How to Grow a SaaS Company like Wildfire

The web is full of how-to articles from technology CEOs about their views on strategies and tactics.  A lot of the time those CEOs have not quite achieved the full success their strategies seem to imply.  I recently came across a piece about Rick Stollmeyer, CEO of MindBody Software.  MindBody provides SaaS solutions for yoga studios, Pilates, health clubs, beauty salons, etc.  Consider MindBody’s revenue trends over the past few years:

While MindBody’s revenues are not as big as Google or Facebook, they are growing very strongly and there still larger than Twitter. 

Here are the 14 tips that Rick laid out in the SoftwareCEO article. 

1. It has to be SaaS
2. Be prepared for some challenges with SaaS
3. If you have the customer base, private equity may be better than VC
4. Seek investors who want to collaborate, not dominate
5. Aim at a boutique market
6. Narrow your sights so you can be a significant player
7. Know the related micro-verticals you can expand to
8. You can’t beat the big boys, so join them
9. A friend may not be your best partner
10. Don’t fight in front of the kids
11. Price your software low enough to avoid cutbacks
12. Publish your customer list
13. Use agile development to respond quickly to customer feedback
14. To create raving fans, offer your customers concrete business advice

 You should click through and read the entire seven page article to get the color commentary on these tips.

Disclosure: I conducted the technical diligence assessment for MindBody’s investors.  John Mecke is the Managing Director of DevelopmentCorporate, an Atlanta-based corporate development advisory firm.  He blogs primarily at www.developmentcorporate.com.