Tidemark

We are baaaack! ?? Thanks to the many of you who kept prompting me for when we'd restart the Platform Journey podcast and for the amazing feedback and support! After exactly a year-long break, I am super excited to return to the podcasting world and schedule. Thrilled to have my friend David Yuan join me to share some very thoughtful investor/board level perspectives on when and how to build the Platform + Ecosystem journey and what some of the pitfalls and success metrics are. #ThePlatformJourney #Platforms #Ecosystems

The wait is over! We’re excited to unveil a new season of The Platform Journey hosted by Tidemark Fellow and seasoned technology exec, Avanish Sahai. This season, Avanish speaks with C-suite executives, board members, investors, and other key stakeholders crucial to the platform journey. In the Season 5 premiere, Avanish sits down with Tidemark’s David Yuan. Together, they discuss: ?? Tidemark's VSKP framework––how a Vertical SaaS company can win its category, expand offerings, and, for a select few, extend through the value chain ?? What it really means to be a control point and why it matters ?? How to assess if your team is ready for the platform journey …and much more! Catch this conversation and all previous episodes at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gMg8Xm7m

Has AI just changed the rules of data gravity in Vertical SaaS? For years, being a system of record meant having an insurmountable advantage. But as AI capabilities continue to grow, that paradigm is shifting. In our latest piece, Tidemark’s Diego Z. and David Yuan join Cordial's Head of AI, Jair Ver?osa, to explore how AI is reshaping traditional data gravity advantages in vertical software. Key insights: ?? Why systems of record may no longer have the moat they did 12 months ago ?? How AI serves as a bundling layer to structure data across applications ?? Why the competitive advantage is shifting from data ownership to orchestration ?? Real-world example: How Cordial is leveraging AI-powered data integration Plus, don't miss commentary from Tidemark Fellow and DocuSign President Robert Chatwani on how AI is opening new frontiers in enterprise software. Read the full analysis here: https://lnkd.in/g-2P2CPm

?? We’re excited to share the most disruptive pattern we’ve seen in Vertical SaaS since the introduction of embedded payments: a new control point pattern we call “Formation and Access.” Formation refers to helping entrepreneurs start a business in a new field or spin out of large existing organizations to create their own standalone ventures. Access is about solving key constraints in the new business by providing access to key resources and relationships. This includes giving these new startups an advantageous position from which to reach customers, suppliers, and licensors. We see that Formation and Access Vertical SaaS Vendors (VSVs) are earning 10x the take rates of traditional VSVs and quickly taking market share. They level the playing field for Davids to slay Goliaths. At the same time, they need to be thoughtful about how to sustain value propositions (and thus take rates) over time. Read more about why we’re excited about this idea and the potential pitfalls that founders pursuing it should be wary of: https://lnkd.in/gmBqMjUY

It's no secret that fintech is a common expansion path for Vertical SaaS Vendors. But (and it's a big but!) fintech products are very challenging to build and generally take considerable time to execute. Samantha Ku, COO of Square Financial Services, has a wealth of experience building fintech products. She recently spoke with a small group of Vertical SaaS CEOs and operators about three key areas: 1?? Partnering with an embedded fintech vendor 2?? Deciding which fintech product to start with 3?? Building a team to go after fintech Check out the link below for more key takeaways on fintech from Samantha Ku! https://lnkd.in/gukpdgcx *** This conversation was a part of our VSaaS Collective. These are bi-monthly deep-dive sessions for an invite-only cohort of CEOs and functional execs, aiming to highlight industry best practices and build a trusted community among non-competitive peer operators.

Thanks for having us on the show, Ty Findley! ??

Tidemark Founder David Yuan recently joined Equal Ventures for its third annual Emerging Manager Circle in New York! Dave joined Adam Bain (01 Advisors) and Matt Auxier, CFA (University of Chicago) for a panel discussion moderated by Rick Zullo (Equal Ventures) why "emerging" extends far beyond just "early" in today’s landscape. Thanks for having us!

?? We recently hosted our first annual Vertical SaaS conference, VSaaS Collective Live! Nearly 100 Vertical SaaS CEOs from around the world—flying in from Europe, Australia, LATAM, and all across the United States—gathered for a day of knowledge sharing and leveling up among like-minded peers. To our knowledge, this is the largest-ever event of its kind for the VSaaS industry. It was an incredible day that further reinforced our belief in the importance of Vertical SaaS. Over the next few weeks, stay tuned for more posts that share highlights from the day, but to give you a quick preview (and to encourage you to indicate your interest in next year’s conference - link in the comments!), we published some quick snippets from each of our speakers. ?? Shoutout to our incredible event speakers: Chris Comparato, Ershad Jamil, Dennis Lyandres, Andrew Riesen, Neetika Bansal, Josh S., Greg Head, and Stephen Howard-Sarin. ?? And, of course, a big shout out to our incredible event partners: Silicon Valley Bank, Stripe, Gusto Embedded, and Duda! https://lnkd.in/gbhCcqmQ

?? Ever wonder why and when you launch ads? At this year’s Collective Live event, Stephen Howard-Sarin led an engaging breakout session on the promise of retail media and embedding ads in your platform as a potential revenue driver. Stephen was formerly a GM and VP at Instacart, where he managed Instacart’s ads business–a business line that has since grown to over $800 million in revenue. Stephen walked through the retail media opportunity with attendees, hitting on critical topics like: → When does it make sense to embed ads into your platform? → How do you actually go about building an embedded ads offering? → What is the right team structure to build and sell an ads offering? We also have an article coming out with Stephen in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! ??

Greg Head, founder of Practical Founders, advises founders who want to scale their software businesses without taking on large amounts of funding. At our Collective Live event, he led a breakout on achieving SaaS success without big funding. Greg covered covered topics like: →Six different tactics on how he’s seen folks scale successfully without large amounts of capital. →The power of community building, where you can build a flywheel based on reference selling and word of mouth. → Becoming known as the best in your market for something important to someone specific. Thank you for an incredible session, Greg!