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Sep 29, 2023 · 15m · top-founders

Can this company leverage 250 engineer beta testers for bug testing tool to close $3m pre seed round?

Amir Hamza · 8m 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

Quash co-founder Amir Hamza joins Nathan Latka to discuss the startup's mobile bug testing SDK, breaking down their 250-developer beta traction, cap table distribution, and efforts to raise a $500,000 pre-seed round at a $3 million valuation.

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 33.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.2 Guest teaching 2.0 Guest disagreement 1.6 Nathan pushing back 4.8
05100:0010:000:38–3:41 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Episode Overview and Quash Pre-Seed Fundraising Preview Nathan introduces the company and questions Amir's background at Honeywell, assuming he worked on mobile apps. Amir clarifies that Honeywell was building a new B2B SaaS wing rather than consumer mobile testing.3:42–5:59 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Beta Metrics, Bug Volume, and Core Value Proposition Nathan interrupts and presses Amir to provide concrete numbers proving customer willingness to pay. Amir clarifies their core value proposition as crash reporting and diagnostic logging rather than bug fixing.5:59–8:24 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Platform Development Timeline and Founder Equity Split Nathan aggressively drills into the founder equity split. When Amir attempts to withhold the exact figures, Nathan explicitly cites the podcast exchange dynamics to force disclosure.8:25–11:07 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Pre-Seed Funding Round and Convertible Note Structure Nathan scrutinizes the mechanics of Quash's pre-seed financing and challenges how angel money was collected without a lead investor before categorizing it as convertible notes.11:08–14:32 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 SaaS Pricing Strategy and Full-Time Team Transition Amir outlines tentative per-seat pricing and the team's transition to full-time status before moving into standard, cordial Famous Five closing questions.0:38–3:41 · Guest teaching 3/10 Episode Overview and Quash Pre-Seed Fundraising Preview Nathan introduces the company and questions Amir's background at Honeywell, assuming he worked on mobile apps. Amir clarifies that Honeywell was building a new B2B SaaS wing rather than consumer mobile testing.3:42–5:59 · Guest teaching 3/10 Beta Metrics, Bug Volume, and Core Value Proposition Nathan interrupts and presses Amir to provide concrete numbers proving customer willingness to pay. Amir clarifies their core value proposition as crash reporting and diagnostic logging rather than bug fixing.5:59–8:24 · Guest teaching 1/10 Platform Development Timeline and Founder Equity Split Nathan aggressively drills into the founder equity split. When Amir attempts to withhold the exact figures, Nathan explicitly cites the podcast exchange dynamics to force disclosure.8:25–11:07 · Guest teaching 2/10 Pre-Seed Funding Round and Convertible Note Structure Nathan scrutinizes the mechanics of Quash's pre-seed financing and challenges how angel money was collected without a lead investor before categorizing it as convertible notes.11:08–14:32 · Guest teaching 1/10 SaaS Pricing Strategy and Full-Time Team Transition Amir outlines tentative per-seat pricing and the team's transition to full-time status before moving into standard, cordial Famous Five closing questions.0:38–3:41 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Episode Overview and Quash Pre-Seed Fundraising Preview Nathan introduces the company and questions Amir's background at Honeywell, assuming he worked on mobile apps. Amir clarifies that Honeywell was building a new B2B SaaS wing rather than consumer mobile testing.3:42–5:59 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Beta Metrics, Bug Volume, and Core Value Proposition Nathan interrupts and presses Amir to provide concrete numbers proving customer willingness to pay. Amir clarifies their core value proposition as crash reporting and diagnostic logging rather than bug fixing.5:59–8:24 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Platform Development Timeline and Founder Equity Split Nathan aggressively drills into the founder equity split. When Amir attempts to withhold the exact figures, Nathan explicitly cites the podcast exchange dynamics to force disclosure.8:25–11:07 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pre-Seed Funding Round and Convertible Note Structure Nathan scrutinizes the mechanics of Quash's pre-seed financing and challenges how angel money was collected without a lead investor before categorizing it as convertible notes.11:08–14:32 · Guest disagreement 0/10 SaaS Pricing Strategy and Full-Time Team Transition Amir outlines tentative per-seat pricing and the team's transition to full-time status before moving into standard, cordial Famous Five closing questions.0:38–3:41 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Episode Overview and Quash Pre-Seed Fundraising Preview Nathan introduces the company and questions Amir's background at Honeywell, assuming he worked on mobile apps. Amir clarifies that Honeywell was building a new B2B SaaS wing rather than consumer mobile testing.3:42–5:59 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Beta Metrics, Bug Volume, and Core Value Proposition Nathan interrupts and presses Amir to provide concrete numbers proving customer willingness to pay. Amir clarifies their core value proposition as crash reporting and diagnostic logging rather than bug fixing.5:59–8:24 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Platform Development Timeline and Founder Equity Split Nathan aggressively drills into the founder equity split. When Amir attempts to withhold the exact figures, Nathan explicitly cites the podcast exchange dynamics to force disclosure.8:25–11:07 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Pre-Seed Funding Round and Convertible Note Structure Nathan scrutinizes the mechanics of Quash's pre-seed financing and challenges how angel money was collected without a lead investor before categorizing it as convertible notes.11:08–14:32 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 SaaS Pricing Strategy and Full-Time Team Transition Amir outlines tentative per-seat pricing and the team's transition to full-time status before moving into standard, cordial Famous Five closing questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 59.4% · guest 40.6%0:00 · Nathan 59.4% · guest 40.6%3:00 · Nathan 21.1% · guest 78.9%3:00 · Nathan 21.1% · guest 78.9%6:00 · Nathan 19.6% · guest 80.4%6:00 · Nathan 19.6% · guest 80.4%9:00 · Nathan 31.4% · guest 68.6%9:00 · Nathan 31.4% · guest 68.6%12:00 · Nathan 33.7% · guest 66.3%12:00 · Nathan 33.7% · guest 66.3%15:00 · Nathan 53.5% · guest 46.5%15:00 · Nathan 53.5% · guest 46.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:54 Amir refuses to disclose equity split

Amir pushes back against Nathan's direct questioning by stating he prefers not to share cap table numbers publicly.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:07 Nathan lays out the podcast trade

Nathan refuses Amir's reluctance to share equity details, telling him exposure to 20,000 listeners requires full transparency.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 1:43 Amir corrects premise regarding Honeywell experience

Amir gently educates Nathan that Honeywell operates a modern B2B SaaS software division rather than purely legacy physical products.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:44 Nathan classifies informal angel terms as convertible notes

Nathan cuts through Amir's imprecise explanation of early checks to clarify and define the exact convertible note mechanism being used.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Episode Overview and Quash Pre-Seed Fundraising Preview 4312 Nathan introduces the company and questions Amir's background at Honeywell, assuming he worked on mobile apps. Amir clarifies that Honeywell was building a new B2B SaaS wing rather than consumer mobile testing.
Beta Metrics, Bug Volume, and Core Value Proposition 6327 Nathan interrupts and presses Amir to provide concrete numbers proving customer willingness to pay. Amir clarifies their core value proposition as crash reporting and diagnostic logging rather than bug fixing.
Platform Development Timeline and Founder Equity Split 6138 Nathan aggressively drills into the founder equity split. When Amir attempts to withhold the exact figures, Nathan explicitly cites the podcast exchange dynamics to force disclosure.
Pre-Seed Funding Round and Convertible Note Structure 7226 Nathan scrutinizes the mechanics of Quash's pre-seed financing and challenges how angel money was collected without a lead investor before categorizing it as convertible notes.
SaaS Pricing Strategy and Full-Time Team Transition 3101 Amir outlines tentative per-seat pricing and the team's transition to full-time status before moving into standard, cordial Famous Five closing questions.

Statements from this episode (9)

Disclosure
Hamza: Quash currently has no paying customers
“We do not have a customer paying us at the moment.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 3:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hamza: Quash beta companies report an average of 50 bugs weekly
“So an average company, an average mobile company reports in, in India reports 50 bugs in a week. Like that's an average number that we have reached.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 4:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hamza: Quash has 20 companies and roughly 250 beta users
“Not 20 users, 20 companies using our product. The number of users would be somewhere around 250.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 5:45
Disclosure
Technical co-founder owns 50% of Quash while two others split remainder
“Yeah, so I usually owns half the company, the other half is split between Prakir and I.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 8:19
Disclosure
Hamza: Quash seeks to raise $500,000 in pre-seed capital
“Right now we are looking to raise 500 K dollars.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 9:08
Disclosure
Hamza: Quash raised 3-4 months of runway from founder checks
“We do have some contributions that we have gotten from founders of other companies, but they have like, they were just sufficient for us to, you know, go for like three or four months.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 9:53
Disclosure
Quash's angel notes mandate a maximum one-year conversion window
“It's an year's time at max that we have before we can, you know until we can delay the conversion of the amount into equity.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 10:46
Disclosure
Quash targets $15 to $20 per user monthly pricing
“Pricing we are thinking of it to be somewhere around 15 to 20 dollars per user per month. But of course, like, we still are pre-revenue, so we are willing to experiment with that, and we aren't married to, like, a single number per se.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 11:29
Disclosure
Quash employs five full-time staff excluding its three founders
“We have five, five people excluding the three founders.”
Amir Hamza Sep 29, 2023 ▶ 12:19
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