219. Crisis Coverage w/ Tomasz Tunguz - SaaS Strategies, Sector Data, and the $ Ceiling for Deals over Zoom

Tomasz Tunguz of Redpoint Ventures joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss SaaS Strategies, Sector Data, and the $ Ceiling for Deals over Zoom. In this episode, we cover:

• September of 2015 was the last time we had you on the program...  bring us up-to-speed on major milestones and changes since then?
• Has your thesis changed at all?
• Aside from the effects of the pandemic now, what has been the biggest change in SaaS investing since then?
• Lots of varying advice from so-called experts... some suggesting to deep cuts across the board, extend runway out for a few years... others saying now is the time to lean-in, expand and take advantage of opportunities that are created by the crisis.  You put together a pretty simple two by two decision-matrix for startups.  Can you talk through this and how you're providing different counsel to startups in different positions?
• If you're vetting a startup for a Series A that has benefited from the crisis, how do you disentangle or segregate temporary or non-sustainable revenue sources from the steady-state?
• Have you adjusted your vetting criteria or expectations around metrics due to the crisis?
• What's something you look for and analyze that is less common?
• What's your take on situations where there is an agreed MRR but the contract is structured such that the bulk of the contract value is paid upfront.  On one hand is a great boost to working capital but how do you look at that from an MRR standpoint?
• Any tactical advice for founders/sales teams w/ regards to structuring new customer contracts in this environment?
• Is there a maximum $ contract size that you think can be closed over the phone?
• To determine the sectors impacted most by COVID-19, you looked at Roger Lee's data on Layoffs.  We've discussed a lot of the impacted sectors anecdotally here on the show... according to the data, what has been impacted most?
• Are there some sectors where we'll see a lagging effect... due to factors like sales cycles maybe we don't see the effects yet but will over the coming quarter or two?
• You've discussed sectors and categories that this crisis might accelerate... aside from the obvious like teleconference, telehealth, grocery delivery, video streaming, etc... what are some non-obvious areas that may get a big boost?

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