

I'll talk about 5 books that every single founder should read to be successful.

• 01:04 Number 1: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
• 03:52 Number 2: Zero to One by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
• 05:51 Number 3: Scaling Up by Verne Harnish
• 09:06 Number 4: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• 11:58 Number 5: The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Books:

The Lean Startup

Zero to One

Scaling Up

The Hard Thing About Hard Things

The Effective Executive

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