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Oct 2, 2023 · 22m · top-founders

SaaStock Starts Oct 16th in Dublin, 5000 SaaS Founders and Big Bootstrap Stage

Alex Theuma · 13m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m 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, Nathan Latka interviews SaaStock founder Alex Theuma to discuss the operational economics, community building strategies, and speaker lineup behind Europe's flagship SaaS conference. Theuma breaks down the $2 million cost structure of large-scale events, shares lessons from scaling post-pandemic, and previews keynote case studies for SaaStock 2023 in Dublin.

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 32% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.2 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 1.2
05100:0010:0020:000:38–7:03 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Previewing the Scale of SaaStock 2023 Nathan and Alex review the 2022 event metrics and the launch of the bootstrap stage. The tone is highly collaborative and celebratory, with Nathan chiming in on revenue figures of featured bootstrap founders.7:03–9:58 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Production Costs and SaaStock Organizational Headcount Nathan drills into the unit economics of event production, pressing on total spend, headcount reductions during COVID, and hiring back up to 22 staff. Alex transparently shares the cost breakdown and production operational realities.9:58–15:12 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 SaaStock 2023 Speaker Lineup and Case Studies Nathan displays deep knowledge of the SaaS ecosystem, recounting the backstory of Susquehanna's investment into Muck Rack and Aircall's growth metrics. Alex elaborates on what attendees will learn from both speakers.15:13–20:36 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Community Architecture and SaaStock Founder Membership Nathan investigates the business model behind local chapters and founder memberships, asking about tech platforms and revenue. Alex reframes the conversation, emphasizing that community value lies in peer accountability masterminds rather than software.20:36–22:11 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Conference Summary and Ticket Booking Information The episode wraps with promotional housekeeping, ticket details, and a high-level summary of upcoming stages and speakers. The exchange is purely friendly and aligned.0:38–7:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Previewing the Scale of SaaStock 2023 Nathan and Alex review the 2022 event metrics and the launch of the bootstrap stage. The tone is highly collaborative and celebratory, with Nathan chiming in on revenue figures of featured bootstrap founders.7:03–9:58 · Guest teaching 3/10 Production Costs and SaaStock Organizational Headcount Nathan drills into the unit economics of event production, pressing on total spend, headcount reductions during COVID, and hiring back up to 22 staff. Alex transparently shares the cost breakdown and production operational realities.9:58–15:12 · Guest teaching 2/10 SaaStock 2023 Speaker Lineup and Case Studies Nathan displays deep knowledge of the SaaS ecosystem, recounting the backstory of Susquehanna's investment into Muck Rack and Aircall's growth metrics. Alex elaborates on what attendees will learn from both speakers.15:13–20:36 · Guest teaching 3/10 Community Architecture and SaaStock Founder Membership Nathan investigates the business model behind local chapters and founder memberships, asking about tech platforms and revenue. Alex reframes the conversation, emphasizing that community value lies in peer accountability masterminds rather than software.20:36–22:11 · Guest teaching 1/10 Conference Summary and Ticket Booking Information The episode wraps with promotional housekeeping, ticket details, and a high-level summary of upcoming stages and speakers. The exchange is purely friendly and aligned.0:38–7:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Previewing the Scale of SaaStock 2023 Nathan and Alex review the 2022 event metrics and the launch of the bootstrap stage. The tone is highly collaborative and celebratory, with Nathan chiming in on revenue figures of featured bootstrap founders.7:03–9:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Production Costs and SaaStock Organizational Headcount Nathan drills into the unit economics of event production, pressing on total spend, headcount reductions during COVID, and hiring back up to 22 staff. Alex transparently shares the cost breakdown and production operational realities.9:58–15:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 SaaStock 2023 Speaker Lineup and Case Studies Nathan displays deep knowledge of the SaaS ecosystem, recounting the backstory of Susquehanna's investment into Muck Rack and Aircall's growth metrics. Alex elaborates on what attendees will learn from both speakers.15:13–20:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Community Architecture and SaaStock Founder Membership Nathan investigates the business model behind local chapters and founder memberships, asking about tech platforms and revenue. Alex reframes the conversation, emphasizing that community value lies in peer accountability masterminds rather than software.20:36–22:11 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Conference Summary and Ticket Booking Information The episode wraps with promotional housekeeping, ticket details, and a high-level summary of upcoming stages and speakers. The exchange is purely friendly and aligned.0:38–7:03 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Previewing the Scale of SaaStock 2023 Nathan and Alex review the 2022 event metrics and the launch of the bootstrap stage. The tone is highly collaborative and celebratory, with Nathan chiming in on revenue figures of featured bootstrap founders.7:03–9:58 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Production Costs and SaaStock Organizational Headcount Nathan drills into the unit economics of event production, pressing on total spend, headcount reductions during COVID, and hiring back up to 22 staff. Alex transparently shares the cost breakdown and production operational realities.9:58–15:12 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 SaaStock 2023 Speaker Lineup and Case Studies Nathan displays deep knowledge of the SaaS ecosystem, recounting the backstory of Susquehanna's investment into Muck Rack and Aircall's growth metrics. Alex elaborates on what attendees will learn from both speakers.15:13–20:36 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Community Architecture and SaaStock Founder Membership Nathan investigates the business model behind local chapters and founder memberships, asking about tech platforms and revenue. Alex reframes the conversation, emphasizing that community value lies in peer accountability masterminds rather than software.20:36–22:11 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Conference Summary and Ticket Booking Information The episode wraps with promotional housekeeping, ticket details, and a high-level summary of upcoming stages and speakers. The exchange is purely friendly and aligned.

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

0:00 · Nathan 70.5% · guest 29.5%0:00 · Nathan 70.5% · guest 29.5%3:00 · Nathan 3.1% · guest 96.9%3:00 · Nathan 3.1% · guest 96.9%6:00 · Nathan 26.9% · guest 73.1%6:00 · Nathan 26.9% · guest 73.1%9:00 · Nathan 27.3% · guest 72.7%9:00 · Nathan 27.3% · guest 72.7%12:00 · Nathan 38.8% · guest 61.2%12:00 · Nathan 38.8% · guest 61.2%15:00 · Nathan 27% · guest 73%15:00 · Nathan 27% · guest 73%18:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%18:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%21:00 · Nathan 63.5% · guest 36.5%21:00 · Nathan 63.5% · guest 36.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 18:46 Dismissing the Importance of Software in Community

Alex politely rejects Nathan's framing that membership is about logging into a software dashboard, asserting that technology is irrelevant compared to peer curation.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:25 Pressing for Real Event Costs

Nathan pushes past generic community definitions to demand the exact financial figure Alex spent out-of-pocket to bring founders together in 2022.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:02 Behind the Scenes of Conference Production

Alex educates the audience and Nathan on the logistical complexity of transforming an empty shell venue into a conference within 72 hours using multiple vendor networks.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:18 Contextualizing Muck Rack's Capital Strategy

Nathan demonstrates high industry expertise by explaining the insider timeline of Susquehanna's $180 million funding and secondary transaction with Greg at Muck Rack.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Previewing the Scale of SaaStock 2023 5211 Nathan and Alex review the 2022 event metrics and the launch of the bootstrap stage. The tone is highly collaborative and celebratory, with Nathan chiming in on revenue figures of featured bootstrap founders.
Production Costs and SaaStock Organizational Headcount 6312 Nathan drills into the unit economics of event production, pressing on total spend, headcount reductions during COVID, and hiring back up to 22 staff. Alex transparently shares the cost breakdown and production operational realities.
SaaStock 2023 Speaker Lineup and Case Studies 7211 Nathan displays deep knowledge of the SaaS ecosystem, recounting the backstory of Susquehanna's investment into Muck Rack and Aircall's growth metrics. Alex elaborates on what attendees will learn from both speakers.
Community Architecture and SaaStock Founder Membership 4312 Nathan investigates the business model behind local chapters and founder memberships, asking about tech platforms and revenue. Alex reframes the conversation, emphasizing that community value lies in peer accountability masterminds rather than software.
Conference Summary and Ticket Booking Information 4100 The episode wraps with promotional housekeeping, ticket details, and a high-level summary of upcoming stages and speakers. The exchange is purely friendly and aligned.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Supported
Latka: Expandi Founder Stefan Smulders Reached $8M in Revenue
“He's got an eight million in revenue now.”
Nathan Latka Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 5:05
Assertion Partly supported
Theuma: SaaStock 2022 Drew Approximately 3,700 Live Attendees
“Live last year was it was around, I want to say, like, 3700, something like that.”
Alex Theuma Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 6:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Theuma: Around 1,500 SaaStock 2022 Attendees Were Founders
“Oh, how many of those were founders, but maybe like 1500, something like that.”
Alex Theuma Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 6:52
Disclosure
Theuma: SaaStock 2022 Cost Around $2M All-In
“Overall, I would say it was probably about two million, something like that.”
Alex Theuma Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 7:38
Disclosure
Theuma: SaaStock Revenue Dropped Two-Thirds During COVID
“Pre-COVID we were 24. When we scaled down to nine during COVID to kind of keep it lean, you know, our costs and went down or had to go down. So our revenue went down by two thirds.”
Alex Theuma Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 9:10
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Latka: Aircall is a strong 2024 IPO candidate with $130M+ revenue
“I think air call is potentially a great IPO candidate in 20, 24, over one hundred and thirty million dollars of revenue.”
Nathan Latka Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 10:11
Assertion Supported
Latka: Susquehanna did $180M Series A in Muck Rack with secondary
“Susquehanna gave Greg up at Muckrack. They did a hundred and eighty million series A investment of which a big chunk of that was secondary for Greg.”
Nathan Latka Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 12:41
Assertion Supported
Theuma: Muck Rack bootstrapped to $50M ARR before raising VC
“He's obviously, you know, flying into, to Dublin for this event. You know, he bootstrapped to fifty million ARR which you know, again, such an impressive feat to do that.”
Alex Theuma Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 13:09
Disclosure
Theuma: SaaStock Local meetups generate insignificant revenue and serve as marketing
“It's more of a marketing thing. Like there is some revenue there. But effectively, like, you know, it's not significant like for us, right?”
Alex Theuma Oct 2, 2023 ▶ 16:29
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