Keep pulling the thread on Zac Bookman.
In 2015, Emerson Collective, led by Laurene Powell Jobs, invested in OpenGov at a time when the company was running out of money.
A SPAC named GTY, formed by Harry Yu, Joe Tucci (ex-EMC), and Bill Green (ex-Accenture), had a letter of intent to acquire OpenGov for $250 million before cutting them out of the deal.
OpenGov sued the SPAC GTY after being cut out of an acquisition deal and received a $6 million settlement.
OpenGov was acquired by Cox Enterprises for $1.8 billion in February 2024.
Andreessen Horowitz invested in OpenGov in 2014, at which point Marc Andreessen joined the company's board of directors.
An acquired permitting product at OpenGov grew from $4.5 million to $40 million in ARR while maintaining 98% gross retention.
In its early stages, OpenGov's unit economics were unsustainable, with a customer acquisition cost of $50,000 and a deployment cost of $40,000 for a product sold at a $15,000 price point.
In 2019, OpenGov had approximately $23 million in revenue and was burning $23 million in cash.
OpenGov has acquired approximately 10 companies as part of its innovation and growth strategy.
OpenGov's revenue grew 29% in 2023, at a time when many other software companies saw their growth rates fall to 11-15%.
A competitor to OpenGov was acquired by Tyler Technologies for $150 million, at a 6x revenue multiple.
OpenGov's mission is to power more effective and accountable government by building a cloud-based ERP to modernize government back-office operations.