Hey - Marc here.

Happy Saturday morning, motivated B2B SaaS Founders!

Here's at least one tip to keep in mind as you grow your B2B SaaS company:

Today's issue takes about 5 minutes to read.

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In today's issue, I share some key takeaways from a recent interview between Nathan Latka, the host of Daily Interviews with SaaS Founders, and Fabio Nalucci, the CEO of Gellify. They discussed his company's journey to a $100m all-cash exit and now growing at 100% YoY with $50m in ARR.

Fabio Nalucci has been an entrepreneur and investor. Before Gellify, he sold i4C Analytics to Accenture, becoming a sales global lead for analytics software in 2020. He also launched FNDX Ventures – a VC advisory company with $500 million AUM, including its investment vehicle.

About Gellify

Gellify, founded in 2017, is a technology investment group and innovation platform based in Italy. The company's mission is to support innovative startups in their growth and development by providing investment, resources, and mentorship.

Gellify's unique approach involves investing in promising startups while also providing them with a range of support services, including legal, marketing, and HR. This approach has helped Gellify build a portfolio of successful companies, which has led to a $100 million all-cash exit for one of their portfolio companies.

Their pricing depends on the vertical market it serves, with banks and large corporations paying more than other sectors. Fabio estimates the average company pays $100k per year for their software.

They operate mainly in Italy, Spain, and the Middle East and is planning to expand to new geographies, possibly including the US in the future.

PS Currently, they serve more than 75 customers — 25 from large corp clients and 50 from SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)

Challenges

Adapting to changing market conditions.

Gellify started as an accelerator, but Fabio quickly realized that it wasn't scalable. So he pivoted and became an investment group, then a platform, and now a hybrid of everything. Market changes rapidly, and the company needs to adapt quickly.

Advice to Other Founders

Don’t try to cater to everyone all at once.

Focus on a niche market and stay in a specific geographic region rather than trying to expand too quickly. This approach allowed Fabio’s company to become a leader in corporate innovation in Italy, Spain, and the Middle East.

Offer complementary services alongside a SaaS product.

By balancing their SaaS revenue with consulting revenue, his company was able to diversify its revenue streams and create a more sustainable business model. This approach can be valuable in competitive markets where numerous similar SaaS offerings exist.

Understand different vertical markets.

For example, pricing for a SaaS product that serves the healthcare industry may differ significantly from the pricing for a SaaS product that serves the retail industry. Conduct market research to determine the appropriate pricing for your product in each vertical market you serve.

Bonus

One of Fabio’s favorite books is "Shoe Dog", which tells the story of Nike's journey.
HubSpot is his favorite online tool. He uses email a lot, and Outlook is his primary email client.
Typically sleeps for seven hours – goes to bed at 10 pm and wakes up at 5 am.
At 47, he has a wonderful wife and one daughter.
Something he wishes he knew when he was 20 is to have a better idea of how venture capital works.

TL;DR

Gellify, launched in 2017, broke a million in revenue in the first year. Today, they are doing $50 million in revenue across 75 customers. This is up from $25 million back in 2020. 50% of the revenue is in the SaaS. The 50% in consulting is for the first company, which was all cash. What IFRC to Accenture is for somewhere between 50 and 100 million bucks. Now in round two, they are looking to continue to scale. Their total race is about $30 million, after one series A of $15 million in 2019 and a $79 million post-money valuation.

PS Here is a link to the full interview if you are interested in listening to the full episode: $100m all cash exit, bootstrapped. Now $50m in ARR growing 100% YoY

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See you again next week.

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