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Mar 10, 2023 · 18m · top-founders

$50k MRR in 2 Months, How He Closed $18k Customers Fast

Martin Alansky · 8m 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 interview, Nathan Latka sits down with ApuTime founder Martin Alansky to discuss how the startup built an autonomous ERP scheduling engine over six years, rapidly scaled to $50,000 MRR, and leveraged AppSumo and AI innovations to transform operational workflows.

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 40.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.0 Guest teaching 1.6 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 5.0
05100:0010:000:00–4:07 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 SaaS Open NYC Event Promotion Nathan introduces his event and the guest, then presses Martin to provide concrete customer use cases for an autonomous ERP. Martin clarifies that the navigation comparison is a metaphor for internal task scheduling rather than physical routing.4:08–10:12 · Nathan as informed peer 9/10 Pricing Structure, Target Market, and Enterprise Contracts Nathan catches multiple inconsistencies in Martin's narrative, including clarifying MRR numbers ($50k vs $250k) and challenging Martin's claim of bootstrapping after finding out he raised $1.7M in tranches. Nathan also calculates implied valuations on the fly.10:13–14:18 · Nathan as informed peer 9/10 AppSumo Campaign Mechanics and Unit Economics Breakdown Nathan breaks down the unit economics, showing that 300 customers at $1,500/month would equal $450k MRR rather than $50k, proving average contract value is actually $150/month. He also challenges Martin's attribution of company growth to AppSumo.14:18–17:33 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Team Architecture and Product Roadmap with AI Insights Nathan explores the engineering team composition and AI roadmap before transitioning into the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, repeatedly reminding Martin to keep responses brief.17:34–18:05 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Interview Conclusion and ApuTime Metrics Recap Nathan provides an outro summary of ApuTime's business metrics and concludes the interview.0:00–4:07 · Guest teaching 4/10 SaaS Open NYC Event Promotion Nathan introduces his event and the guest, then presses Martin to provide concrete customer use cases for an autonomous ERP. Martin clarifies that the navigation comparison is a metaphor for internal task scheduling rather than physical routing.4:08–10:12 · Guest teaching 1/10 Pricing Structure, Target Market, and Enterprise Contracts Nathan catches multiple inconsistencies in Martin's narrative, including clarifying MRR numbers ($50k vs $250k) and challenging Martin's claim of bootstrapping after finding out he raised $1.7M in tranches. Nathan also calculates implied valuations on the fly.10:13–14:18 · Guest teaching 2/10 AppSumo Campaign Mechanics and Unit Economics Breakdown Nathan breaks down the unit economics, showing that 300 customers at $1,500/month would equal $450k MRR rather than $50k, proving average contract value is actually $150/month. He also challenges Martin's attribution of company growth to AppSumo.14:18–17:33 · Guest teaching 1/10 Team Architecture and Product Roadmap with AI Insights Nathan explores the engineering team composition and AI roadmap before transitioning into the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, repeatedly reminding Martin to keep responses brief.17:34–18:05 · Guest teaching 0/10 Interview Conclusion and ApuTime Metrics Recap Nathan provides an outro summary of ApuTime's business metrics and concludes the interview.0:00–4:07 · Guest disagreement 1/10 SaaS Open NYC Event Promotion Nathan introduces his event and the guest, then presses Martin to provide concrete customer use cases for an autonomous ERP. Martin clarifies that the navigation comparison is a metaphor for internal task scheduling rather than physical routing.4:08–10:12 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pricing Structure, Target Market, and Enterprise Contracts Nathan catches multiple inconsistencies in Martin's narrative, including clarifying MRR numbers ($50k vs $250k) and challenging Martin's claim of bootstrapping after finding out he raised $1.7M in tranches. Nathan also calculates implied valuations on the fly.10:13–14:18 · Guest disagreement 2/10 AppSumo Campaign Mechanics and Unit Economics Breakdown Nathan breaks down the unit economics, showing that 300 customers at $1,500/month would equal $450k MRR rather than $50k, proving average contract value is actually $150/month. He also challenges Martin's attribution of company growth to AppSumo.14:18–17:33 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Team Architecture and Product Roadmap with AI Insights Nathan explores the engineering team composition and AI roadmap before transitioning into the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, repeatedly reminding Martin to keep responses brief.17:34–18:05 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Interview Conclusion and ApuTime Metrics Recap Nathan provides an outro summary of ApuTime's business metrics and concludes the interview.0:00–4:07 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 SaaS Open NYC Event Promotion Nathan introduces his event and the guest, then presses Martin to provide concrete customer use cases for an autonomous ERP. Martin clarifies that the navigation comparison is a metaphor for internal task scheduling rather than physical routing.4:08–10:12 · Nathan pushing back 9/10 Pricing Structure, Target Market, and Enterprise Contracts Nathan catches multiple inconsistencies in Martin's narrative, including clarifying MRR numbers ($50k vs $250k) and challenging Martin's claim of bootstrapping after finding out he raised $1.7M in tranches. Nathan also calculates implied valuations on the fly.10:13–14:18 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 AppSumo Campaign Mechanics and Unit Economics Breakdown Nathan breaks down the unit economics, showing that 300 customers at $1,500/month would equal $450k MRR rather than $50k, proving average contract value is actually $150/month. He also challenges Martin's attribution of company growth to AppSumo.14:18–17:33 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Team Architecture and Product Roadmap with AI Insights Nathan explores the engineering team composition and AI roadmap before transitioning into the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, repeatedly reminding Martin to keep responses brief.17:34–18:05 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Interview Conclusion and ApuTime Metrics Recap Nathan provides an outro summary of ApuTime's business metrics and concludes the interview.

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

0:00 · Nathan 73.6% · guest 26.4%0:00 · Nathan 73.6% · guest 26.4%3:00 · Nathan 22.5% · guest 77.5%3:00 · Nathan 22.5% · guest 77.5%6:00 · Nathan 39.8% · guest 60.2%6:00 · Nathan 39.8% · guest 60.2%9:00 · Nathan 40.2% · guest 59.8%9:00 · Nathan 40.2% · guest 59.8%12:00 · Nathan 30.4% · guest 69.6%12:00 · Nathan 30.4% · guest 69.6%15:00 · Nathan 33.6% · guest 66.4%15:00 · Nathan 33.6% · guest 66.4%18:00 · Nathan 83.3% · guest 16.7%18:00 · Nathan 83.3% · guest 16.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:03 Martin pivots away from fundraising headwinds

When asked about macroeconomic fundraising difficulties, Martin sidesteps the question by boasting about having disruptive technology.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:16 Nathan calls out question avoidance

Nathan directly interrupts Martin to say he is avoiding the question about broader market appetite and demands to know if investors are actually issuing term sheets.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:28 Martin educates Nathan on task execution scheduling

Martin reframes Nathan's literal interpretation of driving navigation to explain that the software dynamically recalculates enterprise human task priorities in real time.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:08 Nathan computes true customer contract value

Nathan performs rapid mental arithmetic on Martin's 300 customers and $50k MRR to demonstrate that the true ARPU is $150 per month, refuting Martin's previous $1,500 per month claim.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
SaaS Open NYC Event Promotion 5414 Nathan introduces his event and the guest, then presses Martin to provide concrete customer use cases for an autonomous ERP. Martin clarifies that the navigation comparison is a metaphor for internal task scheduling rather than physical routing.
Pricing Structure, Target Market, and Enterprise Contracts 9129 Nathan catches multiple inconsistencies in Martin's narrative, including clarifying MRR numbers ($50k vs $250k) and challenging Martin's claim of bootstrapping after finding out he raised $1.7M in tranches. Nathan also calculates implied valuations on the fly.
AppSumo Campaign Mechanics and Unit Economics Breakdown 9228 Nathan breaks down the unit economics, showing that 300 customers at $1,500/month would equal $450k MRR rather than $50k, proving average contract value is actually $150/month. He also challenges Martin's attribution of company growth to AppSumo.
Team Architecture and Product Roadmap with AI Insights 4114 Nathan explores the engineering team composition and AI roadmap before transitioning into the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, repeatedly reminding Martin to keep responses brief.
Interview Conclusion and ApuTime Metrics Recap 3000 Nathan provides an outro summary of ApuTime's business metrics and concludes the interview.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Alansky: Most ApuTime Customers Are in Manufacturing or Light Manufacturing
“The most of our customers are from manufacturing or light manufacturing, where a lot of projects are running and they are very complex in, in the processes.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 3:07
Disclosure
Alansky: Most ApuTime customers pay annually, averaging $10k per year
“The most of our customers are paying annually. So we are talking about 10 K. 10 K per year.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 4:29
Disclosure
Alansky: Siemens and Czech public TV are ApuTime's largest customers
“I believe that it is Siemens or we have we have the customer, which is a public television in here in Czech Republic.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 4:41
Disclosure
Alansky: ApuTime seeks to raise $1.7M to $2M
“1.7 to two million dollar.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 5:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Alansky: ApuTime grew MRR from $10k to $50k in two months
“We've grown from 10 K MRR to 50.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 7:04
Disclosure
Alansky: ApuTime has raised $1.7M in total capital
“1.7.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 8:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Alansky: Grant Thornton valued ApuTime at nearly $15M in 2022
“After, after the market for fall down, we have we have a valuation from the global company, Grant Thornton made for 15, almost fifteen million K, but it was last year.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 9:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Alansky: ApuTime has roughly 300 paying customer companies
“Around 300 300 companies.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 10:53
Disclosure
ApuTime uses $100k AWS credits to absorb AppSumo lifetime user costs
“Currently, we, we've blocked all the all the AppSumo customers or on our AWS account with which is which is with a hundred K activate program. So we don't have any cost with that during this and next year.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 12:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Alansky: Only 10 to 15 monthly paying customers came directly from AppSumo
“1015, maybe.”
Martin Alansky Mar 10, 2023 ▶ 13:48
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