Stop making enterprise software so hard to buy
Vertex Ventures US
We partner with and invest in early-stage founders building infrastructure and SaaS companies.
Welcome back to Vertex Angles, the weekly newsletter from Vertex Ventures US . We’re a boutique venture capital firm, investing in exciting companies across software infrastructure, developer tools, data, security, and vertical SaaS. If you prefer e-mail, subscribe here to get Vertex Angles in your inbox every week.
This week’s newsletter is from a name that might be familiar to many of you: Chase Roberts , a former Vertex US investor who more recently joined Northflank as Chief Operating Officer. Chase joins us to share his thoughts on why self-service business models are so crucial, and how Northflank thinks about the purchasing process.
Stop making enterprise software so hard to buy.
Too many software companies start with a self-service offering and then abandon their self-service DNA in favor of misplaced sales qualification calls and unnecessary friction points.
I get it: you want to make sure people are qualified to buy before you invest sales cycles into them.
But requiring prospects to meet with a twenty-something college grad who asks questions about “how decisions get made” and “what other tools I’m looking at” before introducing me to an account executive who will ask the same questions — just so I can get access to a product — isn’t a good use of anyone’s time.
Let’s reset.
The value of self-service is enabling prospective buyers to quickly get a sense of (a) what a product is and (b) if a product has the potential to solve the problems they care to solve today. Bonus points if this can happen in 30 minutes.
It doesn’t necessarily mean sales won’t be involved — that could (should?) still come later. But it does mean the software vendor is confident that their product experience will demonstrate the value prop and reinforce a buyer’s suspicions that this product could solve their problem.
Funnily enough, this is how all engineers expect to try something before they talk to a salesperson—just look at Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure, the most successful developer tools in all market segments.
To talk my own book for a moment: Self-service is core to Northflank's DNA. We believe in “show, not tell.” The wow moments happen when buyers experience our product for the first time.
Yes, they can self-serve without ever speaking to anyone. Still many prospects value the experience of a salesperson who has solved their problems with many other customers similar to themselves.
Our sales team plays an important role in helping our customers discover what’s possible with our product and identify new use cases. That’s valuable to both Northflank and our customers.
The latest news from the VVUS network:
Vertex portfolio job of the week: VP, Product Operations at HUMAN
HUMAN is looking for a leader to help drive operational excellence across its Product and Engineering teams. Reporting to the CTO, this role will lead a global team of about 12 people, with a focus on improving process and communication across the organization.
For more startup jobs from across the Vertex Ventures US portfolio, check out our jobs portal.