Key takeaways from Tracxn's story
Tracxn filed for its IPO recently and we pored over some of their filings to deepen my understanding of Indian SAAS companies. For context, Tracxn is a venture-funded SAAS platform and has raised ~ 💲 17 Mn 💲over 2013-18. Key takeaways below :
Tracxn is used by VCs, PEs and corporates to discover & track private companies/ startups and transactions/ M&A primarily in India, though the platform also claims to cover 16 other countries as well incl. UK, Singapore
Having got that out of the way, lets dig in
Learning 1: Selling SAAS from India is a slow grind, especially when a significant part of your TAM resides in India 🐢 I have profiled the company's revenue since it crossed $1 Mn 👇
The rule of thumb for #SAAS cos - 3x, 3x, 2x, 2x goes out of the window. Tracxn has grown at a CAGR of only ~23% over the last 5 years
Learning 2: USA is NOT the only place to sell for SAAS startups🆕 The company receives ~40% of its revenues from territories other than India and the US, This ratio has been fairly consistent over the last 3 years
Geographies such as Singapore/ SEA, parts of LATAM are prime for Indian companies to target! Takeaway 3: ACV for the company has largely remained flat over the last 3 years at ~$ 7,500 or Rs 6 lacs As expected, Indian VCs and PEs pay in line with Indian businesses whilst negotiating for software ! Who knew!? 😸 😄
While the data is unclear, a big part of this in my view is the company's inability to grow its user count i.e. capture large accounts PLUS develop high-value adjacent offerings for enterprises The company has also not shared NDR rates in its filings to really assess growth 
Final:
The company has clearly benefited from tail-winds in the Indian VC ecosystem and increasing appetite from both Indian and global investors to look at private investments. The company is likely a leader in India but future potential will lie in developing other territories
Imp Note: This is not investment advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell the stock. All data sourced from company filings/ website
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