Expanding on the concept of “SaaS+”, which refers to software companies that go beyond their core products and services to offer additional features and value-added services, Justin Kaufenberg and Greg Blasko discuss how to build a strong foundation for SaaS+ businesses. The authors draw from their experience in building a platform for youth athletics to provide insights and recommendations.
One of the key aspects of SaaS+ is the integration of value-added features such as integrated e-commerce, insurance, or payment processing into the core product portfolio. These additional features not only enhance the customer experience but also create new revenue streams that excite investors. The authors emphasize that aligning the product roadmap, technical architecture, pricing strategy, and product marketing with these concepts is crucial for success in the SaaS+ market.
To illustrate their recommendations, Kaufenberg and Blasko provide detailed examples of software architecture choices made by companies like Kayak, Amazon, and Shopify. These examples showcase how these companies have effectively combined various elements to increase the number of transactions each user makes, leading to higher customer satisfaction and business growth.
In addition to discussing software architecture, the authors also highlight the importance of multi-merchant cart technology and parent-child data models in building a strong foundation for SaaS+ businesses. These technologies enable seamless integration of different features and services, allowing customers to easily navigate through the various offerings and make transactions.
The article concludes by emphasizing the need for SaaS+ businesses to focus on creating trust and establishing best practices in the absence of industry standards and government regulations for AI development. The authors highlight the importance of reducing the “randomness” potential of machine learning models and building trust with customers, as this will be a key factor in determining the success of AI-based businesses in the future.
In a separate article, Haje Jan Kamps discusses the dos and don’ts of creating a pitch deck for fundraising. One of the points raised by Kamps is the importance of presenting a compelling narrative that outlines the company’s roadmap for growth, rather than focusing on percentage breakdowns of funds allocation. According to Kamps, investors are more interested in understanding the milestones a company aims to achieve with the funds raised, rather than the specific percentages allocated to each area.
Another interesting article focuses on the challenges and opportunities in the school bus management industry. The author highlights BusRight, a platform that recently raised a $7 million Series A funding round. The author praises BusRight’s well-designed platform that addresses the specific needs and challenges of the school bus transportation system. The article provides a breakdown of the key elements that make BusRight a successful platform, covering aspects such as target audiences, market size, problem-solving solutions, traction sales process, business model, and unit economy.
Moving on, the article explores visa options for startup founders who want to expand their businesses to the US. The author responds to a reader’s question regarding the best visa options and whether they would allow the founder’s spouse to work and continue their career. The article provides information and insights into the various visa options available for entrepreneurs and their families who wish to relocate to the US.
Additionally, the article provides a list of recommended books from various tech writers. These books cover a wide range of topics and genres, offering readers a variety of choices for their next reading adventure.
Finally, the article delves into the challenges of making AI trustworthy. The author explores the concept of “black box hallucinations” in AI and the need for transparency and interpretability in AI systems. The article introduces the concept of instance-based learning as an alternative approach to AI that provides more insights into the data set and predictions.
To summarize, the articles provide insights into building a strong foundation for SaaS+ businesses, creating effective pitch decks for fundraising, navigating the challenges of the school bus management industry, understanding visa options for startup founders, exploring recommended books from tech writers, and addressing the challenges of making AI more trustworthy. These topics offer a diverse range of perspectives and information for readers interested in these areas of technology and entrepreneurship.
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“SaaS+” refers to software companies that augment their core products and services with value-added features like integrated e-commerce, insurance, or payment processing.
Adding these features to the product portfolio creates a secondary convenience that delights customers, along with new revenue streams that excite investors.
Drawing from their experience building a platform for youth athletics, Justin Kaufenberg (CEO of Rally Ventures) and Greg Blasko (Co-Founder of Monoline) explain How to “Right Build the Foundation of Your SaaS+ House” with multi-merchant cart technology, parent-child data models, and other insights.
Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members.
use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% on a one or two year subscription.
The six recommendations include detailed examples of software architecture choices made within companies like Kayak, Amazon, and Shopify that combine to increase the number of transactions each user makes.
“Being aligned with these concepts will drive the product roadmap, core technical architecture, pricing strategy, and product marketing,” according to the authors.
Thank you very much for reading TC+!
walter thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
Never express your “usage of funds” slide as percentages
Building a pitch deck is like a four-dimensional chess game: founders must provide investors with a compelling narrative that will take the company from this round of fundraising to the next.
Some teams like to share slides explaining how they plan to allocate the funds, but Haje Jan Kamps says the percentage breakdowns are a “red flag” for potential investors.
“How much technology do you need to have developed? How many clients and how much income do you need? What staff do you need to develop that technology, sell it to those customers, and support them?
In other words: “You’re raising by milestones, not by percentages or runway.”
Four ways to show customers they can trust your generative AI business tool
Image Credits: umdash9 (Opens in a new window) / Fake Images
In light of our ongoing debate about the existential dangers of AI, it was interesting last night to sit in a theater and watch a three-hour epic about the dawn of the Atomic Age.
Eight decades later, we are once again hurtling into a new technological era without first creating a framework for ethics, security, trust, or a thousand other considerations.
Since there are no industry standards or government agencies to guide AI development, startups must establish new best practices, according to TC+ contributors Luigi La Corte and Leo Arango.
“The providers that take active steps to reduce the ‘randomness’ potential of LLMs and build the most trust will be big winners.”
Launch Pad Teardown: BusRight’s $7 Million Series A Platform
Image Credits: BusRight (Opens in a new window)
America’s school buses make up the nation’s largest public transportation fleet: by one estimate, students make 10 billion trips each year.
School bus management platform BusRight recently raised a $7 million Series A with a “well-designed” platform that is “full of thoughtful touches,” according to Haje Jan Kamps:
- Cover
- Go to the market
- Target audiences
- Market size
- Problem
- Solution/product
- Traction
- sales process
- Business model/unit economy
- Testimonials
- Sales Decision Dynamics
- growth projection
- Equipment
- closing/contact
Ask Sophie: What are the visa options for a startup founder with family?
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch
Dear Sophie,
I am the founder of a startup in Berlin. I just got back from a visit to Silicon Valley where I met a new client. On the trip I realized that I needed to be based in the US to grow our base with US customers.
What are the best visa options for me and my family? Will any of them allow my husband to work and continue his career?
— Looking for scale
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Looking for your next book? These 9 authors have reading recommendations for you
Image Credits: Daniel Grizelj/Getty Images
Anna Heim asked several tech writers, “What book have you read this summer that you think others might enjoy?” Here’s who responded:
- Adam DuVander
- Phil Rosen
- adi polak
- Andrew Lee Miller
- david kadavy
- Sara E.Brown
- Fake Zeke
- David Spink
- purna virji
Making AI trustworthy: Can we overcome black box hallucinations?
Image Credits: custom designer (Opens in a new window) / Fake Images
Cartoon characters can imagine giant hot dogs when hungry, but a large language model (LLM) can hallucinate for a variety of reasons, such as poor data quality or an unclear prompt.
Major AI platforms “infer and extrapolate based on what they believe is the most likely answer, not actual data,” according to Dr. Mike Capps, CEO and co-founder of Diveplane.
Instance-based learning, on the other hand, compares training data points “against each other to gain insight into the data set and the predictions,” Capps says. “In other words, IBL ‘shows its work’.”
TechCrunch+ Roundup: SaaS+ basics, Labor Day book picks, building trust with AI customers
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