Why we’re renaming our core investment category, and what has and hasn’t changed.

AI is compressing the traditional advantages of software companies at an extraordinary speed. As AI usage becomes commonplace, features are easier to build and any startup can spin up a competitive product in a weekend. So what’s actually defensible? The years of trusted relationships, integrations and industry-specific data that AI alone cannot replicate. Rally has spent a decade backing the companies building that moat.

Built well, partner ecosystems expand your market, sharpen your product and open new revenue streams. In this article, we share lessons learned from decades of experience on how the right ecosystem can change a company’s trajectory.

For years, fintech innovation has predominantly focused on funds flowing in—payments, deposits and revenue collection—because it was easier to implement and required fewer regulatory hurdles. Moving money out has been more complex, historically requiring banking licenses and costly infrastructure. BaaS platforms simplified outflows but were costly for startups. As competition lowers prices and vertical SaaS companies scale, the opportunity to monetize funds flow out is becoming more accessible—emerging as the next frontier in payments monetization.

In a SaaS+ model, the majority of a company’s revenue comes from non SaaS sources — like payment processing fees, screenings, insurance, lending, certifications, etc — as opposed to the monthly SaaS fee. As your business shifts to include usage-based revenue, you must adjust how you track and report financial metrics.