Mathilde Collin, CEO and co-founder of Front. Her app has developed email and inbox features meant specifically for teams. Growing up in France, Mathilde realized that being an adult wasn’t fun—that getting a job usually meant a life of misery. She would not settle for that. She knew from the beginning that she had to create a job that she loved, and so Front was born.
Famous Five:
Favorite Book? - The Hard Thing About Hard Things
What CEO do you follow? — Patrick Collison
Favorite online tool? — Front! and Slack.
Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — Yes.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? – We can be happy at work. Get a job you love.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:40 – Nathan introduces Mathilde Collin
02:00 – Front App is an inbox for teams.
02:25 – A SaaS company founded in 2014
02:50 – She started the business when she was 22.
03:05 – She realized a lot of people didn’t like their job, and she wanted to solve that issue for herself.
03:35 – 2015 revenue was $1 million
04:00 – 1210 companies use Front
04:20 – A large variety of company sizes
04:50 – Why they raised millions in capital.
05:25 – Email is complicated, so you need to invest in resources and good engineering.
05:45 – She already had a loan from studying in France.
06:15 – They raised with key people who could help.
06:37 – They wanted to invest in hiring super qualified people.
07:05 – Team of 21 in San Francisco
07:15 – Monthly expenses are about $200k
07:50 – How did you get over the psychological barrier of that red line?
08:20 – Spending money when you have money.
08:35 – A more rational spending plan.
09:05 – She will keep that money in the bank.
09:45 – That extra money has allowed for growth.
10:20 – She has people under her responsibility.
10:55 – She has one cofounder.
11:05 – How they determined equity.
11:15 – An even split for people who will be there for the whole life of the company.
12:05 – They have no marketing team.
12:25 – She publishes content at blog.frontapp.com and @CollinMathilde on Medium and Twitter.
13:10 – Customer lifetime value: Customer churn is 3%
13:35 – Revenue churn is negative.
13:45 – They sell three plans.
14:10 – Selling the upsell versions to new teams in the same companies
15:00 – An inbound sales team
15:15 – Monthly and annual plans
15:35 – Lifetime value is about 33 months, or $6300
16:15 – Valuation was not disclosed
16:45 – Her goal is to make as many people possible happy at this company.
17:20 – They will try to go public eventually.
17:40 – They want to keep their product as it is, which would be difficult if it were acquired.
18:15 – Why customers churn
18:25 – They dislike how often changes happen.
19:05 – They grow 10% each month
19:30 – They would like to hit $300k this year.
19:45 – Connect with Mathilde on Twitter at @CollinMathilde
21:30 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Get a job that you love.
Starting a business is hard—all entrepreneurs go through challenges.
In the early stages of your company, keep perfecting your product.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Toptal – Great for business people to start building their app
blog.frontapp.com and @CollinMathilde on Medium and Twitter – Follow Mathilde and her company!
The Hard Thing About Hard Things – The business book that completely changed Mathilde’s outlook on her business.
Slack – The tool that Mathilde and her team use a ton at Front
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives