StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Jun 4, 2022 · 21m · top-founders

He'd sell this side project for $100,000. Is that the right price?

Adrian Thompson · 12m 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 episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, motion graphics animator Adrian Thompson discusses how he bootstrapped his storyboarding tool, The Plot, to 400 paying customers and $4,000 MRR through organic SEO while weighing whether to scale or sell the business for $100,000.

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 35.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.3 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:0020:000:42–3:15 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Adrian Thompson and Origin of The Plot Adrian explains the origin of The Plot from his experience as a freelance animator dealing with inefficient feedback loops. Nathan connects with the problem, referencing his own workflow and Frame.io, while Adrian clarifies the niche of pre-production storyboards.3:16–9:17 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Current SaaS Metrics, Tiered Pricing, and Realistic Bootstrapping Adrian details how he achieved 400 paying customers and ranked for 'storyboard creator' through granular SEO tactics. Nathan validates the metrics and notes how major competitors like Canva dominate the broader keyword space.9:18–13:30 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Considering Acquisition Offers and Initial MVP Costs Adrian shares how he funded the $15k MVP using savings from his motion studio and Adobe After Effects scripts. Nathan explores whether Adrian would sell the business and notes why he cannot go full-time due to studio revenue and family commitments.13:30–18:14 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Growth Plateaus, Marketing Experiments, and Business Valuation Adrian discusses hitting a growth plateau despite trying Facebook ads, influencer marketing, and school outreach. Nathan pitches a direct CAC tactic using Upwork video editors and critically questions Adrian's $100k valuation expectation relative to cash flow.0:42–3:15 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Adrian Thompson and Origin of The Plot Adrian explains the origin of The Plot from his experience as a freelance animator dealing with inefficient feedback loops. Nathan connects with the problem, referencing his own workflow and Frame.io, while Adrian clarifies the niche of pre-production storyboards.3:16–9:17 · Guest teaching 5/10 Current SaaS Metrics, Tiered Pricing, and Realistic Bootstrapping Adrian details how he achieved 400 paying customers and ranked for 'storyboard creator' through granular SEO tactics. Nathan validates the metrics and notes how major competitors like Canva dominate the broader keyword space.9:18–13:30 · Guest teaching 2/10 Considering Acquisition Offers and Initial MVP Costs Adrian shares how he funded the $15k MVP using savings from his motion studio and Adobe After Effects scripts. Nathan explores whether Adrian would sell the business and notes why he cannot go full-time due to studio revenue and family commitments.13:30–18:14 · Guest teaching 3/10 Growth Plateaus, Marketing Experiments, and Business Valuation Adrian discusses hitting a growth plateau despite trying Facebook ads, influencer marketing, and school outreach. Nathan pitches a direct CAC tactic using Upwork video editors and critically questions Adrian's $100k valuation expectation relative to cash flow.0:42–3:15 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Adrian Thompson and Origin of The Plot Adrian explains the origin of The Plot from his experience as a freelance animator dealing with inefficient feedback loops. Nathan connects with the problem, referencing his own workflow and Frame.io, while Adrian clarifies the niche of pre-production storyboards.3:16–9:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Current SaaS Metrics, Tiered Pricing, and Realistic Bootstrapping Adrian details how he achieved 400 paying customers and ranked for 'storyboard creator' through granular SEO tactics. Nathan validates the metrics and notes how major competitors like Canva dominate the broader keyword space.9:18–13:30 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Considering Acquisition Offers and Initial MVP Costs Adrian shares how he funded the $15k MVP using savings from his motion studio and Adobe After Effects scripts. Nathan explores whether Adrian would sell the business and notes why he cannot go full-time due to studio revenue and family commitments.13:30–18:14 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Growth Plateaus, Marketing Experiments, and Business Valuation Adrian discusses hitting a growth plateau despite trying Facebook ads, influencer marketing, and school outreach. Nathan pitches a direct CAC tactic using Upwork video editors and critically questions Adrian's $100k valuation expectation relative to cash flow.0:42–3:15 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Introducing Adrian Thompson and Origin of The Plot Adrian explains the origin of The Plot from his experience as a freelance animator dealing with inefficient feedback loops. Nathan connects with the problem, referencing his own workflow and Frame.io, while Adrian clarifies the niche of pre-production storyboards.3:16–9:17 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Current SaaS Metrics, Tiered Pricing, and Realistic Bootstrapping Adrian details how he achieved 400 paying customers and ranked for 'storyboard creator' through granular SEO tactics. Nathan validates the metrics and notes how major competitors like Canva dominate the broader keyword space.9:18–13:30 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Considering Acquisition Offers and Initial MVP Costs Adrian shares how he funded the $15k MVP using savings from his motion studio and Adobe After Effects scripts. Nathan explores whether Adrian would sell the business and notes why he cannot go full-time due to studio revenue and family commitments.13:30–18:14 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Growth Plateaus, Marketing Experiments, and Business Valuation Adrian discusses hitting a growth plateau despite trying Facebook ads, influencer marketing, and school outreach. Nathan pitches a direct CAC tactic using Upwork video editors and critically questions Adrian's $100k valuation expectation relative to cash flow.

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

0:00 · Nathan 50.7% · guest 49.3%0:00 · Nathan 50.7% · guest 49.3%3:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%3:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%6:00 · Nathan 15.9% · guest 84.1%6:00 · Nathan 15.9% · guest 84.1%9:00 · Nathan 45.4% · guest 54.6%9:00 · Nathan 45.4% · guest 54.6%12:00 · Nathan 5.7% · guest 94.3%12:00 · Nathan 5.7% · guest 94.3%15:00 · Nathan 37.1% · guest 62.9%15:00 · Nathan 37.1% · guest 62.9%18:00 · Nathan 61.4% · guest 38.6%18:00 · Nathan 61.4% · guest 38.6%21:00 · Nathan 95.3% · guest 4.7%21:00 · Nathan 95.3% · guest 4.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 17:08 Adrian defends his $100k valuation floor

Adrian asserts why he would refuse an acquisition offer below $100,000, arguing that anything less would not justify his time investment or opportunity cost.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 17:51 Nathan questions the viability of a $100k buyout

Nathan directly challenges Adrian's valuation logic, calculating cash flow multiples and suggesting it will be very difficult to find a buyer at that price.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:09 Adrian details early-stage SEO acquisition strategies

Adrian educates Nathan on specific tactical methods he used to rank on Google's front page, including image alt tags, video backlinks, and keyword placement.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 15:28 Nathan pitches an Upwork-based acquisition strategy

Nathan demonstrates marketing expertise by outlining a low-CAC growth playbook leveraging Upwork freelancers to seed product adoption.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Adrian Thompson and Origin of The Plot 4211 Adrian explains the origin of The Plot from his experience as a freelance animator dealing with inefficient feedback loops. Nathan connects with the problem, referencing his own workflow and Frame.io, while Adrian clarifies the niche of pre-production storyboards.
Current SaaS Metrics, Tiered Pricing, and Realistic Bootstrapping 5512 Adrian details how he achieved 400 paying customers and ranked for 'storyboard creator' through granular SEO tactics. Nathan validates the metrics and notes how major competitors like Canva dominate the broader keyword space.
Considering Acquisition Offers and Initial MVP Costs 5212 Adrian shares how he funded the $15k MVP using savings from his motion studio and Adobe After Effects scripts. Nathan explores whether Adrian would sell the business and notes why he cannot go full-time due to studio revenue and family commitments.
Growth Plateaus, Marketing Experiments, and Business Valuation 7316 Adrian discusses hitting a growth plateau despite trying Facebook ads, influencer marketing, and school outreach. Nathan pitches a direct CAC tactic using Upwork video editors and critically questions Adrian's $100k valuation expectation relative to cash flow.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Frame.io solved finished video review, leaving storyboarding unaddressed
“So Frame.io solved that problem for reviewing finished videos, but there wasn't really an application to solve it for the storyboarding part”
Adrian Thompson Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 2:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
The Plot currently has approximately 400 paying customers
“Only about 400 ish. 400.”
Adrian Thompson Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 4:17
Insight
Mega-founder interviews get fewer listens than actionable early-stage stories
“You know, you can have someone on doing a hundred million bucks in revenue or publicly traded SaaS founder, and that might be inspirational, but it gets way less listens because it's not actionable.”
Nathan Latka Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 4:33
Disclosure
Over 90 percent of The Plot's customers come from organic SEO
“All of my, essentially, I'd say 90 to 95% of my customers are all SEO.”
Adrian Thompson Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 5:54
Insight
Storyboarding is a wedge to upsell creative teams other software
“The thing is though, it's a very storyboarding is a very interesting wedge to upsell a lot of other stuff to those same animators and design teams, et cetera, which is why, you know, Canva, You know, ranks number one for this keyword right now.”
Nathan Latka Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 9:06
Disclosure
Thompson paid a freelance developer $15,000 to build The Plot MVP
“15 grand to get it off the ground.”
Adrian Thompson Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 11:53
Disclosure
Thompson made $1,000 monthly selling automated Adobe After Effects scripts
“Like I, my first step into like digital products was creating scripts for Adobe after effects, which are just ways to automate a task that after effects didn't build natively into the system. So I built, I hired a guy to create a couple of those. And that gave…”
Adrian Thompson Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 12:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
The Plot plateaued at $3,000 to $5,000 monthly revenue for years
“It's been about three to 5000 consistently for the last three to four years. So there's been really no growth. Like our best month has been six or 7000 when, so, cause people can pay annually.”
Adrian Thompson Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 13:35
Disclosure
Thompson's minimum selling price for The Plot is over $100,000
“I think my number would have to be north of a 100,000, but I don't know. You know, I've always wondered if that's even worth it to somebody.”
Adrian Thompson Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 16:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
The Plot operates at break-even by reinvesting revenue into developers
“Cause I'm honestly about at a, I'm at a break even point essentially. So if I don't hire develop or don't pay developers, I could just collect some profit for a while.”
Adrian Thompson Jun 4, 2022 ▶ 17:22
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