The State of Independent SaaS Report was generated based on the data of hundreds of non-venture track, revenue generating SaaS companies that we analyzed and turned into an epic report filled with benchmarks, growth rates, demographics, validation approaches, and more
Simple yet powerful tips that will increase your 401k book of business. A Financial Advisors guide to gain awareness and experience marketing directly to plan sponsors.
Analysis of Credit Worthiness in Working CapitalVidish Tantia
This document summarizes an analysis of credit worthiness in working capital. It begins by acknowledging those who supported the author's project experience at Kotak Mahindra Bank. It then provides background on the bank, describing its history as the first company in India to convert to a bank. The document goes on to define key concepts of working capital management, including gross working capital, net working capital, and the factors that determine working capital requirements such as nature of business, size of business, market conditions, operations, and credit policies. It concludes by describing some common products used for working capital, including cash credit and overdraft facilities.
In the world of B2B – customer success is more than just making people happy. Today, customers demand that vendors deliver their desired business outcomes. The combination of delivering desired outcomes and an exceptional experience is defined as Customer Success and is what leads to growth from revenue retention, expansion and customer advocacy.
Here's how you can scale through your customers by Gainsight Chief Operating Officer (COO) Allison Pickens.
OpenView surveyed over 500 companies, from pre-revenue to $150M+ ARR publicly traded SaaS companies, about what does and doesn't work when it comes to scaling a business.
The document discusses technology adoption trends among enterprises. It finds that in the 1990s, enterprises were early adopters of new technologies while consumers were followers, but now the roles have reversed with enterprises now typically following consumers. It also notes that disruption now favors "pure plays" over mature industry players. The document provides data showing adoption rates of technologies like big data, cloud computing, and mobile management among enterprises and discusses trends in areas like business intelligence, software as a service, and relationships between CIOs and different vendor types.
Golden Gate Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on investing in consumer internet and mobile startups in Southeast Asia. The presentation discusses key technology trends driving digital disruption in the region like digital payments, mobile consumers, and AI. It also outlines threats from startups attacking businesses' cost structures and from Chinese tech giants expanding into Southeast Asia. The presentation argues that portfolio companies and tech startups face similar challenges around building local teams and competition for talent, but also opportunities through strategic investments and partnerships that can help companies reach new customers.
SaaStr Annual 2017 - Learnings from B2B SaaS (SaaStr101)prashant.sachdev
Compilation of crowdsourced learnings shared by various enterprise / B2B SaaS companies from SaaStr Annual conference in San Francisco (2017). Follow me at @prashantsachdev on twitter for real-time learnings on #SaaStr101
Does VCs really add value? This is a study about the venture capitalist’s value-add. By Carl Fritjofsson (Creandum) and Henri Deshays (NewFund) in collaboration with Kauffman Fellows.
Simple yet powerful tips that will increase your 401k book of business. A Financial Advisors guide to gain awareness and experience marketing directly to plan sponsors.
Analysis of Credit Worthiness in Working CapitalVidish Tantia
This document summarizes an analysis of credit worthiness in working capital. It begins by acknowledging those who supported the author's project experience at Kotak Mahindra Bank. It then provides background on the bank, describing its history as the first company in India to convert to a bank. The document goes on to define key concepts of working capital management, including gross working capital, net working capital, and the factors that determine working capital requirements such as nature of business, size of business, market conditions, operations, and credit policies. It concludes by describing some common products used for working capital, including cash credit and overdraft facilities.
In the world of B2B – customer success is more than just making people happy. Today, customers demand that vendors deliver their desired business outcomes. The combination of delivering desired outcomes and an exceptional experience is defined as Customer Success and is what leads to growth from revenue retention, expansion and customer advocacy.
Here's how you can scale through your customers by Gainsight Chief Operating Officer (COO) Allison Pickens.
OpenView surveyed over 500 companies, from pre-revenue to $150M+ ARR publicly traded SaaS companies, about what does and doesn't work when it comes to scaling a business.
The document discusses technology adoption trends among enterprises. It finds that in the 1990s, enterprises were early adopters of new technologies while consumers were followers, but now the roles have reversed with enterprises now typically following consumers. It also notes that disruption now favors "pure plays" over mature industry players. The document provides data showing adoption rates of technologies like big data, cloud computing, and mobile management among enterprises and discusses trends in areas like business intelligence, software as a service, and relationships between CIOs and different vendor types.
Golden Gate Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on investing in consumer internet and mobile startups in Southeast Asia. The presentation discusses key technology trends driving digital disruption in the region like digital payments, mobile consumers, and AI. It also outlines threats from startups attacking businesses' cost structures and from Chinese tech giants expanding into Southeast Asia. The presentation argues that portfolio companies and tech startups face similar challenges around building local teams and competition for talent, but also opportunities through strategic investments and partnerships that can help companies reach new customers.
SaaStr Annual 2017 - Learnings from B2B SaaS (SaaStr101)prashant.sachdev
Compilation of crowdsourced learnings shared by various enterprise / B2B SaaS companies from SaaStr Annual conference in San Francisco (2017). Follow me at @prashantsachdev on twitter for real-time learnings on #SaaStr101
Does VCs really add value? This is a study about the venture capitalist’s value-add. By Carl Fritjofsson (Creandum) and Henri Deshays (NewFund) in collaboration with Kauffman Fellows.
It’s never been more imperative to understand if you're providing enough value to your customers. Check out our best practices for building a customer health score based on product analytics, customer success, and support data.
The document summarizes key findings from research analyzing the fundraising processes of 200 startup companies that raised over $360 million. Some of the main findings include:
- The average successful seed round raised $1.3 million over 12.5 weeks contacting 58 investors and having 40 investor meetings. Pitch decks averaged 19 pages.
- Later stage Series A rounds raised more money ($8 million on average) contacting fewer investors over less time (9.6 weeks on average).
- Investors spent the most time reviewing financials and team slides, so companies should focus effort there.
- It's better to focus on quality introductions to 20-30 investors who fit, rather than contacting hundreds. Seed funding
3 Revenue and Compliance "Must-haves" to Go from Series A to IPO with TaxJar'...saastr
Don’t get caught off-guard raising your next round or preparing for an IPO. It’s more than just winning customers, it’s about staying ahead of fraud, risk, and compliance. Join us for a conversation about the most overlooked finance and compliance items when scaling your SaaS company.
1) Annual contracts are most common, especially for mid-market companies with $15,000-$50,000 ACVs.
2) Two-thirds of companies retain 80% or more of logos from year to year, and one-third retain 90% or more.
3) Net dollar retention targets should be between 100-140% with enterprises expanding accounts more than SMBs.
4) Time-based and usage-limited free trials convert leads up to twice as well as other structures and should be explored further.
Research shows the most successful companies use metrics and benchmarking as a key information and management tool. Benchmarks are used to help set internal targets, and gain agreement on the appropriate targets by providing neutral data to set performance expectations among the executive team. It is very easy to point fingers when you are only looking at internal data – using 3rdparty neutral data tends to focus everyone on problem solving rather than blaming or defensiveness.
Acquisition isn't what it used to be - we can no longer rely on growth driven solely by acquisition. In his talk at SaaSFest 2017, Suneet Bhatt outlines how to drive growth from your support channels.
"Driving SaaS Success Using Key Metrics" at SaaStr Annual 2016saastr
David Skok, popular blogger and top SaaS investor at Matrix Partners, shares the key metrics that SaaS founders must focus on to remain competitive and build a sustainable business at SaaStr Annual 2016 held in San Francisco Feb 9-11th. www.saastrannual.com
This document discusses how cloud computing technology can help startups launch successfully. It notes the benefits of cloud computing like always being available, scaling gracefully, providing mobile experiences, and reducing costs. The document recommends that startups use a cloud-native approach and work with experts to architect their entire system in the cloud from the beginning. This allows serving millions of users while keeping operating costs low. A startup example is given of how a cloud platform allows customers to access a service anywhere, anytime. Readers are invited to get a free consultation email to discuss building a cloud-native technology platform for their startup.
Speakers
Myles Kleeger - President & CRO / Braze (formerly Appboy)
Ben Hindman - CEO / Splash & Formerly Director of Events / Thrillist
Maria Pergolino - Chief Marketing Officer / Anaplan
Vivek Sharma - Founder & CEO / Movable Ink
Description
These executives have built powerful programs to drive ARR at every stage of the funnel. From generating to accelerating to renewing key accounts, they all share one secret: they do it in-person. A new era of automation and measurement has transformed events from a cost center to a revenue engine.
MRR is the price the customer pays. Your North Star is the value they get. Mamoon Hamid, GP @ Social Capital, explains why founders need to focus on the value your product delivers, not the price the customer pays.
This presentation discusses HubSpot, an inbound marketing and sales SaaS company. It provides an overview of the company's mission to transform how companies market and sell through its inbound methodology. The methodology focuses on attracting and engaging customers through helpful content rather than interruptive ads. The presentation highlights HubSpot's financial performance, with over 50% annual revenue growth and improving operating margins. It also outlines the company's opportunities for continued growth through international expansion, cross-selling products, and increasing its average revenue per customer.
This document discusses metrics that venture capital firms should focus on when evaluating SaaS companies, particularly retention rate over growth rate. It presents two key metrics: the magic number, which calculates how long until a company breaks even on sales and marketing spend; and LTV/CAC, which compares lifetime customer value to customer acquisition costs. The document argues that retention is more important than growth because companies with high retention will be more profitable over time even with less new customer acquisition. It analyzes case studies of companies with different retention and growth rates to show that high retention is often more valuable.
A detailed look at why SaaS business are so different from traditional software companies, and why traditional ways of looking at their finances fail to understand the business. Provides an alternative set of metrics that show the right way to look at a SaaS business.
For more on the SaaS business model and Metrics, see this blog post:
www.forentrepreneurs.com/saas-metrics-2/
The document discusses key factors for efficient growth in SaaS businesses. It recommends measuring a business's growth using two metrics: growth efficiency (net new annual recurring revenue per dollar of sales and marketing spend) and recurring margin (gross margin minus research and development, general and administrative costs). It analyzes four main levers to improve growth efficiency: customer acquisition, success/retention, recurring margins, and pricing. Improving customer acquisition efficiency through strategies like land-and-expand could have the biggest cash flow impact. The document explores opportunities to boost efficiency in areas like acquisition, pricing, and packaging.
At Totango, we’ve developed a framework – the Customer Retention Cost (CRC) and the CRC Ratio – to assess and benchmark customer retention efforts in the industry. This is a critical missing component in the portfolio of metrics that SaaS executives, Boards, and investors should track and measure.
How to Plan Your Yearly Small Business BudgetKabbage
Before you begin mapping your financial targets and goals for 2020, you must plan your budget. The right budget can help you prepare for taxes, identify seasonal peaks and lulls, explore growth opportunities, gauge your small business’s performance, and achieve your 2020 goals.
The document summarizes key points from Payscale's 2022 Compensation Best Practices Report. It discusses labor challenges such as higher turnover and difficulties attracting talent. It also covers pay increases that are higher than usual, with average increases over 3% for some industries. Additionally, it addresses pay equity being a priority for more organizations and compensation strategies becoming more formalized. Overall it analyzes compensation trends and challenges based on a survey of thousands of respondents.
This document summarizes key findings from a 2010 new business survey of marketing agencies:
1) Agencies are more positive about obtaining new business in 2010 compared to 2009, though finding new clients remains challenging.
2) Traditional sources like referrals and existing clients remain the top sources of new business, but these are slowing down, requiring agencies to employ new outreach methods.
3) Marketers are distributing assignments in smaller pieces rather than large retainers, increasing the number of opportunities but decreasing average dollar amounts. Agencies must manage new business efficiently to succeed.
It’s never been more imperative to understand if you're providing enough value to your customers. Check out our best practices for building a customer health score based on product analytics, customer success, and support data.
The document summarizes key findings from research analyzing the fundraising processes of 200 startup companies that raised over $360 million. Some of the main findings include:
- The average successful seed round raised $1.3 million over 12.5 weeks contacting 58 investors and having 40 investor meetings. Pitch decks averaged 19 pages.
- Later stage Series A rounds raised more money ($8 million on average) contacting fewer investors over less time (9.6 weeks on average).
- Investors spent the most time reviewing financials and team slides, so companies should focus effort there.
- It's better to focus on quality introductions to 20-30 investors who fit, rather than contacting hundreds. Seed funding
3 Revenue and Compliance "Must-haves" to Go from Series A to IPO with TaxJar'...saastr
Don’t get caught off-guard raising your next round or preparing for an IPO. It’s more than just winning customers, it’s about staying ahead of fraud, risk, and compliance. Join us for a conversation about the most overlooked finance and compliance items when scaling your SaaS company.
1) Annual contracts are most common, especially for mid-market companies with $15,000-$50,000 ACVs.
2) Two-thirds of companies retain 80% or more of logos from year to year, and one-third retain 90% or more.
3) Net dollar retention targets should be between 100-140% with enterprises expanding accounts more than SMBs.
4) Time-based and usage-limited free trials convert leads up to twice as well as other structures and should be explored further.
Research shows the most successful companies use metrics and benchmarking as a key information and management tool. Benchmarks are used to help set internal targets, and gain agreement on the appropriate targets by providing neutral data to set performance expectations among the executive team. It is very easy to point fingers when you are only looking at internal data – using 3rdparty neutral data tends to focus everyone on problem solving rather than blaming or defensiveness.
Acquisition isn't what it used to be - we can no longer rely on growth driven solely by acquisition. In his talk at SaaSFest 2017, Suneet Bhatt outlines how to drive growth from your support channels.
"Driving SaaS Success Using Key Metrics" at SaaStr Annual 2016saastr
David Skok, popular blogger and top SaaS investor at Matrix Partners, shares the key metrics that SaaS founders must focus on to remain competitive and build a sustainable business at SaaStr Annual 2016 held in San Francisco Feb 9-11th. www.saastrannual.com
This document discusses how cloud computing technology can help startups launch successfully. It notes the benefits of cloud computing like always being available, scaling gracefully, providing mobile experiences, and reducing costs. The document recommends that startups use a cloud-native approach and work with experts to architect their entire system in the cloud from the beginning. This allows serving millions of users while keeping operating costs low. A startup example is given of how a cloud platform allows customers to access a service anywhere, anytime. Readers are invited to get a free consultation email to discuss building a cloud-native technology platform for their startup.
Speakers
Myles Kleeger - President & CRO / Braze (formerly Appboy)
Ben Hindman - CEO / Splash & Formerly Director of Events / Thrillist
Maria Pergolino - Chief Marketing Officer / Anaplan
Vivek Sharma - Founder & CEO / Movable Ink
Description
These executives have built powerful programs to drive ARR at every stage of the funnel. From generating to accelerating to renewing key accounts, they all share one secret: they do it in-person. A new era of automation and measurement has transformed events from a cost center to a revenue engine.
MRR is the price the customer pays. Your North Star is the value they get. Mamoon Hamid, GP @ Social Capital, explains why founders need to focus on the value your product delivers, not the price the customer pays.
This presentation discusses HubSpot, an inbound marketing and sales SaaS company. It provides an overview of the company's mission to transform how companies market and sell through its inbound methodology. The methodology focuses on attracting and engaging customers through helpful content rather than interruptive ads. The presentation highlights HubSpot's financial performance, with over 50% annual revenue growth and improving operating margins. It also outlines the company's opportunities for continued growth through international expansion, cross-selling products, and increasing its average revenue per customer.
This document discusses metrics that venture capital firms should focus on when evaluating SaaS companies, particularly retention rate over growth rate. It presents two key metrics: the magic number, which calculates how long until a company breaks even on sales and marketing spend; and LTV/CAC, which compares lifetime customer value to customer acquisition costs. The document argues that retention is more important than growth because companies with high retention will be more profitable over time even with less new customer acquisition. It analyzes case studies of companies with different retention and growth rates to show that high retention is often more valuable.
A detailed look at why SaaS business are so different from traditional software companies, and why traditional ways of looking at their finances fail to understand the business. Provides an alternative set of metrics that show the right way to look at a SaaS business.
For more on the SaaS business model and Metrics, see this blog post:
www.forentrepreneurs.com/saas-metrics-2/
The document discusses key factors for efficient growth in SaaS businesses. It recommends measuring a business's growth using two metrics: growth efficiency (net new annual recurring revenue per dollar of sales and marketing spend) and recurring margin (gross margin minus research and development, general and administrative costs). It analyzes four main levers to improve growth efficiency: customer acquisition, success/retention, recurring margins, and pricing. Improving customer acquisition efficiency through strategies like land-and-expand could have the biggest cash flow impact. The document explores opportunities to boost efficiency in areas like acquisition, pricing, and packaging.
At Totango, we’ve developed a framework – the Customer Retention Cost (CRC) and the CRC Ratio – to assess and benchmark customer retention efforts in the industry. This is a critical missing component in the portfolio of metrics that SaaS executives, Boards, and investors should track and measure.
How to Plan Your Yearly Small Business BudgetKabbage
Before you begin mapping your financial targets and goals for 2020, you must plan your budget. The right budget can help you prepare for taxes, identify seasonal peaks and lulls, explore growth opportunities, gauge your small business’s performance, and achieve your 2020 goals.
The document summarizes key points from Payscale's 2022 Compensation Best Practices Report. It discusses labor challenges such as higher turnover and difficulties attracting talent. It also covers pay increases that are higher than usual, with average increases over 3% for some industries. Additionally, it addresses pay equity being a priority for more organizations and compensation strategies becoming more formalized. Overall it analyzes compensation trends and challenges based on a survey of thousands of respondents.
This document summarizes key findings from a 2010 new business survey of marketing agencies:
1) Agencies are more positive about obtaining new business in 2010 compared to 2009, though finding new clients remains challenging.
2) Traditional sources like referrals and existing clients remain the top sources of new business, but these are slowing down, requiring agencies to employ new outreach methods.
3) Marketers are distributing assignments in smaller pieces rather than large retainers, increasing the number of opportunities but decreasing average dollar amounts. Agencies must manage new business efficiently to succeed.
This document summarizes key findings from a 2010 new business survey of marketing agencies:
1) Agencies are more positive about obtaining new business in 2010 compared to 2009, though finding new clients remains challenging.
2) Traditional sources like referrals and existing clients remain the top sources of new business, but these are slowing down, requiring agencies to employ new outreach methods.
3) Marketers are distributing assignments in smaller pieces rather than large retainers, increasing the number of opportunities but decreasing total dollar volume, requiring agencies to manage new business more efficiently.
Freelancer Income Survey Report 2015 by Payoneer Masudur Rashid
Are you charging a rate that is appropriate for your skills, education and experience?
We (Payoneer) surveyed over 23,000 freelancers in over 180 countries across the globe.
Download our benchmark report and find out the average hourly freelancing rates of your industry peers, better understand what drives price in your market, and learn how to increase your value.
This benchmark report reveals:
- Which skills demand the highest fees
- How your age, gender, level of education, work situation and skills impact your earnings
- The most lucrative services you should consider adding to your current offering.
SaaS Pricing: Supercharge revenue with a value-based pricing strategy by Patr...Freshsales
"Supercharge revenue with a value-based pricing strategy" by Patrick Campbell (CEO, Price Intelligently).
What you'll learn:
- The core principles that power the best pricing pages
- A framework for continually optimizing your pricing
- Easy changes that can boost your revenue
- The most common pricing mistakes
SuccessFactors has seen rapid growth (37% in 2009) through its human-centered approach and focus on customer needs over traditional software vendors' desires. Led by passionate CEO Lars Dalgaard, SuccessFactors provides cloud-based human capital management software that helps companies increase business execution. While still small compared to giants like SAP, SuccessFactors' disruptive model, growing customer base, and recurring revenue stream could make it a major threat to traditional vendors.
Digital transformation is fundamentally changing people’s lives and the
ways companies do business. Around the world, we’re working to develop
solutions that give time back, make us safer and healthier, and bring
significant environmental benefits. People around the world are working
hard to create a future where we’re never delayed during air travel due to
mechanical issues. Where smart buildings have ambient intelligence that
allows meeting rooms to adjust to your preferences. They’re envisioning a
world where automobile accidents are almost nonexistent, and your car
becomes a living room or office on wheels. And a world where medical
treatment is personalized based on your DNA, dramatically improving your
health and quality of life. This is what Microsoft calls the digital difference.
We asked Harvard Business Review Analytic Services to help us look at the pace of innovation
and how prepared business leaders are for this change. We also wanted to know what projects
mattered most and what industries were most receptive to and ready for change.
We were surprised by the strategy gap and encouraged by the optimism. Business leaders know
their industries are ripe for transformation, and in most cases are eager to bring the benefits of
technology to their businesses.
At Microsoft, we aim to partner with business leaders to find the digital difference they can make.
Partnering with companies of all sizes, we recognize that one big idea isn’t enough anymore.
Decades ago an innovative shoe design, a beautiful device, or smartly designed software could
lead a company to achieve market dominance for a long time. But now micro revolutions occur
every 12-18 months, so companies must be in a continual state of transformation.
We are moving into a time when rapid innovation and speed to market are more critical than ever.
This makes the partnership between humans and machines critical—when we combine people’s
ideas and creativity with advanced technology, we get digital leadership.
A business leader interviewed for the study said we need to transform “the engine of the
company.” To do this, leaders need to bring in tech and cultural changes that empower their
employees, engage customers in new ways, optimize operations, and transform products.
Rebuilding an organization around these areas creates a fully digital company that can change
ahead of its customers and competition.
#askSAP EPM Innovations Community Call: How Planning Can Ignite Digital Trans...SAP Analytics
SAP.com/EPM - With various planning solutions available at SAP including SAP BusinessObjects Planning and Consolidation, version for SAP NetWeaver and SAP BusinessObjects Cloud for planning, get a better understanding on how using one or both of these tools can help drive Digital Transformation in the Enterprise.
Learn what the latest releases of these SAP solutions offer and how they can work together to bring further insights to the Finance department.
This document summarizes the results of the largest survey of independent agencies in the UK conducted in 2018. Some key findings include:
- 500 agencies took part in the survey, representing a wide range of agency types, sizes, and years in business.
- Most agencies reported confidence in their growth prospects for 2018, with expected revenue growth ranging from under 5% to over 50%. Actual revenue growth in 2017 was generally strong as well.
- On average, agencies reported net profit percentages around 20%, with larger agencies reporting lower percentages due to higher overheads.
- Most agency owners reported earning between £1,000-£3,999 per month from their businesses.
- Winning new business was the top challenge
1) The document discusses staffing trends in India that will influence recruitment firms in 2016 and beyond. Key trends include a focus on building relationships with clients, candidates, and colleagues.
2) Top priorities for recruitment firms in India include growing their client base, being strategic partners to clients, and improving sourcing techniques. There is also increased focus on improving quality of hire.
3) Relationships are seen as important to driving business development and growth. Competition is increasing from both other recruitment firms and in-house recruiting. Developing a strong brand is seen as important to differentiating from competitors.
The Staffing Advantage Report: How to Get Your Staffing Firm to the TopCareerBuilder
Did you know that the average client works with three different staffing firms? The majority of them (59 percent) say it gives them better access to talent because if one firm can’t help them, they have other options, according to CareerBuilder and Inavero’s 2016 Staffing Advantage survey.
It’s safe to say the competition is fierce among staffing firms vying for business today.
That’s why CareerBuilder has partnered with Inavero to bring you exclusive market research and industry insights to help you go inside the minds of both candidates and clients to better understand the competitive staffing landscape.
The document summarizes the results of the largest survey of independent agencies in the UK conducted in 2018. Some key findings include:
- Digital agencies made up 26% of respondents, followed by creative and communications agencies.
- 77% of agency owners were male while 23% were female.
- Agencies reported high confidence in 2018, with an average confidence rating of 71 out of 100.
- In 2017, 73% of agencies grew by more than 5% and 66% grew by more than 25%, showing a thriving sector.
The document discusses how leading entrepreneurs are thriving and surmounting 21st century business challenges. It describes how some entrepreneurs have embedded digital transformation at the core of their business strategy and operations. This helps them scale faster while mitigating risks. Specifically, it provides examples of how some companies use social media tools, data analytics, cloud computing, and mobile technologies in their daily operations to improve communication, decision making, reduce costs and drive global expansion.
Small to mid-sized businesses face challenges in attracting and retaining talent but see opportunities for growth. Their top recruiting priorities are improving quality of hire and employee retention. While job boards and social networks are leading sources of quality hires, SMBs struggle with competition and compensation. Measuring quality of hire effectively also remains a challenge. Employer branding is increasingly important, and SMBs are investing more in websites and social media to promote their brand. Looking ahead, trends in defining quality, remote work, and improved matching are shaping the industry.
The State of Web Development Services in 2016 GlasshatTech
Do you know how you're going to grow your web development business in the future?
What additional services are most commonly offered by web development businesses? How much do additional services contribute to revenue? How do other web development businesses plan to grow over the next 12 months?
We recently surveyed web development agencies around Australia to uncover some answers.
Download our free report to learn more about:
- Additional services trends
- Top sales challenges in 2016
- Web development business plans for growth
- Client growth trends & market need
www.glasshat.com
Maximizing Radford Data through the Payscale PartnershipPayScale, Inc.
This document summarizes a webinar about maximizing compensation data through a partnership between Payscale and Aon. It discusses the benefits of the partnership for clients, current market trends driving the need for more compensation data, an overview of Radford's global compensation database and survey tools, and common issues organizations are facing around compensation and inflation. The webinar included presentations from Payscale and Aon representatives and live polls to gather input from participants.
The fifth annual MIT Sloan and Deloitte study of digital business reveals digitally mature organizations don't just innovate more, they innovate differently—leveraging ecosystems and cross-functional teams that play critical roles.
Similar to Micro Conf 2021 - The State of Independent SaaS Report (20)
Los Angeles Girişimcilik & Yetenek RaporuFirat Demirel
This document summarizes data from AngelList showing that while Los Angeles is a leading tech hub, it is losing its junior technical talent as many new graduates leave the city for jobs elsewhere. Specifically, 72% of software engineering graduates from LA universities take their first job outside of LA, most commonly in the San Francisco Bay Area. In contrast, only 34% of graduates from Bay Area universities leave the region for their first job. The document explores some of the reasons for this talent leak and strategies LA companies can use to better attract and retain local talent, such as offering more entry-level roles, training programs, and internal career growth opportunities.
Deloitte Teknoloji Fast 50 Türkiye 2017Firat Demirel
This document discusses the results of the 2017 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Turkey program. It provides an overview of the top 50 fastest growing technology companies in Turkey over the past 4 years. Oplog, an e-logistics company headquartered in Ankara, topped the list with a 4,564% growth rate. The Turkish technology sector grew 14.4% in 2016 and companies collectively spent over 1.5 billion TL on research and development. The document also analyzes trends from a survey of the CEOs of the top 50 companies regarding growth strategies, opportunities, and challenges.
Girişimcilerin Finansa Erişimi: Kamu, Bankacılık, Özel SektörFirat Demirel
Avrupa İşletmeler Ağı İstanbul ve Sabancı Üniversitesi, girişimcileri mevcut finansal destek mekanizmaları hakkında bilgilendirmek için 13 Kasım Perşembe günü faydalı bir etkinlik düzenliyor.
This document discusses Facebook, Ericsson, and Qualcomm's efforts to increase efficiency in delivering internet access and services to more people globally. It outlines their goal of achieving a 100x increase in efficiency over the next 5-10 years through innovations that reduce the underlying costs of data delivery and build more efficient apps. Specific initiatives discussed include Facebook's work on building efficient infrastructure through technologies like HipHop, HHVM, and their open source data centers.
The document proposes a new transportation system called Hyperloop to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. Hyperloop would use low-pressure tubes and magnetic acceleration to move pods carrying passengers at airline speeds for a fraction of the cost of high-speed rail. Key aspects of the proposed Hyperloop design include pressurized pods that glide on a cushion of air, solar-powered propulsion via linear electric motors, and an elevated structure to minimize land impacts and protect against earthquakes. The estimated total cost is under $6 billion and tickets would be around $20 each way, making it faster and cheaper than other options for the route.
Endeavor Türkiye'nin Mart ayında yayınladığı Türkiye Teknoloji Sektörü Haritası'nı güncellendi. 100’ün üzerinde sektör temsilcisinin katılımını esas alan araştırma 1984-2012 arasındaki teknoloji sektörünün geldiği noktayı ve bu şirketler arsındaki etkileşimleri ortaya koyuyor.
GridMate - End to end testing is a critical piece to ensure quality and avoid...ThomasParaiso2
End to end testing is a critical piece to ensure quality and avoid regressions. In this session, we share our journey building an E2E testing pipeline for GridMate components (LWC and Aura) using Cypress, JSForce, FakerJS…
Why You Should Replace Windows 11 with Nitrux Linux 3.5.0 for enhanced perfor...SOFTTECHHUB
The choice of an operating system plays a pivotal role in shaping our computing experience. For decades, Microsoft's Windows has dominated the market, offering a familiar and widely adopted platform for personal and professional use. However, as technological advancements continue to push the boundaries of innovation, alternative operating systems have emerged, challenging the status quo and offering users a fresh perspective on computing.
One such alternative that has garnered significant attention and acclaim is Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, a sleek, powerful, and user-friendly Linux distribution that promises to redefine the way we interact with our devices. With its focus on performance, security, and customization, Nitrux Linux presents a compelling case for those seeking to break free from the constraints of proprietary software and embrace the freedom and flexibility of open-source computing.
“An Outlook of the Ongoing and Future Relationship between Blockchain Technologies and Process-aware Information Systems.” Invited talk at the joint workshop on Blockchain for Information Systems (BC4IS) and Blockchain for Trusted Data Sharing (B4TDS), co-located with with the 36th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE), 3 June 2024, Limassol, Cyprus.
Sudheer Mechineni, Head of Application Frameworks, Standard Chartered Bank
Discover how Standard Chartered Bank harnessed the power of Neo4j to transform complex data access challenges into a dynamic, scalable graph database solution. This keynote will cover their journey from initial adoption to deploying a fully automated, enterprise-grade causal cluster, highlighting key strategies for modelling organisational changes and ensuring robust disaster recovery. Learn how these innovations have not only enhanced Standard Chartered Bank’s data infrastructure but also positioned them as pioneers in the banking sector’s adoption of graph technology.
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Gopinath Rebala
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2. This report was produced with the generous support of our partners, Hey and Stripe.
3. Introduction 2
1. The Founders 3
Key Insights 4
Quantity 5
Prior Company 6
Peak Revenue 6
Demographics 7
Gender 7
Race 7
Age 7
Working Hours 8
2. The Companies 9
Key Insights 10
Headcount 11
Funding 12
Funding Rounds 12
Funding Amount 13
Funding Sources 14
Idea Origin 15
Idea Validation 16
First Paying Customer 17
3. Pricing 18
Key Insights 19
Time Structure 20
Lowest Monthly Tier 21
Free Trial 22
Credit Card Up-front 23
Forever-free Plan 24
Setup Fee 25
4. SaaS Metrics 27
Key Insights 28
MRR 29
Recent Growth Rate 30
Visitor to Trial with Credit Card 31
Visitor to Trial without Credit Card 32
Trial-to-Paid with Credit Card 33
Trial-to-Paid without Credit Card 34
Revenue Churn 35
Lifetime Value 36
5. Marketing 38
Key Insights 39
Customer Roles 40
Ideal Customer 41
Advertising Payback 42
Google Ads 43
Social Media Monthly Ad Payback
by Platform 44
6. Growth 45
Key Insights 46
Founder Count vs. Growth 47
Prior Peak vs. Growth 48
Founder Hours vs. Growth 49
Ideal Customer 50
Monthly Price vs. Growth 51
Forever-free vs. Growth 52
Credit Card vs. Growth 53
Lifetime Value vs. Growth 54
NPS Score vs. Growth 55
Funding vs. Growth 57
Funding Amount vs. Growth 58
Thank You 59
Appendix: Methodology 60
4. INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the second annual State of
Independent SaaS!
For nearly a decade MicroConf has helped
startup founders grow faster through access
to world-class experts, and the world’s most
trusted community of ambitious, bootstrapped
and mostly bootstrapped founders. MicroConf
has become the mothership for founders like
yourself looking to learn and share strategies,
tactics, advice, and inspiration.
The beauty of creating this second report is
our ability to draw comparisons from one
year to the next. While the overall structure
is very similar to last year, you’ll notice we’ve
drawn comparisons wherever the data
deviated to a point that it became interesting.
In addition, we’ve mixed up the visuals in
many areas from simple bar and pie
charts to now include word clouds and
micro-infographics. The idea is to optimize
the presentation of this information to help
you understand it at a deeper level. This
all lines up with our mission to help you be
successful, faster.
WHYGATHERANDSHARETHISDATA?
This journey is difficult, and as founders we
are often forced to make difficult decisions
with incomplete information. The goal of this
report is to provide our industry with rules
of thumb, and provide you with the data you
need to make better decisions as you grow
your company.
After introducing the first report in 2020,
the world experienced major turbulence as
a result of COVID-19. This 2021 report helps
us quantify how the world of Independent
SaaS responded to new economic and
business norms.
In the pages that follow, you’ll see a number
of data points that reflect a changing world;
and many more that show the consistency
and persistence of independently-funded
SaaS founders.
Onward!
ROB AND THE MICROCONF TEAM
5. 1. TheFounders
In this section we look at the founders who
run these SaaS companies. How many
started each company, prior startups they’ve
launched, and demographic information.
6. KEY INSIGHTS
EXPECTED
· 56% of respondents are single founders.
More than 90% are one- or two-founder
teams. This lines up with our experience
of the independent SaaS space.
· Virtually identical to last year, 6 in 10
founders have started a prior company.
· Diversity continues to be an issue, but
the numbers are slowly improving: 13% of
founding teams include a non-male
founder (up from 11% last year) and 23%
include a non-white founder (up from 21%).
UNEXPECTED
· Only 25% of founders work a “standard”
40-49 hour week. Almost half work 10-39
hours, presumably by choice (4-Hour
Workweek style) or due to a day job.
· Overall, founders worked fewer hours
per week this year. One might attribute this
to the remote schooling caused by
COVID-19, with many parents needing
to effectively homeschool their children
during their workdays.
7. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 5
1.1 THE FOUNDERS
2.77%
Four +
5.21%
Three
35.67%
Two
56.35%
One
Howmanyfoundersstartedyourcompany?
8. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 6
1.2 THE FOUNDERS
60.07%
Yes
Atyourpreviouscompany,what
wasthepeakmonthlyrevenue
achievedatanytimeduringyour
company'soperation?
None 12.91%
Less than $9,999 / mo 37.09%
$10,000 – $29,999 / mo 21.15%
$30,000 – $99,999 / mo 12.91%
$100,000 – $249,999 / mo 8.52%
$250,000 – $999,999 / mo 4.67%
$1,000,000 + / mo 2.75%
39.93%
No
Beforefoundingyourcurrentcompany,
didyoustartapriorcompany?
9. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 7
1.3 THE FOUNDERS
Demographics
Amongthefoundersof
yourcompany,whichofthe
followingagecategories
arerepresented?
Under 18 years old 0.14%
18–19 years old 0.28%
20–29 years old 12.10%
30–39 years old 47.46%
40–49 years old 30.67%
50–59 years old 8.39%
60+ years old 0.96%
Amongthefoundersof
yourcompany,whichofthe
followingracialcategories
arerepresented?
White 87.09%
Indian or South Asian 7.95%
Latin American or Hispanic 5.13%
Asian 4.64%
Middle Eastern 4.30%
Black orAfrican-American 2.32%
Other 2.15%
Native Hawaiian or other 0.66%
Pacific Islander
American Indian orAlaskan Native 0.50%
Amongthefoundersof
yourcompany,whichofthe
followinggendercategories
arerepresented?
Male 96.37%
Female 12.05%
Non-binary 0.99%
10. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 8
1.4 THE FOUNDERS
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than
10 hours
10 to 29
hours
30 to 39
hours
40 to 49
hours
50 hours
or more
2020
2021
Inatypicalweek,howmanyhoursdoyou
personallyworkonyourcompany?
12. KEY INSIGHTS
EXPECTED
· Independent SaaS companies tend to
have low headcounts, with 37% having no
employees and another 37% four or fewer.
This speaks to the early-stage of many
respondents, but also to the capital
efficiency of SaaS.
· 14% of respondents have raised at least
one round of funding, up from 12% last
year. This is in-line with observations that
funding is becoming more accessible to
bootstrappers through founder-friendly
alternatives like MicroConf’s TinySeed
accelerator and Indie.vc.
· The largest group of founders (38%) built a
prototype or MVP to validate their idea. This
feels in-line with common startup advice,
though one might argue this number could
easily be higher.
UNEXPECTED
· Less than half of these SaaS business ideas
came from a problem the founder was
facing, while 22% built to solve a problem
a customer or client was experiencing, and
12% to remedy an experience at the
founder’s day job.
· Validation is on the rise! Only 16% of founders
did not validate their business idea before
building, down from more than 30% last year.
· Only 4% used a landing page “smoke test”
to validate, a tactic that was once popular
due to mentions in The 4-Hour Workweek
and Start Small, Stay Small.
· Approximately 23% of respondents have
been running their business for 5-10 years
(down from over 25% last year). This is
still longer than expected given the relative
newness of SaaS, and the high chance a
startup fails in its first one or two years.
13. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 11
2.1 THE COMPANIES
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
None
(sole employee)
1 to 4 5 to 19 20 to 49 50
or more
Inadditiontoyou,howmanyfull-time
orcontractemployeescurrentlywork
atyourcompany?
14. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 12
2.2 THE COMPANIES
85.69%
No
14.31%
Yes
Howmanyfundingroundshas
yourcompanyraised?
One 75.95%
Two 11.39%
Three 6.33%
Four + 6.33%
Haveyouraisedfundingforthiscompany?
15. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 13
2.3 THE COMPANIES
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Less than
$100,000
$100,000
to $499,999
$500,000
to $999,999
$1,000,000 +
Sinceyourcompany’sfounding,howmuch
outsidefundinghaveyouraised?
16. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 14
2.4 THE COMPANIES
Founding
team's household
resources
Friends
& Family
Traditional
Angels
Indie
Funding
Venture
Capital
Accelerator Debt Other
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Whichofthefollowingbestdescribes
thesourceorsourcesoffunding?
17. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 15
2.5 THE COMPANIES
22.10%
A problem my customers or
clients were experiencing
10.67%
A problem a friend or
relative was experiencing
8.24%
Research
0.19%
I purchased
this business
1.50%
Other
12.55%
An experience
at my day job
44.76%
A specific problem
I was experiencing
Whichofthecategoriesbelowbest
describeshowyoudevelopedtheidea
forthisproduct / company?
18. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 16
2.6 THE COMPANIES
I didn't validate
before building
Asked my
audience
Built a
prototype
or MVP
I copied a
competitor
I pre-sold
the product
I purchased
this company
Landing page
smoke test
Verbal
commitments
Other
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Whichbestdescribeshowyouvalidated
youroriginalbusinessidea?
19. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 17
2.7 THE COMPANIES
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than
1 year ago
1 to 2
years ago
2 to 3
years ago
3 to 5
years ago
5-10
years ago
More than
10 years ago
Whendidyoulandthefirstpayingcustomer
foryourcurrentproduct / company?
20. 3. Pricing
In this section we look at everything pricing,
including topics like: monthly vs. annual,
pricing tiers, free trials, and more.
21. KEY INSIGHTS
EXPECTED
· 83% of companies offer monthly or annual
pricing (or both).
· Last year we predicted the practice of not
asking for a credit card before a free
trial was on the rise, and this year’s report
confirmed it. This year, 78% of companies
with a free trial did not require a credit
card up-front (up from 73% last year).
· We also expected to see evidence that free
trials are on the rise, which was confirmed
by the 71% of companies that offered them
this year, up from 64% last year.
· Similarly with forever-free plans, this year
27% of companies offer one vs 20% last year.
UNEXPECTED
· More than 6% offer metered pricing, and
almost 5% offer pay-as-you-go.
· 4 in 10 companies have their lowest monthly
pricing tier under $30. Less than 1 in 10 have
their lowest tier above $250.
· 1 in 4 companies charges a setup fee to start
using their software.
22. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 20
3.1 PRICING
4.49%
Pay-as-you-go
2.29%
Other
2.29%
Revenue share
6.60%
Metered
35.67%
Annually
46.75%
Monthly
Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesthe
pricingtimestructureofyourproduct?
23. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 21
3.2 PRICING
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Free $1 to $29 $30 to $99 $100 to $249 $250 to $499 $500 or more
Whichofthefollowingbestdescribes
thepricingplanforyourbaseorlowest-cost
pricingtieronamonthlybasis?
24. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 22
3.3 PRICING
71.23%
Yes
28.77%
No
Doyouofferafreetrialforyourproduct?
25. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 23
3.4 PRICING
78.40%
No
21.60%
Yes
Whenapotentialcustomerregistersfora
freetrial,doesyourcompanyrequestacredit
cardnumberinordertostartthetrial?
26. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 24
3.5 PRICING
72.95%
No
27.05%
Yes
Doyouofferaforever-freeplan?
27. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 25
3.6 PRICING
74.48%
No
25.52%
Yes
Doyouchargeasetupfee?
28.
29. 4. SaaSMetrics
This section dives into the companies’ SaaS
metrics. Data like: monthly recurring
revenue (MRR), growth rates, trial to paid
conversion rates, and more.
30. KEY INSIGHTS
EXPECTED
· 15% of companies have flat revenue,
neither growing or declining. This is down
from 20% last year.
· The most common month-over-month
growth rate is 1-9%, with more than 45%
falling into this bucket.
UNEXPECTED
· Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) skewed
earlier-stage this year, with quite a few more
respondents under $5k MRR than last year.
· 7% of founders don’t know their month-
over-month growth rate.
· 36% of companies who offer a free trial don’t
know their visitor to trial conversion rate.
This number continues to be surprisingly
high (though it’s down from 40% last year).
· Nearly 15% of founders don’t know their
trial to paid conversion rate (up from 10%
last year).
· 13% of companies report net negative revenue
churn (up from 10% last year). Nearly 1 in 5
companies report churn under 1%!
31. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 29
4.1 SAAS METRICS
Less than
$1,000
$1,000
to $4,999
$5,000
to $14,999
$15,000
to $29,999
$30,000
to $49,999
$50,000
to $99,999
$100,000
to $249,999
$250,000
to $999,999
$1,000,000 +
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2020
2021
WhatisyourMonthlyRecurring
Revenue(MRR)?
32. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 30
4.2 SAAS METRICS
Negative 0% 1% to 4% 5% to 9% 10% to 19% 20% to 39% 40% or more Don’t Know
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Whatbestdescribesyourcompany’saverage
Month-Over-Month(MOM)growthrateover
thepast3months?
33. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 31
4.3 SAAS METRICS
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than 1% 1% to 2% 3% to 5% 6% to 10% 11% to 20% 20% or more Don’t Know
Ifyouofferafreetrialandaskfora
creditcardupfront,whatpercentageofyour
website’suniquevisitorsstartatrial?
34. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 32
4.4 SAAS METRICS
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than 1% 1% to 2% 3% to 5% 6% to 10% 11% to 20% 20% or more Don’t Know
Ifyouofferafreetrialanddon’taskfora
creditcardupfront,whatpercentageofyour
website’suniquevisitorsstartatrial?
35. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 33
4.5 SAAS METRICS
1% to 9.9% 10% to 19.9% 20% to 39.9% 40% to 49.9% 50% to 59.9% 60% + Don’t Know
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2020
2021
Forprospectsthatstartafree-trialwitha
creditcardup-front,whatpercentagebecome
payingcustomers?
36. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 34
4.6 SAAS METRICS
Less than 1% 1% to 5.9% 6% to 10.9% 11% to 15.9% 16% to 19.9% 20% to 29.9% 30% + Don’t Know
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Forprospectsthatstartafree-trialwithouta
creditcardup-front,whatpercentagebecome
payingcustomers?
37. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 35
4.7 SAAS METRICS
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Net Negative
Churn
0% to 0.9% 1% to 2.9% 3% to 5.9% 6% to 9.9% 10% to 14.9% 15% + Don’t Know
Overthepast3months,whatwasthe
averagemonthlyrevenuechurn?
38. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 36
4.8 SAAS METRICS
Less than $249 $250 to $499 $500 to $999 $1,000
to $1,999
$2,000
to $4,999
$5,000 + Don’t Know
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2020
2021
Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesyour
averageCustomerLifetimeValue(LTV)?
41. KEY INSIGHTS
EXPECTED
· Nearly half of companies indicate their
ideal customer is a business with less than
50 employees.
· 41% of companies don’t advertise.
· Half of companies that advertise run ads
on Google or Facebook.
UNEXPECTED
· 8% of companies sponsor events.
· Only 2.4% of companies that advertise use
online display ads (down from 4% last year).
Only 2.5% advertise on Twitter (down slightly
from 3% last year).
· Almost 40% of companies that advertise
report a 1-4 month payback on their Google
and Facebook ad spends.
· More than 25% of companies don’t know
their payback period for either ad network.
42. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 40
5.1 MARKETING
Founders / CEOs
Operations and Support
Developers / IT
HR
Accounting
Marketing
Freelancers / Agencies
Admin Staff
Consumers
Aspiring entrepreneurs
Sales
Other
Whatarethemostcommonroles
yourcustomershold?
43. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 41
5.2 MARKETING
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Aspiring
Entrepreneurs
Businesses
(1 to 9)
Businesses
(10 to 49)
Businesses
(51 to 249)
Businesses
(250 +)
Consumers Government Non-profits Other
Whichofthefollowingcategories
bestdescribestheidealcustomerfor
yourcompany?
44. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 42
5.3 MARKETING
We don’t run ads
Google AdWords
App store Ads
Event sponsorship
Other
Facebook Ads
LinkedIn Ads
Offline Ads
Online display advertising
Twitter Ads
Other online advertising
Whatadvertisingactivitiesdoyou
believehavethebiggestimpacton
growingrevenue?
45. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 43
5.4 MARKETING
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than
1 month
1 to 4
months
5 to 8
months
9 to 17
months
18 +
months
Don’t Know
2020
2021
GoogleAdsMonthlyPayback
46. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 44
5.5 MARKETING
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Less than
1 month
1 to 4
months
5 to 8
months
9 to 17
months
18 +
months
Don’t Know
SocialMediaMonthlyAdPayback
byPlatform
47. 6. Growth
This section looks at how several factors
correlate to revenue growth. Recall that
correlation does not equal causation. Just
because two factors move in lock-step, does
not mean that one is causing the other.
48. KEY INSIGHTS
EXPECTED
· In line with expectations, in general the
larger the business a startup is selling to,
the faster the revenue growth.
· For the most part, higher prices and higher
lifetime value both correlate strongly with
faster growth.
· Companies that raised more funding grew
faster. One can imagine this is the case for
several reasons:
· Companies that are growing faster
have the ability to raise more money.
· More funding can translate to a larger
team size, with more people focused
on growing the business.
· Founders who raise funding focus on
faster growth, whereas founders who
self-fund may elect not to.
· There is a strong correlation between more
hours worked by a founder and stronger
revenue growth.
UNEXPECTED
· More founders correlate with higher growth,
except for a substantial dip with 4+ founders.
· Free trial vs. no trial and free plan vs. not
have little correlation with revenue growth.
· We found either very little, or unexplainable,
correlations with Net Promoter Score (NPS),
churn, and growth.
· Asking for a credit card before a trial has
little correlation with revenue growth.
49. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 47
6.1 GROWTH
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
One Two Three Four +
MRR
Growth
/
Month
FounderCountvs.Growth
One would likely expect more growth with more
founders. Perhaps the drop off above three founders
shows the challenges of communicating with a larger
team early in a product’s life.
50. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 48
6.2 GROWTH
$3,500
$3,000
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
None $1,000
to $9,999
$10,000
to $29,999
$30,000
to $99,999
$100,000
to $249,999
$250,000
to $999,999
$1,000,000 +
MRR
Growth
/
Month
PriorPeakvs.Growth
Few surprises here. In general, the more money
a founder’s prior company made, the faster their
next company grew.
51. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 49
6.3 GROWTH
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
Less than
10 hours
10 to 29
hours
30 to 39
hours
40 to 49
hours
50 hours
or more
MRR
Growth
/
Month
FounderHoursvs.Growth
These results show a pronounced correlation of faster
growth with more founder hours worked. This could be
because more hours means they ship faster, or because
successful companies that are growing quickly motivate
their founders to invest more of their time.
52. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 50
6.4 GROWTH
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
Consumers Aspiring
Entrepreneurs
Businesses
(1 to 9)
Businesses
(10 to 49)
Businesses
(51 to 249)
Businesses
(250 +)
MRR
Growth
/
Month
IdealCustomer
This data generally fits common MicroConf wisdom that
if your customers are larger companies, your growth rate
will be faster. This is usually because larger companies
are less price sensitive and churn far less often than
consumers or small enterprises.
53. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 51
6.5 GROWTH
$3,000
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
Free $1 to $29 $30 to $99 $100 to $249 $250 to $499 $500 or more
MRR
Growth
/
Month
MonthlyPricingvs.Growth
These results imply higher price points correlate with
faster growth, most noticeably with monthly price points
above $500 growing 2-5× faster than the others. We see
a curious dip around $250-499 (which also happened
last year), and that the existence of a free plan correlates
with slightly higher than baseline growth.
54. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 52
6.6 GROWTH
$1,500
$1,200
$900
$600
$300
$0
Free Trial Only Forever-Free Plan
Yes No Yes No
MRR
Growth
/
Month
Forever-Freevs.Growth
The data implies an almost inconsequential increase in
growth rate between companies that do and do not offer
a forever free plan. Likewise, slightly faster growth from
companies with a free trial.
55. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 53
6.7 GROWTH
$1,500
$1,200
$900
$600
$300
$0
Yes No
Do you ask for a Credit Card to start a trial?
MRR
Growth
/
Month
CreditCardvs.Growth
These results imply that asking for a credit card before
a trial has little impact on a company’s growth rate.
56. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 54
6.8 GROWTH
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
0
Less than
$249
$250
to $499
$500
to $999
$1,000
to $1,999
$2,000
to $4,999
$5,000
to $9,999
$10,000
or more
MRR
Growth
/
Month
CustomerLTVvs.Growth
Intuitively, a higher customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
is correlated with faster growth.
57. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 55
6.9 GROWTH
1 to 19 20 to 39 40 to 59 60 to 79 80 to 99 100 +
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
MRR
Growth
/
Month
NPSScorevs.Growth
I should also note that we looked at churn rate vs.
NPS and found little correlation. Meaning higher NPS
did not translate into noticeably lower churn, contrary
to intuition.
58.
59. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 57
6.10 GROWTH
$1,800
$1,500
$1,200
$900
$600
$300
$0
Yes No
MRR
Growth
/
Month
Fundingvs.Growth
Not surprisingly, companies that raised funding grew
a little over 1.5× faster than those who did not.
60. The 2021 State of Independent SaaS 58
6.11 GROWTH
Less than
$100,000
$100,000
to $499,999
$500,000
to $999,999
$1,000,000 +
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$0
MRR
Growth
/
Month
FundingAmountvs.Growth
Following up on the previous correlation, the more
funding a company raises the faster it grows. A couple
likely explanations: having more funding allows you to
grow faster, and companies that are growing faster are
able to raise more funding.
61. Thank you for checking out the second
annual State of Independent SaaS! I hope
it serves you well on your entrepreneurial
journey.
To stay in the loop on next year’s State of
Independent SaaS report and find out more
about the world’s most trusted community
of bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped
SaaS founders, head to MicroConf.com.
ROB AND THE MICROCONF TEAM
62. APPENDIX:
METHODOLOGY
OVERVIEW
Since 2011 MicroConf has helped startup
founders grow faster through access to
education from world-class experts,
and the world’s most popular community
of ambitious, non-venture track startup
founders. MicroConf has become the
mothership for founders looking to learn
and share strategies, tactics, advice, and
inspiration.
The purpose of this survey and report is
three-fold:
1.
to gather critical information on the
behaviors, attitudes and “firmagraphics”
of participating members;
2.
statistically analyze the collected
data and
3.
organize and interpret the results in
a final report, covering topics from idea
validation to marketing approaches to
SaaS benchmarks, and more.
The founders who completed the survey receive the Marketing
Extras bonus section of this report, not immediately available
to the larger community.
RESEARCHDESIGN
A web-based survey was sent to nearly 25,000
startup founders in MicroConf’s database.
The survey was conducted between
October 6, 2020 and October 21, 2020. Only
those founders who were over 18, currently
operating a company that was generating
revenue, and charging recurring fees for their
software were able to complete the survey.
In total, 673 respondents participated in the
survey, with 534 individuals completing
the survey. On average, it took respondents
15 minutes to complete the survey.
The distribution of responses in each
question is presented in this report as well
as an analysis of the relationship between
company strategies and growth where
appropriate.
Special thanks to Brittany Ortiz for her hard work analyzing
the data for this report. Thanks to Vanda Marasan for her
exceptional visual design work on this report.