The global SaaS market is always expanding, but it’s hard to focus on TAM when you have less than 12 months of runway. Since a typical B2B sales cycle takes several months, shortening the average time to close is the best strategy for keeping the lights on. That’s why more startups are using “permissionless” pilot programs, according to Jake Jolis of Matrix Partners. With permissionless pilots, teams use “public, customer-specific data” to show sales prospects “exactly what the experience would look and feel like when used on their own data.” These programs draw data from public records, which can include SEC filings, search engine results or even birth and death records. As a result, “the world is your oyster,” says Polis. His article includes exercises that will help generate ideas for pilot programs, along with a few suggestions for public data sources. Thanks for reading TC+ this week! Walter Thompson Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+ Read More |