The SaaS CFO

Produce8, a Vancouver, BC, Canada-based SaaS startup that provides distributed and digital-first teams real-time visibility into the work getting done across all their business apps, raised $6 million in funding. I interviewed Joel Abramson, CEO and co-founder at Produce8. Joel has a strong background in IT managed services and more recently as a partner at Top Down Ventures. Produce8 is a digital work analytics platform. It helps teams understand how they leverage their technology and time to improve performance and protect employee wellbeing. Produce8 plans to launch into the IT services market at the start of 2023 with expectations to expand across other industry verticals in quick succession. Founded Jan 2021 HQ in Vancouver Raised $6M Staff of 20 and ramping Solve big problems Joel Abramson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelabramson/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/produce8-raises-6-million-in-funding Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

Vestico, a London, UK-based fashion tech startup that uses AI to help online shoppers find the perfect sizes and shades while buying a product, secured £250,000 in funding. I interviewed Maddie Forman, co-founder and CCO at Vestico. She is a first-time founder with a strong sales background at Diageo. She met one of her co-founders, Maia Sasania, while getting her MBA. Vestico is an all-in-one content, sizing, and personalization platform for fashion and beauty eCommerce. Type in your body measurements to see how fashion fits your body type. They are doing the same thing for the beauty industry. The investment came from the early-stage-focused London-based venture capital firm Jenson Funding Partners. The funds will be used to develop its technology further and transform the next generation of e-commerce. The company has already partnered with the Spanish fashion label Desigual and plans to expand its service to include more international brands over the next year. Founded 2020 Team size of 4 £250K pre-seed round Find founder/investor fit Maddie Forman’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maddie-forman/ Vestico’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vestico-co/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/vestico-raises-250-000-in-funding Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben Murray on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

Zift Solutions, a Cary, NC-based provider of Partner Relationship Management (PRM) and Through-Channel Marketing Automation (TCMA) software, recently announced that it raised $70 million in funding. I interviewed Gordon Rapkin, CEO of Zift Solutions. Gordon is a serial CEO, and it shows in his knowledge, experience, and insight. He is a 5X CEO. The round was led by Investcorp Technology Partners (“ITP”) with participation from existing institutional investors Arrowroot, Oxx, SSM, and AshGrove Capital. Zift will use the $70M to invest in its go-to-market engine, marketing awareness, new geographies, and in innovation. It takes twice as long as you think to raise capital according to Gordon, but he saw improving SaaS metrics, win rates, and a repeatable sales process. Founded 2006 HQ in Cary, NC 120 staff Sub $20M ARR Recent $70M raise Partner Community Management Gordon Rapkin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonrapkin/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/zift-solutions-raises-70-million-in-funding Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

Revend, an Antwerp, Belgium-based company that provides a SaaS e-commerce tool to defend your e-commerce revenue, raised €1 million in seed funding. Revend protects risks posed against your revenue. The round was led by Pitchdrive, with participation from Seeder Fund and business angel Pieter Casneuf. I interviewed Peter Wellens, co-founder and CEO at Revend. Peter is a commercial engineer by trade. He’s founded several companies in the solar and social network spaces. Peter wanted to raise from a position of strength. He landed trial customers that potential investors could speak to. The funds will be used to hire additional engineering talent and prepare for a full release to the broader market. The company also received a grant from the federal government that supports the development of AI and innovative technology. Founded 2022 Staff of 6 Pre-revenue 20 trial customers HQ in Antwerp Be capital efficient Peter Wellen’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwellens/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/revend-raises-1-million-in-seed-round Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

KYP is a risk intelligence platform that delivers continuous, real-time partner monitoring and holistic intelligence. It recently announced an £800,000 pre-seed round.  KYP is based in London. The investment was from US-based 1414 Ventures, BH Ventures, and some leading UK angel investors. I interviewed Alan Nagle, founder and CEO at KYP.  Alan is originally from Dublin and has a long history in fraud prevention.  KYP, or Know Your Partner, monitors supplier risk continuously rather than on a periodic basis. Alan states that investors have opened a bunch of doors for new prospects.  Get the leads and then attack with a repeatable founder-led sales model. Founded 2021 £800K pre-seed round 7 staff London Alan Nagle’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-nagle-9524941/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/kyp-raises-800-000-in-pre-seed-round Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout  Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

Spiny creates software and solutions specifically designed for digital publishing businesses. They streamline business data, provide insights, and optimize revenue. I interviewed Nana Nyantekyi, Founder at Spiny.ai. Nana discusses his experience in the digital media startup industry and CBS Interactive, and how those experiences led him to create Spiny.ai. Spiny.ai facilitates easier data manipulation for publishers and allows them to use data to power their digital media businesses more effectively. Founded 2020 $2.5M Seed Round 13 Staff HQ in Nashville, TN, USA Nana Nyantekyi’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nana-b-nyantekyi-3740aa103/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/spiny-ai-raises-2-5-million-in-funding Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

Jua's weather prediction model will provide a global one-kilometer square's worth of coverage every five minutes and can predict more than fifteen different weather-based parameters, including precipitation, air pressure, wind speed, and wind direction. I interviewed Andreas Brenner, Co-founder and CEO of Jua. He’s had a previous exit in fleet management software to Battery Ventures. Now, he’s tackling weather. Jua plans to provide startups, companies, government institutions, and researchers with the ability to create purpose-built weather models in a matter of hours. Jua is pre-revenue and experimenting with its ideal customer profile. Founded April 2022 $2.5M pre-seed round Staff of 17 Pre-revenue Luck favors the prepared Andreas Brenner’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasbrenner/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/jua-raises-2-5-million-in-pre-seed-round Join my SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

Saile, a Kansas City, MO-based startup that developed patent-pending AI technology that creates personality-driven sales robots known as “sailebots”, raised $1.35 million in seed funding. I interviewed Nick Smith, CEO and Founder at Saile. He’s leveraging his sales background to help sales reps triple their productivity. His current ideal customer profile is Fortune 1000 companies. Saile’s technology learns deeply about individual sales reps to boost their productivity. The round was led by Atlanta-based Valor Ventures, with participation by the KCRise Fund, a Kansas City-based venture capital firm. Founded 2018 $1.35M Raised KC and NYC 18 staff and growing Triple sales rep productivity Nick Smith's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nixmith/ Saile's LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/saile/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/saile-raises-1-35-million-in-seed-round  Join my SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

Laika (now Thoropass) provides a SaaS platform for companies to establish compliance practices to meet requirements from regulators and enterprise customers. The platform combines automated infosec workflows, audits, monitoring, and vendor diligence while subject matter experts support customers at every step of the compliance process. I interviewed Austin Ogilvie, the Co-CEO and Founder of Laika. He also founded YHAT, a machine learning infrastructure product, and worked at OnDeck Capital. Austin is self-taught in technical skills, primarily using Python, and his latest company is aimed at B2B software companies of all sizes. Austin shares his insights on the importance of understanding compliance requirements and implementing the right controls in a robust manner. Founded 2019 Staff of 190 $50M Series C $100M raised to date Should pass $10M ARR Raise when you don’t need it [00:00:22] Information security and compliance. [00:03:31] Vendor risk in enterprise customers. [00:07:23] Compliance in B2B SaaS. [00:13:51] Company's funding history. [00:14:48] SaaS fundraising lessons. [00:18:11] New information security standards. Austin Ogilvie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinogilvie/ SaaS Fundraising Story: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/laika-raises-50-million-in-series-c Join my SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray

I have a special edition of the show today.  I recently attended a great software event co-hosted by GLC Advisors and a private equity firm. They provided the latest insights into what’s happening on the front lines of software M&A. I want to share these insights with my SaaS community, so I invited Jim Williams with GLC Advisors onto the show for a Spring M&A Update. We cover the following and more. Deal volume in 2021 and 2022 Valuation trends in 2021, 2022, and today Bid/Ask spread differences Credit market impact on levered buyout deals Is it a buyer's or seller's market Valuations are under pressure What does it take for 10x ARR valuation? Why SaaS metrics are being scrutinized Platform vs add-on buys What to expect in 2023 and beyond Jim Williams LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-williams-5754953/ Join my SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray