Sagetap

Company Overview

Sagetap is a San Francisco-based startup that has developed an AI-powered marketplace platform designed to match enterprise software buyers with innovative B2B SaaS startups. The company was founded by Sahil Khanna (CEO) and Kevin Hughes, former product marketer and sales manager respectively, who saw an opportunity to improve the outdated cold outreach methods used by many enterprise software startups to sell their products.

Products Overview

Sagetap’s core product is an AI-powered marketplace that connects enterprise technology buyers with vetted software vendors. Key features include:

• A database of vetted software vendors that buyers can browse
• AI-powered matching of buyers to relevant sellers based on criteria
• Access to intel on vendors including public information, buyer demographics, and tech endorsements
• Anonymity for buyers to research vendors without unwanted sales follow-ups
• Ability for buyers to book meetings with vendors through the platform
• Recording, transcription and storage of vendor meetings for buyers

Founding Team

The founders are Sahil Khanna (CEO) and Kevin Hughes. Khanna previously worked in product marketing while Hughes has a background in sales management. They started Sagetap after experiencing firsthand the inefficiencies of enterprise software sales at early-stage startups.

Problem and Market Fit

Sagetap aims to solve two key problems in the $1 trillion enterprise software industry:

1. Enterprise buyers are overwhelmed by cold outreach from vendors and struggle to identify credible, innovative solutions.

2. Early-stage enterprise software startups with strong products struggle to gain market awareness and connect with potential customers.

The platform creates a more efficient marketplace by vetting vendors, using AI for matching, and giving buyers control over the process.

Business Model

Sagetap makes money through:

1. Vendor subscriptions - Vendors pay to target specific buyer groups on the platform
2. Meeting bookings - The company takes a cut of meetings booked through the platform

Funding and Runway

In May 2024, Sagetap announced a $6.8 million seed funding round led by NFX with participation from Uncorrelated Ventures and Emergent Ventures. The round also included investments from 15 of Sagetap’s customers including Oracle, Dell, Secureframe and Descope.

Competitive Landscape

While there are other enterprise software marketplaces, Sagetap believes it stands out through its use of AI to analyze sales call data for recommendations. The company faces potential competition from:

• Large cloud providers with their own marketplaces (e.g. AWS)
• Other B2B software discovery platforms
• Traditional analyst firms and research companies

Customers

Sagetap reports having over 5,000 enterprise buyers on its platform. Some notable customers that have publicly endorsed or invested in the company include:

• Oracle
• Dell
• Secureframe
• Descope
• Paychex
• Gopuff
• Microsoft
• Covetrus

Relevant News

• May 18, 2024: TechCrunch covers Sagetap’s $6.8M seed funding round in a “Deal Dive” article
• May 7, 2024: Sagetap officially announces $6.8M seed funding round
• May 6, 2024: Sagetap wins the Grindstone Award at the Cyber Entrepreneurship Summit
• May 6, 2024: VentureBeat features Sagetap’s seed funding in an exclusive article

The company reports 2.7x year-over-year revenue growth as of May 2024. With its recent funding, Sagetap plans to focus on growing its community of technology experts, increasing market visibility, and doubling down on its core marketplace offering.