Eight years ago, Battery kicked off a research project into what we termed “blue-collar software”. We used the term to describe technology for workers in the field—on a crowded construction site, or on a factory or retail-shop floor—and not those sitting behind a cushy office desk.
This software, we wrote in a slide deck at the time summarizing our thesis, was often delivered via mobile devices and focused on automating workflows like generating leads, scheduling work shifts, managing customers and processing payments. We noted that 60% of the U.S. labor force was comprised of these “non-desk” workers, and that their lives and businesses could be dramatically improved by upgrading the technology around them—just as office workers operate more efficiently with slick new online-collaboration systems.
That year, as part of that thesis, we aggressively pursued a Glendale, CA-based software company called ServiceTitan* which focused on software for the trades industry. We managed to get a foothold into the company’s Series B financing round. In 2018, we led the company’s $62 million Series C round. And today, we’re proud that ServiceTitan has become a public company, listing its shares on Nasdaq in one of just a handful of SaaS IPOs this year.
ServiceTitan has a great origin story: The company was founded by Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan, who met on a college ski trip for Armenian-American students, and bonded over the fact that both their fathers had similar backgrounds as tradesmen. Ara and Vahe saw the long hours their fathers spent at night manually managing their small businesses, and they wanted to develop technology to help their dads and others like them work differently and more efficiently.
Ara and Vahe launched ServiceTitan in 2012. Over the last seven years, since our original investment, ServiceTitan has posted strong organic growth and expanded its total addressable market. While the company’s software first served plumbers, HVAC professionals and electricians, it has since expanded into adjacent areas like roofing, lawn care, pest control and commercial service. It has also developed a robust, integrated payments business, which according to the company’s public S-1 filing constitutes a meaningful part of total company revenue.
When we first invested in ServiceTitan, it had under $20 million in annual revenue. Fast-forward to 2024, and the company posted total annual revenue of $614 million for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2024, according to the S-1. It now estimates its serviceable market opportunity is closer to $13 billion.
We are eternally grateful that Ara and Vahe elected to partner with Battery on their growth journey. It’s also been a pleasure working with the wider ServiceTitan team; scaling a global software business and taking it public just isn’t possible without an incredibly dedicated, focused and hard-working global employee base, and that’s exactly what we’ve encountered at ServiceTitan. We’re extremely excited for this new chapter ahead and can’t wait to see what comes next.
The information contained here is based solely on the opinions of Michael Brown and Roland Anderson, and nothing should be construed as investment advice. This material is provided for informational purposes, and it is not, and may not be relied on in any manner as legal, tax or investment advice or as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any fund or investment vehicle managed by Battery Ventures or any other Battery entity.
This information covers investment and market activity, industry or sector trends, or other broad-based economic or market conditions and is for educational purposes. The anecdotal examples throughout are intended for an audience of entrepreneurs in their attempt to build their businesses and not recommendations or endorsements of any particular business.
*Denotes a Battery portfolio company. For a full list of all Battery investments, please click here.
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