Reef.ai Helps Companies Track and Expand Net Revenue Retention for Business Growth
Measuring SaaS Success: The Importance of Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
Companies selling software as a service (SaaS) look at various key metrics to measure their success, including annual recurring revenue (ARR) and net revenue retention (NRR). NRR measures the amount of recurring revenue from existing customers. If it increases, it means that customers are expanding their usage of the product, making it a crucial measurement for SaaS companies.
The Challenge of Tracking NRR
Reef.ai, an early-stage startup, recognized that there were few tools available to automate the collection of data around NRR. As a result, they built a platform from scratch to address this need. Today, the company announced a $5.2 million investment, which will be used to further develop and expand their product.
A Platform for Plug-and-Play Net Retention Excellence
"Our whole vision is to create a platform really for plug and play net retention excellence for early-stage to mid-stage startups all the way to mature organizations who have a huge opportunity to more predictably drive revenue out of their existing customer base," said Brenton Grimes, co-founder and CEO of Reef.ai.
The system can connect to various systems within an organization that touch customers, including Salesforce and HubSpot for customer data, systems that collect revenue data from customers, or any other relevant software. It even builds a data warehouse to store this information for the customer.
Connecting Dots: Revenue Data and Engagement
"We’re really good at connecting to, digging, and analyzing revenue data and patterns," explained Grimes. "And then on the other hand, we’re pulling in engagement data. So think product telemetry, think marketing and engagement data, think support engagement data, etc."
The system combines these elements of data together and builds a data warehouse for each customer.
A Personal Story: The Birth of Reef.ai
Grimes’ background was working at MuleSoft as global head of customer success when he began looking at ways to track the revenue data from existing customers. He set up an internal system that they could run occasionally, but it got him thinking about a product that would provide an accurate measure of NRR whenever needed.
He launched Reef.ai in 2021 to build such a solution and believes this is a highly underserved area that can push the customer success department with quality data about how to get current customers to expand their usage.
A Net Retention Engine
"We call ourselves a net retention engine, and there’s nothing out there that really focuses on that as a specific goal," said Grimes.
The company already has over 30 customers, some with six-figure contracts, and expects to surpass $1 million in ARR this year. The company currently has 10 employees and has made diversity a core value from the beginning.
A Culture of Inclusion
"I think that we’ve embraced that from the beginning just as a cultural value and something that we’re very intentional about," said Grimes. "I want to create an organization where I’m excited to get up and go to work every day, and everybody is really safe and inspired to do their best work."
Investment Round
The company announced today a $5.2 million round led by Struck Capital with participation from SCV-SBI, a joint fund between Startup Capital Ventures and SBI Holdings; Builders VC; Dig Ventures, a fund led by MuleSoft founder Ross Mason; and several industry angels.
Key Points
- Reef.ai is an early-stage startup that helps automate the collection of data around net revenue retention (NRR).
- The company’s platform connects to various systems within an organization that touch customers, including Salesforce and HubSpot.
- It combines revenue data and engagement data to provide a comprehensive view of customer behavior.
- Reef.ai has already secured over 30 customers, some with six-figure contracts, and expects to surpass $1 million in ARR this year.
- The company prioritizes diversity and inclusion, aiming to create a safe and inspiring work environment.
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