A talk on SaaS exits in Europe and how to achieve exits for your SaaS business

1. M A R K M A C L E O D , @ S TA R T U P C F O
A C H I E V I N G M E A N I N G F U L E X I T S
I N S A A S

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A g e n d a
Introduction
European SaaS Exit Trends
How to achieve your exit?
01
02
03

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I n t r o d u c t i o n
M A R K M A C L E O D
F O U N D E R & P R E S I D E N T
S U R E PAT H C A P I TA L PA R T N E R S
Mark has over 14 years experience as a CFO for leading companies such as FreshBooks,
Shopify, Tungle and many others. He also spent 3 years as a General Partner at Real Ventures,
Canada’s largest and most active seed stage venture fund.
He raised hundreds of millions in capital from investors in Canada, the US and Asia. In addition,
Mark has sold companies to Airbnb, Blackberry, Rackable Systems, Return Path and others.

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S u r e P a t h : O u r P u r p o s e
Helping you fund, grow and exit your startup
The process of raising growth capital is very different from raising early stage capital
It is cheaper than ever to start companies, but more expensive than ever to build market leaders. If that’s your
aspiration, you need growth capital
We help startups prepare for growth stage and help them raise the capital needed to become market leaders
We have sat on both sides of the table. We have funded, grown and exited many companies
We offer up that experience through ongoing coaching and mentoring.
A low touch, high impact way to help you grow
There are few credible choices for advisors to facilitate sub $100M exits. We fill that gap
We work with you to facilitate the BD and Corp Dev intros that pave the way to an eventual exit
If you decide to exit, we manage the process for you from start to finish
SurePath maximizes your optionality:
We make sure you know what it takes to build a market leader and capitalize you towards that goal.
We ensure you are always in the minds of strategic buyers so that if they decide to make a move in your
space, you are in the conversation. You can then decide; Keep going or exit?
Growth
Funding
Strategic
Guidance
Exits

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S u r e P a t h & S M B
•We have been part of some the most successful SMB SaaS companies
•We have deep relationships with SMB investors and buyers
•SurePath is committed to becoming the leading strategic financial advisor to the global
SMB software market

6. European SaaS Acquisition
Activity

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E x i t s b y T y p e
Source: pitchbook.com
19
30
24 24
35
22
28 27
15
20
16
1
1
1 2
1
1
1
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2014 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2015 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2016 Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3
Number of Deals
European SaaS Exits by Type
Merger/Acquisition IPO

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Priate
67%
Public
33%
Buyer by Type
8
B u y e r L o c a t i o n & T y p e
Source: pitchbook.com
North
America
41%
Asia & Others
7%
Europe
52%
Buyer By Geography

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B u y e r s
Who’s buying European SaaS companies
Source: pitchbook.com

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E x i t s b y A g e
Note: Some companies does not have a disclosed age
Source: pitchbook.com
35
104
44
43
27
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
0 to 5 years
6 to 10 years
11 to 15 years
16 to 20 years
> 20 years
Number of Companies
Exit By Age of Company

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E x i t s b y S i z e
Source: pitchbook.com
192
54
12 7 3
0
50
100
150
200
250
Not Disclosed $0m - $50 $50M - $100M $100M - $200M > $200M
Exit Values

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F u n d i n g S t a t u s
Source: pitchbook.com
7%
40%53%
Funding Status of Exited
Companies
PE VC Non-funded
$39.0m
$13.3m
$18.7m
$0.0m
$5.0m
$10.0m
$15.0m
$20.0m
$25.0m
$30.0m
$35.0m
$40.0m
PE VC Non-funded
Median Valuation
4.7x
3.7x
2.0x
0.0x
1.0x
2.0x
3.0x
4.0x
5.0x
PE VC Non-funded
Valuation /Rev Multiple

13. How to achieve your exit

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Exit rule #1

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Exit rule #2

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Exit rule #3
Source: SaaStr

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Exit rule #4

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Buyer Types
Founder
✓ Product-driven
✓ Based on desire
✓ Top down
✓ No prior relationship needed
Manager
✓ Fact-driven
✓ Based on clear business case
✓ Pushed up to CEO
✓ Need evidence (joint customers)

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Drivers of deal value
✓ Alternatives (runway, competition)
✓ Scarcity
✓ Mortal enemies
✓ Growth (fear)
✓ Market leadership (2 way)
✓ Does the buyer’s CEO Want this?
✓ On strategy
✓ Currency
✓ Time and timing (including markets)

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T h e r o l e o f A d v i s o r s
20
✓ Should you hire one? Yes
✓ What to look for: Relevant relationships, completed deals and expertise.
Senior people involved
✓ Role:
✓ Prepare you
✓ Quarterback
✓ Create / manage demand
✓ Good cop/ bad cop
✓ Objectivity
✓ Create urgency

21. Shubham Datta
Associate
shubham@surepathcapital.com
647.972.6834
Rena Wang
Analyst
rena@surepathcapital.com
416.897.8922
Mark MacLeod
Founder & President
mark@surepathcapital.com
416.843.6004