From the SaaStr 2015 Annual Conference: you ever wanted to learn how to raise venture capital as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business, read the secrets in this presentation. In this overview, we cover SaaS revenue growth and how it has accelerated from 2007 to 2014.Then we look at why we pass on SaaS companies even when they are growing top-line revenue (hint: we care more about gross churn and especially negative net churn). And finally, we introduce a new metric - the SaaS quick ratio - which can help you understand how an investor benchmarks the amount of new sales and expansion revenue gained in a month relative to cancellation and contraction revenue lost in the same month. In the appendix, we show you a sample company to illustrate how to structure your data, build your graphs, and present your data to investors.
Mamoon Hamid is a General Partner at The Social+Capital Partnership, a VC firm based in Palo Alto, CA. Mamoon has invested in iconic SaaS companies such as Box, Yammer, Slack, Greenhouse, Intercom, Castlight Health, Act-on Software, and a dozen others.
5. Our investing guideposts
We prioritize these signals based on our point of entry
Increasing Maturity
Pre-Revenue <$2M
ARR run-rate
$10M+
ARR run-rate
• Stellar team
• Strong conviction in
the target market
• Stellar team
• Strong conviction in
the target market
• Early customer
validation indicating
strong product
market fit and best
in class product
• Business is
compounding in a
rapidly growing
market
• Best in class product
and world class
team
• Clear path to being a
unicorn
Seed & Series A
Check Size: $1m-$5m
Series A & Series B
Check Size: $5m-$10m
Series B+
Check Size: $15m-$25m
6. When we first invested ($ARR)
Increasing Maturity
Pre-Revenue <$2M
ARR run-rate
$10M+
ARR run-rate
7. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0 6 12 18 24 30 36
AnnualRecurringRevenue($M)
Months since launch
Enterprise Software growth in 2007…
39
Company A
launched in 2007
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
Invested
8. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0 6 12 18 24 30 36
AnnualRecurringRevenue($M)
Months since launch
Enterprise Software growth in 2009…
3933
Company B
launched in 2009
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
Invested
9. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0 6 12 18 24 30 36
AnnualRecurringRevenue($M)
Months since launch
Enterprise Software growth in 2014 !
393311
Company C
launched in 2014
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
Invested
10. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0 6 12 18 24 30 36
AnnualRecurringRevenue($M)
Months since launch
And now for the unmasking…
3933
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
11. $0M
$1M
$2M
$3M
Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
Lifecycle of a SaaS investment
Our prepared mind approach: we invest early and
monitor portfolio company growth to pre-empt future
rounds
Jason Lemkin
introduces us to
the opportunity
After observing 2
quarters of strong
MRR growth we
pre-empt the
Series A
We invest $1M in
the Seed - strong
conviction in team,
market and early
customer validation
Annual Recurring Revenue ($M)
Source: Company Financials
12. Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
Lifecycle of a SaaS investment
We take notice when we hear about products
entrepreneurs love
Intercom
gets founded
and raises
seed round
Social+Capital
leads a $6M Series
A after hearing rave
reviews from early
customers
Intercom raises
Series B led by
Bessemer
Annual Recurring Revenue ($M)
Source: Company Financials
13. 0K
100K
200K
300K
400K
Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
Lifecycle of a SaaS investment
We use our pattern recognition to invest right before a
company is about to take off
Tiny Speck
rebrands as Slack;
beta launch of
enterprise product
Slack raises a
round led by
KPCB + Google
Ventures
Daily Active Users (K)
Social+Capital leads the first
VC round in Slack. Early data
shows off the charts
engagement compared to any
enterprise product ever
Source: Company Internal Metrics
14. Why did we pass on this investment?
$0K
$100K
$200K
$300K
$400K
$500K
Q2 2012 Q4 2012 Q2 2013 Q4 2013 Q2 2014 Q4 2014
MonthlyRecurringRevenue($K)
Net New MRR ($K)
Beginning MRR ($K)
Nice looking growth, but doesn’t tell the whole picture
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
18. -$40K
-$20K
$0K
$20K
$40K
$60K
Q2 2012 Q4 2012 Q2 2013 Q4 2013 Q2 2014 Q4 2014
MonthlyRecurringRevenue($K)
Cancelled MRR ($K)
New MRR Added ($K)
New MRR barely outpacing Cancelled
MRR
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
19. Only expansion MRR allowed it to grow
-$40K
-$20K
$0K
$20K
$40K
$60K
Q2 2012 Q4 2012 Q2 2013 Q4 2013 Q2 2014 Q4 2014
MonthlyRecurringRevenue($K)
Cancelled MRR ($K)
Expansion MRR ($K)
New MRR Added ($K)
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
20. 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34
Month
Cancelled MRR
Expansion MRR
New MRR
1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41
Month
Cancelled MRR
Contraction MRR
Expansion MRR
New MRR
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15
Month
Cancelled MRR
Expansion MRR
New MRR
The SaaS Quick Ratio – Added MRR/Lost MRR
Two companies we invested in and two we passed on
Company A Portfolio Company 1
Company B Portfolio Company 2
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
1 3 5 7 9 11
Month
Cancelled MRR
Contraction MRR
Expansion MRR
New MRR
21. 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34
Month
Cancelled MRR
Expansion MRR
New MRR
1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41
Month
Cancelled MRR
Contraction MRR
Expansion MRR
New MRR
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15
Month
Cancelled MRR
Expansion MRR
New MRR
Company A Portfolio Company 1
Company B Portfolio Company 2
Source: The Social+Capital Partnership Internal Data
1 3 5 7 9 11
Month
Cancelled MRR
Contraction MRR
Expansion MRR
New MRR
$126 New + Expansion
$32 Cancelled
= 4.0x
$76 New + Expansion
$17 Cancelled + Contraction
= 4.5x
$304 New + Expansion
$188 Cancelled + Contraction
= 1.6x
$77 New + Expansion
$22 Cancelled
= 3.5x
The SaaS Quick Ratio – Added MRR/Lost MRR
Two companies we invested in and two we passed on
22. Recap – what’s good, what’s bad
‣ What you want
‣ Get to $1M ARR ~12 months after launch
‣ Net New MRR keeps increasing quarter over quarter
‣ Maintain a Quick Ratio > 4
‣ What to watch out for
‣ A Quick Ratio < 2 – churn is too high /new sales aren’t working
‣ Net New MRR is flat or down quarter over quarter
‣ As a result takes 18+ months to get to $1M ARR
23. Take churn seriously…for IPO’s sake
The penalty for a ~5-point change in Net Churn is
extreme - $500M ARR lost by year 8 !
$500M+ARR!
$0M
$150M
$300M
$450M
$600M
$750M
$900M
0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96
AnnualRecurringRevenue($M)
Months since launch
0.75% Gross MRR
Churn / (-3% Net Churn)
1% Gross MRR Churn /
(-2% Net Churn)
2% Gross MRR Churn /
(0% Net Churn)
3% Gross MRR Churn /
(2% Net Churn)
26. The engine of SaaS is Net New MRR
$0K
$100K
$200K
$300K
$400K
$500K
$600K
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
CommittedMonthlyRecurringRevenue($K)
Months Since Launch
Net New MRR
Beginning CMRR
27. $0K
$100K
$200K
$300K
$400K
$500K
$600K
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
CommittedMonthlyRecurringRevenue($K)
Months Since Launch
Net New MRR
Beginning CMRR
Take for example Moonware, Inc.
$80K CMRR
at year 1
$500K
CMRR at
year 2
This is a sample company growing from 0 to $500K CMRR by year 2
28. -$10K
-$5K
$0K
$5K
$10K
$15K
$20K
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
MRRAdded/Lost
Months Since Launch
New MRR
Cancelled MRR
Let’s decompose Net New MRR…
This is monthly New MRR added and Cancelled MRR lost plotted on the same axis
for the first 12 months of the company’s lifespan
New MRR is
added…
…and some early
customers start
to churn
29. -$20K
$0K
$20K
$40K
$60K
$80K
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
MRRAdded/Lost
Months Since Launch
Expansion MRR
New MRR
Contraction MRR
Cancelled MRR
Net New MRR decomposed, Year 2
Expansion
typically hits
after year 1
Contraction also
occurs in year 2
In year 2, you start to see expansion and contraction enter the picture as annual
customers come up for renewal and decide to upgrade / downgrade.
30. $0K
$100K
$200K
$300K
$400K
$500K
$600K
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
CommittedMonthlyRecurringRevenue($K)
Months Since Launch
Net New MRR
Beginning CMRR
Zooming in on Net New MRR
Let’s look at a single month to see how Net New MRR is calculated
31. +50 +45
+20
-10
-5
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Month 23 Month 23
Net New MRR Zoomed In
Net New MRR Breakdown
+ New MRR (new logos)
+ Expansion MRR (upgrades)
- Contraction MRR (downgrades)
- Cancelled MRR (existing logos)
= Net New MRR
Net New MRR has 4 components: New, Expansion, Contraction, Cancellation MRR
32. +50 +45
+20
-10
-5
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Month 23 Month 23
Net New MRR Zoomed In
+ 45 New
+ 20 Expansion
- 5 Contraction
- 10 Cancelled
= +50 Net New MRR
Net New MRR Breakdown
Net New MRR has 4 components: New, Expansion, Contraction, Cancellation MRR
33. Cancellations and Gross MRR Churn
Churn is lost revenue from customers who cancelled,
expressed as a % of the prior period CMRR
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Gross MRR Churn
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Cancelled MRR
34. Cancellations and Gross MRR Churn
Churn is lost revenue from customers who cancelled,
expressed as a % of the prior period CMRR
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Gross MRR Churn
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Cancelled MRR
Cancelled MRR
Beginning CMRR
35. Cancellations and Gross MRR Churn
Churn is lost revenue from customers who cancelled,
expressed as a % of the prior period CMRR
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Gross MRR Churn
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Cancelled MRR
1% Gross MRR Churn
is really good !
3% Gross MRR Churn
is getting dangerously
high L
36. 0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Net Expansion
Expansion and Contraction
Expansion is customers upgrading from existing plans,
while contraction is customers downgrading. Net
Expansion is the difference between the two.
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Expansion & Contraction MRR
37. Expansion and Contraction
Expansion is customers upgrading from existing plans,
while contraction is customers downgrading. Net
Expansion is the difference between the two.
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Expansion & Contraction MRR
Expansion
(Upgrades)
Contraction
(Downgrades) Expansion – Contraction
Beginning CMRR
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Net Expansion
38. 0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Gross MRR Churn and Net Expansion
Net Churn
Negative churn is the result of Net Expansion outpacing
Gross MRR Churn
39. 0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Gross MRR Churn and Net Expansion
Net Churn
Negative churn is the result of Net Expansion outpacing
Gross MRR Churn
40. 0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Gross MRR Churn and Net Expansion
Net Churn
Negative churn is the result of Net Expansion outpacing
Gross MRR Churn
When Net Expansion exceeds
Gross MRR Churn...
41. -2.0%
-1.0%
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Net Churn
Negative Net Churn
In other words – existing customers are upgrading faster
than customers that are cancelling or downgrading
You get negative Net Churn J
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Month
Gross MRR Churn and Net Expansion