Why Crunchbase Needs to be in Your Software Selection Process

I am not one to beat about the bush.

We are going to see an explosion of investors promoting technology solutions in the market in order to create greater value (and valuation) for their investments.

Seems logical you may say.

Except that increasingly these investors are your trusted advisors and service providers, who should be acting in your best interest, not theirs.

If you consider the valuation equation, a $500,000 license for technology, over a three year period, can mean a valuation for the company of up to 10 times the ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue). That is no small change.

I would urge people to take these recommendations with a very large pinch of salt, and look to the wider market (and increasingly corporate peers) to understand where they should be focusing on actual need. And indeed, look to Crunchbase to see if the person advising you is actually representing a company invested in the solution their are promoting.

The technology market has long been full of vested interests - referral fees, reseller fees and other incentives to promote specific technology. This can come with a specific skillset in implementation and support, but again, solutions are not always recommended based on what your organizations need.

Add to the equation the fact that "independent" analysts create evaluations of markets that are often based on how much the vendor invests in said analysis, and it is even more difficult to navigate. Positioning at the top of a report or quadrant may simply mean that they have a bigger marketing (or "analysis") budget. The analysts then sell you the reports to generate even greater revenue

This is why Impec Group have developed a truly agnostic technology advisory service.

We can rapidly draw down from a complex market to the 3 systems you should look at based on your needs.

Our processes are open book - any vendor can be part of our evaluation process.

We will not take referral or reseller fees, and will help the client come to their own conclusions based on their needs.