From: myfirstmillionpod
Overview
Yardstick is a new venture by Anan, the founder of CB Insights, launched approximately 90 days prior to this discussion [01:54:33]. It operates under the domain yardsti.co [02:03:17]. The business aims to provide in-depth, trusted insights into software vendors based on actual buyer experiences [01:50:52].
Value Proposition
Yardstick’s core offering is to provide insights into what software buyers truly think about their vendors [01:17:15]. It offers access to thousands of analyst-led conversations with software buyers [02:23:43]. These conversations help users quickly understand crucial aspects like pricing, competition, evaluation criteria, and customer satisfaction [02:28:47]. Essentially, it interviews software buyers to gather their direct feedback on specific tools and then summarizes these findings [02:33:57]. This allows prospective buyers to see how others perceive a tool before making a purchase [02:41:03].
Target Market and Pricing
Yardstick primarily targets larger companies, specifically those with around 500 or more employees [05:32:02]. For such companies, selecting the wrong software can be incredibly costly, necessitating extensive research [06:01:03]. The platform serves two main customer segments:
- Investment Bankers: Individuals making investment decisions in public or private markets who need to understand customer satisfaction for software companies [06:37:09].
- Software Buyers: Companies looking to purchase software who can review others’ experiences before committing [06:47:04].
The pricing for Yardstick is notably high-ticket, charging customers around 40,000 per year [02:52:03]. This contrasts sharply with typical affiliate or advertisement-fee models [04:48:02]. The belief is that this business model could scale to become a $100 million per year enterprise [02:56:06].
Differentiating from Competitors
Yardstick distinguishes itself from existing software review sites like G2 Crowd [03:09:07] and SoftwareReviews.com [04:45:07] through several key strategies:
- Trust and Reliability: Traditional review sites often suffer from fake or untrustworthy reviews, making it hard for users to determine if the feedback is relevant or authentic [03:31:00]. Yardstick addresses this by hiring analysts to conduct structured conversations, ensuring reliable data [04:17:08].
- Direct-to-Customer Model: Unlike competitors that rely on affiliate fees or advertising from software vendors and compete fiercely for SEO rankings [04:48:02], Yardstick directly charges the end-user (the customer) for the valuable insights [05:05:07]. This shifts the revenue focus from advertising to providing direct value to the buyer [05:14:09].
- Leveraging Existing Customer Base: Being powered by CB Insights, Yardstick can readily access and sell into an existing customer base [04:08:08]. This provides a significant advantage over new review sites struggling with SEO [04:02:00].
Operational Model
The minimum viable product (MVP) for Yardstick involves interviewing individuals and presenting their transcripts [03:01:05]. The team, initially consisting of Anan and seven other employees, focuses on asking specific questions to software purchasers from the past two years [06:16:03]. These questions include who they considered, who they chose, the price paid, likelihood of renewal, and customer satisfaction [06:27:07].
This approach is seen as a more scalable and reliable alternative to one-to-one consultation services like GLG, which charges high hourly rates [06:53:05]. Yardstick instead provides access to a multitude of structured interviews [07:04:00].
The Visionary Behind Yardstick
Anan, the founder of Yardstick and CB Insights, is known for his unique and engaging personality [08:08:00]. He is described as a “shit disturber” in a good way [08:08:00], with a distinctive writing style for CB Insights’ daily newsletter [08:12:00]. His ambition, coupled with a “sauce” or unique personality, resonates with audiences, making his content highly engaging [08:43:00]. Anan maintains a list of startup ideas [07:47:00], reflecting his continuous pursuit of innovative business concepts. The success of Yardstick is attributed in part to Anan’s deep understanding of business models and his ability to execute on unique ideas.