This Week in Startups E1084: David Sacks on “The Cadence”: an operating philosophy he developed at PayPal which helped him lead Yammer to a billion-dollar exit without a COO
Jul 14, 2020
David Sacks, a former COO of PayPal and founder of Yammer, shares his insights on navigating startup growth and operational efficiency. He introduces 'The Cadence', an innovative philosophy to streamline operations as companies scale. Sacks discusses aligning product and marketing strategies, emphasizing their critical role in driving growth. He also highlights the importance of a collective growth mindset across teams and effective sales tracking essential for SaaS success. His advice is packed with practical strategies for enhancing accountability and performance in startups.
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Operating Cadence for Startups
- Implement an operating cadence to reduce chaos and synchronize employee efforts, especially when scaling from 50 to 500 employees.
- This involves organizing and synchronizing four key functions: sales, marketing, product management, and finance.
Syncing Sales, Finance, Product, and Marketing
- Sales and finance operate on the fiscal calendar, while product and marketing follow a different, offset cycle.
- Aligning these cycles with a slight offset creates a harmonious operating cadence for the entire company.
Aligning Sales and Fiscal Quarters
- Align sales quarters with fiscal quarters for accurate reporting and avoid conflicts.
- Set quarterly sales quotas to provide clear goals and boost sales team morale.