Amazon has this week announced Project Zero, a new initiative allowing independent brands to remove counterfeit versions of their products from the platform. Project Zero has come as Amazon’s solution to a major issue that arose for sellers under the e-commerce giant’s previous attempts to prevent counterfeit sales, which had led to false claims wrongly shutting down faultless sellers. E-commerce stores with an Amazon presence should take advantage of the program to proactively flag fraudulent versions of their products.
SaaS entrepreneurial news saw the official launch of SaaS Mag this week! This January edition kicks off the now quarterly cycle of the industry’s premiere print publication, featuring exclusive interviews with leading SaaS entrepreneurs from megaplayers like Salesforce, Docusign, Microsoft and more. Make sure to subscribe here (completely free) and keep an eye out for the articles from this edition to be published on the blog in the coming weeks!
In SaaS platform news, e-commerce marketplace solution Mirakl has raised $70 million in a new funding round led by Bain Capital. The software powers marketplaces and dropship ecosystems to help prevent customer confusion across channels, and serves major clients like Best Buy, Walmart and Office Depot. Mirakl doubled gross merchandise volume year on year in 2018, signing 60 customers and launching 37 marketplaces in the last year.
New in SaaS business listings this week we have an award-winning $741K B2B marketing automation & data management business, with strong annual revenue growth, a c.75% CAGR for the period 2016-2018, award-winning B2B software with a highly innovative product offering and hundreds of integrations, authoritative brand and early presence in a rapidly growing niche, clear value proposition with the business securing millions in VC investment over the years and automated operations allowing for a low-touch and highly scalable business model. If you are interested in this business, please follow the link to request a prospectus.
In events news, Founder Thomas Smale and CEO Ismael Wrixen had a great time co-hosting networking drinks for over 70 attendees with Powerful Partners! Thanks to everyone who came out to chat and network after Traffic and Conversion Summit. Please make sure to tag yourself and share pictures on Facebook.
Finally, LTV Conf early bird tickets are nearly sold out, so make sure you don’t miss your chance to be around the most successful leaders in the SaaS space! Prices go up in a few weeks (or when early bird tickets run out), so don’t wait to purchase. Discounts are offered to bigger groups, so make sure to bring your team, and use code FEINTERNATIONAL10 at checkout for an extra 10% off. Up to 400 invited SaaS Founders, Executives and Investors from private and public companies will be in attendance making this the perfect place to learn and make new connections.
Included in the world class speaker lineup are:
• Dan Martell, Angel Investor and Chief Instigator at SaaS Academy
• Nathan Barry, Founder and CEO of ConvertKit
• David Hauser, Founder of Grasshopper and Chargify
• April Dunford, Executive Consultant for Market Strategy and Product Positioning
• Claire Suellentrop, Co-Founder of Forget the Funnel and customer feedback expert
• Lauren Foundos, Founder and CEO of FORTË
Continue reading below for more on the Amazon’s ProjectZero, Mirakl’s funding round and a bonus story on Amazon’s Amazon Day.
Listings
New
SaaS – Award Winning B2B Marketing Automation & Data Management – $19K gross/mo
- Strong annual revenue growth, with a c.75% CAGR for the period 2016-2018
- Award-winning B2B software with a highly innovative product offering and hundreds of integrations
- Authoritative brand and early presence in a rapidly growing niche
- Clear value proposition with the business securing millions in VC investment over the years
- Automated operations allowing for a low-touch and highly scalable business model
Yearly net profit: $190,000
Asking price: $741,000
SaaS – Customer Loyalty & Retention POS Software – $4.7K MRR
- Early presence in the rapidly-expanding point-of-sale loyalty software niche
- Sticky product with 0% net MRR churn rate in the LTM and growing LTV
- Strong revenue growth, with a CAGR of c.113.9% for the period 2016-2018 and c.45.3% growth in the LTM
- Simple operational structure with low owner involvement
Yearly net profit: $46,000
Asking price: $176,000
Amazon FBA – 5 Y/O Eco-Friendly Travel Kitchenware – $12.5K gross/mo
- Strong brand firmly positioned in the eco-friendly travel kitchenware niche
- Widely accepted products with numerous five-star reviews on Amazon
- Lean and scalable cost structure driving high net margins
- Low owner involvement creating plenty of time to invest in growth
- Branded site to leverage sales outside of Amazon
Yearly net profit: $51,000
Asking price: $154,000
E-Commerce – 14,000-Tier Eligible Amazon Merch – $3K gross/mo
- 8,000 Amazon Merch Tier with over 3,000 free design slots and next tier eligibility
- Team of proven and available designers on standby
- Thousands of live designs with well-received products
- Lean and scalable cost structure driving high net margins
Yearly net profit: $31,000
Asking price: $88,000
Sold
Affiliate – Banking & Personal Finance – $9K gross/mo
In The News…
Amazon Launches Project Zero
Amazon has this week announced Project Zero, which allows Amazon stores to remove counterfeit versions of their products from the platform themselves.
Recently, Amazon has tried to remove fake products by flagging stores selling counterfeit items. This led to stores being errantly marked as counterfeit and subsequently shut down, despite selling their own items. The project offers a new technology that will allow them to self-service the flagging of counterfeit items as well as reduce the number of fake reviews on the site.
Project Zero creates the opportunity for brands to manage their own online presence and quality control.
Mirakl Raises $70 million in New Round
Software startup Mirakl has raised $70 million in a new funding round led by Bain Capital.
Mirakl has built a solution for e-commerce stores to build and manage a full marketplace for their online presence. Connectors help brands connect to multiple platforms and have a proprietary onboarding process for businesses. Third-party sellers go through their own onboarding via their own backend.
Part of the value of Mirakl is that it allows B2B marketplaces to sell in bulk and set minimum and maximum quantities for sales, as well as customize listings.
Amazon Announces Amazon Day
This week, Amazon also announced Amazon Day, which will allow Prime subscribers to select a recurring day of the week for their Amazon purchases to arrive.
While the initiative will increase sustainability and reduce the number of packages arriving weekly, it is likely to encourage users further to shop for Prime-eligible products. Those with an Amazon store or a presence on the platform should, to the best of their ability, ensure their products are Prime-eligible.
Amazon Day does not remove the ability to order items for faster delivery, if necessary.