What's Hot in Enterprise IT/VC - Issue #152
What's Hot in Enterprise IT/VC - Issue #152
No, the sky is not falling! Well, maybe just for companies that think they are tech companies but in reality aren’t - you know which companies I’m talking about…We…Bikes. That being said, enterprise software companies selling real products with solid subscription growth like Zoom and Crowdstrike are still doing well and the magic ingredient on the ones worth over $10b is net retention - all over 145%. Some great reads on branding for enterprise startups, for their customers and also to hire engineering. Also super excited about the launch of Dark (a portfolio co), a new programming language for seamlessly deploying code into production, and a great listen on the Secure Developer on how large enterprises need to think about security in our agile world.
Scaling Startups
Almost everything I've learned about startups:
* Aim to get to cash flow positive early
* Don't overly optimize for private market valuations
* Build a great team and culture
* Make sure the business model *works*
* Focus, focus, focus. Dilution of effort will crush you
11:19 PM - 24 Sep 2019
Brand as a Differentiator: How to Build a Software Brand from Scratch
for enterprise startups this can be a lost art but also important, especially for product led growth companies - “Determining your why is going to bring you to the core or essence of your brand. Describing your why should elicit an emotion of some sort. This description of your why should be your North Star – all of your brand choices must ladder back to it.”
Performance metrics for blazingly fast web apps
hiring engineering talent is getting harder and harder, some of the best companies use content marketing and detailed technical blog posts to get potential engineering hires excited - examples include Uber, Airbnb, and Netflix. Here’s Superhuman’s (a portfolio co) first of many posts talking about how they build the fastest email experience in the world and how they measure performance.
Enterprise Tech
such a bummer, Docker revolutionized containers but gave away too much with its open source strategy hoping to monetize with Docker Swarm (container management) and got crushed by Kubernetes - on its 4th CEO now, will be interesting to see if this can be saved
Dark, a New Programming Language for 'Deployless' Deployments
Super excited about Dark’s launch (a portfolio co) - “There are too many incrementalists in tech these days, according to Paul Biggar, who along with Ellen Chisa, is unveiling the Dark, a programming language aimed at making deploying software simpler.
“The complexity of building backends today is just out of control. It’s infrastructure, it’s deployment, it’s APIs… Dark is about removing all this complexity,” Biggar said.
The technology involves a holistic programming language, structured editor and infrastructure for building backend web services.
The Secure Developer | Ep. #37, Security Transformation with James Kaplan of McKinsey
In episode 37 of The Secure Developer, Guy Podjarny speaks with James Kaplan of McKinsey & Co. James describes his journey into the telecommunications industry, and how many longstanding companies must reevaluate security practices when going through a digital transformation.
💯 and so glad we’re invested in Snyk - forget devsecops, it’s just table stakes for devops and should be fully baked into the whole software development lifecycle and automated\
The Urgent Search for a Cyber Silver Bullet Against Iran
super important to read as the next war may very well likely start in cyberspace - As the United States weighs possible cyberattacks against Iran, it is looking for options that would deter Tehran from further strikes but avoid creating more conflict in the region.
Legacy companies missing automation leader for shift in business models
how legacy enterprises can get automation right - “Either evolve the role of the COO or CDO to expand their area of focus to include AI and automation or, if you are a complex organization or don’t want to rock the C-suite boat too much, hire a CAO,” Max Cheprasov, CAO at media and digital marketing company Dentsu Aegis Network
Markets
More $10 billion software companies are being minted than ever before — here's why
all about net retention! Datadog recorded retention in its latest quarter of 151% — a customer that spent $100 a year earlier is now shelling out $151. Crowdstrike reported a retention rate of 147% as of January, Slack’s was 143% and Zoom was at 140%.
post from Tomasz Tunguz at Redpoint from last week showing that enterprise tech is also undergoing a correction, about 18% on average, but prices are still at historical highs
Fun stuff
Facebook Horizon coming early 2020, ReadyPlayerOne!
By Ed Sim
Ed Sim's weekly readings and notes on VC, software, and scaling startups - #enterprise #seed #DeveloperFirst #IntelligentAutomation #DataInfra #CloudNative #Cybersecurity
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