drive.google.com · 2024-10-04 · 608d

2024 KeyBanc Capital Markets & Sapphire Ventures SaaS Survey: Growth Deceleration and Profitability Focus

The 15th annual KeyBanc SaaS survey reveals a significant shift in private SaaS company priorities from growth-at-all-costs to efficient execution and profitability, with median ARR growth expected to decelerate to 19% in 2024 and EBITDA margins improving to -6%. The survey provides detailed benchmarks across 104 respondents covering GTM execution, unit economics, retention metrics, and financing trends, showing that top-quartile performers are achieving Rule of 40 scores of 31% while the median cohort reaches only 15%.

37 metrics· Cited 0× in the knowledge base ·Open source ↗

Metrics in this report

AE to Business Development Ratio

2.5ratio

median

Private SaaS companies, 2023

AE to Sales Engineer Ratio

2.5ratio

median

Private SaaS companies, 2023

ARR Growth Rate

19%percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

ARR Growth Rate

27%percent

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

ARR per Employee

173000USD

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

ARR per Employee

235000USD

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Account Executive Productivity

328000USD

median

New ARR per FTE AE, Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Account Executive Sales Quota

750000USD

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Account Executive Sales Quota

1085000USD

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

CAC Payback Period

20months

median

Fully-loaded CAC payback, Private SaaS companies, 2024E

CAC Payback Period

14months

top-quartile

Fully-loaded CAC payback, Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Cash Runway

48months

median

SaaS companies with 10-20% growth rate

Customer Success Manager Book of Business

2100000USD

median

Private SaaS companies, 2023

EBITDA Margin

-6%percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

EBITDA Margin

6%percent

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Gross Dollar Retention

91%percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Gross Dollar Retention

95%percent

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Gross Margin

72%percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Gross Margin

81%percent

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Magic Number (Gross)

0.7multiple

median

S&M efficiency, Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Magic Number (Gross)

1.0multiple

top-quartile

S&M efficiency, Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Median ARR

32500000USD

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Net Dollar Retention

101%percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Net Dollar Retention

109%percent

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Private SaaS EV/ARR Multiple

9.1multiple

median

Most recent transaction valuations, 2024E

Private SaaS EV/ARR Multiple

6.2multiple

median

Most recent transaction valuations, 2023

Professional Services as % of ARR

15%percent

threshold

Optimal level for retention benefit; beyond 15% retention benefits reverse

Public Software EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

5.6multiple

median

Software companies as of October 4, 2024

Public Software EV/NTM Revenue Multiple

17multiple

maximum

Software companies at all-time high in 2021

Rule of 40

15%percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

Rule of 40

31%percent

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E

S&M Spend as % of Revenue

54%percent

median

Sales allocation of S&M budget, Private SaaS companies 2023

Sales Cycle Length

6months

median

Enterprise SaaS sales cycle, Private companies 2024

Sales Development Rep Model

42%percent

median

Hybrid model (inbound + outbound) adoption, Private SaaS companies 2023

Sales Quota Attainment

75%percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2024E, fully-ramped quota-carrying AEs

Sales Quota Attainment

85%percent

top-quartile

Private SaaS companies, 2024E, fully-ramped quota-carrying AEs

Subscription Gross Margin

78%percent

median

Private SaaS companies, subscription revenue only