Verticals
Verticals

Is the writing on the wall for DocuSign?

On this episode of Verticals, we get into DocuSign's rapid growth, its sudden decline, and whether they'll be able to continue leading this multi-billion dollar industry.

When was the last time you signed a document? I mean like actually signed something with a pen and paper. Unless you’re signing autographs or you have an affinity for paper checks, there’s a good chance that it’s been a while.

With the advent of e-signature technology, signing and authenticating a document has now become incredibly easy, more convenient, and safer from forgery. From employee onboarding and insurance claims to customer forms and non-disclosure agreements, the use cases for document authorization are many and varied.

Over the past couple of years, the e-signature market has grown by leaps and bounds. By 2027, the global e-signature market as a whole is expected to reach $20.4 billion.

One company in particular seems to have made quite the impression. An OG of the market: DocuSign. It’s growth exploded in 2020 and posted subscription revenue of $410 million. With the shift to remote work, it’s no wonder the brand has seen so much success. But after reaching a share price of $310 in September of 2021, DocuSign’s stock started to tumble — hard. It got so bad that after losing more than 60% of its value to $60, CEO Dan Springer resigned in June of 2022.

But first, if you like this kind of content and want to learn more, subscribe to get in the know when we release new episodes.

Lessons from the Top

So how did DocuSign get to such a high peak in the first place? What were the causes of its downfall? What SaaS lessons can you take from these successes and failures? We’ll get into all of that. I’m Ben Hillman, and this is Verticals.

It’s difficult to imagine printing and manually signing every piece of paper that requires our signature these days. And though we may not always think of the huge impact it’s had on all of us — not just businesses — the e-signature has definitely made our lives easier.

DocuSign pioneered this now multi-billion dollar market. And it does continue to lead, it’s not as impressive a lead as it was. The lesson: You must plan and prepare as much as possible for what comes after those unprecedented or uncertain times. Pandemics end, wars end, inflation slows, recessions end, etc. Things are ever-changing, especially in business.

  • Your happy customers are your best sellers In its early days, DocuSign used referral marketing (aka word-of-mouth marketing) in order to grow its customer base — and it worked. Today, it’s just as powerful, if not more, because of the many communication channels that exist. In fact, according to a Nielsen report, 92% of consumers trust the referral of friends and family over corporate advertising. And another 88% trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as recommendations from personal contacts.So, keep your customers happy by delivering exceptional service. Nothing speaks more highly of your product or service than a customer recommending it.
  • Focus, focus, focus When it comes to building a company, it's best to focus on the things that will create even more opportunity. Many companies make the mistake of trying to be everything for everybody — but that will never be the case. That’s not to say you can’t expand in the future, but initially it's probably best to place your efforts toward one thing at a time — one project, one industry, one audience, etc.DocuSign’s focus within the real estate industry is what helped accelerate its growth and eventually led to many other opportunities.
  • Don't lose sight of the future.While DocuSign, like many others, was able to capitalize on the pandemic because of the shift to online transactions, it seems it was unprepared for what came after. As businesses began to reopen, people went back to the office, and more and more face-to-face interactions started taking place, usage declined and so did those crazy high numbers.
    Forecasting and planning around the unknown is part of business, but it’s even more crucial during extraordinary and unprecedented times. “There is nothing more constant than change.” - Heraclitus

Background

An electronic signature, or e-signature in short, is defined as symbols or other data in digital form attached to an electronically transmitted document as verification of the sender’s intent to sign the document. An e-signature can take several forms: a person's name typed out, an uploaded image of the individual's signature in cursive, or a signature drawn on the screen of a tablet or a smartphone.

Signatures have long been the only way to authenticate an individual's identity, but in the 1800s, the evolution of signatures took an interesting twist. On May 24th, 1844 a man crafted a message in the Senate wing of the US Capitol. The message said, “What Hath God Wrought.” Moments later an identical message appeared in Baltimore, Maryland. Was this the first text message? Hardly. Those in attendance had just witnessed the first telegram. The man who sent this message was Samuel Morse.

Over the next few decades, Morse code was used to communicate across great distances. In some instances, it was even used to sign contracts and authenticate documents. Then in 1869, a landmark ruling by the New Hampshire Supreme Court confirmed such contracts as enforceable: "It makes no difference whether the operator writes with a steel pen an inch long attached to an ordinary penholder, or whether his pen be a copper wire a thousand miles long. Nor does it make any difference that in one case common ink is used, while in another case a more subtle fluid, known as electricity, performs the same office." This was, in many ways, the earliest validation of electronic signatures. However, it would take more than a 100 years for the idea of e-signatures to truly pick up pace more broadly within society.

VRT-S01-E02-E-Signature-Background

In the 1980s, signed documents sent by fax were considered valid and enforceable, so much so that government entities and courts started to recognize and use them. In 2000, the U.S. government gave the adoption of e-signatures yet another boost with the ESIGN Act. Under this Act, electronic signatures were given legal equivalence to handwritten ones. In other words, the law nowadays fully recognizes electronic signatures and records as long as all parties to a contract choose to use electronic documents and to sign them electronically. Businesses definitely took note… and just around the corner lurked what would soon be a major player.

Early Leaders

In the year 2000, Seattle-based entrepreneur Tom Gonser was working at NetUpdate, a company he founded in 1998. NetUpdate had acquired a few companies, particularly a firm called DocuTouch. DocuTouch held several patents on e-signatures and even had a plug-in for MS Word2000. This gave Gonser an idea. He left NetUpdate in 2003 to focus on a new company with assets that were purchased from DocuTouch by cofounder Court Lorenzini. Along with Eric Ranft, the trio would go on to found their new company: DocuSign.

Over the next couple of decades, DocuSign paved the way for the e-signature space. An early deal in 2005 with zipLogix resulted in a massive customer base within the real estate space. In 2010, it added support for iPhone and iPad authentication. Additionally, it partnered with Box.com, which meant that DocuSign would now play a prominent part throughout the entire collaboration process. In July of 2012, DocuSign boasted that approximately 90% of Fortune 500 companies had signed up.

These key moves meant that DocuSign was now a stalwart of the e-signature space. In 2018, with a single IPO share going for $29, DocuSign was able to enjoy mind-blowing profits by putting all of its 21,700,000 shares up for sale, which ultimately raked in $629.3 million. More recently, DocuSign has invested in internal R&D, 24/7 document monitoring, and building tools like an SMS alert system. It seems like DocuSign has always been destined for greatness, but if DocuSign were to ever fall, which company would be primed to pounce on its lucrative market?

EchoSign started operations in late 2005. EchoSign, like DocuSign before it, benefited from streamlining legacy processes and reducing clutter. It even began with a freemium plan for folks who needed to manage 20 documents or less. This tactic helped boost EchoSign to more than 2.5 million users by 2011. Not too shabby. That is, until you look at DocuSign’s over 13 million users as a comparison. EchoSign needed a prayer if they wanted to compete.

In July 2011, they got just that. EchoSign was acquired by Adobe, a move that saw its name conveniently changed to Adobe EchoSign and offerings expanded to include support for mobile devices. The company later changed its name to Adobe Sign, which has stuck to this day. As we speak, Adobe Sign is a full-fledged e-signatures and digital signing software. With Adobe’s large technical war chest at EchoSign’s disposal, DocuSign needed to adapt quickly to stay competitive. So what were some of the steps that ultimately led to DocuSign’s success?

Reasons for success

There are a multitude of reasons DocuSign succeeded, the first of which started early on in the company’s existence. The tactic it used was referral marketing. As far back as 2009, DocuSign had a referral program whereby it would send a $20 visa gift card to customers who managed to get another person to subscribe to DocuSign. Reportedly, 1300 referrals poured in. While that may seem like a lot to pay in Visa gift cards, consider this: at the time, the professional plan cost $15. If each of those customers stuck around for at least two months, DocuSign is more than breaking even. And considering how folks rave about DocuSign, I’m sure their average LTV is healthy enough to withstand it.

More recently, in 2016, Amy Wong, Director of Web Acquisition at DocuSign, said that for every referral it gets back, on average, 1.5 customers. But perhaps more importantly, she stresses that it’s not really about getting a high quantity of leads. Instead, it’s more about the high quality of leads that end up converting. Folks who end up referring others are typically those who love the product in the first place. And who better to sell your product than happy customers?

VRT-S01-E02-E-Signature-Success-2

Another area where DocuSign succeeded was focusing on a single industry in which to make its mark. That industry was real estate with DocuSign’s partnership with zipForm (now zipLogix).

In real estate, there are several paper forms required, including loan applications, property inquiry forms, and house seller forms. DocuSign was a perfect fit for this need. To make things better, in 2010, the National Association of Realtors released DocuSign Realtor Edition. It was an exclusive offering dedicated entirely to real estate agents. At the time, the NAR represented 1.2 million members across residential and commercial real estate industries. This was a massive client base from which DocuSign was able to grow.

So, with all of these building blocks toward success, why did DocuSign lose 60% of its value as well as its CEO, Dan Springer? In 2020, the SaaS company saw improved growth as demand for e-signatures grew. Costly paper stock and needing to shift towards a remote working environment drew companies to search for virtual solutions. DocuSign benefited.

While it was beneficial in the short term, DocuSign’s growth could not be exponential forever. As businesses opened back up and workers moved back to the office, platform consumption declined, especially as renewals came up. DocuSign isn’t underwater by any means. In fact, it has been growing — just not as much as has been projected. It will recover, but it's still better to watch out. There’s blood in the water and the sharks are out to play.

VRT-S01-E02-E-Signature-Success-1

Just recently, Dropbox and HelloSign partnered up. Dropbox, an innovator in its own space, boasts over 500 million users. While adoption of the product isn’t guaranteed to be automatic, it puts HelloSign in a great position to acquire new users. By combining their powers, HelloSign and Dropbox have powerful ammunition in the e-signature war.

Adobe, as mentioned before, is a behemoth in its own right. Not too long ago, Adobe announced that government agencies in all 50 states would start using its products. And in March 2021, the company rolled out a new suite of tools dedicated to small businesses. Put together, these strategic moves depict Adobe's commitment to get to the top of the e-signature market by all means possible.

Can DocuSign remain afloat in such trying times? Well, it's possible, but there needs to be concise, well-calculated steps made along the way.

Summary

One thing stands out above all else: e-signatures are incredibly important to folks running SaaS businesses. Not only does this technology save time, but it also saves on paper costs and provides top-notch security. In many ways, it takes business to a whole new level of efficiency and flexibility, a feat that only a pinch of technologies today can achieve.

Putting all the aforementioned struggles aside, DocuSign is still in a good position and it's still very much the king of the e-signature world. SaaS business owners can learn a thing or two from DocuSign's meteoric rise to stardom and, if possible, replicate similar industry-winning strategies within their own entities, however daunting that may seem.

The e-signature industry isn't without its fair share of challenges. Issues of document security and verification, legality, and trust continue to cause headaches among key industry players. Now more than ever, companies in the e-signature space need to stay true to customer-centric practices or risk a Biblical customer exodus sometime in the future.

It's quite clear that the e-signature race is more open than it has ever been in the past. More and more companies in the e-signature realm are doing everything possible to get closer to the customer, meaning this race is really anyone's to win. Who will be first to the finish line?

If you like this kind of content and want to learn more, subscribe to get in the know when we release new episodes.

1

00:00:00,180 --> 00:00:01,980

- Obtain the purchaser's signature.

2

00:00:01,980 --> 00:00:02,813

- DocuSign.

3

00:00:02,813 --> 00:00:03,780

- 41% drop.

4

00:00:03,780 --> 00:00:05,430

- Why so large signature, my friend?

5

00:00:05,430 --> 00:00:06,270

- When was the last time

6

00:00:06,270 --> 00:00:08,070

that you signed a document?

7

00:00:08,070 --> 00:00:10,050

I mean, like actually signed something

8

00:00:10,050 --> 00:00:11,253

with a pen and paper.

9

00:00:12,090 --> 00:00:13,620

Well, unless you're signing autographs

10

00:00:13,620 --> 00:00:15,660

or I don't know, maybe

you have an affinity

11

00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:16,920

for paper checks,

12

00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:19,110

there's a good chance

that it's been a while.

13

00:00:19,110 --> 00:00:21,240

With the advent of e-signature technology,

14

00:00:21,240 --> 00:00:22,920

signing and authenticating a document

15

00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,320

has now become incredibly easy.

16

00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:27,630

From employee onboarding

and insurance claims

17

00:00:27,630 --> 00:00:30,030

to customer forms and

non-disclosure agreements,

18

00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:31,830

the use cases for document authorization

19

00:00:31,830 --> 00:00:33,510

are many and varied.

20

00:00:33,510 --> 00:00:34,560

Over the past couple of years,

21

00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,440

the e-signature market has

grown by leaps and bounds.

22

00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,170

By 2027, the global

e-signature market as a whole,

23

00:00:40,170 --> 00:00:43,290

is expected to reach $20.4 billion.

24

00:00:43,290 --> 00:00:44,850

But one company in particular seems

25

00:00:44,850 --> 00:00:46,550

to have made quite the impression.

26

00:00:47,650 --> 00:00:48,483

DocuSign.

27

00:00:48,483 --> 00:00:50,640

DocuSign's growth exploded in 2020

28

00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,940

and posted subscription

revenue of $410 million.

29

00:00:53,940 --> 00:00:55,140

And with the shift of remote work,

30

00:00:55,140 --> 00:00:56,280

it's no wonder that the brand

31

00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:57,870

has seen so much success.

32

00:00:57,870 --> 00:01:00,270

But after reaching a share price of $310

33

00:01:00,270 --> 00:01:02,070

in September of 2021,

34

00:01:02,070 --> 00:01:03,240

it's stock plummeted

35

00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,760

to $60 in June of this year,

36

00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,130

causing CEO Dan Springer to resign.

37

00:01:08,130 --> 00:01:10,020

So, how did DocuSign

get to such a high peak

38

00:01:10,020 --> 00:01:11,250

in the first place?

39

00:01:11,250 --> 00:01:13,050

What were the causes of its downfall?

40

00:01:13,050 --> 00:01:14,700

What SaaS lessons can you take

41

00:01:14,700 --> 00:01:15,960

from these successes

42

00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:17,460

and these failures?

43

00:01:17,460 --> 00:01:18,810

We'll get into all of that soon.

44

00:01:18,810 --> 00:01:21,300

But first, let's get some background info.

45

00:01:21,300 --> 00:01:22,320

I'm Ben Hillman,

46

00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:24,220

and this is Verticals.

47

00:01:24,220 --> 00:01:27,120

(quirky music)

(pen squeaking)

48

00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:28,230

An electronic signature,

49

00:01:28,230 --> 00:01:29,910

or e-signature for short,

50

00:01:29,910 --> 00:01:31,080

is defined as symbols

51

00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:32,700

or other data in digital form

52

00:01:32,700 --> 00:01:35,700

attached to an electronically

transmitted document.

53

00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:38,100

Basically, an e-signature

can take several forms.

54

00:01:38,100 --> 00:01:39,390

A person's name typed out,

55

00:01:39,390 --> 00:01:42,540

an uploaded image of the

individual signature in cursive,

56

00:01:42,540 --> 00:01:44,220

or a signature drawn on the screen

57

00:01:44,220 --> 00:01:46,020

of a tablet or a smartphone.

58

00:01:46,020 --> 00:01:49,110

Long ago, signatures came

in the form of stamps

59

00:01:49,110 --> 00:01:50,520

or other different symbols.

60

00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,118

It was more of like a seal on a contract.

61

00:01:53,118 --> 00:01:54,930

Sometimes, quite literally.

62

00:01:54,930 --> 00:01:55,980

But in the 1800s,

63

00:01:55,980 --> 00:01:58,890

the evolution of signatures

took an interesting twist.

64

00:01:58,890 --> 00:02:00,660

On May 24th, 1844,

65

00:02:00,660 --> 00:02:01,890

a man crafted a message

66

00:02:01,890 --> 00:02:03,990

in the Senate Wing of the U.S. Capitol.

67

00:02:03,990 --> 00:02:07,050

The message said, "What hath God wrought?"

68

00:02:07,050 --> 00:02:09,030

Moments later, an

identical message appeared

69

00:02:09,030 --> 00:02:10,740

in Baltimore, Maryland.

70

00:02:10,740 --> 00:02:13,020

Was this the first text message?

71

00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:14,100

Not exactly.

72

00:02:14,100 --> 00:02:16,890

Those in attendance had just

witnessed the first telegram.

73

00:02:16,890 --> 00:02:19,530

The man who sent this

message was Samuel Morse.

74

00:02:19,530 --> 00:02:20,610

Over the next few decades,

75

00:02:20,610 --> 00:02:23,760

Morse code was used to communicate

across great distances.

76

00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:25,500

In some instances, it was even used

77

00:02:25,500 --> 00:02:27,540

to sign and authenticate documents.

78

00:02:27,540 --> 00:02:29,640

Then in 1869, a landmark ruling

79

00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:31,200

by the New Hampshire Supreme Court

80

00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,720

confirmed such contracts as enforceable.

81

00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:35,940

This was, in many ways,

the earliest validation

82

00:02:35,940 --> 00:02:37,560

of electronic signatures.

83

00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,200

However, it would take more than 100 years

84

00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:41,730

for the idea of e-signatures

85

00:02:41,730 --> 00:02:44,700

to truly pick up pace more

broadly within society.

86

00:02:44,700 --> 00:02:46,980

In the 1980s, signed documents sent by fax

87

00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:48,810

were considered valid and enforceable,

88

00:02:48,810 --> 00:02:50,970

so much so that government

entities and courts

89

00:02:50,970 --> 00:02:52,770

started to recognize and use them.

90

00:02:52,770 --> 00:02:55,080

In 2000, the U.S.

government gave the adoption

91

00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,680

of e-signatures a massive

boost, the E-Sign Act.

92

00:02:58,680 --> 00:02:59,513

Under this act,

93

00:02:59,513 --> 00:03:01,920

electronic signatures were

given legal equivalents

94

00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:03,300

to handwritten ones.

95

00:03:03,300 --> 00:03:04,890

Businesses definitely took note.

96

00:03:04,890 --> 00:03:06,420

And just around the corner,

97

00:03:06,420 --> 00:03:08,914

lurked what would soon be a major point.

98

00:03:08,914 --> 00:03:09,747

(dramatic music)

99

00:03:09,747 --> 00:03:10,890

Over the next couple of decades,

100

00:03:10,890 --> 00:03:13,530

DocuSign paved the way

for the e-signature space.

101

00:03:13,530 --> 00:03:15,900

An early deal in 2005, with zipLogix,

102

00:03:15,900 --> 00:03:17,790

resulted in a massive customer base

103

00:03:17,790 --> 00:03:19,470

within the real estate space.

104

00:03:19,470 --> 00:03:21,030

In 2010, it added support

105

00:03:21,030 --> 00:03:23,280

for iPhone and iPad authentication.

106

00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,470

Additionally, it partnered with Box.com,

107

00:03:25,470 --> 00:03:28,620

which meant DocuSign would

now play a prominent part

108

00:03:28,620 --> 00:03:30,779

throughout the entire

collaboration process.

109

00:03:30,779 --> 00:03:31,612

- All right.

110

00:03:31,612 --> 00:03:32,445

- In July of 2012,

111

00:03:32,445 --> 00:03:34,440

DocuSign boasted that approximately 90%

112

00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,720

of Fortune 500 companies had signed up.

113

00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:37,650

These key moves meant

114

00:03:37,650 --> 00:03:39,360

that DocuSign was now a stalwart

115

00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:40,590

of the e-signature space.

116

00:03:40,590 --> 00:03:42,780

In 2018, DocuSign IPOd

117

00:03:42,780 --> 00:03:45,840

with a single share going for $29.

118

00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,590

And they put all 21

million shares up for sale,

119

00:03:49,590 --> 00:03:53,760

which ultimately raked in $629.3 million.

120

00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:54,750

It seemed like DocuSign

121

00:03:54,750 --> 00:03:57,060

has always been destined for greatness.

122

00:03:57,060 --> 00:03:58,620

But if they were to ever fall

123

00:03:58,620 --> 00:03:59,940

which company would be primed

124

00:03:59,940 --> 00:04:01,653

to pounce on its lucrative market.

125

00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,000

EchoSign started operations in late 2005.

126

00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,310

Like DocuSign before it EchoSign benefited

127

00:04:08,310 --> 00:04:10,260

from streamlining legacy processes

128

00:04:10,260 --> 00:04:11,850

and reducing clutter.

129

00:04:11,850 --> 00:04:13,440

They even began with a freemium plan

130

00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,380

for folks who needed to

manage 20 documents or less.

131

00:04:16,380 --> 00:04:18,060

This tactic helped boost EchoSign

132

00:04:18,060 --> 00:04:21,390

to more than 2.5 million users by 2011,

133

00:04:21,390 --> 00:04:23,010

not too shabby.

134

00:04:23,010 --> 00:04:23,850

That is until you look

135

00:04:23,850 --> 00:04:27,660

at DocuSign's 13 million

users in comparison.

136

00:04:27,660 --> 00:04:29,640

EchoSign was going to need a Hail Mary

137

00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:31,350

if they were going to compete.

138

00:04:31,350 --> 00:04:33,660

In July, 2011, they got just that.

139

00:04:33,660 --> 00:04:35,970

EchoSign was acquired by Adobe.

140

00:04:35,970 --> 00:04:38,760

As we speak, Adobe Sign is

a full-fledged e-signature

141

00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:40,470

and digital signing software.

142

00:04:40,470 --> 00:04:42,300

With Adobe's large technical war chest

143

00:04:42,300 --> 00:04:43,770

at EcoSign's disposal,

144

00:04:43,770 --> 00:04:45,540

DocuSign needed to adapt quickly

145

00:04:45,540 --> 00:04:47,070

to stay competitive.

146

00:04:47,070 --> 00:04:48,120

So, what were some of the steps

147

00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,240

that ultimately led to DocuSign's success?

148

00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:52,920

There are a multitude of reasons

149

00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:54,390

that DocuSign succeeded.

150

00:04:54,390 --> 00:04:55,950

The first of which started early on

151

00:04:55,950 --> 00:04:57,540

in the company's existence.

152

00:04:57,540 --> 00:05:00,450

The tactic they used

was referral marketing.

153

00:05:00,450 --> 00:05:02,243

As far back as 2009,

154

00:05:02,243 --> 00:05:03,450

DocuSign had a referral program

155

00:05:03,450 --> 00:05:05,730

whereby they would send a $20 gift card

156

00:05:05,730 --> 00:05:07,740

to customers who managed

to get another person

157

00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:09,390

to subscribe to DocuSign.

158

00:05:09,390 --> 00:05:12,390

Reportedly 1300 referrals poured in.

159

00:05:12,390 --> 00:05:14,700

And while that may seem like a lot to pay

160

00:05:14,700 --> 00:05:16,080

in visa gift cards,

161

00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:17,340

consider this.

162

00:05:17,340 --> 00:05:20,430

At the time their

professional plan costs $15.

163

00:05:20,430 --> 00:05:22,110

If each of those customers stuck around

164

00:05:22,110 --> 00:05:23,880

for at least two months,

165

00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:25,800

DocuSign is more than breaking even.

166

00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:27,570

Folks who end up referring others

167

00:05:27,570 --> 00:05:29,940

are typically those who loved the product

168

00:05:29,940 --> 00:05:31,620

in the first place,

169

00:05:31,620 --> 00:05:33,630

and who better to sell your product

170

00:05:33,630 --> 00:05:35,370

than happy customers.

171

00:05:35,370 --> 00:05:37,230

Another area where DocuSign succeeded

172

00:05:37,230 --> 00:05:38,940

was focusing on a single industry

173

00:05:38,940 --> 00:05:40,620

in which to make its mark.

174

00:05:40,620 --> 00:05:42,780

That industry was real estate.

175

00:05:42,780 --> 00:05:43,613

In real estate,

176

00:05:43,613 --> 00:05:45,900

there are several paper forms required,

177

00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:48,930

including loan applications,

property inquiry forms,

178

00:05:48,930 --> 00:05:50,640

and house seller forms.

179

00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:52,380

DocuSign was a perfect fit

180

00:05:52,380 --> 00:05:53,400

for this need.

181

00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:54,270

To make things better,

182

00:05:54,270 --> 00:05:57,030

in 2010, National Association of Realtors

183

00:05:57,030 --> 00:05:59,430

released DocuSign realtor edition.

184

00:05:59,430 --> 00:06:02,550

It was an exclusive

offering dedicated entirely

185

00:06:02,550 --> 00:06:03,780

to real estate agents.

186

00:06:03,780 --> 00:06:07,620

At the time, the NAR

represented 1.2 million members

187

00:06:07,620 --> 00:06:10,740

across residential and commercial

real estate industries.

188

00:06:10,740 --> 00:06:12,690

This was a massive client base

189

00:06:12,690 --> 00:06:15,000

from which DocuSign was able to grow.

190

00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,040

A final area that DocuSign succeeded

191

00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:18,150

was in its partnership

192

00:06:18,150 --> 00:06:20,040

with other collaboration tools.

193

00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:22,050

By joining with Salesforce, PayPal,

194

00:06:22,050 --> 00:06:23,370

and Google Drive,

195

00:06:23,370 --> 00:06:24,960

DocuSign is making it easier

196

00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:26,550

for folks to get work done.

197

00:06:26,550 --> 00:06:29,190

If you already use a

product like Salesforce,

198

00:06:29,190 --> 00:06:30,840

it's likely that you'll trust the products

199

00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:32,280

that Salesforce partners with.

200

00:06:32,280 --> 00:06:34,740

So, with all of these building

blocks towards success

201

00:06:34,740 --> 00:06:36,660

why did DocuSign lose 60%

202

00:06:36,660 --> 00:06:39,420

of its value as well as

its CEO, Dan Springer?

203

00:06:39,420 --> 00:06:42,360

Well, in 2020, the SaaS

company saw improved growth

204

00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,400

as demand for e-signature grew.

205

00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:45,570

Costly paper stock

206

00:06:45,570 --> 00:06:48,900

and needing to shift towards

a remote working environment

207

00:06:48,900 --> 00:06:50,040

drew companies to search

208

00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:51,600

for virtual solutions.

209

00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:53,490

While it was beneficial in the short term,

210

00:06:53,490 --> 00:06:56,550

DocuSign's growth cannot

be exponential forever.

211

00:06:56,550 --> 00:06:58,110

As businesses opened back up

212

00:06:58,110 --> 00:06:59,820

and workers moved back to the office,

213

00:06:59,820 --> 00:07:01,650

platform consumption declined,

214

00:07:01,650 --> 00:07:03,720

especially as renewals came up.

215

00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,390

DocuSign isn't underwater by any means.

216

00:07:06,390 --> 00:07:08,460

In fact, it has been growing.

217

00:07:08,460 --> 00:07:09,810

It just hasn't been growing

218

00:07:09,810 --> 00:07:11,340

as much as projected.

219

00:07:11,340 --> 00:07:13,890

Just recently, Dropbox and

HelloSign partnered up.

220

00:07:13,890 --> 00:07:15,630

Dropbox, an innovator in its own space

221

00:07:15,630 --> 00:07:18,120

boasts over 500 million users,

222

00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:19,410

while adoption of the product

223

00:07:19,410 --> 00:07:21,360

isn't guaranteed to be automatic,

224

00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:23,100

it puts HelloSign in a great position

225

00:07:23,100 --> 00:07:24,750

to acquire new users.

226

00:07:24,750 --> 00:07:26,070

By combining their powers,

227

00:07:26,070 --> 00:07:28,770

HelloSign and Dropbox

have powerful ammunition

228

00:07:28,770 --> 00:07:30,360

in the e-signature war.

229

00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:31,770

Adobe, as mentioned before,

230

00:07:31,770 --> 00:07:33,360

is a behemoth in its own right.

231

00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:34,260

Not too long ago,

232

00:07:34,260 --> 00:07:35,970

Adobe announced that government agencies

233

00:07:35,970 --> 00:07:37,650

in all 50 us states

234

00:07:37,650 --> 00:07:39,060

would start using its products.

235

00:07:39,060 --> 00:07:40,590

And in March of 2021,

236

00:07:40,590 --> 00:07:43,140

the company rolled out a

new suite of tools dedicated

237

00:07:43,140 --> 00:07:44,460

to small businesses.

238

00:07:44,460 --> 00:07:46,020

Can DocuSign remain afloat

239

00:07:46,020 --> 00:07:48,120

in such trying times?

240

00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:48,960

It's possible,

241

00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:50,580

but there needs to be concise,

242

00:07:50,580 --> 00:07:52,893

well calculated steps made along the way.

243

00:07:54,180 --> 00:07:56,370

One thing stands out above all else.

244

00:07:56,370 --> 00:07:58,290

E-signatures are incredibly important

245

00:07:58,290 --> 00:08:00,090

to folks running SaaS businesses.

246

00:08:00,090 --> 00:08:01,980

Not only does this technology save time,

247

00:08:01,980 --> 00:08:03,750

but it also saves on paper costs

248

00:08:03,750 --> 00:08:05,550

and provides topnotch security.

249

00:08:05,550 --> 00:08:06,960

In many ways, it takes business

250

00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,530

to a whole new level of

efficiency and flexibility.

251

00:08:10,530 --> 00:08:11,580

The e-signature industry

252

00:08:11,580 --> 00:08:13,500

isn't without its fair

share of challenges,

253

00:08:13,500 --> 00:08:14,790

issues of verification,

254

00:08:14,790 --> 00:08:17,310

legality and trust

continue to cause headaches

255

00:08:17,310 --> 00:08:19,500

among key industry players.

256

00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:20,790

Now more than ever,

257

00:08:20,790 --> 00:08:23,220

companies in the e-signature

space need to stay true

258

00:08:23,220 --> 00:08:25,170

to customer-centric practices

259

00:08:25,170 --> 00:08:27,210

or risk a biblical customer exodus.

260

00:08:27,210 --> 00:08:28,710

It's clear that the e-signature race

261

00:08:28,710 --> 00:08:31,620

is more open than has

ever been in the past.

262

00:08:31,620 --> 00:08:33,600

More and more companies

in the e-signature realm

263

00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:34,980

are doing everything possible

264

00:08:34,980 --> 00:08:36,660

to get closer to the customer.

265

00:08:36,660 --> 00:08:39,420

Meaning that this race is

really anyone's to win.

266

00:08:39,420 --> 00:08:41,340

Who will be the first to finish line?

267

00:08:41,340 --> 00:08:43,230

Let me know in the comments down below.

268

00:08:43,230 --> 00:08:45,390

From Paddle, I'm Ben Hillman,

269

00:08:45,390 --> 00:08:46,800

and I'll see you next time.

270

00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,967

(tense upbeat music)