Did InterWest get it Right with Right90?

I am confused… or maybe I found another proof point that there is too much money chasing too few good deals.   I noticed in yesterdays VentureWire that Right90 raised a $12 million Series B financing in a round lead by InterWest Partners. 

At first glance this makes perfect sense; Right90 is focused on real-time sales forecasting via a SaaS model.  Right90’s web site claims:

“Right90 extends your CRM investment by providing insight into your sales forecasts, so you can make your number, maximize your compensation and increase your sales productivity.  Right90 combines an intuitive interface, deep analytics and a flexible on-demand platform, so sales reps and executives can get a more accurate and real-time view of their sales performance.”

Sounds great!  I wish them luck, and want them to succeed.  Anyone who has ever had to make the quarter, or manage a large sales force can attest to the criticality of this business process.  Sales executives are easy to find and very sympathetic buyers, thus potential investors can check the “addressable market” box. CEOs and CFOs also have a strong financial interest in getting the numbers right, so I am sure that can’t hurt their revenue potential. 

So why don’t I like this deal?… (not that I was asked); To me this smells like a salesforce.com feature, not a stand alone business. 

Salesforce is a great service.  In 2000 we had a bakeoff between Salesforce and Siebel, at Mimeo.com and the ready to use Salesforce service blew the doors off Siebel’s 6 month to deploy, $160,000 solution.   Salesforce convinced me of the inherent benefits of SaaS models for everyone involved.    Salesforce keeps adding customers, and keeps adding features.   I believe sooner or later they will add Right90 functionality, so why would Right90 ever be worth more than Salesforces cost to build the functionality?   Maybe Right90 is getting traction outside the Salesforce customer base?

I can see why InterWest would be attracted to this problem-space.  I am sure they invested much more time thinking about Right90 than I have.  According to thefunded.com, InterWest is savvy, so I must be missing something?

Can someone explain why Right90’s upside is not capped by a dependency on Salesforce? 

Comments

[AnitoKid]

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[AnitoKid]

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