Speaking on stage at the Supernode conference with Crossbeam Co-Founder and CEO Bob Moore, A16Z Partner Sarah Wang made it clear what it's going to take to get funding from arguably the best VC on the planet.
An ecosystems approach.
In the past month, most venture financing has come to a screeching halt and billions are sitting on the sidelines or lost altogether.
Sarah said she's seeing valuations coming down and rounds not finishing because investors aren't only looking at growth anymore, but both growth and efficiency.
"Who wants to fight the uphill battle of sales-led revenue generation?"
Sarah said that if A16Z is looking at two companies and one is projecting to triple revenue in the next year with a 100% direct pipeline, and the other is projecting to double but their pipeline is 50% partner, they'll back the latter.
"It's a more efficient and stable business”
She also pointed out a trend she's seeing with Account Executives, saying that that smartest lean heavily into partner relationships, and as a result outperform their peers so fast they are jumping to promotions and management in six to twelve months.
This follows on the heels of the BVP prediction that partner monetization is the most important priority for SaaS startups in 2022.
If you haven't taken the partner pill yet, maybe it's time.
