By: Linda Lin, Director of CS at Gong Hiring your first customer success person is challenging for any founder. This is the person who will be handling relationships with your earliest customers and taking existing revenue over directly from you....

In early stage SaaS, marketing is an essential investment that has the power to take your company to the next level, building awareness, reaching new customers, and making you look much bigger than you are. Given the limited resources and budget of...

Hiring your first sales development representative (SDR) can feel like such a relief. Finally, your early-stage SaaS business has someone who can focus solely on bringing in new customer leads. While you as a founder are likely to continue selling,...

Choosing an accelerator program is a big moment for any startup founder. Not only are accelerators often the first significant outside investment you’ll receive, but you’re also dedicating months of time to a program that could change the...

Defining a “startup accelerator” is no easy task. The term has become diluted with many different programs calling themselves “accelerators” despite widely varying offerings. As such, it’s often unclear what an accelerator is supposed to do,...

While the amount of focus you give to direct sales will eventually depend on your average customer size, every early stage B2B SaaS founder must do direct sales to start. Not only does direct sales help you build relationships with your prospects,...

When you're in the early stages of building your customer base for your SaaS business, chances are you’ll be sending a few cold emails. Personal networks only go so far, and it’s a good idea to land customers outside of your personal network to...

If you’re looking to fundraise for a high-potential startup idea in Canada, headlines from Silicon Valley about a new idea getting $1 million in funding from angels can feel encouraging. Don’t fall for it.  Unfortunately, Canada is markedly...

A great network of advisors can accelerate the trajectory of your startup. They not only open doors, they provide unique insights, lend credibility, speed up success and act as a sounding board to address business challenges quickly. But, the...

Let me jump straight to it: Happy customers love to talk and will do your marketing for you. It’s as simple as that. You just need to find those key customers in the early days of building your business and let them do the work.  How? If you...

Every year, Acceleprise runs two programs for our B2B SaaS focused accelerator. Each program hosts ten startup companies at each of our three locations: San Francisco, New York City, and Toronto. Our program is tailored to early stage B2B SaaS...

You’ve launched your product, you have a basic website, and your early stage SaaS company is getting some traction. You’ve started the process for raising your Seed round, and you’re close to landing your first few investor meetings. Now it’s time...

As you gear up to raise your seed round, it’s important to consider which fundraising strategy is right for you. While you might have a preference before you start your investor conversations, it could very well change after you start your...

If you’re a first time founder, the fundraising process is likely the most daunting part of your journey. You know you need to do it, and you also know that you’re going to need some help.  At Acceleprise, we dedicate almost half of our...

How we’re pivoting our Accelerator in today’s new, remote world. Remote work is one of the most talked about subjects for companies around the globe right now. Everybody from the corporate behemoths to the founders in a garage are exploring (well.....

Don’t make the long-term mistake of laying people off to handle short-term cash crunches. Even during a crisis, this is a critical error for startups if you haven’t exhausted all other options. While you gain a bit of runway in the short term, you...

If you have a customer success team, get ready to go into overdrive - even as the economy re-opens post-COVID. Whenever a crisis looms, there is a lot riding on your ability to keep customers. While your team should also look for new revenue...