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May 10, 2022 · 21m · top-founders

How ThreeKit Plans to Grow into their $300m+ Valuation, Break $10m Revenue This Year

Matt Gorniak · 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

Threekit CEO Matt Gorniak discusses how the visual commerce platform is scaling beyond a $10 million ARR run rate, leveraging Hollywood-grade 3D rendering technology, strategic enterprise backing, and high net dollar retention to revolutionize digital commerce and metaverse experiences.

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 32.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.7 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 3.8
05100:0010:0020:000:55–3:27 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Matt Gorniak and the Visual Commerce Pivot Latka introduces Gorniak with a thorough summary of his past exits at BigMachines and SteelBrick. Gorniak explains how enterprise CPQ workflows led directly to identifying the visual commerce market need.3:27–6:23 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Use Cases and Tiered Enterprise Pricing Latka interrupts Gorniak's generalized explanation to demand concrete customer examples like Crate & Barrel and breakdown of pricing tiers. Latka synthesizes the pricing tiers into concrete ACV brackets.6:24–11:23 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Origins of Threekit's Technology and VFX Roots Latka runs the ARR calculations live based on customer counts and average contract values. When Gorniak vaguely claims they will double or triple, Latka immediately challenges him that doubling and tripling are vastly different targets.11:25–14:24 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Sponsor Break: FounderPath SaaS Valuation Tool Following the FounderPath sponsor break, Latka walks through Threekit's funding history and calculates an implied $300M valuation and rich 60x ARR multiple from the $35M raise.14:24–17:25 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 The Metaverse Opportunity and Digital Asset Creation Latka pitches a tangible metaverse scenario involving buying virtual land next to Snoop Dogg and decorating it with digital Crate & Barrel assets, which Gorniak affirms as a viable digital-only asset strategy.17:26–21:12 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Net Dollar Retention and Customer Success Strategy Latka drills into customer success compensation structures, rejecting Gorniak's fuzzy answer about customer happiness by demanding specific quantitative metrics. The segment finishes with the rapid-fire Famous Five.0:55–3:27 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Matt Gorniak and the Visual Commerce Pivot Latka introduces Gorniak with a thorough summary of his past exits at BigMachines and SteelBrick. Gorniak explains how enterprise CPQ workflows led directly to identifying the visual commerce market need.3:27–6:23 · Guest teaching 3/10 Customer Use Cases and Tiered Enterprise Pricing Latka interrupts Gorniak's generalized explanation to demand concrete customer examples like Crate & Barrel and breakdown of pricing tiers. Latka synthesizes the pricing tiers into concrete ACV brackets.6:24–11:23 · Guest teaching 4/10 Origins of Threekit's Technology and VFX Roots Latka runs the ARR calculations live based on customer counts and average contract values. When Gorniak vaguely claims they will double or triple, Latka immediately challenges him that doubling and tripling are vastly different targets.11:25–14:24 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sponsor Break: FounderPath SaaS Valuation Tool Following the FounderPath sponsor break, Latka walks through Threekit's funding history and calculates an implied $300M valuation and rich 60x ARR multiple from the $35M raise.14:24–17:25 · Guest teaching 3/10 The Metaverse Opportunity and Digital Asset Creation Latka pitches a tangible metaverse scenario involving buying virtual land next to Snoop Dogg and decorating it with digital Crate & Barrel assets, which Gorniak affirms as a viable digital-only asset strategy.17:26–21:12 · Guest teaching 3/10 Net Dollar Retention and Customer Success Strategy Latka drills into customer success compensation structures, rejecting Gorniak's fuzzy answer about customer happiness by demanding specific quantitative metrics. The segment finishes with the rapid-fire Famous Five.0:55–3:27 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Matt Gorniak and the Visual Commerce Pivot Latka introduces Gorniak with a thorough summary of his past exits at BigMachines and SteelBrick. Gorniak explains how enterprise CPQ workflows led directly to identifying the visual commerce market need.3:27–6:23 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Customer Use Cases and Tiered Enterprise Pricing Latka interrupts Gorniak's generalized explanation to demand concrete customer examples like Crate & Barrel and breakdown of pricing tiers. Latka synthesizes the pricing tiers into concrete ACV brackets.6:24–11:23 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Origins of Threekit's Technology and VFX Roots Latka runs the ARR calculations live based on customer counts and average contract values. When Gorniak vaguely claims they will double or triple, Latka immediately challenges him that doubling and tripling are vastly different targets.11:25–14:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Break: FounderPath SaaS Valuation Tool Following the FounderPath sponsor break, Latka walks through Threekit's funding history and calculates an implied $300M valuation and rich 60x ARR multiple from the $35M raise.14:24–17:25 · Guest disagreement 2/10 The Metaverse Opportunity and Digital Asset Creation Latka pitches a tangible metaverse scenario involving buying virtual land next to Snoop Dogg and decorating it with digital Crate & Barrel assets, which Gorniak affirms as a viable digital-only asset strategy.17:26–21:12 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Net Dollar Retention and Customer Success Strategy Latka drills into customer success compensation structures, rejecting Gorniak's fuzzy answer about customer happiness by demanding specific quantitative metrics. The segment finishes with the rapid-fire Famous Five.0:55–3:27 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Matt Gorniak and the Visual Commerce Pivot Latka introduces Gorniak with a thorough summary of his past exits at BigMachines and SteelBrick. Gorniak explains how enterprise CPQ workflows led directly to identifying the visual commerce market need.3:27–6:23 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Customer Use Cases and Tiered Enterprise Pricing Latka interrupts Gorniak's generalized explanation to demand concrete customer examples like Crate & Barrel and breakdown of pricing tiers. Latka synthesizes the pricing tiers into concrete ACV brackets.6:24–11:23 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Origins of Threekit's Technology and VFX Roots Latka runs the ARR calculations live based on customer counts and average contract values. When Gorniak vaguely claims they will double or triple, Latka immediately challenges him that doubling and tripling are vastly different targets.11:25–14:24 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Break: FounderPath SaaS Valuation Tool Following the FounderPath sponsor break, Latka walks through Threekit's funding history and calculates an implied $300M valuation and rich 60x ARR multiple from the $35M raise.14:24–17:25 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The Metaverse Opportunity and Digital Asset Creation Latka pitches a tangible metaverse scenario involving buying virtual land next to Snoop Dogg and decorating it with digital Crate & Barrel assets, which Gorniak affirms as a viable digital-only asset strategy.17:26–21:12 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Net Dollar Retention and Customer Success Strategy Latka drills into customer success compensation structures, rejecting Gorniak's fuzzy answer about customer happiness by demanding specific quantitative metrics. The segment finishes with the rapid-fire Famous Five.

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

0:00 · Nathan 49.7% · guest 50.3%0:00 · Nathan 49.7% · guest 50.3%3:00 · Nathan 22.5% · guest 77.5%3:00 · Nathan 22.5% · guest 77.5%6:00 · Nathan 17.5% · guest 82.5%6:00 · Nathan 17.5% · guest 82.5%9:00 · Nathan 51.2% · guest 48.8%9:00 · Nathan 51.2% · guest 48.8%12:00 · Nathan 45.4% · guest 54.6%12:00 · Nathan 45.4% · guest 54.6%15:00 · Nathan 18.6% · guest 81.4%15:00 · Nathan 18.6% · guest 81.4%18:00 · Nathan 20.5% · guest 79.5%18:00 · Nathan 20.5% · guest 79.5%21:00 · Nathan 55.1% · guest 44.9%21:00 · Nathan 55.1% · guest 44.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:57 Gorniak defends revenue projection variance

Gorniak pushes back on Latka's precise ARR calculations by claiming deal sizes are large enough that a few enterprise wins swinging one way or the other can shift the entire multiple.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:00 Latka challenges vague growth estimates

Latka refuses Gorniak's hand-waving projection that the business will double or triple, bluntly telling him that those two outcomes represent radically different growth trajectories.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:29 Gorniak details VFX origin and Shopify connection

Gorniak explains how founder Ben Houston's Hollywood visual effects technology from Star Wars was repurposed into an enterprise headless visual engine for e-commerce.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 14:06 Latka calculates implied valuation multiple

Latka demonstrates financial literacy by translating the 10 to 15 percent dilution on a $35M round into an estimated $300M valuation and a 60x revenue multiple.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Matt Gorniak and the Visual Commerce Pivot 4312 Latka introduces Gorniak with a thorough summary of his past exits at BigMachines and SteelBrick. Gorniak explains how enterprise CPQ workflows led directly to identifying the visual commerce market need.
Customer Use Cases and Tiered Enterprise Pricing 6324 Latka interrupts Gorniak's generalized explanation to demand concrete customer examples like Crate & Barrel and breakdown of pricing tiers. Latka synthesizes the pricing tiers into concrete ACV brackets.
Origins of Threekit's Technology and VFX Roots 7436 Latka runs the ARR calculations live based on customer counts and average contract values. When Gorniak vaguely claims they will double or triple, Latka immediately challenges him that doubling and tripling are vastly different targets.
Sponsor Break: FounderPath SaaS Valuation Tool 6213 Following the FounderPath sponsor break, Latka walks through Threekit's funding history and calculates an implied $300M valuation and rich 60x ARR multiple from the $35M raise.
The Metaverse Opportunity and Digital Asset Creation 6323 Latka pitches a tangible metaverse scenario involving buying virtual land next to Snoop Dogg and decorating it with digital Crate & Barrel assets, which Gorniak affirms as a viable digital-only asset strategy.
Net Dollar Retention and Customer Success Strategy 5325 Latka drills into customer success compensation structures, rejecting Gorniak's fuzzy answer about customer happiness by demanding specific quantitative metrics. The segment finishes with the rapid-fire Famous Five.

Statements from this episode (10)

Disclosure
Gorniak: Threekit Pricing Ranges from $18k to $500k Annually
“Like our SMB customers are much smaller. They have one product, let's say, and they're typically starting points, 18,000 a year. Big brands, just in general, where the scope is just massive, you're talking a hundred to half a million.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 5:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gorniak: Threekit has expanded its team to 120 employees
“Now we're a 120 people.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 7:09
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Gorniak: Threekit will exit 2022 above $10 million ARR run rate
“We're going to exit much higher than that above 10 this year.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 9:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gorniak: Threekit surpassed a $1M ARR run rate in 2020
“It was the second year was 2020.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 10:54
Disclosure
Threekit raised $35M in November 2021, reaching $65M in total funding
“And then we just raised thirty five million last November. So we're sixty five million in, in all in.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 12:39
Disclosure
Threekit: Strategic investors in last round include ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Capgemini
“Now, what was cool about the last round, we also got, you know, strategics involved, like, ServiceNow and Salesforce and well, Salesforce was with us even prior around, but ServiceNow was cool. Capgemini.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 13:35
Opinion
Gorniak: 99% of Threekit's Brand Clients Are Not Ready for Modern E-Commerce
“And 99% of the companies we work with Nathan are not ready for even e-commerce. They have e-commerce presence. But they don't understand how to bring the products to life right now.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 15:39
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Threekit maintains a net dollar retention rate between 110% and 120%
“Are you guys above a 110, 120% today? Matt Gorniak: Yeah. Matt Gorniak: And what we're seeing is that's right. Matt Gorniak: That's right.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 17:29
Assertion Contradicted
Gorniak: TaylorMade reached its full-year sales goal in two months with Threekit
“That was a public case study with TaylorMade. I mean, that club that they powered with, they made their sales number in two months for the whole year.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 17:41
Disclosure
Gorniak: Threekit does not evaluate CSMs on revenue targets
“We do have a target, but not a revenue target. Like they're not gold on making more money. They're gold on making the customer happy.”
Matt Gorniak May 10, 2022 ▶ 18:25
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