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Maia Benson and Joe Lynch discuss A SaaS Gal in VC Land. Maia is a SaaS gal in VC land and a Managing Director at Forum Ventures where she works with SaaS founders from inception to scale.
About Maia Benson
Maia Benson is a Managing Director at Forum where she works with SaaS founders from inception to scale. She has spent over 20 years founding, building and scaling award-winning SaaS products for Entrepreneurs and SMBs at places like LexisNexis, Pitney Bowes and most recently at Shopify, where she helped found, launch and scale their Shipping and Fulfillment products from inception to 60%+ merchant adoption and $Bs of transportation spend.
About Forum Ventures
Forum Ventures is the leading early-stage fund, program and community for B2B SaaS startups. Founded in 2014 as Acceleprise, we’re on a mission to make the B2B SaaS journey easier, more accessible and successful for early-stage founders, through pre-seed and seed-stage funding, high touch programming, corporate perks and introductions, and an active SaaS community. Forum For Founders, our pre-seed program, provides founders with $100k in funding and 15 intense weeks of talks, events, mentorship and 1:1 guidance focused on go to market and fundraising. Forum Seed, our seed fund, backs exceptional SaaS startups at the seed-stage both from within and outside of our pre-seed program. With over 250 portfolio companies, Forum founders have gone on to raise from NEA, Andreessen Horowitz, Uncork Capital, 8VC, Founders Fund, Menlo Ventures, Canaan, Bowery Capital, Susa Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, SV Angel, True Ventures and many more. Our private peer community for Innovation executives -- The Innovation Forum -- brings together like-minded intrapreneurs from all backgrounds to share best practices, insights, and advice, and support one another. In addition to our incredible peer community, members get access to industry trend reports, collaborative events, emerging technology, and startup introductions.
Key Takeaways: A SaaS Gal in VC Land
- Forum Ventures is the top choice for early-stage B2B SaaS companies looking for funding. Forum Ventures is different and better for the following reasons:
- Founder-focused: Their team consists of former SaaS founders, offering deep understanding of the early-stage journey and expertise in GTM, sales, and fundraising.
- Pre-seed and seed investments: They empower early-stage B2B SaaS companies with pre-seed and seed funding, ranging from $100k to $2 million.
- High-touch programs: Beyond funding, they provide high-touch programs like "Forum For Founders" (15 weeks of talks, mentorship, and guidance) and a dedicated fundraising track.
- Thriving community: They foster an active SaaS community with over 450 founders, mentors, and experts, offering connections, support, and valuable insights.
- Accessibility champions: Committed to diversity and inclusion, they strive to make the B2B SaaS ecosystem more accessible to underrepresented founders.
- Proven success: With over 250 successful pre-seed and seed investments, their track record speaks for itself.
- Fractional co-founder approach: They act as a "fractional co-founder" with world-class expertise, helping startups navigate crucial steps like product development, go-to-market strategy, and fundraising.
- Mission-driven: Driven by a genuine passion for aiding founders, they prioritize their success and strive to make the B2B SaaS journey easier and more impactful.