Fred Shilmover is not shy about his ambitions for InsightSquared.
If the CEO can get his way, the sales analytics startup would become known as the "patron saint of sales operations." It's quite the lofty title — how many companies would you even call the "patron saint" of anything? — but that's nevertheless how Shilmover is thinking as the company prepares for Ramp, its inaugural conference that kicks off Wednesday, with the main stretch of sessions happening Thursday at Fenway Park's EMC Club.
"The timing of us launching this conference coincides with sales operations coming to the fore," Shilmover told BostInno in a recent interview.
Conceived by Xerox in the 1970s, the "sales op" role is designed to help a company's sales organization with things like strategy and analytics. According to a 2014 Harvard Business Review article, it has now "become widely accepted as essential for effective sales management" — and part of that is due to the advanced capabilities of data analytics platforms like InsightSquared.
The company, which was founded in 2010, provides a sales forecasting and analytics software platform that aims to provide companies quick and easy ways to understand how their sales organizations are operating. The company's first product, Tiles, provides more than 80 reports using Salesforce data while Slate lets companies with more complex organizational structures combine Salesforce data with other data sources.
The company says it has helped more than 900 companies, including Catalant, Gainsight and Pendo. According to case studies and testimonials on its website, companies have used InsightSquared to improve the accuracy of forecasting, optimize the sales process and increase the size of deals, among other things. In one study, MemberSuite said it was able to raise a $4.5 million round from investors because the software was able to show "strategic insights into the company's sales cycle" and "clear visualizations" of its growth.
Companies using InsightSquared can expect to see a 22 percent increase in monthly bookings and an 18 percent boost in monthly recurring revenue, according to a company analysis of nearly 200 InsightSquared customers.
"Every company I've been a part of has had layoffs and they've all come out stronger."
Aside from the testimonials and metrics, companies generally seem to think highly of InsightSquared's software. In a recent report on business intelligence platforms by G2 Crowd, InsightSquared had the highest score out of 21 companies, based on user reviews.
While the company is now seen as a leader in the business intelligence field, the road getting there hasn't always been smooth. Last year, the company laid off 23 employees, which amounted to 15 percent of its 153-person workforce at the time and was the result of the company beginning to focus on "efficient growth" over "absolute growth."
The company now has 135 employees and is experiencing "sustained growth," Shilmover said, though he declined to provide more specific details on revenue or revenue growth. When he spoke to BostInno about the layoffs in June 2016, he said the company had doubled its revenue for the two previous years.
"I let us grow a little bit too fast, too quickly," Shilmover said of the layoffs. "It's not atypical for a company to make that course correction." That sentiment was echoed by InsightSquared investor and Accomplice partner Jeff Fagnan, who told BostInno, "Every company I've been a part of has had layoffs and they've all come out stronger."
With its first conference coming up this week, Shilmover hopes InsightSquared can attract more attention from companies that are looking for easy ways to visualize and analyze sales data. Could it help propel them to become a "patron saint?" Only time will tell.
