KeyBanc-2019_SaaS_私营企业调查报告（英文）-2019.12-69页_1mb

2019 Private SaaS Company Survey Summary

Core Content and Key Findings

This report presents the findings of the 2019 Private SaaS Company Survey conducted by KBCM Technology Group's software investment banking team, with support from Matrix Partners and ForEntrepreneurs blog. The survey collected responses from approximately 424 private SaaS companies, providing valuable benchmarking data for SaaS executives and investors.

Survey Overview

• Participants: Senior executives from ~424 private SaaS companies.
• Exclusions: Companies with less than $5MM in 2018 Ending ARR were excluded from some analyses.
• Key Metrics:
  • Median 2018 Ending ARR: $8.7MM
  • Median Organic ARR Growth: +40% for all companies, +35% for those with >$25MM ARR
  • Median Employees (FTEs): ~90
  • Median Customer Count: ~300
  • Median Annual Contract Value (ACV): ~$28K
  • Geographic Distribution:
    • U.S. Dominance: 65% of companies are headquartered in the U.S.
    • Median U.S. ARR: $11.3MM
    • Median Non-U.S. ARR: $5.0MM

Growth and Performance Metrics

Organic ARR Growth

• Companies focusing on mid-sized and smaller customers grew modestly faster than those targeting enterprise clients.
• Median Organic ARR Growth Rate: 35%
• Rule of 40%: Only ~20% of the surveyed companies met or exceeded the Rule of 40%, which measures the sum of growth and profitability.

CAC and Capital Efficiency

• Median Blended CAC Ratio: $1.14
• Median New Customer CAC Ratio: $1.34
• Median Upsell CAC Ratio: $0.78
• Median Expansion CAC Ratio: $0.50
• CAC Payback Period:
  • Blended CAC: ~1.1x
  • New Customer CAC: ~2.0x
• Capital Consumption Ratio:
  • Median: 1.61x
  • Rule of 40% performers: 0.7x (significantly lower than others)

Sales and Marketing Strategy

• Primary Distribution Modes:
  • Field Sales: Dominates for companies with median initial contracts over $50K.
  • Inside Sales: Most popular for companies with $1K–$25K initial deal sizes.
• Sales Commission:
  • Median Direct Sales Commission: ~10%
  • Median Fully-Loaded Sales Commission: ~12% for field sales, ~14% for inside sales.
  • Renewals: Median commission rate is 3%, and 47% of companies do not pay any commission on renewals.
  • Upsells: Median commission rate is 9%, with 53% of companies paying full commission.
• S&M Spend:
  • Median S&M as % of Revenue: 43%
  • Rule of 40% performers had lower S&M spend and better Net Dollar Retention.

Cost Structure and Profitability

• Gross Margins:
  • Subscription Gross Margin: 78%
  • Total Gross Margin: 73%
• Operating Expense Margins:
  • S&M: 43%
  • R&D: 27%
  • G&A: 20%
• Profitability:
  • EBITDA Margin: (19%)
  • FCF Margin: (14%)
  • Median YoY Organic ARR Growth Rate: 35%
• Rule of 40% Comparison:
  • Rule of 40% Group:
    • Median ARR: $23MM
    • Median Growth + Profitability: +19%
    • Lower CAC and capital consumption ratios compared to non-qualifiers.

Application Delivery Trends

• AWS Dominance: AWS remains the most widely used cloud platform, with a median usage of 64%.
• Cloud Adoption:
  • Self-Managed: Used by a greater share of larger firms.
  • Azure & Google: Gaining market share in mid-sized segments.
• Median Contract Length:
  • 1 year
  • Average Contract Length: 1.5 years for companies with $15K–$50K ACV
  • Average Billing Frequency: ~Monthly

Churn and Retention

• Annual Gross Dollar Churn:
  • Median: 14%
  • Rule of 40% performers: 13%
• Net Dollar Retention:
  • Median: 103%
  • Rule of 40% performers: 109%
• Churn by Contract Length:
  • Companies with larger contract sizes experienced lower churn rates.
• Churn by Distribution Mode:
  • Field Sales companies had lower churn compared to inside sales.
• Churn by Professional Services:
  • Companies with higher upfront professional services had higher churn.

Additional Insights

• Professional Services:
  • Median % of 1st year ARR: 5.0%
  • Rule of 40% performers had a lower % of professional services (5.0%) compared to non-qualifiers (2.5%).
• Company Size Distribution:
  • Companies with ARR ≥ $10MM showed better performance in terms of growth and profitability.
• Public SaaS Comparison:
  • Median Growth + Profitability for Public SaaS: 36%
  • 74% of public SaaS market cap is above the 40% threshold.

Conclusion

The survey highlights the performance and operational trends of private SaaS companies in 2018, emphasizing the importance of customer segmentation, distribution strategy, CAC and churn management, and capital efficiency. Companies with a focus on mid-sized and smaller customers and those utilizing field sales tend to have better retention and growth rates. The Rule of 40% remains a key benchmark, with only ~20% of private SaaS companies meeting or exceeding it.