Vancouver, BC – May 28, 2025 — At Web Summit Vancouver 2025, one Masterclass stood out for its clarity and vision on the future of enterprise software: the rise of vertical SaaS. In a session titled “Vertical Software Is Eating the World,” Jack Newton, CEO and Founder of Clio, shared the remarkable journey of building a $3 billion legal tech company — and offered a blueprint for founders aiming to lead in niche markets through deep industry specialization.
Inside the Web Summit Masterclass Series
The Masterclass series is a hallmark of Web Summit events — immersive, hands-on sessions designed to deliver practical insights from top-tier founders and investors. These aren’t just talks; they’re interactive workshops packed with real-world lessons and actionable strategies.
Clio’s Origin: A Vertical SaaS Success Story
Jack Newton opened by revisiting Clio’s founding in 2008. While most startups pursued broad, horizontal solutions, Clio focused on a traditionally analog sector: legal services. What they found was a fragmented, underserved market — 80% of law firms had fewer than 10 employees, and half were solo practitioners.
The key insight? Law firms are small businesses, but lawyers aren’t trained to run businesses. Clio stepped in as the all-in-one, cloud-based operating system for legal practices — streamlining workflows, reducing friction, and simplifying tech adoption.
Why Vertical SaaS Outperforms
Newton contrasted horizontal SaaS platforms like HubSpot — which serve many industries with general tools — with vertical SaaS, which goes deep into one sector. The result? Unmatched product-market fit, loyal customers, and defensible business models.
He highlighted several vertical SaaS unicorns:
- Toast – hospitality
- Procore – construction
- Veeva – life sciences
- ServiceTitan – home services
These companies prove that even “narrow” markets can yield massive outcomes when approached with precision.
The Strategic Edge of Vertical SaaS
According to Newton, vertical SaaS offers several key advantages:
- Workflow gravity – Once you’re the system of record, switching becomes difficult.
- Efficient go-to-market – Messaging is highly targeted, reducing acquisition costs.
- Data moats – Industry-specific data enables unique insights and benchmarks.
- Expansion flywheel – Once embedded, upselling and ecosystem growth become natural.
Clio exemplifies this with products like Clio Grow (legal CRM) and Clio Draft (document automation), all seamlessly integrated into one platform.
AI: The Next Frontier
Looking ahead, Newton emphasized that AI-native vertical SaaS platforms will drive the next wave of disruption. AI won’t just assist — it will perform meaningful legal work, draft documents, and deliver insights.
Clio’s AI assistant, Clio Duo, is already transforming workflows by answering questions and automating tasks that once required human effort. The result: supercharged productivity and dramatically lower service costs.
This innovation addresses a massive gap — only 23% of legal needs are currently met by lawyers. AI can help close the remaining 77%, tackling the global access-to-justice crisis and vastly expanding Clio’s total addressable market.
A Call to Founders: Build the Future of Vertical SaaS
Newton closed with a powerful message: “Every industry has pain points, inefficiencies, and unmet needs — and they’re waiting for someone to build the perfect tool.”
From law to healthcare, logistics to construction, vertical SaaS is where the deepest value lies. And in the AI era, it’s not just software that’s eating the world — it’s vertical software that’s redefining it.
