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May 22, 2023 · 20m · top-founders

Profitable Growth is sexy again. How we hit $1.7M profitably with only 6 FTEs and plans to scale profitably by 5x YoY.

Ken Hoppe · 15m spoken Nathan Latka · 46s spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

At the SaaS Open conference, Modigi co-founder Ken Hoppe outlines how his company scaled to $1.7 million in profitable revenue without venture capital by combining lean team structures, founder-led enterprise sales, and an innovative data diagnostic acquisition model.

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 4.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.6 Nathan pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:0020:000:55–4:04 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Ken Hoppe's Background and Approach to Profitable Growth Solo presentation segment where Ken Hoppe outlines his pre-med background, commitment to bootstrapped profitability, and key principles for scaling without venture capital.4:06–6:31 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Solving Contact Data Inaccuracy with Modigi Ken explains Modigi's value proposition within the Salesforce ecosystem, explaining that 40 percent of sales prospecting data is inaccurate and requires automated cleaning.6:35–8:53 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Lean Team Structure and Strategic Advisory Board Ken discusses operating as a lean three-person core team and leveraging specialized advisory board members from Google and telecom rather than raising expensive venture capital.8:54–11:09 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Scaling to $1.7M with Founder-Led Enterprise Selling Ken shares how Modigi achieved 1.7 million dollars in revenue with just two founders selling upstream to enterprise accounts before hiring their first dedicated sales rep.11:12–13:43 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Removing Buyer Friction and Closing Deals Flexibly Ken details tactics for removing buyer friction, including flexible trial clauses and discounting deals just under procurement approval thresholds to close quickly.13:43–17:46 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Demonstrating ROI and the Cost of Inaction to RevOps Ken demonstrates their ROI calculator and diagnostic audit, illustrating how a 25 billion dollar cloud enterprise discovered that over 90 percent of their prospecting data was flawed.17:49–20:02 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Leveraging LinkedIn Ambassadors and Projecting EBITDA Growth Ken concludes by explaining Modigi's LinkedIn influencer ambassador strategy and outlines projections to generate 3 to 4 million dollars in EBITDA over two years.0:55–4:04 · Guest teaching 0/10 Ken Hoppe's Background and Approach to Profitable Growth Solo presentation segment where Ken Hoppe outlines his pre-med background, commitment to bootstrapped profitability, and key principles for scaling without venture capital.4:06–6:31 · Guest teaching 0/10 Solving Contact Data Inaccuracy with Modigi Ken explains Modigi's value proposition within the Salesforce ecosystem, explaining that 40 percent of sales prospecting data is inaccurate and requires automated cleaning.6:35–8:53 · Guest teaching 0/10 Lean Team Structure and Strategic Advisory Board Ken discusses operating as a lean three-person core team and leveraging specialized advisory board members from Google and telecom rather than raising expensive venture capital.8:54–11:09 · Guest teaching 0/10 Scaling to $1.7M with Founder-Led Enterprise Selling Ken shares how Modigi achieved 1.7 million dollars in revenue with just two founders selling upstream to enterprise accounts before hiring their first dedicated sales rep.11:12–13:43 · Guest teaching 0/10 Removing Buyer Friction and Closing Deals Flexibly Ken details tactics for removing buyer friction, including flexible trial clauses and discounting deals just under procurement approval thresholds to close quickly.13:43–17:46 · Guest teaching 0/10 Demonstrating ROI and the Cost of Inaction to RevOps Ken demonstrates their ROI calculator and diagnostic audit, illustrating how a 25 billion dollar cloud enterprise discovered that over 90 percent of their prospecting data was flawed.17:49–20:02 · Guest teaching 0/10 Leveraging LinkedIn Ambassadors and Projecting EBITDA Growth Ken concludes by explaining Modigi's LinkedIn influencer ambassador strategy and outlines projections to generate 3 to 4 million dollars in EBITDA over two years.0:55–4:04 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Ken Hoppe's Background and Approach to Profitable Growth Solo presentation segment where Ken Hoppe outlines his pre-med background, commitment to bootstrapped profitability, and key principles for scaling without venture capital.4:06–6:31 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Solving Contact Data Inaccuracy with Modigi Ken explains Modigi's value proposition within the Salesforce ecosystem, explaining that 40 percent of sales prospecting data is inaccurate and requires automated cleaning.6:35–8:53 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Lean Team Structure and Strategic Advisory Board Ken discusses operating as a lean three-person core team and leveraging specialized advisory board members from Google and telecom rather than raising expensive venture capital.8:54–11:09 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Scaling to $1.7M with Founder-Led Enterprise Selling Ken shares how Modigi achieved 1.7 million dollars in revenue with just two founders selling upstream to enterprise accounts before hiring their first dedicated sales rep.11:12–13:43 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Removing Buyer Friction and Closing Deals Flexibly Ken details tactics for removing buyer friction, including flexible trial clauses and discounting deals just under procurement approval thresholds to close quickly.13:43–17:46 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Demonstrating ROI and the Cost of Inaction to RevOps Ken demonstrates their ROI calculator and diagnostic audit, illustrating how a 25 billion dollar cloud enterprise discovered that over 90 percent of their prospecting data was flawed.17:49–20:02 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Leveraging LinkedIn Ambassadors and Projecting EBITDA Growth Ken concludes by explaining Modigi's LinkedIn influencer ambassador strategy and outlines projections to generate 3 to 4 million dollars in EBITDA over two years.0:55–4:04 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Ken Hoppe's Background and Approach to Profitable Growth Solo presentation segment where Ken Hoppe outlines his pre-med background, commitment to bootstrapped profitability, and key principles for scaling without venture capital.4:06–6:31 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Solving Contact Data Inaccuracy with Modigi Ken explains Modigi's value proposition within the Salesforce ecosystem, explaining that 40 percent of sales prospecting data is inaccurate and requires automated cleaning.6:35–8:53 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Lean Team Structure and Strategic Advisory Board Ken discusses operating as a lean three-person core team and leveraging specialized advisory board members from Google and telecom rather than raising expensive venture capital.8:54–11:09 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Scaling to $1.7M with Founder-Led Enterprise Selling Ken shares how Modigi achieved 1.7 million dollars in revenue with just two founders selling upstream to enterprise accounts before hiring their first dedicated sales rep.11:12–13:43 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Removing Buyer Friction and Closing Deals Flexibly Ken details tactics for removing buyer friction, including flexible trial clauses and discounting deals just under procurement approval thresholds to close quickly.13:43–17:46 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Demonstrating ROI and the Cost of Inaction to RevOps Ken demonstrates their ROI calculator and diagnostic audit, illustrating how a 25 billion dollar cloud enterprise discovered that over 90 percent of their prospecting data was flawed.17:49–20:02 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Leveraging LinkedIn Ambassadors and Projecting EBITDA Growth Ken concludes by explaining Modigi's LinkedIn influencer ambassador strategy and outlines projections to generate 3 to 4 million dollars in EBITDA over two years.

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

0:00 · Nathan 29.2% · guest 70.8%0:00 · Nathan 29.2% · guest 70.8%3:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%3:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 1:55 Rejecting unprofitable growth norms

Ken calls out mainstream tech culture by criticizing the fact that 28 percent of public tech companies were unprofitable in 2021, advocating strict capital discipline.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 0:00 Setting high stage standards

In the episode intro, host Nathan Latka reinforces the rigorous standards of SaaS Open, demanding deep disclosures on revenue graphs and growth metrics.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 16:20 Exposing hidden enterprise data failure

Ken educates the audience with diagnostic case data showing a 25 billion dollar enterprise had 68 percent invalid phone numbers and less than a one percent connect rate.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 0:05 Nathan highlighting proprietary SaaS database

Nathan demonstrates his domain depth and extensive data assets by referencing thousands of founder financial metrics indexed across GetLatka.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Ken Hoppe's Background and Approach to Profitable Growth 0010 Solo presentation segment where Ken Hoppe outlines his pre-med background, commitment to bootstrapped profitability, and key principles for scaling without venture capital.
Solving Contact Data Inaccuracy with Modigi 0010 Ken explains Modigi's value proposition within the Salesforce ecosystem, explaining that 40 percent of sales prospecting data is inaccurate and requires automated cleaning.
Lean Team Structure and Strategic Advisory Board 0010 Ken discusses operating as a lean three-person core team and leveraging specialized advisory board members from Google and telecom rather than raising expensive venture capital.
Scaling to $1.7M with Founder-Led Enterprise Selling 0000 Ken shares how Modigi achieved 1.7 million dollars in revenue with just two founders selling upstream to enterprise accounts before hiring their first dedicated sales rep.
Removing Buyer Friction and Closing Deals Flexibly 0000 Ken details tactics for removing buyer friction, including flexible trial clauses and discounting deals just under procurement approval thresholds to close quickly.
Demonstrating ROI and the Cost of Inaction to RevOps 0010 Ken demonstrates their ROI calculator and diagnostic audit, illustrating how a 25 billion dollar cloud enterprise discovered that over 90 percent of their prospecting data was flawed.
Leveraging LinkedIn Ambassadors and Projecting EBITDA Growth 0000 Ken concludes by explaining Modigi's LinkedIn influencer ambassador strategy and outlines projections to generate 3 to 4 million dollars in EBITDA over two years.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Supported
Hoppe: 28% of publicly traded companies were unprofitable in 2021
“A shocking statistic, 28% of the publicly traded companies were not profitable in twenty-twenty-one.”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 2:01
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hoppe: 40% of sales prospecting contact data is inaccurate
“40%, we're finding about 40% of contact data that reps use to prospect is inaccurate. It's a shocking statistic, but it's real.”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 4:13
Insight
Hoppe: Accurate contact data is more essential than advanced sales software
“I can sell without a CRM. I can sell without intent data. I can sell without conversational intelligence. These are wonderful technologies. I can sell without a sales engagement tool. I just need a spreadsheet, and I have to have the contact information for my…”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 5:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hoppe: Modigi spent zero dollars on marketing
“We've spent zero dollars on marketing.”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 8:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hoppe: Majority of Modigi revenue comes from companies worth over $1B
“So the majority of our revenue as a new company comes from companies that are worth over a billion dollars.”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 9:21
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hoppe: Modigi was profitable in both 2021 and 2022
“In 2021, we made profit. In 2022, we made profit.”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 10:59
Disclosure
Modigi uses 3-month performance exit clauses on 12-month enterprise contracts
“We're a SaaS that has a 12 month subscription. That's our typical contract. But if our buyer says, listen, I need, you know, I need assurances that, that if you shit the bed, that we can get out. So, on occasion, we will, we'll do a three-month contract where …”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 12:25
Disclosure
Modigi dropped a $150k deal to $99,999 to bypass procurement sign-off
“A cybersecurity company we're working with, we had about a hundred and 50,000 dollar deal on the table. And if you recall that ended last quarter You know, POs that anything had like 50,000 or 100,000 had to go to a higher level of authority. And so, our procu…”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 12:58
Disclosure
Hoppe: Modigi accepts $25k to $50k land deals during budget consolidation
“There's a lot of consolidation in, in, in budgets, so I'm willing to take smaller deals that are maybe 25% of the size, 25,000 dollar deals, 50,000 dollar deals, just to get the insertion.”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 15:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hoppe: Audit showed 68% bad phone numbers at $25B enterprise firm
“Here's an example of a twenty five billion dollar cloud services company. They thought that mobile phone coverage is what our big bet is, right? That's what we're specialized on. That they had 28% mobile phone coverage. They didn't understand. They thought it …”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 16:50
Disclosure
Hoppe refuses to give up Modigi equity to venture capitalists
“I'm not giving up equity to VCs.”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 18:50
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hoppe predicts Modigi will generate $3M-$4M EBITDA in two years
“I can spit off three to four million of EBITDA over the next two years, and I feel really good about that.”
Ken Hoppe May 22, 2023 ▶ 18:54
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