Left Hook F»U»E»Ls Universal Integration

We launch integration apps and connectors for SaaS companies on Zapier, Hubspot, Quickbooks, Microsoft, Zoom, and 20+ more marketplaces.

Why Launch with Left Hook?

Faster

Unlocked

Expert

Lasting

Faster

Why We're Faster:

+20 years combined experience with +170 different SaaS APIs
60+ successful app launches on platforms & marketplaces
Our library of ready-to-build components
Efficient serverless micro-app architecture
Based in North America EST; readily available for synchronous communication
Startup Hustle^10x

Unlocked

Unlike embedded iPaaS or other white-labeled integration platforms, Left Hook sells unlocked solutions that are:

Liberated code accessible to your dev team (via GitHub)
Open source JavaScript-based technologies like React and Node.JS (or your stack if feasible)
Hosted on capable cloud provider of your choice or our AWS
Forever royalty-free under our non-exclusive license model
Optional and transparent management fees and scaling costs

We abhor "vendor lock-in" and intend to sustain your business by providing continuous value.

Expert

More than developers, we are integration and software partnership experts. We start with data-driven insights to inform and sharpen your integration strategy, and then we code to the right priorities.

As technologists, we are integration experts, solution architects, and full-stack developers with +20 years combined experience.

Since 2014, we've built and/or managed over 100 different universal integrations on a dozen different integration platforms and marketplaces. And we've developed for nearly 170 different SaaS APIs.

Beyond technology, our roots are in marketing and partnerships. We came to this technology niche first as "citizen integrator" end-users and customers of SaaS tools.

Lasting

Integrations are like any software product- as good as the attention invested to maintain and improve them.

Like a great German car, our solutions are built to last under proper maintenance. We take a long-term approach to your universal integrations, and look ahead to many years of mutual partnership.

We also understand when our clients take their integrations "in-house." That's why we sell unlocked solutions that are longer-lasting than vendor-locked models.

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Or Learn More:

About Universal Integrations

About Integration Risk & Reward

About Left Hook

What We Build: Zapier & More

What are
Universal Integrations?

"API Connector"

"Technical Partnership"

"Self-Serve Integration"

"Product Partnership"

"Marketplace App"

"Third Party Integration"

All these are different terms for what we term "universal integrations."

Here's our textbook definition: "a universal integration is a self-serve software tool built to empower end-customers to productively connect two (or more) other cloud/SaaS products."

Zapier Apps, Microsoft connectors, Hubspot Marketplace apps... all are examples of what we mean by a universal integration.

Contrast this approach to the OG SaaS integration model circa 2009, i.e. "Here's the API documentation and the name of a developer you can hire. Good luck."

Universal integrations are typically built on top of a public API. Done right, they require little customer support (and zero developer intervention) for many of end-customers to implement and manage.

Universal integrations delight sophisticated users who want to automate or unify work through no-code, "no developer required" solutions.

Learn more about the risk and reward for SaaS leaders when providing these beloved add-ons.

Or jump now to see a list of all the different universal integrations we can launch faster than your internal team.

Universal Integrations:

The Reward

There are many reasons why SaaS leaders invest in universal integrations:

Drive Expansion Revenue

Delight Customers, Lower Churn

Enable Functionality thru Partners

Say "Yes" to Prospects

Leverage Marketplace for SEO

Open Partner Co-Marketing Channels

These sound like magical powers that any SaaS leader would want. But not every Integration Opportunity is right for every SaaS, and each comes with its own costs and risks.

To help you think about the ROI, here's some research by Left Hook and some case studies:

"Depending on the category, Universal integrations provide a huge opportunity to differentiate and outrank the competition."

(That's our analysis of GetApp's 2019 "Category Leader" Rankings)

SaaS Leaders on Integration ROI:

"Our data shows that customers who integrate FreshBooks with one or more additional apps yield a 30.7% higher LTV than those who don't integrate.

Integrations help us keep customers longer, which is key to long-term revenue growth."

George Kyriakis
FreshBooks

Senior Director for Partnerships & Business Development

"Integrations used to be a luxury... our data shows that customers with 5 or more integrations [enabled] are willing to pay 20% or more for the same core product.

This correlation is consistent among business buyers of all types, from SMBs to enterprises." [Source]

Patrick Campbell
ProfitWell

CEO

[Integrations] have particular importance early in a customer's lifecycle because they show the value of your product very quickly. This means you want to promote them as soon as possible...

Clearbit customers who integrate with Zapier are 20% less likely to churn." [Source]

Matt Sornson
Clearbit

CMO

Quotes are are either used with author's consent or republished from existing public sources cited above. Not intended to express any endorsement of Left Hook or its services. Contact us with questions or concerns.

Universal Integrations:

The Risks

ROI happy talk doesn't solve the "who builds it" problem. A valuable universal integration requires considerable niche expertise.

Often an in-house dev team squeezes them into the edges of the roadmap, learning as they go and building slowly.

We call this the SaaS Integration Paradox: Integrations that do not kill you, make SaaS stronger:

Kills	Makes SaaS Stronger
❌ Eat Core Product Dev Cycles	👍 Enable Sales to Say "Yes"
❌ Wasteful Learn Once, Build Once	👍 Discourage Churn, Increase LTV
❌ So Many Requests- and Rising	👍 Drive Expansion Revenue
❌ Hard to Scale	👍 Deepen Fruitful Partnerships
❌ Constant Maintenance	👍 Required by Best Customers
❌ Expensive & Distracting	👍 Easily Outsourced!

These challenges embody a single key risk: distraction.

We believe that Focus is the most precious resource in any (software) company.

Nothing eats focus like a growing list of integration requests championed by vocal customers or internal advocates.

We argue that it's more efficient to hire outside experts to build and manage universal integrations.

Give us a well-supported API and some clear use case thinking, Left Hook can develop faster and stay out of your dev team's way. Let's summarize:

Your customers want demand DIY universal integrations
Universal integrations deliver proven ROI
They also consume precious internal developer focus (if you let them)
Outsourcing to experts is secure and efficient

Enter Left Hook.

F»U»E»L Up

with Left Hook

What does F»U»E»L mean? Our solutions are Faster, Unlocked, Expert, and Lasting. Here's why:

Faster

Unlocked

Expert

Lasting

Faster

Why We're Faster:

+20 years combined experience with +170 different SaaS APIs
60+ successful app launches on platforms & marketplaces
Our library of ready-to-build components
Efficient serverless micro-app architecture
Based in North America EST; readily available for synchronous communication
Startup Hustle^10x

Unlocked

Unlike embedded iPaaS or other white-labeled integration platforms, Left Hook sells unlocked solutions that are:

Liberated code accessible to your dev team (via GitHub)
Open source JavaScript-based technologies like React and Node.JS (or your stack if feasible)
Hosted on capable cloud provider of your choice or our AWS
Forever royalty-free under our non-exclusive license model
Optional and transparent management fees and scaling costs

We abhor "vendor lock-in" and intend to sustain your business by providing continuous value.

Expert

As technologists, we are integration experts, solution architects, and full-stack developers with +20 years combined experience.

Since 2014, we've built and/or managed over 100 different universal integrations on a dozen different integration platforms and marketplaces. And we've developed for nearly 170 different SaaS APIs.

Beyond technology, our roots are in marketing and partnerships. We came to this technology niche first as "citizen integrator" end-users and customers of SaaS tools.

Lasting

Integrations are like any software product- as good as the attention invested to maintain and improve them.

Like a great German car, our solutions are built to last under proper maintenance. We take a long-term approach to your universal integrations, and look ahead to many years of mutual partnership.

We also understand when our clients take their integrations "in-house." That's why we sell unlocked solutions that are longer-lasting than vendor-locked models.