Businessmodel of ThoughtSpot

Customer Segments

ThoughtSpot has a mass market business model, with no significant differentiation between customer segments. The company targets its offerings at mid-to-large enterprises of all industries and sizes that desire an easier way to search for and view reports on data.

Value Proposition

ThoughtSpot offers three primary value propositions: innovation, performance, and brand/status.

The company places a strong emphasis on innovation. Its solution is touted as the world’s first relational search engine. It connects all of a customer’s data sources and calculates one answer across them for every question entered. The computations are precise and in real-time.

The company’s solution demonstrates strong performance. It deploys 85% more quickly than legacy business intelligence technology. It allows users to analyze billions of rows of company data in milliseconds. By allowing every employee to obtain answers on their own it has been shown to reduce 90% of reporting backlog. Examples of positive results for specific clients are as follows:

• Residential mortgage lender Primary Capital Mortgage implementedThoughtSpot’s solution, and it is now saving the company‘s sales team 600 hours a month
• Background check provider Sterling used ThoughtSpot’s solution to speed up access to background check data on its 20,000 customers from weeks to seconds
• Software firm Collegis Education used ThoughtSpot’s solution to get access to student information 10 times faster, saving the company 50 hours per month The company has established a strong brand as a result of its success. In February 2016 it revealed that its revenues had grown by 810% in the past year. Its customers include prominent firms such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Batteries & Bulbs, XPO Logistics, Rambus, and Nutanix. Lastly, it has won a number of honors, including recognition as a “Cool Vendor“ in Analytics by Gartner (2016) and as a “Vendor to Watch“ in Business Intelligence by Enterprise Management Associates (2014).

Channels

ThoughtSpot’s main channel is its direct sales team. The company promotes its offering through its social media pages and participation in forums, summits, and conferences.

Customer Relationships

ThoughtSpot’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service, automated nature. Customers utilize the service while having limited interaction with employees. The company’s website features a “Resources” section that includes self-help resources such as eBooks, survey reports, analyst reports, data sheets, webinars, and product brochures.

That said, there is a personal assistance component in the form of phone and e-mail support.

Key Activities

ThoughtSpot’s business model entails designing and developing software for its customers.

Key Partners

ThoughtSpot maintains the following types of partnerships to broaden its reach:

• Channel Partners – Firms that resell or refer ThoughtSpot’s solution to their clients
• Technology Partners – Firms that complete native integrations with ThoughtSpot’s solution in order to provide enhanced value for shared customers
• Implementation Partners – Consulting firms and systems integrators that provide advisory services on ThoughtSpot’s offerings to its customers ThoughtSpot’s specific partners include Keyrus, Informatica, Knowledgent, RichRelevance, Teradata, and Trace3. Partners receive access to training and sales/marketing resources.

Key Resources

ThoughtSpot’s main resources are its human resources. They include the technology employees it utilizes to design and develop its software and the sales/marketing employees who promote it.

As a relatively new startup it has relied heavily on funding from outside parties, raising $90.7 million from eight investors as of May 2016.

Cost Structure

ThoughtSpot has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant automation. Its biggest cost driver is likely sales/marketing, a fixed cost. Other major drivers are in the areas of product development and customer support/operations, both fixed costs.

Revenue Streams

ThoughtSpot has one revenue stream: revenues generated from the sales of its software. Published sources suggest that prices start in the six figures, but sales staff must be contacted for specifics.