Episode description

This week, the Bowery Capital team hosted Stephanie Jennings, SVP of Sales at MINDBODY, to discuss “Go-To-Market Considerations In Vertical Software.” MINDBODY provides cloud-based business management software for the wellness services industry, helping studios of all types--yoga, pilates, personal training, dance, martial arts, spas, salons--to better service their end customers. The company serves about 35MM consumers located in over 130 countries and territories. MINDBODY raised over $100MM in venture and growth capital before its IPO in mid-2015. In today's episode, Stephanie will walk us through the considerations that are unique to vertical software companies as they enter the market and seek to build & retain a strong customer base. We cover topics such as: differences between sales & marketing for vertical plays, target market penetration, expansion of vertical focus, achieving ACV growth, building a referral base, moving up & down market whilst avoiding cannibalizaton, and pricing in vertical markets.

Stephanie Jennings is the SVP of Sales at MINDBODY, a role she has held for the last year and a half. Stephanie has been with the company in a sales capacity for 9 years, having started as a Sales Manager in 2008. Prior to that, she worked as an Account Executive at various companies in the telecoms sector. In addition to her vertical software sales expertise, Stephanie is an educator: both in related professional disciplines like technology (Salesforce, Eloqua) and marketing (Google AdWords, social media), but also in health, fitness and beauty. Like many MINDBODY customers, she is a group fitness instructor and massage therapist. Stephanie has seen the evolution of MINDBODY from its earliest days--when many questioned how big a tech company selling into yoga studios could get--to one of the most high-profile success stories in vertical software. Her deep experience selling the product as an AE, an SVP of Sales, and everything in between make her a perfect guide to for today's podcast topic.