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Jan 21, 2025 · 15m · top-founders

While Zapier Gets all the Press, Celigo Just Doubled Revenue to $95m, CEO Jan Arendtsz

Jan Arendtsz · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In an interview with Nathan Latka, Celigo CEO and founder Jan Arendtsz explains how the company scaled to nearly $100 million in ARR while maintaining exceptional capital efficiency, disciplined valuations, and continuous product innovation.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 40.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.7 Guest teaching 5.0 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 3.0
05100:0010:000:38–4:31 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Introducing Celigo's Capital Efficiency and Current ARR Latka presents detailed slides on Celigo's growth trajectory and compares its capital efficiency to competitors. However, Arendtsz immediately corrects Latka's opening claim that Celigo is over $100M revenue (stating they are at ~$92M ARR) and reveals Celigo originated as a bootstrapped consulting business that rebuilt its entire product in 2015.4:31–10:10 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Discipline Around Valuations versus High-Multiple Competitors Latka demonstrates strong sector knowledge by contrasting Celigo's 4x-5x multiples against MuleSoft's 21x acquisition multiple and Workato's high-multiple rounds. Arendtsz elaborates collaboratively on how choosing board members and long-term alignment mattered far more than taking the highest valuation term sheet.10:11–12:37 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Horizontal Expansion, Series C Round, and Early Debt Latka drills into specific Form D filings, noticing a $7.9M line item for internal proceed allocation and pushing to see if it went to secondary shares. Arendtsz clarifies it paid off early debt providers with warrants from 2015, prompting Latka to acknowledge he had Celigo's first capital structure wrong.0:38–4:31 · Guest teaching 6/10 Introducing Celigo's Capital Efficiency and Current ARR Latka presents detailed slides on Celigo's growth trajectory and compares its capital efficiency to competitors. However, Arendtsz immediately corrects Latka's opening claim that Celigo is over $100M revenue (stating they are at ~$92M ARR) and reveals Celigo originated as a bootstrapped consulting business that rebuilt its entire product in 2015.4:31–10:10 · Guest teaching 3/10 Discipline Around Valuations versus High-Multiple Competitors Latka demonstrates strong sector knowledge by contrasting Celigo's 4x-5x multiples against MuleSoft's 21x acquisition multiple and Workato's high-multiple rounds. Arendtsz elaborates collaboratively on how choosing board members and long-term alignment mattered far more than taking the highest valuation term sheet.10:11–12:37 · Guest teaching 6/10 Horizontal Expansion, Series C Round, and Early Debt Latka drills into specific Form D filings, noticing a $7.9M line item for internal proceed allocation and pushing to see if it went to secondary shares. Arendtsz clarifies it paid off early debt providers with warrants from 2015, prompting Latka to acknowledge he had Celigo's first capital structure wrong.0:38–4:31 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Celigo's Capital Efficiency and Current ARR Latka presents detailed slides on Celigo's growth trajectory and compares its capital efficiency to competitors. However, Arendtsz immediately corrects Latka's opening claim that Celigo is over $100M revenue (stating they are at ~$92M ARR) and reveals Celigo originated as a bootstrapped consulting business that rebuilt its entire product in 2015.4:31–10:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Discipline Around Valuations versus High-Multiple Competitors Latka demonstrates strong sector knowledge by contrasting Celigo's 4x-5x multiples against MuleSoft's 21x acquisition multiple and Workato's high-multiple rounds. Arendtsz elaborates collaboratively on how choosing board members and long-term alignment mattered far more than taking the highest valuation term sheet.10:11–12:37 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Horizontal Expansion, Series C Round, and Early Debt Latka drills into specific Form D filings, noticing a $7.9M line item for internal proceed allocation and pushing to see if it went to secondary shares. Arendtsz clarifies it paid off early debt providers with warrants from 2015, prompting Latka to acknowledge he had Celigo's first capital structure wrong.0:38–4:31 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Celigo's Capital Efficiency and Current ARR Latka presents detailed slides on Celigo's growth trajectory and compares its capital efficiency to competitors. However, Arendtsz immediately corrects Latka's opening claim that Celigo is over $100M revenue (stating they are at ~$92M ARR) and reveals Celigo originated as a bootstrapped consulting business that rebuilt its entire product in 2015.4:31–10:10 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Discipline Around Valuations versus High-Multiple Competitors Latka demonstrates strong sector knowledge by contrasting Celigo's 4x-5x multiples against MuleSoft's 21x acquisition multiple and Workato's high-multiple rounds. Arendtsz elaborates collaboratively on how choosing board members and long-term alignment mattered far more than taking the highest valuation term sheet.10:11–12:37 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Horizontal Expansion, Series C Round, and Early Debt Latka drills into specific Form D filings, noticing a $7.9M line item for internal proceed allocation and pushing to see if it went to secondary shares. Arendtsz clarifies it paid off early debt providers with warrants from 2015, prompting Latka to acknowledge he had Celigo's first capital structure wrong.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 57.7% · guest 42.3%0:00 · Nathan 57.7% · guest 42.3%3:00 · Nathan 33.8% · guest 66.2%3:00 · Nathan 33.8% · guest 66.2%6:00 · Nathan 47% · guest 53%6:00 · Nathan 47% · guest 53%9:00 · Nathan 38% · guest 62%9:00 · Nathan 38% · guest 62%12:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%12:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%15:00 · Nathan 48.4% · guest 51.6%15:00 · Nathan 48.4% · guest 51.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 1:16 Arendtsz corrects Latka's revenue intro

Arendtsz gently pushes back on Latka's stage intro, refusing the premise that Celigo is already beyond $100M in ARR.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:46 Latka presses on secondary liquidity and Form D use of proceeds

Latka refuses to let the secondary liquidity question slide, citing the specific $7.9M Form D filing to uncover where internal proceeds were allocated.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:04 Arendtsz reveals early debt round

Arendtsz clarifies that Celigo raised $1.5M in debt with warrants in 2015 prior to equity, forcing Latka to admit his historical timeline was incorrect.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 6:35 Latka breaks down industry multiples across competitors

Latka displays deep market tracking by citing exact comparative multiples for MuleSoft's 21X Salesforce acquisition and Workato's $5.7B valuation.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Celigo's Capital Efficiency and Current ARR 6622 Latka presents detailed slides on Celigo's growth trajectory and compares its capital efficiency to competitors. However, Arendtsz immediately corrects Latka's opening claim that Celigo is over $100M revenue (stating they are at ~$92M ARR) and reveals Celigo originated as a bootstrapped consulting business that rebuilt its entire product in 2015.
Discipline Around Valuations versus High-Multiple Competitors 7313 Latka demonstrates strong sector knowledge by contrasting Celigo's 4x-5x multiples against MuleSoft's 21x acquisition multiple and Workato's high-multiple rounds. Arendtsz elaborates collaboratively on how choosing board members and long-term alignment mattered far more than taking the highest valuation term sheet.
Horizontal Expansion, Series C Round, and Early Debt 7614 Latka drills into specific Form D filings, noticing a $7.9M line item for internal proceed allocation and pushing to see if it went to secondary shares. Arendtsz clarifies it paid off early debt providers with warrants from 2015, prompting Latka to acknowledge he had Celigo's first capital structure wrong.

Statements from this episode (8)

Disclosure
Arendtsz: Celigo has raised $72M in total primary capital
“So I think we've raised a total of seventy-two million in primary capital.”
Jan Arendtsz Jan 21, 2025 ▶ 1:34
Disclosure
Arendtsz: Celigo is currently at roughly $92M in ARR
“To get to roughly about ninety-two million in ARR right now.”
Jan Arendtsz Jan 21, 2025 ▶ 1:41
Opinion
Latka: Celigo Has More Valuation Discipline Than Anyone Else in iPaaS
“When I study your story, and not just what you say on interviews, but what you've actually done in Form D filings, and multiples, and how you've done it you have way, way more discipline around valuation Than everyone else I've seen in the space. Even Wade, I …”
Nathan Latka Jan 21, 2025 ▶ 1:55
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Arendtsz: Celigo Reached ~$4M in ARR Bootstrapped by Early 2015
“At that time, I think we were about four million in ARR, and my CTO and I had a conversation, and we knew the product that we had didn't really meet muster.”
Jan Arendtsz Jan 21, 2025 ▶ 2:45
Disclosure
Arendtsz: Celigo raised Series A at nearly 5x revenue multiple
“It was not a four X, it was almost a five X in our series A round.”
Jan Arendtsz Jan 21, 2025 ▶ 7:42
Disclosure
Arendtsz: Celigo received 5 to 10 Series B term sheets
“I'd been speaking to maybe 25, 30 investors at the time. Likely got term sheets from about five to 10. It really came down to the firm and the person who was gonna sit on the board.”
Jan Arendtsz Jan 21, 2025 ▶ 8:30
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Arendtsz: Celigo aims to reach roughly $100M revenue by end of 2024
“So the goal is to be roughly around a hundred million by the end of.”
Jan Arendtsz Jan 21, 2025 ▶ 12:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Arendtsz: Celigo employee stock options remain above water post-Series C
“If you look at our employees' stock options, it's not underwater, and it means something.”
Jan Arendtsz Jan 21, 2025 ▶ 15:15
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