NPLG 8.18.22: The No-code Revolution
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NPLG Startup of the Week: Stacker
I am not a developer, but I love building internal apps that help me collaborate with teammates and be better at my job. It’s no surprise that I’m a believer in the no-code revolution. Gartner estimates by 2025, 70% of new applications developed by enterprises will use no-code or low-code technologies! However, one of the criticisms of no-code is that the templates and functionality are limited and thus, it will actually require more work from developers to stretch the limits of a no-code tool rather than if they just built the app from scratch. Enter Stacker.
I first met the team a few years back and was impressed with their vision to empower anyone to create their own software - a bold vision that would require architecting the most flexible no-code software in the market. ~5 years ago, Stacker initially started out as a UI built on top of Airtable, but has now expanded to support connections with 60 other data sources, and to host data within Stacker itself. Stacker is thriving as last August it announced a $20M Series A led by A16Z and is amassing an impressive customer list including Samsung, Audible, TED, Segment and Zapier. For this edition of NPLG, co-founder Michael Skelly shared with me the following writeup:
The no-code revolution
“Right now software is the equivalent of illuminated manuscripts written by specially trained monks. We’re building the printing press. At Stacker we’re part of the no-code revolution and our mission is to allow anyone to build the software they need.
Stacker is a no-code tool that’s designed to be so easy to use that absolutely anyone can build a web app with it, while being powerful enough that you can build all the tools to run your business. You can build an app that fits your requirements exactly, while also having granular control over who sees and edits the data in your app. All without writing a line of code. Stacker is particularly good for building portals, project trackers, CRMs and internal tools.
These two core pillars of flexibility and empowerment drive one of Stacker’s key growth loops: internal referrals.
To dive into this, let’s take one example, Meow Wolf creates immersive, maximalist environments in sites across the US. They use a Stacker app to liaise with their artists via a portal. Their data lives in Airtable, while Stacker provides the UI and enterprise-grade permissions and security to protect their users’ data.
Now, they’re looking to expand their use of Stacker to solve other problems for the team.
Jessie Kelley from Meow Wolf told us recently: ‘The biggest impact Stacker’s had on our team is the ability to scale up. We’re at a place now where it feels like the sky is the limit, we can use Stacker for so much more.’
Examples of tools built with Stacker:
‘What else can we use this for?’
When a team starts using Stacker to power one aspect of their business – for example to liaise with clients via a portal – that sets off a ripple-effect across the organisation. Within the team, they’ll start migrating other processes into their Stacker workspace while colleagues from other departments will start exploring Stacker to organise their own workflows.
And this growth isn’t limited to internal users.
Nicole runs a Talent Agency in LA. She’s built a portal for her clients, using Stacker – and one of the questions she often gets asked by the artist managers she works with is ‘How can I build one of these for my own team?’ They experience what Stacker does for their relationship with Nicole, and want a piece of that for themselves.
These users are particularly high value for us because they’re already sold on the benefits of Stacker: they’ve experienced the efficiency savings and security benefits that come with a Stacker app. What’s more, they understand what Stacker does and how to use it, even if they’ve only experienced Stacker as an end-user.
It’s therefore no surprise that these internally-referred users also go on to convert to paying subscribers at a higher-than-average rate.”
I would love feedback. Please hit me up on twitter @zacharydewitt or email me at zach@wing.vc. If you were forwarded this email and are interested in getting a weekly update on the best PLG companies (private & public), please join our growing community by subscriving:
PLG Tweet(s) of the Week:
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Recent PLG Financings (Private Companies):
Seed:
Castodia, a developer of database software designed to connect spreadsheets to live databases, application programming interfaces (APIs), and data warehouses to simplify data analysis, has raised $1.75M. The round was led by Gradient Ventures, with participation from Liquid 2 Ventures, Bragiel Brothers, Unpopular Ventures and Y Combinator.
CreatorDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization, has raised $20M. The round was led by a16z and Initialized Capital, with participation from 11:11 Media and Wing VC.
Series A:
Pinata, an NFT-focused media distribution platform, has raised $18M. The round was led by Greylock, with participation from Pantera, Offline Ventures, Volt Capital, OpenSea and Alchem.
Superblocks, a recently launched platform that provides building blocks to create custom internal apps, workflows and scheduled jobs, has raised $37M. Investors include Kleiner Perkins, Greenoaks, Spark and Meritech.
Unstoppable Finance, a provider of a Defi wallet and protocol intended to provide a user-friendly app for crypto trading, high-yield savings, NFT art and collectibles and other Web3 services, has raised $12.7M. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Speedinvest, Backed VC, Inflection VC, Fabric Ventures, Rockaway Blockchain Fund and Discovery Ventures.
Series B:
Finix, a payments technology company for software platforms, has raised $30M. The General Partnership, Franklin Templeton, American Express Ventures, Acrew Capital and Bain Capital Ventures participated in the funding.
Series C:
Truework, a company that builds technology for mortgage and consumer-centric lenders to instantly verify the income and employment of borrowers, has raised $50M at a $460M valuation. The round was led by G Squared, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Activant Capital, Khosla Ventures, Indeed, Human Capital and Four Rivers Group.
Recent PLG Performance (Public Companies):
Financial data as of previous business day market close.
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Complete Notorious PLG Dataset (click to zoom):
Note: TTM = Trailing Twelve Months; NTM = Next Twelve Months. Rule of 40 = TTM Revenue Growth % + FCF Margin %. GM-Adjusted CAC Payback = Change in Quarterly Revenue / (Gross Margin % * Prior Quarter Sales & Marketing Expense) * 12. Recent IPOs will have temporary “N/A”s as Wall Street Research has to wait to initiate converge.