      SaaStr · 2012-10-24
      · 4970d
    

Estimating Private SaaS Company Revenue Using Employee Headcount

Jason Lemkin presents a rapid estimation method for calculating private SaaS company revenues by multiplying LinkedIn employee headcount by a per-employee revenue multiplier ($150k-$200k base). The approach adjusts the multiplier based on funding stage and business model, validated against actual revenue data from Marketo, HubSpot, and YouSendIt.

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

Metrics in this report

HubSpot Estimated ARR

$70,000,000$

estimate

468 employees at $150k per employee (2011), actual was $60m

Marketo Estimated ARR

$55,000,000-$74,000,000$

range

368 employees at $150k-$200k per employee (2011)

Revenue Per Employee - Heavily-Funded High-Growth

$100,000$

minimum

Companies with >$40m funding and rapid growth

Revenue Per Employee - Modestly-Funded SaaS

$200,000$

median

Modestly-funded SaaS companies

Revenue Per Employee - Self-Funded/Freemium

$300,000$

maximum

Self-funded or freemium SaaS companies

Revenue Per Employee - Well-Funded SaaS

$150,000$

median

Well-funded SaaS companies

YouSendIt Estimated ARR

$58,000,000$

estimate

235 employees at $250k per employee (freemium model)