Apttus
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Apttus was an enterprise quote-to-cash (the self-styled 'Middle Office') SaaS company founded in 2006 by Kirk Krappe. Built originally on the Salesforce platform (and later Microsoft Dynamics), its AI-equipped software helped large enterprises automate commercial relationship management and revenue generation — the processes between CRM and ERP. The company raised over $400 million in venture funding, reached a reported $1.75 billion valuation in 2017, and employed around 1,000 people.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Apttus is founded by Kirk Krappe as a quote-to-cash platform built on Salesforce's enterprise cloud.
- Peak valuation
Apttus raises a $55 million Series E led by Premji Invest with Salesforce Ventures, Iconiq and K1; the company is reported to be valued at $1.75 billion and is widely expected to head for an IPO.
- Private equity takeover
Instead of an IPO, Thoma Bravo acquires a majority stake in Apttus (announced September 4, 2018, closed that October; terms undisclosed); Thoma Bravo operating partner David Murphy becomes executive chairman, and Frank Holland is appointed CEO.
- Merger
On May 7, 2020, Apttus and Conga announce a Thoma Bravo-engineered combination to become Conga — a ~$400 million revenue company (reported deal value $715 million), led by Apttus CEO Frank Holland, with Insight Partners retaining a material ownership stake.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.