StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Feb 9, 2023 · 18m · top-founders

How He Hit $8m Revenue By Losing Customers Last 12 months, and doubling ARPU

Nathan Latka · 9m spoken Sindre Haaland · 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 interview with Nathan Latka, SalesScreen founder Sindre Haaland details how the company scaled to an $8 million ARR by tightening its Ideal Customer Profile, doubling ARPU, and leveraging non-dilutive credit while navigating market downturns and team restructuring.

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 60.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.7 Guest teaching 1.7 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:000:00–4:05 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion Latka opens with an extended promotion and intro summary before questioning Haaland on SalesScreen's value proposition, pricing tiers, and ARPU changes. Haaland clarifies the pricing structure across recognition versus full gamification tiers, and Latka tracks the math on their 2x ARPU increase.4:11–7:32 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Capital Raising Strategies and Navigating Market Downturns Latka probes the 2021 fundraising process and past capital rounds, prompting Haaland to detail pulling the plug on their major raise and relying on a small bridge round. The mid-segment contains Latka's standalone platform promotion highlighting valuation data.7:33–9:42 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Structuring Founder Secondary Liquidity in Venture Deals Latka asks how Haaland negotiated secondary liquidity early on and examines customer contraction alongside upmarket expansion. Haaland explains that incoming VCs proactively offered secondary terms, confirming their shift toward larger deal sizes.9:43–12:50 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Leveraging Credit Lines and Evaluating SaaS Valuation Multiples Latka digs into the mechanics of Haaland's credit line, interest rate adjustments, and multiple expectations in a down market. Latka attempts to trap Haaland on an underwater options scenario from an alleged $120M valuation, but Haaland corrects him by clarifying they never accepted that term sheet.12:51–15:00 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Product Roadmap Simplification and Team Downsizing Realities Latka asks about the product roadmap, PLG initiatives, and team downsizing from 50 to 40 employees. Haaland candidly describes the difficult emotional process of conducting back-to-back 1-on-1 layoff meetings in a single day to increase revenue per employee.15:01–15:58 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Sindre Haaland Latka moves through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, wrapping up with Haaland's lesson on establishing a tight ICP early on.0:00–4:05 · Guest teaching 2/10 SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion Latka opens with an extended promotion and intro summary before questioning Haaland on SalesScreen's value proposition, pricing tiers, and ARPU changes. Haaland clarifies the pricing structure across recognition versus full gamification tiers, and Latka tracks the math on their 2x ARPU increase.4:11–7:32 · Guest teaching 2/10 Capital Raising Strategies and Navigating Market Downturns Latka probes the 2021 fundraising process and past capital rounds, prompting Haaland to detail pulling the plug on their major raise and relying on a small bridge round. The mid-segment contains Latka's standalone platform promotion highlighting valuation data.7:33–9:42 · Guest teaching 1/10 Structuring Founder Secondary Liquidity in Venture Deals Latka asks how Haaland negotiated secondary liquidity early on and examines customer contraction alongside upmarket expansion. Haaland explains that incoming VCs proactively offered secondary terms, confirming their shift toward larger deal sizes.9:43–12:50 · Guest teaching 3/10 Leveraging Credit Lines and Evaluating SaaS Valuation Multiples Latka digs into the mechanics of Haaland's credit line, interest rate adjustments, and multiple expectations in a down market. Latka attempts to trap Haaland on an underwater options scenario from an alleged $120M valuation, but Haaland corrects him by clarifying they never accepted that term sheet.12:51–15:00 · Guest teaching 1/10 Product Roadmap Simplification and Team Downsizing Realities Latka asks about the product roadmap, PLG initiatives, and team downsizing from 50 to 40 employees. Haaland candidly describes the difficult emotional process of conducting back-to-back 1-on-1 layoff meetings in a single day to increase revenue per employee.15:01–15:58 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Sindre Haaland Latka moves through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, wrapping up with Haaland's lesson on establishing a tight ICP early on.0:00–4:05 · Guest disagreement 1/10 SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion Latka opens with an extended promotion and intro summary before questioning Haaland on SalesScreen's value proposition, pricing tiers, and ARPU changes. Haaland clarifies the pricing structure across recognition versus full gamification tiers, and Latka tracks the math on their 2x ARPU increase.4:11–7:32 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Capital Raising Strategies and Navigating Market Downturns Latka probes the 2021 fundraising process and past capital rounds, prompting Haaland to detail pulling the plug on their major raise and relying on a small bridge round. The mid-segment contains Latka's standalone platform promotion highlighting valuation data.7:33–9:42 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Structuring Founder Secondary Liquidity in Venture Deals Latka asks how Haaland negotiated secondary liquidity early on and examines customer contraction alongside upmarket expansion. Haaland explains that incoming VCs proactively offered secondary terms, confirming their shift toward larger deal sizes.9:43–12:50 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Leveraging Credit Lines and Evaluating SaaS Valuation Multiples Latka digs into the mechanics of Haaland's credit line, interest rate adjustments, and multiple expectations in a down market. Latka attempts to trap Haaland on an underwater options scenario from an alleged $120M valuation, but Haaland corrects him by clarifying they never accepted that term sheet.12:51–15:00 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Product Roadmap Simplification and Team Downsizing Realities Latka asks about the product roadmap, PLG initiatives, and team downsizing from 50 to 40 employees. Haaland candidly describes the difficult emotional process of conducting back-to-back 1-on-1 layoff meetings in a single day to increase revenue per employee.15:01–15:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Sindre Haaland Latka moves through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, wrapping up with Haaland's lesson on establishing a tight ICP early on.0:00–4:05 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion Latka opens with an extended promotion and intro summary before questioning Haaland on SalesScreen's value proposition, pricing tiers, and ARPU changes. Haaland clarifies the pricing structure across recognition versus full gamification tiers, and Latka tracks the math on their 2x ARPU increase.4:11–7:32 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Capital Raising Strategies and Navigating Market Downturns Latka probes the 2021 fundraising process and past capital rounds, prompting Haaland to detail pulling the plug on their major raise and relying on a small bridge round. The mid-segment contains Latka's standalone platform promotion highlighting valuation data.7:33–9:42 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Structuring Founder Secondary Liquidity in Venture Deals Latka asks how Haaland negotiated secondary liquidity early on and examines customer contraction alongside upmarket expansion. Haaland explains that incoming VCs proactively offered secondary terms, confirming their shift toward larger deal sizes.9:43–12:50 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Leveraging Credit Lines and Evaluating SaaS Valuation Multiples Latka digs into the mechanics of Haaland's credit line, interest rate adjustments, and multiple expectations in a down market. Latka attempts to trap Haaland on an underwater options scenario from an alleged $120M valuation, but Haaland corrects him by clarifying they never accepted that term sheet.12:51–15:00 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Product Roadmap Simplification and Team Downsizing Realities Latka asks about the product roadmap, PLG initiatives, and team downsizing from 50 to 40 employees. Haaland candidly describes the difficult emotional process of conducting back-to-back 1-on-1 layoff meetings in a single day to increase revenue per employee.15:01–15:58 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Sindre Haaland Latka moves through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, wrapping up with Haaland's lesson on establishing a tight ICP early on.

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

0:00 · Nathan 83.8% · guest 16.2%0:00 · Nathan 83.8% · guest 16.2%3:00 · Nathan 50.8% · guest 49.2%3:00 · Nathan 50.8% · guest 49.2%6:00 · Nathan 69.2% · guest 30.8%6:00 · Nathan 69.2% · guest 30.8%9:00 · Nathan 37.7% · guest 62.3%9:00 · Nathan 37.7% · guest 62.3%12:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%12:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%15:00 · Nathan 89.5% · guest 10.5%15:00 · Nathan 89.5% · guest 10.5%18:00 · Nathan 97% · guest 3%18:00 · Nathan 97% · guest 3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:18 Rejecting past valuation premise

Haaland firmly pushes back against Latka's assertion that they accepted a $120M round, specifying that receiving term sheets is not the same as taking a round.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:02 Latka pressing on employee option underwater risks

Latka challenges Haaland on how he manages conversations with employees whose stock options might be underwater following a major valuation drop.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:18 Correcting term sheets versus accepted valuation

Haaland educates Latka on where his data came from, pointing out that an offered term sheet was rejected so options were never priced at that high level.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:47 Latka analyzing debt interest rate mechanics

Latka articulates the floating versus fixed nature of debt facilities, noting how SOFR increases force founders to pay interest immediately upon drawing down capital.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
SaaS Open Conference Announcement and Ticket Promotion 6212 Latka opens with an extended promotion and intro summary before questioning Haaland on SalesScreen's value proposition, pricing tiers, and ARPU changes. Haaland clarifies the pricing structure across recognition versus full gamification tiers, and Latka tracks the math on their 2x ARPU increase.
Capital Raising Strategies and Navigating Market Downturns 5212 Latka probes the 2021 fundraising process and past capital rounds, prompting Haaland to detail pulling the plug on their major raise and relying on a small bridge round. The mid-segment contains Latka's standalone platform promotion highlighting valuation data.
Structuring Founder Secondary Liquidity in Venture Deals 6111 Latka asks how Haaland negotiated secondary liquidity early on and examines customer contraction alongside upmarket expansion. Haaland explains that incoming VCs proactively offered secondary terms, confirming their shift toward larger deal sizes.
Leveraging Credit Lines and Evaluating SaaS Valuation Multiples 7334 Latka digs into the mechanics of Haaland's credit line, interest rate adjustments, and multiple expectations in a down market. Latka attempts to trap Haaland on an underwater options scenario from an alleged $120M valuation, but Haaland corrects him by clarifying they never accepted that term sheet.
Product Roadmap Simplification and Team Downsizing Realities 6112 Latka asks about the product roadmap, PLG initiatives, and team downsizing from 50 to 40 employees. Haaland candidly describes the difficult emotional process of conducting back-to-back 1-on-1 layoff meetings in a single day to increase revenue per employee.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Sindre Haaland 4111 Latka moves through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, wrapping up with Haaland's lesson on establishing a tight ICP early on.

Statements from this episode (14)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Haaland: SalesScreen is biggest in insurance, real estate, and transactional B2C
“So it's usually that use case if it's in, in the soft space on the software, but we're the biggest in like insurance and real estate and more transactional B to C types of environments.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 2:55
Assertion Supported
Haaland: SalesScreen full gamification costs roughly $500 per user yearly
“And if you want the full gamification, it's typically around 500 dollars per user per year.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 3:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Haaland: SalesScreen customers pay an average of $2,500 per month
“Per month average right now it's 2500 dollars.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 3:59
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Haaland: SalesScreen bridge round will enable profitability within five months
“We did a small bridge and that is luckily for us sufficient to keep going sort of profitable within the next five months.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 4:23
Disclosure
Haaland: SalesScreen raised $2M primary and $500K secondary in 2018
“It was in 2018. So we had a two million primary, 500 K and secondary and then we did a top off in 2020 when COVID came on similar amount.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 4:57
Insight
Latka advises founders to negotiate secondary liquidity in their first round
“I always tell them you got to get secondary, even on your first round.”
Nathan Latka Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 7:39
Disclosure
VCs proactively offered founder secondary liquidity to win SalesScreen's deal
“I think we were one of the fortunate ones that got approached by quite a lot of VCs since we didn't raise anything prior to that date. And for them to kind of like sweeten the deal, they suggested that themselves.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 7:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Haaland: SalesScreen has around 350 customers
“I think we're even fewer customers than that today, like around 350 but much larger as we also talked about with average contract value.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 8:43
Assertion Contradicted
Haaland: SalesScreen is at around $8M in revenue
“Yeah, we're a little bit well, around eight million dollars.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 9:13
Insight
SaaS companies should leverage credit facilities during recessions to avoid dilution
“Well, I think it's a brilliant way to get access to capital during a recession. So if you have recurring revenue and it's fairly predictable, you can leverage, you know even your setup or a vessel to get either a credit line or some loan upfront so they can co…”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 10:03
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Haaland predicts SaaS valuation multiples will return to 8x-9x
“In this market, you would be insane not to honestly. So yeah, I do think we're going to bounce back to that level. Hopefully not in a too far distant future.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 11:53
Disclosure
SalesScreen turned down an offer valuing the company at $120M
“Actually we were never valued at that level or actually we were, but we didn't accept that offer.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 12:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Haaland: SalesScreen Team Size Is Just North of 40 People
“We're just north of 40 people around there.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 13:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SalesScreen conducted layoffs via back-to-back 1-on-1s in a single day
“Now, in our case, we did one-on-ones with everyone that was affected, and we did it back to back in one day.”
Sindre Haaland Feb 9, 2023 ▶ 14:21
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more