Jared Sleeper on Which Software Companies Will Survive the "SaaSpocalypse"

February 19, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

The Format: Casual interview-style podcast chat between hosts and a software investing expert, blending market banter with deep dives into industry mechanics.
The Key Players:
- Hosts: Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, Bloomberg Odd Lots duo with witty chemistry—Joe's AI experiments spark self-deprecating humor; Tracy probes history and data angles.
- Guest: Jared Sleeper, partner at growth investor Avenir, ex-Matrix Partners and Coatue; first-time podcaster unpacking SaaS "pocalypse" via his viral investor deck.
The Vibe: Educational with fun urgency—intense market panic meets optimistic futurism, laced with puns like "SaaSpocalypse" and dad anecdotes.

🗝️ Key Themes & Topics

The episode dissects the SaaS stock meltdown amid AI fears, arguing short-term resilience but long-term "weirdness" risks. Hosts and guest explore why software endures beyond code, from history to AI agents reshaping pricing.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: Jared Sleeper**
2 (00:30) **SaaS Sell-Off and AI Fears**
3 (04:52) **Current Mood in Software Investing**
4 (06:34) **History of Software Outsourcing**
5 (07:59) **Installations, Integrations, and Change Management**
6 (11:08) **Beyond Code: What Buyers Value in Software**
7 (13:54) **Short-Term Stability vs. Long-Term AI Disruption**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The start of the year has been an absolutely brutal one for software companies. There’s a big fear that the rise of AI and advanced coding models will pull the rug out from this industry. But even before these AI fears, software companies were seeing their growth slow. So how does the business actually work? And more importantly, what types of companies will actually survive the “SaaSpocalypse”? (Or maybe “the CaSaaStrophe”?) On this episode, we speak with Jared Sleeper, a longtime software investor who is now a partner at Avenir. We talk about the history of software, the evolution of business models, and where the threat is most acute. He also talks about why investors are so nervous, and their fears that in the long term many of these companies will be worth zero, while in the short term, they’re not even making much money on a GAAP basis.

Read more: Private Software Companies Release Earnings Early to Calm AI Nerves

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