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After 3 weeks, 6 rounds, 63 fallen competitors, and 310,000+ votes - we have our 2017 March SaaSness Champion.
On March 15th, Qualtrics, G2Crowd and Ambition kicked off the 3rd annual March SaaSness Tournament.
64 SaaS companies entered our NCAA Tourney-style bracket, where each winner was to be decided by popular vote. And now, one company reigns supreme above them all.
Your 2017 March SaaSness Champion
Seed: 5. Founded: 2006. HQ: Vancouver. Conference: Sales Intelligence.
Site. Twitter. G2 Crowd. Score My Sales Reps. Get March SaaSness Contacts.
Company Background: DiscoverOrg is another March SaaSness newcomer with strong industry bona fides and the potential to make a splash in this year's bracket. The Vancouver-based sales and marketing intelligence leader is used by over 2,000 of the world’s fastest growing companies and has made Inc.'s 5000 fastest-growing companies list six times. Based on those data points, our intelligence sources indicated DiscoverOrg to be very capable of a deep run in this year's tournament. And guess what - we were right!
Tourney Background: DiscoverOrg put on memorable performance versus Greenhouse and Constant Contact in Rounds 1 and Round 2. A Sweet 16 date with industry competitor, Datanyze, ended in a landmark victory. In their Elite Eight matchup versus Engagio, DiscoverOrg pulled of a come-from-behind thriller, edging the upset-minded Whales and advancing to the Final Four. They crushed Zendesk on Friday's Final Four matchup to glide into the finals - where they faced 2017 Tourney Cinderella Loopio for the March SaaSness title. A last minute comeback and furious finish sealed the win, making DiscoverOrg our 3rd company to be crowned March SaaSness champion.
How DiscoverOrg Won March SaaSness 2017
Championship Winnings for DiscoverOrg
As 2017 March SaaSness Tournament Champion, DiscoverOrg will receive:
- A stadium-sized March SaaSness Championship Banner
- A to-be-revealed reward from Qualtrics, G2 Crowd and Ambition.
- The eternal awe and respect of the SaaS world.
Congratulations, DiscoverOrg! You guys are a worthy champion and join the elite club of SaaS companies (ClearSlide; Zoom) to have been dubbed March SaaSness Champion
2017 March SaaSness MVP
Congratulations to this year's tournament MVP: Claire McEachern!
Claire is the Director of Digital Marketing & Communications at DiscoverOrg. She ran point on their March SaaSness campaigns across social media, email and elsewhere. Claire, congratulations, you'll be receiving an extra gift with DiscoverOrg's prize package.
March SaaSness 2017: The 'Elite 8' Moments
Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's tournament. March SaaSness is always a fun, thrilling ride. These were our elite eight moments from the 2017 Tournament.
#8. Prezi goes multilingual to fuel Elite Eight rally versus Zoom.
Prezi's memorable March SaaSness debut was capped by an exhilirating Round 4 comeback versus Zoom that ultimately fell just short. The source of its late run? Their spanish-speaking user base.
A highlight of the 2017 March SaaSness tournament: noticeably more diversity in the competitors and followers. More on that to come.
#7. John Barrows recaps the SaaS 16.
The voice of March SaaSness, Saket Kumar, hosted John Barrows for our first ever color analysis of the tournament. The results: infinitely more entertaining SaaS industry discussion than you'll find in the usual places.
#6. Loopio CTO Matt York goes Broadway Joe prior to the Finals.
In his pre-game interview with Loopio's founding team, Saket Kumar asked the (seemingly) innocuous question: what's your most memorable victory of the tournament? CTO Matt York's response: priceless. (8:39 mark) (
#5. DocuSign weaves transitive property and #WomenInTech into the tourney.
DocuSign has one of the most storied March SaaSness programs in the tourney's short history. Although brief, their 2017 tourney appearance was as colorful, creative and provocative as any member of this year's field. Example: sudden segues into mathematical theory and social issues.
Kudos to DocuSign for bringing a unique brand of gravitas and intellectual spirit to the 2017 tournament. Their engagement rang louder than bombs.
#4. SaaSPN launches with Sean Sheppard, Chris Ortolano & David Dulany.
For the Final Four, Saket Kumar ushered in another March SaaSness first - hosting roundtable tourney analysis with SaaS industry experts Sean Sheppard (Founder, GrowthX Academy), Chris Ortolano (Founder, Sales Enablement Society) and David Dulany (Founder & CEO, Tenbound).
The panel was the source of some of our most entertaining tournament coverage. We can only hope ESPN was taking notes during their broadcast.
#3. SalesLoft's roller coaster ride to the Elite Eight.
Tourney veterans SalesLoft entered the 2017 field hoping to face Salesforce in Round 2. Instead, they got one of their own clients, Namely. CEO Kyle Porter called for self-sabotage to push their customer through to the Sweet 16. And for 36 hours, it seemed like they had succeeded.
Then, the twist. An 11th hour correction from Qualtrics reversed the final outcome of the matchup's final outcome. Instead of losing by 2 votes (out of 4,000+), SalesLoft had actually won by a margin of 7 - making for one of the most awkward moments in tournament history.
SalesLoft responding with an electrifying Round 3 win over Tableau, only to meet another client, Loopio, in the Elite Eight. This time, SalesLoft abandoned the #customersfirst strategy and went full-tilt in its quest for a Final Four berth.
The final twist. Loopio pulls off a stunning upset - using SalesLoft's own platform against them to continue its Cinderella run and bring Karmic finality to SalesLoft's quixotic 2017 March SaaSness journey. Unforgettable.
#2. Engagio goes Hard Knocks during the SaaS 16.
This was a March SaaSness first. We will never tire of watching it. Kudos to Engagio for one of the most entertaining March SaaSness performances ever.
The intense training paid off with a victory over arch-nemesis Marketo. Which, of course, called for further videos.
4th quarter heroics by @HeidiBullock against her former team in #MarchSaaSness. Vote for @Engagio! @AmbitionSales https://t.co/S9cIMNPHoa pic.twitter.com/ZfDbFMLkPo
— Engagio (@Engagio) March 25, 2017
Celebrating the biggest #MarchSaaSness win! 🚀@AmbitionSales @Engagio @marketo. Shout out to @bamboohr #pandas4lyfe pic.twitter.com/Q3zMbNSasZ
— Rebecca Feiten (@feiten_rebecca) March 25, 2017
Needless to say, Engagio will be receiving an automatic bid to the 2018 tournament.
#1. DiscoverOrg takes it home.
Signing Off
Congrats again to DiscoverOrg. Thank you to all our competitors and those of your who participated in the 2017 March SaaSness Tournament. And last but not least, major thanks to our wonderful cohosts, Qualtrics and G2 Crowd.
Relive the glory at any time at ambition.com/saasness/. See you next year!
