valha2025: the operating model started to compound
2025 was the year the company stopped buying growth at the cost of the operating model. Revenue grew 41% to $10.6M, retention improved in every mature cohort, and the team entered 2026 with enough runway to choose where speed matters rather than chase it everywhere. The second half did the work: two decisions taken in the spring, the implementation reset and the pricing change, show up as the bend in the revenue line below.
The bend in the line came from two decisions
Quarterly revenue grew at a steady 8 to 9% through 2024. It grew 14% in each of the last two quarters of 2025. The change is not a market shift: it follows the implementation reset in the second quarter, which cut time to first value for enterprise accounts from eleven weeks to four, and the pricing change in the fourth, which moved mid-market onto seats. Both were unpopular for a quarter. Both are now the shape of the line.
revenue per quarter, $M
View source data
| q | Revenue |
|---|---|
| Q1 '24 | 1.62 |
| Q2 '24 | 1.74 |
| Q3 '24 | 1.9 |
| Q4 '24 | 2.08 |
| Q1 '25 | 2.21 |
| Q2 '25 | 2.44 |
| Q3 '25 | 2.79 |
| Q4 '25 | 3.17 |
The core began to pay for the next move
The meaningful shift was not the headline growth rate. Expansion revenue carried more of each quarter while support cost per active account fell, so the business generated room to invest without reducing the quality of the product or the customer relationship. Three things compounded, and each one made the next cheaper.
Expansion
Enterprise expansion became repeatable after the implementation reset: 61% of enterprise growth came from existing accounts, against 38% a year earlier.
Retention
New cohorts retained earlier because the first-value path became shorter. The Q3 cohort kept 91% of its revenue at month three; the Q3 2024 cohort kept 82%.
Margin
Margin improved as support work moved from reactive intervention to a documented operating rhythm. Support cost per active account fell 23% while the account base grew 34%.
Where the growth came from
Enterprise and mid-market carried the year. Self-serve grew, but its net retention slipped under 100% in the second half, which is the one number in this table that needs a plan rather than a celebration. It is the entry point for a third of mid-market accounts, so it is not a segment to starve, but it is not where the 2026 investment goes.
| Segment | FY25 revenue | Growth | Net retention | Quarterly revenue, $M | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | $5.1M | +58% | 124% | healthy | |
| Mid-market | $3.9M | +37% | 112% | healthy | |
| Self-serve | $1.6M | +12% | 96% | degraded |
Half the revenue is now enterprise
Two years ago enterprise was a quarter of revenue and the segment we were least sure we could serve. It is now 48%, and the implementation reset is the reason we can say that without a caveat about delivery capacity. The mix matters for 2026 because enterprise revenue renews annually, so more of next year is already visible in January.
FY25 revenue by segment, $M
- Enterprise5.1 · 48%
- Mid-market3.9 · 37%
- Self-serve1.6 · 15%
View source data
| segment | Revenue, $M |
|---|---|
| Enterprise | 5.1 |
| Mid-market | 3.9 |
| Self-serve | 1.6 |
What customers said at renewal
Twenty-four renewal interviews, one pattern: the accounts that expanded describe the product as part of their operating rhythm, not as a tool they use. That language did not exist in the 2024 interviews.
The first year we used it when we remembered to. This year the Monday review runs on it, and nobody decided that. It just became where the week starts.— Head of Operations, enterprise customer since 2023, November renewal interview
Against the three commitments we made in January
Two of the three landed in full. The implementation reset shipped in April and is the bend in the revenue line. Gross margin cleared the 72% target by two points. The third, opening a second region, is half done: the entity and the first two hires exist, the first customer does not yet.
End of year
48
Headcount
+11 in 2025, no regretted attrition in engineering
The team grew slower than revenue, on purpose
Revenue per employee rose from $172k to $221k. That is not a cost story; it is the operating model working. The eleven hires went to the two places the model said were constrained, implementation and enterprise sales, and nowhere else. The 2026 plan holds the same discipline: hires follow measured constraints, not headcount targets.
2026 commitment
Keep the profitable core focused, fund the enterprise expansion, and review the operating plan quarterly against retention and margin, not just the top-line target. The second region gets its first customer by June or gets a different plan.
First-quarter actions
- Set the enterprise expansion target with one accountable executive owner by 31 January.
- Put a self-serve retention plan in front of the leadership team by the end of February; 96% is the one number going the wrong way.
- Review retention, margin, and support cost against the operating plan at the end of each quarter.
- Bring the investment decision back to the leadership team if any of those three signals moves materially off plan.
Appendix
The three documents behind this report, one click deep.
Sources
- 1FY25 financial close
https://docs.example.com/fy25-close
cited in The bend in the line came from two decisions · Where the growth came from · Half the revenue is now enterprise · Appendix
- 2Operating plan v18
https://docs.example.com/operating-plan-v18
cited in The bend in the line came from two decisions · Against the three commitments we made in January · The team grew slower than revenue, on purpose · 2026 commitment · First-quarter actions · Appendix
- 3customer research, FY25 renewal interviews, n=24
https://docs.example.com/fy25-renewal-interviews
cited in What customers said at renewal · Appendix