E35: How Jason Lemkin Built SaaStr

"Turpentine VC" | Venture Capital and Investing

In this episode Erik Torenberg sits down with Jason Lemkin, the founder and CEO of SaaStr, a venture firm, podcast network, event series, and the world’s largest community for B2B/SaaS founders. This candid conversation focuses on SaaStr's business model at the intersection of VC, media, and events. Jason also covers why all VC's need to nail the right amount of marketing, what 'edge' looks like in venture, why Jason never created a YC for SaaS, and the distinctions between business models that seem scalable versus those that genuinely achieve exponential growth.

--

SPONSORS:

🧲 Learn why Craft, Bedrock, NEA and 100s more trust Harmonic’s data to source deals. Harmonic is the most complete startup database, finding new companies as soon as they incorporate and tracking them through IPO. Head to https://bit.ly/harmonicturpentine (and make sure to mention Turpentine VC during your demo.)

💥 Access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to https://choosesquad.com and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist.

This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [e-mail].

--

Recommended Podcast: Company Breakdowns

Each episode of Company Breakdowns dives into S-1s and series B-and-beyond companies, interviewing founders and investors to break down the companies. First episode is on Rubrik - which just IPO'd. Coming up this season: Databricks, Reddit + more,

Spotify

Apple

--

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(01:22 ) Evolution of SaaStr Fund

(01:58) Accidental Success

(03:35) Community + Content

(06:52) Challenges and Realities of Scaling in Venture Capital

(07:46) Finding the Edge

(14:05) Jason Lemkin and Harry Stebbings of @20VC

(15:36) Why Jason Never Created a YC for SaaS

(23:05) Deciding on Fund Size and Scale

(30:56) Partnering in a Smaller Fund or Heading to a Mega Fund

(35:07) Sponsor: Harmonic | Squad

(37:51) Media and Event Business Models

(44:38) Field Marketing in Business Growth

(49:40) Rolling Up Vertical Media Businesses (the SaaStr Model)

(1:03:17) Complexities of Managing Multiple Income Streams

(1:08:11) Building Empires in Venture Capital