Perspectives

Why We’re Royally Excited About Regal.io

September 7, 2022

fell love Regal.io random field outside Denver International Airport Listening Regal.io's Co-Founder CEO Alex Levin lay vision walked past roaming buffalo neck hurt nodding along introduced shortly seed investors Satya Patel Homebrew met Zoom immediate mind meld team developed thesis articulating future customer engagement software months wanted meet person finalizing decision partner Unfortunately travel Steamboat Springs San Francisco easy decided split ish difference gate took Uber together nearest open wandered around three hours covering everything intricacies phone carrier caller ID technology parents respective entrepreneurial journeys authenticity approached problem solving values-driven approach Rebecca Greene prioritized building company resonated deeply flew home giddy excitement nasty Colorado sunburn thereafter led Series alongside friends Founder Collective Rewind bit students since firm's first investment backing Salesforce 2002 premise track explicit sales data names assigned AE meetings etc explosion ways companies interact prospects concurrent time-series documenting interactions Amazingly none surface area recorded today's systems record legacy limited addressing questions believe next generation built event-driven layer enable connect customers moments contexts work best teammates Joe Wenz thinking unlocks opportunities previously addressable instance B2C Common wisdom held go-to-market consumer brands marketing self-serve conversion involving rep cost-prohibitive old world leveraging event content explored allows reach tailored timely messages Unsurprisingly strategy boosts rates meaningfully makes profitable channel exactly execs Handy now ANGI ton submit info website failed complete purchase looked solution help call text hot leads moment context journey thus far surprise nothing existed shelf hacked system part amazed improvements sold teamed properly build late 2020 Jan 2021 early product market 18 grown prototype fully-featured platform 80 employees revenue faster stage importantly driven tremendous ROI creating 500M improving average 25 invest aspire Important second core value partnering closely founders exec Recruiting dream investing impressive GTM network hard opportunity fulfill potential good news continue hire across board Come join

Navigating Product-Market Fit in Today's Environment

August 29, 2022

Achieving strong product-market fit PMF matters now ever budgets tightening products appeared previous market nice Throughout year host series small group discussions early-stage founders B2B ecosystem focus content topics top mind participants weeks ago invited Andy Rachleff lecturer Stanford Graduate School Business former VC Co-Founder CEO Wealthfront join shared simple sometimes counterintuitive often controversial take navigate journey summarized key points Defining validating define companies First answer question uniquely offer people desperately want find desperate customers able prove value hypothesis growth know customer already spending money tech solve problem meet figuratively literally reach across table beg solution biggest mistakes fall believing maybe potential turn yes Unless someone says buy product wire funds right pursue replacement markets finding cheaper buying something build exactly issue cost play good enough alternative competitors use low risk brave new worlds craving validate drives best test whether tell everyone great NPS proxy become raving advocates product-driven enterprise exponential organic word mouth Note tiny kid aka inorganic retention lags Iterating refining achieve think common pitfall instead iterate change means original insight invalid creates advantage restart pivot Adding functionality seldom increases demand add need always charge Depending pricing structure model Ask enable complete stage ready testing MVP minimum amount pay uniqueness Make sure Functionalities distract help provide clarity initial handle say additional feature saying respond removal differentiator Differentiation irrelevant startups competing another company incumbent early stages screwed audience anywhere else difficult difference successful Go-to-market strategies start hiring sales founder alone strategy hire couple side understand salespeople adaptable based skillset Advice mistake 10-12 reps see takes little longer cover expenses found yield signal metrics captures free trials pull trial 30 days feel giving prospect reality pays ok scream pulled never going charging must give away Revenue earliest far important source cash proven Except ad traction strategic References paid learn willing address multiple buyers within buyer Selling hard avoid sale person better relate four groups Visionaries trying revolutionary evolutionary care proof concept Pragmatists majority largest part productivity Entrepreneurs go thinking Conservatives late Laggers acquisition bowling knock pin falls knocks pins reference talk every visionary gather sell perfect adjacent level desperation lighthouse accounts software heavily signing big Forget hoover later today's economy cycles extending break recessions solving fix overcomes budget non-desperate Almost serving solved realigned losing shifting wants i.e shift cause reconsider changed priorities Example hiring-focused greater recession-proof industries insurance healthcare experienced slowdown Segment prospects ways industry size type case etc listen intently variations levels questions thoughts contribute send emcap.com

FOMO Will Shorten the Lifespan of Your Company

August 9, 2022

past years saw massive venture fundraising skyrocketing valuations software companies benefited grow quickly early growth correlated long-term defensible value period rewarded founders focused almost exclusively revenue resulting success came recent economic downturn slowing pace struggling rapid adjustment Fear Missing aka FOMO plain reality sucks making decisions seems resounding message time extend runway weather storm seen bold leaders hardened bad markets massively accelerate good ones common thread never let take hold Instead driven internal conviction right track impact 2021's 2021 alone North American investors put unprecedented 108.5 billion early-stage startups Series deals sharp contrast today's VC pullback According data PitchBook decreased 47 peak end June 2022 last required keep winning elections raise capital governing build makes sense go fundraise next every six 12 months others market incredibly difficult step back deep dent universe Today best CEOs actually breathing sigh relief feel need Joneses simply act less impulsively now focus building businesses stand test shortens lifespan company life business make rash captivated Herding around certain ideas allows combat everyone else betting winner said Stanford finance professor Peter DeMarzo something hot industry product area easy pressure FOMO-driven decision-making shorten work requires thinking Though idea space hotness often poor indicator matter five seven customers looking new ways compete save money major differences noisy decline startup funding environment gives unique opportunity see products truly move needle core counter-intuitive tempted risk flowing bet different attracts equal times solutions iconic public started similar environments know led kind news first SaaS built amid downturns recessions firm strategy Renting Crazy another video communication tool Nobody thought needed Creating single vertical small investments paid people believe order long haul forget recommend avoid herd peers Yes control burn care existing think rest Zoom Veeva Salesforce avoided lasting perfect anti-FOMO case study 2009 founder Eric Yuan latched onto bandwagon day spent radar underlying platform told world conferencing solution check Despite negative signals external pivot kept working problem knew existed uniquely solve result spending 9M bring together achieve annual run rate 4 slightly Founded 2007 CEO Gassner collapse going broad following wisdom trying sell multiple verticals target big concept pick fail become outlier runrate 2 consumed 3 Million reaching cash flow positive vein Salesforce.com Marc Benioff used bursting Internet bubble moment raising 65 burst hesitant round downsized marketing sales revolutionary model delivering service vs one-off large contracts win turned better survive recession paved Cloud era Closing thoughts mentioned chose path follow within embody advice leave behind

Event-Driven Systems: The Next Wave of Customer Engagement

July 25, 2022

Emergence long student customer engagement software 2002 made first investment Salesforce.com major system record new cloud computing era Since led investments companies including Salesloft SteelBrick Chorus founders backed reimagined world able engage customers whether conversational intelligence industry-specific context modern orchestrated workflows 20 years look around room today surprised set players last generation tasked representing relationship job done changing cloud-based management CRM built early 2000s interaction layer company sales representative specific narrowly focused place following names representatives owned relationships subsequent calls parties call explicit data course next decades completely changed mainstream adoption mobile devices enabled websites e-commerce shopping carts SMS chatbots ways actually ready buy product service events typically time-series represent implicit interacting Oftentimes human rep side rather digital surface area crazy think big opportunity none recorded traditional systems Salesforce's architecture designed capture tie living Salesforce idea potential browsing website evaluating competitive solutions looking Loom demo want reached right time medium choice fail adapt going left dust thesis Event-Driven try address question answering key ingredient gathers insight stream longitudinal identifies actions take based event triggers either first-party third-party principles customer-obsessed engaged ever wanted spam finally help brands update outreach programs cold calling timely relevant conversations remove friction buyer journey Instead size fits batch send cadences result low answer rates good give reps superpowers helping skyrocket 35 drive revenue Alex Levin Co-Founder CEO Regal.io already paving forward show core successful apart story tell every peaks troughs optimal times Timing everything queen People using armed teeth points empowers superhero hired become operational impact nearly enough another pane glass idly scroll narrate changes measurable test half team noticeable delta acquisition retention applied platform enables teams communicate branded instance online B2C healthcare brand use trigger performed series high intent adding items cart completing purchase process love Regal's solution directs attention high-intent completed parts need touch appreciate receiving speed recent took finish signing self-serve flow fails seen successfully integrate real-time existing add data-rich Total Expert purpose-built financial institutions aggregate third party mortgage alert broker reach prospects rate fundamentally different stack compared past used build tracking pixels ETL pipelines route properly likely collection tools Segment building Production Pipeline believe rigid foundation paves Imagine chat know questions longer exists personalized spent dream works headed Now thinking hear Drop note jfloyd emcap.com wenz

BizOps: What It Is, and Why Early-Stage Companies Should Hire For It

July 12, 2022

Business Operations BizOps critical function company role first pioneered large technology companies LinkedIn Pinterest Nerdwallet grew several dozen hundred-person organizations Despite growing popularity early stage founders unfamiliar value deliver believe every early-stage startup start thinking hire help outlined part series next-gen tech hired earlier journies reaped benefits Brian Sze co-founder Assembled former Head Stripe 2012-2016 shares Biz Ops correctly implemented uniquely valuable quickly scaling days multi-skilled generalists adapt evolving needs pitching different audiences building processes filling product gaps Later rely teammates run important initiatives since unimpeachable credibility done Given rise modern data stack now able track make use journeys new breed equipped ever savvy build wide range stakeholders internal external herd cats e.g project management soft ninja skills move along think decision-making point repaint picture varies suggest consider hiring journey Types teams mean totally spectrum three core adopt commonly elect incubation embedded choose scrappy roll sleeves work trenches employees strategic recommendations execute businesses grow transform ways either shift become team dissolve organization graduating onto specific leaders startups Recently started LinkedIn-style approach difference provide functional counterparts vs owning actions advising best sell selling look answer helpful break structured typical fashion framework axis individual team's focus sales marketing person covers split rhythm refers organizational cadence performance monitoring weekly updates monthly check-ins QBRs etc second projects describes worked big rocks including pricing packaging change churn reduction strategy launch general rule thumb time evenly enough spend particular case directly partner people ask supporting key high-level advises leader focused day-to-day group setting plan managing rep-level quotas example Talent Solutions David Cohen regional line delivered quarterly reviews deep diving areas priority gave exec consistent pulse performing KPIs instance enterprise higher handful consecutive quarters led initiative diagnose root causes provided address Smaller though typically means often assigned paratroop whichever area Instead dotted lead report C-suite CEO COO CFO depending roles place visibility across org resource impact prioritize improve purview serve connective tissue helps drive unbiased functions data-driven nature equivalent includes preparing board-level materials helping upcoming financings Closing thoughts flavors experimenting structure success one-size-fits-all Regardless starting persona realizing significant improvements velocity next piece discuss find good candidates set love feedback questions Ping yaz emcap.com

Capital Efficiency Through Hypergrowth: Lessons from Zoom and Veeva on the Acquired Podcast

May 25, 2022

recent Emergence CEO Summit invited hosts Acquired podcast Ben Gilbert David Rosenthal interview Peter Gassner Veeva Eric Yuan Zoom Together built iconic capital-efficient companies world lucky first institutional investor neither used money raised Given market downturn never better time learn lessons grow quickly maintaining capital efficiency nuggets episode adopt mindset Eric's advice focus energy dollars early stages growth Peter's secret finding product-market fit perspective spend marketing remaining leverage users Listen Acquired's website watch video

Announcing the Winners of the Emergence Award and the Company of the Year

May 24, 2022

Emergence Award goes project44 year give CEO represents values whose company precipice becoming iconic excited recognize Jett McCandless founder leading visibility platform shippers logistics service providers global supply chain vulnerabilities exposed past years impacted almost everyone Shortages necessary goods continue make headlines every week household paper products infant formula consumer electronics result across world turned software solutions help improve efficiency accuracy chains several running successful startups started 2014 transform Since grown 1 000 employees 10x'ed ARR 100M+ tracking shipments 170+ countries executing billions API calls per day Today valued 2.4 billion provides world's largest Series investment 2016 first solo Jett's time raising capital ways took bigger leap faith betting six together Executive hires equity financing numerous acquisitions good times tough rewarding experiences life watching grow leader human December father wait see future holds congratulations awarded Joe Floyd Doximity addition select portfolio receive meant outsized performance impact industry community present year's Jeff Tangney Co-Founder refer LinkedIn healthcare 80 U.S physicians regularly use exchange messages conduct telehealth visits keep latest medical news find new career opportunities increasingly become critical part infrastructure country makes possible doctors professionals deliver better care patients Beyond making major difference people's lives built incredible business 2021 recorded revenues 317 million grew 79 prior free cash flow margin 37 sign customers extraordinarily happy net revenue retention 170 fiscal quarter truly rare businesses amazingly tremendously Perhaps given surprising IPO last 11 fact Doximity's best performing according Barron's honor worked led 2011 Thank everything done named Kevin Spain

Bringing Innovation to Employee Benefits: Our Investments in Forma

March 8, 2022

battle attract retain talent never tougher 2021 47 million Americans voluntarily quit jobs companies across U.S struggled fill millions openings High recruiting employee replacement costs putting increased pressure rethink compensation programs including benefits offer According MetLife survey 69 employees said wider array increase loyalty employer Forma mission make flexible therefore valuable Today excited announce Emergence led Forma's Series participated company's first met Jason Fan Max Hsieh AngelPad's demo day early 2019 impressed understanding disjointed difficult navigate employers Additionally intrigued vision use programmable payment rails reinvent offerings following year half stayed close tracked progress took note began land impressive customers Zoom Stripe Square heard familiar users offering game-changing imagine program without rare hear feedback realized time team investigate Increasing complexity creates opportunity research learned spend 50 billion workplace wellness 1.2 trillion families healthcare consistently sizes innovation become increasingly complex manage widening now demand Every managers solicit want change accordingly Despite best efforts feel getting suit needs result underutilized disappointed Enter Max's insight turn selection process head Instead select range hoping happy put choice hands incredibly elegant solution platform allows fund account used categories defines accessible using debit card wherever attend classes favorite neighborhood yoga studio problem babysitter comes help afternoons finishing work Covered Need additional office equipment home complete sure exactly offers marketplace easily browse purchase items services meet Making easy makes everyone age working remotely mission-critical benefit wide-ranging located states countries available everywhere managing new challenge snap partnership hearing outstanding reviews big ahead convinced wanted partner thrilled lead 15 fall 2020 equally play meaningful role Ribbit Capital Notably number amazing founders Jack Altman Lattice Joe Gebbia Airbnb Tobi tke Shopify along previous investors AngelPad Upside last 18 months since exciting company grown dramatically terms revenue product expanded executive reinventing crystallized Congratulations proud partners continue alongside rest reshape market

Congratulations Salesloft!

December 23, 2021

Salesloft Begins New Chapter Kyle Porter's vision values convinced lead Salesloft's Series story started almost seven years ago 2015 first introduced Porter Jason Lemkin Founder CEO Emergence portfolio company EchoSign SaaStr hard believe now time felt stretch invest Atlanta-based SaaS Meeting changed perspective though dinner Partners Joe Floyd Jake Saper clear someone special Specifically Kyle's desire impact Atlanta tech community lives employees entire profession sales making money shone addition ambition Customers LOVED product company's Prospector simple powerful helped Development Reps SDRs build authentic personalized emails scale help drive meetings dramatically improving productivity increasing conversion rates beginning team laser-focused creating customer delight relished success sales-driven start ate cooking speak focused efficient acquisition thoughtful grew business knew risks dependent sites LinkedIn attracted works recently launched called Cadence Shared Engagement emerging category looking number companies trying tackle space CRM existed Salesforce similar platforms built primarily managers needed tool forecasting less salespeople trenches saw opportunity line people 20-25 productive capturing insights data provide incredible value immediately resonated Takes Village learned successful startups alone recruiter former career showed amazing COO Rob Forman exceptional relationship heavy hitter investors area including Dave Cummings Tom Noonan agreed serve board overcome barriers attract talent billion-dollar Conviction Win Big Long Term Three months closed fears came light made difficult conclusion shut went multi-million ARR generating cash hundred thousand burn bridge behind moment leadership right run 100 aligned moments determine whether winning saving face process requires unanimous enthusiasm rate Despite need back business's growth David Ventures stepped inside round example philosophy strengthened resolve challenging Focus Matters found fallback plan doubled recovered momentum Doug Landis Tammy Han platform spent revamping positioning rewriting decks helping worked partnership recruit extraordinary management CTO Scott Mitchell CRO Steve Goldberg CMO Sydney Sloan CFO Chad Gold CPO Ellie Fields Together make dream accident grown couple 100M revenue today Culture Performance evident talked investor entrepreneurial leaders scared talk never shied tradition weekly whole energizing giving kudos little institutionalize ecosystem embodies servant mentality others achieve goals life core intentionality around building love work cares deeply ingrained every decision makes intensely performance-driven shy tough decisions combination Onward Upward great journey chapters honor privilege active part early days aspire become important partner entrepreneurs proud involved past hundreds impacted 000 sellers forever testament accomplished bold long-term determination bring energy passion care day fulfilling Today's announcement marks milestone evolution alongside last excited next see heights Green