The Software Equity Group (SEG) regularly publishes quantitative research on the software and SaaS market M&A activity. The SEG SaaS Index contains dozens of publicly traded SaaS companies. They recently published their SEG 2023 Annual SaaS Report. It provides a ton of data on SaaS valuations and financial operating metrics. The impact of the market downturn can be clearly seen across all categories of SaaS.
Baron Rothschild, an 18th-century British nobleman and member of the Rothschild banking family, is credited with saying that “the time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” In late 2022 it is clear that the SaaS market is in trouble. The Nasdaq is off over 34%. Median Enterprise Value/Revenue valuations are off 58% in comparison to their peak in 2021. Many companies might consider now to be a good time to jump into the M&A game. Experience has shown, however, that a well-reasoned M&A strategy is required for success
In the past few months, I have had an unusual number of inquiries from private equity firms about the state of the electronic data interchange (EDI) market. As a corporate development executive, I evaluated over 200 EDI companies as acquisition candidates and led the operational side of a large EDI acquisition. Since then I have conducted over 50 briefings about the state of the EDI market and its key players for various private equity firms and VCs in the past 10 years. The decline of SaaS valuations from the lofty heights of 2021 has sparked an interest in value-driven investors. This got me thinking. Is there an opportunity to disrupt the EDI industry in 2023 through some creative strategic acquisitions?
Separating the noise from signals in regard to competitors is a challenge product managers face every day. A market map of competitor revenues, headcount, VC funding, and enterprise value can help bring a fact-based perspective to those discussions. A market map can be built quickly using a multitude of free resources.
Accounting is not a core skill for most product managers. Yet, basic financial literacy is critical when presenting the impact a product can have on customer revenues, expenses, profits, and cash flows. It is also important when building business cases for new product investments. Deciphering competitor finances, even privately-held competitors, can lead to more effective decisions about product evolution. Product managers should develop basic financial literacy skills.
The Software Equity Group (SEG) regularly publishes quantitative research on the software and SaaS market M&A activity. In August, median valuations declined to lowest in 2021
SaaS valuations are at an almost all-time high. The Software Equity Group reported that the median EV/Revenue multiple for public SaaS companies in Q2 2021 was 14.3x. The top 25 SaaS companies in the SEG SaaS Index had EV/Revenue valuations that ranged from 25.3x (Sprout Social) to 90.4x (Snowflake). While Gong’s most recent valuation of $7 billion on $120 million ARR is high – 60.4x – it is not unreasonable. Gong has shown consistent high revenue growth coupled with a strong ROI for its customers.
Pitchbook is basically the gold standard when it comes to data about VC, and Private Equity financing, and M&A activity. Recently Pitchbook published some great free research on US VC valuation trends. I have excerpted a few of the charts from the 27-page report. Net netthings look very good.
American product managers should live overseas for a while. In a global software economy, it is a requirement. You will develop empathy for your international colleagues. You will learn the needs of all your customers that you cannot do from just a Zoom call.
Understanding Enterprise Value can help product managers in many ways. It can help you understand how your product contributes (or doesn’t contribute) to your company’s overall success. It can help you justify more investment in your product when you can explain how the investment will grow Enterprise Value