The road to IPO is well-traveled this year. According to Bloomberg, the initial public offering market is booming, with record-high stock prices and nearly $350 billion raised in IPO funding this year, up nearly 25% compared to 2020.
Crunchbase also reports that nearly 50 companies have taken their businesses public in the first half of 2021 alone. Some companies took the SPAC route to IPO, while others went public through mergers and acquisitions or direct listings. If the market continues to stabilize, we could see more IPOs on the horizon this year.
But taking a company public isn’t easy.
The role of revenue operations in IPOs
Making a successful public debut demands predictable, consistent revenue operations results quarter after quarter. Achieving this starts long before the actual IPO.
Organizations on the path to going public must prove to their shareholders and customers that they have an effective revenue process, strategy, and scalable sales execution model in place to yield year-over-year growth—before and after they enter the public market.
This was true for Zoom in 2020, another Clari client. Sales forecast predictability supported the video communications giant’s successful IPO amid the pandemic. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan told Clari’s Generation Revenue 2021 virtual conference that the company’s board mandated revenue confidence as a prerequisite for IPO.
“Before going public, our board advised that we had to make sure we had three years of accurate, predictable revenue results,” says Yuan. “We brought on Clari to instrument that process and have since successfully gone public with repeatable revenue execution cadences.”
Celebrating now-public Clari customers
To achieve predictable revenue that powers an IPO, many of the world’s top companies trust revenue operations technology, like Clari.
Seven Clari customers are among 2021’s batch of newly minted public companies:
- ChargePoint
- Confluent
- Couchbase
- Coursera
- Procore Technologies
- UiPath
- WalkMe
It’s no coincidence that all of these companies partner with Clari. Clari fuels successful IPOs with best-in-class forecasting, proactive pipeline inspection, and revenue intelligence that drives smarter decision-making. Clari delivers mission-critical technology, expertise, and partnership that pave the way for IPO.
We’re highlighting seven of Clari’s now-public customers and exploring each of their unique journeys to IPO:
ChargePoint
Industry: Electric vehicle infrastructure
Stock Ticker: NYSE: CHPT
IPO Date: February 2021
Clari Customer Since: 2019
Revenue: $146 million (2021)
Headquarters: Campbell, California
ChargePoint is an industry-leading electric vehicle charging network provider, focused on offering the best EV charging experience for everyone involved in the shift to electric mobility. ChargePoint partnered with Clari to build a more efficient and automated forecasting process. ChargePoint standardized deal cycle progression with Clari, empowering first-line managers to have more strategic, action-oriented one-on-ones. With real-time rep data at their fingertips, managers can spot deal risk early, take action to course-correct, and prioritize meaningful customer engagements. These are the kinds of activities that fuel a successful IPO.
Confluent
Industry: Cloud-based data management software
Stock Ticker: Nasdaq: CFLT
IPO Date: June 2021
Clari Customer Since: 2017
Revenue: $236.8 million (2020)
Headquarters: Mountain View, California
Confluent delivers software that tracks the many events taking place inside a company–whether it’s a new sale, an order, a trade, or a customer response—filtering those real-time insights into a company’s databases. Confluent built a repeatable sales execution model across their sales and renewals teams with Clari. Leaders can run advanced forecasting scenarios to understand territory performance and take action to ensure teams and territories are set up with resources for success. Better sales strategy execution helped Confluent confidently enter the public market.
Couchbase
Industry: Cloud database software
Stock Ticker: Nasdaq: BASE
IPO Date: July 2021
Clari Customer Since: 2019
Revenue: $28 million (2021)
Headquarters: Santa Clara, California
Couchbase is a leading provider of distributed NoSQL cloud database software, delivering value across cloud, on-premises, hybrid, distributed cloud, and edge computing deployments. Couchbase partnered with Clari to standardize their forecasting process across one-on-ones, forecast calls, and quarterly business reviews (QBRs). With a standardized process and clearer view of their business, Couchbase was able to deliver quarterly outcomes with precision and accuracy, boosting board-level confidence and accelerating their path to IPO.
Coursera
Industry: Online learning and educational courses
Stock Ticker: NYSE: COUR
IPO Date: March 2021
Clari Customer Since: 2017
Revenue: $102.1 million (2021)
Headquarters: Mountain View, California
Coursera is a global, industry-leading open online course provider. Coursera partners with more than 200 leading universities and companies to deliver flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to people and organizations. Coursera built a consistent forecasting process, allowing the business to focus on pipeline coverage and out-quarter territory planning. Increased pipeline rigor and tighter sales execution drove more predictable revenue and supported Coursera’s IPO.
Procore Technologies
Industry: Construction management software
Stock Ticker: NYSE:PCOR
IPO Date: May 2021
Clari Customer Since: 2019
Revenue: $400 million
Headquarters: Carpinteria, California
Procore Technologies is a leading provider of construction management software that connects people, designs, and data across complex construction endeavors. Procore harnesses Clari’s RevOps platform to grow revenue across net-new, renewal, and expansion business, as well as professional services. With Clari, Procore gained new visibility into their existing customer business and enhanced cross-functional alignment across pre- and post-sales teams ahead of their IPO. Now Procore is valued at $11.3 billion, according to Forbes.
“With Clari, we run more data-driven and collaborative pre-sales motions that impact revenue results.”
—Josh Aranoff, Vice President, Global Solutions Engineering, Procore Technologies
UiPath
Industry: Robotic automation software
Stock Ticker: NYSE:PATH
IPO Date: April 2021
Clari Customer Since: 2019
Revenue: $607.6 million
Headquarters: New York City
UiPath is a worldwide leader in enterprise automation software, dedicated to accelerating human achievement by empowering people to delegate work to robots. UiPath partnered with Clari during a period of explosive growth. UiPath built a scalable revenue process in Clari that could evolve to suit complex go-to-market strategies. UiPath secured series D,E, and F funding in 18 months before becoming the publicly traded company it is today.
“As a late-stage company, there's no room for errors. You have to deliver your incremental revenue on budget, your billings on budget, quarterly accountability, and minimal variation to your forecast. That requires discipline, art, science, and Clari.” — Thomas Hansen, Chief Revenue Officer, UiPath
WalkMe
Industry: Digital adoption technology
Stock Ticker: Nasdaq:WKME
IPO Date: June 2021
Clari Customer Since: 2017
Revenue: $148.3 million (2020)
Headquarters: San Francisco
WalkMe delivers interactive online guidance designed to empower technology users and support professionals across customer service, user experience, and training. WalkMe built their revenue operations process from the ground up, in partnership with Clari. With an effective RevOps process in place, WalkMe improved visibility into their deal inventory and unlocked actionable insights. Now WalkMe’s go-to-market teams are able to spot potential risk, leverage opportunities, and make even smarter decisions. This transformation paved the way for WalkMe’s successful IPO.
“As a four-time Clari user, I’ve seen how it aligns the entire revenue team to a single operating cadence that drives execution rigor and predictability towards meeting our revenue goals.”
—Debra Estrada, Former Global Vice President of Revenue Operations, WalkMe
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