Pros
- While the nonprofit software space has gotten very competitive, Blackbaud still has formidable market share in the nonprofit fundraising market. - For the most part, the frontline employees are hard working, ethical people that passionately care about the work of their customers.
Cons
- The company hasn't grown much organically for many years and the inorganic growth has slowed down because acquisitions aren't properly integrated into the company. - The executive leadership team is shockingly disconnected from the reality of what's happening in the market, with their customers or their frontline employees. - "Flavor of the Quarter" is the best way to describe the company's strategic plan. It's as if the top level executives get together and whimsically decide to course correct every time the latest financial forecast or earnings projections don't meet the Street's expectations. It leaves the employees feeling like they are just a number. It also doesn't help seeing senior executive insiders cash in their lucrative stock options while frontline employees are worried sick about being laid off. - In Jim Collins' book "Good to Great", he talks about employees who are "on the bus" and how that is tied to their level of competency and commitment to the company's mission. At Blackbaud, many people who are chosen to be "on the bus" aren't necessarily the most competent - but the most politically savvy or, I hate to say it, the biggest kiss suckups. - Blackbaud operates like a legacy software company driven by old school operating methodologies. They use all the contemporary SaaS lingo like the Rule of 40, but it doesn't translate to how the company is actually run.
