A blueprint for success in early stage B2B software
by Nicolas Rose
ServiceNow has acquired Sweagle, the Devops-enabling Belgian startup we backed two years ago as first institutional investors. Looking back on this venture, it was clear since day 1 that this team was tuned for success. Market fit, focus, talent and a global mindset… Sweagle is the model to follow for ambitious B2B software entrepreneurs out there. Follow the blueprint !
What Mark & Benny have built
Sweagle is the tool for software developers to easily consolidate, automate, and process the configuration data of applications, IT infrastructures and environments. It entered the market at a timewhen large corporate software is fast becoming impossibly complex to build and maintain, because of the exponential volume of configuration data to address. In a matter of months Sweagle caught the attention of corporate devops teams, and became a partner for the enterprise software world in its quest to break silos and leverage the potential of the Cloud.
A quick walk down software memory lane
B2B software is a dynamic and fast-moving space, with over 50 years of history and legacy leading us to where we are today. Here’s a fast forward:
- In the 1970s, mainframe computers were the workhorses of corporate systems. IBM’s System 360 and 370 were the first computers designed to cover a complete range of applications, from small to large, both commercial and scientific.
- They were gradually replaced with client/service architectures, a more distributed computing environment in a movement led by Novell, which launched its network operating software NetWare in 1983 and at one point owned over 60% of the market. For the record, Eric Schmidt served as the CEO of Novell CEO from 1997 to 2001, right before joining another small cool startup named Google.
- The distributed computing trend was accelerated by the arrival of the WWW with remote access to servers all across the planet, patching together in a tight web with a unified client access methods.
- When the Cloud appeared in the 2000’s, we witnessed a sort of ‘return of the mainframe’ with the rental of computing resources (AWS was launched in 2006… time flies!), which is still expanding massively across all corporate and government infrastructures.
Today most corporate IT infrastructures reflect this legacy in one way or another, and so does the software in use, with for instance tens of billions of code lines written in COBOL (a 60 year old computer language) that are still active and run myriads of devices around the world. Corporate software developers live and work daily with this diverse heritage.
Tailor-made for developers
To successfully build and manage the applications that now run most businesses (supply chain, inventory management, eCommerce, etc.), developers must make sure each layer of software interacts correctly with each other: the old, the very old, and the new altogether. This means having an eagle eye view of the configuration parameters for each piece of software.
The boom in corporate applications has logically led to an exponential growth in volume of pieces of code… Large enterprise softwares nowadays rely on hundreds (sometimes thousands) of configuration parameters to function properly. Maintaining them at a good level of code quality, and constant monitoring, has become a crucial part of a developer’s job. It is time consuming and prone to errors when done by hand. By offering to automate all this work, it’s easy to see how Sweagle instantly became relevant.
Market-fit is an art
In short, a good market-fit is the most direct path to success in B2B Software. What impressed us most with Mark & Benny was the countless efforts they put into understanding the needs of the devops developers community, and how to serve them best. In a matter of months after inception they were already working hand-in-hand with development teams at global ecommerce platforms, banks, mobile operators, etc., to build the perfect product for them. It worked brilliantly, and all B2B entrepreneurs should take inspiration from the method.
The sweet spot between tech talent & sales
Benny & Mark are outstanding salesmen — we loved that about them the minute we met. Put them in a room with a DevOps, a CTO or an IT guy, something’s going to happen. Even if there’s a pandemic: during lockdown, when many entrepreneurs and clients have to deal with uncertainties, Sweagle managed to sign its biggest contract (and close its best quarter ever).
These good old commercial skills are obviously rooted in a deep technical knowledge. It’s hard to build any expertise overnight, and only with enough experience in software can you address complex issues such as application configuration (not to mention on vast platforms like the ones deployed by Sweagle’s clients). Mark & Benny piled up close to 20 years of experience in sales, product strategy, architecture engineering and DevOps consulting at top firms prior to launching Sweagle. To an investor, this is a clearly a good sign.
Aiming global
Sweagle was launched in Belgium and pursued an ambitious international development strategy since day 1, aiming straight away for Europe. It was with the UK and the USA in mind that Mark & Benny raised their $3 million Series A with XAnge last year. With our support, the founders structured their startup for global growth, successfully reaching out to the USA in a matter of months. Thinking global is a proxy for ambition.
This acquisition is yet another example of how fast a team can reach success in B2B software with the right dose of talent, dedication and ambition. Sweagle is also a clear pioneer in its field, and I know they are in very good hands with ServiceNow, a world-class leader. We pride ourselves at XAnge in helping the best teams in Europe achieve success, whatever their industry, and Mark & Benny definitely are among the best. We’ll keep following them closely — and so should you!
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