Playable: The Aarhus-born SaaS company has just published their annual report for 2023. The company has now reached EUR 10 million in ARR (annual recurring revenue), while successfully transitioning into positive operations in 2023.
Playable has penetrated the Northern European martech market with a marketing gamification platform that makes it easy for companies to use game mechanics in engaging their own customers. The company launched the platform in 2017 and has reached a significant position in the market – and is now considered one of the leading interactive marketing platforms. At the same time, the market for SaaS investments has matured, and in line with this, Playable has balanced investments into further market penetration and the proof of a sustainable business.
Klaus Bülow Davidsen, General Partner in Vækstpartner Kapital – one of the principal investors behind Playable, says about the financial year: “2023 was a significant year for Playable, in every single way. The company’s leadership and employees were able to realize ambitious growth plans while adjusting ways of working aligned with the customer base. A portfolio which now includes several large, ambitious global companies. The use of the platform continues to increase significantly and the value creation for customers is continuously getting stronger.” and elaborates further: “As an investor and board member, I am extremely satisfied with last year’s results. The company has reached a stage where it is possible to maintain an ambitious growth plan and at the same time deliver profits. I know it has required courage throughout the organization to create and implement changes while maintaining a unique culture.”
2022 was a particularly demanding year for many software companies, as macroeconomic challenges, rising interest rates and a changed global investor focus on profitability had to be translated into the companies’ strategies and operating approach. Playable also underwent a number of changes in 2022/2023, and then a Co-CEO partnership was established when in June 2023 Marianne Pharsen and Andreas Fabricius stepped into the roles. Both with more than 5 years of tenure in the company. About taking on the role, Marianne Pharsen says: “2023 was about trust for myself personally and our entire team of colleagues. I constantly had one eye on employee retention and one eye on the development of our customer base.”
Andreas Fabricius adds: “In 2023, we experienced increased accountability among all colleagues, in their own role and changes put into effect across the board. It is a challenge in the SaaS industry to scale outside one’s own home market – but we also succeeded in that last year. Several years of investment have now yielded the desired return; that our primary growth drivers lie outside Denmark.” The Co-CEOs are both convinced that Playable will experience even more growth globally in the future, Andreas Fabricius elaborates: “Our customers are global, and the customers we are looking for are global. It’s therefore rewarding that we have now proven that we can attract and expand partnerships with this type of customer.”
Marianne Pharsen and Andreas Fabricius share the overall responsibility for the entire company with a clear division of roles between commercial and financial/operational. Regarding the expectations for 2024, Marianne Pharsen states: “2023 created the foundation that both ourselves and our owners wanted – so that we can continue as a growth company in a controlled and sustainable manner and cement our place as a preferred tool for marketers globally.”
Press release in Danish.
For interviews, photo material etc. contact Andreas Fabricius and CMO, Sarah Dyer.