What do you call a company that takes 14 years to reach half a billion in revenue, only to sell to an overseas value investor for 2.7x?Boring! But since when is boring bad?

Rich people overpaying for preferred shares? Now that’s bad. But it tells you nothing about the value the underlying company creates for customers. Airtable didn’t lose 80% of its customers. It lost 80% of its multiple. And the fact that they've tripled revenue since that round tells you way more about the health of the business than a week's worth of hot takes on LinkedIn. The valuation distraction is finally over. That’s a good thing for customers.

If it had been Microsoft, they’d tell you to bail before Airtable got rolled into Power Apps. If ServiceNow wrote the check, they’d tell you Airtable was getting scrapped for parts. If it was an IPO, they’d say Howie wasn’t fit to run a public company. This angry self-serve cohort has been begging for a narrower product vision since Airtable shifted focus toward the enterprise in 2022. Now, with Bending Spoons at the helm, they’re more likely than ever to get their wish, yet somehow the sky is falling again. Ignore social media sentiment. Compare the alternatives and think for yourself.

The critics are probably right about prices, though. And without a salesperson to bargain with, expect the same group to air their grievances all over your feed. But enterprise customers will still have leverage. I promise you Bending Spoons didn’t spend $1.28 billion to squander your loyalty by repricing your subscription beyond its value. Decide what Airtable is worth to your organization and use your muscle to keep the deal sweet. But remember, there’s a reason Airtable costs more than the other products claiming to be direct competitors.

Your enterprise sales rep is safer than you think. They might even get promoted. The idea that Bending Spoons is going to dismantle a sales motion generating hundreds of millions of dollars and ship the whole thing to Italy is one of the most ridiculous and tired takes I’ve heard. They have a growing portfolio of software products, present and future, that they’re dying to sell through this channel. It will be a nice holiday season for your favorite account exec.

Now onto what i'm actually concerned about.

They aren’t paying enough. At $5 billion, Bending Spoons would need to grow Airtable substantially to justify the investment. At $1.28 billion, they can afford to be conservative. Simply cut costs, raise prices, protect the existing revenue base and they could make a great return without much growth. That’s good investing, but not great for those of us who want Airtable to keep pushing the frontier

Airtable will become leaner and even more profitable. And that’s what I’m afraid of. Those profits no longer have to stay inside the company. They can be used to service debt, fund the next acquisition or invest wherever the highest-return opportunities lie in the Bending Spoons portfolio. This could work both ways, of course. But Airtable feels like the golden goose right now, so I'm concerned how the money will flow in the medium term.

Lastly, what’s a leverage ratio (asking for a friend)? Apparently, it matters now. If another Bending Spoons portfolio company struggles or debt becomes harder to refinance, decisions could be made that affect Airtable regardless of how well it’s doing. There’s no reason to be worried today. But for the first time, Airtable’s future is exposed to risks that have nothing to do with the performance of its business. Do we have to start listening to quarterly earnings calls now? Ugh.

I’m sorry that the sexy growth startup community you joined is now a boring value story. But the burden of unrealistic expectations is finally gone, and it’s time to move forward.

To our handsome Italian suitors I say: be gentle, keep shipping, and for the love of God, allow us to freeze columns in the List View.

- Max

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Did you know you can buy pet insurance?

I didn’t, until Progressive’s “It’s the Dog Park” commercial went viral with an absurdly catchy song written by our next Sound Systems guest.

Meet Jack Bradley, Chief Creative Officer and Owner at Hifi Project Inc., a creative music studio that designs bespoke musical compositions and music strategies for the largest brands in the world.

In this episode we discuss:

- Why brands are no longer breaking emerging artists the way they did a decade ago
- How TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and influencer marketing have transformed music discovery
- How brands evaluate the ROI behind spending hundreds of thousands, or even millions, on music licensing
- Why legacy artists continue to dominate high-profile advertising campaigns
- How "It's the Dog Park" became a viral hit.
- Practical advice for composers and producers looking to build careers in the commercial music industry

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