Finn Kelly, co-founder and CEO of We Love Numbers, a smartbookkeeping and financial advice site that’s turning financialservices into SaaS. Finn’s been named three times as one ofAustralia’s top 30 entrepreneurs under 30, and is about to launchhis first fundraising round. Listen as Finn and Nathan talk goingfrom service to SaaS, the ins and outs of investment partnerships,and why you are what you think.
Favorite Book? – True North
What CEO do you follow? — Warren Rustand
Favourite online tool? — Slack
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No, but pretty close
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what wouldit be?— Look after your body, and focus on your thoughts. You arewhat you think.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:31 – Nathan’s introduction
02:00 – Welcoming Finn to the show
02:20 – We Love Numbers - smart bookkeeping and advice forentrepreneurs
02:40 – Revenue is generated by a subscription model to 1 of 4different packages
02:49 – Packages cost $395 to $1695 per month
03:10 – Recent client was a wine importer - We Love Numbers helpedthem to look at different back-end processes and interpret thenumbers they needed to focus on
05:14 – What, strategically, can We Love Numbers help with?
05:35 – Answer questions to help optimise pricing models, salariesetc.
06:20 – They work with multiple clients so have a sense of what isindustry standard
06:30 – Currently work with 50 clients; have over 900 in thepipeline
06:57 – Started in March 2015
07:16 – Average customer pays about $1000 per month
07:22 – MRR in February 2016 was around $50,000
07:55 – Started out in wealth management - sold their first companyfor multiple millions
09:13 – About to raise their first capital round
09:30 – Raising because they want to scale quickly
10:00 – “We see ourselves as a SaaS business”
10:25 – Looking to raise $750k via convertible note
10:40 – Aiming for churn of 2% through month
11:00 – Worst churn rate they’ve experienced was 10%
11:40 – Aiming to pay no more than $1000 per customer acquisitioncost
12:20 – Currently 10 people in the team
12:40 – Head count expenses are about $60-70k per month
13:40 – A pre-money valuation of $6 million would make Finnextremely happy
14:20 – Looking for strategic partners, not just VCs
18:58 – Connect with Finn at his website or through Linkedin
16:54 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Look for strategic partners who can add value beyond money.
Find a way to make your business scale. How can a service businessbecome a SaaS business?
Focus on your body and your health. Look after yourself, and you’llbe prepared for anything.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices andaccounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names andhosting for cheapest price possible.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly createhis webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to SanAntonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives