Five Ways to Build a $100M SaaS Business

Ever wonder how SaaS companies hit $100 million a year? This chart makes it ridiculously clear. It shows five “animals” that each represent a type of customer strategy—from millions of tiny users to a few massive ones.

Marketing Analysis

This image nails one key SaaS truth: you can win with volume or value. Either sell a cheap product that spreads like wildfire (think viral growth), or aim for fewer, high-paying enterprise clients. Each “animal” represents a different Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) strategy.

Why It Works

• Visual storytelling makes complex math intuitive.
• Uses simple animals to anchor pricing strategy.
• Highlights trade-off between volume and revenue.
• Removes guesswork: pick your lane, then scale.

Examples

• Zoom started with mice (freemium users) and moved to deer and elephants (corporate plans).
• Slack did the same—viral at first, then enterprise upmarket.
• Salesforce went straight for elephants and whales.
• Canva thrives with millions of small paying “mice.”
• Palantir lives off a few “whale” government contracts.