Scale Insights
Infrastructure
AI SOC Analysts: LLMs find a home in the security org
FEATURED TOPICS
Portfolio
Updates from our investing team
Go-to-market
Tools, templates, and been-to-market learnings
Trends
Analysis, forecasting, and thoughts on all things venture
Splitting spend: How to allocate your 2025 budget across OpEx categories
Over the past couple of weeks, a number of founders and startup teams have reached out to us to help them think through...
2025 Whisper numbers: The era of efficiency is here
Whisper numbers for 2025 signal a new chapter for startups: growth is reaccelerating, but this time with a sharp focus...
Creating the GTM Machine: How Scale Venture Partners is redefining startup advisory
When I first joined Scale in 2022 to build out our GTM Advisory team, I promised the partnership at Scale that our...
The Scale Marketing Framework
Let’s be honest: the remit of the “marketing” function, at least as it exists in B2B tech companies, is...
Building the next generation of hardware: Why AI-powered engineering tools matter
From hand-drawn sketches and scrapped prototypes to powerful AI-driven simulations at lightning speed, hardware product...
How we scaled this: Growing revenue by aligning sales & marketing
While a solid sales leader and sales team are key to revenue generation, sustainable SaaS growth requires alignment of...
Q324 Flash update: Growth reacceleration holds steady
This quarter’s flash report shows more of the same from last quarter, and the forecast indicates a steady finish for...
AI GTM flash survey: How GTM teams are actually using AI
Over the past few years, excitement surrounding the use of AI in go-to-market (GTM) has reached a fever pitch, with...
Announcing our investment in Fixify
Today, we’re excited to announce our participation in Fixify’s Series A. Fixify enables businesses to offer...
Announcing our investment in Galileo
We are excited to announce our Series B investment in Galileo, an end-to-end GenAI Stack. The AI bottleneck Companies...
How we scaled this: Selecting, prioritizing, and engaging target accounts
While a tightly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a core requirement for account-based success when moving into...
AI SOC Analysts: LLMs find a home in the security org
Operating a Security Operations Center (SOC) is one of the toughest jobs in the enterprise, and over the last two...
The rise of advanced build systems
It’s 2024 and decades-old memes about building software still hold up. Despite advances in the DevOps stack –...
Goldmine or graveyard: Do platform shifts actually produce infrastructure outcomes?
Platform shifts create explosive venture outcomes. Within two years of the first iPhone, the new mobile platform led to...
Robotic Foundation Models are changing the way we build, buy, and fund robotics
For decades, robotics has captured the imagination of innovators and technologists alike. From Hal 9000 in 2001: A...
Announcing our investment in Cortex
Scale is thrilled to announce our lead investment in the Series C of Cortex. Cortex is an Internal Developer Portal...
Announcing our investment in Bland
Scale is thrilled to announce our Series A investment in Bland. The company is a leader in productizing the latest...
Q224 flash report: Growth is trending up
Our flash reports use real data from a representative sample of enterprise software startups and public companies to...
Announcing our investment in Monto
We are excited to announce we led a $9M seed investment in Monto, an AI application that helps solve the B2B payments...
Announcing our investment in Klarity
We’re excited about our Series B investment in Klarity, the leading document automation platform for finance and...
Announcing our investment in QA Wolf
We are excited to announce that Scale is leading the $36M Series B of QA Wolf. When it comes to testing software,...
Six ways to get closer to customers
Given today’s tough economic environment, it’s unsurprising that boards are telling companies to get back to...
The path from zero to IPO: Revisiting the Mendoza line in 2024
“IPO.” The elusive dream of many a startup founder. Today, it’s an even more elusive dream than ever, as more and...
Four product marketing fundamentals to implement this week
In a world where the pace of technology change is measured in days and competition is rampant, fundamentals matter now...
New ideas in AI: DPO has given us alignment without the overhead
Over the past 2 years, AI has seen ideas move from research to industry implementation at a record breaking...
How to sell $1M+ B2B deals as an early startup
Selling your first $1M+ deal is a watershed moment. It validates the value of your product and, more importantly, that...
The state of RevOps: Three learnings from our GTM Summit
The explosion of data, processes and technology across enterprises, the increasing challenge of silos across customer...
Announcing our investment in Sixfold
We’re excited to announce our participation in Sixfold’s Series A. Sixfold automates and augments pieces of the...
BILL CEO and Founder René Lacerte on the unique challenges of PMF, GTM, and scaling in Fintech
Scale invested in BILL in 2013 just as the company was crossing $10M of ARR. A decade later, BILL is a leading public...
Announcing our investment in Lumos
Three decades into SaaS, we still don’t have a way of easily managing who gets access to what. It’s even...
Cybersecurity perspectives 2024
Now in its eleventh year, our survey and report examine the evolving threats and solutions, funding and buying...
Q124 flash update: Efficiency reaches new heights
Scale’s quarterly Scale Studio Flash updates use our proprietary data platform, Scale Studio, to analyze a...
A world after Wiz: Emerging opportunities in cloud security
It’s taken over a decade for us to get here, but the time has finally come for cloud security to take pole position...
Building trustworthy AI systems: AI Reliability and Security are everyone’s problem
Two years ago it was unclear if AI security and reliability was anyone’s problem. Now, it’s starting to look like...
How we scaled this: Prospecting with sales development
At rapidly scaling startups, GTM organizations do not always provide their SDRs with the resources and support they...
Insurtech GTM Scorecard: Selling to Brokers
Using technology to improve the insurance experience for brokers, agents, and their clients is complex and challenging....
Selling through stories
The difference between being good at sales and being great at sales is storytelling. People buy with emotion and...
Four critical mistakes fintech startups make, and how to avoid them
Sanjeev Kriplani is a Scale executive-in-residence and fintech product and marketing leader. Previously, he led teams...
How we scaled this: Aligning your GTM plan
Companies are cutting operational expenses. From our Scale Studio analysis, the median tech startup in 2024 expects to...
Announcing our investment in Tavus
Scale is thrilled to announce our Series A investment in Tavus. The company is a leader in productizing the latest...
How we scaled this: Prospecting to generate pipeline
Welcome to How We Scaled This, a series where you can learn from experts how they led crucial aspects of their GTM...
Where is the growth coming from? A data-driven look into 2024
The theme of 2024 is cautious optimism. With improved ARR growth rates across the board and two consecutive quarters of...
The shifting landscape of application security
The last few years have seen the Application Security (AppSec) industry undergo some dramatic changes, with new types...
Postgres: One database to rule them all?
There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of databases available. Why? The real-world problem whose data is captured by the...
Out of the hype cycle: Fintech’s reversion to the mean
At first glance, things in fintech don’t look great. Since the highs of 2021, we’ve seen few successful public...
Announcing our investment in Permit.io
We are excited to announce that Scale has led the $8M Series A round at Permit.io, creator of the full-stack...
The end of the tech recession?: 2023 ends with first quarter of accelerating growth in two years
Scale’s quarterly Scale Studio Flash Updates use our proprietary data platform, Scale Studio, to analyze a...
Beyond autocomplete: AI-enabled tools are changing what it means to be a developer
Software engineers have effectively been on a path of self-erasure from day one. Once upon a time, they noblely set...
Humility and Optimism: Reflections From Slush 2023
This year certainly seems to be the one that the rest of the world figured out Slush’s *not-so* hidden secrets....
The most important announcement from re:Invent: S3 Express
Read any AWS reInvent recap from a major outlet and you’ll hear all about the AI news: new chips, new models, and...
Selling Insurtech to Brokers: A Conversation with Tim Wright
As we’ve written before, we’re particularly interested in software that supports the work of insurance brokers....
Why we win: The new wave of investment in defense
Right place, right time Since a16z partners Katherine Boyle’s category-defining blog post Building American Dynamism...
2024 Whisper Numbers: The Year of Efficient Growth
As we kick off the 2024 annual planning season, we’re sharing an early view of what we’re seeing in early-stage...
Insurtech’s Next Frontier: LLMs and Future Automation
Scale has been attending both ITC and Money20/20 for the past decade. For both conferences, this year’s was the first...
“Year of efficiency” in review: How companies reduced burn rates in 2023
At the beginning of 2023, we saw CEOs and founders across the board herald the beginning of the year of efficiency....
Forecasting Fintech: Trends in Automation from Money20/20
Automation is always a key theme at Money20/20, and this year was no different. The impact of AI as it relates to money...
The bleeding has stopped: Growth ticked up for the first time in 6 quarters
Scale’s quarterly Scale Studio Flash Updates use our proprietary data platform, Scale Studio, to analyze a...
LLMs and Sneaky Big Markets
Large language models are poised to have an immediate effect on how businesses use software. While the exact scale and...
New Ideas in AI: Getting LLMs to Reason Through Chain-of-Thought Prompting
The latest session of our New Ideas in AI Series brought together yet another exciting group of leading engineers,...
AI + RCM: Worth the Hype?
Spoiler: yes, it is worth the hype. We’re convinced that recent regulatory advancements (data interoperability,...
The path to innovation in security
In our recently published Security Perspectives Survey, we found that only 48% of enterprise security leaders said that...
The joy of not managing your own AI infrastructure in today’s world
Anyone paying attention to the current state of AI is aware of the exploding need for compute resources. Many of...
Back to the future: Insurtech market is all about brokers and carriers
In 2017, we published our first piece on Insurtech, and opportunities for newcomers to differentiate themselves. We...
Growth ticks down again in Q223: Scale Studio Flash Update
Scale’s quarterly Scale Studio Flash Updates use our proprietary data platform, Scale Studio, to analyze a...
Cybersecurity Perspectives 2023
We’re pleased to share Scale’s annual Cybersecurity Perspectives Survey findings. Every year, we survey hundreds...
New Ideas In AI: Agents, their role, and viability in today’s world
Quick recap and video of the talk from our latest New Ideas in AI dinner series with guest speaker Joon Sung Park, who spoke about Generative Agents.
1,000 Engineering jobs in AI: Introducing Scale’s AI job board
Since 2015, 70%+ of our investing has focused on AI applications and infrastructure. We’re proud to have led early...
The Second Wave of DevOps: Our Investment in System Initiative
Announcing our investment in System Initiative's Series A.
Blasting Into Transportation Software With Rose Rocket
Announcing our investment in Rose Rocket's TMS, a system of record that trucking and logistics companies use to manage their business, from quote to cash.
Open-sourcing the Scale chatbot
Applications that enable a natural language interface between people and data will be at the forefront of LLM...
The Liquidation Survival Guide and Model: Vol 3
With participation, they don’t have to make that choice and can get their preference while also participating in any...
The Liquidation Survival Guide and Model: Vol 2
In the first installment of our Liquidation Guide, we showed how to calculate liquidation under the cleanest scenario,...
Slowdown Mirrors Public Markets: Flash Update Follow-Up
We can clearly see above that public tech companies are seeing similar drop-offs in NDR to private SaaS startups. The...
Growth slows beyond expectations in Q1: Scale Studio Flash Update
Q123 data indicates that the growth slowdown is continuing - and most companies failed to meet even the conservative...
The Liquidation Survival Guide and Model: Vol 1
This is a guide for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and others who have questions around terms, definitions, high-level scenarios, and structure.
Cognitive Collective: RLHF Is Not a Magic Wand for Alignment
it is nearly impossible to define alignment, let alone achieve it. Human beings, in all their variance, capacity, and...
These misconceptions about vertical software need to fade away
Segment-specific startups frequently outperform their horizontal counterparts and do so with greater efficiency, lower...
What’s Up With Open Source LLMs?
We built a bot to help you get VCs off your back. Hopefully, this doesn’t put the author out of a job.
Peeking under the hood with ChatGPT plugins
The way these plugins are designed is as open as I can possibly imagine, which means we can peek under the hood at how...
Some reflections on PROMAT 2023: Automation reaching new corners of the warehouse
Autonomy is making its way into more corners of the warehouse - from forklift operations, to depalletizing, to picking,...
Stream processing becomes mainstream
We believe that we are at an inflection point where stream processing will become the standard that powers user-facing...
Announcing our investment in Vantage
Vantage is a self-service cost visibility platform that helps businesses manage and optimize their cloud infrastructure...
Announcing Our Investment In Plus One Robotics
We are thrilled to announce that we are leading an investment in Plus One Robotics as part of the Company’s $50M...
Growth Slows while Companies Sprint to Efficiency: Scale Studio Flash Update
No one can tell exactly what 2023 will bring, but one thing is for certain: there is a sprint to efficiency with...
Fixing Your Cost Structure While Preserving Your Upside
Earlier this week I had the chance to sit down with Box CFO Dylan Smith and discuss how Box was able to dramatically...
This Is What Winning In SaaS Looks Like In 2023
This Is What Winning In SaaS Looks Like In 2023. A case study of Box Inc.'s sharp focus on profitability beginning in...
Some Thoughts on Annual Planning 2023
Some high-level thoughts about how CFOs of technology companies should be thinking about their annual planning ahead of 2023.
2023 Whisper Numbers: Growth Expected to Continue at Around 2022 Levels
Here's the data we're sharing with our portfolio companies as they develop 2023 annual plans.
Spot AI: Building the System of Engagement for Enterprise Video Intelligence
Enter Spot AI which is making computer vision practical for underserved users in everyday businesses and industries...
Scale Studio Flash Update: Economic Gravity Pulls on Software Startups
With the bulk of 2022 behind us, attention now turns to planning for 2023. The topic of conversation in every boardroom...
Loops: Turning Data into Actionable Opportunities
Today, Scale is leading the $14M Seed round in Loops. By using Loops’ platform, product teams can cut through the...
Generative AI Index Use Case Glossary
A quick glossary of our Generative AI Index use case definitions
Introducing: the Scale Generative AI Index
We are closely following the momentum of these overlapping but distinct trends. And to track our own work and share...
Observations from the Field: The Future of Generative AI
We believe that in this moment of generative AI hype, nothing is more valuable than hearing directly from entrepreneurs...
Doubling Down on Cognitive Apps: Announcing Scale Fund VIII
Today we’re excited to unveil our new fund, Scale Venture Partners Fund VIII. This $900M fund gives us the...
Building a Team at Scale
Since our inception, Scale Venture Partners has been on a mission to invest in the best entrepreneurs and support them...
Foundation Models Are The New Public Cloud
Over the last few years, building an AI startup used to require “do-it-yourself AI,” which consisted of gathering...
What Comes After Adyen and Stripe? The Future of Payments Orchestration and Optimization
Turns out, phones are quite good payment platforms. This poses a challenge for traditional consumer payments. Debit...
Scale Studio Flash Update: Median Growth Steady, But Pullback in Growth of High Flyers a Warning Sign
Scale Studio Flash Updates analyze a representative sample of enterprise software startups to measure industry growth...
Benchmarking SaaS Growth and Burn
This post walks through the data and methodology behind our growth and burn multiple benchmarks, summarizing some of...
Growth and Burn Benchmarking Tool
A founder's tool to compare growth and burn across two years relative to similar-sized SaaS comps
Natural Language Generation
Writing this content is a desk worker’s low-skill labor, demanding little skill but lots of time. (The quality of...
Scale Studio Flash Update: Steadiness Amidst Market Turbulence
Scale Studio Flash Updates analyze a representative sample of enterprise software startups to measure industry growth...
The Opportunity in Usage Based Billing Infrastructure
Though usage-based models are not new—having first been championed by AWS (2005) and Twilio (2008) — there’s been...
Short Circuiting Construction: Scale Leads Dusty Robotics’ $45M Series B
We are excited to announce that we have led the Series B in Dusty Robotics, which is building autonomous robots (or...
Hypergrowth Go-to-Market: Toss Out the Playbooks and Start Experimenting Sooner
Product-Led Growth is rightly the go-to sales motion for startups tackling large addressable markets where your product...
Four Vital Signs of SaaS: The Definitive Metrics & Benchmark eBook
This eBook distills 20 years of SaaS metrics in to one, definitive guide complete with benchmarks of growth,...
The Secret to Selling Software Is Not Selling Software
Scale partner Eric Anderson observes that for software startups, distribution is often more important than unique technology.
Datagen Is the Future of Computer Vision Training Data
Andy Vitus on our investment in synthetic data leader Datagen.
Business Models for Platform Ecosystems
Former head of platform at Box and Workday on the business model and monetization decisions for success with your platform strategy.
Rule of 40 Does Not Compute for Early-Stage Startups
Startups should ignore the Rule of 40 in the early going. It comes down to two factors that together are pretty convincing.
Scale Studio Flash Update: 4Q Saw Continued Strong Performance
Preliminary Scale Studio data on 4Q shows strength across enterprise SaaS as companies accelerate into 2022.
Make Room for Partners in Your Go-To-Market Strategy
Scaling with MSPs/partners is an option for any early-stage startup. Scale Executive Advisor Georges Arnaout shares how to make this GTM strategy work for you.
Scale’s Newest Partner Jeremy Kaufmann Caps Year Of Team Growth
Today's news caps a year of growth for Scale across the investing and Portfolio Operations teams.
Growth Time: $70M in ARR Left on the Table?
Dale Chang unpacks "perfect execution" in this look at growth trajectories for startups that hit $1M in ARR.
Verusen: Revolutionary AI for the Supply Chain
Announcing the $25M Series B for intelligent supply chain software maker Verusen. Scale has invested in supply chain technology since 2016.
The Great Exit Database: What Might a Supersized 2021 Mean For 2022?
2021 was a big year for venture-back technology IPOs and M&A. Here's a look at what it all means for today's early-stage founders.
Web3 Weekend
With the spotlight on web3 and questions of decentralization vs. centralization, Scale's Eric Anderson discusses the...
Scale Studio: 2021 Themes and 2022 Preview
Recapping the key 2021 trends that set the backdrop for 2022 startup performance and annual plan attainment.
Look Five Years into Your Future with this ARR Projection Tool
A founder's tool to generate 5-year growth projections based on an early-stage SaaS startup's current ARR
From $0 to $1M: Renewal Rate vs Retention Rate
Renewal and Retention rates both use customer cohorts, but those cohorts are different and tell you different things about customer behavior.
Robin Healthcare: Cracking the Code on AI in the Exam Room
Today we’re pleased to announce that Scale is leading a $50M Series B round in healthcare technology company Robin.
2022 Annual Planning: Advice for CFOs
Rory O'Driscoll looks at the big issues of 2022, how to plan for them, and how to create a plan designed for easy buy-in from your Board.
2022 Whisper Numbers: Growth Rolls On (With an Asterisk)
Here's the data we're sharing with our portfolio companies as they develop 2022 annual plans.
The Next Frontier of Customer Success Software
Customer Success software is moving towards new technologies, new user interactions, and new machine...
VergeSense: Computer Vision for the Post-COVID Office
Scale has led the $60M Series C round in VergeSense, the leading AI- and sensor-powered workplace analytics platform.
Scale Studio Flash Update: Enterprise Saas Growth Continues
And the bar gets even higher: Early Q3 data indicates that year-on-year ARR Growth in Q321 continues to accelerate. New data from Scale Studio.
From $0 to $1M: The New Gold Standard for Growth
Remember the Triple Triple Double Double Double? Better start thinking “quintuple”. New growth data on top $1M ARR startups.
Annual Planning for Early-Stage Startups (Tools and Templates)
Scale Studio has an Annual Planning Tool that generates a first draft annual plan for next year using just 4 data...
From $0 to $1M: Stepping on the (Scaling) Pedal Too Soon
When is the right time to go all-in on scaling your startup? Scale analyzed 2,000 quarters of SaaS startup data to answer that important question.
From $0 to $1M: The Magic of 0.7
The relationship between money spent on Sales and Marketing and revenue generated from it is captured by the Magic...
From $0 to $1M: The Magic Number
How much growth is generated by the dollars you’re investing in Sales and Marketing? Getting started tracking sales efficiency using the Magic Number.
From $0 to $1M: What’s the Difference Between Churn and Renewal?
Churn and Renewal are the yin and yang of customer retention metrics. Here's a quick look at how to use both metrics.
From $0 to $1M: A Common Mistake with Churn Metrics
Here's a look at one common mistake getting the Churn calculation to accurately reflect a company's business model.
From $0 to $1M: Tracking the Growth of Every $1 in Sales
How effective is your company at upsell and expansion? Annualized Net Retention is a key SaaS metric for tracking how every $1 in sales grows over time.
Eric Anderson Promoted to Partner, Team Growth Continues
We’re pleased to announce that Eric Anderson has been promoted to Partner and Noah Gross promoted to Senior...
From Seed to Series A: Growing from 11 to 20 Engineers
Guest post from the CTO of CircleCI covering do's and don'ts of building a dev team.
From Seed to Series A: Growing from 1 to 10 Engineers
Guest post from the CTO of CircleCI covering do's and don'ts of building a dev team.
Scale Studio Flash Update: Re-Acceleration Continues
Q2 marked another quarter of strong performance where the majority of our portfolio companies met or exceeded plans and continued to accelerate growth.
From $0 to $1M: Does the Rule of 40 Matter Early On?
Is the Rule of 40 useful for early-stage startups? We look at the answer using data on Rule of 40 performance at different revenue levels.
The Third Wave of Restaurant Technology
The restaurant industry is becoming more digitized and automated. A look at the emerging “third wave” restaurant tech stack.
Scale News: The Business Of Relationships After COVID
The Scale team returns to the office this week ready to build relationships with entrepreneurs however and wherever works best.
From $0 to $1M: Early Stage Burn Rates
Data on early-stage profitability among SaaS startups. And an easy way to calculate cash burn rate runway using Operating Margin.
From $0 to $1M: What’s the Best Growth Metric?
You just made your first big sale. Now what’s the best metric to use to track growth and win over VCs? Here’s a look at the options.
From $0 to $1M: The Crystal Ball for Growth
Net New ARR is the growth metric that gives you the best view into your future growth. Here is data on "good, better, best" startup growth rates.
Scale Studio Flash Update: On Track to Meet 2021 Targets
Enterprise SaaS is on track for a strong 2021, though a drop in sales efficiency shows many companies are aggressively...
From $0 to $1M: Extending Your Hyper-Growth Period
Growth rates decline as your startup scales. Here are some thoughts on extending your hyper-growth period for as long as possible.
From $0 to $1M: Compounding Growth
A look at how top-tier early growth rates determine a startup's future.
Here’s What CISOs are Building (Because No One’s Making Software for Them to Buy)
A founder-focused look at security market opportunities using data from Scale’s Cybersecurity Perspectives 2021 report.
From Seed to Series A: Hiring Options in the Era of Global Teams
Overview of the hiring options available to fast-growing early-stage companies. Guest post from Eynat Guez, CEO of Papaya Global.
DevOps for Connected Devices: Scale Leads Esper’s Series B
Scale is leading Esper's Series B funding round. Andy Vitus on why we invested in the leader in DevOps for edge devices.
Cybersecurity Perspectives 2021
Scale's sixth annual survey of enterprise CISOs provides new data on how security execs responded to SolarWinds and COVID, and their expectations for 2021.
Scale 2Q21 Newsletter: Re-Acceleration Is Real
#ICYMI Scale's 2Q21 newsletter: These two numbers predict future growth. Plus early-stage SaaS metrics, Comet (Series A), Flatfile (Series A), and more.
Future Growth in One Number: Scale Acceleration Factor
The Scale Acceleration Factor measures a startup’s future growth potential in one simple metric. Details from Operating Partner Dale Chang.
SaaS Application Security: Our Investment in AppOmni’s Series B
Scale partner Ariel Tseitlin on today’s investment in the Series B for AppOmni, the SaaS application security leader.
The Re-Acceleration Is Real
Preliminary Q1 portfolio data shows strong and widespread re-acceleration of NNARR growth rates. Commentary on Q1 and 2021 by Rory O’Driscoll.
Announcing Archipelago Analytics: Bringing Together the Commercial Property Insurance Market
Scale partner Alex Niehenke on why we are leading today's Series B for Archipelago, the AI-driven commercial real estate analytics company.
Enterprise Automation’s Second Wave: End-to-End Automation
Scale’s Chris Yin on the past, present, and future of enterprise automation technologies including a market map of...
The Future of Data Lake Analytics: Our Investment in Upsolver
Scale's Ariel Tseitlin on why we invested in the Series B for Upsolver, the no-code future of data lake analytics.
Comet’s Series A: Investing in the MLOps Tool Stack
Scale's Andy Vitus on why we invested in the Series A for Comet, the MLOps platform that lets data scientists manage, debug, monitor, and share ML models.
From Lab to Value: Observations on Robotics Startups
There is no single path from the robotics lab to adding value in real-world environments. Scale's Sam Baker looks at...
Scale Studio Flash Update: Optimism for 2021
Enterprise software startups are optimistic for growth re-acceleration in 2021. New data from Scale Studio and thoughts on the outlook for SaaS in 2021.
Viz.ai: The System of Action for Diagnostic Decision Making
We are excited to announce our investment in Viz.ai, a company that is using intelligent software to reduce the time to...
Flatfile’s Series A: Streamlining Data Movement from App to App
Today we’re announcing Scale’s investment in Flatfile’s Series A funding round. Here are some thoughts on the universal need for better data onboarding.
Optimism for Continued Strength: Scale Studio Q4 Data and 2021 Outlook
The latest data from Scale Studio covering Q4 and full-year 2020 with a look at the outlook for enterprise SaaS startups in 2021.
SaaS Metrics: Focus on the Growth of Your Growth
The growth rate of your growth rate a great predictor for your company's future performance. A look at NNARR benchmarks from Scale Studio.
Scale 1Q21 Newsletter: New Data Shows 2020 Ended Strong for SaaS Startups
#ICYMI Scale's 1Q21 newsletter: New Q4 data from Scale Studio on annual plan attainment and growth rates. Plus content highlights and portfolio milestones.
The Great Exit Database: Venture Deals and Dollars in 2020
Will 2021 see significant changes in venture-backed exit activity? Let's look at 2020 and 2011-2020 exits in Scale's GED dataset.
SaaS Metrics: The Magic Number Chain Reaction
Why a hot public SaaS market can lead to sloppy growth in the private segment.
SaaS Metrics: There’s More to Growth than Growth Rate
There is way more to growth -- and managing for growth -- than growth rate. Here are three approaches to keep in mind.
Creator-User-Buyer Is a Mouthful. It’s Also a Major Trend in Enterprise Software.
If you want to see the future of software, watch what product teams are buying or building.
2021 Whisper Numbers: Startups Plan for Significant Enterprise Software Re-Acceleration
A look ahead at 2021 based on initial FY21 plan data from a significant cross-section of Scale's portfolio.
Scale Studio: Lessons from Two Years of Benchmarks
Update on the latest developments with the benchmarking platform Scale Studio.
Cognitive Applications with Intelligence Inside
We believe that the next decade will result in the emergence of a new class of application software which we term...
Investing in the Cognitive Future: Scale Closes New $600M Fund
Today we are announcing the creation of our seventh fund, Scale Venture Partners Fund VII. The $600M fund is the next...
Investing in Proscia: The System of Record for Pathology
Scale partner Alex Niehenke discusses Proscia's vision to become the system of record for digital pathology.
Enterprise SaaS Returns to Growth Mode: Scale Studio Q3 Data
How much growth is possible next year? Scale Studio data on Q3 performance has us cautiously optimistic for enterprise SaaS in 2021.
The Big Budget Question for 2021: How Much Re-acceleration Is Realistic?
With 2021 annual planning underway, we look at how to determine whether it is again time to step on the gas -- and if so, when and how much?
The Root Insurance IPO: Lessons From Columbus
Congratulations to Team Root on today’s IPO! Scale’s Alex Niehenke shares what he learned on all those trips to Columbus, OH.
Papaya Global: Why We Invested
Scale partner Rory O'Driscoll outlines our investment thesis in people & payroll services software company Papaya Global.
The Wonder Years of SaaS: Balancing Growth and Sales Efficiency
On the path to IPO, when does it make sense to sacrifice sales efficiency for revenue growth? We look at the data behind the “Wonder Years”.
JFrog: A DevOps Company with Adaptability in its DNA
Scale partner Andy Vitus shares his thoughts on the secret of the liquid software pioneer's success: adaptability in everything.
SaaS Metrics: A History of the Magic Number
“It’s… Magic!” Every superhero has an origin story. Here’s how one humble SaaS metric became the super-useful Magic Number.
SaaS Metrics: A Primer on SaaS Sales Efficiency
A founder's refresher on the sales efficiency metric: how it’s calculated, how it’s used, and what it tells you about your go-to-market model.
What a Difference a Quarter Makes: COVID’s Impact on Q2 Performance
During Q2, enterprise SaaS grew but at a slower rate. Here is the ARR attainment data for Scale's portfolio during the first full quarter of COVID.
The User x Use Case Framework for No-Code and Low-Code
Scale’s Chris Yin shares a framework for organizing the low/no-code market by users and use cases.
Burn Rate: Calibrating SaaS Cash Burn
There more to cash burn than just what a startup spends.
Burn Rate: A Founders Refresher on SaaS P&L
The first in a series on burn rate, we cover the basics of the income statement (P&L) with a SaaS-centric look at its major components.
Spruce: Picks and Shovels for the PropTech Revolution
Announcing our investment in Spruce, the company dismantling the status quo in title search, title insurance, and escrow services.
Customer Retention with the Thriving-Striving-Surviving Health Score
SaaS businesses need to understand every customer’s unique situation right now. Here’s how to run a customer health...
SaaS Metrics: Diagnose Customer Loss with Renewal and Retention Rates
Cash is king right now, and retaining customers is far more cash efficient than finding new ones. Here’s how to track Renewal and Retention rates.
Customer Retention Lessons From Early Movers in Other Industries
Consumer brands that quickly implemented renewal incentives provide useful tactics for enterprise SaaS startups.
What Just Happened? Flash Report on Q1 SaaS Sales
Preliminary Q1 results show median Q1 Plan attainment of 80% but wide dispersion of outcomes.
Morale Matters: Some Do’s and Don’ts of Cost Cutting
Startups are scrambling to reduce cash burn, but acting too quickly can lead to self-inflicted morale damage that could linger well past the downturn itself.
Admitting Ignorance: Planning in the Time of COVID
A framework for scenario planning right now and a way to think about “inside” rounds.
Proxy: Digital Identity in the Physical World
Alexander Niehenke discusses Scale’s lead investment in Proxy’s $42M Series B financing round.
SaaS Metrics: Getting More Signal from the Churn Metric
Our series on Customer Retention continues with a look at adjustments to the Churn rate calculation that add greater precision.
A Quick Primer on the Rule of 40
A framework for measuring the balance of growth and profitability in the world of SaaS
SaaS Metrics: To Understand Customer Retention, Start with Churn
Part 1 of a series on Churn and Retention for founders seeking a solid foundation in churn rate and retention analysis.
CCPA for B2B Software Startups
Download
OM1: Leadership in the Real-World Evidence Data Market
OM1 uses machine learning to create unique datasets of real-world evidence that help healthcare companies accelerate...
Bill.com: Building a SaaS Leader with Conviction and Grit
Today the New York Stock Exchange began trading shares of BILL, marking the public debut of Scale portfolio company Bill.com.
Is AWS Coming for Your Startup? Notes from re:Invent 2019
In a closed-door VC briefing, AWS provided a surprisingly direct description of how it decides whether to enter a new market.
Observe.AI Transforms Contact Centers with Voice AI
Announcing our investment in Observe.AI, the leading provider of next-generation voice AI that helps contact center...
Will Open Source Get More Open in 2020?
Recent moves from Cloudera, Yugabyte, and Chef show their interest in getting more open. Though it’s too soon to say...
Thoughts and Themes from Slush 2019
With VC investment in Europe up nearly 40% YoY, this year’s Slush conference mirrors the momentum and excitement of the region’s startup ecosystem.
KubeCon Keeps Getting Bigger and Better
A venture investor's perspective on a few of the hottest topics at 2019 KubeCon - MultiCloudCon
Is Your Sales Model Sustainable? Here’s a Tool for That.
Here's how to use our Quota <> Sales Efficiency Tool to set sales quotas at levels that support the long-term sustainability of your sales model.
How Scale Uses Data to Support Our Portfolio Companies
Scale Operating Partner Dale Chang spoke at the 2019 Web Summit on the topic of AI in VC.
Who Will Be the First $10B Bookkeeping Automation Company?
Predicting where the next-generation, AI-powered bookkeeping automation market is headed by looking at the history of the payroll services market.
Enterprises Want Security Software Bundled with Services
As enterprises manage personnel shortages and complex hybrid cloud environments, savvy cybersecurity startups are...
Investing in the Cloud: From Gold Rush to Hunger Games and Beyond
The next 5 years in cloud investing will not be as easy as the last 10. Here's how founders can prepare their companies for the next era in computing.
Customer Success in the Customer Lifecycle
Best practices for Customer Success at all stages of the customer journey, with Scale's Dale Chang, Gainsight COO...
Getting to B: Running a Successful Fundraising Process
A short guide to the Series B fundraising process designed to help founders organize their teams and prioritize their time
A Taxonomy for Open Source Software Companies: Governance and Commercialization
An analysis of the successful governance approaches and commercialization paths for starting a successful open source software company
Remote Work Is the Future of Work
There are countless opportunities for innovative startups to digitize the many advantages of being there in person.
The Intelligent Connected World
An overview of the interconnected world of intelligent software agents.
Honeycomb Helps Organizations with Cloud Applications Achieve Production Excellence
Announcing our investment in Honeycomb, the gold standard for observability software that gives enterprises better...
People, Progress, and a Look Ahead
Updates from Scale on new team members, new look, and a preview of our new investing theme
Customer Success Isn’t an Add-On. Start Early to Win Later.
Prioritize customer success early to avoid inefficiency and missteps later
The Startup Funding Domino Effect: Seed to A to B to C
Startups are raising more capital earlier, impacting how venture investors evaluate Series A and B funding rounds
Wrap Up of the 2019 Data Summit
Scale and Fika Ventures co-hosted the 2019 Data Summit bringing together thought leaders from across the enterprise landscape to talk data
Guest Post: Building Business Value with DevOps
Adopting DevOps requires major organizational change and won’t happen overnight. CircleCI CTO Rob Zuber explains how to get started.
AllyO: At Last, Conversational AI Done Right
End-to-end AI recruiter AllyO shows how conversational AI can drastically improve efficiency in a traditionally low-tech market
Why Your Next Open Source Project May Only Be an Interface
We are likely to see more open interfaces and metaframeworks emerge, but they have their drawbacks
You Closed the Books on Another Quarter. It’s Time to Visit Scale Studio.
Update your performance metrics in Scale Studio to receive a new custom benchmark report on your growth, efficiency, churn, and operations
The Six Signs of Go-to-Market Repeatability
These qualitative and quantitative signals show that an early stage company has achieved go-to-market repeatability and is ready to scale
Making Sense of a Crazy Year in Open Source
Commentary on the ongoing open source licensing wars, and Chef’s refreshing return to classic open source
Scale Venture Partners Promotes Jeremy Kaufmann to Principal
ScaleVP’s newest Principal was a key contributor to our investments in KeepTruckin, Cognata, Solvvy, and TechSee
Four Vital Signs of SaaS
The best way to assess the health of a SaaS startup is this set of four metrics that let you benchmark accurately across other similar companies
Why Mergers and IPOs Aren’t Exits and Other Advice from CFOs Who Have Gone the Distance
SaaS company CFOs share their insights on leading a company into its next phase of growth
And You Are…? Socure Aims Advanced Machine Learning at the Digital Identity Problem
Announcing our investment in Socure, a real-time predictive analytics platform that provides identity verification at new account origination
Cybersecurity Perspectives 2019
“Cybersecurity Perspectives 2019” is Scale's annual snapshot of the top issues facing enterprises navigating today's complex security landscape
Bots Are Half of Internet Traffic. The Hard Part Is Knowing Which Half.
PerimeterX eliminates bot attacks while preserving customer experience
Is Your Company Growing Fast Enough? Now You Can Ask Scale Studio.
SaaS benchmarking tool helps companies make smart decisions about growing their businesses
Introducing the Tooth-to-Tail Metric for Measuring SaaS Sales Capacity
A quick calculation that helps sales leaders optimize sales capacity
Sometimes Diligence Takes a Decade: Announcing Our Investment in Scout RFP
A look behind the scenes at a venture investment 10 years in the making
Online Sales Done Right Is a Boon to Sales Efficiency
SaaS executives share their advice on online sales excellence
TechSee: AR Plus AI to Transform CX
Announcing our investment in augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) leader TechSee
CyberGRX is Streamlining Third-Party Cyber Risk Management
Helping enterprises assess the cybersecurity profiles of third-party ecosystems
Airspace Technologies: Faster, Cheaper, Better Time-Sensitive Deliveries
Technological and operational innovation that is resetting customer expectations
Successfully Selling Software to SMBs
Here's a look at two key product attributes that help your software company succeed with SMBs
Why Startups Can’t Afford to Ignore Customer Retention
As companies face greater pressure to grow both quickly and responsibly, we are placing more value on customer retention
Cognata Is Solving the Autonomous Vehicle Industry’s 11-Billion-Mile Problem
Cognata technology accelerates the development of autonomous vehicles
Bringing Clarity into e-Commerce: Our Investment in Narvar
Driving long-term customer engagement and loyalty in the crowded e-Commerce industry
Disrupting the $25B Microsoft Office Behemoth
"There are a few pervasive trends that could bring in a new era of productivity software"
Introducing Scale Studio, the Growth Platform for Private Cloud Companies
Getting the right data to scale your business
Investing in the Future of Work
A glimpse into the trends and markets that are informing future investments
Scale Venture Partners Announces New $400M Fund to Invest in the Future of Work
Introducing Fund VI
Understanding the Mendoza Line for SaaS growth
Is your SaaS startup growing fast enough?
The Better Way to Price Car Insurance: Announcing Our Investment in Root Insurance
The better way to price car insurance
Introducing our investment in Matillion
Matillion’s cloud-native ELT tools makes loading and transforming data in the cloud data warehouse fast, easy, and affordable
Congratulations KeepTruckin on Loadin up $50M
KeepTruckin is undergoing tremendous hyper-growth, one of the fastest growth rates we’ve ever seen in a SaaS company
Why Your Market Size Shouldn’t Be a Single Number
Get This One Slide Right and the Rest of Your Pitch is Easy
Design in the Enterprise
As design becomes more core within the enterprise, so does the expansion of new designer tools
Investing in Online Marketplaces
From eBay to OpenTable to Airbnb, understanding the marketplace business model
A Match Made in Heaven: Bringing AI into the Customer Service Workflow
Solvvy is using intelligent automation to create a frictionless experience for customers to get quick answers to pressing concerns
Scale Venture Partners Promotes Alexander Niehenke to Partner, Susan Liu to Principal
Veteran team investing in the future of work
Why Flo and the Geico Gecko Are Not the Future of Insurance
With almost $2B new capital flowing into the industry, technology innovation is transforming the insurance industry
Our Investment in KeepTruckin
KeepTruckin is the best mobile-first telematics solution for the long-haul trucking industry
How Textio Is Changing Writing as We Know It
Textio raises $20M Series B from Scale Venture Partners
Design as a Business Imperative with Sarah Nahm (Lever)
Lever has taken the recruiting software category by storm, with fast growth, high-profile customers, and $32.8M raised to date. We talk to the...
Here are the metrics you should track for hypergrowth with Nicolas Dessaigne (Algolia)
The Co-founder & CEO of high-flying search startup Algolia shares the key metrics he looks at to make sure his company is on the right growth curve...
There are so many (good) ways to split your market with Andrew Filev (Wrike)
Even within the relatively narrow confines of B2B software, successful market segmentation can go beyond small/mid/large accounts, and...
A VC Explains the Personal Side of Being a VC with Alex Niehenke (Scale Venture Partners)
We chat with Alex Niehenke, a 10-year veteran of the venture capital space, to explore a few things you might not realize about life as a VC.
How HBO’s Silicon Valley Captures the Startup Experience with Todd Silverstein (Silicon Valley)
We catch up with the lead technical advisor of HBO’s Emmy-nominated comedy series about startups, to discuss how real-life experience...
A VC explains the one thing you should know about VCs: their Investment Thesis with Rory O’Driscoll (Scale Venture Partners)
What do VCs look for? It’s not uncommon in Silicon Valley to see equally smart firms, equipped with the same information, picking very different...
Aaron Levie on Finding Your Inner Voice When the Outside Shrieks our exclusive interview with the founder & CEO of Box
Box turned fast growth into a unicorn-sized IPO, and the even more elusive post-IPO success. Things didn’t always look so good for the company...
A VC Reveals the Metrics They Use to Evaluate Startups with Susan Liu (Scale Venture Partners)
So what actually happens before a VC decides to invest in your company? Susan Liu looks at hundreds of startups every year for B2B software...
Girl Develop It with Brenda Jin (Girl Develop It)
We catch up with Brenda Jin, leader of the San Francisco chapter of Girl Develop It — “a nonprofit organization that provides affordable programs...
The 17-minute Guide to Enterprise Software Sales with Dale Chang (Scale Venture Partners)
From Amazon Web Services to Slack, Salesforce, Box & beyond, more & more software companies find success in the Enterprise segment. Dale & Tim grab...
Why Grow? with Danielle Morrill (Mattermark)
In Silicon Valley, not growing can feel like dying — but is growth really the imperative we make it out to be? We explore how growth became the go...
“Marketing doesn’t work on Developers” Developers are the new kingmakers — so how does one reach them?
Developers are the new kingmakers, driving up the valuation, and sometimes revenue, of companies like Twilio, Xamarin, Docker and many others...
The intimate power of a good content strategy with Shahruz Shaukat (Super Deluxe)
Content Marketing is an increasingly common part of our marketing toolset. The promise of millions of eyeballs coming to your website, through...
The startup that filed for an IPO with just $6M in funding is a masterclass in capital efficiency with Scott Dorsey (High Alpha)
ExactTarget may not look like the prototypical unicorn, but the Indianapolis-based company that got to the IPO stage with only $6M in funding...
The money seems to find them Success & Startups outside Silicon Valley
Building a Startup in Louisville, Kentucky
Enterprise is Eating the Software World with Ed Anuff (Apigee / Google)
Have you noticed how many venture-backed software companies seem to be focusing on B2B these days, instead of say, consumer apps, or developer...
Beyond Performance: How Narrative, Targeting & Sequencing affect Fundraising with Nick Mehta (Gainsight)
Many variables go into closing a successful venture capital round. Your company’s performance on core metrics is probably the biggest one, and most...
Did the NOSQL Wave Fail or Succeed? with Roger Bodamer (MariaDB, MongoDB, Oracle)
Roger and I fell into the NOSQL movement early on, circa 2009 — he as a former Apple/Oracle exec turned EVP at MongoDB, me as a lowly community...
Founding for Engineers with Cliff Moon (Opsee, Boundary)
What do you do when you’ve been an engineer all your life, then become a founder? Is technical work still the #1 thing you can do to help your...
Why DevOps is a Business Trend with Adam Jacob (Chef)
The convergence between Software Development & Operations has had a deep impact on the technical stack used by startups & industry giants alike..
How to close your first $1M in sales with Tim Zheng (ZenProspect)
At the end of the day, companies have to make money. In Silicon Valley this self-evident truth can be an uncomfortable difficulty for some...
This startup closed its office and went remote-only with Sytse ‘Sid’ Sijbrandij (GitLab)
Many workplaces are remote-friendly, letting you work a day from home every now & then. But what if your company abandonned the concept of a physic...
It’s super, super lonely to be a founder with Pascal Finette (Singularity University)
If only 1 in 10 startups makes it, then 9 out of every 10 founders you meet are probably failing. The visceral toll of this intimate downfall is...
Why Does Technical Recruiting Suck So Much? with Aline Lerner (interviewing.io)
If you’re a founder or manager hiring engineers, you’ve probably been there… Struggling to find the right talent, dealing with an unending...
Security for Startups in the Age of the Weekly Leak with Tony Gauda (ThinAir)
As leaks & hacks mount, security remains an elusive state for startups. And as Tech moves more of our life online, the startups that facilitate...
A VC explains how VCs work with Kate Mitchell (Scale Venture Partners)
Venture Capitalists (VCs) have an outsized impact on startups, entrepreneurs, and the tech they invest in. But beyond the tweetstorms & headlines...
The Difference between Technology & Product with Linden Tibbets (IFTTT)
In the Valley few will admit to just building Technology — everyone wants to think they are building a Product, something that has some design...
No English, but a Few Friends & a Lot of Talent: Moving to Silicon Valley as a Foreign Founder with Kazuki Ohta (Treasure Data)
Five years ago Kazuki Ohta didn’t speak English, yet it was obvious to him that his startup had to happen in the US. He and his co-founders...
Starting up in an AI-first world with Jeremy Howard (fast.ai)
Artificial Intelligence naturally favors companies that can wield large armies of PhDs, gigantic GPU clusters, and massive datasets, so it’s...
Simple rules to take over the world with Michelle Zatlyn (Cloudflare)
How does one go from friends & family using a prototype, to a global software behemoth used around the world by hundreds of millions of people?...
Successful open-source companies don’t open-source much software with Mårten Mickos (HackerOne)
Open-source seems to be the uncontested standard for software startups. Yet investors are leery of investing in the OSS business models of...
Software Dreams of Community: how Google helps humans scale Kubernetes with Sarah Novotny (Kubernetes/Google)
Why do some pieces of software attract people, and others don’t? What makes developers want to use a product but not others? Why even want a...
Riding Platform Shifts with David Helgason (Unity)
The founder of Unity recounts the platform shifts their video game engine survived & even thrived on, from PC to Consoles, Flash games, Mobile and...
What a Seed Investor Looks For with Mike Miller (Liquid 2 Ventures)
Mike Miller is a Partner at Liquid 2 Ventures, a seed-stage firm started by hall of fame quarterback Joe Montana. They specialize in early-stage...
3 Mistakes (almost) Every Startup Makes when they Grow
Tim Anglade, Executive in Residence at Scale Venture Partners: What was it called, portfolio operations?
Thinking Bigger / Thinking Smaller with Justin Kan (Twitch/YC)
The Twitch Founder & YC Partner welcomes us in his house, and opens up about how he had to think bigger — and sometimes think smaller — on the way...
Hiring for Inclusion & Diversity with Sarah Nahm
The Founder & CEO of Lever goes beyond the tropes of gender diversity, to talk about Lever’s fight to get to 50% female employees...
Founding, Leaving, Leading your Company with Dave Finocchio (Bleacher Report)
The founder of Bleacher Report (200M MAU, 2nd biggest sports website in the US), has a very candid conversation about why he and his co-founders...
Top Tips for Startup Recruiting
Guest Author, Leela Srinivasan, CMO at Lever, shares the inside scoop for recruiting on startup budget
Hey Alexa! and other ways voice is changing our lives
Key Trends Driving the Voice Revolution
Virtual Reality: Ready for Prime Time? Or Gamers Only?
Will 2017 be the year VR adoption goes all the way?
Scale invests in Namely’s $50m Series D
How Millennials are transforming the tech landscape
SaaS Metrics: The Growth Rate Mirage
How a SaaS Business Can Be Simultaneously Growing at 150% and 400%
Scale Launches “the Startup Tapes”
Tim Anglade, formerly of Realm, Apigee and Cloudant, joins as an Executive-in-Residence to drive video project
The Key to Startup Success
The article originally ran as part of the Fortune Insiders Series
Tech Valuations In 2016: The End Of The Line For Sloppy Growth
Sloppy growth will be out. Sustainable, smart growth is back.
Think larger customers are your only path to success? Think again
The role of ASP in building a lasting company
Using Machine Learning and Human Expertise to Combat Commerce Fraud
Our Investment in Forter
Building an Effective Account-Based Marketing Program
Q&A with Demandbase CMO, Peter Isaacson
Board Perspectives, What I Learned from HubSpot
The impact of culture on building a lasting brand
Where is my data? And other terrifying questions facing security professionals
Survey Results: What issues are most top of mind for CISOs?
Modern Recruiting for the Modern Company
How Netflix, Reddit and Lyft are finding top talent
JFrog: Automating the Management and Deployment of Software
JFrog's suite provides an automated continuous delivery pipeline that extends all the way from the developer to the end user of the software.
3 Tips for Scaling a Successful Sales Compensation Program
From aligning decision makers to scaling the plan
How To Hire Female Engineers
A leader's job is to build the team with as few blind spots as possible and then guide them to their potential.
The Sales Tech Stack
A sophisticated buyer is driving growth in the sales technology landscape
Customer Identity as a Service
Stormpath elegantly centralizes identity into a service, enabling developers to focus on building the application they imagine.
How Great Entrepreneurs Avoid A Down Round
A down round can occur to anyone, but a mindful founder can minimize the risk.
3 Ways Analytics Can Supercharge the Sales Cycle
How empowering sales team with the right resources and technologies can impact the bottom line
The Current State of SaaS
Number of companies in Scale Venture Partners SaaS Index up 100% in four years
How Work Gets Done; Our Investment in Wrike
The next generation of work management is Wrike
Remove the Guesswork from Sales Forecasts
Predictive Analytics for Sales and our investment in Aviso
A Database For Your Pocket
The team at Realm has built a database that has several critical advantages over SQLite.
Losing Ground: Why Software Purchases Are Moving from IT Decisions to LOB Decisions
Five Motivators Driving the Shift
Congratulations Box!
Proud to be an investor in the next great enterprise software company
Compressing the Learning Curve for Scaling
Dale Chang has joined us as VP Portfolio Operations
When the Cloud Honeymoon Has Ended; Successfully Operating in a Cloud Environment
Our Investment in CloudHealth Technologies
Data Streams Lead to the Cloud
Treasure Data allows massive torrents of data to be easily streamed into a cloud service for storage and analysis.
Building Identity in the Cloud, Our Investment in OneLogin
In the world of PCs, identity was important, but in the cloud it is vital
Referral Marketing, Our Investment in Extole
The power of referral is the next phase in digital marketing
Why Every CEO Should Own Customer Retention
By guest columnist Monica Adractas VP, Customer Success at Box, a ScaleVP portfolio company.
AWS re:Invent 2014 Recap
An insider view on the news, events and happenings of re:Invent 2014
The War on Cyberattacks – Our investment in Agari
Two-thirds of all worldwide email is spam, including phishing
Is Your Software Automated by Algorithms?
The new era of machine learning is eating up software
The ScaleVP Team is Growing
Welcome Cack Wilhelm and Rose Yuan; Congrats Ariel Tseitlin & Susan Liu
ScaleVP backs Marketing Attribution Company – Bizible
It's the longest running joke in advertising, coined by the late John H. Wanamaker: "Half my advertising is wasted; I just don't know which half".
From SMB to the Enterprise: When to Move Upmarket
Advice from Leading Entrepreneurs on When to Move Upmarket
InfoSec Uncovered: Exploring the mind of the CISO
A look at the social and technological trends that are most impacting information security programs
Fly or Die: 4 Questions to Ask Before Your Startup Scales Up
How do you know when you're about to get to startup heaven, scaling up fast and reliably?
How to Reduce Customer Churn
Focusing on reducing churn now will strengthen revenue growth quarter over quarter
ScaleVP Welcomes Digital Marketing Master Tim Kopp as EIR
Former ExactTarget CMO shares his top pain points facing marketers today
Our Investment in Crittercism
Apps without performance monitoring are like Formula 1 race cars without instrumentation and pit crew. They either crash and burn or finish last.
Security Expert, Bill Burns, Joins ScaleVP as EIR
Former Netflix Director of Security joins firm to help navigate the mind of the CISO
Making Sense Out of Cents: Determining Employee Compensation
Compensation is a mysterious process at many startups. Once an organization has scaled beyond a few people...
Balancing Vision & Execution: What I Learned as an EIR at ScaleVP
Eric Tilenius recently concluded his Executive-in-Residence stay at ScaleVP to become CEO of BlueTalon.
4 Things Investors Need to Know About Your Startup
Angels, venture capitalists, private equity firms and mutual funds all evaluate investments on the same four basic criteria.
From Dead to a Trillion Dollars
We divided all Companies up into three large sectors: Information Technology, Healthcare and Other.
Scaling Q&A Series: Vlad Shmunis of RingCentral
Entrepreneur insights on successful growth strategies from leading CEO's
Thoughts on Annual Plans
Words you don't hear in venture; "Great it's annual planning time".
Your Secret Decoder Ring for VC Speak
While some may believe VC questions are off-base, realize there is a method to our madness
Good People… Times Two
Zack Urlocker returns to Scale Venture Partners as Executive-in-Residence & Gregory Silva Joins as Associate
RingCentral Rings the Bell
RingCentral marked a significant milestone today with an initial public offering
PubNub: The Real-Time Network
PubNub powers a global, real-time network, enabling developers to build real-time applications as easily as building a web page.
The New Marketing Funnel
Digital marketing has transformed the B2B sales process, using technology to create new revenue opportunities
Scaling Culture: Spotlight on Hubspot’s Culture Code
How one company is evolving their culture through a time of rapid growth
DataStax: The NoSQL Database for Big Data-Powered Applications
Large web applications need a database that can scale across continents, that offers operational simplicity...
Scaling Talent: Always Be Hiring
Exploring the inner workings of scaling a startup and its talent
The Race to Scale: How Fast Should You Accelerate?
For a startup, knowing when to scale can play a major role in a company's long-term sustainability
Doubling Down on Digital Marketing: Our Investment in Demandbase
Real-Time Targeting and Personalization Platform for B2B
Succeeding Outside of the Valley
Reflections on SXSW2013 and an Increasingly Diverse Geographic Make-up of Entrepreneurs
The Power of a Fluid Market: Employee Mobility Makes Silicon Valley Flow
The role of a non-compete in building a business
Capturing a Growing Market: Our Investment in PeopleMatter
HR Platform Leverages the Cloud for Hourly Workers
A Valuation Framework for SaaS Companies
For any SaaS company to be more than 10x larger five years from now, it must be growing revenue at a CAGR higher than 80%.
Scaling Q&A Series: Justin Moore of Axcient
Entrepreneur insights on successful growth strategies from leading CEO's
Freemium: Top Tips for Enterprise Selling
How top software companies are reconciling freemium and sales.
Predictable Growth Decay in SaaS Companies
In recurring-revenue companies, next year's growth rate is likely to be 85% of this year's growth rate.
Infographic: The Best of Business Apps
A look at what type of apps were most popular and why? How is the iPad influencing app adoption?
Time for Hadoop to Grow Up
It's time for Hadoop to grow up, put on a suit, and enter the workforce.
Scaling Q&A Series: Tod Sacerdoti of BrightRoll
Entrepreneur insights on successful growth strategies from leading CEO's
ScaleVP Welcomes Two New Associates to the Team
Former Analysts from Yammer and Deutsche Bank Join ScaleVP
The Cloud Has No Boundary
With virtually the entire application stack being outsourced, it's time to rethink monitoring
Our Investment in Boundary
In every investment we make at ScaleVP, we look for two things, broad market trends and great execution. Boundary has both.
Will Box and Dropbox Tackle the Giants?
In the next ten years, consumers and businesses will move much of their file storage to the cloud...
You Want to be a Founder? Don’t Do it
Every ambitious self-respecting 20-something suddenly wants to do a start-up. That's the road to ruin.
Oracle "Likes" Vitrue; Congrats to the Team
Social media marketing continues to be white hot
Game Changing
Games are growing like wildfire on mobile and the social web. But some of the big winners to profit from game mechanics are not ...
Welcome to ScaleVP’s Newest Executive-in-Residence Eric Tilenius
At ScaleVP, we love spending time with entrepreneurs. In particular, we have benefited from bringing..
The Ultimatum: Go Global or Go Home
What to do when your biggest customer tells you that, essentially, your company is too small for them.
The Difference a Year Can Make…
Sometimes a year flies by almost without notice….not this year having worked on the JOBS Act passed today in Congress…
Why Would The Senate Vote No on JOBS?
The Senate is considering the JOBS bill this week. The bill looks to make it easier for companies to go public by reducing some of the cost...
Final Push for Passage of the JOBS Act
Today is the last opportunity to show your support for the JOBS Act, a bill encouraging more capital to flow to innovative startups.
Why Everyone Lies About Pricing
It's hard enough to find the right price for your product or service — without everyone lying to you about it.
API’s: The Connective Tissue of the Web
The number of application programmer interfaces (API's) is growing exponentially. Side effects of this trend of data...
Identifying the Signs of Scale in Ecommerce Startups
BeachMint had exactly what ScaleVP is looking for: great team and trends
Choose Your Web House Wisely
Maciej Ceglowski compares the new world of cloud platforms to the convenience of living in a dorm room or a monastery.
Mining the Gap – DST and the IPO Gap
The time to buy is when everyone else is selling. The dearth of venture backed IPO's in the last decade, with almost none in 2009...
GitHub: The New Locus of Software Development
By completely dominating the landscape for open-source software, GitHub fast became the default code repository for most developers.
How Zynga and Netflix Use the Cloud
Two internet success stories have adopted different cloud strategies: Zynga owns the base and rents the spike while Netflix...
Understanding Platform-as-a-Service
Platforms-as-a-Service have caught the imagination of developers by abstracting away repetitive middleware configuration.
Outsourcing the Web Stack
Just as the arrival of open-source blogging platforms eliminated the intervening steps between writers and audiences, so the new breed...
Scooping the Big Pot – Venture Capital Since 2007
When Facebook goes public, the Russian venture capital firm DST, will be one of the largest investors in the most significant technology...
A good day and a bad day…
I am thrilled that we announced Stacey Bishop's promotion to Managing Director today.
Scale Venture Partners Promotes Stacey Curry Bishop To Managing Director As Firm Shifts Full Focus To Technology Investing
Scale Venture Partners (ScaleVP) today announced the promotion of Stacey Curry Bishop to Managing Director...
What’s a Subscriber Worth?
When we looked at BeachMint, we wanted to compare it's customer economics to other subscription service...
The Economics of the Consumer Cloud
Facebook isn't often cited as a cloud computing company since the Social moniker has proven to be stickier.
Market Trends Driving the Need for In-The-Wild Testing
Complexity is increasing rapidly in the online services.
SaaS and the Cloud Ten Years In
I recently had to give a talk on trends in SaaS and the cloud. Attached is the full Powerpoint.
Crowdsourcing: Metrics for Success
ScaleVP likes to do primary research in areas we're considering for investment. When we did this Crowdsourcing work…
The Evolution and Ascendance of Social Media Marketing
Just a few years ago, major brands treated social media marketing as an experiment.
The Myriad Uses of the Crowdsourcing Business Model
In 2008, ScaleVP wanted to learn more about the crowdsourcing business model and investment opportunities it might provide.
The Next Ten Years in SaaS
The SaaS business has now hit early middle age and the best way to think about it is to compare it to the client server revolution...
Facebook is Worth More Because It’s Growing More
The Old Gray Lady is worried about a bubble in tech, and did a nice graphic comparing the valuations of Facebook...
Venture Capital Returns are Going Up
Venture capital returns are going up. That is the clear conclusion from two recent press releases...
Go, You Giant Vampire Quid
I simply love Goldman Sachs. The Facebook deal is a brilliant poke in the eye for just about everybody...
ScaleVP Who we are, and What we do
The most basic question anyone should have of us is what kind of deals do we like to do?
Never do a COO Search… or Not
Venture has lots of rules of thumb, short summaries of received wisdom passed down. One of the most common is "never do a COO search".
Winning in SaaS
In every technology market, the number one player gets disproportionately rewarded.
What Do You Really Want from Your Venture Board Member?
Entrepreneurs, especially experienced ones, often have a fairly jaundiced view of venture board members.
Magic Number Facts
In the last post on this topic, I said that a simple calculation of sales efficiency, which we called the Magic Number.
Magic Number Math
For SaaS, classic sales and marketing efficiency metrics are utterly misleading