Why Going Niche Has LiquidPlanner North of $5M in ARR

In the engineering world, project management is often thought of as a interesting balance between an art and a science. With so many moving parts and subjective variables, determining deadlines and accurately estimating resources can seem impossible.

Thankfully, LiquidPlanner was built to help businesses calculate scheduling based on priorities, efforts, and team members in order to give realistic estimates on project completion. Their software accelerates the pace and accessibility of information for large, complex projects, removing manual overhead and updates project managers are often left with.

How much is LiquidPlanner doing in ARR?

LiquidPlanner is a pure-play SaaS company that charges its customers on annual contracts. Over the years, the company has narrowed its focus onto large, complex engineering firms that have a variety of concurrent projects and charges them approximately $10k each year.

The company currently serves 1,800 total customers, according to former CEO Liz Pearce. While specifics weren’t discussed, Pearce noted that LiquidPlanner is between $5M and $15M in ARR today while exhibiting a double digit growth rate year over year.

What is LiquidPlanner’s churn?

Logo churn is not measured by LiquidPlanner, at this point in time, but Pearce did mention that company is close to 100% net revenue retention within their target cohorts. Going forward, they’ve placed a large emphasis on marketing to these segments and have allocated customer success resources accordingly.

In terms of customer acquisition, the company is getting 45% of their new leads directly from paid channels while the remainder is coming from organic channels. LiquidPlanner has invested significantly in creating content and spends north of $100k on paid advertising each month. They aim for payback within 12 months, but are falling short of that target at present.

How much has LiquidPlanner raised?

LiquidPlanner has raised $13M in outside funding to date and is close to becoming cash flow positive. Overall, their team has grown to 65 total full-time employees.