In Episode #627, Nathan interviews Mark Mader. He’s the CEO of Smartsheet. He’s passionate about delivering superior, customer experiences. Mark strives to find innovative ways for customers to collaborate more intelligently using the Smartsheet platform and its partner ecosystem. Prior to Smartsheet, Mark served as SVP of Global Services for Onyx Software, leading the consulting and consumer operation team in America, Europe and Asia. In 2015, he was recognized as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of Technology for the Pacific NorthWest.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Play Bigger
What CEO do you follow? – Stat Mandella
Favorite online tool? — Tripit
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20-year old self know one thing, what would it be? – “You tell me what the major trends are in the next 3 decades, in tech, and I would make you a lot of money”

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:40 – Nathan introduces Mark to the show
02:21 – Smartsheet is a software SaaS company
02:27 – The people who subscribe to Smartsheet are teams and enterprise teams
02:47 – Smartsheet is similar to Trello’s space but in the enterprise class
- 02:57 – Smartsheet has everything from time tracking to other things that are more diverse in nature
03:23 – Smartsheet serves 65K distinct brands on a paid basis
03:30 – Each brand pays an average of $1K annually
- 03:36 – The range is $200 to $1.6M annually
04:08 – Average MRR is $5.4M
04:20 – Smartsheet has been growing really well for the past 4 years
- 04:43 – “As you grow bigger, the gross rate is more challenging”
04:47 – Smartsheet isn’t only focused on getting new customers, but on helping their customers grow as well
05:23 – 2016 revenue
05:37 – 2017 target ARR
06:10 – First year revenue was zero
06:37 – Smartsheet’s promise didn’t change, but how they brought the product to the market changed dramatically
- 06:55 – 60% of Smartsheet’s revenue came from customers who learned about Smartsheet organically
07:18 – Smartsheet’s first million ARR was in 2010
08:02 – Smartsheet has raised a total of $70M
08:16 – Mark feels that they have a really good platform
08:21 – Team size
08:55 – Have the balance sheet in your model if you want to invest more this year
09:06 – Smartsheet is still trying to focus on efficiency in their growth model
09:34 – Smartsheet’s current status is that they have the decision to slow their growth or drive profit overnight
09:57 – “Control your own destiny”
10:06 – Smartsheet is currently not cash flow positive, but still a healthy business
10:20 – Smartsheet is based in Seattle, Washington and will have an office in Boston
10:48 – Smartsheet has a diverse funnel
- 11:02 – Smartsheet spends millions of dollars in paid advertising a year
11:34 – One of Smartsheet’s keys to growth is to go where the action is
- 11:39 – “Dominate in the world of collaborative, work management and partner effectively with the tools people use and love”
- 11:50 – “Partner with the places where heat exists”
- 12:08 – It’s about having an ecosystem mindset
12:30 – Gross customer churn
13:17 – Smartsheet has a broad population service
13:31 – “The key to sustain long-term growth is not just keeping up, but expanding”
13:59 – Smartsheet can still grow by 30% in 2017, without new customers
14:17 – Smartsheet charges the people who create new work in their application
15:00 – Smartsheet’s safe LTV
- 15:25 – Smartsheet looks at their specific sources and campaigns
16:06 – Smartsheet’s cohort analysis
17:22 – Smartsheet’s last round of raising was in 2014
19:16 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Focus not only on acquiring new customers, but helping your current customers to grow their company.
The key to sustaining long-term growth is not just keeping up, but expanding.
Dominate in the world of collaborative, work management and partner effectively with the tools people use and love.

Resources Mentioned:

The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
Organifi – The juice was Nathan’s life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
Freshbooks – Nathan doesn’t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 627: SmartSheet $70M Raised, $80M ARR, Helping 65,000 Customers with Project Management with CEO Mark Mader

SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders