cover of episode Acquired Episode 15: ExactTarget (acquired by Salesforce) with Scott Dorsey

Acquired Episode 15: ExactTarget (acquired by Salesforce) with Scott Dorsey

2016/7/5
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Acquired
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B
Ben Gilbert
D
David Rosenthal
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Scott Dorsey
Topics
Scott Dorsey讲述了ExactTarget从2000年成立至今的历程，包括公司早期发展面临的挑战、融资策略、产品战略、销售策略、国际扩张策略以及最终被Salesforce收购的过程。他强调了公司注重客户关系、灵活的产品策略、高效的资本运用以及强大的销售团队对公司成功的重要作用。他还分享了公司在2007年申请IPO失败后，如何调整战略，最终在2012年成功上市，并在一年后被Salesforce收购的经验。 Ben Gilbert和David Rosenthal则从投资和商业角度分析了此次收购，探讨了收购类型、潜在的替代方案以及收购对Salesforce和ExactTarget的影响。他们认为此次收购是Salesforce拓展营销云业务的一次成功案例，并对ExactTarget的成功发展和被收购后的良好整合表示赞赏。 Ben Gilbert和David Rosenthal对ExactTarget的成功发展和被Salesforce收购的案例进行了深入分析，并从多个角度探讨了此次收购的意义和影响。他们认为，ExactTarget的成功在于其灵活的产品策略、强大的销售团队、高效的资本运用以及与客户的密切合作。同时，Salesforce的收购也为ExactTarget带来了更大的发展空间和资源。 他们还讨论了企业软件市场的发展趋势，以及SaaS模式对企业软件市场格局的影响。他们认为，随着SaaS模式的普及，企业对账户的控制能力正在被削弱，这为新的创新和进入者提供了机会。

Deep Dive

Chapters
ExactTarget was founded in Indianapolis in December 2000 by three first-time software entrepreneurs with no technical backgrounds, right after the dot-com bubble burst. Initially, they raised $200,000 from friends and family, and later secured funding from Bob Compton, a successful venture capitalist. The company bootstrapped its operations, with the founders working without salaries for the first six months and leveraging a network of independent contractors for sales.
  • ExactTarget was founded in Indianapolis in 2000 after the dot-com bubble.
  • The founders had no technical background.
  • Initial funding came from friends and family, followed by venture capital.
  • The company bootstrapped and used independent contractors for sales.

Shownotes Transcript

Ben and David return to make their first foray into enterprise software, covering Salesforce’s $2.5B acquisition of ExactTarget in 2013 with the help of special guest and ExactTarget cofounder & CEO, Scott Dorsey).   *Technical note: due to an issue we didn’t catch during recording, audio quality is significantly lower than usual for this episode (especially David’s voice). We apologize but hope you’ll give it a chance anyway— Scott offers great wisdom & insights, and the ExactTarget success story is a inspiring one underdog entrepreneurs, especially (but not limited to!) anyone located in the Midwest or elsewhere outside of traditional "Silicon Valley-style” tech hubs. **Sponsors:**Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24)Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta)Crusoe: https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoe) *Topics covered include: 

  • The decision to start ExactTarget post-internet bubble and in Indianapolis, with zero software experience between Scott and cofounders Chris Baggott & Peter McCormick
  • Raising initial money from friends & family, followed by early investment and mentoring from Indianapolis venture pioneer Bob Compton)
  • Building and scaling a great sales organization within a technology company
  • The importance of focusing early on a clearly defined target market (SMBs in the case of ExactTarget), and then “stair-stepping” up as the product and business scale grow over time
  • ExactTarget’s unsuccessful first IPO filing) during the financial crisis
  • Building a "capital-efficient” early stage company, and the value of raising growth capital at the right time to step on the accelerator
  • The value of “secondary” investments allowing founders, employees & early investors to “stay hungry” by achieving some liquidity along the way
  • When and how to expand internationally and the importance of strategic resellers
  • ExactTarget’s second successful IPO filing) and life as a public company with quarterly financial reporting to Wall Street
  • How the acquisition process played out with Salesforce and other bidders (including reference to ExactTarget’s incredible SEC filing) detailing the entire negotiation—scroll down to "Background and Reasons for the ExactTarget Board’s Recommendation”, starting at the bottom of page 13)
  • Approaching the difficult task of integrating a major acquisition involving thousands of people
  • The fun story of ExactTarget’s winning Microsoft as a large customer—including actual sledgehammers
  • Scott’s new Indianapolis-based venture studio, High Alpha)
  • Plus as always the "hard hitting" analysis across acquisition category, what would have happened otherwise, tech themes—and final grading

  The Carve Out 

  Followups: 

  • Instagram’s incredible user numbers announcement: 500M monthly active users / 300M daily active users