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Oct 20, 2022 · 18m · top-founders

How Vroozi leveraged two internal hackathons last year to achieve $1M new ARR?

Shaz Khan · 15m spoken Nathan Latka · 47s spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

Vroozi CEO Shaz Khan explains how instituting structured, 72-hour internal hackathons enabled his enterprise SaaS company to overcome innovation complacency and launch a machine learning product that generated $1 million in new ARR.

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 4.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.0 Nathan pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:000:59–3:27 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Overview of Vroozi's Platform and Company Metrics Solo stage presentation by Shaz Khan introducing Vroozi's metrics, ARR trajectory, and customer base with zero host participation.3:28–5:33 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Addressing Complacency and Exploring Ideation Sources Solo presentation segment where Shaz warns founders against corporate complacency and outlines continuous ideation channels.5:34–9:38 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Structuring the Internal Hackathon Framework Shaz details the logistics, team structure, and open-ended technical rules of Vroozi's biannual internal hackathons in a solo keynote format.9:42–12:42 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Hackathon Scoring Criteria and Prize Incentives Solo presentation covering Vroozi's four-pillar scoring system, presentation time limits, and multi-tier incentive structures.12:43–16:04 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Monetizing Hackathons: The $1M ARR Vroozi Intelligence Launch Shaz walks through case studies demonstrating how an internal hackathon prototype became Vroozi Intelligence and added $1M in ARR.16:05–18:31 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Key Takeaways for Implementing Internal Hackathons Keynote wraps up with operational takeaways followed by a collaborative audience Q&A regarding distributed teams and remote logistics.0:59–3:27 · Guest teaching 0/10 Overview of Vroozi's Platform and Company Metrics Solo stage presentation by Shaz Khan introducing Vroozi's metrics, ARR trajectory, and customer base with zero host participation.3:28–5:33 · Guest teaching 0/10 Addressing Complacency and Exploring Ideation Sources Solo presentation segment where Shaz warns founders against corporate complacency and outlines continuous ideation channels.5:34–9:38 · Guest teaching 0/10 Structuring the Internal Hackathon Framework Shaz details the logistics, team structure, and open-ended technical rules of Vroozi's biannual internal hackathons in a solo keynote format.9:42–12:42 · Guest teaching 0/10 Hackathon Scoring Criteria and Prize Incentives Solo presentation covering Vroozi's four-pillar scoring system, presentation time limits, and multi-tier incentive structures.12:43–16:04 · Guest teaching 0/10 Monetizing Hackathons: The $1M ARR Vroozi Intelligence Launch Shaz walks through case studies demonstrating how an internal hackathon prototype became Vroozi Intelligence and added $1M in ARR.16:05–18:31 · Guest teaching 0/10 Key Takeaways for Implementing Internal Hackathons Keynote wraps up with operational takeaways followed by a collaborative audience Q&A regarding distributed teams and remote logistics.0:59–3:27 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Overview of Vroozi's Platform and Company Metrics Solo stage presentation by Shaz Khan introducing Vroozi's metrics, ARR trajectory, and customer base with zero host participation.3:28–5:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Addressing Complacency and Exploring Ideation Sources Solo presentation segment where Shaz warns founders against corporate complacency and outlines continuous ideation channels.5:34–9:38 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Structuring the Internal Hackathon Framework Shaz details the logistics, team structure, and open-ended technical rules of Vroozi's biannual internal hackathons in a solo keynote format.9:42–12:42 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Hackathon Scoring Criteria and Prize Incentives Solo presentation covering Vroozi's four-pillar scoring system, presentation time limits, and multi-tier incentive structures.12:43–16:04 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Monetizing Hackathons: The $1M ARR Vroozi Intelligence Launch Shaz walks through case studies demonstrating how an internal hackathon prototype became Vroozi Intelligence and added $1M in ARR.16:05–18:31 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Key Takeaways for Implementing Internal Hackathons Keynote wraps up with operational takeaways followed by a collaborative audience Q&A regarding distributed teams and remote logistics.0:59–3:27 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Overview of Vroozi's Platform and Company Metrics Solo stage presentation by Shaz Khan introducing Vroozi's metrics, ARR trajectory, and customer base with zero host participation.3:28–5:33 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Addressing Complacency and Exploring Ideation Sources Solo presentation segment where Shaz warns founders against corporate complacency and outlines continuous ideation channels.5:34–9:38 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Structuring the Internal Hackathon Framework Shaz details the logistics, team structure, and open-ended technical rules of Vroozi's biannual internal hackathons in a solo keynote format.9:42–12:42 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Hackathon Scoring Criteria and Prize Incentives Solo presentation covering Vroozi's four-pillar scoring system, presentation time limits, and multi-tier incentive structures.12:43–16:04 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Monetizing Hackathons: The $1M ARR Vroozi Intelligence Launch Shaz walks through case studies demonstrating how an internal hackathon prototype became Vroozi Intelligence and added $1M in ARR.16:05–18:31 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Key Takeaways for Implementing Internal Hackathons Keynote wraps up with operational takeaways followed by a collaborative audience Q&A regarding distributed teams and remote logistics.

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

0:00 · Nathan 29.8% · guest 70.2%0:00 · Nathan 29.8% · guest 70.2%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 ▶ 17:52 Clarifying cross-regional team composition

In a completely non-combative keynote format, this moment represents the only mild conversational friction as Shaz clarifies to an audience member that teams span international development pods rather than working in geographic silos.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 17:55 Audience clarifying question on remote teams

With the podcast host absent during the presentation, the only pushback comes from an audience member pressing on whether hackathons realistically operate across globally distributed remote teams.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:15 Demonstrating commercial ARR generation from hackathons

Shaz illustrates how a fast-paced 72-hour internal prototype directly resulted in Vroozi Intelligence, generating $1M in new ARR and a 50% customer cross-sell rate.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 0:00 Nathan Latka setting conference presentation standards

Host Nathan Latka highlights his mandate requiring all featured founders at the Founder 500 conference to share verified revenue charts and real artifacts.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Overview of Vroozi's Platform and Company Metrics 0000 Solo stage presentation by Shaz Khan introducing Vroozi's metrics, ARR trajectory, and customer base with zero host participation.
Addressing Complacency and Exploring Ideation Sources 0000 Solo presentation segment where Shaz warns founders against corporate complacency and outlines continuous ideation channels.
Structuring the Internal Hackathon Framework 0000 Shaz details the logistics, team structure, and open-ended technical rules of Vroozi's biannual internal hackathons in a solo keynote format.
Hackathon Scoring Criteria and Prize Incentives 0000 Solo presentation covering Vroozi's four-pillar scoring system, presentation time limits, and multi-tier incentive structures.
Monetizing Hackathons: The $1M ARR Vroozi Intelligence Launch 0000 Shaz walks through case studies demonstrating how an internal hackathon prototype became Vroozi Intelligence and added $1M in ARR.
Key Takeaways for Implementing Internal Hackathons 0000 Keynote wraps up with operational takeaways followed by a collaborative audience Q&A regarding distributed teams and remote logistics.

Statements from this episode (6)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vroozi has 55 customers, 30,000 users, and $6B in annual throughput
“We've got 55 customers. We're in 15 countries right now. Six billion annual throughput, 30,000 users”
Shaz Khan Oct 20, 2022 ▶ 1:52
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Vroozi is on track to hit $10M ARR in 2023
“On track for ten million ARR by next year. That's where we're targeting. Hopefully we'll beat that.”
Shaz Khan Oct 20, 2022 ▶ 1:56
Disclosure
Vroozi is in discussions with H-E-B regarding Mexico expansion
“I'm speaking with HEB, Right after this in the east side village hub, because we're talking about going into Mexico, right? With all their super stores”
Shaz Khan Oct 20, 2022 ▶ 5:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vroozi Intelligence module hit $1M ARR in less than a year
“It's our fastest growing product right now. We just hit one million ARR on it in about less than a year.”
Shaz Khan Oct 20, 2022 ▶ 14:15
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vroozi cross-sold its Intelligence module to 50% of existing customers
“And so we've cross sold, 50% of our existing customers and all new customers that purchase our software get this baked in.”
Shaz Khan Oct 20, 2022 ▶ 15:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vroozi has 60 employees distributed across five countries
“We have 60 people. And in five different countries. So Nepal, India, Pakistan, Argentina, and U.S.”
Shaz Khan Oct 20, 2022 ▶ 17:40
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