Tech

Domo, an analytics start-up created by Omniture co-founder Josh James, has filed to go public

Key Points
  • Domo filed for a public offering on Friday.
  • It's a company that helps business owners access real-time data from their smartphones.
  • Domo posted a net loss of $176.6 million for the year ending in January, narrower than $183.1 million loss the year prior.
George Kavallines

Domo, a company that helps business owners access real-time data from their smartphones, filed for a public offering on Friday.

Here are some details from the prospectus:

  • Net loss of $176.6 million for the year ending in January, narrower than $183.1 million loss the year prior.
  • Revenue of $108.5 million for the year ending in January, up from $74.5 million the prior year.
  • Gross margin: 64 percent, up from 60 percent the prior year.
  • Customers: 1,500 organizations

The prospectus provides an unprecedented look inside the somewhat secretive technology company: Although it incorporated in 2010, Domo didn't publicly announcd its platform until 2015. Since then, a public offering has loomed — Bloomberg reported in 2016 that Domo was working on preparations, and Recode reported in April that an IPO was imminent.

Domo is led by Josh James, who helped found Omniture, an online marketing cloud company that became Adobe Marketing Cloud. Domo's product is aimed specifically at CEOs, but can also be used by other employees.

"Domo enables CEOs to manage their entire company from their phone, including one Fortune 50 CEO who logs into Domo almost every day and over 10 times on some days," the company wrote.

Domo said it plans to post losses for the foreseeable future and will be expanding its sales staff. It's also spending heavily on marketing, including on television commercials and newspaper ads.

In the quarter that ended in April, Domo spent $39.7 million on sales and marketing, while only generating $31.9 million in revenue. Total operating expenses were twice as high as sales.

The company was valued at over $2 billion in the private market, according to CB Insights, and is backed by TPG, IVP, Benchmark Capital and GGV Capital, according to the prospectus. It was a CNBC Disruptor company in 2017.

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