Featured Stories
Selling an Edtech Business: The PositivePsychology.com Exit
PositivePsychology.com, a mission-driven edtech platform used by 19M+ professionals, was acquired in an 8-figure deal advised by FE International. This case study covers their growth, decision to sell, and the exit process.
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Adobe Acquires Marketo, EU Competition Commissioner Investigates Amazon, Pinterest Expands Influencer Program: Newsletter September 21, 2018
Adobe this week announced it will acquire digital marketing platform Marketo from Vista Equity Partners. The $4.75 billion deal would be Adobe’s largest to date and bolster them in competition with incumbents like Salesforce, who have prioritized expanding into the marketing automation space (most notably through the $2.5 billion acquisition of ExactTarget). Adobe’s Digital Experience business, which includes their own marketing software, generated $614 million in revenue last quarter, demonstrating a 21% year-over-year growth from 2017. ADBE is up 78% over the past year.
SaaS 1000 Ranks Top SaaS Companies of Q2’18, Microsoft Acquires Lobe, EU Passes Controversial Copyright Law: Newsletter September 14, 2018
SaaS 1000, the industry’s official ranking of the world’s fastest growing SaaS companies, has this week released the 2Q’18 edition of the list. Using a proprietary algorithm that includes hiring trends, growth indicators and number of employees (among other indicators), the list highlights top SaaS companies worldwide, from smaller startups to the largest SaaS businesses. While the list is updated quarterly, companies must have between 40 and 1000 employees in order to rank. CultureIQ was named the number one fastest-growing SaaS company on the 2Q’18 list.
Shopify Launches New App Store, Juicer.io Acquired by SaaS.group, Microsoft Commits to Support Enterprise Users, Google Search Console Live: Newsletter September 7, 2018
Shopify Launches New App Store, Juicer.io Acquired by SaaS.group, Microsoft Commits to Support Enterprise Users, Google Search Console Live: Newsletter September 7, 2018
Transfer Online Business Ownership: Your Complete Checklist | FE International
If you have advanced along the business acquisition process to the point of contract signing and funding escrow then it’s likely your attention will be focusing upon the practical challenges of transferring an online business. There are many components to an online business and buyers can often be caught off guard by the logistics when the process begins. As with many things in business, preparation is key. Below we summarise the key parts in transferring an online business with best practice guidance on how to smoothly execute on each one.
SurveyMonkey Files for Nasdaq IPO, Google Ads Launches Strength Indicator, Amazon Surpasses $2000 PPS: Newsletter August 31, 2018
SurveyMonkey has this week filed for its IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Documents filed with the SEC listed the fundraising target at $100 million, but the survey SaaS giant has yet to set a share price range. Recent financing from Tiger Global, ICONIQ and Social+Capital Partnership valued the company at $2 billion, despite 1H’18 reports showing net losses of $27.18 million (a 43% increase from the same period the previous year) on $121 million in revenue (a 13.6% increase from the same period the previous year). J.P. Morgan is listed as lead underwriter for the IPO.
Churn Rate Benchmarks, Nylas Closes a Series B, Braavo’s $6M Round, and Facebook Deletes Political Accounts: Newsletter August 24, 2018
Recurly this week published a study on subscription churn rates by industry type. The survey studied data from 1,200 businesses over the course of a year to establish benchmarks for a variety of different industries. Recurly found the overall monthly churn rate benchmark to be 6.12%, caveating the findings by noting churn rates vary greatly by industry. The survey also found that businesses in B2C industries experienced 7.69% churn, while those in B2B spaces experienced 5.56%. SaaS businesses had the lowest combined churn at 5.33%. This data is in line with FE data; the average churn for companies sold over the past decade is just 5.24%, beating the wider results published by Recurly.
Google One Subscriptions Open, WPBeginner Growth Accelerator Fund, Apple Pulls iOS 12 Beta: Newsletter August 17, 2018
Google One, Alphabet’s new cloud-based subscription productivity suite, is now available to new users. Announced a few months ago and rolled out to existing Google Drive subscribers, Google One plans will start at $1.99 per month for 100 GB, $2.99 for 200 GB and $9.99 for 2 TB, up to 30 TB. Google One brings with it discounts on hotels when searched for via Google Maps, as well as Google Play credits. While storage can be shared across multiple users, Google One is currently a consumer product and only available for US subscribers.
Collection of the 150 Best Free SEO Tools – 2019 Edition
You might be a one-man band, a lean startup, or an SEO working within a marketing team. Either way, you understand the importance of a solid strategy and the right tools to do the heavy lifting. Of course, it makes it even easier if that tool is free! Below are 150 SEO tools that are either free or have free trials to pro versions you can check out before you buy. We found most free SEO resources online were generally outdated, contained broken links or recommended methods that have since been hit with Google penalties. We hope this collection of the 150 Best Free SEO Tools serves you well in your 2019 SEO efforts.
Salsify Raises $43 million in funding, Slack Raises $400 Million to Compete with Microsoft and Facebook, Amazon Launches Alexa Auto SDK: Newsletter August 9, 2018
Salsify has announced they raised $43 million in a new round of funding. Based in Boston, the SaaS company helps e-commerce brands manage customers’ product experience by ensuring content is optimized across points of sale, as well as measuring active insights. This Series D round led by Greenspring Associates brings Salsify’s total VC funding to $98.1 million to date. While CEO Jason Purcell declined to comment on either the funding or an impending exit, it was noted in a press release that Salsify spent 40% of its 1H’18 revenue on research and expansion. Salsify plans to leverage the funding towards further investment in products, global expansion and employee growth.
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