Jay Nathan

COO @churnkey, SaaS Growth Executive

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

Had to do something painful today..

I turned down a deal with a prospect who is excited and ready to buy our product.

Why?

They have a specific need we can't meet without one-off product development work that doesn't fit into our vision and roadmap.

Sure, we could have built it.

And it might not have even taken that long.

But the reality is that their need doesn't fit into the value prop we're pursuing for our ideal customers.

Over the past twenty years I've seen this story play out, time and again. It always ends the same way.

Push to get it done.
Win the deal.
Unintended side effects.
Sunk costs.
Both parties throw good money (and time) after bad.

Then, as the late, great theologian Jimmy Buffett sings, it becomes "...a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling."

Instead, we recommended a couple of competitors who can serve their needs today, and offered our team to consult with them along the way.

(as Prof G says, "if this sounds like virtue signaling, trust your instincts...")

A few things gave me the confidence to make this decision:

1/ Our balance sheet

Churnkey (.co) is a lean, profitable SaaS company with a straightforward cap table. We are pursuing growth as hard as anyone else, but we're not beholden to outside influences pushing us to grow at all costs.

As a result, we think and act on a long-term time horizon (this is 1/3 of the reason I joined the company).

2/ Opportunity cost

To serve this need we would have sacrificed a portion of our product vision and value for a short-term dopamine hit.

Narrow thinking and short-term loss aversion would cause us to fall behind on serving other customers who fit our ICP (ideal customer profile) today.

3/ There's always tomorrow, and what goes around comes around

We'll be able to serve this customer even better when the time is right for both of us. I believe we built credibility in the process.

In business, and more specifically in SaaS, time is long and the world is small. People remember when you do the right thing, even if it stings in the short run.

At the end of the day, people put a lot on the line to do business with a SaaS company. They make decisions that can make or break portions of their career. Especially when it comes to mission-critical subscription revenue systems like the ones we work with.

So long, growth at all cost era.

Here's to the era of playing to win the long game.

What are the best long-term decisions you've seen your leadership team make in recent months?

#saas #sales #customersuccess #marketing

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@jaminball ServiceNow has massive, long-term contracts. Probably same with CRM. I think this retention issue will show up in the likes of HUBS (SMB/Midmarket) before the big enterprise players.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@ShaanVP Occam’s razor. The simplest answer is probably the best one.

There’s no conspiracy here.

Just the sad state of politically motivated violence which is unacceptable in this country no matter which side one is on.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@davegpack @jasonlk Isn’t that like saying to a disruptive competitor, they don’t deserve to make as much profit or as much market share? Maybe the seed fund is a better financing product for founders.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

Nice recovery from last month’s marketing faux pax.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

I agree. Apple intelligence. Way to grab hold of “AI” @Apple

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@OnlyCFO Only way out for many right now.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@jspujji And the chances of going public are now more slim than ever. It’s really the only way out these days. Besides running profitably for the long run.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@OnlyCFO Thoughts on how to operationalize rewarding rep B appropriately?

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

AI, AI, Oh.

[TechCrunch @TechCrunch]

In case you missed today's #GoogleIO keynote presentation, we summed it up for you

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@OnlyCFO @Kellblog Metrics are only a proxy for what’s happening in the real world. Often a bad one.

The best managers know their number but MBWA. Manage by walking around. (Or I guess zooming around in 2024 parlance).

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@Kellblog Love Rumelt.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@TheWalid Seemed perfectly legit to me 🤔

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@lingxlim And Brussel Sprouts

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@zanderson @jasonlk 😂

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

Largely with the product. If you have a high volume business and you’re not continuously automating the “longest pole in the tent” then I’d argue your velocity will be limited by those items at some point.

Besides the product, teams can implement “scaled success” models which are 1:many enablement and engagement tactics.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@jasonlk This is 100% true. It’s an expensive band aid for shortcomings in product and processes. Shouldn’t be, but has largely devolved into this in many, many SaaS and cloud companies.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

If you want to be noticed.

No matter what industry you find yourself in.

Do things that other people can’t do, won’t do, or simply can’t think of.

Good on you prince of pressure washing.

(And yes, the pollen is here)

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@nrmehta Exactly.

[Jay Nathan @jaynathan]

@jasonlk @gokulr @MeritechCapital Hubspot IPO a decade ago would be outside the envelope I think. Completely different era.