#AskAVC with Ryan Floyd

Did you know that the average tenure of a VP of sales across businesses is 18 months? Imagine all the time and money spent on finding this person, investing in them building a team - only to have it all go out of the window a couple of months later. In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I share 3 ingredients critical for successful VP of sales hiring. Do you have to be good at sales yourse...

Finding an investor and securing their commitment is just the beginning of the journey. If you are a first-time founder, negotiating a term sheet can be a daunting task. In this episode, I will walk you through the key terms and techniques to make sure that the deal will be closed successfully. Why knowing the basic difference between pre-money and post-money valuation is not enough? What to do if...

In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I give entrepreneurs advice on researching potential investors in their business. Due diligence is the mutual process! How to get to know your future partners? How to "test drive" an investor with thoughtful questions? How to look for clues in an investor's past? Listen to the episode to get answers to all these questions - and more! Disclaimer: This p...

In the latest episode of #AskAVC podcast, I and Dominique Levin, co-CEO of Winning by Design that helps B2B companies grow by turning sales into a science, talk about common pitfalls and the successful strategies for customer onboarding. Turns out, onboarding customers is not just a technical challenge! What role customer expectations play in the successful onboarding process? How to make sure tha...

In the previous episode of #AskAVC podcast, I and Dominique Levin, co-CEO of Winning by Design that helps B2B companies grow by turning sales into a science, did a deep dive on how to generate more B2B sales leads. As we learned, however, not all leads are created equal - and you must optimize your lead generation strategy to ensure good conversion rates at each stage of the sales funnel. What is...

Welcome to the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast - and the first in the series of interviews with Dominique Levin, co-CEO of Winning by Design that helps B2B companies grow by turning sales into a science. What are leads and how they are different from opportunities? What is the role of marketing in generating leads? How the type of market you are in and the stage of your business impact your...

In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I go back to basics and dive deeper into some of the core concepts behind software as a service (or SaaS).  Why this term should not be confused with "subscriptions"?  What do you need to know about the market size for SaaS businesses?  What are some of the technical challenges you might run into when building a SaaS company? What busine...

In the latest episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I give founders and entrepreneurs tips on how to deal with acquisition interest. While it's undeniably a great problem to have, there are a few things you need to know to make the most out of the situation. How to make sure you take the right meetings with the right people and don't waste your time? How to build relationships that would help you and yo...

Startup life is inherently complex and unpredictable and no matter how hard we try, failures - small and large - are inevitable. Yet, delivering bad news could be very uncomfortable. In episode #5 of the #AskAVC podcast, I give techniques and tips for leaders, founders - and anyone, really - that, in my experience, make those unpleasant moments easier to deal with. A few things I talk about: ...

Your business might be in great shape, but still, you might be having a hard time delivering your story and convincing potential investors to join you on your journey. What are the components of the successful presentation? How to tell your story? How to keep people's attention? In the new episode of the #AskaVC podcast, I am sharing the best practices I've learned after 20 years of investing in t...

In the previous episode of the #AskaVC podcast, we defined churn and looked at ways to measure it. Losing customers is never fun, but it's not the end of the world! In this video, we are going to figure out how to fix churn if your business metrics are not looking so good.  Disclaimer: This podcast is based on the #AskAVC YouTube channel (youtube.com/askavc) - hence, the occasional visual ref...

One of the advantages of SaaS businesses is that you build a customer base that should not only continue to renew over time but also expand if you are delivering value. The opposite is the dreaded revenue churn. What is it and how to measure it is the topic of episode #2 of the #AskAVC podcast. You can also check out the blog post based on this video, on my personal website .  Disclaimer: Thi...

In the first episode of the #AskAVC podcast, I talk about sales efficiency - the magic number that, if calculated right, helps tech startups to scale and unlock growth. How it's different from CAC and LTV, the relationship between sales efficiency and go-to-market fit - all this and much more I tackle in this video. For a deep dive, make sure also to check out my TechCrunch post on the same topic...