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Nov 2, 2022 · 18m · top-founders

Unlocking B2B Influencer Marketing: How I used $20k to get over $1M in ARR

Zach Oates · 15m spoken Nathan Latka · 51s 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 Founder 500 conference, Ovation founder Zach Oates presents a scrappy, three-pillar B2B marketing playbook that turned a $20,000 budget into over $1 million in ARR through hyper-niche focus, relationship-driven podcasting, and guerrilla trade show tactics.

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 5.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:003:49–7:33 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Penetrating Niches with PIPCATs and Strategic Advisors Zach delivers a solo presentation on stage outlining his PIPCAT framework and using standard advisor agreements. Because the host is not participating on stage, host-side scores are zero.7:33–13:11 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Bootstrapping a B2B Podcast for Relationship Building Zach details his low-cost podcasting system for guest acquisition and relationship building using basic Zoom setups. The segment is a solo keynote with brief audience engagement.13:11–17:58 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Scrappy Trade Show Tactics and Paid Stage Endorsements Zach presents unorthodox trade show strategies, including packing cheap portable booths and paying stage speakers $250 to mention his company. No host participation occurs during the monologue.17:59–18:21 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Summary of the B2B Influencer Playbook Zach summarizes his core takeaways regarding niche focus, podcasting, and trade show execution to conclude his keynote presentation.3:49–7:33 · Guest teaching 0/10 Penetrating Niches with PIPCATs and Strategic Advisors Zach delivers a solo presentation on stage outlining his PIPCAT framework and using standard advisor agreements. Because the host is not participating on stage, host-side scores are zero.7:33–13:11 · Guest teaching 0/10 Bootstrapping a B2B Podcast for Relationship Building Zach details his low-cost podcasting system for guest acquisition and relationship building using basic Zoom setups. The segment is a solo keynote with brief audience engagement.13:11–17:58 · Guest teaching 0/10 Scrappy Trade Show Tactics and Paid Stage Endorsements Zach presents unorthodox trade show strategies, including packing cheap portable booths and paying stage speakers $250 to mention his company. No host participation occurs during the monologue.17:59–18:21 · Guest teaching 0/10 Summary of the B2B Influencer Playbook Zach summarizes his core takeaways regarding niche focus, podcasting, and trade show execution to conclude his keynote presentation.3:49–7:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Penetrating Niches with PIPCATs and Strategic Advisors Zach delivers a solo presentation on stage outlining his PIPCAT framework and using standard advisor agreements. Because the host is not participating on stage, host-side scores are zero.7:33–13:11 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Bootstrapping a B2B Podcast for Relationship Building Zach details his low-cost podcasting system for guest acquisition and relationship building using basic Zoom setups. The segment is a solo keynote with brief audience engagement.13:11–17:58 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Scrappy Trade Show Tactics and Paid Stage Endorsements Zach presents unorthodox trade show strategies, including packing cheap portable booths and paying stage speakers $250 to mention his company. No host participation occurs during the monologue.17:59–18:21 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Summary of the B2B Influencer Playbook Zach summarizes his core takeaways regarding niche focus, podcasting, and trade show execution to conclude his keynote presentation.3:49–7:33 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Penetrating Niches with PIPCATs and Strategic Advisors Zach delivers a solo presentation on stage outlining his PIPCAT framework and using standard advisor agreements. Because the host is not participating on stage, host-side scores are zero.7:33–13:11 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Bootstrapping a B2B Podcast for Relationship Building Zach details his low-cost podcasting system for guest acquisition and relationship building using basic Zoom setups. The segment is a solo keynote with brief audience engagement.13:11–17:58 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Scrappy Trade Show Tactics and Paid Stage Endorsements Zach presents unorthodox trade show strategies, including packing cheap portable booths and paying stage speakers $250 to mention his company. No host participation occurs during the monologue.17:59–18:21 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Summary of the B2B Influencer Playbook Zach summarizes his core takeaways regarding niche focus, podcasting, and trade show execution to conclude his keynote presentation.

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

0:00 · Nathan 31.9% · guest 68.1%0:00 · Nathan 31.9% · guest 68.1%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 ▶ 14:40 Calling Out Expensive Trade Show Exhibitors

Zach mocks competitors who spend 70 thousand dollars on trade show booths as suckers who generate fewer leads than his scrappy 40-dollar setup.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 0:12 Host Mandating Revenue Artifacts

In the introduction, Nathan asserts strict editorial control by stating he forced every conference speaker to present verified revenue graphs and artifacts.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:10 Rejecting TAM for Niche Dominance

Zach teaches the audience to completely disregard total addressable market calculations and concentrate on narrow, highly specific customer segments.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 0:28 Host Promoting Founder Database

Nathan establishes his platform authority by highlighting his extensive SaaS database indexing thousands of detailed founder interviews.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Penetrating Niches with PIPCATs and Strategic Advisors 0020 Zach delivers a solo presentation on stage outlining his PIPCAT framework and using standard advisor agreements. Because the host is not participating on stage, host-side scores are zero.
Bootstrapping a B2B Podcast for Relationship Building 0010 Zach details his low-cost podcasting system for guest acquisition and relationship building using basic Zoom setups. The segment is a solo keynote with brief audience engagement.
Scrappy Trade Show Tactics and Paid Stage Endorsements 0020 Zach presents unorthodox trade show strategies, including packing cheap portable booths and paying stage speakers $250 to mention his company. No host participation occurs during the monologue.
Summary of the B2B Influencer Playbook 0010 Zach summarizes his core takeaways regarding niche focus, podcasting, and trade show execution to conclude his keynote presentation.

Statements from this episode (8)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Oates: Ovation Works With Over 2,000 Restaurants and 100 Retailers
“We work with a little over 2000 restaurants, about a hundred retailers and one blood sucking lawyer. Other than that, we primarily work with restaurants.”
Zach Oates Nov 2, 2022 ▶ 1:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Oates: Ovation Reached $40,000 in Monthly Recurring Revenue Before COVID-19
“So we were doing 40 K in MRR.”
Zach Oates Nov 2, 2022 ▶ 1:44
Insight
Oates: Early-Stage Startups Should Ignore TAM and Focus on Niche Groups
“So if you're looking for money, forget the TAM. Screw the TAM. Let it go. Focus on what can you do for a very specific group.”
Zach Oates Nov 2, 2022 ▶ 3:39
Disclosure
Oates: Ovation used the FAST template to set advisor equity
“Use fast template founder advisor standard template. So this is this is what I used for my advisors to get them on board and how I gave them equity and how I knew how much to give them equity.”
Zach Oates Nov 2, 2022 ▶ 6:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Oates: First 100 podcast episodes generated 6,700 total downloads
“My first like hundred episodes, I had 6700 downloads.”
Zach Oates Nov 2, 2022 ▶ 11:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Oates: Newsletter reaches 2,000 subscribers with a 60% open rate
“I've got 2000 people with a 60% open rate email.”
Zach Oates Nov 2, 2022 ▶ 12:48
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Oates: $40 DIY booth yields 800 leads versus 300 for $70k setups
“So I pay 40 dollars to bring my booth. These other suckers are paying 70 grand to have their booth made. And guess what? I get 800 leads per trade show, And they're getting 300 because it's not about the show. It's about the hustle.”
Zach Oates Nov 2, 2022 ▶ 14:19
Disclosure
Oates Pays Event Speakers $250 For On-Stage Product Mentions
“Now I would literally text them. I see you're speaking speaking to at this event. Sweet. Trying to get some people to check out Ovation. If it comes up, we'd love you to mention us. I'll send you 250 bucks if you do. I would pay people to mention me on stage. …”
Zach Oates Nov 2, 2022 ▶ 15:16
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