Tag: SaaS

Investing in VNDLY and the Future of Enterprise Applications – Intelligent Apps

Over the past few years and the next few years, we will see the formation of the next generation of enterprise application companies, companies applying intelligence to their applications. Over the subsequent decade those companies will replace legacy companies such as SAP, Oracle, NetSuite [part of Oracle] and Salesforce.

This will happen for a simple reason. It will happen because applications will become, well, intelligent. As ML/AI becomes integrated into every element of the application stack, applications will learn on a real-time basis and they will start to take actions on our behalf. Intelligent applications will deliver a far better customer experience, solve more of the customer problem set, and do so at far better economics than traditional or even SaaS applications.

That thesis on intelligent applications is why I am so excited about many of the companies we are working with including, Clari [Revenue Operations], a stealth corporate travel startup, a stealth financial application startup, and our most recent investment, VNDLY.

VNDLY, is a talent management solution founded by Shashank Saxena and Narayan Surabhi. Based in Cincinnati, OH, VNDLY’s clould-native vendor management solution gives employers and contractors an AI-based platform that adapts to the changing needs of both groups.

Over the past few decades, the contract and contingent portion of the corporate workforce has grown from less than 20% to more than 40%. My experience leading the Fieldglass team at SAP helped me to see the scale of the challenge businesses face in effectively recruiting, paying, managing and engaging with this critical part of a company.

Like every other component of the enterprise application stack, there is an opportunity to materially improve the completeness, the economic value and the ease of use, of solutions focused on the vendor and contract workforce.

There is an opportunity to serve this part of the workforce with the same fullness of solutions that companies like WorkDay, provide for full-time employees.

Shashank, who was previously an executive at Kroger, and I met a few years ago. I knew at that time that I would enjoy working with him. Shashank and his team are customer centric, insatiably curious, intellectually honest and continually raise the bar on themselves.

I am thrilled to have led Madrona’s investment in VNDLY and excited to work alongside Shashank and team as VNDLY’s newest board member.

Our investment in VNDLY is an Acceleration Fund investment, which is focused on companies that have found product and market fit and are scaling their businesses.

 

Doubling Down on Jama

Today, Madrona is incredibly excited to participate in one of the largest investments ever in an Oregon-based software company, the $200M growth equity investment in Jama Software led by Insight Venture Partners.

Madrona first invested in Jama in 2013 based on our belief that product managers needed better, more modern tools, or even a system of record. Further, we believed in founder and CEO Eric Winquist, the team, and in the product they had developed since 2008, starting with a better approach for requirements management and extending to purposeful collaboration that helped teams build great products.

The company made a successful transition to a subscription business model and cloud-hosted SaaS. Eric then recruited Scott Roth as CEO, who added to the great Jama team by recruiting additional experienced and high-performing executives. Scott has done an amazing job scaling the company.

Today, Jama has grown into a leading product development platform provider for companies building complex products and integrated systems. The Jama Product Development Platform helps companies establish a process to mitigate risk, improve quality, identify opportunities and decrease time to market via an integrated solution for guiding the product lifecycle from idea to launch. More than 600 innovative companies use Jama Software to modernize their product development process.

This significant investment from leading growth equity firm, Insight Venture Partners, is validation of the value Jama provides to customers, its market leading position, as well as its rapid ARR growth. Even more importantly, this new investment round validates the opportunity that lies ahead. This is what is most exciting to Madrona. We see considerably more growth in Jama’s core market, winning new customers and converting others from older systems like IBM DOORS. The company is just starting to scratch the surface with its business outside of North America, as well as working more closely with key partners. The launch of Predictive Product Development and Jama Analyze in April were examples of a number of new product and service enhancements in which the company will continue to invest.

Madrona loves to partner with founders from Day One. In many ways, it’s Day One again at Jama. We are delighted to continue to partner with Scott Roth and the Jama team, and now Richard Wells and Insight. We will continue to roll up our sleeves and work hard to help grow Jama into an indelible Pacific Northwest success story.