Sep 25, 2024 · 28m · saastr
5 Metrics that Matter When Raising Your SaaS Series A and Series B with Christoph Janz of Point 9
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Christoph Janz, Partner at Point Nine Capital, outlines the critical financial models, growth benchmarks, and cohort analyses required for SaaS founders to successfully raise Series A and Series B funding in a disciplined market.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
Jason as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.1 Jason pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is Jason, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:45 Open challenge on spreadsheet complexity
Janz directly challenges anyone in the audience to justify a startup financial plan spanning 20 tabs, calling excessive complexity poorly executed.
Hardest push from Jason ▶ 2:30 No host pushback (monologue format)This is a solo keynote presentation delivered without active host interruptions or pushback.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 16:20 Cohort analysis structuring lessonJanz provides masterclass guidance on why blended cohort analyses fail when combining annual and monthly billing plans.
Jason holds their own ▶ 2:30 No host hits back (monologue format)The presentation is a solo address without an active conversational host present to demonstrate counter-expertise.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Jason as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Jason pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why Clean Data Matters for Series A and B Fundraising | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Christoph Janz gives a solo keynote presentation explaining why clean, self-explanatory data is essential to running an efficient Series A/B fundraising process. There is no active host interaction in this monologue segment. | |
| Structuring the KPI Sheet and Financial Model | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Janz outlines best practices for KPI sheets, warning against overly complex multi-tab models and offering an open challenge to anyone claiming a 20-tab model is necessary for an early-stage startup. | |
| Investor Expectations: Growth Targets, NDR, and Valuations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Janz reviews growth expectations, 100% NDR benchmarks, and valuation resets following the market correction from 2021 highs. | |
| Cohort Analysis for Retention, Churn, and CAC Payback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Janz details how to present cohort analyses for retention, churn, and CAC payback, warning founders not to mix monthly and annual contracts. | |
| Marketing Attribution, Funnel Steps, and Scalable CAC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Janz discusses marketing attribution models and funnel metrics, advising founders to be transparent about CAC calculation methodologies. | |
| Sales Pipeline Evolution and AE Quota Attainment Tracking | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Janz explains how investors evaluate pipeline conversion and AE quota attainment sheets over multiple quarters. | |
| AI SaaS Metrics, Unit Economics, and Concluding Resources | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Janz wraps up by examining AI-specific SaaS dynamics such as API COGS, real user retention, and where to find Point 9 metric templates. |
Statements from this episode (16)
Clean SaaS metrics reduce diligence friction and accelerate fundraising
“If your data is self-explanatory, in good shape, easy to understand, and aligned with what investors really care about, you will avoid a lot of follow-up questions and a lot of back and forth with the investors that you are going to talk to and that are going …”
SaaS early-stage financial projections should cover roughly two years
“I think projections should usually be for around two years. I think one year is usually not enough because you raise a certain amount that should give you runway for 18 months or two years, and so it's good to have a budget for that period.”
Historical actuals and future projections must share the same spreadsheet model
“I think the historic numbers and the projections should follow the same logic and the same model. This is something that we quite oftentimes see founders do it, like, not quite right. So you get a model, you try to understand it, look at all the projections, a…”
20-tab startup financial models are always poorly designed
“As a rule of thumb, I have never seen in my life an Excel plan or a Google Sheets plan that had dozens or maybe 20 pages or tabs where it actually made sense. None. I've seen a lot of these, but I think they are all just really poorly done. If anybody wants to…”
SaaS startups need 2x to 3x YoY growth for Series A interest
“As a rough rule of thumb, a company that has a million or a couple of million in ERR, I think needs to grow at two or three X to really get a lot of investor interest. If you are at five to ten million ERR, I think it's usually still two X year over year growt…”
Investors demand a clear path to at least 100% net dollar retention
“A hundred percent NDR is something that investors really care for. Doesn't mean that you necessarily have to be there at the Series A, but I think there needs to be some path of getting there because people are really afraid of investing in businesses that kee…”
SaaS valuation multiples have compressed by roughly 80% since 2020
“A lot of companies out there have raised a series A or maybe a series B in 2020 or 20 21, and they might not have grown into that valuation yet because the multiples in the markets have just compressed by 80% or something.”
Cohort analysis is the only way to track SaaS retention and payback
“A cohort analysis is really the only way to get a sense for churn and retention, customer acquisition costs, payback, customer lifetime value in a subscription business.”
SaaS cohort analyses must separate monthly and annual plan customers
“Don't mix monthly and annual plans. If you do this all in one bucket, it makes more sense because some of the annually and the annual plan customers, they didn't even have a chance to cancel their subscriptions. You have to look at cohort analyzes for monthly …”
Founders may highlight top customer segments in fundraising if transparent
“So a little bit of cherry picking in a fundraising process is allowed. You just have to be transparent about it. You have to explain it. And you have to, you shouldn't overdo it.”
Founders must explain CAC calculations because no single standard exists
“There is probably not one generally accepted way of how customer acquisition costs are calculated. You can do it in many different ways. So make sure to explain how you do that or add a footnote. Otherwise, that will for sure trigger a follow up question from …”
Investors prioritize finding at least one scalable customer acquisition channel
“What investors really are looking for here is they want to see one source or one channel that's clearly working and that seems to be efficient and scalable.”
Top-of-funnel growth without proportional closed-won deals signals ICP or hygiene issues
“Another thing that we often observe when we see when we work with companies or when we see pitches is that the pipeline in the middle of the funnel or top of the funnel keeps growing, but the close one numbers don't really go up in the same proportion. What th…”
A 10-20 person sales team that never fires anyone indicates dysfunction
“If an investor sees a company with 10 or 20 salespeople and they've never let go a salesperson, that almost tells you something Tells you that something isn't working because it's unheard of, that every single salesperson works out.”