# ![@lukesophinos Avatar](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:26/cr:twitter::3310826760.png) @lukesophinos Luke Sophinos

Luke Sophinos posts on X about ai, acquisition, ipo, fintech the most. They currently have [-------] followers and [---] posts still getting attention that total [-----] engagements in the last [--] hours.

### Engagements: [-----] [#](/creator/twitter::3310826760/interactions)
![Engagements Line Chart](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:600/cr:twitter::3310826760/c:line/m:interactions.svg)

- [--] Week [--] +3,450%
- [--] Month [--] -99%
- [--] Months [------] -55%
- [--] Year [-------] -83%

### Mentions: [--] [#](/creator/twitter::3310826760/posts_active)
![Mentions Line Chart](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:600/cr:twitter::3310826760/c:line/m:posts_active.svg)

- [--] Months [--] -49%
- [--] Year [---] -24%

### Followers: [-------] [#](/creator/twitter::3310826760/followers)
![Followers Line Chart](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:600/cr:twitter::3310826760/c:line/m:followers.svg)

- [--] Week [------] no change
- [--] Month [------] +0.09%
- [--] Months [------] -0.56%
- [--] Year [------] -0.21%

### CreatorRank: undefined [#](/creator/twitter::3310826760/influencer_rank)
![CreatorRank Line Chart](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:600/cr:twitter::3310826760/c:line/m:influencer_rank.svg)

### Social Influence

**Social category influence**
[finance](/list/finance)  [technology brands](/list/technology-brands)  [stocks](/list/stocks)  [vc firms](/list/vc-firms)  [social networks](/list/social-networks)  [countries](/list/countries)  [cryptocurrencies](/list/cryptocurrencies)  [travel destinations](/list/travel-destinations)  [currencies](/list/currencies)  [exchanges](/list/exchanges) 

**Social topic influence**
[ai](/topic/ai), [acquisition](/topic/acquisition), [ipo](/topic/ipo), [fintech](/topic/fintech), [insurance](/topic/insurance), [money](/topic/money), [infrastructure](/topic/infrastructure), [playbook](/topic/playbook), [in the](/topic/in-the), [$googl](/topic/$googl)

**Top accounts mentioned or mentioned by**
[@lennysan](/creator/undefined) [@vankempter](/creator/undefined) [@toddsaunders](/creator/undefined) [@ncino](/creator/undefined) [@tibomaker](/creator/undefined) [@yorkgrowth](/creator/undefined) [@evanlyseng](/creator/undefined) [@gregisenberg](/creator/undefined) [@e1g](/creator/undefined) [@servicetitan](/creator/undefined) [@fkerrest](/creator/undefined) [@callmehouck](/creator/undefined) [@robbiecrab](/creator/undefined) [@brianfoconnor](/creator/undefined) [@carsonturner](/creator/undefined) [@shawnchance](/creator/undefined) [@omersventures](/creator/undefined) [@conradev](/creator/undefined) [@arix](/creator/undefined) [@bessemervps](/creator/undefined)

**Top assets mentioned**
[Alphabet Inc Class A (GOOGL)](/topic/$googl) [Shopify Inc (SHOP)](/topic/$shop) [Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER)](/topic/$uber) [Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)](/topic/microsoft) [Mithril (MITH)](/topic/mithril) [AppFolio, Inc. Class A (APPF)](/topic/$appf)
### Top Social Posts
Top posts by engagements in the last [--] hours

"The founders again saw into the future this time recognizing that they should enable any type of developer to build apps and plug-ins. In [----] they launched an API and App Store. This was ground-breaking given that the Apple App Store launched around the same time"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1670789841485811715)  2023-06-19T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"Figma Acquisition winners: Index Ventures. 13% stake worth $2.6 billion Jeff Weiner. 2.2% stake worth $440 million Greylock Partners. 13% Stake worth $2.6 billion. Kleiner Perkins. 10.5% stake worth $2.1 billion Sequoia Capital. 6% stake worth $1.2 billion"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1576603678823235584)  2022-10-02T16:03Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"After Series A venture-backed start ups are the equivalent of professional sports. Not for the faint of heart"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1578819383563993089)  2022-10-08T18:47Z 36.8K followers, [--] engagements


"So what is this software revolution you speak of B2b Software will become industry-specific (ie. Vertical SaaS). Its not built for everyone and anyone. It caters exactly to a specific businesses workflow & needs. Its software for: -Gyms -Barbershops -Governments -Schools"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1585621085793312768)  2022-10-27T13:15Z 36.8K followers, [--] engagements


"Let's look at two great examples 👇 Docusign is a $10B business. It's the largest e-signature platform there is. But it's for everyone. - Small businesses - Mid markets - Big Enterprise Not specifically designed for a set of users. So how will it be disrupted"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1585621099802693632)  2022-10-27T13:15Z 36.8K followers, [--] engagements


"The Wall Street Journal calls it the "Hottest App right now" after it went viral a week after its launch mostly among high school teens. The story is even more impressive as the app was only available to download in [--] states. Crazy"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1593268202254913537)  2022-11-17T15:41Z 36.8K followers, [---] engagements


"Gas is an app through which high school students can give each other compliments anonymously. So how did they go viral"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1593268204800909313)  2022-11-17T15:41Z 36.8K followers, [---] engagements


"As a result of the difference in opinion regarding the company strategy Sridhar's brothers Kumar & Shekhar & their friend Tony left the company. That decision would cost them BILLIONS. Sridhar was the only executive left & said it was the most depressing time of his career"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1594704833893740549)  2022-11-21T14:50Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Sridhar fought through surviving the dotcom crisis and decided to launch a new division. This division would ultimately make them a global leader. The CLOUD division launched in [----] called Zoho"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1594704849307770880)  2022-11-21T14:50Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"The cloud trend was approaching escape velocity and Todd saw an opportunity: Being a part of Salesforce seeing everything take offAWS Google Apps it was clear to me there was going to be a cloud version of everything in the stack." And he built just that with @fkerrest"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1623332128690950144)  2023-02-08T14:45Z 36.8K followers, [----] engagements


"One of the investors Okta pitched in the early years Bessemer refused to invest and told him "Cloud identity has no future""  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1623332144725757952)  2023-02-08T14:45Z 36.8K followers, [----] engagements


"But Todd was more thrilled than afraid because this move validated their market practically overnight: One day it will flip. Youll go from a lonely category creator to owning the whole thing. All that pain is paid offyoure the de facto leader"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1623332160160821248)  2023-02-08T14:45Z 36.8K followers, [----] engagements


"Microsoft planned to take the enterprise market of identity management from Okta. So Okta re-positioned itself and focused most of it's resources on winning the mid-market instead"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1623332168763346945)  2023-02-08T14:45Z 36.8K followers, [----] engagements


"It was a great move Okta continued to grow. By [----] they had: - Raked in revenue of $399 million growing 56% year over year. - Had 6k+ customers up 40% year over year"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1623332172563382272)  2023-02-08T14:45Z 36.8K followers, [----] engagements


"Today Okta is an $11B company and Todd now a billionaire owns 4% of the company. He advises other entrepreneurs NOT to get lost in ownership. Would you rather own 100% of the corner grocery store or 1% of Costco"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1623332194977710080)  2023-02-08T14:45Z 36.8K followers, [----] engagements


"This guy acquires companies for breakfast lunch and dinner. But never sells them. The coolest software billionaire you've never heard of 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1635638169931759616)  2023-03-14T13:45Z 36.4K followers, 3.9M engagements


"Each group has a director responsible for helping the companies in that group succeed. I love this part"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1635638233831989249)  2023-03-14T13:45Z 36.6K followers, 124K engagements


"Three cultural tenets govern Constellation: [--]. Autonomy [--]. Long-term Thinking [--]. Meritocracy"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1635638244024156161)  2023-03-14T13:45Z 36.6K followers, 124.5K engagements


"In its early days ServiceTitan focused on plumbing HVAC and electrical businesses. Vahe and Ara knew they needed to scale quickly. They focused on building a great product and finding the right people to join their team. And they did"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1642885962928902144)  2023-04-03T13:45Z 36.6K followers, 14.8K engagements


"In [----] ServiceTitan raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners. This pivotal moment allowed them to expand their team refine their product and reach even more customers"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1642885965428719616)  2023-04-03T13:45Z 36.6K followers, 14K engagements


"In [----] this guy created a dating site as a side-project. In [----] he sold it for $575M. He kept all the money because he never raised a single cent. The sickest bootstrap story you've never heard of 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1644697864063586305)  2023-04-08T13:45Z 36.6K followers, 7.6M engagements


"Whatever it was it worked. The buzz drove new users to the site and POF's growth skyrocketed hitting 1B page views per month by [----]. [--] things that differentiated POF from other dating websites 👇"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1644697904412753920)  2023-04-08T13:45Z 36.5K followers, 324.7K engagements


"1. Pricing Strategy POF was completely free for users unlike many other dating websites. This made POF more accessible to a broader audience and helped to attract more users"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1644697912277106689)  2023-04-08T13:45Z 36.5K followers, 320.8K engagements


"An early Salesforce employee built a $45B vertical SaaS company for the life sciences industry. He only raised $7M before going public at a massive valuation of $4.4B. All in just [--] years. The story of Veeva an amazing software business you've never heard of 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1646147425671823361)  2023-04-12T13:45Z 36.5K followers, 1.8M engagements


"It is one of the most capital-efficient businesses in software history. VCs thought Veeva's market was too small and that they were crazy to only be focusing on one industry. Peter only raised $7M for Veeva talk about creating value and valuation simultaneously"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1646147439114567687)  2023-04-12T13:45Z 36.8K followers, 40.3K engagements


"In [----] Peter met Matt Wallach at a tech conference. They hit it off immediately and bonded over their love for cutting-edge software solutions. They saw a gap in the life sciences industry and knew they could fill it with cloud-based software. And Veeva Systems was born"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1646147442675691521)  2023-04-12T13:45Z 36.8K followers, 33.5K engagements


"Combining their skills (Peter an exec for 20+ years and Matt a sales exec for healthcare tech companies) they founded Veeva Systems in January [----]. With their flagship product Veeva CRM Peter and Matt have taken over the life sciences industry"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1646147449785036800)  2023-04-12T13:45Z 36.8K followers, 32.1K engagements


"3 reasons why Veeva Systems became such a massive success 👇 [--]. Product Strategy Instead of adding similar features to their initial product (CRM for sales) they launched a second product called Vault for R&D"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1646147509306408960)  2023-04-12T13:45Z 36.8K followers, 16.9K engagements


"Alan Patricof founder of Apax Partners and Greycroft: "I have been in the VC business since [----] just at the major start of the chip revolution with Intel; then the biotech revolution with the discovery of gene splicing by Genentech in 1976; then the PC revolution in [----] with Apple et al; then cellular in 1982; then the internet in 1980's; then cloud in the 90's. AI and Chat GPT is a bigger and more profound revolution than all of these in my opinion"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1653763804117729280)  2023-05-03T14:09Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"It exposed terrorist financing networks & Syrian suicide bombing groups. It prevented a Pakistani suicide bombing plot on Western targets and found a spy of an allied government"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1658106295969546240)  2023-05-15T13:45Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"Palantir even played a huge role in convicting Bernie Madoff of his Ponzi scheme"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1658106313543495682)  2023-05-15T13:45Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"At a certain point you have to make the jump from founder-led sales to employee-led sales. It can KILL your business & most companies f*ck it up. [--] critical lessons in scaling your early sales team 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1661730087765680131)  2023-06-29T00:39Z 36.1K followers, 39K engagements


"What do Bank of America Barclays & US Bank all have in common They run on the same vertical software platform built exclusively for banks. The story of nCino a $3B vertical SaaS company you've probably used without even knowing it 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1666803529607188480)  2023-06-08T13:45Z 36.5K followers, 134.8K engagements


"The banking industry is MASSIVE and even with limited customers nCino was able to secure it's first financing round. The team secured $9 million in a friends and family round in [----] led by former Morgan Stanley Chairman and CEO John Mack"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1666803586934910977)  2023-06-08T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"By [----] nCino signed it's 100th banking customer and closed on a $29M Series B round led by Insight Partners - one of the leading vertical SaaS investors. Jeff Horing managing director at Insight said this at the time:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1666803595965263877)  2023-06-08T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"7/ In [----] Mindbody launched its API products which enabled third-party developers to create apps and tools using Mindbody data. I've written about the power of vertical-specific app stores and the incredible moat they create before: https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1647959356779139072 The App Store is one of the best business models we've seen in the last [--] years. We're now seeing it play out in vertical SaaS. How a few vertical SaaS companies are building massive businesses by taking a page out of Apple's playbook 🧵 https://t.co/TvvMxqfnT6"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1673326575427657728)  2023-06-26T13:45Z 36.6K followers, [----] engagements


"8/ In [----] Mindbody raised $35 million in Series D funding from IVP and Bessemer Venture Partners. Just a year later they raised another $50M in Series E funding. You can read Bessemer's original investment memo here (it has some gems): https://www.bvp.com/memos/mindbody https://www.bvp.com/memos/mindbody"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1673326578879836160)  2023-06-26T13:45Z 36.6K followers, [----] engagements


"5/ Check's approach creates a win/win/win situation for everyone involved. Platforms like Service titan can strengthen their offering and increase retention and revenue. SMBs can access a payroll platform tailored to their needs. Check can monetize through subscription fees"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1675863272942374916)  2023-07-03T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"6/ Check has already secured large clients like ServiceTitan Eddy and Procare and has raised $44 million from investors like Bedrock Capital Stripe and Thrive Capital. Yes you read that right one of the pioneers of embedded tech Stripe is an investor"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1675863283524571136)  2023-07-03T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"These guys met at a party and went on to build a $750M company. But it hasn't been all glory it's a tale of true perseverance. The story of Squire the (almost) unicorn software company you've probably never heard of 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1678399952240934913)  2023-07-10T18:00Z 36.4K followers, 396.7K engagements


"Thanks for reading. If you've enjoyed this please Like/Retweet so others can too. Follow @lukesophinos for more"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1678400112945692672)  2023-07-11T01:23Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"If you're more of an email person I also write a newsletter. One 'how to'. One business story. One vertical SaaS breakdown. Once a week. Sign up at"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1678419008985645057)  2023-07-10T18:00Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"@callmehouck @RobbieCrab Great master class"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1678747808000507905)  2023-07-11T12:48Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"These Harvard classmates built a $500M company by creating the 'connective tissue' of the education industry. 60% of students in the United States login to their platform every month. The wild story of Clever a company you've probably never heard of 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1680936649205911556)  2023-07-17T19:37Z 36.4K followers, 42.7K engagements


"5/ In April of [----] they launched their embedded insurance offering to the trucking industry and had more than [----] companies sign up for it's wait list in just [--] days. They were on to something BIG"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1692170720749686821)  2023-08-17T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"6/ Doubling down on the demand the brothers raised an oversubscribed $18 million Series A round in mid [----] co-led by Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures. Even Bill Ackman the famous hedge fund manager participated. It's also rumored that [--] VC's competed to lead the round"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1692170732128944345)  2023-08-17T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"These two brothers grew up in a socialist commune in Missouri. Today they run a $2 BILLION dollar revenue business. Here's the incredible story of EquipmentShare 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1693620228943749171)  2023-08-21T13:45Z 36.4K followers, 48.6K engagements


"Vertical SaaS is a winner-take-all game. Just look at the data: MindBody (Gyms): 52% penetration nCino (Banks): 37% penetration Canvas (Colleges): 34% penetration Veeva (Life Sciences): 19% penetration Toast (Restaurants): 10% penetration VC's need to understand that vSaaS isn't playing for 1-5% penetration. To achieve venture-scale returns industry-specific software needs to take over their industry. Does the company your founding/investing/working at have the ability to achieve this type of penetration"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1695486721310494757)  2023-08-26T17:21Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"Ben Franklin arrived in Philadelphia with a few dollars to his name. By [--] he was retired rich & successful beyond his wildest dreams. He attributed all his success to his "13 Principles" framework. This thing changed my life & can change yours too:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1696156949945925878)  2023-08-28T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"2/ Pinterest"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1697244113597591810)  2023-08-31T13:45Z 36K followers, [--] engagements


"It's [----]. These two meet for lunch. They pitch each other on an idea. That idea would ultimately become a $6B software empire. It's quite the story 👇"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1699056046877356535)  2023-09-05T13:45Z 36.5K followers, 58.6K engagements


"From that lunch meeting they got to work launching their first product AppFolio Property Manager in [----]. It is a software tool that allows users to manage their properties tenants leases accounting maintenance marketing and more"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1699056070973608396)  2023-09-05T13:45Z 36K followers, [----] engagements


"That was enough to get their Series A done $5M in [----] from BV Capital and Cisco. From there they raised a $22M Series B in mid [----] led by eventures I can only imagine how hard that Series B was to pull off in the middle of the real estate crash"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1699056079437717974)  2023-09-05T13:45Z 36.3K followers, [----] engagements


"With the cash AppFolio expanded its product portfolio to include AppFolio Investment Manager a platform for real estate investment management. It helps users raise capital communicate with investors distribute returns and generate reports"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1699056087448846349)  2023-09-05T13:45Z 36.7K followers, [----] engagements


"With a maniacal focus on becoming an end-to-end solution AppFolio went on an M&A tear acquiring several other companies: RentLinx - rental listing syndication Wegowise - utility usage and energy efficiency tracking Dynasty - Vendor management for property managers"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1699056091685159255)  2023-09-05T13:45Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"@toddsaunders Lol yessss never refusing a lunch meeting again 😂"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1699224441060770062)  2023-09-06T00:54Z 36.4K followers, [--] engagements


"What are some other examples of vSaaS companies and their level of market penetration. Let me know in the comments"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1699780826819613096)  2023-09-07T13:45Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"3 MIT grads founded the ULTIMATE boring business. Providing software for manufacturing businesses the company was recently acquired for $4 BILLION. This is the story of Epicor:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1701230388771692621)  2023-09-11T13:45Z 36K followers, 198.2K engagements


"@BrianFOConnor One of the pioneers along w/ Salesforce"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1701257937799299503)  2023-09-11T15:34Z 36.1K followers, [---] engagements


"You have to pick one company to invest in. Veeva or Procore. Wo are you choosing Here's a head to head comparison of two vertical software titans:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1701955154931851561)  2023-09-13T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"Klayvio is an iconic company. The founder still owns 38% and he'll be worth $3.5B at IPO. This is what happens when you get to $600M+ of ARR having only burned $15M. Truly remarkable"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1703438439268397306)  2023-09-17T15:59Z 36.4K followers, 27.4K engagements


"These guys set out to build a lifestyle business and ended up with an $8 billion software juggernaut. Together they are going to take home $4 BILLION in the largest software IPO in recent years. Here's the scoop on Klayvio 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1704133004136993002)  2023-09-19T13:59Z 36.4K followers, 33.8K engagements


"How fast do the fastest publicly traded SaaS companies grow Pretty darn fast. 47.8% - Bill. com 45.8% - SentinelOne 44.9% - Toast 43.1% - zScaler 42% - Monday .com 39.6% - MongoDB 38.1% - Gitlab 36.7% - Crowdstrike 35.8% - Confluent 35.5% - Snowflake"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1704854242375450905)  2023-09-21T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"How slow are the slowest publicly traded SaaS companies growing Vimeo: (8.2%) 8x8: (2.3%) Yext: 1.7% Zoom: 3.6% Domo: 5.5% Box: 7.1% PayPal: 7.1% Everbridge: 7.4% Dropbox: 8.7% Zuora: 9.4% Adobe: 9.8% Twilio: 10%"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1705216636721225933)  2023-09-22T13:45Z 36.1K followers, [----] engagements


"In [----] this guy walked into a Starbucks to order a latte & thought "If I can use my smartphone to order coffee why cant I use it to give to my church" Fast forward a decade & he's built a big-time church software business. From Pastor to Tech CEO here's the story:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1706292492369637715)  2023-09-25T13:00Z 36.5K followers, 34.2K engagements


"Top Public SaaS Companies by Forward Revenue Multiple:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1706666211185193199)  2023-09-26T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [--] engagements


"5 common characteristics of successful vertical software outcomes: [--]. GTM is marketing-led and/or product-led. Toast is heavy on marketing-led customer acquisition with referral being the most critical piece of their GTM flywheel. Shopify is product-led. The product leads to solid customer acquisition AND expansion. You know when your shopping on a Shopify storefront therefore when you or a friend wants to sell something online it's a natural first place to check out. 1a. If it's sales-led ACV's are MASSIVE. Sales-led typically takes too long and growth is too slow to achieve venture scale"  
[X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1707411777749664183)  2023-09-28T15:07Z [--] followers, [----] engagements


"Every industry is in one of the below software adoption cycles: [--]. Digitizing Database/Source of Truth [--]. Digitizing Pen/Paper Processes & Workflows [--]. Analytics for [--] and/or [--] [--]. Intervention Tools for [--] and/or [--] [--]. Prediction Tools for [--] and/or [--] [--]. AI Tools for [--] and/or [--] You'd be surprised how many industries are still in the second and third stage"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1709207019939680484)  2023-10-03T14:01Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"What is stopping existing vSaaS behemoths from rolling out their own AI co-pilots and smashing all of these upstarts Simple example. Co-Pilot for Field Service Workers Start-Up ServiceTitan launching it Seeing a lot of these and can't get my head around it. Thoughts"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1709565320606912857)  2023-10-04T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"Very few entrepreneurs actually understand VC economics. You need to if you plan on raising money for your business. Alignment of interests is absolutely critical. Here's the quick 101:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1714638768794472863)  2023-10-18T13:45Z 36.4K followers, 70K engagements


"Fractal a venture studio launched [---] vertical SaaS companies in [--] years. What's your take -- How many become 'unicorns' Where does the fund's IRR end up"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1716813067571597394)  2023-10-24T13:45Z 36K followers, [----] engagements


"I moved to Miami from California in early [----]. How I describe it: [--]. Lifestyle of San Diego [--]. Founders/Investors/Hustle Quality of NYC [--]. Home Prices of Denver [--]. No state income tax (this + QSBS is a nobrainer) Can't believe more haven't done it yet"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1716831911086334195)  2023-10-24T14:59Z 35.6K followers, [----] engagements


"Most people don't realize what the leading Vertical SaaS companies are doing right now. Theyre focusing on the *triple threat* * SaaS * InsureTech * FinTech Lets go deeper with examples (I promise you you wont regret it):"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1717175453906239518)  2023-10-25T13:45Z 35.6K followers, 46.4K engagements


"@carsonturner_ Insurance for sure. Nightmare on the b2b side. Banks making some progress (@ncino) See a ton of SaaS for construction these days but I think most struggle with utilization. Epic Systems monopoly and lobbying on hospitals has stifled transformation there"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1717914399506084130)  2023-10-27T14:41Z 35.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Vertical SaaS vs. Horizontal SaaS at a Glance:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1718624992479658415)  2023-10-29T13:45Z 35.6K followers, 11.7K engagements


"Do you agree or disagree that the next phase of b2b software is vertical-specific"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1718987442127310865)  2023-10-30T13:45Z 36K followers, 18.8K engagements


"It's not very often that you see a company take [--] years to get to $4M in revenue and then absolutely explode to $250M+. A vision ahead of its time that ultimately caught up to the rest of the world. This is the story of Procore:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1720436941693518066)  2023-11-03T13:45Z 36.1K followers, 846.3K engagements


"Procores revenue grew very slowly over the years it took [--] years for them to reach $4.8 million in [----]. But the birth of the mobile era would change everything for Procore. When mobile internet connectivity came to job sites the industry caught up with Tooey's vision"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1720436989550612481)  2023-11-03T13:45Z 36.6K followers, 29.6K engagements


"The company implemented an inside sales engine and doubled it's ARR growth rate. The company then began to attract the attention of venture and Bessemer Venture Partners and Iconiq Capital led several funding rounds. The company raised close to $500M over the next [--] years"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1720436997058334939)  2023-11-03T13:45Z 36.6K followers, 26.5K engagements


"Procore also expanded its product portfolio by adding new features and integrations with over [---] third-party applications. The company also acquired several companies that enhanced its capabilities such as Honest Buildings Esticom Avata Intelligence and INDUS"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1720437004364919195)  2023-11-03T13:45Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"Procore filed to go public in [----] but delayed its IPO due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company finally went public in May [----] raising $634.5 million and reaching a market cap of over $11 billion. The companys stock trades under the ticker PCOR on NYSE"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1720437007451910638)  2023-11-03T13:45Z 36.1K followers, 21.8K engagements


"vSaaS doesn't have to be the system of record. That's a myth in my opinion. My friend @shawnchance over at @OMERSVentures just dropped a great read on The Evolution of vSaaS. Good infographic from his post below. What are your thoughts Agree/disagree"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1721176849991319555)  2023-11-05T14:45Z 36.1K followers, [----] engagements


"Market Size: Statistica estimates that the market size of the P&C and direct insurance industry in the US is $843 billion. MASSIVE. Segmentation is definetly a challenge here with big enterprises dominating the lions share of the industry"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1722626413931663656)  2023-11-09T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Capital: Guidewire only raised $24.8 million in venture capital funding from US Venture Partners Bay Partners and Battery Ventures. The company went public in [----] and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GWRE"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1722626421947031750)  2023-11-09T14:45Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"M&A: Guidewire has made [--] acquisitions. The most recent ones are HazardHub a provider of property risk data and scores and Cyence a data science and risk analytics company. These acquisitions enhance Guidewires platform with more data sources models and tools"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1722626431514219004)  2023-11-09T14:45Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"This guy started a BILLION dollar company while living in a shipping container in Kabul Afghanistan. This "boring" business creates cloud software for government. This is the incredible story of OpenGov:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1724075925812433050)  2023-11-13T14:45Z 36.2K followers, 597.6K engagements


"They've been on an acquisition spree with a goal of building a one stop shop end-to-end vertical SaaS platform for the space. Some of the acquisitions include ProcureNow a cloud procurement platform and Cartegraph a provider of asset management software"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1724075992178921956)  2023-11-13T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"OpenGov is also backed by the best of the best. They've raised over $178 million in funding from investors like Cox Enterprises Insight Partners Accel Andreessen Horowitz and Emerson Collective. Marc Andreessen even serves on the board"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1724076004384317717)  2023-11-13T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"This guy was the youngest ever Harvard Law School graduate at [--]. He then founded and took public a software platform for law firms that was valued north of $2 BILLION. This is the story of DISCO the all-in-one SaaS for law firms:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1729149392714936567)  2023-11-27T14:45Z 36.3K followers, 266.9K engagements


"@conradev @AriX Congrats Conrad Excited for you"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1730248436031926770)  2023-11-30T15:32Z 36.2K followers, [---] engagements


"Degree programs are online masters degrees offered by universities. Short courses are online certificates and credentials offered by universities or corporations. Boot camps are online and hybrid courses that teach in-demand skills like coding data analytics or cybersecurity"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1731686165000966453)  2023-12-04T14:45Z 36.3K followers, [----] engagements


"2Us revenue growth has been impressive over the years. In the first nine months of [----] 2U reported revenue of $729 million up 32% from the same period in [----]. And most recently 2U is about to cross the big kahuna $1 BILLION in Revenue"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1731686177831358851)  2023-12-04T14:45Z 36.3K followers, [----] engagements


"The crazy thing about 2U is they only have about [---] university customers. But those [---] customers make up close to 50K students. That puts their average contract value at $4M per partner Some of 2U's customers include Harvard Georgetown and Yale"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1731686189114036408)  2023-12-04T14:45Z 36.3K followers, [----] engagements


"4. Eat ramen don't spend money figure out how to make it work. This phase is NOT raising money press releases startup awards etc"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1732773253519970581)  2023-12-07T14:45Z 36.3K followers, [----] engagements


"***Scaling from $100k to $1M*** [--]. Ensure that the problem is a pandemic - its wide spread within the industry that you are aiming to serve. [--]. Build commercial version v1. [--]. Sell your way to $1M. This phase is NOT branding Forbes [--] under [--] or hiring a bunch of people"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1732773256703385979)  2023-12-07T14:45Z 36.3K followers, [----] engagements


"In [----] this guy was selling phone systems to dental practices and [--] years later had grown it into a BILLION dollar business. But he didn't even get an invite to the company's IPO. This the crazy story of Weave:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1734222835214893412)  2023-12-11T14:45Z 36.4K followers, 567.2K engagements


"Weave is a leading CRM for small and medium-sized healthcare businesses. You can think of it like the "Salesforce" for Dentists. It build software that connects the entire customer journey from the first phone call to the final invoice and every touchpoint in between"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1734222858082308462)  2023-12-11T14:45Z 36.5K followers, 20.4K engagements


"They convinced a Dentist in Utah Dr. Jeff Gray to come on board as their first customer. He who was looking for a better way to communicate with his patients. and signed up as a beta tester in 2011"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1734222870090592553)  2023-12-11T14:45Z 36.5K followers, 17.7K engagements


"A year later Weave was accepted into Y Combinator. And in July [----] raised their first round a pre-seed of $1 million in July [----] from Pelion Venture Partners. Weave would go on to raise $168M in venture capital from Tiger Global Bessemer & many others"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1734222878131028418)  2023-12-11T14:45Z 36.5K followers, 16.3K engagements


"Weave's most impressive accomplishment has been scaling their inside sales go-to-market. This is not easy to get right but they've done it. What started as three founders pitching dentists has turned into a 200+ person inside sales team that drives 400+ sign ups per month"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1734222896787239323)  2023-12-11T14:45Z 36.5K followers, 14.2K engagements


"The result of this Very impressive revenue growth. They recently reported total revenue of $115.9 million representing a 45% year-over-year increase compared to $79.9 million in [----]. Weave also has strong retention 103%. It is HARD to be over 100% in the SMB category"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1734222907432378781)  2023-12-11T14:45Z 36.5K followers, 14.6K engagements


"But this is where the story gets a bit dark. In [----] Weave raised a big venture round that valued the company at $970M. Following that the board told the Founder/CEO they thought it was time to find a new leader. And just like that Brandon Rodman was out as CEO"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1734222916060061828)  2023-12-11T14:45Z 36.5K followers, 12.5K engagements


"Weave went public on the New York Stock Exchange on November [--] [----] under the ticker symbol WEAV. It raised about $110 million in fresh capital valuing the company at about $1.8 billion. Sadly the founders weren't invited to the IPO. Rodman had this to say about it:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1734222924993941987)  2023-12-11T14:45Z 36.5K followers, 12.2K engagements


"Their product suite includes: Websites Registration Communication Tools Program Management Payments Analytics These tools simplify the complexities of league and team administration providing a user-friendly interface for organizers coaches parents and student athletes"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1736759570473906589)  2023-12-18T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"They aren't the only ones fighting to win the space. NBC Sports recently jumped in acquiring SportsEngine. But LeagueApps focuses on an all-in-one solution with no adds that primarily monetizes through transaction fees"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1736759579604930774)  2023-12-18T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Their revenue has been on a steady upward trajectory surpassing $20 million annually. With an estimated year-over-year revenue increase of 30% their demonstrating their ability to capture a significant market share in the sports management tech space"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1736759583715340622)  2023-12-18T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"According to TechCrunch LeagueApps has raised $35M to date. Contour Venture Partners has tripled down on the business leading their Seed Series A and B. They've also brought on some celebrity and sports investors include Major League Baseball Swin Cash and Derrick Dockery"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1736759590606586016)  2023-12-18T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"The market you choose to go after is a huge determining factor in your success. I get asked often How do I ensure Im going after the right market Here are the questions you need to answer"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846709944996298)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"Question #1. Is it big enough of an opportunity This all comes down to how big of a business youre trying to build. If you want to raise money VCs will require you to go after a market that can create a billion dollar business. Do a TAM (Total Addressable Market) analysis:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846726105735174)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"If I charge $ X and everyone in the space buys my solution can this create a business that is big enough if I achieve [--] [--] or 15% market share Remember most businesses start to plateau around 15-20%. So you need to have a lot of room to grow into it"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846731302396013)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Question #2. Does the market have a healthy segmentation You have to be comfortable with how the market is segmented. If its monopolized by [--] players ie. Telecom its going to be hard to win. I always look for markets that have a good mix of SMB MM and ENT companies"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846741859483827)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Question #3. Can I compete and win in this market Doing a competitive analysis is important before really going after your idea. If youre entering a space that has hundreds of venture-backed competitors that has already been won its going to be difficult"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846746318066138)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"Look for blue-ocean markets places that lack a bunch of offerings. Its healthy to have competition you just dont want an absurd amount of it"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846754282979657)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"Question #4. Are the end customers willing to change Some markets lack early adopters and individuals that are even willing to try anything new. Some just wont change even when they know they should. Make sure youre going after a space where folks want to grow and improve"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846758565413271)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"Autoshops & mechanics are a great example of a market that has historically just been unwilling to change. A few companies have really gone after this raising tens of millions or even hundreds of millions only to make a tiny dent"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846767360831520)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"Finding a space where you can get in the door with an initial light-weight offering is crucial. You dont want to be in the lab building a product that doesnt have users for years. Regardless of validation you wont really know what to build until its in the customers hands"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846776588382320)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"Im a big proponent of market scorecards. You can build a rubric with all of these questions baked in and feel free to add some more. Create a list of hundreds of markets and force rank them based on your scorecard. It doesn't have to be fancy. Here's a basic example:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846785681551826)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"Choose the right market. Do the work up front. It will make life so much easier"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1737846790169547075)  2023-12-21T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"2024 Predictions: [--]. Private Equity goes on a buying spree in the lower and middle markets. I expect this to be 10% higher than [----]. As interest rates fall PE can borrow more $$ and cheaper. They will rush to buy companies before SaaS multiples really begin to rebound. [--]. More venture-backed software companies go out of business than in [----]. A bunch of companies were able to hang on with bridge rounds but they weren't able to get profitable and were banking on another institutional round that won't come to fruition. Back to back bridge rounds are near impossible and many companies will face"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1739758825501282321)  2023-12-26T21:23Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"They continued to show incredible traction and a big breakthrough fundraise came in [----]. A Series B round with Mithril Capital and Bullpen Capital enabled them to step on the gas and hit the hypergrowth button. Growing to 10K+ non-profit customers and $1B+ in donations"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1742204953081610377)  2024-01-02T15:23Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"If Classy is the b2b platform for non-profits and giving then GoFundMe is the b2c platform for consumer giving. In [----] Classy decided to sell to GoFundMe for what I'd guess was close to a BILLY. The price had to have been right as they sold just after a massive $120M round"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1742204960983630237)  2024-01-02T15:23Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"GoFundMe now has a monster business in the non-profit space on both the b2b and b2c side. Rumors are they are north of $15B in donations which I would guess puts them in the neighborhood of $400-500M of annual revenue. Is an IPO soon"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1742204964913721688)  2024-01-02T15:23Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"What are your predictions for [----] What crazy sh*t happens next Here are my [----] predictions: Let me know yours in the comments"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1742557767838187993)  2024-01-03T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"1. Private Equity goes on a buying spree in the lower and middle markets. I expect this to be 10% higher than [----]. As interest rates fall PE can borrow more $$ and cheaper. They will rush to buy companies before SaaS multiples really begin to rebound"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1742557772443468162)  2024-01-03T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"2. More venture-backed software companies go out of business than in [----]. A bunch of companies were able to hang on with bridge rounds but back to back bridge rounds are near impossible and many companies will face a sad fate as a result"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1742557777057226954)  2024-01-03T14:45Z 36.3K followers, [---] engagements


"3. Series A Bar stays really high for everything that's not AI. 3X YoY growth $2M ARR at the absolute minimum. [--]. More software IPO's than in [----] but the window doesn't fully re-open until 2025"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1742557781654163568)  2024-01-03T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"Is it just me or is reading investment memos so fascinating Check out @BessemerVP's internal memo seeking approval to invest $7M in Shopify's Series A: You could say that this one turned out quite well"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1744007243169992919)  2024-01-07T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"Funeral homes is a sneaky large space. Everyone dies so it makes sense. It's an estimated $28 BILLION dollar market with 20% of funeral homes in the U.S. being family owned small businesses. Another interesting fact -- the average funeral costs a bit over $7K"  
[X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1744369730067079640)  2024-01-08T14:45Z [--] followers, [---] engagements


"So Matt expanded beyond websites and started supporting in other areas: SEO and Marketing Physical Materials ie Memorial Pamphlets Social Media Payments"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1744369745103552631)  2024-01-08T14:45Z 36K followers, [---] engagements


"How long did it take you to reach $1M in ARR"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1746543956425572841)  2024-01-14T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [----] engagements


"Today they offer two different product lines: Track: offers time tracking invoicing payments and basic budgets. Grow: the enterprise offering that layers in a lot more. Typically vSaaS management solutions are pretty expensive i'd guess their ACV is north of $50K"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1747046138451275904)  2024-01-16T00:00Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Continuing the momentum from their Seed Round Monograph took advantage of a hot SaaS market and in May [----] raised a $7.4M Series A. Only a few months later they raised $20M Series B. Investors here were firms Index Ventures and Tiger Global"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1747046146340704346)  2024-01-16T00:00Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Monographs revenue figures are not publicly available. However the company has reported that $500 million worth of projects have been executed on the platform. My guess With 50-ish employees on LinkedIn their probably close to profitability and in the $10M ARR range"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1747046150405018011)  2024-01-16T00:00Z 36K followers, [---] engagements


"Looking at popular software apps and tailoring them for a certain industry is a simple but great way to start a SaaS company. Slack Zapier Salesforce Tableau Etc. If you look closely enough you'll find that these tools often don't structurally work for particular verticals"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1747268744756490513)  2024-01-16T14:45Z 36.2K followers, [----] engagements


"There is a BIG opportunity in AI that is not really being addressed or talked about. Let's discuss why industry-specific/private data from vertical software companies is the most exciting & non-obvious opportunity of the AI arms race 🧵"  
[X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1747993513604878771)  2024-01-18T14:45Z [--] followers, [----] engagements


"You can't go a day without hearing the latest developments in the world of Artificial Intelligence / AI. Google Facebook Microsoft & Amazon are all in an insane arms race to build the next platform / operating system that sits on top of AI"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1747993518294122632)  2024-01-18T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"Someone posted this a while back and it is still the most EYE OPENING graphic I've stumbled across in some time. 4% of SaaS companies achieve $1M ARR 0.4% of SaaS companies achieve $10M ARR If you've done it you've done the impossible pat yourself on the back"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1749080669329014976)  2024-01-21T14:45Z 36.4K followers, 23.4K engagements


"I hope this is helpful and some of you can use it to build the next great industry specific software business. Let me know what else you'd add that I may be missing. Curious to hear your thoughts and thanks for reading"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1749443192565760079)  2024-01-22T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"The former COO of Y Combinator teamed up with a Googler to build a software company that helps major car companies bring autonomous vehicles to market. They've raised $350M+ and are valued north of $3.5B. It's quite the story"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530226508190091)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.5K followers, 16.2K engagements


"Applied Intuition is a software company that equips engineering and product teams at major car companies with software that makes it faster safer and easier to bring autonomous systems to market. The company was founded in [----] by Qasar Younis and Peter Ludwig"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530240978538717)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Both grew up in Detroit and crossed paths while working at Google. Their backgrounds are quite impressive. Younis was Y Combinators COO & founded and sold TalkBin to Google. Ludwig was a Product Manager and Software Engineer at Google working on Android Auto & Google Maps"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530246892482725)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Applied Intuition's product suite includes: Simulation: Import maps and create realistic scenarios Vehicle Dynamics: Models that include Cars Trucks Suspensions & Bikes Data & Maps: Synthetic Traffic Signs HD maps & more Validation: A testing suite that tests performance"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530257646719063)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"The company works mostly with major enterprises. Out of [--] global OEMs [--] rely on the companys solutions. Toyota Nissan GM LG are all examples of their customers. CRAZY to achieve that in only [--] years"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530269881454603)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"Applied Intuition has made three acquisitions in their short life: Embark Trucks: Self driving software for the trucking industry SceneBox: Data management software for computer vision engineers Mechanical Simulation: Car Truck Bike Suspension Simulation Software"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530280589594840)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"But they aren't the only ones vying to win the market and compete with several companies in the autonomous vehicle industry including: Aurora ($13B IPO) Foretellix ($132M raised) aiMotive ($67M raised) Parallel Domain ($44M raised) Cognata ($24M raised)"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530290580382130)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"The company has raised $351.5 million in five funding rounds. They are backed by prominent investors like Andreessen Horowitz Hemant Taneja Mike Maples Eld Gil Bilal Zuberi Lee Fixel Semil Shah and Jeannette Zu Furstenberg. The company is valued at $3.6 billion ()"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530299853947279)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"They also have an INSANE bench of senior experts. Rick Wagoner: Former Chair & CEO of General Motors Dieter Zetsche: Former Head of Mercedes Benz Preston Dunlap: Former CTO of U.S. Space Force General Stephen Wilson: Former Vice CHief of Staff of U.S. Air Force Crazy"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530309932847316)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"They are growing like crazy too with an HQ in Silicon Valley and offices in Michigan Washington DC Munich Stockholm Seoul and Tokyo. I couldn't find any revenue figures online so I'm very curious where they are in that regard"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1750530320691322935)  2024-01-25T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"@fcordobaot Slow rebound correlated with interest rates"  
[X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1750971898790617118)  2024-01-26T20:00Z [--] followers, [--] engagements


"They also realized that every other storage operator could benefit from what they built and formed a new company SiteLink. Two years later [---] self storage operators were using their software. Talk about product market fit"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1751979856907370557)  2024-01-29T14:45Z 36.2K followers, [---] engagements


"And to add a final and third company to the mix In [----] a Kansas City Tech Think Tank Red Nova wanted to get into the storage software game as well. They aimed to create turn-key "Shopify-style" websites for Storage Unit Operators. & just like the others it took off"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1751979866596229343)  2024-01-29T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [---] engagements


"@brackin @GradientVC Congrats Andrew"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1752704610220085272)  2024-01-31T14:45Z 36.4K followers, [--] engagements


"This guy bootstrapped a bookings business from $0 to $50M+ in revenue while living in Hawaii. He sold it for $300M and kept it all as he never raised any venture capital. This is the amazing story of FareHarbor:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1754644846848143515)  2024-02-05T23:15Z 36.5K followers, 47.2K engagements


"Lawrence Hester started his career as an equity trader at Credit Suisse but soon realized he was not building any skills or passion. He quit his job and moved to Boston where he experimented with different ideas from gourmet croutons to fertility biotech"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1754644855601643711)  2024-02-05T23:15Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"Anyone else catch Jack Dorsey with a gold chain and Satoshi shirt 😂😂"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1756862125690028159)  2024-02-12T02:05Z 36.6K followers, [----] engagements


"The former CEO of SquareSpace is "verticalizing" the restaurant industry with his all-in-one SaaS platform for Coffee Shops. Slice did it for Pizza Parlors. Odeko is doing it for Coffee Shops. Let's dive in:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1757053209162690844)  2024-02-12T14:45Z 36.6K followers, 105.7K engagements


"90% of their pre-COVID customers re-opened their doors and used Odekos new platform to run their businesses. They faced the pandemic head on with little room to maneuver and emerged having grown to support nearly 10x the number of small businesses they had before the pandemic"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1757053282495902154)  2024-02-12T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [----] engagements


"Odeko is also running the classic vertical SaaS playbook and jumping into FinTech taking a piece of every order. The combined companies tap into payments and take a piece of the transaction on the customer side and the supply ordering side"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1757053291228529151)  2024-02-12T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [----] engagements


"SaaS Competition: Software vendor competition is fierce here with many dominant players. DealerTrack DealerCenter CDK Based on G2 data they are not LOVED however"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1757917724549030240)  2024-02-15T00:00Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"Based on Vendr's [----] SaaS Trends Report Artificial Intelligence Tools are sitting at $79K ACV's and [--] day sales cycles on average. Sales cycle seems too fast to me / unrealistic what do you think"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1758502772893536627)  2024-02-16T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [----] engagements


"@PatrickJRead Thats a good point the graph is thought provoking and my brains gone eight different ways here"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1759421034468450802)  2024-02-19T03:33Z 36.6K followers, [--] engagements


"The "Stripe" for Trucking was valued at $800 BILLION at an estimated 40x ARR multiple. Founded in [----] this Silicon Valley FinTech is building the financial infrastructure for the trucking industry. How big can they get Can they overcome a massive multiple Let's dive in:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1759729615847968833)  2024-02-20T00:00Z 36.6K followers, 59.3K engagements


"This guy's building a software business for an industry that Silicon Valley forgot about. LAUNDROMATS. And he's raised millions from top venture capitalists to do it. This is the story of Cents the all-in-one SaaS for laundry:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1762254982592839768)  2024-02-26T23:15Z 36.5K followers, 13.7K engagements


"The pricing for Cents' products varies depending on the size of the laundromat: But Cents OS starts at $149 per month Dispatch at $99/month and Transact at $149 /month. In addition they likely take a piece of each transaction and offer a pay-for-success marketing solution"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1762255016432455729)  2024-02-26T23:15Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Cents acquires customers through targeted marketing outside sales conferences and referrals. Many verticals that are late to digitization often have more difficult customer acquisition motions than others. My guess Outside sales via conferences is the most effective"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1762255026129600558)  2024-02-26T23:15Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"@tibo_maker Wild"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1762466847889199293)  2024-02-27T13:16Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"FOOD/AIR: Generating enough revenue to pay their bills and make a profit. Salesforce or a CRM probably fits in here. WATER: Ensure they have happy customers that churn as little as possible / their garden is getting enough water. Perhaps Gainsight"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1763213815779635373)  2024-02-29T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [--] engagements


"CLOTHING: Infrastructure tools that a company MUST USE to even operate their business. Stripe OpenAI SHELTER: Tools that ENSURE the business doesn't get taken out by some outside force (compliance cyber-security bank sweeps etc.)"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1763213819185381881)  2024-02-29T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"What the person your selling to cares about: [--]. Increasing their revenue [--]. Reducing customer churn [--]. Reducing costs [--]. Maintaining compliance What they don't care about: [--]. YOU or YOUR business [--]. "Cool" Tech [--]. Saving employees time Is your sales pitch aligned with that"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1763576176382210347)  2024-03-01T14:45Z 36.6K followers, [----] engagements


"One of my favorite parts of the ShopMonkey story is that VERY early on [--] years in they created their own foundation. Helping struggling single mothers by donating free repairs and vehicles outright. I've never seen this happen so early in a companies journey & I LOVE IT"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1764825624630497680)  2024-03-05T01:29Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"With Shop Monkey approaching [----] auto shop customers they raised a $10M Series A funding round in September of [----]. Index Ventures led the round a leading Venture Capital firm behind iconic companies like Slack Dropbox Etsy and Squarespace"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1764825633220403347)  2024-03-05T01:29Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Good timing. When COVID hit in [----] they saw a surge in customers needing to implement contact-free workflow and ditch pen/paper. Shop Owner and ShopMonkey user Jesse Whitsell said "Shopmonkey allow us to run the business with minimal to no physical contact with customers.""  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1764825647086748117)  2024-03-05T01:29Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Less than one year after their Series A ShopMonkey attracted one of the best vertical SaaS investors in the game Bessemer Venture Partners. They raised a $25M round off of the COVID momentum and shortly after hit the 100+ employee mark"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1764825657144705158)  2024-03-05T01:30Z 36.6K followers, [--] engagements


"Two years after hitting [----] auto shop customers ShopMonkey crossed the [----] mark in [----]. What came with that Well another MASSIVE round with Bessemer doubling down with a $75M Series C"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1764825673137545361)  2024-03-05T01:30Z 36.6K followers, [--] engagements


"Today ShopMonkey says 5000+ auto shops run on their SaaS platform. With public pricing in the $200 - $400 / month mark I'd estimate they are in the $20M of Annual Recurring Revenue range. With 200K+ auto shops in the U.S. ShopMonkey is still just scratching the surface"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1764825682272817432)  2024-03-05T01:30Z 36.6K followers, [--] engagements


"I'm sure it's not all up & to the right for ShopMonkey. A few things I'd call out. Auto Shops are VERY difficult to sell into. Like any SaaS company that raised in [----] I'd expect they have to really grow into their valuation given all the market contraction that's happened"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1764825699939184766)  2024-03-05T01:30Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Embedded payments are growing rapidly. Bain estimates they will generate $21B in revenues by [----] 🤯 One area no one is thinking about Managing risk. Let's talk about it"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767184963978572114)  2024-03-11T13:45Z 36.7K followers, 13.6K engagements


"Many vSaaS companies offer embedded payments via Stripe or Adyen. While they take care of key onboarding requirements (AML KYB etc.) they dont manage underwriting risk or monitor for credit or fraud risks. Vertical software companies are responsible for owning these"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767184972765638820)  2024-03-11T13:45Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"#1. Drive attach rate by automatically pre-vetting existing customers Your existing customers are often great candidates for new products. Use reputational data such as 3rd party reviews website analysis etc. to pre-qualify your customers for embedded payments"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767184993166725495)  2024-03-11T13:45Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"#2. Leverage your contextual data during underwriting For example salon SaaS providers collect information on booking volumes which can be a great data point when assessing biz health. You can use this data to offer flexible privileges (ie faster payouts) to good customers"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767185002113245315)  2024-03-11T13:45Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"One of my favorite parts of the ShopMonkey story is that VERY early on [--] years in they created their own foundation. Helping struggling single mothers by donating free repairs and vehicles outright. I've never seen this happen so early in a companies journey & I LOVE IT"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767574975488385137)  2024-03-12T15:34Z 36.6K followers, [--] engagements


"With Shop Monkey approaching [----] auto shop customers they raised a $10M Series A funding round in September of [----]. Index Ventures led the round a leading Venture Capital firm behind iconic companies like Slack Dropbox Etsy and Squarespace"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767574984178999557)  2024-03-12T15:34Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Good timing. When COVID hit in [----] they saw a surge in customers needing to implement contact-free workflow and ditch pen/paper. Shop Owner and ShopMonkey user Jesse Whitsell said "Shopmonkey allow us to run the business with minimal to no physical contact with customers.""  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767574994396327977)  2024-03-12T15:34Z 36.6K followers, [---] engagements


"Less than one year after their Series A ShopMonkey attracted one of the best vertical SaaS investors in the game Bessemer Venture Partners. They raised a $25M round off of the COVID momentum and shortly after hit the 100+ employee mark"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767575002453508560)  2024-03-12T15:34Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Two years after hitting [----] auto shop customers ShopMonkey crossed the [----] mark in [----]. What came with that Well another MASSIVE round with Bessemer doubling down with a $75M Series C"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767575013090349510)  2024-03-12T15:34Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Today ShopMonkey says 5000+ auto shops run on their SaaS platform. With public pricing in the $200 - $400 / month mark I'd estimate they are in the $20M of Annual Recurring Revenue range. With 200K+ auto shops in the U.S. ShopMonkey is still just scratching the surface"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767575020665213289)  2024-03-12T15:34Z 36.7K followers, [---] engagements


"I'm sure it's not all up & to the right for ShopMonkey. A few things I'd call out. Auto Shops are VERY difficult to sell into. Like any SaaS company that raised in [----] I'd expect they have to really grow into their valuation given all the market contraction that's happened"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1767575028525314428)  2024-03-12T15:35Z 36.7K followers, [--] engagements


"Investor: Your markets too small I'm out. Founder: I promise you its not but OK. [--] years later @ IPO Investor: F*ck he was right Lets expose a BIG MYTH with a simple playbook"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1768038086372720806)  2024-03-13T22:15Z 36.5K followers, 84.8K engagements


"If you're more of an email person I also write a newsletter. One 'how to'. One business story. One vertical SaaS breakdown. Once a week. Sign up at"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1768107514011570269)  2024-03-14T02:50Z 36.7K followers, [----] engagements


"York IE and I just dropped the Growth Equity SEVENTY List. [--] firms actively investing in vSaaS companies at the growth stage. If you're a founder/operator don't miss it 👇"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1773345559589621802)  2024-03-28T13:45Z 36.5K followers, 13.4K engagements


"While there has been an influx of angel and VC capital at the earliest stages of vertical software startups as they grow in size these companies are also attracting larger and later stage funds with deeper pockets. In particular Growth Equity"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1773345576438186287)  2024-03-28T13:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Growth Equity sits somewhere in between venture capital and Private Equity targeting companies with: -More established products and customer bases -20%+ yearly revenue growth -Already profitable or very close to it -Invest based on more robust forecasts and clear business plans"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1773345579902628016)  2024-03-28T13:45Z 36.8K followers, [---] engagements


"Investments are typically minority but can be majority. It all comes down to the firm But it's typically a great option for many vSaaS companies"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1773345583300059142)  2024-03-28T13:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"Why -Struggling to maintain VC growth rates of 100%+ (it's f*cking hard) -M&A may be a faster/cheaper path to a big business due to lengthy customer acquisition motions - Profit Growth If that's you growth equity is likely something to look into"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1773345586588287180)  2024-03-28T13:45Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"The event started out looking like all Thiel Fellowship Summits: Young folks nerding out on the future sharing their business concepts across crypto SaaS VR etc. But also all competing with one another to be knighted a Thiel Fellow at the end of the weekend"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1774923477524545819)  2024-04-01T22:15Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"But this time it was different it all changed in an instant. [--] other fellowship hopefuls and I wrapped up our business pitches and hopped in the Founders Fund elevator on our way to a sunset boat-ride and networking event. Out of nowhere completely unexpected a loud BOOM"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1774923483472183632)  2024-04-01T22:15Z 36.5K followers, [---] engagements


"And the funding continues to stack up. Especially with the strategy of purchasing parking lots. Let's take a look at the round by round history:"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1777822640507703488)  2024-04-09T22:15Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"-Seed Round (2019): $20 million led by Zigg Capital led this initial funding round. -Series A (2021): $41 million led by 3L Capital -Series B (2022): $167 million led by 3L Capital & Assembly Ventures -Series C (2023): $1.1 Billion led by 3L Capital & Eldridge Industries"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1777822643863101809)  2024-04-09T22:15Z 36.5K followers, [--] engagements


"How hard is it to build a big business that requires *RIP & REPLACE* I'm talking HRIS ERP etc. Rippling figured it out. But most entrepreneurs & investors still really hesitant here. What's your view"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1778184936534778284)  2024-04-10T22:15Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements


"When will we begin to see embedded insurance take a foothold in SaaS Appfolio - P&C Insurance Petdesk - Pet Insurance Fitbit - Health Insurance Zillow - Home Insurance What are other examples Who out there is creating entirely new insurance categories"  
[X Link](https://x.com/lukesophinos/status/1778547324501082333)  2024-04-11T22:15Z 36.5K followers, [----] engagements

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