SaaStr

OCTOBER 14, 2021

It was exciting at YC 2015 Demo Day. 90% of GitLab’s customers pay by subscription — but most still self-manage the deployment. So GitLab is one of those ones that sort of … always was doing well. It was exciting as it scaled to be a more “enterprise” Github at first. And a few bonus learnings: #6.

Outsourced Development 67

Outsourced Development Software Development Innovation Cloud 67

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

He personally emailed every customer who canceled their Zoom subscription to understand their issues. This dedication to user experience helped shape Zoom into a more user-friendly platform than its competitors.

VP of Engineering 261

VP of Engineering Software Engineering Company Culture Engineering 261

SaaStr

APRIL 27, 2023

Since late 2015, trusted and empowered “Bobbers” from around the world have brought their authentic selves to work, inspired to build our exceptional HR systems that will revolutionize the work experience for HR professionals, managers, and employees alike. That equates to 40B+ in waste.

Cloud 260

Cloud Scale Startup Sales Hiring 260

The Angel VC

APRIL 10, 2013

[Update 12/20/2013: I have extended the dashboard to include multiple pricing tiers and annual subscription plans. Update 01/17/2015: There's a new company called ChartMogul ( which we invested in ) which makes it easy to get a real-time dashboard similar to the template below. Check it out here.] Check it out!

Startup 239

Startup SaaS Subscription Payment Features 239

SaaStr

APRIL 28, 2019

You can see our fun video with Stewart Butterfield from SaaStr Annual 2015 where he said they’d never have a direct sales force. Slack notes this is now the primary value of self-service (lead generation vs. direct conversion). But also — Slack has gone Enterprise. Way Enterprise. It took a little while. That has changed.

Scale 279

Scale Venture Capital SMB Enterprise 279

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

was pretty simplified, mostly made up of annual or monthly subscriptions. From 2010 until 2015, the SaaS world was becoming more complex with the introduction of static bundles and recurring revenue as an addition to the annual/monthly subscription model. Era 2, SaaS 2.0: Era 3, SaaS 3.0: New service offerings.

Scale 246

Scale Finance Sales Hiring Scaling 246

SaaStr

JANUARY 5, 2022

In 2015, SaaS cloud-based content management tool Box went public. There’s no denying that renewals are the most important motion in SaaS and subscription. Since then, their growth has been impressive, but it hasn’t always been steady. But this year, they’ve had three consecutive quarters of growth.

Scale 301

Scale Scaling Sales Hiring Software Review 301

Baremetrics

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

We are going to walk you through a couple of the most popular pricing models—perpetual license and annual license, along with its variant subscription model —as well as mention a couple of the other popular ways to monetize software. Payment ii. Using Baremetrics to monitor subscription revenue. Table of Contents.

Payment Features 95

Payment Features Payments Payment Solutions Subscription 95

The Angel VC

MAY 12, 2018

We generate over 90% of our revenue from self-serve channels — users who purchase a subscription through our app or website. As a result, each cohort of new users typically generates higher subscription amounts over time. From 2015 to 2017, Dropbox increased revenue from around $600M to ca. 3 – It’s a Mouse Hunter!

AWS 187

AWS Scale Subscription Payment Features 187

Clouded Judgement

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

In the past (2015 - 2020), companies would typically beat a quarter by 3-4% and raise guidance for the next quarter by about 2%. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). It’s still really difficult to sell software.

Cloud 252

Cloud Forecasting Metrics Subscription 252

Intercom, Inc.

AUGUST 27, 2020

?. The subscription model has revolutionized virtually every industry. Success in the subscription economy isn’t about having the best product; it’s about having the strongest customer relationships. From legacy business to subscription service. To navigate the current minefield of growth, businesses need to shift their focus.

Scale 211

Scale Payments Subscription Payment Features 211

Chart Mogul

APRIL 25, 2019

We took a peek at how our own subscription model and cash flow is affected by the compounding nature of SaaS. 2015 (in royal blue) contributed the second biggest chunk. SaaS Q&A: How does annual billing impact a subscription business? Advanced Subscription Analytics for Recurly. MRR and cashflow cohort analysis.

Subscription 90

Subscription Payment Features Retention Startup 90

Buffer Resources

AUGUST 16, 2023

We’ve shared a number of parts of Buffer’s business transparently over the years — and one piece we’ve always wanted to expand on is where your money goes when you pay for a Buffer subscription. This means our software is hosted on the cloud and used over an internet connection via a web browser or mobile app.

Merchant Services 98

Merchant Services Payment Services Payment Features Payments 98

Intercom, Inc.

DECEMBER 31, 2019

What was perhaps less predictable was the ensuing prevalence of the subscription-based business model. And it’s not just the startups playing this game – Steve Jobs was proudly averse to the notion of subscriptions, and now Apple spends most of its earning calls boasting about the performance of its services division.

Payment Solutions 259

Payment Solutions Payment Methods Software SaaS Payments 259

FastSpring

JUNE 22, 2022

In fact, it’s telling that the number of publicly-traded PLG-led companies nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2020. For example: Are you making your quoting and invoicing experience as efficient and flexible as possible? At FastSpring, we do this by linking pricing, payments, subscription management, and tax into one seamless platform.

B2C 148

B2C Payments SaaS Payments B2B 148

Chart Mogul

JULY 24, 2018

Subscription businesses are experimenting with hybrid billing models, mixing recurring revenue with one-time payments. In the enterprise software market, the move to a recurring revenue model is effectively complete. By 2020, all new entrants and 80% of historical vendors will offer subscription-based business models”.

Subscription 76

Subscription Payment Features Payment Solutions Payments 76

Neil Patel

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

When the Apple Watch first came out in 2015, there were 3,000 apps available for download. That app is no longer available for the Apple Watch—but you aren’t left out in the cold, thanks to Invoice & Time Tracking from Zoho. With Invoice & Time Tracking, you can invoice customers and accept payments on the go.

Payment Solutions 145

Payment Solutions Payment Methods Social Media Business 145

Stax

MARCH 18, 2025

However, a SaaS company providing global HR and payroll solutions may have a few hundred customers paying a monthly or annual feein other words, making recurring payments over a longer period of time. Churn is the percentage of customers that end their subscriptions within a certain amount of time. Churn rate. billion by 2021.

Scale 117

Scale Payment Services Payments SaaS Payments 117

Tom Tunguz

JANUARY 1, 2017

They sell their APM software as a perpetual software license in addition to a subscription (SaaS). The SaaS product has always generated more revenue than license, but the two revenue items did contribute similar revenues in 2015, at which point the company seems to have decided to focus actively on selling SaaS. of revenue).

Benchmarks 100

Benchmarks Metrics Software Review SaaS 100

Sales Hacker

AUGUST 18, 2020

He even managed to help pivot the company from a programmatic transactional revenue model to a subscription model over the course of, not just the last three months during COVID, but over the course of the last few years. Sam Jacobs: Is it a subscription service? Is it recurring revenue, or is it delivered in a different way?

Subscription 116

Subscription Payment Features Scale Underperforming Technical Team 116

Clouded Judgement

JULY 21, 2023

I went back and looked at an old research report from Morgan Stanley from 2015 (believe this was after their first quarter as a public company). In March 2015 the Morgan Stanley model predicted Box would generate $400m of FCF in 2025. What I found was incredibly interesting. In other words, these transitions can be in fact predictable.

Cloud 130

Cloud Software Sales Hiring Scale 130

Clouded Judgement

JANUARY 19, 2024

” If we look historically at the period from 2015-2020 (ignoring 2021 IPOs) the rough medians were ~$200m ARR (minimum was $100m ARR), 50% YoY growth, and >120% net retention. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4).

Cloud 184

Cloud Scale Compensation Metrics 184

Intercom, Inc.

JULY 1, 2019

The new SaaS model is subscription revenue-driven, which begs the question: what is a conversion today? It’s not just SaaS; subscriptions are taking over. And that’s not even the only one from Japan; there’s actually at least 18 different Japan subscription boxes. ” And that’s probably the biggest shift.

Retention 223

Retention Onboarding Subscription Payment Features 223

Clouded Judgement

NOVEMBER 18, 2022

I looked at the period of 2015 - 2020 (right up until Covid, so excluding the Covid bubble) and picked out all of the cloud software companies that at one point in time were trading at >10x NTM revenue. Overall, out of my set of 96 cloud software companies, there were 49 that at one point traded >10x NTM from 2015 - 2020.

Cloud 130

Cloud Pricing Investment Revenue 130

IT World

MARCH 25, 2022

Most businesses (maybe including yours) are striving to offer at least some services on a subscription basis. Apple is no exception, and has grown an $86 billion services business since roughly 2015. It looks as if Apple is moving in the same direction. Apple as a service. To read this article in full, please click here

Business 99

Business Subscription Payment Features 99

FastSpring

MARCH 16, 2023

From 2015 to 2020, MapTiler doubled the number of countries where it has customers. Using a product-led growth (PLG) model, there are free tiers for all three of MapTiler’s subscription offerings designed to offer “quick wins” for new users.

Payment Methods 148

Payment Methods Payments SaaS Payments Social Media 148

The Angel VC

NOVEMBER 29, 2013

Another way to look at it is your CACs payback time , which tells you how many months of subscription revenue it takes to recoup customer acquisition costs. Update 01/17/2015: There's a new company called ChartMogul ( which we invested in ) which makes it easy to get a real-time dashboard of your SaaS metrics. Lemkin and Tomasz Tunguz.

Scale 190

Scale Startup SaaS Customer Lifetime Value 190

Clouded Judgement

DECEMBER 30, 2022

The below chart shows the difference in the top quartile multiple vs bottom quartile multiple going back to 2015 (ie how much bigger the top quartile multiple is than bottom quartile). Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4).

Cloud 130

Cloud Subscription Payment Features Pricing 130

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

The chart above shows the subscription revenue is roughly at $150 million and professional services revenue is about $35 million this year. In 2015, Mulesoft grew 91% and in 2016 the business grew 71%. in 2015 and a estimated sales efficiency of 0.63, which implies a payback period of 19 months, right on the average.

Metrics 100

Metrics Benchmarks Scale Finance 100

Clouded Judgement

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

The chart below shows the median NTM FCF margins of the software index going back to 2015. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). Companies that do not disclose subscription rev have been left out of the analysis and are listed as NA.

Software Review 190

Software Review Cloud Software Revenue 190

Intercom, Inc.

JULY 4, 2018

In the world of subscription-based business models, your product better deliver. And in the world of subscription-based business models, where switching software is a whole lot easier and cheaper, your product better deliver. Almost there – we’ve sent you an email to confirm your subscription. This still happens all the time.

Marketing 191

Marketing Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Innovation 191

Tom Tunguz

MAY 30, 2015

The chart above compares the gross margins on professional services across the 13 publicly traded SaaS with the largest average revenue per customer, which ranges from $50-$800K for the 2015 fiscal year where available, and otherwise the last disclosed year before acquisition. So it’s not quite apples to apples.

Startup 113

Startup SaaS Pricing Acquisition 113

Intercom, Inc.

JANUARY 16, 2020

“We decided to switch to a team based subscription model which became a huge driver for our growth back in the day. Now we see that this has become a huge trend across SaaS” Andrey: One of the biggest examples of this for us was moving from personal subscription to a team subscription. This was back in about 2015.

Consulting 249

Consulting Marketplace as a Service Scale Development 249

Buffer Resources

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

But my accountant (and my actuary husband) were super helpful in figuring out how to set enough aside so that I could pay my subcontractors within 24 hours of receiving their invoice, even if the client took several more weeks.  The next year (2015), I grossed $32,000, which matched what I had been earning full-time.

Scale 129

Scale Scaling Payment Solutions Payment Services 129

Stax

AUGUST 20, 2024

In 2015, Version 2 of 3D Secure was released as an improvement on the above system. The idea behind this new regulation is to protect customers from fraud and ensure that businesses have secure payment methods. 3D Secure 2 (3DS2) meets the criteria for PSD2.

Payment Methods 88

Payment Methods Merchant Services Payment Services Payment Solutions 88

Clouded Judgement

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

But this median is close to as low as it’s gotten since 2015. Most public companies don’t report net new ARR, so I’m taking an implied ARR metric (quarterly subscription revenue x 4). Companies that do not disclose subscription rev have been left out of the analysis and are listed as NA.

Software Review 167

Software Review Cloud Software Azure 167

Frontegg

MAY 27, 2021

But back to the product side, adopting PLG means creating the optimal user journey to engage the customer from the login stage onwards – seamless login, onboarding, subscriptions plans, built-in security, and support features all need to work in tandem to create the best results. Best For: Subscription Management, Billing.

Payment Solutions 98

Payment Solutions SaaS Payments Payments Scale 98