The Road to IPO: 3 Strategies from 3 Leading SaaS Brands in 2019

In 1999, there were 486 initial public offerings (IPOs). In 2018, there were only 190 — a significant decrease over nearly two decades. Despite those numbers, the number of SaaS companies to IPO continues to increase. In fact, of the more than 40 tech companies to go public in 2018, over a third of them were SaaS brands. With TechCrunch boasting headlines like, “Public investors loved SaaS stocks in 2019” and data compiled by Renaissance Capital showing enterprise software companies among the most successful IPOs of 2019, it’s safe to say that 2019 was a strong year for SaaS IPOs.

With that in mind, are three of the most talked-about SaaS IPOs of 2019: 

Slack

The cloud-based messaging platform filed for IPO in April. In the months leading up to the filing, Slack made significant strides in its product roadmap to enhance the customer experience — something that the SaaS brand used to signal momentum. A range of outlets, including ZDNet, The Verge, and TechCrunch, covered Slack’s product updates ahead of the company’s IPO. 

Zoom

Leading to Zoom’s IPO in April 2019, the company announced significant hires to its executive team — as shared in Silicon Valley Business Journal, and Forbes. Similar to Slack, Zoom targeted both local media outlets and top-tier to get in front of local investors in the Bay Area, and presented themselves as a growing industry leader. 

Announcing significant hires to the C-suite team through a press release strategy and targeted media coverage not only show corporate momentum but are attractive to investors and potential employees — two key components in the four pillars of B2B SaaS PR

CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike’s value was $3 billion after its Series E, and the SaaS company began hinting at IPO more than a year before filing. While CrowdStrike received a variety of coverage following its Series E, one notable piece from CNBC stands out. CrowdStrike ranked #27 on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list, and in a feature about the company, CEO, George Kurtz discussed the company’s recent and future growth, without mentioning the intent to file for IPO. Comments from Kurtz focused on how the company is making an impact in the industry, and why it is a disruptor, a talk track that likely helped to emphasize market opportunity.  

Other SaaS Brands to IPO in 2019

Slack, Zoom, and CrowdStrike weren’t the only companies to IPO in 2019. Here’s a full list of SaaS brands that went public in the last twelve months: 

  1. Slack
  2. Zoom CrowdStrike
  3. Pagerduty
  4. Cloudflare
  5. Dynatrace
  6. Medallia
  7. Phressia

Prepping for an IPO, but not sure how to put the correct PR strategy in place? Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Contact Lindsey Groepper to see how to kick start your journey.

BLASTmedia

About The Author

BLASTmedia

Established in 2005, BLASTmedia is the only PR agency in the US dedicated to B2B SaaS, representing companies from growth-stage to publicly traded. BLASTmedia understands the unique challenges associated with scaling a SaaS business and uses media coverage and thought leadership campaigns to impact four primary pillars: investors, employees, partners, and customers.

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