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5 Blogs You Need to Read Before the End of 2021

2021 has been a record-setting year for tech startups and investors. In fact, it’s estimated that in Q3 2021 alone, startups across all stages of growth in North America received $79.6 billion in investments.

It might inspire you to think about what fresh capital could mean for your business as you look to the next year, but remember: just because you can raise capital, doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

At Elsewhere, we’re big proponents for doing what’s right for both founders and their shareholders. And part of that means getting clear about what the right path looks like for you.

Here’s a review of our top blogs from this past year. We lay out the meaning of pragmatic growth, what to consider when fundraising, and how to break the Silicon Valley mold.

Why SaaS Startups Should Embrace Professional Services

Reading Time: 10 minutes

What You’ll Learn: How embracing professional services can help you grow your revenue.

There’s a belief in venture capital and growth equity that services offer no value for software startups. But it is time to change the narrative that services are “bad.” The reality is that services have a place in SaaS startups, especially when they align to the product the company is already building. This could include IT and infrastructure consulting, detailed integration work, high-touch troubleshooting and diagnostics, and strategic guidance, as a few examples.

How to Engage Every Department in Pragmatic Product-Led Growth

Reading Time: 5 minutes (plus a longer eBook for more in-depth insights)

What You’ll Learn: Why product-led growth can have a far-reaching impact across your entire organization.

Turning products into powerful growth engines can be a winning strategy for every department, not just sales and product teams. In fact, pragmatic product-led growth reshapes sales and marketing functions.

Why PE Is a Valuable Partner to SaaS Companies

Reading Time: 8 minutes

What You’ll Learn: Why PE deserves more attention and consideration.

Private equity isn’t what it used to be. Cost cutting and profit maximizing strategies have given way to growth investing and organizational/product expansion strategies. Learn why PE can be a valuable partner to software companies in the current market environment.

4 Common Founder Questions About Term Sheets

Reading Time: 10 minutes

What You’ll Learn: How to prep for your next fundraise.

The fundraising process, though time intensive, doesn’t need to be confusing or overwhelming. In our series A Founder’s Guide to Term Sheets, we explain the four fundamentals of a term sheet’s structure, and dive into some of the most frequent questions that arise around effectively navigating and negotiating term sheets.

The Role of an Operating Advisor to Help Your Business

At Elsewhere, we provide strategic, tailored support to all of our portfolio companies, and we believe the best way to do this is through the guidance of Operating Advisors (OAs). Elsewhere OAs are accomplished software executives who partner closely with portfolio companies to accelerate their growth, offering unique perspectives based on their own experiences and knowledge.

Over the past year, we added a number of executives to our bench of OAs and reconnected with longstanding relationships. Learn more about them and their unique contributions to the Elsewhere platform below:

  • Sanjay Castelino - Chief Product Officer at Snow Software and Elsewhere’s board representative at Sellers Shield
  • Shelley Perry - Shelly most recently served as executive chair of Elsewhere portfolio company Airbrake, which was acquired by LogicMonitor earlier this year.
  • Rita Selvaggi - CEO at ActivTrak and an Elsewhere OA as of 2019
  • Pradeep Ittycheria - CTO of Austin-based banking technology and services provider Kasasa.

It’s A Wrap: Effectively Preparing for 2022

As 2021 winds down and you prepare for what’s to come in 2022, take some time to check in with yourself. What worked really well with your business this year? Where do you want to grow or improve next year?

And, perhaps most importantly, what goals are most important to you to achieve with your startup next year?

Contact us if we can help your company accelerate into the future.

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