According to an analysis by Carta, VC funding in the United States is drying up this year. Across Series A, Series B, and Series C, the investments have reduced by up to 30 percent on an average. Having said that, we aren’t seeing that kind of pullback in the SaaS industry. So, if you are wondering which software-as-a-service companies were in news last week and which ones managed to get investors’ attention, then read on.
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News of the week
Dropbox Shop launches in open beta to allow creators to sell digital content
Dropbox is venturing into the Gumroad territory as it has announced Dropbox Shop. Introduced as an open beta, the platform allows users to create product listings for digital content along with the price. Currently, Dropbox won’t even take any percentage cut of the transactions, though that would change once its beta status is removed.
Microsoft Teams gets better search, and an encrypted ‘lockbox’ to protect your data
The Redmond giant has been continuously improving Microsoft Teams. The latest updates include the addition of search features, and a new customer “lockbox”. As the name indicates, the lockbox allows users to control who can access the content.
SaaS companies that got the funding this week
LinkSquares benefits from the legal tech boom with a fresh $100million
Contract management software LinkSquares has closed a $100million Series C investment. Led by G Squared, the startup has been valued at $800million. The money will be used for growing the legal teams and expanding its presence in international markets such as Canada, the UK, Australia, etc.
NordVPN raises its first money, $100million at a $1.6billion valuation
The usage of VPNs has grown exponentially over the years. Taking advantage of the growing interest, NordSecurity, the parent company behind NordVPN has announced a $100million financing. It’s the first external funding for the company, which was led by Novator, and imputes a value of $1.6billion.
OpenPhone raises $40million to replace your work phone and office PBX with an app
The provider and business line and related phones services via a phone app, OpenPhone has seized a $40million Series B funding. Led by Tiger Global, it’ll be expanding its communication and collaboration services along with having better integrations with the other productivity tools.
Tinybird raises $37million Series A investment
Real-time data stack provider Tinybird has received $37million in Series A funding. Led by CRV and Singular Ventures, the startup lets everyone access meaningful data via APIs. It’ll be deploying the money for expanding to the US and hiring for the product and sales.
Amenitiz raises $30million to push software to hotel sector’s long tail
There are several software that are helping small hotels sell online, and Amenitiz is aiming to do the same. It has gotten $30million in Series A round led by Eight Roads. It offers an inventory and reservation management platform, along with the ability to handle payments, invoicing, and more. It also plans to offer features like revenue management and distribution.
SaaS startup Rattle raises $26million in funding led by Insight Partners
Rattle has nabbed $26million in its Series A funding. Led by Insight Partners, the revenue orchestration platform helps customer-facing departments in an organization by improving the collaboration between them.
Must reads
Your guide to product virality: how to position nearly any PLG product for virality
Fast shuts doors after slow growth, high burn precluded fundraising options
Listen to
Rapidly scaling a team With Gilles Bertaux of Livestorm
There’s no denying that the pandemic gave a major boost to video conferencing and live streaming software. In this podcast, Livestorm’s Gilles Bertaux talks about how they handled growth and priorities during the pandemic. He also discusses how to set guidelines and expectations in remote work, hiring, and automating the onboarding process among others.
Oracle’s Catherine Blackmore on the evolution of customer
Customer success has now become more crucial than ever. Oracle’s GVP of Customer Success and Renewals shares how it’s an important part of customer retention. She discusses her journey into the world of SaaS, how the role of customer success manager evolves, her work at Oracle, and more.
Hard lessons on bootstrapping a SaaS business – with Dave Rodenbaugh
In this episode, Recapture’s founder Dave Rodenbaugh shares his journey into the world of SaaS along with his learnings from the companies he started or acquired. He also talks about his latest venture which is abandoned cart recovery and email marketing for merchants on popular e-commerce software like Shopify and WooCommerce.
Watch
The 6 most common user onboarding mistakes 1,000 SaaS companies made
As companies are focusing on product-led growth, user onboarding has become more important than ever. In this video, Userpilot’s Head of Growth Aazar Shad shares the six most common onboarding mistakes. He uses the examples of various companies to illustrate the point in a better manner.
