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Oct 11, 2023 · 17m · top-founders

Learn from Organice: How to get free customers from the Slack App Exchange

Andrew Fan · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 4m 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 this episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, software agency founder Andrew Fan details how he bootstrapped Organize.app from his consulting firm's cash flows and scaled early user acquisition through zero-cost Slack App Directory optimization. He shares practical insights on per-user pricing, bot-driven user onboarding, and shifting from client consulting to scalable SaaS.

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 33.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.4 Guest teaching 2.4 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 2.2
05100:0010:000:38–3:58 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Episode Preview: Andrew Fan's Agency and Organize SaaS Spinoff Nathan quickly breaks down the per-seat unit economics, calculating monthly recurring revenue across the customer base. When Andrew mentions MRR fluctuations, Nathan presses on whether customers are churning before Andrew clarifies it is due to team expansion.3:59–7:18 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Organic Acquisition and Keyword Strategy on the Slack App Directory Nathan inspects the live Slack App Directory listing in real time, querying keyword bolding and SEO ranking. Andrew educates Nathan on Slack's ranking algorithm, noting it favors workspace usage rather than review scores.7:19–9:54 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Slack Marketplace Limitations and Multi-Channel Marketing Plans Nathan brings up enterprise competitors like Deel using Slack apps as customer acquisition funnels. Andrew explains the lack of native Slack developer analytics and details the bot response thresholds needed for activation.9:55–12:34 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Agency Economics: Funding SaaS Development via Consulting Cash Flow Nathan immediately spots the financial disconnect between a 400-dollar MRR SaaS tool and a 55-person headcount. He directly presses Andrew on where the cash flow originates, revealing the multi-million dollar parent consulting agency.12:35–16:28 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Strategic Growth: Shifting Toward a Venture Studio and SaaS Focus Nathan guides the interview through the long-term roadmap and the Famous Five questions. Andrew describes transitioning the consulting agency into an equity-taking venture studio model.0:38–3:58 · Guest teaching 2/10 Episode Preview: Andrew Fan's Agency and Organize SaaS Spinoff Nathan quickly breaks down the per-seat unit economics, calculating monthly recurring revenue across the customer base. When Andrew mentions MRR fluctuations, Nathan presses on whether customers are churning before Andrew clarifies it is due to team expansion.3:59–7:18 · Guest teaching 4/10 Organic Acquisition and Keyword Strategy on the Slack App Directory Nathan inspects the live Slack App Directory listing in real time, querying keyword bolding and SEO ranking. Andrew educates Nathan on Slack's ranking algorithm, noting it favors workspace usage rather than review scores.7:19–9:54 · Guest teaching 3/10 Slack Marketplace Limitations and Multi-Channel Marketing Plans Nathan brings up enterprise competitors like Deel using Slack apps as customer acquisition funnels. Andrew explains the lack of native Slack developer analytics and details the bot response thresholds needed for activation.9:55–12:34 · Guest teaching 2/10 Agency Economics: Funding SaaS Development via Consulting Cash Flow Nathan immediately spots the financial disconnect between a 400-dollar MRR SaaS tool and a 55-person headcount. He directly presses Andrew on where the cash flow originates, revealing the multi-million dollar parent consulting agency.12:35–16:28 · Guest teaching 1/10 Strategic Growth: Shifting Toward a Venture Studio and SaaS Focus Nathan guides the interview through the long-term roadmap and the Famous Five questions. Andrew describes transitioning the consulting agency into an equity-taking venture studio model.0:38–3:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Episode Preview: Andrew Fan's Agency and Organize SaaS Spinoff Nathan quickly breaks down the per-seat unit economics, calculating monthly recurring revenue across the customer base. When Andrew mentions MRR fluctuations, Nathan presses on whether customers are churning before Andrew clarifies it is due to team expansion.3:59–7:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Organic Acquisition and Keyword Strategy on the Slack App Directory Nathan inspects the live Slack App Directory listing in real time, querying keyword bolding and SEO ranking. Andrew educates Nathan on Slack's ranking algorithm, noting it favors workspace usage rather than review scores.7:19–9:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Slack Marketplace Limitations and Multi-Channel Marketing Plans Nathan brings up enterprise competitors like Deel using Slack apps as customer acquisition funnels. Andrew explains the lack of native Slack developer analytics and details the bot response thresholds needed for activation.9:55–12:34 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Agency Economics: Funding SaaS Development via Consulting Cash Flow Nathan immediately spots the financial disconnect between a 400-dollar MRR SaaS tool and a 55-person headcount. He directly presses Andrew on where the cash flow originates, revealing the multi-million dollar parent consulting agency.12:35–16:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Strategic Growth: Shifting Toward a Venture Studio and SaaS Focus Nathan guides the interview through the long-term roadmap and the Famous Five questions. Andrew describes transitioning the consulting agency into an equity-taking venture studio model.0:38–3:58 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Episode Preview: Andrew Fan's Agency and Organize SaaS Spinoff Nathan quickly breaks down the per-seat unit economics, calculating monthly recurring revenue across the customer base. When Andrew mentions MRR fluctuations, Nathan presses on whether customers are churning before Andrew clarifies it is due to team expansion.3:59–7:18 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Organic Acquisition and Keyword Strategy on the Slack App Directory Nathan inspects the live Slack App Directory listing in real time, querying keyword bolding and SEO ranking. Andrew educates Nathan on Slack's ranking algorithm, noting it favors workspace usage rather than review scores.7:19–9:54 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Slack Marketplace Limitations and Multi-Channel Marketing Plans Nathan brings up enterprise competitors like Deel using Slack apps as customer acquisition funnels. Andrew explains the lack of native Slack developer analytics and details the bot response thresholds needed for activation.9:55–12:34 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Agency Economics: Funding SaaS Development via Consulting Cash Flow Nathan immediately spots the financial disconnect between a 400-dollar MRR SaaS tool and a 55-person headcount. He directly presses Andrew on where the cash flow originates, revealing the multi-million dollar parent consulting agency.12:35–16:28 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Strategic Growth: Shifting Toward a Venture Studio and SaaS Focus Nathan guides the interview through the long-term roadmap and the Famous Five questions. Andrew describes transitioning the consulting agency into an equity-taking venture studio model.

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

0:00 · Nathan 65.6% · guest 34.4%0:00 · Nathan 65.6% · guest 34.4%3:00 · Nathan 21.6% · guest 78.4%3:00 · Nathan 21.6% · guest 78.4%6:00 · Nathan 24.2% · guest 75.8%6:00 · Nathan 24.2% · guest 75.8%9:00 · Nathan 24.1% · guest 75.9%9:00 · Nathan 24.1% · guest 75.9%12:00 · Nathan 22.9% · guest 77.1%12:00 · Nathan 22.9% · guest 77.1%15:00 · Nathan 44.4% · guest 55.6%15:00 · Nathan 44.4% · guest 55.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 3:28 Clarifying positive expansion versus customer churn

Andrew politely rejects Nathan's assumption that shifting MRR implies churn, explaining that growing client teams naturally expand seat count.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:47 Pressing on 55-person agency payroll funding

Nathan directly challenges Andrew's SaaS revenue numbers, insisting 55 full-time engineers cannot be funded by modest app sales.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:18 Explaining Slack's usage-based ranking algorithm

Andrew details how Slack's internal marketplace algorithm differs from mobile app stores by tracking active customer usage rather than review scores.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 4:57 Auditing listing keywords in real time

Nathan pulls up the live app listing during the interview and drills into specific keyword copy tactics like bolding feature terms.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Episode Preview: Andrew Fan's Agency and Organize SaaS Spinoff 6213 Nathan quickly breaks down the per-seat unit economics, calculating monthly recurring revenue across the customer base. When Andrew mentions MRR fluctuations, Nathan presses on whether customers are churning before Andrew clarifies it is due to team expansion.
Organic Acquisition and Keyword Strategy on the Slack App Directory 6412 Nathan inspects the live Slack App Directory listing in real time, querying keyword bolding and SEO ranking. Andrew educates Nathan on Slack's ranking algorithm, noting it favors workspace usage rather than review scores.
Slack Marketplace Limitations and Multi-Channel Marketing Plans 5311 Nathan brings up enterprise competitors like Deel using Slack apps as customer acquisition funnels. Andrew explains the lack of native Slack developer analytics and details the bot response thresholds needed for activation.
Agency Economics: Funding SaaS Development via Consulting Cash Flow 6214 Nathan immediately spots the financial disconnect between a 400-dollar MRR SaaS tool and a 55-person headcount. He directly presses Andrew on where the cash flow originates, revealing the multi-million dollar parent consulting agency.
Strategic Growth: Shifting Toward a Venture Studio and SaaS Focus 4101 Nathan guides the interview through the long-term roadmap and the Famous Five questions. Andrew describes transitioning the consulting agency into an equity-taking venture studio model.

Statements from this episode (11)

Disclosure
Fan: Organize Generates $400 Monthly Revenue Across 400 Seats
“In total, they have somewhere near 400 seats. So our MRR is somewhere near 400, depending on the amount, because it jumps depending on the number of users.”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 3:14
Insight
Fan: Slack App Directory Provides Free Marketing for Bootstrapped Startups
“Slack is a perfect place to start your, like, first, I would say, bootstrap small business, because once you release something for Slack, you can get into the marketplace. And basically this is a free marketing tool for you, and this is how we got our first cl…”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 4:12
Opinion
Fan: Slack Marketplace Algorithms Are Less Sophisticated Than Apple's
“Slack marketplace team is not huge, and the algorithms on how they rank certain applications are not that sophisticated in comparison to, like Apple Store or Google Store.”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 5:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fan: Secondary Slack Tool Averages 20 to 30 Organic Daily Downloads
“For our, another tool, we get like 20, 30 downloads per day.”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 6:20
Assertion Supported
Fan: Slack Offers No Competitor Download Analytics for App Developers
“Unfortunately, it's not possible. I think that this is the most popular question to the marketplace team, like, when you introduce your analytics, so developers can basically, like, work with it and improve their description or whatever to appear higher.”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 8:06
Disclosure
Organize Tracks Bot Reply Rates to Drive Paid Account Conversions
“And basically what we are looking at is like two metrics. The first one is how many people reply to the bot. Because there is a certain threshold after which admin see that There is an engagement with the tool, and like, more and more people appear on the org …”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 8:59
Insight
Fan: Org Charts Do Not Drive Daily Active Usage After Setup
“Because like, whether the org chart is a good kind of like reason to install the bot you won't use your org chart every day because you just set up it, and probably the next time you look at it maybe, like, it's not kind of like a daily .”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 9:32
Disclosure
Fan: Organize Is Fully Bootstrapped Using Upsilon Agency Cash Flow
“No, it's fully bootstrap, as we have other business, we have available developers, so, yeah.”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 10:01
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fan: Upsilon Employs 55 People, 80 Percent Developers
“We have somewhere near 55 people, and maybe 80% of them are developers.”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 10:32
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fan: Upsilon Charges $25,000 Minimum for Custom Slack App Development
“Everything depends on the complexity, but I would say that the entry amount should be somewhere near 25 thousand.”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 11:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fan: Upsilon Generated Several Million Dollars in 2022 Revenue
“Yeah, we did a few millions.”
Andrew Fan Oct 11, 2023 ▶ 11:53
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