SaaS Startups

Toast is a SaaS platform that has achieved explosive growth to over $1.1B ARR. In a CRO Confidential episode, Toast's CRO Jonathan Vassil shares the customer acquisition and go-to-market strategies that drove this growth.

Splunk is a 20-year-old enterprise SaaS giant specializing in machine-generated data collection and analysis, with $3.7B ARR as of last year and 92 Fortune 100 customers. The company achieved a 2012 IPO and was acquired by Cisco for $28B+ in 2023, with a market cap of $25.7B. This podcast episode features CRO Christian Smith discussing enterprise sales strategies, pipeline management, and customer success—insights from over seven years leading Splunk's sales organization.

Vimeo is a profitable public SaaS company with $400M in annual revenue, led by CEO Adam Gross. The company uses a combination of self-serve and sales-led motions to serve multiple customer segments, managing different ICPs while balancing monetization strategies for sustainable growth.

Periscope Data, co-founded by Harry Glaser, raised a seed round before finding product-market fit, which took 3-4 years to achieve. The company experienced rapid growth after finding PMF, raising Series A and B funding, before eventually being acquired for $130M after growth flatlined.

Box, founded by Aaron Levie, is an enterprise cloud storage and collaboration platform that has grown to over $1 billion in ARR. The company had reached 400+ employees by 2013 when this podcast was recorded, marking its transition from startup to established enterprise player before going public.

Klaviyo is a marketing and customer data platform for B2C businesses that has grown to nearly $1B in revenue with millions of customers. The company's pivotal partnership with Shopify was instrumental to its success and expansion from SMBs to enterprise markets. Klaviyo went public and became an indispensable tool for e-commerce businesses.

Slice is a vertical SaaS platform that serves independent pizzerias with integrated software and services. Led by CRO Loren Padelford (previously SVP and GM of Shopify Plus), the company focuses on helping SMB pizzeria owners succeed through dedicated vertical solutions.

BILL is a SaaS platform that has reached approximately half a million customers with $1.3B in annual revenue, built over a 20+ year journey. The company serves SMB customers and focuses on selling to multiple stakeholders while building product stickiness and competitive moats.

Samsara is a vertical SaaS company founded by serial entrepreneur Sanjit Biswas (previously of Meraki) that has grown to $1.26 billion in ARR with 36% year-over-year growth. The platform transforms operations management for fleets, trucks, and related industries by leveraging AI technologies. The company has achieved significant scale by focusing on customer feedback-driven product development and real-world AI applications.

Logikcull is a SaaS company founded by Andy Wilson that explored both venture and private equity tracks for growth and exit. The company was featured in a SaaStr podcast episode where Wilson discussed lessons learned from PE negotiations and strategic exit considerations for SaaS founders.

Ironclad is an AI-first B2B SaaS company founded in 2014 by Jason Boehmig that has grown to Series E+ funding stage. The company's CEO shares insights on what's working and not working in AI within SaaS based on Ironclad's journey and observations from the broader market.

Checkr is a background screening SaaS company that has grown to a $5 billion valuation by implementing a usage-based pricing model. The company has leveraged data-driven operational improvements and incentive alignment to drive growth, as discussed by COO Lindsey Scrase in a SaaStr podcast interview.

Zensai is a SaaS company featuring Kathy Lord as CRO, who previously worked at Intacct. The company was featured in a SaaStr podcast episode discussing best practices for hiring CROs and aligning expectations between CEOs and sales executives during the critical first 90 days.

Databricks scaled from $1M ARR to $3B ARR by January 2025, becoming one of the largest pre-IPO technology companies with a $62 billion valuation. CRO Ron Gabrisko shares insights on the importance of technical backgrounds in sales, strategic hiring, and evolving pricing and customer acquisition strategies.

Procore is a vertical SaaS platform for construction management built by founder and CEO Tooey Courtemanche over 23 years into a billion-dollar company. The company has achieved ubiquity in the U.S. construction market through relentless customer focus, strategic pivots during economic downturns, and expansion into multi-product offerings. Procore serves millions and is exploring international expansion while integrating AI capabilities into the construction industry.

Gainsight is a customer success platform led by CEO Nick Mehta that helps businesses deliver value to customers and drive scalable growth. With 12 years of experience meeting over 5,000 companies and hundreds of investors, Nick has become a leading authority on customer success strategies and the metrics that drive investment decisions.