Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2015
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

GovDelivery

By: Mitchell Weiss
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:16
ShareBar

Abstract

Is government the biggest, worst customer in the world? And is that a reason for venture investors to back companies that sell to government or to stay away? It had been seven years since Scott Burns joined his friend Zach Stabenow to get a company called GovDocs off the ground. In that time, they had evolved from a provider of government-mandated labor law posters to the country's largest sender of government-to-citizen emails. GovDelivery, as the company became known, was one of the first companies to move governments into the cloud; one of the first to sell them software as a service (SaaS); and in 2007, the only one with 3 million citizens registered to use its platform to receive communications from federal, state, regional, and city governments and public authorities. In those seven years, Burns had raised capital from many sources: friends and family, angel investors, strategic partners, banks, and the investment arm of a major family fund. He and Stabenow had also grown the business through operating revenue and by keeping a tight watch on costs. They had to. Because growth capital had come in from almost all corners, expect one: major venture firms. Now, with roughly $6 million in annual revenue, and projections to double that within three years, Burns was prepping for discussions with half a dozen Tier 1 firms. In doing so, he was anticipating what he thought would be the "elephant in the room." GovDelivery's business-to-government revenue model had been a conversation-stopper with major investors looking at Burns' company and companies like it. What would he tell potential backers?

Keywords

GovDelivery; Public Entrepreneurship; B2G; Business-to-Government; Scott Burns; Entrepreneurship; Government Administration; Venture Capital; Information Technology Industry; Public Administration Industry; Web Services Industry; Minnesota; United States

Citation

Weiss, Mitchell. "GovDelivery." Harvard Business School Case 816-020, September 2015.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Mitchell B. Weiss

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Charting a Course for Boston: Organizing for Change

    By: Lisa C. Cox, Mitchell B. Weiss and Jorrit De Jong
    • July 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Metaverse Seoul

    By: Mitchell Weiss and Samantha Markowitz
    • July 2022
    • Faculty Research

    TraceTogether

    By: Mitchell Weiss and Sarah Mehta
More from the Author
  • Charting a Course for Boston: Organizing for Change By: Lisa C. Cox, Mitchell B. Weiss and Jorrit De Jong
  • Metaverse Seoul By: Mitchell Weiss and Samantha Markowitz
  • TraceTogether By: Mitchell Weiss and Sarah Mehta
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College