Tidemark

?? Will AI replace software—or just change who captures value? In early 2023, we spoke with 100+ SaaS companies and hosted working sessions with 40 executives to understand AI’s real impact. Our takeaway? AI isn’t the end of software—it’s a forcing function for evolution. Forward-thinking software companies with strong control points have powerful defenses and can themselves benefit from AI-powered services, but they need to evolve now. ?? Here’s what’s changed & what VSaaS leaders should do next: https://lnkd.in/g7sQh8sB

The Tidemark team is thrilled to announce our latest investment in AgVend––the leading provider of digital enablement solutions transforming the way agribusinesses operate and engage with customers. We first met AgVend’s co-founder and CEO, Alexander Reichert, in 2022. It was immediately clear that he possessed a rare combination of deep agricultural expertise and technological acumen. This was not his first foray into ag tech, and as we got to know him and the company, we saw something far beyond a typical Vertical SaaS business. AgVend is building the connective tissue for a digitized agricultural economy. Over the past several years, Alexander has become an integral part of the Tidemark community, and today, we are thrilled to make that partnership official. Read more about our investment here: https://lnkd.in/gUBWnkui cc David Yuan Christian Kurth Blake Brown Scott Rosenberg

Vertical SaaS founders each serve different markets, fund in different ways, and have different goals and outcomes. Why should their SaaS benchmarks be the same as those at VC-funded horizontal software companies? - Are you a system-of-record platform or an add-on that integrates with many apps? - Does your industry adopt technology quickly or very slowly? - Does the Rule of 40 really apply to your business at your stage? - What are the key levers for expanding your share of wallet with existing customers? - What are the key financial and operational metrics at our stage? - What are companies like yours doing in similar industries? You can get peer-specific insights like these by participating in the annual Tidemark Vertical & SMB SaaS Benchmark Survey. Tidemark publishes great content for vertical SaaS founders and has the only conference for vertical SaaS founders I know of, called VSaaS Collective Live. I know the team at Tidemark and they are doing great things to provide practical help to vertical SaaS founders. Answer some simple survey questions about your vertical SaaS business here: https://lnkd.in/g3qFH5rz. The responses are anonymous and confidential. You'll get the 2025 Vertical SaaS Benchmark study when you participate. Reach out to Michael Tan or Eva Pullano at Tidemark if you have questions. #practicalfounders

Fintech expansion is a game-changer for Vertical SaaS. Our 2024 Benchmark Report found that ???????????????? ???? ?????? #?? ?????????????????? ??????????????, ???????? ????% ???? ?????????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ???? ?????????? ????????????????. Fintech-driven businesses also reported the highest ARPA across all product types. Thinking about embedding fintech into your platform? Whether it’s Payments, Lending, Payroll, or Insurance, fintech is quickly becoming a core revenue driver for vertical SaaS companies. ?? Contribute to Tidemark's 2025 Benchmark Survey for more insights like these (?????? ?????????????????? ?????? ??????????????????): https://lnkd.in/gpPcbsVV

Still buzzing from yesterday's Tidemark Collective session on Selling to and Through Private Equity! Reaffirmed that Private Equity could be one of the most significant forces shaping the industries that vertical SaaS serves. I was also blown away by the depth of approaches to Private Equity across marketing, sales, onboarding, product marketing, product, and data. Biggest takeaway: PE isn’t just a channel—it’s a comprehensive business unit when done right. Huge thanks to Ryan Davis, CEO of CINC, for leading the discussion, and to current/ prior portcos- CCC Intelligent Solutions, Karbon, ServiceTitan, Toast—and several “Friends of Tidemark.” Killer group! Really excited about the community we brought together on this important topic!

??? Mark your calendars: Tidemark's?VSaaS Collective Live! returns November 5th, 2025 in San Francisco ??? We're running it back for the 2nd year featuring even more content and an incredible lineup of speakers from the Vertical SaaS ecosystem. ? Know a CEO who absolutely should attend this year? Or have a topic we should cover? Fill out?this survey?to shape the day! ?? https://lnkd.in/giBpSnE9 Registration opens in March. Due to limited capacity, all submissions will be reviewed by our team to ensure we create the most valuable experience for attendees. We hope to see you in November!

???????????? ?????? ?????????????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????????? ?????? ????????????. The most successful Vertical SaaS businesses are built around a core system that companies can’t run without. Your initial control point also has an impact on the attach rate of your second product. Tidemark's 2024 Benchmark Report found that companies that started with a control point in the POS or CRM experienced the highest median attach rate for when they launched their second product. Are you leveraging the right control point for growth? ?? ???????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ?????? ?????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????? (?????? ?????????????????? ???????? ?????????????????? ?????? ????????????????????????): https://lnkd.in/gpPcbsVV ?? See last year’s insights here: https://lnkd.in/gViMvG6j

The Platform Journey's February episode is now live! This month, Avanish Sahai speaks with Lara Caimi, President of Worldwide Field Operations at Samsara, for a masterclass in scaling platforms and ecosystems. Drawing from her journey from Bain & Companyand ServiceNow to Samsara, Lara shares valuable insights on: ?? The four distinct phases of software company growth ?? What it means to be a platform (beyond the buzzword) ?? How ecosystem strategies should evolve differently based on your customers, tech stack, and growth phase ?? The "win-win-win" equation that makes partnerships successful ?? How to create unfair advantages through customer relationships and data as you scale We hope you enjoy the conversation. Catch this episode here or on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! https://lnkd.in/g-RSEhHA

?? Data is the next battleground between Vertical SaaS incumbents and their AI-powered challengers. The fight won't happen in the backend—it will play out in often overlooked dashboards and reports. In our latest piece, Tidemark Founder, David Yuan, and Investor, Diego Z., unpack why reporting and dashboarding––the insight layer that heads native AI entrants off at the pass––is key to locking down your role as the single source of the truth and holding onto your control point. VSaaS companies can either grow or be relegated to becoming the system of ledger that Generative AI applications use to pull their data from. Control the data, or be controlled by it. Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/gz3t_vXW

?????????? ??????????-?????????????? ??????’?? ???????? ?? ????????????????—????’?? ?? ???????????? ????????????. Our 2024 Benchmark Report found that Vertical SaaS companies that expanded beyond a single product grew faster and more profitably. The data shows that multi-product respondents saw 47% median ARR growth, compared to just 36% for single-product respondents. Expanding product offerings helps SaaS companies: ? Amortize customer acquisition costs ? Increase ARPA and total addressable market ? Deepen customer relationships and drive retention ?? Help shape our 2025 SMB and Vertical SaaS Benchmark Report for more multi-product insights. Takes just 10 minutes and all responses are confidential! https://lnkd.in/gpPcbsVV ?? See last year’s findings here: https://lnkd.in/gViMvG6j