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AIR DATE: April 4, 2024
Transcript
SETH BORO:
Hi, I'm Seth Boro, Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo, and this is Beyond the Deal, a special bonus episode of Thoma Bravo's Behind the Deal, and I'm here with Mark McClain, SailPoint's CEO and Founder, and Matt Mills, SailPoint's President of Worldwide Field Operations. I'm really excited to dive deeper into what drives these business people, and as just people. If our viewers want to learn more about the origins of our partnership, they can listen to your full-length episode of Behind the Deal.
But now, in case anyone is joining us for the first time, can you give us the elevator pitch for SailPoint? And I think we'll start with Matt, given he is responsible for selling products. So let's hear if he can do it.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Matt, what is the elevator pitch?
MATT MILLS:
So the guy that's- that really would be perfect for this is Mark, but I- I'm gonna give it a go. Um, look, w- you- you'd just do such great 'cause you started at the very beginning.
(laughing)
No. Look, w- we're- we're uniquely positioned to solve the complex identity security problems of the largest, most complex multi-national companies in the world, uh, you know, to help them really identify who is doing what to whom with the data, right, access, and the outcomes. Um, it started off in- in, uh, 2005-ish, right?
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm-hmm.
MATT MILLS:
And it was really about provisioning, right, and life cycle management, right, and today, it's evolved into identity security. No longer is it just about efficiencies. No longer is it just about productivity. It's more than certifications. You cannot secure your enterprise, right, without securing your identities, and to be fair, the identity security is actually a means to an end. What we're really securing is the data and applications, and that's what we do better than anybody in the world today.
SETH BORO:
You're really good at that. I can see why he got the job.
MARK MCCLAIN:
I- I- I think he got the job-
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
MARK MCCLAIN:
... 'cause he's really good at that.
MATT MILLS:
I'm actually a ham.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Seth would like to... Seth would like to buy now.
SETH BORO:
I'm in.
(laughing)
I'm in.
Um, Mark, have you heard of AI?
MARK MCCLAIN:
I have. Do you know what it stands for, though?
SETH BORO:
I think.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Everybody keeps talking about it, and I'm very confused.
SETH BORO:
Where does it stand from your perspective in terms of- of importance as it relates to the evolution of cyber and tech and... You've been the identity market, obviously, for-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Long time.
SETH BORO:
... a long time.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Well, the good news is SailPoint to our credit, and I credit our product team, we actually got into this game pretty early. You know, generative AI is what kind of blew up in the last year, but AI as a technology has been around. And we first, really, started pressing into AI six years ago now, and- and the reason was, if the scale of complexity of the customer we deal with, it's gotten quite clear to us, and I think increasingly to our customers, you cannot solve these problems without lots of intelligence and lots of automation. The days of people thinking they can manage it with a spreadsheet is you over. They know now they're going to need lots of intelligence to sift through mountains of data, see patterns, understand concerns, and help really ensure, as Matt said, that we are securing the enterprise and its data and applications by understanding the identities, who they are, where they are, and what they can access. And customers have really, really woken up to that in the last five to seven years.
SETH BORO:
That makes sense. I mean, it- it's such an amazing opportunity for the company, and also, of course, as we talk a lot about, there's all sorts of incremental cyber threats that- that-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Of course.
SETH BORO:
... that, you know, come on the back of AI and generative AI, you know, namely-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm-hmm.
SETH BORO:
... that also create opportunity, but also, um, you know, mean that we have to innovate, continue to innovate aggressively as a- as a company.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Very much.
SETH BORO:
How do you think... I mean, obviously, Mark, you like this opportunity. You started the company and have been in identity for a long time, but how do you... when you think about what you see ahead of you-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm.
SETH BORO:
... in this identity space, Matt, and, uh, you know, you're-
MATT MILLS:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
... you're responsible for all field operations, you're in front of the customers all the time, how is it relative to other opportunities you've seen, just where- where does it stand?
MATT MILLS:
Uh, look, I'm- I get up every day, and I'm on fire. I'm pumped. I think this is a unique opportunity for us. Um, you know, just go back to 2019 when I came here, and one of the first conversations he and I had is, I said, "We- we got out of the governance business," right, and- and we agreed, and we knew where this was going. Uh, little did we know on March 13th, 2020, right, everybody was going to go home and it was going to be on, and- and the pandemic really accelerated with work-from-home. Um, you know, we saw digital transformation at a- at a rate that we hadn't seen in the prior 10 years, and all that fit very nicely into our strategy of identity security.
SETH BORO:
One of my favorite SailPoint memories and- and, honesty, one of the best days of my career, because it was, um, first of all, the culmination of- of an amazing partnership, uh, in some ways, um, but also, something that I hadn't done before was the IPO of SailPoint-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm.
SETH BORO:
... and being on the exchange floor ringing the bell. What was that experience like for you? How did it feel? It must have been just an amazing day, uh, for you and company after all those years of building the business.
MARK MCCLAIN:
It really was. Yeah, I guess the only word that comes to mind is surreal (laughs). Uh, I remember walking up. We had stayed at a hotel, of course, and we walked around the corner there in New York, and there was the Stock Exchange, and they had this big banner for SailPoint (laughs). It just kind of, like, took my breath away. I'm like, "Wow. Look at that." And then, um, it was really a fun thing. I had no idea this was gonna happen. We had a, like, a little gathering earlier that morning over breakfast before we kind of went in for the bell-ringing stuff. The then CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, he gave what I thought was probably going to be kind of a... I don't know... kind of scripted, "Oh, isn't this nice that we're all here?" You know, felt like something.
Instead, he actually gave quite a (laughs) stirring little speech about America, and entrepreneurship, and the, you know, the things this has done for our country, and the whole world, and building the economy and everything, and then he turned to Kevin, my- my co-founder was with me that day, and said, "And it's just really rare that guys who started these businesses are here to ring the bell." And I got all choked up (laughs), and I was like, "Oh my gosh, I wasn't supposed to get all choked all. This is just a business thing." And, uh-
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
MARK MCCLAIN:
... you know, it was quite a thing. Okay. Let me flip the question, Seth. What was it like for you? You said it was something you hadn't expected, certainly experienced?
SETH BORO:
It was so much more exhilarating than I thought it was going to be.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm-hmm.
SETH BORO:
Just the energy around it, um, being on the floor, ringing the bell, being on the platform-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
... it felt very historic.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
But it also, um... It was so meaningful for you-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm.
SETH BORO:
... and Kevin, and the company that it was just so nice to be a part of-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm.
SETH BORO:
... and we, of course, you know, we- we were along for the ride.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
Um, but it was... It was really nice to be there.
MARK MCCLAIN:
A very important part of the ride (laughs) as my guest.
SETH BORO:
Very... It was a very momentous day-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
... and I just remember being so energized-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm-hmm.
SETH BORO:
... that whole day, and, you know, really couldn't wait to do it again. You know, Mark, one- one of the things that was very clear from the- the moment we met you-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm.
SETH BORO:
... uh, many years ago-
MARK MCCLAIN:
We were both much younger.
SETH BORO:
... (laughs) is, uh-
(laughing)
... is, um, oh, actually, I think we can edit out our age-
MARK MCCLAIN:
I hope so. I hope so.
SETH BORO:
... very easily. But, um, but it's- it's, you know, it's clear that you're just an amazing leader-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm.
SETH BORO:
... and, um, I think that that's been obvious from day one, uh, from the first that we met, and you see it in the- in the loyalty of your people that you hire over time, you know, to- to the- to the business, and also, how you treat them, um, both on the way in and on the way out.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Mm.
SETH BORO:
Um, but you wrote a book about leadership.
MARK MCCLAIN:
I did.
SETH BORO:
Uh, we'd love to hear-
MARK MCCLAIN:
(laughs)
SETH BORO:
... about your- your leadership philosophy. Um, we won't ask you how many copies have sold.
MARK MCCLAIN:
(laughs) Well, see-
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
MARK MCCLAIN:
... now that your... Now that your mom bought that one-
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
MARK MCCLAIN:
... I think I might be up to two dozen, so we're doing great. Um, yeah, no, I- it's, you know... It's, obviously, hard to try to capture, I guess at that point in my life, about 30 years of- of leading in industry and trying to think, "What- what is it that really drives how I think?" And, um, I think a lot of it is just a complete belief that I can only succeed when I'm surrounded by amazing people and- and those people have- have kind of the right kind of attitude, that it's kind of a team first, we win together, we- we help each other, we cover for each other, we- we hold the bar high on the kind of people we want in this business, right.
Um, uh, you know, forget about my book. Let's go to, uh, a guy who writes a lot of books that have sold, a guy named Patrick [inaudible 00:08:48]. He's one of my favorite business authors because of the way he talks about culture and- and, uh, its impact on strategy and performance. One of the things he talks about is the kind of people you need are- are these people who are humble. They're not, like, self-effacing to the point of- of milk toast, but they're highly confident without being arrogant, and then they're really good at what they do (laughs), and they're looking to grow and get better, um, and they're really attuned to what's happening in- in both inside and outside the company, the environment. Is- shorthand for that is humble, hungry, and smart, and we've adopted that, really.
At some point we say, "Look, you know, when we bring a company full of those kinds of people, and we continue to focus on listening to the market and to customers, we're just going to stay ahead," as Matt said, "'cause we're attuned to what's needed, and we're gonna get there before the other guys." I like to say, "The long-term, sustainable, competitive advantage is listening better," (laughs) right? The more you're attuned and listening to where the world is going, you're more likely, as Gretzky famously said, "To go where the punk's going." You're kind of a hockey guy, I think.
MATT MILLS:
Thanks for-
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
MATT MILLS:
... thanks for talking-
SETH BORO:
Free shout out for a Canadian hockey player.
MARK MCCLAIN:
(laughs)
SETH BORO:
You're welcome. Okay, I have get- ask you one question.
MATT MILLS:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
Um-
MARK MCCLAIN:
(laughs)
SETH BORO:
... well, you know, you kinda had part one with SailPoint and part two with SailPoint.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Yeah.
SETH BORO:
Kind of what's... Uh, what is the old question we always go on essays in school? Compare and contrast, um, kind of SailPoint one and SailPoint two. Kind of what- what do you see that's b- better, different, good? What do you... What do you see that, oh, gosh, you know, we- we really got some things really great that first time, and maybe we need to, maybe, even revisit those? I don't know how you think about it.
MARK MCCLAIN:
I feel like part one was, um, when you have this very young to... maybe think about a sports analogy... like a very young team-
SETH BORO:
Mm.
MARK MCCLAIN:
... that, um, all of a sudden wins a championship. You're like, "Wow." (laughs) I didn't think that was gonna happen so soon.
(laughing)
SETH BORO:
Yeah, I- I-
MARK MCCLAIN:
Right?
SETH BORO:
Yeah.
MARK MCCLAIN:
And now I-
SETH BORO:
It could be... It could be your local team, maybe, uh, pulling that off here shortly.
MARK MCCLAIN:
And- and now I feel like we just re-... We've- we've got, like, the three P going on.
SETH BORO:
There it is. There it is.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Um, the thing that's amazing, though, the- the big- the- the... Really, the thing that's amazing is it's really rare to see a company that is growing at scale.
SETH BORO:
Mm.
MARK MCCLAIN:
You know, let's call it a billion dollars to so of revenue, um, at a growth rate that is not that dissimilar from when we first met you when you were, roughly, 50 million of revenue.
SETH BORO:
Yeah (laughs).
MARK MCCLAIN:
And the market has become bigger, more complex, more interesting.
SETH BORO:
Mm.
MARK MCCLAIN:
And today, really, the, you know, all- all kidding aside, I mean, the ex-... The operational execution in the business across all functions is world-class.
SETH BORO:
Mm.
MARK MCCLAIN:
Um, and doing that, being very profitable while you do it, um, continuing to innovate, it's you, you know, it's- it's, like, such a well-oiled machine at this point, um, but it hasn't lost, the company has not lost what made it so special-
SETH BORO:
Mm.
MARK MCCLAIN:
... when it was 50 million in revenue.
SETH BORO:
Mm-hmm.
MARK MCCLAIN:
So it's really incredible to see. Um, it's so mu-... It's so fun to be back. I mean, I can't tell you how happy I am that we re-partnered together.
SETH BORO:
Mm-hmm.
MARK MCCLAIN:
We were missing you guys.
SETH BORO:
Yeah. Well-
MARK MCCLAIN:
It had been a... It had been a few- few- few lonely years.
SETH BORO:
We were wandering out there in those public markets.
MARK MCCLAIN:
(laughs)
SETH BORO:
We didn't know what to expect out there. No, well, we'll see where it goes from here. It's, uh, some still, uh, exciting times ahead. So, yeah, it's fun, fun to be back. I think that's a pretty universal view of our team.
MARK MCCLAIN:
From myself and all of your followers-
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
MARK MCCLAIN:
... we would like to thank you for coming back. The popular demand was hard to control.
SETH BORO:
(laughs)
MARK MCCLAIN:
Uh, we appreciate it. We appreciate the partnership. It's, uh, it's, you know, a special partnership that we have and round two feel even more special than the first one, so thanks to you both.
MATT MILLS:
Thanks, Seth, thanks for having us.
SETH BORO:
Yeah, it was a great pleasure. Please, do thank both of our followers.
(laughing)
DISCLAIMER:
The executives were not compensated in connection with their participation, although they generally received compensation in connection with their roles and in certain cases are also owners of Thoma Bravo portfolio company securities and or investors in Thoma Bravo funds, such compensation and investments subject participants to potential conflicts of interest.
