SaaS Reading List: Large Language Models, Balance Sheets, Recruiting Talent

Blue Horizon’s reading list is a curated collection of articles for SaaS founders and management teams. We are entrepreneurs and operators who have lived through the process of founding and scaling software companies. Here are the articles and resources we found useful this month.

What If LLMs Change the Business Model of the Internet?
by Tomasz Tunguz

Should we evolve this way, there are any number of questions around user privacy, data controls, regulation, not to mention how product experiences themselves may change. The days of the ad network may be numbered & with it, an era of a new business model for the Internet.

What Would Be The Single Most Important Advice You Would Give Other Entrepreneurs?
by Jason Lemkin

Quit today if you don’t want it bad enough. But … never quit if you truly do. Being a founder is hard — harder than almost every non-founder realizes. And everyone, or at least almost everyone, has moments when they want to throw in the towel, at least sort of. That thought still crosses my mind from time to time, even now. If you’re truly done, if you really don’t believe, if you can’t see it — first take a vacation for 2 weeks. See if you can get back to it. Maybe even take a few months. But eventually, “quit” if you can’t do it anymore.

How to Read Balance Sheets
On OnlyCFO’s Software World

The income statement is more intuitive and more commonly understood, but understanding the balance sheet is critical for understanding the health of a business. Companies that have a strong, well-managed balance sheet have a major advantage over those that do not.

The Role of Timing in Recruiting Talent
by David Cummings

Entrepreneurs would do well to think through the role timing in recruiting talent and always remember the old adage: The best time to start recruiting for that great person was years ago, and the second-best time to start is now.