The SaaS Exit Playbook Is Broken

One of the SaaS blogs I read recently made a point that’s quietly shaking the industry: the traditional SaaS exit playbook—the one where you grow to $20–50M ARR and wait for a buyer—isn’t working anymore.

For years, that model was predictable. Build a solid B2B SaaS product, hit your growth targets, maintain decent unit economics, and either private equity or a strategic acquirer would show up. It was a well-understood game.

That game has changed.

In the first half of 2025, over half of all global venture capital—roughly 58%—went to AI companies. The average deal size doubled from 2024 to 2025. Meanwhile, traditional SaaS funding, M&A activity, and valuations have all flattened. Private equity is waiting for clearer growth signals. Strategics are scrutinizing revenue durability in an AI-influenced world.

In other words: SaaS hasn’t lost its value—but investors are asking tougher questions about where that value comes from.

The New Reality for SaaS Founders and CEOs

This shift isn’t just about capital markets; it’s about the fundamentals of product strategy.

When growth capital is easy, you can afford inefficiency. You can chase markets, overbuild features, and worry about profitability later. But in today’s environment, that luxury is gone.

The best SaaS CEOs I talk with are reframing their product strategy around three principles:

1. Differentiate through customer value, not category hype. If your product solves a mission-critical problem, your growth story stays defensible—regardless of what’s trending in funding cycles.

2. Operational excellence beats feature velocity. Focus on depth and usability before chasing breadth.

3. AI can enhance your SaaS product, but it doesn’t redefine it. Adding AI features improves user experience and insight—but it doesn’t make you an “AI company.” Investors and customers can tell the difference.

   
   

Where Product Management Comes In

This is the moment where strong product management teams can help CEOs make the right bets.

They ensure the company knows what’s worth building and why—so every investment in development, AI, or customer experience ladders up to long-term differentiation.

In short: the next era of SaaS success will favor product-led operators, not just storytellers.

You can’t control where venture dollars go, but you can control how your product delivers value.