Consumer Subscription Software – the next chapter

For 20 years GP Bullhound, the technology advisory and investment firm, has provided transaction advice and capital to the world’s leading entrepreneurs and founders. It has just published its specialist market report on the CSS ecosystem.

CSS is evolving from niche companies into software applications and communities that are integrated into our daily lives

CSS companies are differentiated from legacy ad-driven or free consumer apps in that CSS companies are providing high quality and useful applications that consumers are willing to pay a monthly or annual subscription for. This revenue model allows CSS leaders to primarily focus on the consumer experience versus optimizing for ad-targeting features.

Consumers are recognizing the benefits of high-quality paid applications which protect their privacy and provide a more ad-free experience. The initial CSS trailblazers focused on entertainment with huge winners like Netflix and Spotify. Now the CSS model is being adopted by the next generation of consumer applications with a wide variety of use cases such as family communications, health and wellness, religion, dating, and education, among others.

Alec Dafferner, Partner, and Eric Crowley, Vice President at GP Bullhound commented: “We believe that the CSS business model enables companies to rapidly scale with attractive margins while also providing a compelling consumer value proposition. We are excited to help guide CSS companies through the next chapter of their evolution.”