This episode carries David Cummings's own address, with nobody on the show putting
questions to them. It still counts as said, and it is kept out of every score on their page.
David Cummings, serial entrepreneur and investor, explains his hiring and interviewing framework derived from Topgrading.
“And what you want to listen for, whether they have two years of experience or 22 years of experience, you want to listen to the fact that they were pulled from their position into the next role. You want to hear that somebody somewhere saw something in them and pulled them from role A and then pulled them from role B.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading:
filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard
(the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from David Cummings
Insight
Cummings: Double SaaS Prices Until 25% to 50% Ask for Discounts
“And then raise your prices every six months. Go ahead and double them until you're at the upper end of reasonable. You'll know you're at the upper end of reasonable when people on the phone Start asking for discounts, 25 to 50% of the time, right?”
David CummingsNov 11, 2019▶ 14:587 Lessons Helping Start Pardot, SalesLoft, and Calendly
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Pardot grew to $13M ARR and sold for $100M without board meetings
“We raised zero dollars of venture capital. We sold the business for a hundred million dollars, and we had never held a single board meeting. So think about that. We sold Pardot. We had thirteen million of recurring revenue. Hundred percent year-over-year growt…”
David CummingsNov 11, 2019▶ 2:447 Lessons Helping Start Pardot, SalesLoft, and Calendly
PredictionHeld up
Cummings: SalesLoft will reach a $1B unicorn valuation within two years
“And so now, seven years later, SalesLoft has over 400 employees, has raised over seventy-five million dollars of venture capital, and in the next two years, if not sooner, my prediction is that they will be a unicorn that you'll be able to read about on TechCr…”
David CummingsNov 11, 2019▶ 4:117 Lessons Helping Start Pardot, SalesLoft, and Calendly
AssertionPartly supported
Cummings: Qualtrics scaled to $500M ARR without primary balance sheet capital
“Ryan Smith from Qualtrics, and he told the amazing story of going from zero to five hundred million of revenue
And not requiring any primary capital. Five hundred million in recurring revenue, and they never raised any money that went to the balance sheet.”
David CummingsNov 11, 2019▶ 10:217 Lessons Helping Start Pardot, SalesLoft, and Calendly
Insight
Atlanta SaaS scaling is primarily constrained by a lack of C-level talent
“What's more difficult coming from a city like Atlanta growing SaaS businesses is C-level talent. We have amazing individual contributors. We have amazing people from a middle management perspective. But the C-level talent has been a real challenge.”
David CummingsNov 11, 2019▶ 13:127 Lessons Helping Start Pardot, SalesLoft, and Calendly
Insight
Cummings: Never Give a SaaS Discount Without Receiving Value in Return
“And when people ask for those discounts, have a consistent discount policy, 1015, 20% off, but never give a discount without asking for something in return. Always get something in return. Get them to commit to doing a press release, to be a testimonial, to do…”
David CummingsNov 11, 2019▶ 15:257 Lessons Helping Start Pardot, SalesLoft, and Calendly
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