How much did Mattermark raise with this deck?

Mattermark raised $6.5 million in a Series A round in 2014 using this presentation. This followed their earlier seed funding and preceded a total capital raise of over $17 million before their eventual acquisition by FullContact in 2017.

What was Mattermark's revenue at the time of the Series A?

According to Slide 6, Mattermark had reached $125,000 in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) by September 2014. The slide also highlights a 377% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) to demonstrate rapid traction to investors.

Who was the primary customer for Mattermark in 2014?

Slide 7 explicitly states that 54% of Mattermark's revenue came from Venture Capital customers. The deck acknowledges this niche start but uses Slide 5 to argue that the product is already expanding into sales, marketing, and business development professionals.

How did the deck define the 'Google for Business' analogy?

The deck uses Slides 3 and 4 to show that while Google is great for general web search, it fails at structured business queries like 'startups growing headcount 20% month over month.' Mattermark positioned itself as the structured data layer that answers what Google cannot.

What happened to Mattermark after this raise?

Despite the successful Series A and reaching significant revenue milestones, Mattermark struggled to scale beyond the VC and high-end sales niche into the 'every knowledge worker' vision pitched on Slide 5. The company was sold to FullContact in 2017 in what was widely reported as a disappointing outcome for later-stage investors.

Mattermark Pitch Deck (2014): 30-Slide Series A Deck

See all 30 slides of the Mattermark pitch deck — a 2014 Series A deck — with a slide-by-slide teardown of what the deck does well and where it falls short.

Mattermark’s 2014 Series A deck successfully raised $6.5M by leveraging a powerful 'X for Y' analogy, positioning itself as the 'Google for Business People.' At the time of the pitch, the company boasted $125K in MRR and an impressive 377% CAGR. The deck is notable for its transparency regarding customer concentration—showing that 54% of revenue came from Venture Capital—while simultaneously pitching a roadmap to move beyond that niche into sales, marketing, and research. By using screenshots of failed Google searches for specific business data, the founders clearly illustrated a massive gap…

Key takeaways

The deck uses a bold anchor statement on Slide 2: 'Mattermark is Google for Business People.'
Growth is the primary validator, with Slide 6 showing a 377% CAGR and reaching $125K MRR by September 2014.
The 'Problem' is visualized through screenshots of Google search results failing to answer complex business queries (Slides 3-4).
The company admits to high customer concentration, with 54% of revenue coming from the Venture Capital sector (Slide 7).
The roadmap (Slide 5) outlines a clear transition from a niche tool for VCs to a broad utility for all 'knowledge workers.'
The team slides (Slides 13-15) emphasize high-signal past employers like Microsoft, Palantir, and Kabam to build technical credibility.
The deck lacks a specific 'Ask' slide or use of funds breakdown in the provided 15-slide sequence.
Market size is framed by the volume of data points: 250M+ companies and billions of people (Slide 2).

The Narrative Strategy: Becoming a Utility

Mattermark’s 2014 Series A deck is a classic example of 'The Great Game' in startup fundraising. It takes a functional product—a database of startup metrics—and wraps it in a narrative of global proportions. By 2014, Mattermark was already a darling of the Silicon Valley ecosystem, largely because its founders were vocal about their own metrics and the data-driven nature of the venture industry. The deck reflects this transparency and confidence.

Slides 1-2: The Vision and the Hook

The deck opens with a clean title slide (Slide 1) featuring the tagline: 'organizing the world’s business information.' This is a deliberate echo of Google’s own mission statement. Slide 2 hammers this home with the bold claim: 'Mattermark is Google for Business People.'

This slide establishes the scale of the ambition. It isn't just about tracking startups; it's about 250M+ companies , 1,000s of markets , and billions of people . By framing the company around these massive numbers, they move the conversation away from being a 'VC tool' and toward being a 'global search engine.'

Slides 3-4: Defining the Gap

To justify the 'Google for Business' moniker, the deck shows where Google fails. Slide 3 shows a search for 'what is the market size of saas,' which returns generic articles. Slide 4 shows a more complex query: 'startups growing headcount 20% month over month.' The results are blog posts and Wikipedia entries, not data.

This is a highly effective way to demonstrate a Problem . It shows that the current dominant tool for information retrieval (Google) is incapable of handling structured business data queries. It sets the stage for Mattermark as the necessary solution for anyone needing quantitative business intelligence.

Slides 5-7: Traction and Market Expansion

Slide 5 provides the roadmap for customer acquisition. It categorizes their journey into four stages: First 6 Months (VCs and Founders), Today (Sales and Marketing), Tomorrow (Consultants and Analysts), and Someday (all knowledge workers). This slide is crucial because it addresses the 'niche' risk. Investors often fear that tools for VCs have a low ceiling; Mattermark counters this by showing VCs were merely the entry point.

Slide 6 is the 'money slide.' It shows $125K MRR and a 377% CAGR . The chart shows a slight dip in growth rate around January '14, but a steady climb in absolute MRR through September '14. Highlighting a 20% month-over-month growth rate at the end of the chart provides the 'up and to the right' momentum investors crave.

Slide 7 shows Revenue by Use Case . It is an incredibly honest slide, admitting that 54% of revenue comes from VC customers . However, the stacked area chart shows the 'Business Development' and 'Corporate Development' segments growing as a percentage of the total, proving the expansion thesis from Slide 5 is already happening.

Slides 8-11: The Future State

Slide 8 acts as a transition: 'Core Questions to Answer.' This leads into Slide 9, which features a circular diagram of 'Data We Need.' It lists complex business needs like 'Suppliers Manufacturers Distributors,' 'M&A Recruiting,' and 'New Product Development.'

Slide 10 and 11 are minimalist. Slide 10 uses the phrase 'a.k.a BUSINESS PEOPLE' to redefine their target market as anyone in management, investment, or R&D. Slide 11 simply states: 'WE FOUND A WAY TO GO FASTER.' This implies a proprietary technological breakthrough or a data ingestion engine that allows them to scale their database faster than competitors or manual researchers.

Slides 12-15: The Leadership Team

The team section (Slide 12) introduces the key players. Mattermark chose to give each leader a dedicated slide, emphasizing their 'pedigree.' Slide 13 features Kevin Morrill (CTO & Co-founder) , highlighting his 10 years at Microsoft and his experience as a founder. Slide 14 introduces Bryan Tsao (Director of Product) , noting his 6 years at Kabam helping grow it to a $1 Billion+ valuation.

Slide 15 features Sarah Catanzaro (Data Team Lead) , with high-signal names like Palantir and Cyveillance . This team composition—spanning big tech (Microsoft), high-growth startups (Kabam), and elite data analytics (Palantir)—is designed to convince Series A investors that the company has the technical and operational maturity to scale the product globally.

What Works in This Deck

The Analogy: 'Google for Business People' is a perfect high-concept pitch. It is easy to remember, easy to share, and immediately explains the value proposition. · Visualizing the Problem: Using actual screenshots of Google search results (Slides 3-4) makes the pain point tangible. It’s not a theoretical problem; it’s a daily frustration for the target user. · Honesty about Concentration: By showing that 54% of revenue is from VCs, they build trust. They don't hide the fact that they are currently a niche tool, but they use the growth of other segments to prove they are outgrowing that niche. · Velocity: The 377% CAGR on Slide 6 is the primary driver for a Series A. At this stage, investors are buying growth, and Mattermark had it in spades.

What is Missing

The Ask: In the 15 slides provided, there is no mention of how much they are raising or what the valuation expectations are. While this is often left for the verbal pitch, a 'Use of Funds' slide is standard. · Unit Economics: There is no mention of LTV (Lifetime Value), CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), or Churn. For a SaaS company at $125K MRR, investors would typically want to see that the growth is efficient and the customers are sticking around. · Competitive Landscape: The deck mentions Google as a 'failed' competitor for this use case, but it ignores direct competitors like Capital IQ, Bloomberg, or Crunchbase. A slide addressing why Mattermark's data is superior to these incumbents is a notable omission. · Product Deep Dive: We see what the data can answer, but we don't see the actual interface or the 'magic' of the platform. The deck relies heavily on the vision rather than the product experience.

What a Founder Should Copy

The Roadmap Slide (Slide 5): This is a perfect way to show how a 'small' idea becomes a 'big' company. Start with a beachhead (VCs) and show the logical progression to the mass market. · The 'Core Questions' Transition: Using a slide to pause and ask 'What are the questions we are actually answering?' helps reset the investor's focus before moving into the future vision. · High-Signal Team Slides: If your team has worked at 'gold standard' companies (Microsoft, Palantir), use their logos prominently. It acts as a proxy for quality and reduces the perceived risk of the investment. · Data-Driven Problem Statements: Don't just say 'Search is hard.' Show a search failing. Visual evidence of a problem is always more persuasive than a bulleted list.

Frequently asked questions

How much did Mattermark raise with this deck?: Mattermark raised $6.5 million in a Series A round in 2014 using this presentation. This followed their earlier seed funding and preceded a total capital raise of over $17 million before their eventual acquisition by FullContact in 2017.
What was Mattermark's revenue at the time of the Series A?: According to Slide 6, Mattermark had reached $125,000 in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) by September 2014. The slide also highlights a 377% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) to demonstrate rapid traction to investors.
Who was the primary customer for Mattermark in 2014?: Slide 7 explicitly states that 54% of Mattermark's revenue came from Venture Capital customers. The deck acknowledges this niche start but uses Slide 5 to argue that the product is already expanding into sales, marketing, and business development professionals.
How did the deck define the 'Google for Business' analogy?: The deck uses Slides 3 and 4 to show that while Google is great for general web search, it fails at structured business queries like 'startups growing headcount 20% month over month.' Mattermark positioned itself as the structured data layer that answers what Google cannot.
What happened to Mattermark after this raise?: Despite the successful Series A and reaching significant revenue milestones, Mattermark struggled to scale beyond the VC and high-end sales niche into the 'every knowledge worker' vision pitched on Slide 5. The company was sold to FullContact in 2017 in what was widely reported as a disappointing outcome for later-stage investors.

Cover slide of the Mattermark pitch deck — Series-A 2014 — Mattermark pitch deck, slide 1 (2014)

Mattermark pitch deck: the facts

Company: Mattermark
Year: 2014
Stage: Series-A
Slides: 30
Sector: SaaS

Mattermark pitch deck PDF

The full Mattermark deck is embedded on this page and can be read slide by slide in the browser — no download or account required. Each slide is covered in the breakdown above.

What the Mattermark pitch deck was used for

This deck is Mattermark’s 30‑slide **Series A** fundraising presentation from September 2014, positioned as a B2B "Google for business people" and a universal search engine for business information. It was used to raise a **$6.5M Series A round in December 2014**, led by Foundry Group, following earlier seed funding around mid‑2014. The company pitches itself as a SaaS data platform that organizes the world’s business information so knowledge workers can answer questions about companies they want to do business with, expanding beyond venture capital users to broader sales, marketing, and research audiences (as seen in the OCR text).

Business model: B2B SaaS data platform providing company intelligence and search for business information.

Round: Series A
Year: 2014
Raised: $6.5M Series A
Lead investor: Foundry Group
Investors: Foundry Group (lead), 500 Startups, Andreessen Horowitz, Data Collective, Sherpa Ventures, Felicis Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Version One Ventures
Industry: SaaS / business intelligence data platform.

Total funding: Between $11.3M and $18.4M raised prior to/across acquisition, with multiple sources citing $11.3M–$18.4M in total funding.

Use of funds as presented: To build out Mattermark’s ambition to become a "B2B Google" for business intelligence, expanding beyond investor tools to a broader data platform for knowledge workers.

What happened after the Mattermark deck

Following its September 2014 Series A deck, Mattermark completed a $6.5M Series A raise in December 2014 led by Foundry Group, building on earlier seed and bridge capital and expanding its data platform for investors and sales/marketing users; the company later continued developing its product and was acquired by FullContact in 2017.

Raised a **$6.5M Series A** round in December 2014 led by Foundry Group, with participation from multiple institutional
Previously raised approximately **$2M seed/bridge funding** in June 2014, much of it from existing paying customers, whi
Expanded product offerings and integrations such as a **Chrome extension** that surfaces company data directly in Gmail
Was ultimately **acquired by FullContact in 2017**, after raising multiple rounds of venture capital.

What the Mattermark deck got right

Compelling, memorable "X for Y" positioning. The deck positions Mattermark with a strong **"Google for Business People" / "B2B Google" analogy**, which is reinforced by external coverage and aligns tightly with the product’s core value proposition of organizing business information for fast discovery and analysis.
Strong quantified traction highlighted in the narrative. Mattermark presents **concrete growth metrics** like $125K MRR and 377% CAGR, which external teardown articles note as central to justifying the Series A and demonstrating strong early traction.
Clear customer expansion path from investors to broader knowledge workers. Slide 9 (from OCR) clearly maps the evolution of target users—from venture capitalists, angels, and founders in the first six months to sales, marketing, business development, consultants, analysts, researchers, and eventually all knowledge workers—showing a thoughtful path from beachhead to broad market.
Strong integration of data into practical knowledge‑worker workflows. The product is inherently **workflow‑oriented** for sales and prospecting, as evidenced by later tools like the Chrome extension that bring company data directly into Gmail and websites, supporting the deck’s claim that every knowledge worker can benefit from on‑demand business answers.
Resilient fundraising history with investor‑customers validating product. The fundraising narrative around the Series A, including bridge notes and a tranched quasi‑Series A prior to the Foundry Group round, demonstrates resilience and demand from existing customers‑turned‑investors, which supports the deck’s credibility on customer value.
Credible data asset backing the "organizing the world’s business information" claim. External sources consistently describe Mattermark as a **leading data platform for tracking private companies** at the time of the Series A, suggesting that the deck’s claims about organizing business information were backed by a real, differentiated data asset.

What could have been stronger

Ambitious "everyone" positioning with limited visible go‑to‑market detail. The OCR text and secondary analyses highlight ambitious claims like "every knowledge worker in the world" and "Google for Business People" without, in the available snippet, clearly grounding them in TAM sizing, segmentation, or detailed go‑to‑market mechanics for each audience; this can make the expansion story feel aspirational rather than operationally substantiated.
Limited transparency about prior tranched funding in the deck narrative. External reporting notes Mattermark had raised prior seed/bridge capital and was effectively extending that into a tranched Series A, but the deck (based on the excerpt and teardown commentary) appears to focus on growth narrative rather than explicitly explaining the earlier capital structure and investor dynamics, which some investors may see as missing context.
Traction metrics emphasized without visible discussion of retention or unit economics. The deck leans heavily on strong growth metrics such as $125K MRR and 377% CAGR to justify expansion, yet in the visible text there is no corresponding discussion of churn, cohort quality, or unit economics; this one‑sided traction framing could be perceived as a gap by more metrics‑driven investors.
Complex existing investor base not clearly addressed in visible deck content. While Mattermark’s own blog and external articles discuss the complexity of the cap table and syndicate—numerous small investors over time—the deck excerpt does not show a clear, simplified ownership structure or investor base, which can leave questions about governance and decision‑making.

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

Verify the **$6.5M Series A** structure, including whether it effectively extends earlier seed/bridge capital and how much total capital was raised around that period.
Evaluate the **positioning as a "B2B Google" / "Google for Business People"** and whether the product and data moat genuinely support this analogy beyond marketing language.
Understand how Mattermark transitions from early core users (VCs, angels, founders) to **sales, marketing, business development and broader knowledge workers**, and what sales motion and pricing enable that expansion (as implied by Slide 9 OCR).
Assess the **data acquisition and quality engine**: sources of company data, update frequency, accuracy, and defensibility versus competitors, given Mattermark’s promise to organize the world’s business information.
Review how the reported growth metrics ($125K MRR, 377% CAGR) translate into sustainable ARR, churn patterns, and long‑term unit economics.

Risks that stand out

The "Google for Business People" analogy and "every knowledge worker" ambition risk over‑promising relative to the company’s actual penetration beyond early adopter investors, potentially leading to a misalignment between expectations and near‑term achievable markets.
Reliance on proprietary data aggregation and enrichment could expose Mattermark to data accuracy, coverage, and compliance issues, which may erode user trust if not managed rigorously.
The complex fundraising history—with seed, bridge, tranched capital and many small investors—may complicate governance, future financings, or acquisition negotiations.
If core traction at the time was heavily concentrated in VC/angel use cases, expansion into broader sales and knowledge worker segments could take longer and be costlier than implied, affecting growth efficiency despite strong early MRR and CAGR numbers.

Questions this deck invites

How is Mattermark’s company data collected, normalized, and refreshed, and what are the primary sources and associated costs?
What proportion of current revenue at the time of the deck came from **non‑VC customers** (sales, marketing, business development, consultants), and what were the conversion, expansion, and churn rates for those segments?
How did the earlier ~$2M seed and subsequent bridge/tranched funding rounds convert into the $6.5M Series A (e.g., notes vs. equity, cap table impact)?
What was the sales model in 2014 (self‑serve vs. inside sales vs. enterprise), and how did the company plan to reach "every knowledge worker" in practice, including channel partnerships or integrations (e.g., Chrome extension, CRM, email to
What competitive landscape did Mattermark face in 2014 (other data providers and search tools), and how did its product roadmap aim to maintain a differentiated data asset and UX over 3–5 years?

What founders can take from the Mattermark deck

A clear **"X for Y" analogy** (here, "Google for Business People" and a "B2B Google") can strongly anchor investor understanding of a complex data product when supported by credible traction and customer stories.
Demonstrating **multi‑segment usage evolution**—from initial niche (VCs, angels, founders) to broader sales, marketing, and business development users—helps investors see how an early beachhead can expand into a much larger market, especially when mapped explicitly over time (as in Slide 9).
Highlighting **aggressive but concrete growth metrics** (e.g., $125K MRR and 377% CAGR) can effectively justify why a company is ready for Series A capital, as long as those numbers are grounded in verifiable performance.
Positioning a SaaS product as a **core workflow tool for knowledge workers**—rather than a niche "VC tool"—can materially change perceived market size and strategic importance, which Mattermark uses to frame its data platform as a universal utility.
Narrative transparency about the fundraising journey (seed, bridge, tranched Series A, then a larger $6.5M round) can reassure investors that previous capital was deployed effectively and that the company has navigated adversity before closing a traditional Series A.

Mattermark pitch deck: common questions

How much did Mattermark raise with this Series A deck, and who led the round?

Mattermark used this deck to raise a **$6.5M Series A round in December 2014**, with Foundry Group as the lead investor and participation from 500 Startups, Andreessen Horowitz, Data Collective, Sherpa Ventures, Felicis Ventures, NEA, Version One Ventures and various angels.

What does Mattermark do, according to the deck and external sources?

Mattermark is a **B2B SaaS data platform** that organizes business information about private companies (funding, growth, employees, etc.) to help users discover, enrich, and analyze companies, effectively a "B2B Google" or "Google for business people". The deck describes it as a B2B search engine for answering business questions on demand (per the OCR).

When was this deck used, and how does it fit into Mattermark’s broader fundraising timeline?

The deck is from **September 2014** and targets a **Series A** raise; Mattermark subsequently announced the $6.5M Series A on December 16–19, 2014, after an extended fundraising process that began with a $2M seed/bridge round earlier that year.

Who were the key customer segments Mattermark highlighted in the Series A deck?

According to coverage at the time, Mattermark positioned itself as a "B2B Google" for business intelligence and already had paying customers including venture capitalists, angel investors, founders and later sales and marketing professionals. The OCR text shows the deck explicitly mapping early users (VCs/angels/founders) and later segments (sales, marketing, business development, consultants, analysts, researchers).

What happened to Mattermark after the Series A — did the company get acquired?

Mattermark was eventually acquired by **FullContact in 2017**, after raising multiple rounds including seed and Series A, with total capital in the low‑to‑mid eight‑figure range depending on the source. This outcome occurred several years after the 2014 Series A deck and is not part of the deck’s own narrative.

Sources

Funding and outcome facts on this page were researched on 2026-08-21 from the pages below.

Mattermark pitch deck slides

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What each slide of the Mattermark pitch deck says

Slide 1

MATTERMARK organizing the world's business information September 2014 - confidential

Slide 2

MATTERMARK Organizing the world''s business information to answer questions about the companies you want to do business with September 2014 - confidential

Slide 3

Mattermark is Google for Business People I-] MATTERMARK B2B search has 3 key data points: 250M+ companies 1,000s of markets

Slide 4

MATTERMARK The problem: There is no effective, reliable way for professionals to ask business questions and get credible intelligence supported by data. + when you buy a CRM it comes empty + everyone is re-collecting the same information + everyone is re-creating the same spreadsheets + 99% of knowledge workers can't afford consuftants * PDFs, reports, etc. are not structured or searchable September 2014 - confidential

Slide 5

Gor gle what is the market size of saas Web News Images Videos Shopping More ~ Search tools About 184,000 results (0.58 seconds) Saa$ Cloud Solutions - CDW.com ® [%] www.cdw.com/Cloud ~ End-to-End Consultation on Software as a Service Deployment at COW. Application Management Contact a Specialist Secure Your Cloud Risk Mitigation Methods Gartner CRM Market Share Update: 41% Of CRM Systems ... www.forbes.com/.../gartners-crm-market-share-update-shows-41-... ¥ Forbes ~ May 6, 2014 - Gartner's latest CRM market share reports that the worldwide CRM market ... in 2013, with 41% of all systems sold in 2013 being SaaS-based. State of SaaS 2014 and its Challenges - Compass blog.startupcompass.co/20…

Slide 6

Gox gle all series a rounds in 2013 Web News Shopping Images Videos More ~ Search tools About 65,600,000 results (0.45 seconds) The Series A Round Is The New Series B Round | TechCru... techcrunch.com/2013/.../the-series-a-round-is-the-new-series... ¥ TechCrunch ~ Jun 18, 2013 - The Series A Round Is The New Series B Round ... In my short two- year tenure as a full-time investor, I've seen this .... Posted Jun 18, 2013 ... Bridge Rounds vs Series A Rounds - Tech Cocktail tech.co/bridge-rounds-vs-series-rounds-2013-09 ~ Tech Cocktail ~ Sep 16, 2013 - Sep 16, 2013 - Danny Boice for the National Edition ... of funding that comes between your seed round and your full-blown Series A round. The 1…

Slide 9

MATTERMARK Who needs a B2B search engine? every knowledge worker in the world will benefit from the most comprehensive source for answering business questions on demand First 6 Months venture capitalists, angel investors, founders Today sales, marketing & business development professionals Tomorrow management consultants, analysts, researchers Someday investment bankers, executives, knowledge workers September 2014 - confidential

Slide text above is read directly from the Mattermark deck PDF embedded on this page.