As published on Forbes
At first sight, Everstage’s business proposition looks disarmingly simple. The company, which is today unveiling a Series B fund raise of $30 million, offers software that enables sales teams – and their managers – to track how much they’re earning in commission. Critically, however, Everstage’s founders argue that this provides much more than just transparency – rather, it claims, such tools can underpin sales performance and, therefore, make or break the company.
“We’re really trying to serve our customers’ revenue operations professionals – the brains behind their go-to-market funnel,” explains Siva Rajamani, co-founder and CEO of Everstage. “This is about how you manage and motivate the sales teams that drive your revenues.”
Forbes first profiled Everstage two-and-a-half years ago, revealing detail of its Series A fundraising. Since then, the business has grown rapidly, with revenues growing four times’ over in each of the past two years and on target for three times’ growth over the course of 2024. Customer numbers now exceed 200, with businesses spread across industries including manufacturing, financial services and pharmaceuticals, as well as the technology vertical in which it started out.
The concept is simple. Everstage realised that while sales reps were supposed to be incentivised by commission structures to work harder and sell more, many of those structures were so complex and opaque that reps couldn’t keep track of what they were earning – or how much more they could earn if they redoubled their efforts. So its software addresses that challenge head on – reps can access the platform to work out exactly what their current performance means for their remuneration, and what improving that performance would do for their earnings.
“We help a growing number of companies to plan and manage their commission plans,” adds Rajamani. “Sales commissions are obviously a large business expense that companies need to monitor closely, but they are also a key plank in their strategies for incentivising sales teams.”
Everstage’s own customer reviews suggest that proposition is resonating. The company has won number one positions in the sales compensation platform space on review sites such as G2 and Gartner. Its customer list now includes large enterprises including GrayTV, Wiley, Diligent, Trimble and Paychex.
Now Rajamani says the company is determined to build on the success it has achieved over the three years since its launch in 2021. “This investment will allow us to double down on product innovation and elevate our customer experience with the highest standard of service,” he says of the company’s latest fund raise.
Today’s round is led by Eight Roads Ventures, with participation from existing investors, Elevation Capital and 3one4 Capital, and takes the total amount of investment raised by Everstage to $45 million.
“Everstage’s modular product helps organisations to dynamically manage their evolving sales performance management needs and to align front-line teams with broader organisation goals," says Aditya Systla, a partner at Eight Roads. "Customers consistently expressed their appreciation for the product’s simplicity and intuitive design, which significantly shortens the time to value."
The money will support further investment in sales and customer support – the company has already hired a new head of customer success – but also fund product development. Everstage sees the potential to expand into products and services that sit adjacent to the commission tracking space, such as target and territory planning. “We want to build a solution that can solve more and more of the challenges faced by revenue operations professionals,” Rajamani says.
