NovaDesk is a B2B SaaS company that provides customer support software for mid-market e-commerce brands. The company has grown to $120M ARR, serves 4,800 customers, and competes primarily against Zendesk, Gorgias, and Freshdesk in the U.S. and Western Europe. After a strong growth period, NovaDesk missed its last two quarterly targets, and the CEO has asked the strategy team to ensure all major analyses and recommendations are explicitly tied to the company’s current strategic priorities rather than broad market opportunities.
You are the incoming Strategy Manager. The executive team has defined three priorities for the next 12 months:
Several teams are pushing different initiatives: Sales wants to enter enterprise accounts, Product wants to launch AI automation features broadly, and Marketing wants to expand into new verticals such as healthcare and education. The CEO wants a recommendation on how to evaluate growth opportunities in a way that is clearly aligned with the stated priorities.
| Metric | Current State | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ARR | $120M | 14% YoY growth, down from 24% last year |
| NRR | 102% | Mid-market e-commerce accounts at 110%; non-core verticals at 94% |
| Gross Margin | 72% | AI-heavy support workflows reduce margin by 4-6 pts if usage is uncapped |
| Sales Cycle | 45 days mid-market / 120 days enterprise | Enterprise requires new security and implementation resources |
| CAC Payback | 14 months core segment / 22 months non-core verticals | Marketing spend in non-core verticals increased 35% last year |
Additional facts:
As Strategy Manager, prepare a recommendation for the CEO and executive team: