Ben Williamson. Ben went from teaching himself to code, to working with Steve Jobs. After 10 years at Apple, Ben’s building Yoshirt - a custom apparel tool that’s priced at $5 million after just two years. Listen as Ben and Nathan talk through fundraising, insecurities, and building an incredibly successful startup.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The Way of the SEAL
What CEO do you follow? — Nathan Latka
What is your favorite online tool? — Periscope
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Recently, no
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — You don’t need anyone else’s permission.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:30 – Nathan’s introduction
02:17 – Welcoming Ben to the show
02:25 – Ben’s second time on the show - he was here in episode 23
02:53 – Yoshirt was founded in 2014
03:00 – “Custom, on-demand apparel from your iOS device”
03:08 – Last year ran an over-subscribed fundraising round that closed at $1.1 million
03:30 – Priced round at a post-money valuation of $5 million
04:10 – 13 full-time employees
04:25 – They make money from the physical product - $36 per shirt
05:30 – Cost of goods is $15-18; gross margin of 50%
06:12 – Unique point: Yoshirt prints image on a single piece of fabric before they cut and sew
07:02 – Running Facebook ads and retargeting current customers
07:30 – Over 3 million people have downloaded the app
07:43 – Over 100k paying customers
08:30 – Focus on delivering fantastic customer experience
08:50 – “We make garments so unique that no one can walk by without saying something”
09:20 – Topline revenue was $3 million in 2015
09:25 – Shooting for $10 million in 2016
09:55 – Working with bands to generate growth - partnered with Fall Out Boy
11:00 – Sold over 1,000 units from the Fall Out Boy activation
11:30 – The goal is to see how far they can push the idea
12:00 – “We really look at ourselves as a technology company”
12:50 – Wouldn’t sell Yoshirt for $10 million in cash today
13:30 – People are looking for attention: we’re building a company around that
14:00 – Connect with Ben through email, Linkedin and Twitter
17:55 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Satisfied customers are your best growth tool. Deliver a fantastic product and people will return and refer.
Deal with your own insecurities. You don’t need to seek permission or validation from the people around you.
Get the best data you possibly can. Successful entrepreneurs need facts, not stories.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Laurie Lane-Zucker, founder and CEO of the Impact Entrepreneur Centre. Laurie’s created a network of 10,000 entrepreneurs who are chasing the triple bottom line: making a positive social and environmental impact as well as a profit. Listen in to hear how Laurie funds his dream to make a difference; why you need to expand your bottom-line thinking, and how to get started as an impact entrepreneur.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – The Way of the Wizard
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
Favourite online tool? — Linkedin
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— I wish I knew about entrepreneurship earlier. I wish I had the opportunities that millennials have now to pursue their own goals.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:10 – Nathan’s introduction
01:53 – Welcoming Laurie to the show
02:07 – An ‘Impact Entrepreneur’ is someone who wants to create companies that do good in the world, and to nurture a network and ecosystem that support these values
03:10 – Website is Impact Alchemist
03:40 – A ‘triple bottom line’ that considers social and environmental impact
04:21 – Over 10k members in the network right now
04:40 – Laurie makes money from consulting. He’s recently worked with water purification companies, nutrition research companies, and companies making biofuel from landfill
06:00 – “I gravitate to companies that are working on the UN development goals”
07:15 – Laurie often match-makes between companies and impact investors
08:05 – Takes a ‘success fee’ when they secure funding
09:20 – Currently creating an incubation and acceleration hub in the Berkshires
10:25 – Laurie generates revenue through speaking, consulting, and taking fees on securing funding
11:20 – “Look at the sustainable development goals of the United Nations - and see what strikes a chord with you”
12:20 – Connect with Laurie on Linkedin
13:52 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Chase the triple bottom line. You aren’t really adding value to the world unless you’re looking at your environmental and social impact as well as finances.
There’s a lot to do in the world. Look at the UN’s sustainable development goals and see what strikes a chord with you.
Make the most of all your opportunities
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Troy Sultan, founder and CEO of Resource, a company that’s trying to automate the recruitment process. Troy was the first recruitment officer at Grooveshark, and later left Google to return to his passion: startups. Listen as Troy and Nathan talk about Troy’s career path, managing co-founders, and why you shouldn’t rely on venture capital.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The War of Art
What CEO do you follow? — Gary Swart
What is your favorite online tool? — Mixmax
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Slow down to speed up. And think about what you’re really good at.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:10 – Nathan’s introduction
01:30 – Welcoming Troy to the show
01:47 – Troy founded a startup out of college, then joined early Grooveshark
02:10 – Grooveshark got sued for $17 billion
02:40 – Troy went into hiring at Google in 2013
03:00 – Built a startup in the last year of college - “we made every mistake”
04:00 – Decided to work with Grooveshark to learn about startup success
04:30 – Google was the next stage: seeing how a big company worked
05:00 – Lessons from Google? - “A lot of delegation is happening”
05:13 – The quality of your experience at a big company depends on your manager
05:26 – Troy then started Resource
05:54 – Part of the 500 Startups accelerator
06:06 – 5% equity; $125k investment
06:20 – 3 team members
06:33 – Trying to split equity equally, but people came on at different stages
07:00 – If everyone’s going to provide equal value, try to keep it equal
07:30 – “I don’t want to co-found a company with someone who’s not picking up where I’m weak”
08:05 – Charge a monthly flat rate of $5-8.5k for services. Month-by-month opt-in model
08:38 – Doing tens of thousands in revenue per month
09:10 – Customers “in the low double digits”
09:30 – Creating a hiring solution that’s part-human, part-software
09:54 – Most acquisitions are coming through social credibility
10:20 – No spending on marketing at the moment
10:40 – Not a SaaS company - they’re not looking at churn
11:00 – MRR varies depending on when people are hiring
11:50 – “If we do a good job, we get rid of customers...but hopefully they come back”
12:25 – Troy’s trying to hack his way to the next checkpoint
12:50 – In a good month Resource makes $50k in revenue
13:00 – Operating profitably - margins are good
13:30 – “We don’t want to rely on venture capital early on”
13:50 – Connect with Troy on Twitter or through his blog
15:20 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Slow down to speed up. It can be worth putting your short-term goals on hold to go corporate for a while and learn from the masters
Be certain that your business can make a profit on its own terms. If you rely on venture capital early on, you can go a long way with a bad idea.
Choose your co-founders carefully. If they’re not going to bring serious value, they’re probably not who you want to start a company with.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Zander Adell, co-founder and CEO of Doorman. Zander’s aiming to solve the frustrating problem of finding a note on your door, instead of your Amazon or FedEx package. He left his job as technical director at Pixar to go to business school, and wound up solving one of the stickiest problems in e-commerce. Listen as Zander and Nathan talk logistics, changing a business ecosystem, and dreaming big.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Good to Great
What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Bezos
What is your favorite online tool? — 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? — To focus on the big dream, not the little pieces along the way
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:26 – Nathan’s introduction
02:00 – Welcoming Zander to the show
02:20 – Zander left Pixar in his early 30s to go to business school
02:50 – He wanted to understand how to get a business off the ground
03:10 – Fascinated by the logistics element of apps
03:40 – Worked in the gaming industry briefly before starting Doorman
04:10 – Doorman aims to solve the e-commerce problem of getting your stuff delivered
04:40 – It lets customers schedule when a package will come to their house
05:10 – We’re still in a transitional period between shopping in person and online
05:30 – The existing logistics infrastructure isn’t ready to interact with consumers
06:00 – Revenue comes from both retail partnerships and consumer customers
06:40 – Items are delivered to Doorman’s warehouse; customers then choose a delivery time
07:10 – Warehouses in San Francisco, Chicago and New York
07:20 – Working with retailers is currently more profitable
07:50 – Launched in 2014
08:00 – One co-founder and a team of 10 people
08:15 – Raised a little over $3 million through 500 Startups
09:00 – Around 10-20% growth of users per month
10:40 – Delivered over 100,000 packages
11:10 – “We’ll deliver pretty much anything” - anything under 45lb is a normal package
12:00 – Furniture etc. costs a little more
12:40 – Doorman is currently trying to build economies of scale
14:15 – A big win in 2016 would be hooking up with a large retailer
15:00 – Don’t consider themselves a SaaS business - but use SaaS measures
16:00 – Logistics margins are tight - they can get down to 5% in big companies
16:50 – “We can scale without really owning anything”
17:10 – Delivering 15-20 packages on average for top-quartile customers
18:25 – People’s buying doubled when they started using Doorman
21:20 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Logistics companies can learn from the pared-down model of SaaS. It’s possible to grow without owning bricks-and-mortar infrastructure, or fleets of lorries.
Assess whether what you’re doing right now is serving your long-term goals. If it isn’t: change what you’re doing.
When you solve a problem in an ecosystem, you change people’s behaviour. Simply providing an effective solution can make a market develop.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Holly Cardew, a member of the Forbes 30 under 30 list and the founder of Pixc - an online image optimization service. Holly dropped out of college to grow an image editing empire that’s making just short of $1 million in revenue each year. Listen as Holly and Nathan talk about Pixc’s bootstrapping ethic, the importance of revenue over investment, and how to get the most from an affiliate program.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The Lean Startup
What CEO do you follow? — Ben Chestnut, though he’s kind of hard to track
What is your favorite online tool? — Intercom
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — I wish my parents had told me to go to Silicon Valley. I should have learnt how to code.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:15 – Nathan’s introduction
01:56 – Welcoming Holly to the show
02:03 – Holly took a corporate job in London after university
02:20 – Tried multiple online businesses before Pixc
02:40 – Pixc is an online image optimization service
02:50 – Sells credit image packages
03:05 – Launched a landing page in 2013; started properly in 2014
03:20 – Largely self-funded; raised $150k in capital
03:55 – ‘At the end of the day, you need to have a business - not just capital’
04:15 – 16 team members
04:30 – Revenue in the range of $200k - $1 million per year
05:10 – What are the running costs?
05:20 – Semi-automated process with some human input
05:35 – Currently breaking even and re-investing in the business
05:50 – Holly is 28; she dropped out of college to start her business
06:20 – Working with over 7,000 clients
06:40 – Acquisitions through referrals, integration, content marketing and affiliates
07:10 – Affiliate program is very effective. One article brought in 70+ customers in 3 weeks
09:20 – Affiliates make 20% commission on referrals
10:40 – What’s the competition? Largely freelancers.
11:03 – What’s Pixc’s growth strategy?
11:40 – Planning to expand the affiliate program and build partnerships
11:50 – Thinking about what other services they can offer in this niche
12:20 – Connect with Holly on Linkedin, Twitter and at her blog
14:58 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Focus on revenue, not on investment. You have to know that your idea can make money.
Learn how to code - it’s a basic skill that will pay you back a hundred times over.
If you’re looking at expanding, consider what other services fit in your niche. What else do your customers need that you can provide?
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Lance Mysyrowicz, the founder of Boost&Co. Lance is an investment fund manager who specialises in European startups. He currently manages over $150 million in assets. Listen in to hear about Lance’s latest investment, the details of early investment in tech startups, and what interest rates you could expect for your startup.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Behind the Cloud
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
What is your favorite online tool? — Evernote
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —I wish I knew what makes me happy today - spending time with people I love, and the things I love doing
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:08 – Nathan’s introduction
01:36 – Welcoming Lance to the show
01:50 – Boost&Co lends money to companies earlier in the process than banks
02:20 – They sit in between VC and banking as an investor
02:55 – Have loaned $120 million to over 100 business
03:43 – Last company was a SaaS firm called Idio that lets people track what’s being read on a web page
04:50 – Have invested around $1.75 million in Idio
05:00 – Make money in three different ways: a 1-2% fee; an 8-12% interest rate on outstanding capital; and a warrant - a right to buy shares at a specific price
05:50 – The warrant includes a negotiated strike price
07:05 – What happens on a $1 million deal?
08:00 – A management fee comes from the investment fund - it’s 2% of the assets they manage
09:12 – Why charge a fee?
10:31 – Interest rates are determined by the revenue and size of a company
11:25 – Interest is paid every month and a small amount of capital is repaid
13:15 – “I would always prefer to do a smaller deal and have a smaller risk exposure”
13:48 – Is this the same as mezzanine finance?
14:06 – Connect with Lance on Linkedin
16:10 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
There are multiple pathways to getting a loan as a startup - through VCs, banks, or a halfway step like Boost&Co
Expect to pay a fee, interest, and to offer a warrant to buy shares
As an investment fund manager, Lance tries to limit his exposure to risk as much as possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Steve Sims, the colorful legend behind The Bluefish. Steve’s the founder of a luxury concierge company that can arrange anything from singing with Journey to getting married in the Vatican. Listen as Steve and Nathan talk about the secrets of engaging people and making impossible things happen.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The Cat in the Hat
What CEO do you follow? — Tony Hsieh
What is your favorite online tool? — I actually use a pad and pen
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No!
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Everything will be all right. Just keep on going, and keep your word.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:30 – Nathan’s introduction
02:13 – Welcoming Steve to the show
03:20 – Steve got into the concierge business after being a club doorman
03:50 – “I don’t lie...like me or don’t like me”
04:15 – 99% of Steve’s clients are entrepreneurs
04:50 – “I psychoanalyse the shit out of them”
05:40 – One guy wanted to meet Journey: we got him onstage singing with them
06:20 – I always know someone who’s got a contact
06:50 – A ‘chain of credibility’
08:20 – “When I went in based on money, I made bad decisions”
09:00 – I always pay people: a favour is expensive in the long run
09:30 – Journey event raised money for Autism Speaks
10:10 – People never want to think they’ve been sold
10:50 – What engages people is stories and emotions
11:20 – The business-entertainment conference that Nathan’s planning
13:00 – Connect with Steve at Ugly Sims
17:11 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Keep your promises. If you say you can get something done, you’d better get it done.
Be yourself. People will like you or they won’t - don’t bother trying to bullshit them.
Think creatively about what motivates people. Money isn’t always the answer. Stories, emotions, connections, contacts...there are a lot of ways to make things happen.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Matt Shook, founder of Juiceland: an organic juice business that’s taking over Austin. Listen to Matt and Nathan for insight into a bricks-and-mortar startup that’s becoming wildly successful.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Prometheus Rising
What CEO do you follow? — Tim League
What is your favorite online tool? — Gmail
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —Don’t be so afraid of what other people think
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:20 – Nathan’s introduction
01:36 – Welcoming Matt to the show
01:55 – Founded Juiceland in 2011, after making juice for 8 years
02:33 – New location on 4th street sold 2000 drinks in one day
03:30 – Frost Tower downtown store has triple the sales of anywhere else
05:15 – In 2015, 275 employees at 16 locations
05:40 – Net margin of 5% across the company
06:40 – Makes about 40 cents on a $10 drink
08:20 – Business is all bootstrapped
05:25 – Retainer of $50-75k per month
08:30 – First shop was opened for $15k with a friend
08:55 – ‘I’ve never once looked at demographics’
09:20 – Hoping to have 20 stores by the end of the year
09:50 – Marketing through creating excellent product
11:25 – Connect with Matt on facebook and instagram
12:20 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Focus on creating a fantastic product. It’s the best and most lasting way to get customers.
Don’t worry about what other people think. Focus on yourself and what you’re doing.
Keep an open mind and connect with the people around you.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Prem Bhatia, CEO and co-founder of Cooleaf. Cooleaf’s a B2B platform that helps companies organise, coordinate and track their engagement efforts. Listen as Prem and Nathan talk about breaking out of the corporate world, getting startup funding, and acquiring customers at no cost.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The Alliance
What CEO do you follow? — Dharmesh Shah
What is your favorite online tool? — LinkedIn
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —Do it sooner. You’ll learn on the job.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:10 – Nathan’s introduction
02:10 – Welcoming Prem to the show
02:40 – Prem left the corporate world aged 35 to begin a startup
03:20 – Gave up a salary supporting his family
04:40 – Cooleaf is a SaaS platform designed to help businesses with engagement efforts
05:30 – Currently has 25 active customers
06:05 – Average annual contract of $25-30k
06:20 – Acquiring customers through inside sales - personal outreach; a blog
07:05 – Not spending any money on acquisitions
07:30 – Have raised about $800k in funding - in part from 500 Startups
08:10 – Funding is largely in equity
08:30 – Founded 4-5 years ago, but pivoted later into B2B
09:05 – Team of 11
10:30 – Annual churn of around 10% - a little unclear right now
11:30 – Average LTV is around $100k
11:45 – Model right now is to ‘nail it and scale it’ - tighten up what they’re doing
12:50 – Made less than $500k in 2015
13:20 – Aiming to make $88k per month this year
13:30 – Connect with Prem on Twitter
15:45 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Startups don’t come with guarantees. To be an entrepreneur, you have to be prepared to give something up.
If you’re working with a small number of high-value clients, you shouldn’t have to spend money on acquisitions. Reach out through your networks first.
Learn on the job. No one ever feels ready to start something - accept that you aren’t, and jump in anyway.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Qin En Looi, the CEO and CMO of Glints. Before he turned 20, Qin En had published 20 behavioural science research papers in international journals. He’s put his expertise in psychology and growth hacking to good use...He’s now focused on creating the best possible platform to help graduates find jobs they love. Listen in to hear how Qin En’s growing his talent pool by 15% each month with almost no spending; why word of mouth is the best possible marketing tool, and why you should take care with your first seed capital.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Influence
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
What is your favorite online tool? — Google Calendar
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —To spend more prudently. Don’t waste your money.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:13 – Nathan’s introduction
02:17 – Glints aims to help young people discover what they love to do
03:00 – “5 years ago I would never have expected to have built a company”
03:28 – Glints makes money through recruitment and development
03:58 – They prepare talent to be ready for jobs: offer training and development
04:34 – Founded in 2013
04:50 – First-year revenue was $7k
05:00 – This year’s revenue was $500k
05:21 – Team of 12 people based in Singapore
05:33 – Raised a seed investment round of $500k in 2014
06:12 – Have placed over 2500 graduates into new jobs - minimum reported number
07:01 – 800 employers have recruited graduates
07:40 – Employers pay Glints for a recruitment plan
08:15 – They charge a flat fee: the average fee is $1000
08:48 – It’s free for students to be listed
09:06 – How are you growing the business?
09:22 – Work directly with students and campuses to bring more students onto the platform
10:04 – Have placed 300 students into jobs in March 2016
10:30 – Talent base is growing by 15% each month and spending less than $1000 each month
11:11 – “Word of mouth has been the most powerful driver for us”
11:40 – Connect with Qin En Looi via email or Twitter [links provided via Skype]
16:28 – Connect to Danielle on Twitter
13:30 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Be open to unexpected experiences. Qin En never expected to build his own company - and now he’s making $500k a year.
Word of mouth is your best marketing tool. Create a product that makes people refer you.
Spend prudently once you’ve raised money.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Andrew Howlett, Chief Digital Officer at Rain, and a board member at the Society of Digital Agencies. Andrew started a million-dollar cleaning products business online at 26, before moving into marketing consultancy. Listen as Nathan and Andrew talk marketing, strategy, and how to get out of finance.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
What CEO do you follow? — Maurice Levy
What is your favorite online tool? — Pipedrive
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —That finance wasn’t the direction I wanted to go - it would have been great to understand computer science more
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:20 – Nathan’s introduction
01:40 – Welcoming Andrew to the show
02:00 – At 26, started a website that sold cleaning supplies
02:35 – At 29, started Rain
02:40 – uClean had total revenues of $200k in its first year; almost $1 million the next year
03:30 – Clear around $200k each year from uClean
04:05 – Rain’s latest client is BeachBody
04:40 – Rain is helping them re-imagine their products
05:00 – Revenue model is generally either a monthly retainer or T&M
05:25 – Retainer of $50-75k per month
05:55 – Works largely with 7 major clients
06:30 – First-ever Superbowl ad this year - Campbells Chunky Soup
06:55 – Wanted to focus on online placement
08:10 – 90% of placement is hustle
08:30 – They use People Pattern as a helpful piece of software
09:10 – Ended up with 3.5 million views in 2 weeks
10:00 – Made 3 videos for the Facebook 10-year anniversary
11:10 – Margin on video can be tricky to handle
11:56 – Total revenue in 2015 was $14 million
12:30 – Vision is to keep strategy, design, development and building in-house
14:20 – Happy with the current size of the company - no plans to grow dramatically
14:30 – Connect with Andrew on Twitter or LinkedIn
16:10 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
The majority of marketing is hustle. Automation helps, but to some extent you need to have real people pushing things along.
There are benefits to limiting growth. Having a core team that’s small enough to be in the same room at the start of a project is fantastic.
You need to understand how technology works. Even if you’re never going to be a developer, educate yourself in the basics. It will pay off.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Anand Kulkarni, co-founder of LeadGenius. Anand left his job as a researcher and teacher at Berkeley to develop a tool that uses automation technology to find effective sales leads. Listen as Nathan and Anand talk over starting an SaaS business and exactly how to run an effective fundraising round.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Only The Paranoid Survive
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
What is your favorite online tool? — Gmail
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —I wish I had known how much fun it is to start a company - I would have started sooner!
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:22 – Nathan’s introduction
01:54 – Welcoming Anand to the show
02:10 – LeadGenius is AI for sales - ‘top of the funnel automation’
02:45 – One client is using it to map out every IT director in every Brazilian telecom company, and obtain their contact details
03:30 – Charges between $2k and $1 million a month
03:50 – Started in 2011
03:55 – Total revenue in 2015 was $8 million
04:20 – Worked with 200 customers in February 2015
04:37 – Annual revenue of $40k per user
05:00 – LTV to CAC ratio of about 10
06:00 – Spending about $15k to acquire a customer
06:30 – Some salary costs associated with accessing certain kinds of data
07:30 – Currently have net negative churn
07:40 – That means that growth from existing accounts offsets any loss of customers
08:45 – About to release a new email product
09:05 – Total MRR in February was about $700k
09:30 – 50 team members locally, plus 500 outsourced
10:00 – Raised $8 million total; the last round was a series A of $6 million
11:10 – How do you make the decision about when to raise another round?
12:50 – Pre-money valuation in the last round was in the tens of millions
13:35 – ‘A good partner pays for themselves’ - think about partners, not valuation
15:34 – Connect with Anand on twitter
18:00 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
If you’re deciding whether to run an investment round, look hard at the milestones for your business. Is investment right now going to make significant progress toward those goals?
Don’t just look at valuations when you’re choosing partners. They should bring something significant to the business beyond investment
Whatever you’re planning to do, or dreaming you can do: start. It’ll be fun.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Gil Allouche, the co-founder of Metadata. Gil’s an expert in digital marketing and AI who worked as a marketing consultant for big-name companies before quitting to co-found a startup. Listen as Gil and Nathan talk digital marketing, growth hacking, and how to work with your co-founders.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Enders Game
What CEO do you follow? — Brian Halligan
What is your favorite online tool? — Hubspot
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —That everything is achievable, and that I should set my goals much higher
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:10 – Nathan’s introduction
01:35 – Welcoming Gil to the show
02:10 – Before Metadata, Gil was a marketing consultant for B2B companies
03:00 – Gil’s focus in college was on AI and robotics
03:10 – He followed this with an MBA and focused on digital marketing
03:35 – In February 2016, Metadata had MRR of $35k
04:10 – Currently raising around $2 million in equity in a seed round
04:50 – Would be happy with a $5 million pre-money valuation
05:30 – Metadata amplifies the impact of content marketing
06:30 – Takes initial audience and reverse engineers a profile
07:15 – Targets lookalike audiences on multiple platforms
08:10 – Starts at $10k for a 3-month pilot
08:50 – Takes over landing page, enrichment and targeting
09:15 – A startup: still figuring out a pricing model
10:00 – 3 founders; 8 team members
10:35 – How do you talk to co-founders about splitting equity?
11:10 – Just over 12 customers
11:42 – Churn rate: to date, only one customer has left
12:15 – Launched in May 2015
12:40 – Willing to spend $2-3k to acquire a customer
14:00 – Connect with Gil by email
15:20 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Aim high. Everything is achievable with the right method.
Half of content marketing is marketing. The best content in the world won’t help you if no one reads it.
If your startup has co-founders, have a serious conversation about splitting equity. It’s too important to not get right.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Danielle Morrill, the technology exec who left Twilio to found Mattermark, a SaaS business that’s aiming to make almost $5 million this year. Danielle’s an ambitious CEO who can’t stand to be bored. Listen in to hear why you should never split equity evenly, why focusing on churn rate will make you lose customers, and the one crucial thing you should think about before you sell your business.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The Pyramid Principle
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
What is your favorite online tool? — Slack
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —It was all going to be okay. She should stop angsting and just keep doing what she’s doing.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:08 – Nathan’s introduction
01:46 – Mattermark is a SaaS firm that lets customers research private companies
02:20 – Helps people who are looking to sell, buy, or invest in companies
02:41 – Launched in 2013
02:50 – First year revenue was around $200k
03:07 – Left Twilio to start a different startup - an affiliate marketing program
03:43 – Shut down the company completely and started again with the same investors
04:18 – Three co-founders. Danielle is the CEO, her husband codes, and her friend runs sales
05:21 – “We don’t have a 1:1:1 split - because things aren’t ever even.”
06:04 – “I think it’s the CEO’s job to offer equity portions that are fair and make sense”
07:30 – “It’s intellectually lazy to not discuss the equity portions”
08:01 – Topline revenue in 2015 was $2.4 million
08:20 – Monthly recurring revenue is around $260k
08:50 – Around 500 customers
09:07 – Annual customer revenue is around $10k
09:50 – Annual churn is less than 10%
10:11 – “Not everyone has turned over on a year yet - around 80% of customers came on board in the last 11 months”
10:34 – What other metrics measure customer engagement?
10:40 – “By the time they churn, it’s too late”
11:30 – “We think lifetime value will be in the $50k range”
12:10 – Started up an in-house marketing team 8 weeks ago
13:40 – What’s Danielle’s goal with the business?
13:55 – “My goal is to work on interesting things my entire life. If I sold the company for $100 million today, what would I do?”
16:02 – Danielle would be delighted if this year’s revenue hit $4.8 million
16:28 – Connect to Danielle on Twitter
18:08 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Discuss equity portions with your co-founders. All an equal split proves is that you don’t know how to have difficult conversations
By the time customers have churned, it’s too late. Look at other engagement metrics to catch them before they leave.
Think about your personal goals. Why are you running the business you are? What do you really want out of it?
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Aditya Singhal, an education technology entrepreneur who’s hoping to fully automate tutoring in the next five years. Aditya believes in low-cost, high-quality education for all. Tune in as he and Nathan talk automated education, subscription models, and why Silicon Valley is overrated.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Growth Hacker Marketing
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
What is your favorite online tool? — Twitter
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —I wish I knew how to hack growth faster
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:25 – Nathan’s introduction
01:45 – Welcoming Aditya to the show
02:10 – There are 21 million college students in the states, looking for help
02:30 – Created TransTutors - an AI teaching assistant
02:50 – Subscription model: $20 each month, 30k customers
03:10 – Not a typical SaaS business model - uses humans assisted by code
04:05 – Revenue is $60-80k per month
04:20 – Business founded August 2014
04:30 – Revenue is 2015 around $1 million
04:50 – Initially self-funded; now raising investment from 500 Startups
05:00 – Hoping to raise $2.5 million by convertible note
05:30 – Making a trade-off: wants to learn from Silicon Valley
06:10 – Are tech hubs overrated?
06:30 – About 40% of customers (12k) are paying monthly
07:30 – In February 2016 had 3k active paying customers
08:05 – Users typically stay 4-6 months (one semester)
08:40 – Team of 10 people, including 8 in India
09:00 – A young engineer in India earns around $30k per year
10:00 – Aditya’s goal is to have a fully automated teaching system
10:20 – Would be happy to sell once he’s achieved his goal
10:50 – Equity split 50/50 between Aditya and his partner
11:30 – Connect with Aditya by email or twitter
14:50 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Create the solution your market are looking for - even if they don’t know it yet
Be clear about your business vision
Focus on finding social marketing methods to grow your business explosively
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Robin Thurston, the founder of Map My Fitness and senior VP at Under Armour. Robin built a conversation with cycling buddies into a multi-million dollar app. Listen as Nathan and Robin talk about turning a website into an iPhone app, Map My Fitness’ user base, and the process of exiting a company you’ve founded.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Career Warfare
What CEO do you follow? — None
What is your favorite online tool? — I travel so much - it’s a car-sharing service
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —You never actually know what’s going to happen
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:25 – Nathan’s introduction
01:45 – Welcoming Robin to the show
02:10 – The process of founding Map My Fitness
02:40 – Came out of a dinner conversation where someone wanted to map their cycle route
03:10 – Robin wasn’t a developer but had a product background
03:30 – Worked with developers who were also cyclists
04:20 – Bought the ‘Map My Run’ website for $5k
04:50 – Moved to Denver and launched Map My Fitness
05:15 – Had 1 million web users before the iPhone launch
05:40 – 2006-2013, became one of the USA’s top 100 apps
06:00 – Made money from ads and subscriptions early on; added a SaaS business
06:45 – Around $17 million in revenue when they exited in 2013
07:30 – Under Armour was interested in the community and user base
07:40 – Revenue of about $4 per month per user in the US
08:20 – Spent almost nothing on acquisition
09:00 – Early 2013 were advised to ‘go big or go home’ by potential investors
09:40 – Had a call from Kevin Plank in the middle of the raising process - and sold
11:30 – Underarmour were keen to acquire a team experienced in e-commerce
12:40 – Time from call to public announcement was less than 3 months
13:00 – Had 103 employees at time of sale
13:30 – Contact Robin on Twitter
16:10 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Know when it’s the right time to sell or exit your business. Even if it’s not what you’d planned, opportunity may come knocking.
Dominate your niche. Robin and his partner bought the ‘Map My Run’ site - a potential competitor - and used it to propel their own site forward.
You don’t know where you’ll be in twenty years. Keep an eye out for opportunity and let yourself be surprised.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Ryan Moran, creator of the Freedom Fast Lane podcast. Ryan’s new venture is Capitalism.com, which will go live in June. He’s making millions from multiple revenue streams and about to run his second conference. Listen in to hear Ryan and Nathan talk creating authority, how to game the Amazon ranking system, and why running conferences is worth the effort.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Ready, Fire, Aim
What CEO do you follow? — Glenn Beck
What is your favorite online tool? — My journal
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —That there were going to be compounding returns on everything he did. I wish I had gone bigger.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:18 – Nathan’s introduction
01:46 – Ryan was interviewed in episode #140 of The Top
02:05 – Why go from Freedom Fastlane to Capitalism.com?
02:45 – “We wanted something more authoritative”
03:45 – Paid $100k for the domain name
04:40 – Ryan’s generating about $1 million in topline revenue per month through Amazon products and his coaching programme The Tribe
05:20 – Access to The Tribe costs $2000 for coaching, conference calls, and physical meetups
06:38 – Revenue breakdown is 25% coaching, 75% physical-product businesses
07:40 – Best-selling product is fish oil, which sells for $20 per unit
08:22 – Product costs $5; Amazon takes around 30% in fees - so $6.50
09:30 - Makes about $7 profit per unit
10:40 - Sells around 150 units per day
11:05 – “It’s still fairly easy to game” the Amazon system
11:30 – The Amazon ranking algorithm is based on volume of sales
12:50 – Ryan also makes money from a yoga business; real estate; and other product sales
13:45 – Why do conferences?
14:05 – “I wanted to create the conference that I wanted to attend”
15:09 – Expecting 750 attendees at the next conference; tickets cost $1497 or earlybird $997
15:16 – At the last conference, spent about $170k on speakers; $70k on AV, and $80k on catering
16:08 – Revenue was around $400k; profit around $50k
16:20 – Expect to spend around $200k on speakers this year
17:00 – “We don’t aim to make money from conferences - it’s a pure branding and networking play”
17:25 – What would Bernie Sanders say about your brand of capitalism? Is it unethical?
17:50 – Subscribe to Ryan’s podcast at Freedom Fast Lane
19:06 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Wealthy people have multiple revenue streams - diversify
There are compounding returns on everything you do. Risks and failures go away fast - but successes stay with you
Maybe it is unethical that people are paying $1497 to attend a conference while other people are sleeping on the street. Who knows?
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Drew Taylor, founder of AstroPrint - a software and app ecosystem described as “the Android of the 3D printing world”. Listen as Nathan and Drew talk 3D printing, making money, and how to dominate an emerging niche.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Crossing the Chasm
What CEO do you follow? — Tony Hsieh
What is your favorite online tool? — Trello
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Absolutely not
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —I don’t know. I’m a fan of taking life’s lessons as they come.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:11 – Nathan’s introduction
02:00 – Welcoming Drew to the show
02:30 – AstroPrint started because Drew saw that 3D printing software needed to improve
03:00 – Two products: software, and cloud-based app store
03:25 – Free for personal use; charge for commercial use
03:50 – 70/30 split on profits from app store
04:10 – Founded in 2015 - with a different idea
04:45 – $150k total revenue in 2015
05:00 – 9 team members
05:10 – Raised $500k in convertible note
05:50 – Fundraising with accelerators including BetaSpring and 500 Startups
06:20 – How do you get enough sales to dominate?
06:45 – Partnering with larger companies
07:30 – Can provide the entire software base for existing printers
09:00 – Adds value to machine by connecting it to an app system
11:00 – Consumer revenue is entirely from app sales
11:50 – Currently almost no revenue from app sales - expected to take off around 2017
14:00 – Would be happy with a pre-money valuation of $10 million
14:30 – Currently in the middle of a fundraising debt round
16:40 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Be creative about making money - what revenue models are working in other areas? How can you generate multiple revenue streams from one product?
Accept that your start-up idea will change as you sound out the market. Learn from what doesn’t work.
Don’t worry about making mistakes when you’re young - it’s all part of growing.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Charlie Mulligan , co-founder of BrewPublik - a business that Charlie wants to become “Amazon for beer”. Brewpublik provide a premium catering service delivering craft beer to homes and offices in cities across the States. Listen as Nathan and Charlie talk expansion, investment, and how much to sell a start-up for.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The Goal
What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Bezos
What is your favorite online tool? — Intercom
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —To have more confidence. I can do anything if I set my mind to it.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:22 – Nathan’s introduction
01:40 – Welcoming Charlie to the show
02:00 – Match over 3,000 types of craft beer to a taste profile
02:30 – BrewPublik delivers beers to your office or home
02:50 – $75 for a case of 24 bottles
03:13 – Offers one-off orders, regular subscriptions and monthly memberships
03:40 – Founded in 2014
04:02 – $275k revenue in 2015
04:15 – Delivered around 80k bottles
04:40 – Net margin of 35%
05:00 – Reinvesting capital in expansion
05:40 – Hope for $1.5-2 million revenue in 2016
06:30 – How do you decide which markets to expand into?
07:10 – Look at baseline demographics: age, income, breweries per capita
08:30 – Then look for with B2B clients
09:10 – Bootstrapped for first 6 months then had an angel investment round of $1 million
09:45 – Looking for Series A in the next 12 months
10:03 – Sees the beer industry as ripe for disruption
11:00 – Would sell the business for $100 million
15:19 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Have confidence in yourself. Trust your own abilities and move forward.
When you’re thinking about expansion, consider what strategy is going to give you a positive operating balance as quickly as possible.
Find a niche to disrupt. Successful start-ups exploit a need that no one else has even considered.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
John Bowen - the man who gives financial advice to financial advisors. John’s an expert in the financial world. After founding six multi-million dollar businesses, John moved on to coaching the world’s top financial advisers on ways to better serve their clients. Tune in to hear John’s advice for Nathan on investment, why entrepreneurship is the best way to make millions, and why you need to be playing the long game.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Bold
What CEO do you follow? — David Booth
What is your favorite online tool? — SaneBox
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —That I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:30 – Nathan’s introduction
02:00 – Welcoming John to the show
02:08 – Key firm is CEG Worldwide
02:55 – Created a firm to do research on the best practice of top financial advisers
04:12 – CEG coaches financial advisors. One product is a year-long coaching program that costs $2000 per month.
05:05 – There’s also a mastermind group that costs $18k per year
06:00 – If you have less than $100k, you can’t afford a good financial adviser
06:57 – “The surest way of creating tremendous wealth is being an entrepreneur”
07:20 – Entrepreneurs often don’t create personal wealth soon enough
08:17 – Do you invest in your own business or other options?
09:30 - We’re not in business just for business - we’re in it for quality of life
10:10 - Think about the long haul
11:15 – Your time is the most valuable asset you have. Focus on a few things.
12:35 – Some financial assets have become commercialized
13:20 – John likes to invest in a team: “Have a personal CFO”
14:45 – What’s John focused on now?
15:05 – John’s just started a site with Dan Sullivan and Joe Polish: Accelerating Entrepreneurial Success
16:00 – Get your free book on the website and learn from the world’s most successful entrepreneurs
18:15 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
9/10 multi-millionaires are entrepreneurs
You don’t have to change the world overnight. Put a long-term plan together and be patient.
Your time is your most valuable asset. Focus on what you’re passionate about.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Arry Yu, the CEO and co-founder of GiftStarter - a consumer platform for crowd-sourcing gifts. Arry’s a leader in the space where creativity and technology meet. She worked as a consultant for Microsoft, Google and L’Oreal before launching her own startup. Listen as Nathan and Arry talk fundraising, working with co-founders, and what her mom thinks of her career.
Favorite Book? – The Hard Thing About Hard Things
What CEO do you follow? — Jonathan Sposado
What is your favorite online tool? — Autopilot
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— I just had a baby
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Get away from your insecurities. It’s okay to mess things up - no one else knows what they’re doing either.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:20 – Nathan’s introduction
02:05 – Welcoming Arry to the show
02:10 – Launched GiftStarter in July 2014
02:30 – After 12 years in services industry, Arry wanted a change
03:01 – Won 1st place on Hackathon and decided to launch
04:17 – GiftStarter lets consumers break a product into affordable chunks
04:33 – Contracts range from $2k to $20k each month
05:10 – “Basically crowdsourcing gifts”
05:40 – Makes money on an 8% transaction fee
06:00 – Makes commission on products sold
06:10 – Total revenue in 2015 was $12k
06:30 – Aiming for 50k in 2016
06:40 – Team of 3 full-time, 3 part-time
06:50 – Raised $525k via convertible note
07:10 – Product changed between fundraising round and today
08:00 – Question to Arry’s mom: “What do you think about Arry starting her own business?”
10:00 – Do you ever feel stuck because of angel investors?
10:30 – People expect us to innovate and change
13:29 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Don’t be controlled by your insecurities - trust yourself, and let yourself make mistakes
Accept that your start-up will change as you grow. It means you’re innovating and responding to your market, and it’s a good thing
No one else knows what they’re doing either. Do what you love.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
John Lincoln, the CEO of Ignite Visibility, California’s #1 SEO company in 2015. John’s an expert on online visibility who’s worked with hundreds of high-profile clients. Listen as Nathan and John talk about Ignite Visibility, quitting a six-figure job, and the process of writing John’s new book Digital Influencer.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Unleash the Power Within
What CEO do you follow? — Tony Robbins and Neil Patel
What is your favorite online tool? — Basecamp, ColorNote, SEMrush
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — You don’t have to have it all figured out. Take your time to see what’s out there.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:15 – Nathan’s introduction
01:45 – Welcoming John to the show
01:51 – John started Ignite Visibility at the age of 30 while a director at SEO Inc
02:30 – Gave up a salary of over $100k and a satisfying role
03:04 – “It was literally the scariest thing I’ve done in my life”
03:40 – Invested $10k personally in Ignite Visibility
04:05 – John was well-known in the industry and gained 9 clients in his first 6 months
04:33 – Contracts range from $2k to $20k each month
04:50 – Total revenue in the first year (2013) just under $1 million
05:05 – Aiming for $3 million revenue this year
06:00 – 20-30% net margin on revenue
06:40 – What are they doing with profits?
07:40 – Digital Influencer - John’s book
08:25 – John hopes the book will provide concrete tips for young entrepreneurs
09:20 – Self-published on Amazon and used CreateSpace to make the print copy
10:20 – All proceeds from the book go to charity
10:40 – Aiming to sell 1,000 copies to raise $7k - $10k
11:30 – Sales almost entirely online
12:15 – Book launched February 2016
15:49 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Take the plunge and do something that you love. Even if it terrifies you, it’ll be worth it.
Building your digital influence is a process - there are concrete steps you can take to achieve it
If you’re young, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Enjoy what’s around you and don’t push too hard.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Julian Martinez, marketing director at Maestro Conference, the webinar platform used by Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Julian’s spent 7 years building marketing programmes from scratch. Listen as Nathan and Julian talk webinars, and the nuts and bolts of building a marketing strategy.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – Monkey Business
What CEO do you follow? — Eoghan McCabe
What is your favorite online tool? — Intercom
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Maybe
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — To start travelling more, date more girls, and pay more attention in class
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:20 – Nathan’s introduction
01:50 – Welcoming Julian to the show
02:00 – Why Julian left Bid On Fusion to join Maestro Conference
02:40 – Choosing between family and work
03:04 – Julian joined Maestro Conference in 2016
03:20 – Hosts interactive webinars and conference calls
03:45 – Obama, Hilary, and Bernie Sanders all use the platform
04:14 – “A sexier version of GoToWebinar”
04:30 – It’s possible to generate breakout groups of 2 from a group of up to 5000
05:05 – Between 1,000 and 2,000 paying customers
06:00 – Julian’s the first marketing hire - most investment has been in the platform
06:20 – Team of 15 full-time people
07:40 – Currently around 30% churn rate
08:30 – Based in Oakland
09:05 – Marketing budget for February was around $3000
09:30 – Julian wants to implement paid social media advertising and SEM
10:00 – Currently around 10% conversion
10:40 – Raised around $2 million total
11:11 – MRR of $90k in February
12:30 – Goal is now to follow up exposure from nominees’ campaigns with paid social
15:13 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Take advantage of all the resources you can find. Do more with what’s around you.
Build a marketing strategy around the exposure you already have.
If you’ve just joined a company, take time to clean the slate before kicking off your own projects
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Thomas Smale, co-founder of FE International, a company with seven-figure revenues that specialises in brokering the sale of online businesses. Listen as Nathan and Thomas talk about valuing SaaS companies, brokerage models, and the importance of focus.
Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The Tipping Point
What CEO do you follow? —Elon Musk
What is your favorite online tool? — SEMrush
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Focus. I used to jump from idea to idea - it’s far better to focus on one thing.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:06 – Nathan’s introduction
01:50 – Welcoming Thomas to the show
02:00 – FE International started at university when Thomas was 22
02:30 – Completed just over 300 deals
02:50 – Last deal was a SaaS business
03:20 – Model: FE will value a business, put together a package, and look for buyers
04:10 – How do you value a SaaS business?
The amount of time the owner spends on a business: more time = less valuable
The growth prospects of a business
A multiplier of 4-6 times on annual net revenue
06:10 – Why use net?
06:30 – When valuing smaller businesses, it makes more sense to use net revenue
07:05 – Business in last deal had around $200k net revenue
08:11 – Recent public deal was with PlanScope - around $100k
09:10 – The buyer was a developer looking for a safe investment project
11:00 – 7-12% churn rate is normal for businesses they deal with
11:30 – FE International charges 15% brokerage on each deal
12:00 – Currently have a team of 12 people
12:30 – Made $1.5 million in commissions in 2015
16:00 – Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Focus on one thing. It’s tempting to jump from plan to plan - but focus leads to success.
Small businesses need a different valuation model to large ones. Make sure you’re looking at the right numbers.
Always be looking for opportunities - a start-up can expand incredibly fast with the right input
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
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.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
The Top is FOR YOU if you are:
A STUDENT who wants to become the CEO of a $10m company in under 24 months (episode #4)
STUCK in the CORPORATE grind and looking to create a $10k/mo side business so you can quit (episode #7)
An influencer or BLOGGER who wants to make $27k/mo in monthly RECURRING revenue to have the life you want and full CONTROL (episode #1)
The Software as a Service (SaaS) entrepreneur who wants to grow to a $100m+ valuation (episode #14).
Your host, Nathan Latka is a 25 year old software entrepreneur who has driven over $4.5 million in revenue and built a 25 person team as he dropped out of school, raised $2.5million from a Forbes Billionaire, and attracted over 10,000 paying customers from 160+ different countries.
Oprah gets 60 minutes or more to make her guests comfortable to then ask tough questions. Nathan does it all in less than 15 minutes in this daily podcast that's like an audio version of Pat Flynn's monthly income report. Join the Top Tribe at http://NathanLatka.com/TheTop