Don Mal is the co-founder and former CEO of Vena. He explains how Vena secured massive six-figure contracts with enterprise banks early in the company's lifecycle.
“One of our first 20 customers was Wells Fargo, as an example, and we sold to all, you know, a lot of the big banks in the U.S. After that, but we were getting half a million dollars a year from the banks to use Venna for mission critical regulatory processes.”
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More from Don Mal
Insight
Lead generation is the absolute number one first hire for a startup
“Not only did we hire, you know, our first person to generate leads, but I've done that in my last two startups since as well. So it is the number one hire in my opinion. If you don't have leads, you don't have sales. If you don't have sales, you don't have a c…”
Don MalSep 3, 2024▶ 6:27They hit $100M ARR—in a "crowded market". Here's how they got to $1M ARR in just 18 months. | Don... · PMF Show
AssertionSupported
Don Mal: Vena differentiated by embracing Excel rather than replacing it
“All of the vendors were replacing Microsoft Excel as the tool that most companies use for budgeting and planning. We actually embraced Microsoft Excel as the grid technology in our software, so we kept people in a very familiar environment, and you know, we us…”
Don MalSep 3, 2024▶ 3:37They hit $100M ARR—in a "crowded market". Here's how they got to $1M ARR in just 18 months. | Don... · PMF Show
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Mal: Planning software vendors replacing Excel succeed mainly in enterprise
“The vendors that have done well, you know, extremely well in the market where they replace Excel have gone more to the enterprise segment of the market, larger companies.”
Don MalSep 3, 2024▶ 4:36They hit $100M ARR—in a "crowded market". Here's how they got to $1M ARR in just 18 months. | Don... · PMF Show
Insight
Founders should launch products in domains they already know how to sell
“I always tell young entrepreneurs, Hey, look, stick close to your nettings, you know, come to market with something you already know how to sell.”
Don MalSep 3, 2024▶ 9:38They hit $100M ARR—in a "crowded market". Here's how they got to $1M ARR in just 18 months. | Don... · PMF Show
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Six new FP&A vendors have entered the market since Vena and succeeded
“Since Vena, there have been another, let's call it half dozen vendors that have entered the space that are all doing well.”
Don MalSep 3, 2024▶ 13:23They hit $100M ARR—in a "crowded market". Here's how they got to $1M ARR in just 18 months. | Don... · PMF Show
Insight
Don Mal: FP&A software ROI comes from leverage, not headcount reduction
“The biggest thing in that space is, is really getting the most out of your team. You know, when you think about the manual Sort of archaic way of doing budgeting and planning of like sending spreadsheets, chasing the numbers, manually consolidating the results…”
Don MalSep 3, 2024▶ 26:05They hit $100M ARR—in a "crowded market". Here's how they got to $1M ARR in just 18 months. | Don... · PMF Show
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