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Gorillas is a Berlin-based startup that’s generating massive amounts of attention and lots of investor interest. The company, which promises groceries delivered to customers’ homes in just 10 minutes, raised €244 million in early 2021. After quickly gaining traction across Europe in cities like Munich, London and Amsterdam, Gorillas has now crossed the Atlantic to launch in New York City.
Any rapidly growing startup will have significant SaaS needs and Gorillas is the fastest European startup to reach unicorn status (a valuation of $1 billion or more). Working with Sastrify, Gorillas was able to save millions of Euros on its investment in software. Here’s a look at how Sastrify helped drive those savings.
Don’t Let Hypergrowth Distract From SaaS Cost Control
There’s palpable excitement when working at a unicorn like Gorillas. New users are signing up, the product is moving into new markets, industry journalists are writing buzzworthy stories. It’s easy to get caught up in growth to the detriment of cost control, especially with software.
As any company grows, it will need SaaS tools for collaboration and communication, project management, plus a host of other essential activities. Gorillas engaged Sastrify to ensure those costs stayed under control. Sastrify responded by analyzing Gorillas’ SaaS usage and needs, negotiating contracts and uncovering 7-figure savings. Sastrify’s work allowed the Gorillas team to continue pursuing its hypergrowth without worrying about Saas contracts and negotiations.
Sastrify was able to secure savings for Gorillas primarily across 4 different SaaS tools.
Google Workspace: Optimizing License Types for 66% Savings
Google’s transition from G-Suite to Workspace has made headlines in the past year. It has also created higher costs for many users. For example, Gorillas, as a user with 300-plus licenses, was facing a mandatory deadline to transition from G-Suite to a more expensive Workspace plan.
Leading up to the deadline, Sastrify worked with multiple clients to reduce the higher costs related to the transition to Workspace. The Sastrify team encouraged Gorillas to migrate to Workspace ahead of the deadline, which would allow the company to access lower pricing.
After helping Gorillas secure a less-expensive Workspace plan than they would have got at the transition deadline, Sastrify also helped Gorillas optimize its spend on Workspace. Google offers Workspace licenses with limited functionality for “frontline workers.” Sastrify helped Gorillas identify team members who only needed the limited functionality so that they could transition to the different type of license. This simple transition cut Gorillas’ Workspace costs by two-thirds.
"Gorillas as a hypergrowth company has really benefited from Sastrify’s support. Fast onboarding, smooth communication and obvious cost savings make working with Sastrify a highly recommended experience.” (Bobby Abdullah, Special Projects IT at Gorillas)
Zoom: Competition Leads to Favorable Contract
Zoom and similar tools have become vital during the COVID-19 pandemic as virtual meetings have become a daily reality at companies worldwide. Gorillas had been using Zoom for virtual meetings, but its new contract with Google Workspace made Google Meet a viable alternative — one that was already included in the cost of Workspace.
Because Gorillas had Google Meet as an alternative, Zoom was more motivated to negotiate and keep Gorillas as a customer. With the help of Sastrify, Gorillas has been able to secure an attractive contract with Zoom. In the contract, free use is provided for a certain period of time, followed by paid use for the same period of time but still discounted.
Sastrify also helped Gorillas receive Active Host Model status with Zoom, which means discounted line items and a configuration where only a fraction of users are charged the full price. The deal proved to be a win-win for both companies: Gorillas secured significant savings for a highly valuable service, and Zoom secured a long-term contract with one of the most noteworthy startups in the world.
Slack: Relevant Discount Plus a New Payment Cadence
Slack’s “knock brush” notification sound has become ubiquitous in office spaces around the world. Quick questions and group chats that are unsuitable for email have found a home inside Slack’s direct messages and channels — and the team at Gorillas relied heavily on Slack for internal communication.
Sastrify negotiated a new payment cadence, allowing Gorillas to switch to quarterly billing. Sastrify helped the two parties to reach a quick agreement. In doing so, Gorillas was able to secure a substantial discount. Gorillas benefitted from the fast deal by locking in a larger discount than they would have gotten at a later stage and by providing Slack to the entire organization. This small adjustment is highly valuable to a fast-growing company like Gorillas.
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Asana: A Fixed Price to Support Hypergrowth
Asana is one of the world’s leading project management platforms. Again, a fast-growing startup like Gorillas runs into significant SaaS needs — with project management being one of the most important.
Sastrify supported Gorillas through a negotiation process with Asana. The final contract allowed Gorillas to pay a fixed price, no matter how many users it might add to Asana. Given Gorillas’ hypergrowth and entry into new markets around the globe, the ability to add unlimited users to Asana will mean significant savings over the life of the contract. The deal provides Gorillas with a capped financial obligation and predictability for years to come — no matter how much the company grows.
Secure Your SaaS Savings
The last thing a startup like Gorillas needs are SaaS costs weighing down the company’s growth. Sastrify is able to help startups like Gorillas in several key ways: by analyzing their existing spend, by identifying areas for savings, by bringing experience and expertise to negotiations, plus more.
Are you ready to start saving? Get in touch with the Sastrify team to get a SaaS analysis (and opportunities to save) for your business.
