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Latest Episodes:

Cirrius Insights $640K MRR 100,000 Customers Sep 05, 2016

Show notes

EP 407: 10,000+ $50 Museum Tour Tickets Sold with Nick Gray of Museum Hack Sep 04, 2016

Show notes

Nick Gray, founder and CEO of Museum Hack. Nick thought museums were SO BORING!! Before he launched Museum Hack, he used word of mouth to advertise his idea and give free museum tours to his friends. Now his business is making over 1 million dollars per year. Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – The Power of Full Engagement What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Bezos Favorite online tool? — Revue Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No. Use SleepTracker. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? – Do less drugs.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:40 – Nathan introduces Nick Gray 02:15 – How did you get into museums? 02:25 – "Renegade museum tours." 02:40 – Revenue comes from charges for live tours 03:00 – Launched in 2013 03:10 – Over 10000 tours sold last year 03:20 – Total revenue was 1.3 million 03:30 – Average cost is $75 per tour 03:45 – Labor cost is $88 per person 04:15 – Net margin relies on high-end tours 04:40 – In the beginning, they got new customers from word of mouth 05:25 – First year revenue was $60k 05:45 – They want to attract people to keep coming back 06:00 – They need to up their repeat rate 06:15 – There are plenty of people to target 06:40 – He just started paying himself a salary 07:20 – His mom is his accountant 07:40 – He is learning to be a better CEO 07:50 – He supported himself with a full-time job at the beginning of the business 08:15 – He built up savings and committed to his museum business 08:40 – His last job gave him a very healthy salary 09:15 – He has always been a big saver 09:45 – His advice: Treating your passion like your job, and creating a demand by providing that product for free 10:30 – Some passions are worthless 10:45 – His team size is 12 full time and 25 part time, along with remote staff 11:15 – Expenses are up to $80k per month 11:40 – The pressure to break even does not worry him 12:10 – Moms and their lectures on receipts 13:10 – A connection with Trip Advisor 13:50 – "It was just a fluke." 14:05 – His goal for this year is 2.2 million 14:15 – Museumhack.com and NickGray.net 15:45 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points: Create a demand for your product by offering it for free. Treat your passion like your job until you can transition to that passion full time. Build up your savings, and be willing to take risks.

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 The Power of Full Engagement - Nick's favorite business book Revue – Nick's favorite online tool NickGray.net – Read Nick's weekly newsletters Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 406: The Ad Genius Behind Amy Porterfield and Melanie Duncan with Chris Evans of Traffic and Funnels Sep 03, 2016

Show notes

Chris Evans, cofounder of Traffic and Funnels. Surrounded by incredible entrepreneurs, Chris decided that it was his time to build a success empire. His business Traffic and Funnels has taken a smart approach to business: They have focused on their strengths to get revenue, and now they are ready to expand. Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – King Icahn What CEO do you follow? — Trump and Zuckerberg 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? – Find and invest in a mentor

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:35 – Nathan introduces Chris 01:55 – Chris worked with a lot of amazing entrepreneurs and decided to build his own empire 02:40 – He helps experts built client acquisition systems 03:00 – 1 $5500 product, and an upsell 03:25 – Traffic and Funnels is a slick website 03:40 – The numbers 03:50 -- $660000 in revenue for 2016 so far 04:30 – The problem with paid marketing 04:50 – Understanding the market and validating the product 05:15 – The biggest mistake is not understanding that market. 05:40 – The higher value products had a larger margin for error 06:00 – Cost to acquire a client is $400 to $700 06:15 – Solid revenue goals 06:40 – Advice for the info-product space 07:00 – Have clarity 07:30 – You need a target and a specialization 07:50 – Track your numbers and know what you need to break even 08:00 – How do you think about stages for scaling? 08:25 – The revenue must keep up with the spending. 08:50 – Know your business model and your plan. 09:10 – Work your way backwards. 09:25 – Take out any emotion. 09:45 – An evergreen business 10:00 – A launch-style business is more stressful up front 10:20 – You have to be smart and build credibility. 10:50 – Why this model? 11:10 – To build up a kiddy and launch their own evergreen info product 11:35 – Starting with their biggest strength 11:45 – Building stability and growing 12:10 – Taking on more employees does not scare him. 12:30 – They can get through adversity. 12:44 – Go to trafficandfunnels.com and Facebook.com/chrisaevans 14:55 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points: Start with your biggest strength until your business has stability. Create a plan and work your way backwards. Understand the market and validate 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. King Ichahn - Chris' favorite business book Slack – Chris' favorite online tool Toptal – Great for people to get access to software developers Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 405: 409A Valutions, Cap Table Pro-Formas and More with Jonathan Gass of NomadFinancial Sep 02, 2016

Show notes

Jonathan Gass of Nomad Financial. Jonathan founded his company because he decided to focus his career on entrepreneurship and startups. His business works with startups to help them make smart financial plans and fundraising decisions. Today we'll learn from him about what pitfalls to avoid in our own startups.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Give and Take
What CEO do you follow? — Johnny Rockefeller, of the book Titan
Favorite online tool? — Audible

Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — I try for 7 to 8.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? – Listen to your gut when you are making decisions. Focus on culture.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:35 – Nathan introduces Jonathan
02:10 – His main focus is entrepreneurship
02:25 – He saw the same problems with most startup founders
- 02:50 – They weren't setting up their accounting systems to support decision making
03:10 – He worked for Vimeo a few years ago
- 03:25 – They had to pitch what set them apart from YouTube and other companies
- 03:55 – Building tools to support video makers
04:10 – Nomad Financial generates revenue for a number of services, paid for by the hour.
04:30 – Their employees specialize in helping startups
- 05:25 – A role as an advocate
- 05:45 – Pushback from auditors
- 06:00 – Staying on top of trends
06:20 – What is a 409a valuation?
- 06:58 – Startups mix that up with a valuation for selling stock.
07:30 – Mistakes early entrepreneurs make with cap tables
- 07:40 – No consistent terms
- 08:15 – Even the software can't always solve those problems
- 09:00 – Understanding the implications of sale
- 09:15 – One man who had an option to sell his company, but wasn't really going to make any money
- 10:10 – Nathan's interview with Teachable (Episode 117)
11:00 – Explaining preferred shareholders
- 11:35 – Investors that ask for really aggressive terms
- 12:00 – Be careful with the terms in your agreement
12:35 – Smart money vs. "plain dollars"
- 12:55 – People who are there to actually help the business
- 13:25 – Understanding the goals of your investors
- 14:50 – The importance of a fit culture and a fit vision
14:40 – The friendliest investor for the entrepreneur
- 15:00 -- Great term sheets, and providing great value
15:15 – Interplay investors
- 16:10 – Jonathan is making about 4 or 5 investments each year.
- 16:35 – Seed-stage and a-round investments
17:00 – Why put a portion of your portfolio into startups?
- 17:20 – You keep that portion for that, and you use the other portion for other things.
- 17:45 – Living for entrepreneurship and believing in these startups.
19:00 – Connect with Jonathan at j@nomadfinancial.com and nomadfinancial.com
20:45 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Set up your accounting to support decision making in your startup.
Be aware of your investor's goals and what value they will contribute to your company.
You need a cohesive culture and vision, among founders and investors.

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.
Give and Take – A business book that teaches philosophies Jonathan lives by
Interplay – A reliable team of investors and partners
Toptal – Great for people to get access to software developers
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 404: $360k June 2016 MRR, $4M ARR, 5000 customers paying $72/mo on average with DaPulse founder Roy Man Sep 01, 2016

Show notes

Roy Man, CEO of Dapulse. Dapulse is a tool designed to solve "inherently problematic" management strategies in businesses. The company has a philosophy of being transparent with their revenue and numbers, all of which you can find on their Instagram page. Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – The Hard Thing About Hard Things What CEO do you follow? — Avishai Abrahami Favorite online tool? — FullStory Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — No regrets.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:20 – Nathan introduces Roy Man 01:50 – What is Dapulse? 01:55 – A management tool for your company 02:20 – Solving something that was "inherently problematic" 02:30 – A SaaS business launched in February 2014 03:00 – Currently over 5000 customers 03:20 – Each company, or customer, pays a certain amount, depending on their team size 03:50 – Total MRR in June was $360k 04:15 – See screenshots of their numbers on Instagram 04:50 – They have raised $9 million 05:00 – They started with raising $1.5 million 05:40 – The startup mentality 06:20 – Their valuation was 3.53 million 07:00 – A solid product with a good market 07:15 – A year of product marketing and finding what people were using for management 07:50 – "People think in tables." 08:25 – The product market fit 08:45 – They started to launch and scale and did a convertible note 09:10 – Their last round of funding was $5 million, with a post valuation of $28.5 million 09:45 – First year revenue was less than a million 10:20 – Customer acquisition cost varies 11:10 – Average is about $600 11:55 – Monthly customer churn is 2% 12:20 – Negative revenue churn 13:30 – Lifetime value is great 14:20 – Churn is not relative in terms of money 14:40 – As you scale, some customers will leave 15:10 – Expand your customer circle as much as you can 15:25 – Team size is about 35 15:40 – Total 2015 revenue was about 3 million 16:35 – Connect with Roy at roy@dapulse.com 17:05 – Roy's Blog on Medium 19:30 – The Famous Five 3 Key Points: Create a product that has strong market potential. Spend time getting to know what your customers will want out of your product or service. Expand your customer circle as much as you can.

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. FullStory – Roy's favorite online tool The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Roy's business book recommendation Toptal – Great for people to get access to software developers Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 403: $650k Raised, Finland SaaS Copmany, 600 Customers with PromoRepublic.com Aug 31, 2016

Show notes

Max Pechersky, co-founder of PromoRepublic. His company focuses on helping marketing freelancers get new ideas and strategies for content marketing. As PromoRepublic continues to grow, the company is stretching its boundaries to provide more products for freelancers. Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Intercom on Product Management What CEO do you follow? — Favorite online tool? — Wunderlist Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — Almost never. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — It's ok if someone doesn't like me.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:20 – Nathan introduces Max 02:05 – The co-founder of PromoRepublic 03:00 – He owns thirty percent of the company 03:20 – It's a software service that helps with content marketing. 03:45 – Solving the frustrations of marketing freelancers 04:10 – The business was founded at the end of 2013 04:45 – First year total revenue – 30000 euro 05:00 – Now he has 10k in recurring revenue 05:50 – Total customers: 600 06:10 – Customer pricing is about $12 per month 07:00 -- $650000 raised 07:30 – It was a grant and a soft loan. 08:00 – Churn monthly is 8% 08:50 – They had to decide which customers to focus on 09:30 – They moved to freelance marketers 09:50 – It's about $100 in acquisition cost 10:30 – The average person stays for about a year. 11:14 – Additional revenue streams 11:25 – Social media templates 11:40 – Like stock photos for social media posts 12:00 – Max@PromoRepublic.com 13:30 – The Famous Five 3 Key Points: Channel your product toward a specific market. When you start to see success, look for additional revenue streams. Come up with an idea that solves a fundamental problem.

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 Wunderlist – Max's favorite online tool Intercom on Product Management – Max's favorite business book Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 402: 25 Years Old, $32 Million Raised, $11 Million 2015 Transaction Volume with Brian Wong of Kiip Aug 30, 2016

Show notes

Brian Wong, who started his company Kiip after getting laid off. As his company has grown and matured, his cofounders have moved on. But Brian is incredible grateful for his company and believes in sticking to your decisions and putting your whole heart and soul into your business. Now Kiip is on track to make $20 million this year, so he must be doing something right.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Predictably Irrational
What CEO do you follow? — Evan Spiegel
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? — Stop taking everything so seriously. Everything is going to work out.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:20 – Nathan introduces Brian
01:50 – Kiip is embedded into apps, and it rewards you for achievements in those apps
02:45 – 50/50 revenue share with brands who provide the rewards
03:20 – The economics of partnering with a brand like Gatorade
- 04:00 – Customers must claim the award for either company to get money
05:00 – Why they use email to deliver the awards
05:38 – Brian's journey to where he is now, at age 25
- 06:00 – He found himself in business development
- 06:55 – Laid off in 2010
- 07:00 – He met with a few venture capitalists, and a startup seemed like the right direction
- 08:00 – He and his two cofounders got started
08:30 – They started with $300k
09:30 – Total capital now is $32 million
09:45 – Last year's revenue was $11 million
10:00 – Margins are increasing as they are becoming more efficient
- 10:40 – Reducing server costs, marketing costs, and creating different revenue streams
11:25 – They have a unique revenue model that brings in "new money"
12:35 – Engagement rate is 10%
13:10 – Both of Brian's cofounders have left to do other things
13:45 – How Brian feels about his company's growth
- 14:15 – "At the end of the day, it's what your exit is."
- 14:50 – He feels thankful for what he has with his company
- 15:15 – "Make your decision and don't look back." You can always dream about what could be better or different, but follow through and stay committed to what you have.
16:50 – Goal for 2016 is $20 million
17:00 – Hopes to grow the margin more
17:15 – Twitter @brian_wong and Snapchat at bwong91
19:20 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

When you make a decision, completely commit to that decision.
It does no good to daydream about what could be better or different. Channel that energy into improving what you have.
Take advantage of an opportunity when it is put in front of you.

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.
Evernote – Brian's favorite online tool
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 401: Quit $180k Microsoft Job to Launch Own Startup with KarmaCircles CEO Deepak Goel Aug 29, 2016

Show notes

Deepak Goel, the mastermind behind his new company KarmaCircles. Deepak says the company is the next-generation LinkedIn. He believes he has found his calling in life as an entrepreneur in the social networking niche.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Give and Take
What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn
Favorite online tool? — Mint, Appear.in

Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — Absolutely.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don't stay in a company for more than two years.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Deepak
01:50 – KarmaCircles is an app that connects entrepreneurs with successful business people
02:55 – Pilots with business schools and corporate companies
03:15 – No money the first year
03:30 – What companies are similar to KarmaCircles
- 04:20 – A LinkedIn of the future
05:00 – All free pilots right now
- 05:45 – Why they are not charging for the app now
06:40 – Will the customers pay when they make that shift?
- 07:10 – If customers like the product, they will stay
07:40 – Target annual contract value size
- 07:55 – 500 users per month for business schools
- 08:45 – It can be used by any company that does networking
- 09:00 – Much larger contracts for corporate companies
10:10 – Capital from six angel investors
10:40 – 6 people on their team
- 10:50 – They pay $3000/month for six engineers
11:40 – Differences between them and the company Clarity
12:00 – Social networking is Deepak's "life calling"
13:00 – Karmacircles.com/Deepak
15:00 – Giving of yourself for free will circle back to you
15:45 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Find the industry that you were made for.
If you give to others freely, you will see karma come back around to you.
Believe in your business and set high expectations.

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.
Mint – Deepak's favorite online tool
Appear.in – A video conversation tool that requires no download
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

LeadGenius $700K MRR, 200 Customers Aug 29, 2016

Show notes

EP 400: AdEspresso Hits $20M Valuation, 4000 Customers, $400k MRR with CEO Massimo Chieruzzi Aug 28, 2016

Show notes

Massimo Chieruzzi, CEO of AdEspresso. His company, founded in 2013, is now so profitable that he says they don't need fundraising! Massimo sees only growth for AdEspresso in the future as Facebook ads continue to evolve and improve.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Predictably Irrational
What CEO do you follow? — Rand Fishkin
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? — Don't start a startup. Get some experience for a corporate business first.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Massimo
01:30 – AdEspresso was first on The Top on Episode 70
01:50 – Focus on growing and reducing churn
02:25 – Revenue is about $400k/month
02:38 – 2015 total revenue was $3M
02:50 – Fundraising has reached $1.8 Million
03:30 – "We have been profitable this last year, so we don't need the money."
04:00 – More than 4000 customers
04:45 – Learn about AdEspresso at Adespresso.com
05:00 – Churn is 7% and is decreasing
06:00 – How long their customers stay
07:10 – 35 people on their team
07:20 – Monthly expenses are around $280k
07:45 – They are growing by at least 15% every month
08:00 – How the company is sustainable
08:30 – Customer acquisition is less than $10
08:45 – Paid acquisition is only content promotion
09:20 – They were founded in 2013
09:30 – What would Massimo sell his company for?
10:20 – @MassimoCw on Twitter or massimo@adespresso.com
12:10 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Allow yourself to gain knowledge from different experiences.
Find ways to lower your acquisition costs.
Get into an industry that has a long life ahead 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.
HubSpot – Massimo's favorite online tool
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

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