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CASE STUDY
Mendix, low-code application development platform

Mendix was started in the Netherlands in 2005 by three founders focused on finding a faster, easier way for enterprises to create internal software applications.

Background:

The team bootstrapped the company for five years, slowly building a business in Europe focused on rapid application development through “low-code” development techniques—using visual models, and less hand coding, to help businesses build critical new apps quickly and cost effectively.

In 2012, CEO Derek Roos moved the company’s headquarters to Boston to go after the huge U.S. market. Soon, Roos started looking for an experienced, U.S.-based investment partner that could help Mendix add talent to its senior leadership team and scale go-to-market operations more aggressively (the company’s biggest competitor at the time was Salesforce’s Force.com business). Battery led a $25 million, Series B investment in the company in 2014.

Battery’s Impact:

For the next four years, Battery General Partner Michael Brown worked closely with Mendix to support the company’s growth through investments in new product development, sales and marketing. The investment was typical of the type of “hop the pond” deals Battery has pursued many times in the last decade: Investing in fast-growing, European B2B tech companies and then helping them move headquarters, or at least go-to-market operations, to a U.S. city to be closer to the lucrative U.S. tech-buying market.

Battery also recruited key Mendix executives to support international growth including:

  • Two VPs of sales
  • Two VPs of customer success
  • VP of human resources
  • CMO

Outcome:

Two years after Battery invested, Mendix had nearly doubled its sales resources. Upselling/expansion sales grew rapidly as the company continued to win and penetrate larger enterprise clients. Siemens acquired Mendix for $730 million in August 2018.

 

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Mendix Related ARTICLES

The presented case study investment was made in particular economic and market conditions. There can be no assurance that Battery Venture would elect, or be able, to exploit similar opportunities in a similar manner under similar or different economic and market conditions. More generally, there can be no assurances that the Battery vehicles will have comparable investment opportunities in the future. No assumptions should be made that any investments identified above were profitable. It should not be assumed that recommendations made in the future will be profitable or comparable to the portfolio company described in this case study. For a full list of all Battery Ventures investments, please click here.

Details
Focus area
Application Software
INVESTED
2014
STATUS
Acquired by Siemens
Location
Boston, Massachusetts
STAGE
Growth
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