RANCHER LABS

From startup to Kubernetes unicorn

It all started when…

… hyperscalers like Amazon and Microsoft began offering container-based services as a more agile platform to run applications than traditional virtualization technology.

Late to the public cloud party and keen to find a means of differentiation from their formidable competitors, Google released Kubernetes, an open source version of their internal container management software - Borg - in 2014.

Rancher Labs was founded the same year in Cupertino, California. The company's mission was to build the world's most widely deployed multi-cluster Kubernetes Management platform. Unlike rivals such as Red Hat and VMWare, their eponymous, multi-award-winning software - Rancher - was free and open source.

Today, Rancher has been download +100m times, is used by +35k teams in production, and boasts a Slack community of +20k active members. Rancher enterprise customers include HomeDepot, Bosch, Continental, Airbus, Aviva, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Kroger, Ubisoft, US Department of Defense, American Express, Comcast, Deutsche Bahn, Fidelity Investments, Apple, and Disney.

Before its acquisition by SUSE for +$500m in 2020, Rancher Labs had raised $95 million from Mayfield, Nexus Venture Partners, Telstra Ventures, and other investors.

My journey with Rancher Labs started in January 2019 when they hired me to run field marketing and demand generation in the EMEA region. Working closely with the regional sales team, Rancher's EMEA business quickly began to outpace other regions' growth.

In March 2019, I was asked to help launch K3s, now the world's most popular lightweight Kubernetes distribution built for IoT and the Edge. I'd found my calling, so I ran the EMEA field and product marketing teams concurrently for nine months before being appointed Global Director of Product Marketing in the Fall.

In January 2020, the company celebrated smashing its FY19 targets by taking the whole company to Cabo, Mexico (see picture above). Not long after we returned, the Covid-19 pandemic had changed everything.

Although the company continued to grow rapidly, the release of VMware Tanzu and Google Anthos meant that Rancher needed to increase its GTM and engineering resources substantially if it was to maintain its market leadership.

SUSE emerged as the favorite to acquire Rancher Labs in July 2020 for +$600m. The acquisition was completed in Dec 2020, and I am now VP Product Marketing responsible for SUSE’s entire product and solution portfolio, Analyst Relations, Community Evangelism, and Customer Marketing.