Eric Engineer

If you enjoyed our first blog on the metrics that matter for Verticalized SaaS then don't miss on the Part II of the series where my colleagues Devraj Hom Roy and Matt Schaar discuss the strategic and operational choices to improve these operational indicators. https://lnkd.in/g5QkCrcH

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The secret—if it ever was one—is out on private equity fondness for vertical software. While PE-backed acquisitions were down 50%+ from a peak in 2021, vertical buyouts have continued to grow, and the fervor seems to be gaining steam. In today’s essay, we will pose an answer to one question: is PE a viable path to exit for a venture-backed startup?

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Great analysis by the AGC team on SaaS public company comps. It's worth a look as we recalibrate mid-way through earnings season. The analysis aligns with the broader Nasdaq equity performance, where the Mag 7 (or fab 4 now :-)) have shown more resilience than the rest of the market. #AGC #SaaS #EarningsSeason #Nasdaq #EquityPerformance

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Really interesting question. Can it be done? Does the outdoor industry need it? Clearly some of the largest retailers have struggled with maintaining the correct amount of the right inventory and teams that are helpful and knowledgeable. But building a logistical beast such as Amazon is complex. Cheryl Stark any perspective?

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Since early 2021, VC quarterly exit values have plummeted to $50B or below, a stark contrast to the six consecutive quarters of $100B+ exits before then. With IPOs dwindling and M&A activity slow, the future of venture industry exits appears uncertain. Will we see a surge in private venture-backed company acquisitions? This could be a crucial and innovative strategy to boost VC exits. Increased private acquisitions might offer a much-needed lifeline, providing a creative solution to the current exit drought in the venture capital market. #venturecapital #inspireglobalventures

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What do you do when a radical new technology puts your main product right in the crosshairs of disruption? Listen to David Okuniev — co-founder of Typeform | Ask awesomely — discuss the challenges of innovation within existing structures. David shared a game-changing insight: Radical innovation is really, really difficult to do inside your own product. He emphasized the need to break free from the constraints of familiarity and embrace change from outside the box. Henrik Werdelin and I have both seen our fair share of this in our respective careers. What struck us most was how David leveraged structure to overcome the innovator’s dilemma. By creating a culture of experimentation and providing space for bold ideas, he propelled Typeform beyond incremental improvements. What other hacks have you seen or employed to help your organization overcome the innovator’s dilemma? Share your stories below! 👇 And if you want to dive deeper into our conversation, click the link in the comments to catch the full podcast episode!

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Halle Kaplan-Allen and I will be chatting with Ali Hamed tomorrow about sourcing LPs. You can RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/edYZhKrA Ali wrote this excellent tactical piece on networking that is well worth a read for anyone networking their way to capital: https://lnkd.in/eZ_2f_4x This event is presented by Sydecar, a frictionless deal execution platform for venture capitalists. By pioneering a standardized approach to private investing, they enable capital allocators to identify and back entrepreneurs who are changing the world. Their platform reliably handles back-office operations, automating banking, compliance, contracts, tax, and reporting so that customers can focus on making deals and building relationships.

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Orb (#uncorrelated) raised $25M to continue building their pricing and billing platform that lets companies automate a range of different billing modes e.g., usage-based, subscriptions, or a mix, marry analytics and billing, collect and meter product usage data, invoice customers, generate revenue reports, draw on product usage insights to find revenue opportunities, model out alternative pricing plans (thus enabling experimentation), orchestrate changes in real time, schedule future price changes for certain customer cohorts or contract renewals, directly embed draft invoices into product billing portals, surface past-due invoices, and recover failed payments automatically. "Orb gives companies a single source of truth that can connect every unit of product usage to revenue. We’ve found a particularly strong fit in AI, cloud infrastructure, fintech, and dev tools, and have seen most of our growth come from those verticals.” Orb’s revenue grew 5x in the past year, and the customer base tripled to include brands such as Vercel, Replit, Pinecone, and Perplexity. https://lnkd.in/gYh4y2tg

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📊 Our Unit Economics Workbook helps startups easily calculate key metrics like churn, retention, and CAC with simple, step-by-step instructions. Download today and start optimizing your growth strategy! ⬇️ #UnitEconomics #StartupGrowth #CohortAnalysis https://lnkd.in/dAN4bN4

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How much is your tech company worth?  I look beyond the IP – the people and their post transaction commitment, data created by the technology, anchor customers, strategic partners, recurring revenue, backlog…. These all are indictors I look for in the roll-up companies I am part of and in the F500 M&A I have done in the past. A quick read of the advice from myself and my fellow colleagues at the Forbes Technology Council on what to consider in calculating the current and potential worth of your company’s technology. What do you think we are missing?  What do you think creates the most value? Need help? Reach out! Take care of yourself, and if you can, someone else. Red Summit Board Services & Advisory Forbes Technology Council Forbes Councils Forbes Savitri Sagar Pankaj Chawla Didem Ün Ateş Nihinlola Adeyemi Alonso Vargas Jay Samuels Joshua L. John Cho Raj Indupuri Mike Capone Denis Mandich Richard C. Ricks Russ Kennedy Hadi Ganjineh Will Conaway Dax Grant Savneet S.

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🚀 Scaling New Heights: Cribl's Strategic Growth 🚀 In a remarkable stride within the competitive market of data infrastructure, San Francisco-based startup Cribl has recently clinched a substantial $319 million in its latest Series E funding. This momentous investment spearheaded by GV (Alphabet’s venture arm) pushes Cribl to a towering valuation of $3.5 billion. 🌟 🔍 Here's Why This Matters for Startups and Small Businesses: 🔹 Innovation and Expansion: Cribl's trajectory illuminates the potent impact of innovative solutions in data management amidst an ever-expanding corporate data environment. 🔹 Significant Growth Potential: With the company boasting an impressive portfolio including 25% of the Fortune 500, the journey reflects significant growth potential and scalability that startups can aspire to. 🔹 Strategic Partnerships: The involvement of heavyweight investors like GV and others underscores the importance of strategic partnerships in accelerating business growth. Key Takeaways: - 🌐 Adapting advanced data solutions is crucial in leveraging the voluminous data generated today. - 📈 Embrace growth by seeking impactful investments and forming strategic partnerships. - 🚀 Aim for scalability by continuously innovating and expanding your solution offerings. Stay updated, engage with current trends, and continuously seek to innovate. The path Cribl is carving out highlights the robust possibilities within tech and data management sectors. For a deeper dive into Cribl’s funding news: https://lnkd.in/gQhmrYUK #DataManagement #StartupGrowth #Innovation This post was generated by an AI. Please contact us for more information.

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PE - Capital-efficient Revenue Growth in Tech PE using Lean Thinking Revenue Growth in PE portfolio context should be capital efficient and profitable. One idea is to consider the best practices of Lean Thinking in Tech PE - how portfolio companies can streamline their Revenue Growth strategies, optimize their sales processes, improve execution, and reduce inefficiencies across operations - examples include: - Sales & Marketing: Focusing on high-impact activities that drive revenue, such as targeting the most profitable customer segments and eliminating redundant actions - Operations: Simplifying workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and reducing overhead to enhance operational efficiency and scalability - Resource Allocation: invest resources where they create the most value, such as prioritizing key growth initiatives over less impactful ones - Continuous Improvement: ongoing tracking and assessment & refinement of all processes are regularly evaluated and improved for better results PE firms can help their portfolio companies grow faster, operate more efficiently, and achieve higher growth with Lean execution in GTM. FYI: Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Company #pe #privateequity #investing #finance #saas #growth

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What an electrifying afternoon at the Houston Dealmakers Conference! 🚀🌟💡 The team at Curate Capital including myself took the stage for a fast-paced panel discussion that we hope completely transformed how attendees view social media's role in the venture capital landscape. M&A executives learned how to craft a captivating online brand that not only attracts investors but also builds a community of thriving future deal flow! ✨ The insights shared on leveraging social media for gaining invaluable customer insights were simply game-changing. A few highlights included: - I revealed the secrets behind Curate's concept of using influencers to skyrocket investment value, particularly for CPG brands with a direct opportunity to connect influencers with their products. - Darek of ROI Ventures shared his wife Hollie's journey from brand collaborations to true partnerships with equity in the contract, a model we're taking to scale with Curate Capital's second fund. - Aquila Mendez-Valdez of Haute in Texas shared actionable tips for even the most camera-shy brands to build an online community they can leverage for fundraising and relationship building in a genuine, authentic way. We hope the conversation left everyone feeling inspired and ready to transform their approach! 🎉 It's clear that with social media rapidly evolving within the financial sector, this is one trend everyone should be paying attention to. Thanks to all who participated, and a huge shoutout to the team at Dealmakers for the opportunity! Let's keep the conversation going and unlock endless possibilities together! 🙌💖 #CurateCapital #VentureCapital #SocialMediaMagic

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PE - Insights from "Constellation Software" Shareholder Letters Some of the key investment takeaways Constellation Software (CNSWF - https://buff.ly/3Coo3V8 ) These highlight a strategic focus on long-term growth, disciplined investment practices, and the importance of governance and engagement, all good insights for tech PE: - Disciplined Investment Approach: strict adherence to specific acquisition hurdle rates, reducing risk and underscoring the importance of rigorous investment criteria - Acquisition-Focused Growth: they target 100 acquisitions annually, underscoring an aggressive portfolio expansion strategy attractive for growth-oriented investors - Flexible Capital Structure: exploring various financing options for acquisitions, especially in downturns highlighting proactive financial health management - Long-Term Horizon: emphasis on indefinite investment holds to maximize returns, favoring long-term strategies over short-term gains - Post-Acquisition Reviews: they conduct detailed after action reviews (AARs) post-acquisition to refine investment strategy, a best practice for continuous improvement - Decentralized Decision-Making: Constellation operates with small, autonomous business units (just like portfolio CEOs & execs) to foster agile leadership and decisions (i.e. the PE firm doesn't tell the CEO what to do but works alongside collaboratively) - Behavioral Economics: Constellation incorporates insights from behavioral economics to mitigate cognitive biases, enhancing decision-making rigor Constellation Shareholder Letters: https://buff.ly/4fu29Pc ------------------ #pe #privateequity #tech #ceo #cro #saas #gtm #growth #middlemarket #boardofdirectors #board #revenue #revenuegrowth #investing #investment #finance #business

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We've invested in some really compelling teams with awesome products. As they transition from startup to scale-up, you reach a strategic inflection point where the company begins considering its options. The Power Law is a mathematical nicety (copium), but the cold reality is that not all exits are ideal. For a winning startup, an acquisition or an IPO can accelerate growth, provide access to greater resources, and create opportunities for expanded market reach and innovation. But, for a struggling company, an acquisition is a responsible consideration to safeguard employees’ jobs, preserve the company’s mission, and provide stability by integrating with a financially stronger organization. A lot has been written about how startups are acquired, but not much about *why* startups are acquired. I penned some thoughts on how to be more 'acquirable' and build with the end in mind. https://lnkd.in/dHdbXpPt

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Last week, we shared the first part (1/2) of our perspectives on vertical SaaS (vSaaS), more specifically on which metrics define the performance of vSaaS businesses and outlining the benchmarks for each of these metrics. If you have not yet read the piece, give it a read here - https://lnkd.in/d94n2bgN This week we published the second part (2/2) where we call out certain strategies deployed by successful vSaaS companies like Procore Technologies Toast ServiceNow Zenoti and others that can be used to improve the metrics that matter. Read on to layer the numbers with the strats- https://lnkd.in/dPkmWFax Do reach out if you are building in the space or want to exchange notes / feedback on the perspectives. #fintech #verticaSaaS #embeddedfinance #investments

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I've seen NO ONE read this correctly; the headline is pure clickbait. More GPs are planning to fundraise now (as they say "nearer") than last year. This is the largest YoY jump, instead of not planning another raise. Why? The data here suggests those who pushed a decision further out have decided. • Not decided: from 44% to 27% • No plan to raise: 6% to 13% = 2x increase • Deciding to fundraising now: 4% to 12% = 3x increase https://lnkd.in/gkAC6GGr

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Exciting news! The 2024 SaaS Benchmarks survey is live. 📈 We're thrilled to share that High Alpha, in collaboration with Paddle and report founder Kyle Poyar, is continuing the legacy of this invaluable industry resource — trusted by SaaS founders for nearly a decade. This year's survey explores: - Pricing models - Churn analysis - AI adoption - Financial performance - Founder health (new for 2024!) 👉 Take the 2024 survey now and gain early access to the report, packed with the latest benchmarking data to power your business decisions. The survey takes just 15 minutes to complete. Your input shapes the industry! https://lnkd.in/ekHy4uNK

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Series A or B wondering when to bring in a VP of Finance or CFO? It’s a crucial decision that can shape the future of your company. At this stage, financial leadership is not just about managing numbers but also scaling processes, securing funding, and driving strategic growth. My colleague Paul breaks down key signs that it’s time to hire and indicators for choosing between VP of Finance and a CFO #FinanceLeadership #CFO #StartupGrowth #SeriesA #SeriesB #NextGenLeadership

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