The Razor's Edge #16: Talking SaaS With Investor and Tech Veteran Justen Stepka
We continue to follow the software as a service sector and the impact of the work from home world, but this time with an outside perspective. Justen Stepka, the founder of Authentisoft and then a longtime product management executive at Atlassian and Docker, joined us to talk about his positions in Slack and Atlassian and what makes the companies stand out. Currently the co-CEO/co-founder of Enterprise Fund, a private equity firm, he also shares his views on the work from home environment we're in and its potential knock-on effects, as well as what he's seeing in private markets.
Topics Covered
2:30 minute mark - The importance of R&D in retention
6:00 - Product stickiness vs. ease of use
11:30 - Evaluating R&D as a competitive edge
15:00 - The importance of dogfooding
18:00 - Okta's position
23:30 - How can a software company really be on sale in this market?
28:45 - ServiceNow's position
30:00 - What's next in the industry, where is Justen watching, and what does the private market look like?
36:30 - The change in perspective from being an insider to an outside investor
41:00 - Work from Home and its broader effects
52:00 - Commercial real estate
Topics Covered
2:30 minute mark - The importance of R&D in retention
6:00 - Product stickiness vs. ease of use
11:30 - Evaluating R&D as a competitive edge
15:00 - The importance of dogfooding
18:00 - Okta's position
23:30 - How can a software company really be on sale in this market?
28:45 - ServiceNow's position
30:00 - What's next in the industry, where is Justen watching, and what does the private market look like?
36:30 - The change in perspective from being an insider to an outside investor
41:00 - Work from Home and its broader effects
52:00 - Commercial real estate
Activity