3.24.20

Resources for cloud founders

A compilation of recommended and required reading for cloud founders who want to build world-changing businesses.

Over the past two decades, we’ve partnered with early founders and CEOs who have shaped the cloud industry and where it stands today. Through our work with over 200 cloud companies, we feel grateful to learn from these pioneers who have ushered in a cloud-first era. This is a guide for cloud founders and leaders to get up to speed on twenty years of macro trends and insights, including key metrics to grow your business, benchmarks to guide your next milestones, and the industry’s best thinking on building an enduring business.

We’ll continue to update this page as we curate the best of cloud and SaaS research.

Roadmaps

Roadmap: 10 laws of cloud - Byron Deeter, Elliott Robinson, Mary D'Onofrio and the firm
10 laws on how to build and scale cloud companies.

Roadmap: 8 new developer laws - Ethan Kurzweil, Jenny Gao, Sakib Dadi
8 developer laws on how B2D companies are running the world.

Roadmap: A cloud for every industry - Brian Feinstein
Why building a mission-critical vertical software solution is loaded with potential and growth.

Roadmap: B2B Marketplaces - Kent Bennett, Connor Watumull, Mike Droesch, Dhruv Jain
A new generation of founders is using new technologies and business models to bring B2B spend online.

Roadmap: Data Privacy Engineering - Alex Ferrara, Jules Scherwin, Mary D’Onofrio
Emerging markets that’ll help companies protect and secure consumer data.

Roadmap: Remote Work - Talia Goldberg
The future of work is remote and a new wave of software is emerging to reimagine how businesses and teams operate.

State of the Cloud: 2015-2019

State of the Cloud 2019
How to build a resilient business with G.R.I.T.

State of the Cloud 2018
Why cloud startups should track their ARRG multiple

State of the Cloud 2017
How fast your company should be growing with Bessemer's Good, Better, Best framework

State of the Cloud 2016
Dive into the five C's of cloud finance

State of the Cloud 2015
The rise of the cloud industry and important metrics founders should know

Insights

Cash conversion score - Mary D’Onofrio and Jeff Epstein
Bessemer identifies a new business metric for cloud companies that serves as an indicator of company returns.

How fast should a cloud company grow? - Byron Deeter
In this article, we share how a founder can scale their business with profitable unit economics.

Five accounting metrics for cloud companies - Byron Deeter
Bessemer recommends that every cloud business tracks and reports these five accounting metrics, as a starting point, when a business is trying to develop its high-level business dashboard.

An inside look at our investment process for Twilio - Ethan Kurzweil
When Bessemer originally published our eight laws for developer platforms we delved into our early memos recommending an investment in Twilio; then, and now, the company continues to exemplify these laws in practice.

Lessons from investing in 14 different billion-dollar cloud companies - The Firm
Harry Stebbings and Byron Deeter discuss cloud market cycles, how to be an effective board member, and why it’s so important for investors and founders to build radical trust.