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Sep 28, 2023 · 16m · top-founders

Ukrainian Volunteer Group Uses This App to Raise $200k/mo, Now Available to Western Customers

Tamara Tachinska · 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

In this episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, Ukrainian founder Tamara Tachinska explains how her supporter engagement platform, Kila App, powered hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly wartime relief and is now expanding into a commercial SaaS model for Western non-profits.

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 35.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.6 Guest teaching 4.2 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 4.2
05100:0010:000:39–3:05 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Episode Overview: Kila App's Mission and Funding Latka opens with standard introductory framing and asks Tachinska to clarify whether Kila is targeting enterprise employee engagement or volunteer organizations. Tachinska explains the background of the app originating prior to the Russian invasion.3:06–5:19 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Early Prototype Traction, Funding, and Wartime Pivots Latka pushes past vague traction statements to confirm if Kila is strictly pre-revenue and asks how traction is defined. Tachinska provides historical prototype metrics and explains how martial law halted political organizer sales in Ukraine.5:21–8:43 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Capital Structure, Equity Split, and Co-Founder Roles Latka interrogates the cap table, unpacking a mixed $50k loan and $50k equity deal before questioning why Kila doesn't monetize its Ukrainian user base. Tachinska educates Latka on wartime realities, explaining that the organization is procuring tactical military medicine and surviving the war.8:43–11:25 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Targeting US Non-Profits and Public Relations Strategy Latka presses Tachinska on her US go-to-market strategy, pitching a hypothetical PR headline in the Wall Street Journal to drive inbound interest. Tachinska clarifies that the commercial SaaS product is distinct from the prototype and requires honest positioning.11:25–15:26 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 SaaS Pricing Tiers and Prototype Deployment Status Latka unpacks the pricing tiers and clarifies that only one organization currently runs on the prototype. The interview concludes with personal background where Tachinska details working in Kyiv with anti-blast tape on her windows.0:39–3:05 · Guest teaching 2/10 Episode Overview: Kila App's Mission and Funding Latka opens with standard introductory framing and asks Tachinska to clarify whether Kila is targeting enterprise employee engagement or volunteer organizations. Tachinska explains the background of the app originating prior to the Russian invasion.3:06–5:19 · Guest teaching 4/10 Early Prototype Traction, Funding, and Wartime Pivots Latka pushes past vague traction statements to confirm if Kila is strictly pre-revenue and asks how traction is defined. Tachinska provides historical prototype metrics and explains how martial law halted political organizer sales in Ukraine.5:21–8:43 · Guest teaching 7/10 Capital Structure, Equity Split, and Co-Founder Roles Latka interrogates the cap table, unpacking a mixed $50k loan and $50k equity deal before questioning why Kila doesn't monetize its Ukrainian user base. Tachinska educates Latka on wartime realities, explaining that the organization is procuring tactical military medicine and surviving the war.8:43–11:25 · Guest teaching 3/10 Targeting US Non-Profits and Public Relations Strategy Latka presses Tachinska on her US go-to-market strategy, pitching a hypothetical PR headline in the Wall Street Journal to drive inbound interest. Tachinska clarifies that the commercial SaaS product is distinct from the prototype and requires honest positioning.11:25–15:26 · Guest teaching 5/10 SaaS Pricing Tiers and Prototype Deployment Status Latka unpacks the pricing tiers and clarifies that only one organization currently runs on the prototype. The interview concludes with personal background where Tachinska details working in Kyiv with anti-blast tape on her windows.0:39–3:05 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Overview: Kila App's Mission and Funding Latka opens with standard introductory framing and asks Tachinska to clarify whether Kila is targeting enterprise employee engagement or volunteer organizations. Tachinska explains the background of the app originating prior to the Russian invasion.3:06–5:19 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Early Prototype Traction, Funding, and Wartime Pivots Latka pushes past vague traction statements to confirm if Kila is strictly pre-revenue and asks how traction is defined. Tachinska provides historical prototype metrics and explains how martial law halted political organizer sales in Ukraine.5:21–8:43 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Capital Structure, Equity Split, and Co-Founder Roles Latka interrogates the cap table, unpacking a mixed $50k loan and $50k equity deal before questioning why Kila doesn't monetize its Ukrainian user base. Tachinska educates Latka on wartime realities, explaining that the organization is procuring tactical military medicine and surviving the war.8:43–11:25 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Targeting US Non-Profits and Public Relations Strategy Latka presses Tachinska on her US go-to-market strategy, pitching a hypothetical PR headline in the Wall Street Journal to drive inbound interest. Tachinska clarifies that the commercial SaaS product is distinct from the prototype and requires honest positioning.11:25–15:26 · Guest disagreement 0/10 SaaS Pricing Tiers and Prototype Deployment Status Latka unpacks the pricing tiers and clarifies that only one organization currently runs on the prototype. The interview concludes with personal background where Tachinska details working in Kyiv with anti-blast tape on her windows.0:39–3:05 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Episode Overview: Kila App's Mission and Funding Latka opens with standard introductory framing and asks Tachinska to clarify whether Kila is targeting enterprise employee engagement or volunteer organizations. Tachinska explains the background of the app originating prior to the Russian invasion.3:06–5:19 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Early Prototype Traction, Funding, and Wartime Pivots Latka pushes past vague traction statements to confirm if Kila is strictly pre-revenue and asks how traction is defined. Tachinska provides historical prototype metrics and explains how martial law halted political organizer sales in Ukraine.5:21–8:43 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Capital Structure, Equity Split, and Co-Founder Roles Latka interrogates the cap table, unpacking a mixed $50k loan and $50k equity deal before questioning why Kila doesn't monetize its Ukrainian user base. Tachinska educates Latka on wartime realities, explaining that the organization is procuring tactical military medicine and surviving the war.8:43–11:25 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Targeting US Non-Profits and Public Relations Strategy Latka presses Tachinska on her US go-to-market strategy, pitching a hypothetical PR headline in the Wall Street Journal to drive inbound interest. Tachinska clarifies that the commercial SaaS product is distinct from the prototype and requires honest positioning.11:25–15:26 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 SaaS Pricing Tiers and Prototype Deployment Status Latka unpacks the pricing tiers and clarifies that only one organization currently runs on the prototype. The interview concludes with personal background where Tachinska details working in Kyiv with anti-blast tape on her windows.

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

0:00 · Nathan 59.5% · guest 40.5%0:00 · Nathan 59.5% · guest 40.5%3:00 · Nathan 14.8% · guest 85.2%3:00 · Nathan 14.8% · guest 85.2%6:00 · Nathan 26.4% · guest 73.6%6:00 · Nathan 26.4% · guest 73.6%9:00 · Nathan 30.1% · guest 69.9%9:00 · Nathan 30.1% · guest 69.9%12:00 · Nathan 33.5% · guest 66.5%12:00 · Nathan 33.5% · guest 66.5%15:00 · Nathan 75.7% · guest 24.3%15:00 · Nathan 75.7% · guest 24.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:53 Tachinska reframes Latka's media hype suggestion

Tachinska resists Latka's aggressive PR spin idea, insisting on transparency regarding the functional differences between their existing prototype and the commercial product.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 5:46 Latka deconstructs the $100k funding agreement

Latka refuses vague descriptions about friends providing capital, drilling down until Tachinska clarifies the exact split between the $50k debt and $50k equity at 5%.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:44 Tachinska explains the ethics of wartime Ukrainian software use

When Latka asks why she hasn't monetized a non-profit raising $200k monthly, Tachinska points out the life-saving military supply context that makes charging them inappropriate.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:28 Latka formulates a specific media headline pitch

Latka leverages his marketing expertise to outline an exact Wall Street Journal headline and backlink strategy to acquire Western non-profit customers for free.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Episode Overview: Kila App's Mission and Funding 3201 Latka opens with standard introductory framing and asks Tachinska to clarify whether Kila is targeting enterprise employee engagement or volunteer organizations. Tachinska explains the background of the app originating prior to the Russian invasion.
Early Prototype Traction, Funding, and Wartime Pivots 5415 Latka pushes past vague traction statements to confirm if Kila is strictly pre-revenue and asks how traction is defined. Tachinska provides historical prototype metrics and explains how martial law halted political organizer sales in Ukraine.
Capital Structure, Equity Split, and Co-Founder Roles 5726 Latka interrogates the cap table, unpacking a mixed $50k loan and $50k equity deal before questioning why Kila doesn't monetize its Ukrainian user base. Tachinska educates Latka on wartime realities, explaining that the organization is procuring tactical military medicine and surviving the war.
Targeting US Non-Profits and Public Relations Strategy 6315 Latka presses Tachinska on her US go-to-market strategy, pitching a hypothetical PR headline in the Wall Street Journal to drive inbound interest. Tachinska clarifies that the commercial SaaS product is distinct from the prototype and requires honest positioning.
SaaS Pricing Tiers and Prototype Deployment Status 4504 Latka unpacks the pricing tiers and clarifies that only one organization currently runs on the prototype. The interview concludes with personal background where Tachinska details working in Kyiv with anti-blast tape on her windows.

Statements from this episode (10)

Disclosure
Tachinska confirms Kila App is currently pre-revenue.
“Yeah. Pre revenue. Yeah. We have some. I mean, we have some tractions, but it's not like a full market presence.”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 3:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kila App prototype grew one organization's monthly donations to $40,000.
“For instance, for that organization, it was six times increasing from 2000 to 12,000 users of the app. And the donation increased and just like From 18,000 dollars to 40,000 dollars per month.”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 4:09
Disclosure
Kila App raised a €10,000 grant and $100,000 friends-and-family round.
“It was 10,000 euros. And after that, we raised some like friends and family investment. It was about 100 100,000 dollars.”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 4:36
Disclosure
Ukrainian martial law forces Kila App to expand to foreign markets.
“And now we are like trying to, because in due to the martial law in Ukraine, the political activities in Ukraine stopped. So we cannot just sell it fully in Ukrainian market because it's forbidden to the rally are forbidden and so on. So we have to focus on th…”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 4:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tachinska reveals Kila App sold a 5% equity stake for $50,000.
“Another part of this 100 was for five percent 50, 50,000 dollars was sold for five percent.”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 6:08
Disclosure
Kila App offers free service to groups crucial to Ukraine's survival.
“We are ready to provide our service for free for some organization. If it's like meets our values and it's very, very crucial for instance, for surviving our country”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 7:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kila App prototype raises $200,000 monthly for the Ukrainian army.
“Now this organization that used our prototype, they are raising like Almost 200,000 dollars per month, and they spend this money for supplying Ukrainian army. Anything that needs tactical medicine and so on and so on.”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 8:01
Disclosure
Kila App targets US human rights, climate, and student nonprofits.
“I'm looking for us customers. I'm actually we are looking for some probably non-profitable organizations who organize some human rights or climate crisis response, or some students self-government organization”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 8:44
Disclosure
Tachinska outlines Kila App's tiered SaaS pricing starting at $350 monthly.
“It's, it will be like it will depend on the number of users up to 100 users. It will be free just to touch the ground and just how it works up to from 100 up to one thousand users. It will cost like 350 dollars. So it's not like that much. And after 1000 up to…”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 12:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tachinska admits only one organization currently uses Kila App's prototype.
“And now it's just one organization.”
Tamara Tachinska Sep 28, 2023 ▶ 13:09
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