Everstage Raises $1.7M Seed Funding - Sales Commission Platform

Everstage Secures $1.7 Million Seed Funding for Sales Commission Automation

For sales teams, commissions represent a key motivator, yet often lead to frustration. Commission structures frequently become intricate, particularly as organizations expand in size.

The Complexity of Sales Commissions

“A typical structure includes a standard fee, alongside potential implementation charges, multiplier bonuses, and accelerators triggered upon reaching quota targets,” explains Siva Rajamani, co-founder and CEO of Everstage, a no-code sales commission automation platform.

Currently, many of these calculations are performed manually using spreadsheets by finance departments, resulting in limited transparency for salespeople regarding their earnings.

Introducing Everstage: Transparency and Real-Time Data

Everstage was developed to address this lack of clarity in sales commissions. The platform provides sales representatives and customer-facing personnel with real-time insights into their performance.

Furthermore, Everstage enables users to forecast potential commissions based on their sales pipeline, incentivizing them to close more deals. Its modular design allows companies to incorporate additional automated commission calculations as they grow, without requiring coding expertise.

Early Adoption and Seed Funding

Since its founding in 2020, Everstage has attracted prominent SaaS companies such as Chargebee, Postman, and Lamdatest as early adopters.

The company recently announced a $1.7 million seed round, led by 3One4 Capital. Angel investors included Prasanna Sankar (Rippling co-founder), Krish Subramanian and Rajaraman Santhanam (Chargebee co-founders), Sidharth Malik (Freshworks CRO), Koti Reddy (Conga CTO), Vetri Vellore (Ally.io CEO), and Ganesh Shankar (RFPIO CEO).

Everstage maintains headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, and also operates an office in Chennai, India.

From Freshworks to Everstage

Prior to establishing Everstage with Vivek Suriyamoorthy, the startup’s CTO, Rajamani held the position of head of global revenue operations at Freshworks. During his time there, Freshworks’ annual recurring revenue increased from $30 million to $300 million.

The Cost of Commissions and the Rise of "Shadow Accounting"

Rajamani notes that many early-stage startups allocate over 10% of their budget to commissions.

“While commissions are intended to motivate and drive performance, they often become a source of distrust due to a lack of visibility into the calculation process,” he states. “Salespeople frequently maintain their own independent records – what we call ‘shadow accounting’ – to verify their earnings.”

This practice of “shadow accounting” arises when salespeople independently track deals and calculate commissions, particularly when discrepancies occur with finance teams. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified this issue, as remote work limits direct access to finance departments for clarification.

Turnover and the Demand for Transparency

Frustration stemming from commission ambiguity can contribute to employee turnover, as salespeople seek opportunities with greater earnings transparency.

“Individuals prioritize companies that demonstrate transparency in their commission processes and quota setting, ensuring they can confidently project their income,” Rajamani emphasizes. “Vague promises lack substance without clear, verifiable calculations.”

Gamification and Incentive Alignment

Everstage’s features include gamification elements, allowing salespeople to visualize their current quotas, sales pipeline, and potential earnings, broken down by commission plans, including deal attainment, implementation fees, and bonuses.

“Incentives, such as multiplier bonuses, encourage salespeople to pursue larger or multiyear contracts,” Rajamani explains. “Seeing the potential commission increase associated with these deals provides a powerful motivator.”

Expanding Market Reach

Currently, Everstage primarily serves SaaS companies, but is experiencing growing interest from sectors like insurance, real estate, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. The platform is adaptable to various commission structures and industry-specific requirements.

A Competitive Landscape

Rajamani acknowledges that sales commission management software is not a novel concept, with established players like SAP CallidusCloud and Xactly already in the market.

However, recent years have seen the emergence of newer platforms, including CaptivateIQ and Spiff, driven by the need for adjusted incentive structures in remote work environments.

Everstage’s Differentiators

While some feature overlap exists, Everstage distinguishes itself through its modular approach and emphasis on gamification. “Our goal extends beyond automating routine tasks for revenue operations and finance; we aim to incorporate gamification as a core module,” Rajamani clarifies. “Features like quota setting and company-wide targets, segmented by manager and region, are also integral to the platform.”

Investor Confidence

Anurag Ramdasan of 3One4 Capital stated, “As customer acquisition and retention become more complex, Rev Ops teams are essential for aligning incentives and driving revenue. The Everstage founding team’s extensive experience positions them to empower Rev Ops teams, starting with real-time commission planning and visibility, and we are excited to support their journey.”