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Approaching Half a Million Customers: How to Win in SMB with BILL CEO and Founder René Lacerte

SaaStr

In 2006, BILL CEO and Founder René Lacerte set out to define a category around financial operations for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). With SMBs, the smallest business is owner-operated. Then, in 2017, with around $50M in revenue, BILL added payment capabilities. Needless to say, he succeeded. in revenue.

SMB 300
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M&A Is Back! Melio’s $2.5B Exit to Xero — In Just 7 Years!

SaaStr

to dominate US SMB payments. Key Metrics at a Glance Exit Valuation : $2.5B (down from $4B peak in 2021) Revenue Multiple : 13.4x Key Metrics at a Glance Exit Valuation : $2.5B (down from $4B peak in 2021) Revenue Multiple : 13.4x Takeaway : Don’t just digitize a process—eliminate the friction entirely.

Payments 218
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Catch Up on the Top Sessions from SaaStr Money 2021!!

SaaStr

That’s a wrap on SaaStr Money 2021 ! The financial services industry – banking, lending, insurance – has long benefited from deep competitive moats that limited competition and stifled innovation. 4 Secrets to Using Data Security and Compliance as a Competitive Advantage with Very Good Security’s CEO. Quite a day!

Payments 269
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IPO Offerings Are Already Up 62.5% This Year. With Much More to Come. We’re Back

SaaStr

But a very different one from the 2021 wave: Deal volume is surging : 2025 has been a “green light” year for IPOs, with 52 new U.S. 21 billion 2021 valuation, $1.6B+ revenue Navan (formerly TripActions) – Corporate travel and expense management, confidentially filed June 2025. IPOs priced so far—up 62.5%

Payments 161
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Is it Really ARR? In 2021+, Yes. As Long As NRR is > 100%

SaaStr

50% revenue from software (recurring), 50% from payments (not-recurring). . And half from fees on transactions it processes: Is this all really ARR? We could have picked many B2D services, like Twilio or others, too, which have primarily or substantial transaction pricing too. In 2021+, Yes. But it isn’t.

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Adding Payments and Fintech to SaaS Can Be Great. But You Gotta Watch the Margins.

SaaStr

So in the Boom Times of later 2020 and 2021, almost every VC pushed SaaS companies to at least become a little bit of a fintech. Shopify now gets 2x the revenue from payments and merchant services than it does from SaaS subcriptions. It processed $300+ Billion in transactions in the first half of the year.

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Navan Files for IPO: The Opening of B2B IPO Floodgates?

SaaStr

Every IPO other than Sailpoint is trading up, and we’ve got a jolt of momentum here for the first time since … well … 2021. Instead, the company pivoted aggressively into expense management and payments, expanding beyond its travel roots. The IPO market has been … on fire in 2025. No “classic” B2B leader has IPO’d yet in this wave.

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