Allen Donaldson

Founder @costmyformula. Future owner of a @KentuckyDerby Champion

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

CMF v1 proved the workflow pain.

The next chapter is bigger: turning formula tech-transfer quoting from a weeks-long, spreadsheet-heavy process into governed cost intelligence for contract manufacturers.

We’re opening conversations with angels and pre-seed investors who understand vertical software, manufacturing workflows, and data-layer wedges.

[Cost My Formula @CostMyFormula]

Cost My Formula is evolving from formula costing software into the cost intelligence layer for contract manufacturers.

Quoting, margin control, and pipeline planning still break down between spreadsheets, ERP, and CRM.

CMF is being built to connect formulas, SKUs, quotes, cost truth, pipeline accuracy, and cross-company collaboration into one enterprise wedge:

Cost Graph™

Revenue OS™

Collaboration Cloud™

Faster quotes. Cleaner margins. Fewer launch surprises.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@cmain7 @cmain7 incredible post, should have a billion likes by now. This as an IG/TK meme reel would be so viral tbh

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@PatMcAfeeShow Can’t remember the last time I’ve seen AJ smile, let alone truly laugh. Love it

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@MrBeast 177,600

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@tibo_maker Why can’t the tech keep up?

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@X why does the app freeze and not function when I’m trying to edit my profile on mobile?

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 10: Full thread dropping soon on why generic SaaS + agent bandaids won't cut it.

The future rewards software that owns real workflows end-to-end. Verticals + embedded AI > stretched horizontals.

Who's ready? Reply with your biggest horizontal pain point.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@galeforceVC 🎯 What stories/themes most closely resonate with your thesis?

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 9: The better path: Purpose-built vertical software.

Encode industry workflows, compliance, edge cases natively. AI becomes accelerator — not risky overlay.

Horizontals stretch. Verticals fit. The customization era is dying.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@galeforceVC Yes! Exactly what we've done the last 15 months at CMF - focused more on expanding into CMF v2 than refining, but your point remains the same. Customer excellence is once again a unique selling proposition.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 8: Real-world signals:

→ Generic PM tools in construction = endless custom fields + integrations.

→ Horizontal CRM in pharma = regulatory nightmare configs.

Vertical software bakes in the messy reality from day one. Faster value. Less regret.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 7: AI agents are all the rage — and loaded with VC money.

But they're not novel innovation. They're the new customization layer. Token burn, orchestration costs, debugging, guardrails...

The bill arrives in usage fees, not billable hours. Everyone's ignoring this TCO bomb.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 6:
Exhibit A: Salesforce Headless 360.

Couldn't rebuild vertical, so they made everything an API/MCP tool/CLI for agents.

'Why log in again?' Brilliant retention move. But it's a gaslit bandaid — horizontal core + programmable customization tax.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 5: AI is slamming into the exact same wall as trad SaaS. Discovered by ops → blocked by IT/governance on data, security, and compliance.

Horizontal AI wrappers still need humans to bend reality. Same foundational mismatch, new paint.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 4: Trad SaaS exhaustion created the perfect storm for AI hype. 'No more config hell — just prompt it!'

Ops teams discovered quick wins. Everyone chased the shiny savior. But we ignored the fine print.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 3: The real customization tax: Multi-quarter implementations. Millions in consulting + internal bandwidth. Failed rollouts. Buyer regret.

3 in 5 enterprise buyers regret major SaaS purchases. Not because the software was bad — because it was never built for their workflow.

What's the longest implementation you've suffered?

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@16vchq Margins

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Day 2: Why did SaaS go full generic? VC pressure for massive TAMs. 'Platform' thinking. Build once, sell to everyone.

Result: tools that do 70% for anyone, forcing the rest into custom hell.

We didn't buy software. We bought eternal consulting gigs disguised as subscriptions.

What is/was your biggest trad SaaS pain: Customization? Integrations? Something else?

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Trad SaaS got too generic → forced massive post-sale customization → customers exhausted → AI rushed in as the shiny new savior.

Been thinking about this a lot. Thoughts?

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

Exactly. The discovered → approved chasm exists because trad SaaS went full generic: buy the tool, then customize it forever. Customers got burned out.

AI rushing in as the shiny new hope, but is immediately slammed into the same data/IT wall. Governance can’t fix a foundational mismatch. We need vertical software built for real workflows, not stretched horizontals.

[Allen Donaldson @AllenDonaldson]

@KenWattana Very likely one of these three, nothing in between:

Group 1: Team/extroverted stuff
Group 2: Solo/competitive individual pursuits
Group 3: Gambling & high-stakes games