Plaid co-founder and CEO Zach Perret explains how developer platform business models differ fundamentally from standard SaaS dynamics.
Assertion Supported
Perret: Plaid fought a patent lawsuit for 2.5 years as an eight-person startup
“When we were an eight person company, we actually got sued for patent infringement on a handful of patents that under today's patent standards are not patents. So for example, passing financial data via an API. In that case all of Silicon Valley infringes on, …”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Perret: Plaid raised a $12M Series A knowing millions would fund patent defense
“We raised, I think it was a twelve million dollar Series A, and knew that we had to spend at least a few million on, on this lawsuit.”
Opinion
Perret: Most consumers view banks as a tax draining money via fees
“Most people treat treat banks as, or think of banks as a tax on their lives. You put your money into a bank, and it's just a matter of time before they charge you enough fees that it's gone.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Perret: Early banks resented Plaid enabling competitor LendingClub to make loans
“Lending Club was an early customer of ours and Lending Club was directly competitive with the banks and the banks didn't love the fact that we were enabling, enabling Lending Club to make loans, enabling Lending Club to steal their profit.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Perret: Plaid landed JPMorgan Chase via its wealth management division
“With Chase we sold directly into their, to their wealth management division to help them build, kind of, wealth analysis tools for their advisors. And in, in that case, yeah, we'll sign an actually narrow MSA. And over time iterate that MSA to be many other us…”
Insight
Zach Perret: Developers do not buy via ads, but through authentic content
“Developers don't buy through ads. They buy through content, they buy through, ah, kind of deep engagement, and being truly authentic to the community.”