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MessageBird raises $60M Series A

blog.messagebird.com

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Re: MessageBird raises $60M Series A

#51

Post by paragpatelone »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #22

I see a lot of "Congrats" type sentiments in this thread. Maybe I should just say congrats too, but I can't help but wonder: Isn't it a terrible idea to raise $60M as a series A? That means you'll either need to be bought for ~$100M just to break even, or IPO, which seems very rare nowadays. Could anyone help me understand what the calculus looks like for these decisions? It's a series A too, not even a series B or C…

I think they already had revenue and they were profitable before taking the money https://www.inc.com/profile/messagebird. Maybe their growth in terms of revenue and profits, really got investors excited. However they do have to payout telecoms so that revenue may not mean too much.

I am curious why they decided to join YC? Was it a ego thing. What proof do they have that their service is better than Twilio?

Re: MessageBird raises $60M Series A

#52

Post by [deleted] »

skrebbel wrote: post #3

Cool stuff, and as a Dutch chauvinist I like that a fellow Dutch startup does well. That said, I've looked at MessageBird a bunch of times but I still don't get it. What makes them different from all the other SMS gateways out there? It's the same product everywhere: you invoke some REST API, an SMS is sent to a number and you get billed.

[deleted]

Re: MessageBird raises $60M Series A

#53

Post by juliosab »

tlogan wrote: post #43
skrebbel wrote: post #3

Cool stuff, and as a Dutch chauvinist I like that a fellow Dutch startup does well. That said, I've looked at MessageBird a bunch of times but I still don't get it. What makes them different from all the other SMS gateways out there? It's the same product everywhere: you invoke some REST API, an SMS is sent to a number and you get billed.

Good question - but all these gateways have tendency to drop messages, report weird errors, messages are sometimes delayed by hours, their MMS support if quirky, etc. I.e., if you ever worked with Twilio you will learn about "30008 Unknown error" - Twilio support tries but because "Carrier Network" problems these problems cannot be fixed. In short, reliable delivery of SMS messages internationally is still not solved…

Do they use any tools to monitor sms reception on real SIM cards?

Re: MessageBird raises $60M Series A

#56

Post by ballenf »

base wrote: post #50

I see Whatsapp support on their website but I find this very strange, Whatsapp doesn't have an official API, only some hidden endpoints for their clients that can be changed at any time. https://www.messagebird.com/en/chat-api

I'm not seeing any mention of WhatsApp on that page. I see WeChat, however, along with Telegram, Line and [FB] Messenger.

Re: MessageBird raises $60M Series A

#58

Post by ChuckMcM »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #22

I see a lot of "Congrats" type sentiments in this thread. Maybe I should just say congrats too, but I can't help but wonder: Isn't it a terrible idea to raise $60M as a series A? That means you'll either need to be bought for ~$100M just to break even, or IPO, which seems very rare nowadays. Could anyone help me understand what the calculus looks like for these decisions? It's a series A too, not even a series B or C…

You are not wrong, if you raise $60M then you have set certain constraints on your future. That said, as a primarily bootstrapped company with good traction and a reasonably world wide 'touch' if they aren't operationally cash flow positive yet I would be surprised. They have hit an interesting sweet spot between transactions (always a useful volume business) and an aged infrastructure (SMS). It was a space I would have expected Twilo might compete in.

So in this case it could simply be the cash they need to either prep for an IPO or to solidify their lead so that if they are taken out it is expensive (and thus a good return to the Series A investors).

Re: MessageBird raises $60M Series A

#59

Post by chrishacken »

ealexhudson wrote: post #36
austenallred wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’re probably within spitting distance of a $1B valuation. Probably 5-8x at this point? The fact that they’re there this quickly is absolutely mind boggling.

They're saying they expect to generate $100M revenue this year. I think that places them a bit further off the $1B _exit_ than 8x, although if they raised further funding potentially that could be done at an amount that suggests a $1B value. I wouldn't want to be competing against AWS Pinpoint, and the problems Twilio have suggests this is a technically difficult space. Seems like quite a big bet from the VCs involve…

"and the problems Twilio have"

Care to expand on this? When I visited their site to find out what they offer, I immediately said to myself.. "So this is just a Twilio competitor".

Re: MessageBird raises $60M Series A

#60

Post by terravion »

ealexhudson wrote: post #36
austenallred wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’re probably within spitting distance of a $1B valuation. Probably 5-8x at this point? The fact that they’re there this quickly is absolutely mind boggling.

They're saying they expect to generate $100M revenue this year. I think that places them a bit further off the $1B _exit_ than 8x, although if they raised further funding potentially that could be done at an amount that suggests a $1B value. I wouldn't want to be competing against AWS Pinpoint, and the problems Twilio have suggests this is a technically difficult space. Seems like quite a big bet from the VCs involve…

Revenue to market cap multiples in technology on the public market are often in the 6x range even at slower growth rates than private companies. So if they're doing $100M they could easily be worth over $1B now.
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