396: From Bootstrapping Struggles to a $60M Exit and Beyond - with Bob Moore
May 9, 2024
auto_awesome
Bob Moore, Co-founder of Crossbeam, discusses his journey from bootstrapping to a $60M exit. Topics include challenges of a two-sided marketplace, data collaboration between companies, evolution from bootstrapping to funding, building a data collaboration platform, and insights on escape rooms as a profitable business venture.
Adaptation to market trends led to successful exits and acquisitions in the SaaS industry.
Challenges in data-sharing security were overcome through rigorous security measures and trust-building initiatives.
Facilitating simultaneous onboarding of partners resulted in exponential growth through network effects in Crossbeam.
Deep dives
Bob Moore's Startup Journey with RJ Metrix and Stitch
Bob Moore's entrepreneurial journey started with RJ Metrix, a cloud analytics platform he co-founded in 2008, facing challenges with product-market fit and revenue generation. Despite initial struggles, by 2012, RJ Metrix gained traction and raised over $20 million in venture capital. However, market disruption in 2015 led to a sale with acceptable but not exceptional results. In 2016, Bob spun out technology from RJ Metrix to create Stitch, achieving a successful $60 million exit within 18 months.
The Birth of Crossbeam and Overcoming Early Obstacles
In 2018, Bob co-founded Crossbeam, a partner ecosystem platform aimed at fostering valuable partner relationships. Facing challenges requiring simultaneous signup from both parties, likened to landing two jumbo jets at once, initial growth was complex. GDPR compliance added complexity, but after onboarding early adopters and two years of hard work, the network effect boosted growth. Today, Crossbeam generates eight figures in annual revenue, serving nearly 20,000 companies.
Navigating Pivots and Scaling Effectively with Lessons Learned
Amidst transitions from RJ Metrix to Stitch and founding Crossbeam, Bob applied key lessons learned. Anticipating market trends and aligning with the 'modern data stack,' Stitch's success reflected insight into buyer behaviors and industry shifts. The $60 million acquisition of Stitch by Talend underscored strategic value, marking a successful outcome after Bob's entrepreneurial journey characterizes resilience, adaptation, and strategic innovation.
Creating a Data Sharing Solution: The Birth of Crossbeam
Crossbeam was born out of a common problem faced by companies when collaborating with external partners due to the limitations of traditional data-sharing methods. The founder recognized the need for a new approach that would allow companies to identify commonalities in their data without compromising sensitive information. By leveraging the ETL concept from Stitch, Crossbeam aimed to create a secure data bank that could facilitate collaboration by providing a centralized and secure platform for comparing data across different organizations.
Overcoming Trust and Network Challenges: Scaling the Crossbeam Network
One of the significant challenges for Crossbeam was gaining trust from companies to share their data securely. However, by emphasizing a strict security layer and ensuring data ownership and control, Crossbeam alleviated concerns and successfully onboarded partners. Achieving network effects posed another hurdle, requiring a simultaneous onboarding process for partners to unlock collaboration opportunities. Initiatives like joint jam sessions were instrumental in facilitating partner onboarding and demonstrating the value of shared data intersections, eventually leading to exponential growth and a thriving network of over 20,000 companies.
Bob Moore is the co-founder and CEO of Crossbeam, a SaaS platform that helps companies find overlapping opportunities with their partners to drive revenue.
