SaaStr 087: Successful SaaS Startups Do 1 Of Two Things & Why Specialisation Is Key To Success In SaaS with Michael Driscoll, Founder @ CEO @ Metamarkets

Michael Driscoll is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Metamarkets, the startup that provide interactive analytics for programmatic marketing. They have raised over $38m in VC funding from our good friends at Data Collective, Founder Collective, IA Ventures and more incredible investors. As for Michael, prior to Metamarkets, he started two other companies: Dataspora, a life science analytics company (acquired by Via Science in 2011), and CustomInk.com, an early pioneer in e-commerce. Fun fact: Michael is also a founding Partner of the previously mentioned VC fund, Data Collective. In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: How did Michael make his way from data lover to Silicon Valley SaaS Founder? Why does Mike believe in the inherent value of customer focus and product focus? What are the measurable benefits of being so specialised? Why does Mike believe it is so hard to be a cost leader in software? What are the fundamental challenges? What role does open source play in this? How does Mike view the alignment of the sales and the engineering team? Is it possible to have a harmonious relationship between the two? What should SaaS startup founders look for in potential seed investors? How can they determine whether they have these qualities? What should they look at in particular? 60 Second SaaStr Mike’s fave productivity tools? What most companies are doing wrong in their approach to data science? What does Mike know now that he wishes he had known at the start? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Michael Driscoll This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cloud.substack.com