Insights from the Founders

Perspectives on growth, strategy, and the impact of changing market conditions.

Author

Radu Bozga

Senior Associate

We asked 33 founders from the Cloud Challengers Top 100 report a series of questions to gauge their perception of their own performance, key indicators, and their outlook on 2024. Their answers give a unique insight into the considerations, workings, and priorities of Europe’s business software pioneers.

‍Nearly 60% of respondents rated the importance of efficiency for their business 9 or above
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On a scale from 1 to 10, how important is efficiency for your business?

Source: Notion Capital, 2024

Burn multiple (36%), CAC payback (25%) and Burn were the preferred efficiency metrics for respondents

What is your preferred metric for efficiency?

Source: Notion Capital, 2024

62% of respondents believe that 2024 is going to be better, or significantly better than 2023, while 17% err more on the side of pessimism, suggesting that it will be worse

To what extent do you feel like there will be a change in market sentiment for 2024 compared to 2023?

Source: Notion Capital, 2024

39% of respondents said that ‘product development’ was their greatest achievement in 2023, reflecting the early stage nature of the top 100. In second and third place were ‘building a scalable GTM motion’ (23%) and ‘revenue growth’ (23%)

When I look back at 2023, I'd say our biggest achievement has been:

Source: Notion Capital, 2024

91% of respondents saw an increase in customer demand, but for 70% sales cycles stayed the same or increased

Compared to 6-12 Months ago, we saw our sales cycle:

Source: Notion Capital, 2024
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61% of companies have built GenAI features into their products indicating a strong trend towards leveraging this new platform.
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Over the past 12 months, did you add or change your product roadmap to include Generative AI features?

Source: Notion Capital, 2024

55% of respondents believe that VC appetite to allocate capital has increased compared to 6-12 months ago, despite 2023 investment decreasing by 59% compared to 2022 in Europe‍

Compared to 6-12 months ago, I think VC appetite to allocate capital has:

Source: Notion Capital, 2024

For the majority of respondents (64%) revenue, and revenue growth is believed to be the biggest challenge moving into 2024
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When I think about 2024, I'd say our biggest challenge will be:

Source: Notion Capital, 2024

When thinking about team, respondents focused on culture management (29%) and getting access to the right GTM talent (27%)
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Team - For 2024, our Top 2 Priorities are:

Source: Notion Capital, 2024

So, while top flight emerging SaaS founders are generally feeling optimistic about the year to come, they are conscious of challenges coming their way in terms of revenue generation and growth, managing culture in their teams, and getting access to the right people to take their business forward.

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The size and composition of founding teams comprising our Top 100.