Is something in your SaaS financial profile about to kill your exit?

In episode #391, Ben Murray breaks down the deal killers and valuation deducts that buyers look for in an exit process. Due diligence is all about de-risking for the acquirer, and any leap of faith on your data means a lower valuation or no deal at all. If you're a SaaS founder or CFO thinking about an acquisition, knowing these red flags before a buyer finds them is the difference between a premium multiple and a walked-away deal.

• Understand why customer concentration (one customer at 25% of revenue, or several at 20%) is one of the biggest valuation reducers, and how to calculate it from your MRR schedule today.
• See how unlimited usage pricing caps expansion revenue, and why mature product lines need other ways to grow within the existing customer base.
• Learn what AI defensibility means to buyers now building their own checklists, including per-seat pricing risk when agents replace users and why pricing is shifting toward API and usage models.
• Know why AI training data rights belong in your MSA alongside data privacy and security, especially for agentic or outcome-based products.
• Find out why many buyers apply a hard gross revenue retention threshold (such as 90% GRR), and how weak gross margin and a low Rule of 40 can stall a deal.

Tune in to find out what buyers will flag first, and fix it before your exit process starts.

• Exit readiness live webinar: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/pl/2148860580
• Exit readiness prep: https://www.thesaascfo.com/saas-exit-readiness-score/

Are you benchmarking your SaaS business against a median that doesn't apply to you?

In episode #390, Ben Murray breaks down how to benchmark SaaS metrics the right way. Calculating accurate ARR, churn, and CAC payback every month is hard enough, but a number without context won't help you in a fundraise, due diligence, or exit. If you're benchmarking against the aggregate SaaS population, you may be making decisions on data that has nothing to do with your business.

• Understand why aggregate SaaS benchmarks, like a population-wide median GRR, can mislead you and why Ben calls them dangerous to your health
• Learn when to benchmark by ACV band (go-to-market metrics like CAC payback and retention) versus ARR band (OpEx profile, R&D spend, and growth patterns)
• See why a $5K ACV product and a $50K ACV product should never be held to the same CAC payback or retention expectations
• Know what to look for in a benchmark report: P25, median, and P75 quartiles, so you can see how close you are to top-quartile SaaS performance
• Get access to the Ultimate Guide to SaaS Metrics Benchmarks, plus a markdown file you can load into your favorite LLM to benchmark every metric in the Five Pillar SaaS Metrics Framework

Tune in to learn how to benchmark like the best SaaS companies do, and walk into your next raise or exit knowing exactly where you stand.

• Ultimate Guide to SaaS Metrics Benchmarks: https://www.thesaascfo.com/saas-metrics-benchmarks/

Only 9% of public software companies trade above 10x revenue — do you know which metrics separate them from the 68% stuck below 5x?

In episode #389, Ben Murray breaks down what public comps reveal about how premium SaaS valuations are actually created. You can't value a private SaaS business straight off public multiples, but the correlations between metrics and enterprise value tell you exactly what buyers reward — and if you're a founder or CFO eyeing an exit, these are the numbers that will decide whether you land the index median or the premium multiple.

• The real distribution of public software multiples — 68% below 5x revenue, 23% at 5–10x, and just 9% above 10x — and what it takes to reach the cream of the crop.
• How net revenue retention maps to valuation: NRR below 100% earns a 3.1x EV-to-revenue multiple, the index median sits at 5.7x, and companies above 120% NRR command 9.3x.
• Why retention sits at the top of the valuation pyramid and drives premium multiples in bear markets and bull markets alike.
• Why two companies hitting the same Rule of 40 get different valuations — and why 30% growth + 10% EBITDA beats 30% EBITDA + 10% growth.
• How to pressure-test your own exit readiness: if you can't confidently enter your metrics into a valuation calculator, your finance data foundation isn't ready for due diligence.

Tune in to see where your SaaS would land on the valuation curve — before a buyer runs the numbers for you.

• Ben's SaaS Exit Readiness blog post (four pillars + valuation framework):
• Contact Ben for help on preparing for an exit: https://www.thesaascfo.com/contact/