Welcome to SaaSology 👋 My name is Dhruv Kapoor - I work in venture capital and focus on B2B SaaS and tech-enabled businesses. As an early-stage investor, I spend most of my time on thematic sourcing, deal execution, and portfolio support.
I decided to launch Weekly SaaSology to document and publish my thoughts and learnings from researching emerging tech trends and regularly interacting with passionate entrepreneurs and operators at the forefront of tech innovation 👨💻
On SaaSology, I aim to discuss the top three tech trends and top five investments that were announced during the week. I also hope to spotlight a new high-potential startup to track and share my favorite tweet/article of the week!
Top Five Investments 🚀
GitLab, a San Francisco-based software development platform that competes against Microsoft’s GitHub, raised $801 million at a valuation of $11 billion in its IPO ($GTLB) at $77 per share, above its marketed range of $66 to $69.
Karma, an Israel-based AI-powered shopping assistant and shopping network, raised $25 million in Series A funding led by Target Global, with participation from MoreTech Ventures, NFX, and Altair Capital.
BrightHire, a New York City-based interview intelligence platform built on Zoom, raised $20.5 million in Series B funding led by 01 Advisors, with participation from Index Ventures and Zoom Apps Fund.
Matik, a San Francisco-based automated data-driven software for customizing Google Slides or PowerPoint presentations in minutes, raised $20 million in Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
Heyflow, a Germany-based no-code platform for building interactive clickflows to boost customer conversions, raised $6 million in seed funding led by Project A Ventures, with participation from Atlantic Labs and several angel investors.
Top 3 Trends ☁️
Companies are staying private for longer 💰
The widespread availability of capital in the private markets (especially multi-stage funds) has created an avenue for businesses to delay IPOs and remain private for longer.
Distributed Teams and Remote Hiring 🌎
Most service sector businesses, especially in IT, are choosing to be remote-first to access a global pool of talent and capitalize on the cost savings of a remote office.
The Proliferation of Space Tourism 🚀
Successful commercial launches of Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic have ushered in a new era of space tourism. Two-year-old startup Space Perspective recently raised $40 million in Series A funding to offer stratospheric balloon rides from 2024.
Startup Spotlight ✨
Founded in 2014, ChartMogul is a Berlin-based data analytics platform for SaaS businesses to manage and analyze their revenues and customer behavior. Backed by Alven Capital, Point Nine Capital, and RTAventures, ChartMogul has over 55 employees working from 21 different countries. It currently serves more than 1,000 paying customers and competes against Chargebee, Profitwell, and Baremetrics in the subscription analytics market. Here is a snapshot of the platform from their website:
Favorite Tweet of the Week 📚
This newsletter is intended for informational purposes only. Sources: TechCrunch, StrictlyVC, LinkedIn, Twitter, Yahoo Finance, ChartMogul's website
I hope you found the first edition of Weekly SaaSology insightful. If you enjoyed reading the newsletter, share it with others by clicking on the button below 👇
Feel free to reach out by replying to this email or @dhruvcashpoor on Twitter if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions on the newsletter 🙂
Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next Friday 🍹