Software Platform Consulting

MAY 6, 2019

There are many great articles about SaaS metrics on the web (e.g., see here , here and here.) There are also great resources for metrics specific to marketplaces (see here ). But much of my work is with a special kind of network, where one side of the platform is an enterprise buyer (or supplier) and on the other side is their supply base (or customers). Typically one side’s enterprises tend to be much larger than the other side’s. That’s why I call them enterprise-driven.

Metrics 53

Metrics Enterprise B2B Compensation 53

Software Platform Consulting

JUNE 25, 2019

Change Healthcare is going public (again). The IPO provides another opportunity to examine a massive B2B inter-enterprise network, Change Healthcare’s Intelligent Healthcare Network. I previously wrote about this network when it was called Emdeon ( see here ). It’s a story of how a small EDI player became an impressive company through acquisition and organic growth. Every network entrepreneur should know this great story.

Healthcare 50

Healthcare Government Cloud Scaling 50

Software Platform Consulting

MAY 28, 2019

Source: [link]. This is the third in my series on SaaS Metrics for Enterprise-Driven B2B Networks. I spend very little time on issues of compensation on this blog. But it turns out, this is a really important issue for Enterprise-Driven B2B Networks. As discussed in the prior post , many networks of this type, subsidize one side of the network, to make money from the other side.

Enterprise 50

Enterprise B2B Compensation Metrics 50

Software Platform Consulting

MAY 8, 2019

Fleetcor (FLT) closed on its acquisition of privately-held nvoicepay on April 1, 2019. Fleetcor’s first quarterly earnings report since the acquisition provides insight into the economics of the B2B payments space. Nvoicepay. Nvoicepay is interesting, in part, because it is a pure-play payments provider. The company takes a payment file from a buyer. It then disburses the funds to the buyer’s suppliers in a manner nvoicepay has determined in negotiation with the supplier.

B2B 50

B2B Acquisition Banking Finance 50

Advertiser: Infinicept

This Underwriting 101 guide will walk you through all the basics of what is involved in merchant underwriting from collecting merchant information, what the required checks and best practices are to onboarding the new merchant and reduce risk.

Onboarding

Software Platform Consulting

OCTOBER 9, 2019

As taxpayers, we should want to know how well our dollars are spent. At the Federal level, most of these dollars are spent on social security, healthcare, and defense (see below). Articles about spending in these areas are easy to find, but the price of F-35s or my dad’s medicare is too complex for this blog. Instead, let’s focus on the prices paid for common commercial catalog items that we can all relate to. Government Catalog Spend.

Government 46

Government Healthcare AI Education 46

Software Platform Consulting

AUGUST 5, 2019

Gartner recently published its 2019 Magic Quadrant for Procure-to-Pay Suites. Once again , I have superimposed valuation information onto the Magic Quadrant. (I I still don’t understand why Gartner has not varied the size of the “dots” to add more information to the charts. For instance, each vendor’s dot could be sized in proportion to their NPS scores, revenue, or valuation. See Spend Matters’ Solution Maps.).

Machine Learning 40

Machine Learning AI Revenue Consulting 40

Software Platform Consulting

JULY 1, 2019

My last post was partly about healthcare payments in the form of Change Healthcare’s Intelligent Healthcare Network. I did not set out to write another post about healthcare payments, but reading Phreesia’s S-1 compels me to. Phreesia has three “businesses” in one: SaaS applications, payments, and life sciences advertising. Phreesia Threat #1: SaaS Applications. If you have been to a doctor you have some idea of what Phreesia’s SaaS applications do!

Advertising 40

Advertising Consulting Subscription SaaS 40

Software Platform Consulting

JUNE 3, 2019

Welcome to the last, and most important, in my series of posts on metrics unique to Enterprise-Driven B2B Networks. The last metric, buyers per supplier, is easy to calculate if your platform is architected as a network. (If If you did not architect your platform so suppliers have one account for all buyers, shame on you.). Suppliers Per Buyer. Every enterprise-driven B2B network proudly tells you they are great at enabling your enterprise’s suppliers.

B2B 40

B2B Enterprise Metrics Consulting 40

Software Platform Consulting

MAY 20, 2019

Fiverr, a marketplace for freelancers just joined the parade of software companies going public. The Fiverr filing sets up a comparison of Fiverr versus Upwork, the grand-daddy of freelancer marketplaces. Upwork went public last year.) (See See here and here ). Upwork Versus Fiverr: A Different Approach to Services. The most basic difference between Upwork versus Fiverr is fascinating. On the Upwork platform, buyers issue RFQs for projects and invite freelancers to bid on those projects.

SMB 40

SMB Business Model Consulting Pricing 40

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Sales

Software Platform Consulting

MAY 14, 2019

Last week I wrote a post about Fleetcor’s acquisition of Nvoicepay. The acquisition represented an opportunity to learn more about the economics of B2B payments. The acquisition also prompted me to review Bottomline’s financial reports. Bottomline owns Paymode-X, the largest B2B payment network in the US. Paymode-X boasts payments of more than $200 billion annually and over 400,000 payees. Nvoicepay, by contrast, processed payments of approximately $20 billion annually.).

Technology 40

Technology B2B Acquisition Banking 40

Software Platform Consulting

JUNE 26, 2018

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of American Express (Amex) in an antitrust case 11 states had brought against Amex (see here ). If you are interested in two-sided markets, platforms, and pricing you will want to read the Supreme Court’s decision written by Justice Thomas and the dissent written by Justice Breyer (see here ). Full disclosure: There’s a fair bit of legalese, so I skimmed it. But, it sounds cool to say I read a Supreme Court opinion.)

Business Model 43

Business Model Consulting Branding Marketing 43

Software Platform Consulting

MAY 9, 2017

Established in 1995, Angie’s List was the pioneer in the home services marketplace. Home Advisor (IAC) announced last week it is acquiring Angie’s List (ANGI) for more than $500 million. This price represents a 44% premium over Angie’s List’s depleted closing stock price (see below)). I am sad to see Angie’s List go. Triumph of the One-Sided Pricing Plan. Angie’s business model was a prominent differentiator from its competition in the home services market.

Business Model 48

Business Model Advertising Business Consulting 48

Software Platform Consulting

MAY 16, 2017

I love the word “oligoply” It’s a fancy word for a market structure in which a few companies have the large majority of market share. The recent news reminds me just how many markets are becoming oligopolistic–especially those dominated by platform software. Before We Get to Software… Warren Buffett recently announced that he was buying airline stocks. This is a man whose greatest quotes include many disparaging remarks about the airline industry (see here ).

Wireless 40

Wireless Software Airlines Healthcare 40

Speaker: Bhavana Angadi, Senior Product Manager at Hopscotch (Demand & Growth) | Former Product Manager at Bigbasket

Join Bhavana Angadi, Senior Product Manager at Hopscotch, as she details the best way to increase customer retention.

Retention

Software Platform Consulting

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Early (and Fuzzy) Saas Metrics From B2B Networks. Until a B2B Network catches on, the metrics can be gloomy. (The The first few years of the Ariba Network were pretty dismal, for instance.) The result is that for the first few years of a B2B network’s life you tend to see silly press releases from these networks touting their growth in all manner of odd metrics: percentage growth versus growth in absolute numbers (always huge when you start from zero). new partnerships. awards.

Metrics 40

Metrics Consulting Finance Enterprise 40

Software Platform Consulting

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

Sunday’s Business Insider had a great article on, Cargomatic, a company promising (as do many others) to be the “Uber for Truckers” By that, Cargomatic means it will match shippers with goods to ship with truckers with excess capacity. On paper it is a great idea in a huge market: less than truckload (LTL) shipping.

B2B 40

B2B Consulting Marketing Technology 40

Software Platform Consulting

MARCH 23, 2016

Three separate events last week reminded me that every spend category has its “dirty little secrets” Suppliers can exploit these “dirty little secrets” to squeeze a little more from buyers than buyers bargained for. Not all of these secrets are nefarious, but all reflect the inherently deeper category knowledge suppliers have and the limited resources buyers have to “sweat the details” in every category.

Airlines 40

Airlines Transportation Travel Machine Learning 40

Software Platform Consulting

MARCH 7, 2016

For those of us who follow pricing strategy in two-sided markets, last week was a milestone. Angie’s List, which invented the home services marketplace (in 1995) announced it would drop its “paywall” The paywall charged buyers to search its directory and reviews before communicating with contractors. Angie’s List will now offer a freemium model for homeowners (buyers) and will continue to offer a freemium model to contractors/service providers.

Pricing 40

Pricing Business Model Advertising Consulting 40

Advertiser: Infinicept

The single biggest factor that gets in the way of becoming a payment facilitator is the obfuscation circulating within the industry about what it takes to be a PF. We want to unpack what’s real and what’s not with a deep dive into some of the most common myths.

Business

Software Platform Consulting

AUGUST 6, 2015

The two questions I’m most often asked are: 1. How do you keep your hair looking so lush and luxurious? How much can a B2B Marketplace or Multi-Sided Platform charge for its services? Some folks call this the platform’s “take rate” ). The answer to the former question will need to remain a mystery, but the answer to the latter follows. B2B Marketplace Services.

B2B 40

B2B Consulting Communication Finance 40

Software Platform Consulting

NOVEMBER 25, 2014

The vast majority of tech press is about B2C software companies or software for IT department (e.g., databases, security, performance monitoring and other stuff) that does not excite me. But, there are a few good b2b blogs and newsletters those of you interested in enterprise cloud business applications should follow for inspiration. My nominations, in no particular order, are as follows: Price intelligently.

B2B 40

B2B B2C Software Consulting 40

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

These are the Best of Times for venture capital. 500+ new seed funds, and 1000+ unicorns and decacorns. And as part of this, more and more big corporations are adding and expanding their venture arms. For the most part, this is a great thing. More options are almost always better for founders.

Investment 248

Investment Venture Capital Leadership Pricing 248

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 16, 2021

Q: Dear SaaStr: What Are The Top 3 Criteria for Hiring Your First Head of Sales? We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about hiring that first VP of Sales. But what if you can’t find the right person, and you’ve spent months looking.

Sales 245

Sales Pricing Management 245

Speaker: Robin Zaragoza, Product Coach and CEO of The Product Refinery

Join Robin Zaragoza, product coach and CEO of The Product Refinery, as she shares tips on how to create a powerful Value Proposition that keeps your customer at the heart of your product development process.

Development

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Want to start your own SaaS company? Do it. It is hard, harder than you can imagine. But if you do it right, and for real — it can last 30+ years. SaaS: Maybe Plan for 30+ Years as a Founder.

Investment 251

Investment Acquisition Product Marketing SaaS 251

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

Datadog IPO’d at $330m ARR, and when we last caught up with them they were already at $700m ARR — and it has done nothing but accelerate since then. Closing out with a $270m Q3’21 (!) and on to a $1.2B+ run-rate today, Datadog is accelerating at over $1B ARR. To 75% growth.

Cloud 247

Cloud Enterprise Scaling Revenue 247

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

With nearly a full hour of Q&A with a phenomenal communicator as our guest, our “Off The Record” interview with Pat Grady (Partner at Sequoia Capital) surfaced a number of actionable insights for Founders.

Company Culture 225

Company Culture Interviewing Investment Finance 225

SaaStr

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Using Dave Kellogg’s “ Four Sources of Pipeline ” framework, marketing should source 60% of the pipeline for a representative enterprise software company. .

Marketing 266

Marketing SMB Enterprise Leadership 266

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Sales

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Relative to any other sector, the SaaS industry is uniquely transparent.

Forecasting 242

Forecasting Cloud Pricing Metrics 242

The Daily Egg

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

Business formation services handle the entire business creation process, saving you money and cutting down on stress. We spent 10 days reviewing. The post Best Business Formation Services Compared appeared first on The Daily Egg. Startup

Business 236

Business Startup 236

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 6, 2021

The other day Brendon Cassidy, the first head of sales at LinkedIn and the first VP of Sales at $10B Talkdesk, Adobe Sign / EchoSign, and more — and now co-CEO of Cosell — and I caught on what’s changing in the Sales Playbook for 2022.

Sales 244

Sales SMB Scaling Engineering 244

The Daily Egg

OCTOBER 11, 2021

It’s easy to start a t-shirt business–you don’t need prior experience and it has a low cost to get started. Many would-be. The post 10 Easy Steps to Start a T-Shirt Business appeared first on The Daily Egg. Startup

Business 281

Business Startup 281

Speaker: Ramli John, Managing Director at ProductLed and Author

Let’s face it. Today’s users are impulsive and easily distracted. They don’t have the time (or patience) to try and figure things out by themselves. They expect the product to be intuitive. Easy. And fast. Add to that a few, unfairly poor reviews and you’ll be more than just stuck. Ramli will share a simple but powerful framework to get more users to experience a product’s "Eureka!" moment and turn them into lifelong customers.

Onboarding

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Q: How do you know when it’s time to leave your current company and move on? Let me add just one specific criterion / thought: -> Move on when people stop listening to you. You joined the company because you thought it was a good fit, that you could grow and make an impact.

Company Culture 214

Company Culture Startup Leadership 214

The Daily Egg

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

Choosing the right location to form your LLC is a crucial decision. This in-depth guide will help you determine the right state. The post The Complete Guide to The Best States to Form an LLC appeared first on The Daily Egg. Startup

Startup 234

Startup 234

The Daily Egg

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

Forming a legal entity for your business is an important decision. Many entrepreneurs and business partners choose to form a corporation because. The post 6 Easy Steps to Form a Corporation appeared first on The Daily Egg. Startup

Business 231

Business Startup 231

SaaStr

OCTOBER 22, 2021

The topic of scaling is central to the mission of SaaStr: “Our goal is to help everyone get from $0 to $100m ARR with less stress and more success.” ” SaaS is not the right industry to aim for incremental, low single-digit revenue growth.

Scaling 260

Scaling Leadership SaaS Revenue 260

Advertiser: Infinicept

Software companies are increasingly looking to move up in the payments food chain and play a bigger role. This whitepaper discusses where you'll fit in the chain, your cut of the revenue, and the benefits of becoming a payment facilitator.

Revenue