After hosting our first australiabusinessblog.com Disrupt in San Francisco in three years, Slack is much quieter than usual this morning.

My colleagues fly home to cities like Taipei, Paris and London; I just took a tram home, which should keep my expense report simple.

Moscone Center didn’t look like we were seeing a technical downturn: the Expo Hall and demo booths were lively and attendees were excited to network in the hallways (are business cards making a comeback?).

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Next week, I’ll be sharing a panel summary I moderated, “Getting the BS Out of Your TAM.” In a conversation with Kara Nortman (Upfront Ventures), Aydin Senkut (Felicis Ventures) and Deena Shakir (Lux Capital), we explored the many mistakes fledgling founders make when calculating the size of their market and captured the information that investors are actually looking for.

Everyone had actionable insights to share, and more than one participant stopped me in the hallways afterwards to let me know how much they appreciated our candid discussion. If you don’t want to wait for my summary, you can watch a video of the panel now.

Thanks again to everyone who took part!

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, australiabusinessblog.com+
@yourprotagonist

2023 VC Predictions: Finding an Exit From the ‘Messy Middle’

Eric Tarczynski, managing partner and founder of Contrary Capital, says we are entering a “messy middle” era for venture capital:

“Companies can no longer raise $5 million to $10 million seed rounds with nothing but a stack and the assumption that revenue multiples will exceed historical standards,” he writes in a TC+ guest post.

Looking ahead to 2023, Tarczynski envisions an environment in which “the VC landscape begins to split” as “slow M&A and no IPOs” and “good companies in ‘safe’ sectors” dampen investor expectations.

Read this before re-pricing your SaaS product because of the recession

Image Credits: Richard Drury (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Many startups are cutting their prices in an effort to retain customers and reduce churn during the recession.

“But is that actually useful advice for SaaS founders?” asks Torben Friehe, CEO and co-founder of Wingback. “As far as I can see, it’s not for most.”

Rather than being reactive, Friehe says SaaS startups should instead rethink their ideal customer profile and revise their messaging.

“This adverse economic climate can be a time when you have more leverage and demand higher prices for your product.”

Dear Sophie: How can I start a startup while I am OPT?

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/australiabusinessblog.com

Dear Sophie,

I am an international student in USA in F-1 status. I will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and plan to apply for OPT. I want to start a startup.

Can I do that with OPT? What options do I have after OPT to grow my business further?

— Forward-looking founder

The Great Migration and the Next 10-Year Cycle in the Cloud

Image Credits: Tim Robberts (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Now that the public cloud market has corrected after years of growth, will seasoned workers look for greener pastures at smaller companies?

According to Andy Stinnes, general partner at Cloud Apps Capital Partners, we are entering a decade-long cycle that will lead to major talent migration.

“The answer is obvious when you think about it,” he says. “Companies are expanding cash runways and cloud leaders feel the pain as they lay off parts of their teams and face even more work and pressure.”

How to combine PLG and corporate sales to improve the funnel and drive bottom-line growth?

Image Credits: Richard Drury (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Products and services that sell themselves sound great, but product-driven growth (PLG) startups still launch marketing campaigns and hire sales teams.

Combining PLG with traditional sales-led growth efforts can take retention and acquisition to the next level, said Kate Ahlering, Chief Revenue Officer at Calendly.

In this guest post from TC+, Ahlering outlines multiple strategies that will help teams implement a ‘hybrid GTM strategy’, including suggestions for leveraging PLG data and optimizing success metrics.