drive.google.com · 2023-11-24 · 923d

2023 KeyBanc Capital Markets & Sapphire Ventures SaaS Survey: A Shift Towards Efficient Execution and Profitability

The 14th annual KeyBanc SaaS survey reveals a fundamental market shift from hypergrowth to profitability, with median ARR growth decelerating from 35% (2022) to 26% (2023E) driven by conservative customer buying, longer sales cycles, and reduced contract values. Only 15% of surveyed companies met the Rule of 40 in 2022, indicating inefficient spending relative to growth, while GTM teams are rightsizing headcount and optimizing sales efficiency metrics across all customer segments. Public market software valuations have normalized to ~6x NTM revenue (vs. 17x in 2021), though private market multiples remain resilient for high-growth companies (>100% growth commanding 29.9x median multiples).

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

Metrics in this report

AE to BDR Ratio

1.7ratio

median

SMB segment, private SaaS companies

AE to BDR Ratio

2.1ratio

median

Mid-Market segment, private SaaS companies

AE to BDR Ratio

2.2ratio

median

Enterprise segment, private SaaS companies

AE to Sales Engineer Ratio

4.9ratio

median

SMB segment, private SaaS companies

AE to Sales Engineer Ratio

3.0ratio

median

Mid-Market segment, private SaaS companies

AE to Sales Engineer Ratio

2.1ratio

median

Enterprise segment, private SaaS companies

ARR Growth Rate

26percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2023E forecast

ARR Growth Rate

35percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022 actual

ARR per Full-Time Employee

130thousand_dollars

median

Private SaaS companies, 2021

ARR per Full-Time Employee

150thousand_dollars

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

ARR per Full-Time Employee

185thousand_dollars

median

Private SaaS companies >$100M ARR, 2021

ARR per Full-Time Employee

220thousand_dollars

median

Private SaaS companies >$100M ARR, 2022

Account Executive Productivity

700thousand_dollars

median

Gross new ARR per FTE, 2022 actual

Account Executive Productivity

750thousand_dollars

median

Gross new ARR per FTE, 2023E forecast

Account Executive Quota

800thousand_dollars

median

SMB segment, private SaaS companies

Account Executive Quota

1100thousand_dollars

median

Mid-Market segment, private SaaS companies

Account Executive Quota

1500thousand_dollars

median

Enterprise segment, private SaaS companies

CAC Payback Period

23months

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

CAC Payback Period

24months

median

Private SaaS companies, historical average

EBITDA Margin

-32percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

EV / ARR Multiple

11.1multiple

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022 transactions (excludes <$5M ARR)

EV / NTM Revenue Multiple

6multiple

median

Public SaaS companies, 2023

EV / NTM Revenue Multiple

17multiple

peak

Public SaaS companies, 2021

Gross Dollar Retention

88percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022-2023E

Gross Dollar Retention

110percent

best-in-class

Enterprise-centric SaaS companies

Gross Margin

75percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

Magic Number (Gross)

0.73ratio

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

Magic Number (Net)

0.50ratio

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

Marketing Expense Ratio

37percent_of_gtm_spend

average

Marketing portion of total S&M spend, private SaaS companies

Net Dollar Retention

108percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

Net Dollar Retention

104percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2023E

Net Dollar Retention

110percent

best-in-class

Enterprise-centric SaaS companies

Operating Expenses

106percent_of_revenue

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

Pre-Money Valuation / ARR Multiple (>100% growth)

29.9multiple

median

Private SaaS companies, high-growth segment

Rule of 40 Achievement Rate

15percent

threshold_met

Private SaaS companies, 2022

Rule of 40 Achievement Rate

50percent

threshold_met

Public SaaS companies, 2022

Sales & Marketing Expense Ratio

63percent_of_gtm_spend

average

Sales portion of total S&M spend, private SaaS companies

Sales Quota Attainment

78percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2022

Sales Quota Attainment

80percent

median

Private SaaS companies, 2023E

Subscription Gross Margin Premium

5percent_points

average_premium

Subscription gross margin vs. total gross margin across all company sizes