Ellie Mae, Inc.
Thesis
Ellie Mae is positioned to become the industry standard in the mortgage sector by providing a Software as a Service solution that streamlines the mortgage filing process. With a growing subscriber base and increasing revenue per subscriber, the company is expected to benefit from the industry's shift towards technology adoption, making it difficult for competitors to displace them.
Did it work?
No price data or pitch date is available, so the verdict rests on whether the thesis events occurred. They largely did: Ellie Mae's Encompass platform became the dominant loan origination system in US mortgage lending, validating the 'industry standard' claim, and the company was taken private at a premium by Thoma Bravo in 2019 and then acquired by ICE for roughly $11 billion in 2020 — outcomes consistent with substantial gains for long holders. Confidence is low because the return since the pitch cannot be measured and the elapsed time is unknown.