Can anything be 'unfair' in the world of distribution? We figure not. Learn from the Davids of SaaS industry who've created a reality of their own with distribution hacking. Based on Sujan Patel's blogpost: https://www.chargebee.com/blog/saas-unfair-advantages-sujan-patel/

1. SaaS Businesses,
Unfair Distribution
Advantages, and
the Legend of
David and Goliath
Based on Sujan Patel’s blogpost

2. Life’s unfair.

3. The Philistine crowd
jeered. David stood
unfettered, against the
8-foot-tall menace.

4. The Philistine crowd
jeered. David stood
unfettered, against the
8-foot-tall menace.
The giant smirked. The little
shepherd boy didn't stand a
chance.

5. But David knew
better.

6. But David knew
better.
He couldn't hear the crowd.
He had nothing to lose.
His mind
attempted to
grasp with
firm resolve,
the task that
lay before him.

7. He loaded his catapult as the giant
stood distracted, from a vantage point
that was poised for a deadly blow.

8. The giant couldn't see, he wouldn't.

9. Well, the rest is...

10. Ok, the story should draw your
attention to a few things.

11. Goliath was oblivious to the
threat David posed.

12. Goliath was oblivious to the
threat David posed.
His metric was SIZE and
that's all he chose.

13. But David had a few unfair advantages that Goliath
really didn't stand a chance against.

14. But David had a few unfair advantages that Goliath
really didn't stand a chance against.
● His catapult
● His fearlessness
● His focus
● His vantage point

15. That's what an unfair advantage is really.

16. That's what an unfair advantage is really.
It's that nucleotide of success
embedded in your DNA, that the
competition, no matter how
massive they are, cannot
recognize, let alone,
hope to replicate.

17. Now, with this premise, let’s get down to business.
Shall we?

18. Incumbents in the software
industry seem light years
ahead.

19. The Software scene seems like a heavily crowded
night club filled with A list celebrities.

20. The Software scene seems like a heavily crowded
night club filled with A list celebrities.
Intimidating.

21. But this deck is an ode to the countless
little guys who have hit it big, regardless.

22. But this deck is an ode to the countless
little guys who have hit it big, regardless.
And a little peek at how they
developed unfair distribution
advantages.

23. Here's what’s in store: We've taken a
close look at some of the
phenomenal, disruptive, fearless
SaaS businesses.

24. We followed their story from start to
finish, rummaging through facts and
anecdotes in search of patterns.
Here's what’s in store. We've taken a
close look at some of the
phenomenal, disruptive, fearless
SaaS businesses.

25. And 10,000 Google searches later,
this is what we found.

26. And 10,000 Google searches later,
this is what we found.
Note: Any company’s success is
due to a complex interaction
between a number of variables.
We’ve hoped to organize this
information into an easily
understandable and possibly
useful format.

27. There are 5 ways in which these guys have created
Unfair distribution advantages.

28. There are 5 ways in which these guys have created
Unfair distribution advantages.
1. Intimate Design

29. There are 5 ways in which these guys have created
Unfair distribution advantages.
2. Ingenious
early adopter
marketing
1. Intimate Design

30. There are 5 ways in which these guys have created
Unfair distribution advantages.
3. Niche targeting
1. Intimate Design
2. Ingenious
early adopter
marketing

31. There are 5 ways in which these guys have created
Unfair distribution advantages.
3. Niche targeting4. Relentless
differentiation
1. Intimate Design
2. Ingenious
early adopter
marketing

32. There are 5 ways in which these guys have created
Unfair distribution advantages.
3. Niche targeting4. Relentless
differentiation
5. Challenging
stereotypes
1. Intimate Design
2. Ingenious
early adopter
marketing

33. OK, I know you don't have all day. So here's how
we are going to do this.

34. OK, I know you don't have all day. So here's how
we are going to do this.
1. Explanation of the category itself and
what I mean by it.

35. OK, I know you don't have all day. So here's how
we are going to do this.
1. Explanation of the category itself and
what I mean by it.
2. Illustration of the category with a real life
SaaS success story.

36. OK, I know you don't have all day. So here's how
we are going to do this.
1. Explanation of the category itself and
what I mean by it.
2. Illustration of the category with a real life
SaaS success story.
3. The Unfair act: Definition of a key decision
the company took, that gave them an unfair
advantage over incumbents.

37. OK, I know you don't have all day. So here's how
we are going to do this.
1. Explanation of the category itself and
what I mean by it.
2. Illustration of the category with a real life
SaaS success story.
3. The Unfair act: Definition of a key decision
the company took, that gave them an unfair
advantage over incumbents.
4. Matching Davids: Other companies that fit
into this theory, just to make things extra clear.

38. Intimate Design

39. Design around the customer’s
innermost, unspoken desires and you
will create something truly irreplicable.
Intimate Design

40. Irreplaceable = Slack

41. Toppled Goliaths

42. Toppled Goliaths

43. It’s no secret.
Businesses love Slack.

44. It’s no secret.
Businesses love Slack.

45. Epiphany:
Users desperately needed a break
from work while they work.

46. Epiphany:
Unfair act:
Slack introduced social media
like fun and addictive interaction
within team communication.
Wish granted.
Users desperately needed a break
from work while they work.

47. Matching Davids

48. Matching Davids
The simplest way to sign and
complete any document, digitally.

49. Matching Davids
The simplest way to sign and
complete any document, digitally.
Unfair act:
DocuSign designed around the need for
simplicity inherent in signing contracts. It
begged the question “why am I not using this?”

50. For more stories and observations
on SaaS, head over to our blog ---->
www.chargebee.com/blog/

51. Ingenious early
adopter marketing

52. Ingenious early adopter marketing
A well-executed early adopter
marketing strategy is almost always
an unfair advantage over the
competition.

53. Ingenious early adopter marketing
I know what you’re thinking.

54. Ingenious early adopter marketing
I know what you’re thinking.

55. Ingenious early adopter marketing
I know what you’re thinking.
The gold standard of referral programs
that SaaS companies still aim to
replicate.

56. Toppled Goliaths

57. Toppled Goliaths

58. Unfair act:
1. Referral = Additional data space -> Simple idea

59. Unfair act:
1. Referral = Additional data space -> Simple idea
2. Seamless invitation and frictionless sign up ->
Perfect execution

60. Unfair act:
1. Referral = Additional data space -> Simple idea
2. Seamless invitation and frictionless sign up ->
Perfect execution
40x users
6Months

61. Matching Davids

62. Matching Davids
Tinder took a dating industry veiled
in privacy and turned it on itself
with its brilliant albeit cheeky early
adopter marketing.

63. Epiphany:

64. People want to find other people they
have seen or know on dating sites.
Epiphany:

65. Unfair act:

66. I. Head to sororities - Get women to sign up.
Unfair act:

67. I. Head to sororities - Get women to sign up.
II. Head to corresponding fraternities. Display
local women that the men knew.
Unfair act:

68. I. Head to sororities - Get women to sign up.
II. Head to corresponding fraternities. Display
local women that the men knew.
III. An avalanche of word of mouth, the dating
industry will never be the same again.
Unfair act:

69. Niche targeting

70. Niche targeting
Be a visionary, look at trend lines and
crystal balls. Grab onto a growing,
profitable niche and slowly move
up-market with value added services.

71. Targeting the right niche, right at the
beginning, is key.

72. Targeting the right niche, right at the
beginning, is key.
Classic example:

73. Toppled Goliaths

74. Toppled Goliaths

75. Toppled Goliaths

76. Unfair act:

77. Unfair act:
Online streaming, cheap subscription rates
and lots of content catered to a (then) small
group of Internet savvy customers. The niche
grew, so did Netflix.

78. Matching Davids

79. Matching Davids
Epiphany:

80. Matching Davids
Epiphany:
A small group of not-very-tech-savvy business
people did not have the know-how to use
and manage API integrations.

81. Matching Davids
Unfair act:

82. Matching Davids
Unfair act:
Zapier catered to their needs by providing an
easy way to push data between dozens of
web apps without coding knowledge.

83. Matching Davids
Unfair act:
Zapier catered to their needs by providing an
easy way to push data between dozens of
web apps without coding knowledge.
Result:

84. Matching Davids
Unfair act:
Zapier catered to their needs by providing an
easy way to push data between dozens of
web apps without coding knowledge.
Result:
Today, Founders of tech businesses don't
really need to know how to code.

85. Relentless
Differentiation

86. Relentless Differentiation
Stand out at all costs, be keenly aware
of your core identity and communicate
it with clarity and unyielding frequency.

87. “A business needs to differentiate
itself” - Captain Obvious

88. “A business needs to differentiate
itself” - Captain Obvious
We don't mean just differentiate, we
mean differentiate relentlessly.

89. “A business needs to differentiate
itself” - Captain Obvious
We don't mean just differentiate, we
mean differentiate relentlessly.
Take Salesforce.

90. “A business needs to differentiate
itself” - Captain Obvious
We don't mean just differentiate, we
mean differentiate relentlessly.
Take Salesforce.
They didn't just differentiate,
They used EVERY POSSIBLE
OPPORTUNITY to stand out in
the CRM space. This was
unprecedented at that time.

91. Unfair act 1:

92. Unfair act 1:
The Logo: “No Software”
differentiated it from a near
obsolete and ill-suited
software industry.

93. Unfair act 2:

94. Unfair act 2:
The Pricing Model: Tiered pricing with
increasing costs for increasing functionality tiers
- competitors weren’t doing it.

95. Unfair act 3:

96. Unfair act 3:
The Corporate Culture: Drove interaction
between customers, executives, administrators
and partners at events like Dreamforce and
changed the scope of the net promoter score in
the industry.

97. Matching Davids

98. Matching Davids
1. Reapplied the concepts that made
Linux great.
Unfair acts:

99. Matching Davids
1. Reapplied the concepts that made
Linux great.
2. Differentiated and disrupted by
satisfying the need for collaboration.
Unfair acts:

100. Challenging
stereotypes

101. Challenging stereotypes
All the SaaS giants challenged and
questioned industry wide assumptions.
You should too.

102. Challenging stereotypes
Dating services are supposed to be
shrouded in privacy, Tinder asked
“Why so?”

103. Challenging stereotypes
People always want to store their
chat content permanently, Snapchat
asked “Why so?”

104. Challenging stereotypes
Workplace communication tools
must look and feel professional,
Slack asked “Why so?”

105. Challenging stereotypes
It is impossible for a group to work on
code at the same time without crippling
each other. GitHub asked “Why so?”

106. A shepherd boy has no
chance against a
8-foot-tall Philistine
warrior. David asked
“Why so?”

107. So beyond all the parameters
we've mentioned here, David’s
victory seems to be a product of
his character rather than
his catapult.

108. Maybe it's not so unfair after all.

109. Maybe it's a question of quirky
thinking, fearlessness, and
sustained, untiring effort.
Maybe it's not so unfair after all.

110. Maybe it's a question of quirky
thinking, fearlessness, and
sustained, untiring effort.
Farewell, until we meet again...
Maybe it's not so unfair after all.

111. What unfair advantages do you feel a
startup can use to stand out in a crowded
marketplace?
Tell us about it:
Tweet @preethishreeya|@chargebee

112. What unfair advantages do you feel a
startup can use to stand out in a crowded
marketplace?
Tell us about it:
Tweet @preethishreeya|@chargebee
Or spread the <3 by sharing it!

113. For more stories and observations
on SaaS, head over to our blog ---->
www.chargebee.com/blog/