The document summarizes the results of the 2016 India SaaS Survey conducted jointly by Signal Hill and iSPIRT. Some key findings:
- The survey received responses from 76 SaaS companies in India, up from 39 last year.
- NCR has emerged as a new hotspot for SaaS companies, moving up to the second most popular region.
- Most respondents are vertically focused SaaS players and have achieved meaningful scale focusing on customers in India in addition to the US.
- Median ARR of respondents is $0.75Mn with a median employee count of 35, indicating many early-stage companies participated.
2. 2
Foreword
Welcome to the Second edition of the India SaaS Survey by Signal Hill, India’s largest software investment banking
advisory practice, together with our partners iSPIRT, the Indian Software Product Industry Round Table.
Applying the lessons learned from the first edition, we have changed the way we collect data and the way we present
our results, but with the same objective in mind: to tap into the pulse of a burgeoning ecosystem by providing credible
benchmarking data and insightful analyses.
This year, we are proud to report that we received responses from 76 respondents (iSPIRT estimates indicate that this
may represent 10% of the total SaaS ecosystem in India) up from 39 respondents last year including some of the most
prominent SaaS companies operating in India. We sincerely thank all participants for their time and effort in completing
this survey and look forward to ever increasing participation every edition going forward.
As before, we are committed to refreshing the survey results on an annual basis. As the India SaaS ecosystem continues
to grow, we fully expect to increase overall survey participation, as well as the insights and benchmarking data provided.
If you have any suggestions to improve the survey or questions that you would like to see covered, please do write to us
at indiasaassurvey@signalhill.in.
3. 3
Key Takeaways of India SaaS Survey 2016
2
4
Emergence of NCR as a new hotspot for SaaS companies in the Indian ecosystem. It has moved up three places
to come to the second position this year
1
3
Increased interest in vertical focussed SaaS players with majority of respondents being vertical focussed this
year; Vertical focussed SaaS players occupy majority share of the scaled and funded respondent pie
Enterprise focussed clients have reported higher median growth rates compared to SMB/SME focussed players.
That said, SMB/SME focussed players forecast better growth in the coming one year
Though inside sales is by far the most preferred and effective sales channel, post the $1Mn ARR mark
respondents do report an increased usage of feet on street (which is still #2 after inside sales)
7 The median CAC payback period (for >$1Mn ARR) is 6-12 months
5 ‘Try and Buy’ is the most preferred sales model (vs. sales channel) amongst respondents
6 Horizontal and Vertical SaaS players report similar median growth rates, however companies that focus on the
US as their primary market (as against India or Asia) reported distinctively higher median growth rates
6. 6
2016 India SaaS Survey
• This report provides an analysis of the results of the survey of private SaaS companies in India which Signal Hill India’s
team in co-operation with iSPIRT conducted in Sept-Nov 2016
- This report is the result of the second annual SaaS survey conducted by Signal Hill & iSPIRT
- The survey results include responses from senior executives of 76 SaaS companies in India
• Representative statistics on the survey participants
‐ $0.5Mn-$1Mn Median ARR1 as of survey date, with 35 respondents having an ARR greater than $1Mn
‐ Median employee strength: 35
‐ Median customer count: ~100; 28% with more than 1000 customers
‐ 51% of the companies were started in the last 5 years
‐ 67% of the companies started out as SaaS players
1 ARR – SaaS portion of ARR as reported by respondents during the survey period Sept’16-Nov’16. The same metric has been used throughout the report
7. 7
Where Are Survey Participants Headquartered?
NCR has jumped up the list to 2nd position (25% of the India based players) versus the 4th position (9%) last
year
India Headquarters Distribution
1
* ROI - Rest Of India;
A point not brought out by
our sample: between Zoho
and FreshDesk alone iSPIRT
estimates ~$400Mn in
revenue, >$100Mn in funding
and 4,000+ employees in
Chennai. This creates a
massive ecosystem for many
other SaaS startups to be
created
Chennai: India’s SaaS Hub
32%
25%
19%
15%
5%
4%
Bangalore
NCR
Mumbai/Pune
Chennai
Hyderabad
ROI
8. 8
Which City Has The Most Scaled (ARR >$1Mn) SaaS Players?
Reinforcing NCRs position, based on our sample, it now hosts more “scaled” SaaS start ups than any other city - or
has significantly higher survey fill rates…
1
1SaaS portion of ARR
2Considered a subset of 35 respondents meeting the criteria of >1Mn ARR for the this analysis
Geographic Distribution of Respondents HQ (ARR1>$1Mn)2
Headquarter City
NoofRespondents
ARR Key
5
3
2
3
1
3
4
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
1
2
1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
NCR Bangalore Chennai Mumbai/Pune Hyderabad
>$10.0 Mn
$5.0 Mn -$10.0 Mn
$2.5 Mn -$5.0 Mn
$1.0 Mn -$2.5 Mn
9. 9
What Is The Distribution Of ARR Across Our Sample?
The relatively young Indian SaaS ecosystem has a median ARR of $0.75Mn2 compared to a median of ~$5Mn3 in
the US SaaS ecosystem
1
1ARR reported by respondents during the months of September, October and November. ARR for SaaS portion of business
2The middle value of the median ARR range has been taken
3Median Revenue for FY15 per Pacific Crest Private SaaS Company Survey Results 2016
Distribution Of ARR1
Median Range
11
6
4
6 6 5
2
11
6
3
8
3
2
3
0
5
10
15
20
25
<=$0.25
Mn
$0.25 Mn
-$0.5 Mn
$0.5 Mn -
$1.0 Mn
$1.0 Mn -
$2.5 Mn
$2.5 Mn -
$5.0 Mn
$5.0 Mn -
$10.0 Mn
>$10.0
Mn
Horizontal Focussed
Vertical Focusssed
Journey to $1Mn ARR
It typically takes a
median of 2-4 years to
reach $1Mn ARR
10. 10
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
<10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-75 75-100 100-150150-250250-500 >500
What Is The Employee Strength Across Our Sample?
Our sample shows a median employee strength of 35, likely reflecting higher survey participation rates
amongst <$1Mn ARR SaaS startups
1
1Taking a subset of 35 respondents
Employee Strength
Median (35)
Average number of employees
NoofRespondents
Journey to $1Mn ARR
Companies with an ARR
>$1Mn1 have a median
employee strength of
100. We would
reasonably expect a
$1Mn ARR company to
have ~50 employees
11. 11
When Was Your Company Launched?
With just 9 respondents founded in the last two years, our survey is weighted towards companies started pre-2015.
Younger companies may be busy figuring out their business and product...
1
Company Launch Date
NoofRespondents
Respondent Founding Year
6
11
9
13
8
5
4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Before
2010
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
20
12. 12
When Did Respondents Pivot? 1
Pure SaaS Players vs Partial SaaS Players1 Pivot To SaaS
26%
74%
Partial SaaS
Pure SaaS
1Pure SaaS players are respondents with SaaS products contributing >60% ARR as of survey date
2Please note that there is a possibility of survivorship bias
From 2011 onward the Indian product ecosystem appears to have embrace the SaaS model with ~90% of
respondents starting out as SaaS businesses rather than pivoting2
Company Launch Date
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2003 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Started out as
a SaaS
business
Pivoted Later
13. 13
Key Takeaways From Respondent Profiling
1
2
3
Boasting ten $1Mn+ ARR respondents (out of a total of 35 $1Mn+ ARR respondents), our
sample shows that the NCR region is bubbling with activity
The Indian SaaS ecosystem is dominated by young companies with a median ARR of ~$0.75Mn
and median employee strength of ~35
While SaaS pivots are a feature of the Indian product ecosystem, the SaaS business model
appears to have gained prominence from 2011 with founders starting pure SaaS businesses,
rather than pivoting
15. 15
What Is India’s USP In Competing With Global SaaS Companies ? 2
Reported USP1
NumberofResponses
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
1 Respondents were asked the following question - What do you see as India’s USP in competing with global SaaS companies?(respondents were given the option of choosing multiple criteria)
Our sample appears to be betting on low cost (but high quality) talent and low cost inside sales to build world class
SaaS businesses. Next year, it would be interesting to add ‘outright innovation’ to the list of USPs
62
48
25 23 21
15
4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Favourable
skill to cost
ratio
Cost effective
inside sales
Huge talent
pool
Products
more suited
for developing
markets
Mature
customer
service
capability
Mobile first
market &
skillsets
Other
These two buckets are
effectively the same
and emphasize that
our greatest strength
is skill to cost, whether
in sales or otherwise
16. 16
How Long Does It Take To Develop a SaaS Product? 2
Most respondents built their product (likely referring to the first commercially available version) within a 12 month
window
Time Taken To Build First SaaS Product
63%
30%
4% 3%
<=12 months
12-18 Months
18-24 Months
>24 Months
We attempted various
slices of this data set by
year of founding, </>
$1Mn ARR, vertical/
horizontal, etc. but
found that this metric
remained remarkably
consistent
17. 17
Vertical vs. Horizontal SaaS 2
Vertical vs. Horizontal Focus Vertical and Horizontal Split By Product Launch Date
This year 53% of our sample focused on vertical SaaS products vs. 37% last year. In particular, over the last 3
years vertical SaaS product launches have overtaken horizontal ones
Product Launch Date
NoOfRespondents
53%
47%
Vertical
Horizontal
1
2
3
5
4
2
10
7
6
1
5
4
3
6
7
6
4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
2005 2006 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Journey to $1Mn ARR
64% of $1Mn+ ARR
respondents are vertically
focused
18. 18
Which Is The Most Popular Vertical For A SaaS Product? 2
Vertical Focus Area1
While TMT focused SaaS dominated our sample this year we note that TMT itself could cover a diverse group
of distinct verticals
Vertical Sector
1 Includes a subset of 40 respondents
NoofRespondents
13
9
5
4
3
2 2
1 1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
19. 19
Which Is The Most Popular Horizontal Focus Area? 2
Horizontal Focus Area1
The top three horizontal areas were broadly the same as in last year’s survey, showing that India continues to
favour ‘human focused’ SaaS vs. ‘machine focused’ SaaS
NoofRespondents
1 Includes a subset of 32 respondents
Horizontal Sector
7 7
6
4 4
2
1 1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20. 20
Which Geography Contributes The Maximum Revenue? 2
Unchanged from last year, the US is the most favoured destination for Indian SaaS startups. With that said, whilst
companies are building for global markets, the first market for companies to get traction in is typically India
Geography Contributing Maximum Revenue By Respondent Size1
1Subset of 76 respondents.
ARR Range
No. of Respondents:22 12 7 14 9 7 5
1
15 3
4
4 4
1
4
14
9
2
9
5
6
3 1
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
<=$0.25
Mn
$0.25 Mn -
$0.5 Mn
$0.5 Mn -
$1.0 Mn
$1.0 Mn -
$2.5 Mn
$2.5 Mn -
$5.0 Mn
$5.0 Mn -
$10.0 Mn
>$10.0 Mn
5%
59%
33%
3%
Europe
India
North America
Rest of Asia
Geography Contributing Maximum Revenue
Key
Ordinarily, we
would expect
to see more US
prominence in
this bucket…
21. 21
Customer Focus, SMEs vs. Enterprises 2
Customer Type
68%
32%
SMB/SME (Small and
Medium Business)
Large Enterprises
Our sample is split 2/3rd in favour of SME focused SaaS; We were surprised however to see a lower than anticipated
median number of customers for SME focused players, likely due to a large number of small respondents…
100
50
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
SME/SMB Large Enterprises
Median Number Of Customers By Type
NoofCustomers
Customer Type
Key
22. 22
Key Takeaways From Business Focus Section
1
2
3
Unlike in 2015, the 2016 survey hints that the Indian SaaS ecosystem is increasingly focused
on vertical SaaS offerings
With regard to horizontal SaaS, we note a continued paucity of ‘machine focused’ SaaS in
favour of ‘human focused’ SaaS
While the US is still the largest market for Indian SaaS players (a point corroborated by our
experiences in the market) there are a number of respondents that have achieved meaningful
scale by focusing on customers in India
24. 24
5 5
11
5
6
3
5
11
9
4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
10%-25% 25%-50% 50%-100% 100%-200% 200%-300%
How Fast Did/Will Respondents Grow Their ARR? (>$1Mn ARR only) 3
ARR Growth1
1Subset of 32 respondents
Median ARR Growth Rate
NoofRespondents
Median range for current and
future growth
If we consider only more ‘mature’ respondents with ARR >$1Mn the reported median historical & future growth
rates remain unchanged
25. 25
How Fast Did/Will Respondents Grow Their ARR? (<$1Mn ARR only) 3
ARR Growth1
1Subset of 29 respondents
Interesting to note that respondents in the <$1Mn bucket are growing more slowly than their scaled peers but are
bullish on the future based on projected growth rates
NoofRespondents
Median ARR Growth Rate
3
5
10
2
4
5
0
4
6
7
6 6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Current YoY Growth
Projected YoY Growth
Median Range for current growth
Median Range for projected growth
26. 26
0
1
2
3
4
<=$0.25 Mn $0.25 Mn -$0.5 Mn $0.5 Mn -$1.0 Mn $1.0 Mn -$2.5 Mn $2.5 Mn -$5.0 Mn $5.0 Mn -$10.0 Mn >$10.0 Mn
How Fast Is Our Sample Growing Its ARR? 3
$1Mn+ ARR respondents reported higher median growth rates when compared to sub $1Mn ARR respondents. Its
likely that the more nascent players still have to figure out their sales models
Historical Median ARR Growth
<10%
10-25%
25%-50%
50%-100%
100%-200%
ARR Range
MedianYoYARRGrowthRate
Median (>$1Mn ARR)
Median
(<$1MnARR)
No. of Respondents: 15 10 7 12 8 7 5
27. 27
What Is The Distribution Of Respondents Growth Rate By Size? 3
While the sub $5M growth split is similar, >$5M split seems very different, however it is hard to make a conclusion
based on the size of the subset
Profile Of ARR Growth By Respondent Size1
1Considering a subset of 35 respondents
ARR Range
Shareofrespondents
No. of Respondents: 14 9 7 5
YoY ARR Growth Range
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
$1.0 Mn -$2.5
Mn
$2.5 Mn -$5.0
Mn
$5.0 Mn -$10.0
Mn
>$10.0 Mn
100-300%
50%-100%
<50%
28. 28
Distribution Of Respondents’ Historical Growth Rate By Customer Focus 3
Regardless of scale, respondents focused on enterprise accounts reported faster growth than those focused on
SMEs, potentially reflecting the sales experience of the Indian SaaS ecosystem
Historical Growth Rate For >$1Mn ARR1 Historical Growth Rate For <$1Mn ARR2
1Subset Of 35 Respondents
2Subset Of 25 Respondents
0
1
2
3
4
5
Large Enterprises SMB/SME (Small and Medium
Business)
0
1
2
3
4
5
Large Enterprises SMB/SME (Small and Medium
Business)
<10%
10-25%
25%-50%
50%-100%
100%-200%
200%-300%
<10%
10-25%
25%-50%
50%-100%
100%-200%
200%-300%
Median
MedianYoYARRGrowthRate
MedianYoYARRGrowthRate
Median
100%
50%-100% 50%-100%
25%-50%
29. 29
Growth Expectations (Business Confidence) By Customer Focus 3
Projected vs Actual Growth Rate - SMB/SME Focus Projected vs Actual Growth Rate - Enterprise Focus
0
1
2
3
4
5
Historical YoY
ARR Growth Rate
Projected YoY
ARR Growth Rate
0
1
2
3
4
5
Historical YoY
ARR Growth Rate
Projected YoY
ARR Growth Rate
<10%
10-25%
25%-50%
50%-100%
100%-200%
<10%
10-25%
25%-50%
50%-100%
100%-200%
25%-50%
50%-100%
50%-100%
100%
MedianYoYARRGrowthRate
MedianYoYARRGrowthRateBy splitting historical & future growth expectations by customer focus we see that respondents focused on
SMB/SME appear to be more bullish on the future. Could SME SaaS be seeing a pick up?
30. 30
Where Do Respondents See Maximum Growth Potential? 3
~70% of respondents, regardless of size, look to the US and the Rest of Asia as their key geographies to sell into
Geography With Maximum Growth Potential
1Excluding respondents with an ARR of >$10Mn and <$1Mn
ARR Range
Geography Seen With Maximum Growth Potential By Respondent Size1
No. of Respondents: 14 9 7
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
$1.0 Mn -$2.5 Mn $2.5 Mn -$5.0 Mn $5.0 Mn -$10.0 Mn
45%
24%
21%
5%
5%
North America
Rest of Asia
India
Europe
Middle East and Africa
Key
31. 31
2
5
7 7
6 6
1
6
8
6
5 5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
<10% 10%-25% 25%-50% 50%-100% 100%-200% 200%-300%
Vertical
Horizontal
Distribution Of Respondents Growth Rate By Horizontal vs. Vertical Focus 3
ARR Growth, Horizontal vs. Vertical1
Both vertical and horizontal SaaS respondents show comparable distributions in their growth rates, i.e., one
doesn’t grow any faster than the other
Median Range
1Subset Of 62 Respondents
NumberOfRespondents
YoY ARR Growth Rate
32. 32
Distribution Of Respondents Growth Rate By Geographic Focus 3
Median ARR Growth By Geography1
1Subset Of 58 Respondents. Considering only the geographies of India and NA as these are the only two significant geographies
2Subset of 4 companies
A good reason to focus on the US market: respondents focused on America have higher median growth rates; our
experience in the market corroborates this finding
0
1
2
3
4
5
India North America Other
<10%
10-25%
25%-50%
50%-100%
100%-200%
200%-300%
MedianYoYARRGrowthRate
Geography Generating Maximum Revenue
2
50%-100%
200%
50%-100%
33. 33
The Journey To $1Mn ARR 3
Time Taken To Reach $1Mn ARR1
1Subset of 34 respondents with ARR >$1Mn
The vast majority of respondents at $1Mn+ in ARR took several years to get there. In our experience, start-ups
that exceed 3-4 years to achieve a $1Mn+ in ARR are often questioned by investors
Median
NoOfRespondents
1
15
16
2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
<1 year 1-2 years 2-4 years > 4 years
Journey to $1Mn ARR
Results show that the
journey to $1Mn ARR is
2-4 years
34. 34
Key Takeaways From Growth Rates Section
1
2
3
50-100% annual growth rates are the benchmark in India, hopefully reflecting a young &
healthy SaaS ecosystem
While respondents targeting enterprise customers reported higher growth rates, SME focused
respondents appear to be more bullish on their future prospects, projecting much higher
growth in the coming year than in the year gone by
Corroborated by our own experiences, the US is still the #1 market for the Indian SaaS
ecosystem to sell into and companies focusing on the US are growing faster than their peers
36. 36
What Is The Most Used Sales Channel1? 4
While a trend over time would be useful, it is evident that inside sales is presently the most used sales channel
across respondents of all sizes
Most Used Sales Channel2 : >$1Mn ARR Most Used Sales Channel3 : <$1Mn ARR
1The question posed was – “Which of the following sales channels have you deployed? “ and respondents were given the choice to choose multiple answers. Hence the data should be interpreted
as such
235 respondents; 341 respondents
42%
31%
27%
Inside Sales
Field Sales/Feet
on street
Channel
Partners
48%
25%
27%Key
37. 37
What Is The Most Productive Sales Channel1? 4
In addition to be being the most popular sales channel, inside sales proves to a be a very effective sales channel
irrespective of size of respondents
Most Productive Sales Channel : >$1Mn2 Most Productive Sales Channel : <$1Mn3
1The question posed was – “Which of the following sales channels have you found most productive? “
235 respondents
341 respondents
18
15
2
Inside Sales Field Sales/Feet on
street
Channel Partners
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
25
10
6
Inside Sales Field Sales/Feet on
street
Channel Partners
0
5
10
15
20
25
30 Journey to $1Mn ARR
Although inside sales is
#1, FoS seems to pick up
for our $1Mn+
respondents
NoOfRespondents
NoOfRespondents
Sales Channel Sales Channel
38. 38
30
22
7
2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
<10% 10%-20% 20%-30% >30%
What Are The Sales Commissions For The Primary Sales Channel? 4
Sales Commissions As % Of Sales
Median Range
Reported sales commissions in the Indian ecosystem are higher than in the US (reported at 9%2)
Sales Commissions1
1As a percentage of Sales
2Per Pacific Crest Private SaaS Company Survey Results 2016
NoofRespondents
39. 39
0
1
2
3
4
5
<10% 10%-20% 20%-30% >30%
Do Sales Commissions Impact Growth Rates? 4
Median Growth Rate vs. Sales Commissions1
<10%
10-25%
25%-50%
50%-100%
100%-200%
200%-300%
Sales Commissions
1Subset of 50 respondents
Median Range
MedianYoYARRGrowthRate
23 21 7 2No of respondents:
Although respondents paying commissions of 10%-20% reported the highest median growth rate its hard to make
a determination about further increases in commissions due to the small sub-sample
40. 40
What Level Of Sales Commissions Do More Scaled Respondents Pay? 4
While no respondents at an ARR >$10Mn pays more than 10% in commissions, there doesn’t appear to be a
relationship between scale and commissions paid
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
<=$0.25 Mn $0.25 Mn -$0.5
Mn
$0.5 Mn -$1.0
Mn
$1.0 Mn -$2.5
Mn
$2.5 Mn -$5.0
Mn
$5.0 Mn -$10.0
Mn
>$10.0 Mn
>30%
20%-30%
10%-20%
<10%
Sales Commissions vs. Size
SaaS ARR
Sales Commissions Range
No. of Respondents: 22 12 7 14 9 7 3
PercentageofRespondents
Increasing ARR
41. 41
Which Sales Model Have Respondents Tried At Least Once? 4
Sales Model Tried At Least Once
Sales Model
NoOfResponses
Most of our sample (78%) has tried more than one sales model but rarely stepping outside of the four most
common examples
• Sales Model refers to the
various approaches to
conversion of prospects
• Sales Channel refers to
the various mediums
being used to approach
prospects
58
50
36
18
2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Try and Buy
(subscription
with trial)
Enterprise Sales
(potentially with
a pilot)
Freemium
(Limited features
with add on
premium
features)
Revenue
share/Outcome
based
Other
42. 42
What Is The Primary Sales Model Across Respondents? 4
Nearly 50% of our sample leverage the ‘try and buy’ model to drive sales with no clear variation by scale
Which Is The Most Prevalent Primary Sales Model? What Sales Models Do Respondents Use, By SaaS ARR
No. of Respondents: 22 12 7 14 9 7
49%
38%
10%
3%
Try and Buy (subscription
with trial)
Enterprise Sales
(potentially with a pilot)
Freemium (Limited
features with add on
premium features)
Revenue share/Outcome
based
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
<=$0.25
Mn
$0.25 Mn -
$0.5 Mn
$0.5 Mn -
$1.0 Mn
$1.0 Mn -
$2.5 Mn
$2.5 Mn -
$5.0 Mn
$5.0 Mn -
$10.0 Mn
>$10.0 Mn
5
43. 43
What Sales Models Do The High Growth Respondents Use? 4
Growth vs. Sales Model Used
In line with previous survey findings, higher growth rates and enterprise sales models appear correlated in our
respondent set
YoY ARR Growth Rate
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
<10% 10%-25% 25%-50% 50%-100% 100%-200% 200%-300%
Enterprise Sales (potentially with
a pilot)
Revenue share/Outcome based
Freemium (Limited features with
add on premium features)
Try and Buy (subscription with
trial)
44. 44
How Do The Respondents Host Their SaaS Service? 4
3rd party hosting has grown vs. last year’s survey (83% vs. 68%). Similarly, while AWS continues to dominate, its
share too has grown (71% vs. 58%)
Hosting Preference Type Of Third Party Hosting Service
71%
29%
Amazon Web Services
Rest
83%
17%
Third Party
Self Managed
45. 45
10
20
8 8
12
6
12
0
5
10
15
20
25
<=2.5% 2.5%- 5.0% 5.0%- 7.5% 7.5%- 10.0% 10.0%-
12.5%
12.5%-
15.0%
>15.0%
What Are The Costs For Hosting? 4
Hosting Costs
NoOfRespondents
Hosting Costs As A Percentage Of Sales
Median Range(7.5%)
Median hosting cost appear to have fallen YoY from ~10% of sales in last years survey to 7.5% this year
46. 46
Key Takeaways From Sales And Delivery Section
1
2
3
Inside sales channels dominate our SaaS ecosystem, no surprise given their cost efficiency,
which is also something now well recognized in India
‘Try and buy’ seems to be the most popular sales model with no correlation with size
78% of respondents have tried more than one sales model. The dominant model, however, is
clearly ‘try and buy’ with enterprise sales coming in second
48. 48
What Is The Revenue/FTE Across The Respondents?
Despite a small sample size at higher ARRs, our sample shows that more scaled up respondents have cracked the
ability to drive revenues from their employee base
5
1Taking respondents having SaaS revenue contribution greater than 60% . Taking the Middle value for a particular ARR range since the data was collected in the manner of ranges
ARR/FTE Efficiency (ARR>$0.25Mn)1
ARR Range
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
$0.25 Mn -
$0.5 Mn
$0.5 Mn -
$1.0 Mn
$1.0 Mn -
$2.5 Mn
$2.5 Mn -
$5.0 Mn
$5.0 Mn -
$10.0 Mn
>$10.0 Mn
ARR/FTE(in$’000)
No. of Respondents: 9 6 12 7 4 3
Journey to $1Mn ARR
Post cracking the $1Mn
ARR mark our
respondents appear to
see significant gains in
productivity
49. 49
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
What Is The Typical CAC1 That The Respondents Incur? 5
Respondents with ARR >$1Mn incur higher median CAC perhaps due to higher mix of Enterprise Sales which has
longer lead times and involves FoS
CAC (<$1Mn ARR)2 CAC (>$1Mn ARR)3
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1Customer Acquisition Cost
2Subset of 34 respondents
3Subset of 30 respondents
Median Range
Median Range
NoofRespondents
NoofRespondents
CAC CAC
50. 50
How Does The CAC To ARR Ratio Vary With Scale? 5
1This metric has been calculated utilizing the middle value of the CAC value ranges and the middle value of the ARR ranges collected
2CAC to ARR ratio is the Customer Acquisition Cost divided by the ARR per customer
CAC to ARR Ratio, by ARR (>$1Mn ARR)
38%
28%
25%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
$1.0 Mn -$2.5 Mn $2.5 Mn -$5.0 Mn $5.0 Mn -$10.0 Mn
ARR Range
MedianCACtoARRRatio2
Respondents in the $1Mn-$2.5Mn ARR bucket spend more to acquire a customer than their larger peers. This is
likely related to chasing growth with sales models that are yet to stabilize
No. of Respondents: 15 10 7
51. 51
In How Many Months Do The Respondents Typically Recover CAC? (>$1Mn ARR) 5
CAC Payback Period1
~2/3rd of our sample recover their CAC in <12 months, likely highlighting the low cost environment enjoyed by
Indian SaaS businesses; A surprising 14% of respondents, however, didn’t even track CAC recovery…
Median Range
1Subset of 35 respondents
17%
17%
29%
17%
6%
14%
<3 Months
3-6 Months
6-12 Months
12-18 Months
18-24 Months
Don't Track
52. 52
What Are The Main Drivers Of Cost? 5
Top Driver Of Cost Where Does The Top Driver Of Cost Lie?
1Per Pacific Crest Private SaaS Company Survey Results 2016
16%
84%
Above Gross Margin
Below Gross Margin
While the US counterparts have sales and marketing as the top driver1 of costs Indian firms seem to have R&D as
the top driver of cost, a finding unchanged from last year’s survey
4%
8%
56%
28%
4%
Other Direct Delivery
Staff
Product Support Cost
R&D/Product
Development
Sales & Marketing
Third Party
Software/licenses
53. 53
0
5
10
15
20
25
<40% 40%-50% 50%-60% 60%-70% 70%-80% 80%-90% >90%
How Profitable Are The Survey Respondents? (At GM level) 5
Gross Margin
The median gross margin range for our sample was 60-70% vs. 75-80%1 in the US market. A lower gross margin
despite a lower cost base suggests some level of competitive pricing by Indian players vs their US counterparts
Median Range
NoOfRespondents
1Per Pacific Crest Private SaaS Company Survey Results 2016
Gross Margin Range
54. 54
What Is The Profile Of The Gross Margin Generated By Respondents? 5
Neither vertical vs. horizontal focus nor customer types drives the gross margin of respondents as visible from the
graphs
Gross Margin By Vertical/ Horizontal Gross Margin By Customer Type?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Vertical Player Horizontal Player
>90%
80%-90%
70%-80%
60%-70%
50%-60%
40%-50%
<40%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Large Enterprises SMB/SME (Small and Medium
Business)
>90%
80%-90%
70%-80%
60%-70%
50%-60%
40%-50%
<40%
55. 55
In How Many Years Do Respondents Project EBITDA Break Even (From project launch date)? 5
Time To Breaking Even2
~50% of respondents project taking 3-6 years to breakeven at the EBITDA level post launch of product
Median Range
1Breakeven for SaaS portion of business
2Subset of 51 respondents-excludes respondents who have already broken even for analysis
36%
50%
14%
<3 Years
3-6 Years
6-10 Years
56. 56
In How Many Years Do Respondents Project EBITDA Break Even, By ARR1? 5
Breaking Even By Size2
The reported, projected time to break even does not show a significant trend with ARR range.
Median Range
PercentageShare
ARR Range
1Breakeven for SaaS portion of business
2Subset of 71 respondents
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
<=$0.25
Mn
$0.25 Mn -
$0.5 Mn
$0.5 Mn -
$1.0 Mn
$1.0 Mn -
$2.5 Mn
$2.5 Mn -
$5.0 Mn
$5.0 Mn -
$10.0 Mn
>4 years
2-4 years
1-2 years
<1 year
Already broken even
57. 57
Key Takeaways From Profitability Section
1
2
3
ARR/ FTE improves with scale, highlighting operating leverage available in SaaS businesses
and focusing on cracking the Sales engine early in business’ lifecycle
Indian SaaS startups recover CAC quickly – likely taking advantage of the low cost Indian
ecosystem
Respondents estimate that it takes them 3-6 years to break even at EBITDA level post
launch of SaaS product
59. 59
What Is The Customer Lifetime Of The Respondents’ Customers? 6
Customer Lifetime In Months
We see spikes at the 12, 24 & 36 month marks, likely related to annual contracts
NoOfRespondents
No Of Months
Median Range
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
2 3 5 6 9 10 12 13 14 15 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 33 36 >36
60. 60
What Is The Revenue Retention Rate1 Of The Respondents? 6
Revenue Retention
Median Range
No Of Respondents
RevenueRetentionRate
>50% of respondents2 have a revenue retention rate higher than 100%
1Revenue Retention Rate is defined as the revenues produced from customers acquired in period 1 divided into the revenues produced by the same customers in the next period expressed as a
percentage
2Respondents who track their revenue retention rate
100%+NetRetentionNetChurn
(Upsellsgreater
thanchurn)
(Churngreater
thanupsells)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
<80%
80%-90%
90%-100%
100%-110%
110%-120%
120%-130%
140%-150%
>150%
61. 61
What Is The Revenue Retention Rate1 By Customer Type? 6
Revenue Retention
Surprisingly, revenue retention is marginally better with SMB/SME customers even though enterprises typically
sign more long term contracts
1Revenue Retention Rate is defined as the revenues produced from customers acquired in period 1 divided into the revenues produced by the same customers in the next period expressed as a
percentage
Median Range: (90%-100%) ($100%-$110%)
PercentageShare
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Large Enterprises SMB/SME (Small and
Medium Business)
>130%
100%-130%
<100%
62. 62
Which Contract Lengths Enable Better Revenue Retention1 Rates? 6
Revenue Retention By Contract Length
Unsurprisingly, data shows that revenue retention is improving as we are moving towards respondents with longer
period contracts
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Monthly Quarterly Half yearly Yearly Multi-year
contracts
Perpetual
License
>130%
100%-130%
<100%
PercentageShare
1Revenue Retention Rate is defined as the revenues produced from customers acquired in period 1 divided into the revenues produced by the same customers in the next period expressed as a
percentage
63. 63
What Is The Customer Churn1 Of The Respondents (>$1Mn ARR)? 6
Customer Churn 2
Scaled respondents in the US ecosystem3 (>$2.5Mn ARR) display a median customer churn of ~10%
Median Range
1Churn = # of Customers that dropped by year end/ # Customers at the start of the year
2Subset of 35 respondents
3Per Pacific Crest Private SaaS Company Survey Results 2016
No Of Months
NoOfRespondents
7
4
6
4 4
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
<5% 5%-10% 10%-15% 15%-20% 20%-25% >25%
Journey to $1Mn ARR
Post the $1Mn ARR mark
respondents see a
median customer churn
of 10%-15%
64. 64
What Are Typical Contract Lengths? 6
Typical Contract Length Of Customers
Yearly and monthly contracts seem to be the most popular contract lengths for the respondents
28%
8%
7%38%
18%
1%
Monthly
Quarterly
Half yearly
Yearly
Multi-year contracts
Perpetual License
65. 65
What Do Contract Lengths Look Like By Customer Type? 6
Contract Length
More Than 70% of the contracts signed by large enterprise customers of the respondent are 1 year and above
PercentageShare
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Large Enterprises SMB/SME (Small and
Medium Business)
Perpetual License
Multi-year contracts
Yearly
Half yearly
Quarterly
Monthly
66. 66
Which Kind Of Pricing Metrics Do The Respondents Use? 6
Distribution Of Pricing Metrics Used
This is in line with last years results where 53% of respondents used number of employees as the primary pricing
metric. This is the most popular pricing metric in the US1 as well
32%
1%
13%
45%
9% Based on usage
Database size
Number of transactions
Number of users or
employees
Other
1Per Pacific Crest Private SaaS Company Survey Results 2016
67. 67
What Is The LTV/CAC Of The Respondents? (>$1Mn ARR) 6
LTV/CAC Distribution1
126 out of the 33 respondents track their LTV/CAC
NoOfRespondents
LTV/CAC
The median LTV/CAC is 4-5 for respondents with an ARR >$1Mn
1
5
7
2
13
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2-2.5 2.5-3 3-4 4-5 >5
68. 68
Key Takeaways From Other Metrics
1
2
3
Revenue retention is better amongst respondents with SMB/SME customers
Respondents servicing large enterprises have more than 50% of their contracts with a period of
greater than 1 year
Respondents who sign contracts with a period of greater than a year have reported higher
revenue retention rates
70. 70
How Much Funding Have Respondents Raised? 7
Funds Raised To Date
NoOfRespondents
Funding Raised
Median Range
Pointing to a young SaaS ecosystem, 38% of our sample is bootstrapped (perhaps by design?) with another 38%
having raised less than $5Mn
29
12
16
12
4
3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Bootstrapped <$1Mn $1Mn-$5Mn $5Mn-$10Mn $10Mn-$20Mn >$20Mn
71. 71
At What Revenue Multiple Have Respondents Raised Their Most Recent Round? 7
Funding Raised To Date1
NumberofRespondents
Revenue Multiple
Given that our sample has a relatively low median ARR of $0.75Mn its no surprise to see a number of respondents
raising money at double digit revenue multiples, although the gap at 12.5-15x is notable
Median Range
1 Subset of 36 respondents
2
6
8
9
1
10
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
<5x 5x-7.5x 7.5x-10x 10x-12.5x 12.5x-15x >20x
72. 72
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1 2 3 4 5
What Is The ARR Profile Versus The Funding Level Of Respondents? 7
As expected, funds raised correlates with ARR (but not necessarily with higher growth rates). Its also interesting to
see that bootstrapped ARRs compare well to those having raised seed funding (<$1Mn)
1 Subset of 72 respondents
2 Subset of 60 respondents
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1 2 3 4 5
<$0.25Mn
$0.25Mn - $0.5Mn
$0.5Mn - $1Mn
$1Mn - $2.5Mn
$2.5Mn - $5Mn
$5Mn - $10Mn
Bootstrapped < $1Mn $1Mn-$5Mn $5Mn-$10Mn $10Mn-$20Mn
Median ARR vs Funding1 Median ARR Growth vs Funding2
Bootstrapped < $1Mn $1Mn-$5Mn $5Mn-$10Mn $10Mn-$20Mn
$0.25Mn-
$0.5Mn
$0.5Mn-
$1Mn
$1Mn-
$2.5Mn
$2.5Mn-
$5Mn
$2.5Mn-
$5Mn
<$10%
10% - 25%
25% - 50%
50% - 100%
100% - 200%
200% - 300%
25%-50%
100%-200% 100%-200% 100%-200%
100%
Funding Raised
Funding Raised
MedianARR
MedianYoYARRGrowthRate
73. 73
Is The Customer Focus Determining The Level Of Funding ? 7
Out of respondents who founded companies post 2013 and were funded, 73% of them were vertical focussed SaaS
players (in-line with the global trend of focus on vertical SaaS players)
1 Subset of 19 respondents
Funding Raised VS Customer Type Focus (Companies founded post 2013)1
63%
37%
Vertical Focussed
Horizontal Focussed
74. 74
Key Takeaways From Funding Section
1
2
Pointing to a young sample, 38% of respondents have raised <$5Mn and often at double digit
revenue multiples
Interestingly another 38% of our sample is fully bootstrapped. This could be related to the age
of our sample (i.e., they will raise funds as they grow), a preference for staying bootstrapped or
just being capital efficient
3 Increasing focus on Vertical focussed SaaS players with major funding activity happening in
these players
79. 79
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A Proven Track Record Of Performance: 50+ Transactions In The Last 6 Quarters
Signal Hill Has Completed 700+ Transactions Since Inception
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84. 84
The Signal Hill Software Team - USA
Team Member Experience Background & Experience
Scott Wieler
Chairman & CEO
swieler@signalhill.com
+1 (443) 478-2405
30+
Has created more than $70+ billion in transaction value for clients through M&A, private placements,
venture and growth capital, divestitures, fairness opinions/valuations, defense advisory and
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Prior to founding Signal Hill, was Head of the Global Telecommunications Group at DB Alex Brown
MBA from The Wharton School and B.A. from Boston College
Chris Hastings
Managing Director
Head – Private Placements
chastings@signalhill.com
+1-917-621-3750
25+
25 years of experience in raising capital; leads the Private Placement group at Signal Hill,
focusing on growth-stage companies across the technology space.
Prior to Signal Hill, was Principal at BerchWood Partners, with previous experience at Bear
Stearns, Credit Suisse, Cantor Fitzgerald, Bank of America and Prudential Securities.
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Managing Director
chieb@signalhill.com
+1-415-590-6891
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Prior to joining Signal Hill, was with Pacific Crest Securities for more than seven years building the
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The Signal Hill Software Team - INDIA
Senior-level
involvement
throughout the
process is
critical to
driving
outcomes
Team Member Experience Background & Experience
Klaas Oskam
Managing Director
koskam@signalhill.in
+91-80-3969-4701
20+
Extensive investment banking experience in Technology in last 10 years led & closed 30+ private
placement & M&A transactions in TMT
Prior to Signal Hill, was a Director in the Investment Banking team of EY India, responsible for
Technology M&A in the South of India.
Before moving to India in February of 2005, worked for eight years in Europe, primarily with
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Managing Director
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Prior to joining Signal Hill, was Director and Head of India Operations for Technology Holdings
Before Technology Holdings, he was Associate Vice President at Avendus Capital; Began his career as
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nmalhotra@signalhill.in
+91-80-3969-4712
10+
Investment banking experience in the Technology, Telecom, Enterprise Software and Internet &
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Prior to Signal Hill, was Business Head for Wooqer, a retail-focused SaaS start-up. He was earlier an
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A Leading Advisor In Software Transactions
Signal Hill Has Won Numerous Awards In The Software Sector
Recent Awards And Nominations Of Signal Hill’s Software Transactions
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89. Public Tech Platforms APIs
India Stack, Impact of inflection points
on Government/PSUs/Private Sector
across verticals
Playbook Market
Catalyst
Policy
Technology
Stack
Enhanced Market Access
Buy products vs unique solutions and
services - B2C or B2B, Local or Global
Events/Matchmaking/Deals
Product Business Skill
Building
Services vs Product mindset
Lifecycle of entrepreneurship
Learn from peers/don’t reinvent
Simplified Regulations
Fund of Funds, Stay-in-India Checklist, List in India,
Open APIs, Grand Challenges, Buying products not
Projects, No Software Patents, Financial Inclusion,
Healthcare Inclusion, Regulatory sandbox, Digital
goods tax definition, Net Neutrality Policy, Open
Source Policy, Privacy law, Civil society watchdogs.
What we do...
90. iSPIRT Brings Intensity to Building The Technology Ecosystem
30 yr
Architects
10 yr
Planners
5 yr Doers
• Think Tanks
• Universities
• Research Labs
• VCs
• Policy Makers
• Missionary
entrepreneurs
• Bootstrapped
entrepreneurs
• Mercenary
entrepreneurs
Public
goods
• Market maker
• Ecosystem
builder
• Mindset shaper
iSPIRT:
iSPIRT Brings Intensity to Building The Technology Ecosystem
93. 93
Disclaimer & Contacts
Strictly Private & Confidential
This preliminary document has been prepared by Signal Hill Capital Advisory India Private Limited (“SHI”) for discussion purposes only. The information and opinions contained in this document are
derived from public and private sources which we believe to be reliable and accurate but which, without further investigation cannot be warranted as to their accuracy, completeness or correctness.
This information is supplied on the condition that SHI and any partner, employee or affiliate of SHI are not liable for any error or inaccuracy contained herein, whether negligently caused or
otherwise, or for loss or damage suffered by any person due to such error, omission or inaccuracy as a result of such a supply. SHI and its affiliates are also not liable for any loss or damage
howsoever caused by relying on the information provided in this document. In particular any numbers, initial valuations and schedules contained in this document are preliminary and are for
discussion purposes only and does not constitute an opinion. The credentials mentioned herein include those transactions concluded by senior employees prior to joining SHI or by entities which
have since merged with SHI and its affiliates.
Signal Hill is a leading independent advisory boutique serving the M&A and private capital raising needs of growth companies. Signal Hill’s experienced bankers provide deep domain expertise and
an unyielding commitment to clients in our sectors: Internet & Digital Media, Internet Infrastructure, Services and Software. With over 700 completed transactions and offices in Baltimore,
Bangalore, Boston, Nashville, New York, Reston and San Francisco, Signal Hill leverages deep strategic industry and financial sponsor relationships to help our clients achieve Greater Outcomes®.
iSPIRT Foundation connects and guides software product entrepreneurs and catalyses business growth. It’s an enabler of a stronger ecosystem. We encourage buyers to improve performance by
leveraging software products effectively. We advise policy makers on interventions that can set the industry on a higher growth trajectory. We are a not-for-profit industry think-tank founded by key
participants and proponents of the Indian software product industry
Klaas Oskam
Managing Director
Email: koskam@signalhill.in
Mobile: +91 97403 32000
Direct: +91 80 3969 4701
Nitin Bhatia
Managing Director
Email: nbhatia@signalhill.in
Mobile: +91 9920365756
Direct: +91 22 6169 5921
Nishant Malhotra
Director
Email: nmalhotra@signalhill.in
Mobile: +91 9961820040
Direct: +91 80 3969 4712
Varun Potturu
Analyst
Email: vpotturu@signalhill.in
Mobile: +91 7350123803
Direct: +91 80 3969 4702