Congrats, Klaviyo!

Congratulations to Andrew, Ed, and the entire Klaviyo team on today’s IPO! 

Since we first met Andrew, Ed, and the team in 2018, we have been inspired by their vision of empowering entrepreneurs and creators to own their destiny by making it easy to leverage first-party data to create and deliver highly personalized consumer experiences across digital channels. 

As we reflect upon our partnership with Klaviyo, we decided to highlight some of the key ingredients that make Klaviyo such a special company. 

Andrew and Ed are Visionary Founders

While Klaviyo could have been mistaken as “just another email marketing automation platform,” we were fortunate to catch Andrew and Ed’s vision that Klaviyo at its core is really a data company where marketing is just one of its many applications. They believed that email, as with any engagement channel whether it be SMS or push notifications, would ultimately be commoditized if not powered by a deep understanding of an end customer’s preferences and purchase behavior. As such, they built a flexible cloud-native data store powered by AI and machine learning, which is designed to capture first-party clickstream data. Klaviyo wanted its customers to own their destiny and be “data self-reliant” vs. needing to rely on third-party cookies, advertising platforms, and commerce marketplaces to drive revenue.

Product and Customer-First Culture

Andrew and Ed built a beloved product. Before investing in Klaviyo, we heard over and over again from customers that they “couldn’t live without Klaviyo,” and that it is among the most important pieces of software tools they use daily. We knew that Klaviyo was very effective in driving sales for its customers, but what crystallized our appreciation for Klaviyo was that it had achieved an elusive balance of simplicity and power. The product is built for ease of use which reminded us of other Accel product-led businesses such as Slack, Dropbox, and Miro. Yet, Klaviyo is also extremely powerful, with sophisticated AI and machine learning that suggests segments and predictively helps customers identify opportunities to drive more sales. The company was bootstrapped for much of its early history, echoing other Accel companies like 1Password, Atlassian, Qualtrics, Tenable, and Webflow that were customer-funded. Ultimately, we think the success of Klaviyo’s product boils down to Andrew and Ed’s unwavering commitment to serving their customers’ needs and helping them grow their businesses successfully. 

Focus Followed by Methodical Expansion

Andrew and Ed always envisioned that Klaviyo would eventually broaden from eCommerce, but they knew that spreading themselves too early would result in a lack of differentiation. Klaviyo also built distribution via agencies that selected Klaviyo to drive marketing campaigns for their end clients. From there, Klaviyo broadened to other eCommerce platforms like BigCommerce, Salesforce CommerceCloud, and Nuvemshop. Klaviyo has also experienced organic traction in other verticals including restaurant, and wellness.

Similarly, Klaviyo initially focused first on delivering the best email product possible, and as the way brands interacted with consumers evolved, Klaviyo expanded by adding SMS in 2021. More recently, Klaviyo added push notifications as well. 

World-Class Team and Culture

Finally, Andrew and Ed assembled an exceptional team and cultivated a culture that enabled excellence across all facets of their business. The quality of Klaviyo’s team is apparent throughout all levels of the company, and it’s been our pleasure working with the stellar executive team. We are grateful to the entire Klaviyo team for their hard work and dedication over the years. 

Back in 2012, when Andrew and Ed embarked on this journey, they decided to name their company Klaviyo (clay-vee-oh), inspired by “clavija,” the Spanish word for mountaineering pins - also called pitons. As a mountaineer climbs up a mountain, she uses pitons to anchor her safety line as she continues to ascend, one step at a time, and as guiding markers for others that follow. 

In that vein, since being founded over a decade ago, Klaviyo has guided over 130,000 paying customers on their journey. In 2022, Klaviyo helped its customers generate over $37B in sales! 

Looking forward, as Andrew and Ed often say, “we’re 1% done.” We’re excited to see Klaviyo’s continued impact and success and are grateful for Andrew, Ed, and the Klaviyo team for letting us be a part of the journey. 

Congrats again team Klaviyo and thank you for being part of the #AccelFamily!