Trello Ends the First Wave of SaaS
laktek.com
laktek.com
> Consumer focused SaaS had its hay days[sic]. But going forward it won't be a rosy path. We will rarely see a unicorn. The first wave of SaaS is fading.
Hmm. I don't really buy all of this.
> Consumer focused SaaS had its hay days[sic].
Even if the boom is over (and as busts go, this one wasn't too bad), I don't think this is at all true. There are plenty of consumer-facing services yet to be invented (or reinvented).
> But going forward it won't be a rosy path.
When has it ever been rosy, unless you somehow managed to accidentally time the market? In bad times valuations are low and money is scarce, in good times valuations are high (so you will almost certainly have future down rounds) and attention is scarce.
> We will rarely see a unicorn.
Argh... You can count existing unicorns off the cuff without running out of fingers. Unicorns are rare no matter what.
> The first wave of SaaS is fading.
Well, OK. But waves come and go without categories going away. Arguably the very first wave is long gone. Flickr faded after the Yahoo acquisition. Instagram came along and is still growing like gangbusters after being acquired. More photo-centric consumer services will inevitably come along, and so will new services for staying in touch, making plans, sharing moments, doodling, making music, organizing a movement, transferring money, asking questions, finding a job...
In my not-so-humble opinion, consumerization has only just started, and you ain't seen nothin' yet.