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Apr 14, 2022 · 21m · top-founders

Can This Quantum Compute Startup Get 11 LOI's To Convert to $100k+ ACV's?

Dirk Sakil · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m 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 speaks with Quantagonia co-founder and CEO Dirk Sakil about building a hybrid classical-quantum computing platform, securing 11 enterprise LOIs, and navigating early-stage deep-tech fundraising. Dirk explains how their software delivers immediate high-performance computing speedups on classical systems while future-proofing enterprise workloads for incoming quantum hardware architectures.

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 39% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.7 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.8
05100:0010:0020:000:49–4:46 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Defining Quantagonia's Quantum Hybrid Computing Platform Sakil educates Latka on hybrid quantum computing, explaining that true industry quantum hardware is years away and clarifying that Quantagonia translates x86 code to classical compute rather than using crowdsourced mesh networks.4:47–7:09 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Pre-Seed Stage Funding Secrecy and Enterprise LOIs Latka relentlessly grills Sakil over his refusal to disclose funding figures, arguing that secrecy hinders talent recruitment and enterprise credibility. Sakil repeatedly deflects by citing investor NDAs and strategic choices.7:12–10:13 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Co-Founders' Academic Backgrounds and Fraunhofer Connection Sakil describes his co-founders' academic credentials and his own background scaling Gurobi GmbH. Latka probes into whether the company is an academic or Fraunhofer IP spinout.10:16–15:11 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Pilot Bookkeeping and Tax Services Latka explores how early LOIs operate in practice, pushing Sakil to define benchmark criteria and how a 15-minute energy grid optimization cycle translates into software validation.15:11–18:29 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Enterprise Pricing Models and Projected Runway Latka questions value-based enterprise pricing due to attribution complexity, while Sakil explains why time-based or objective-function metrics fail for sporadic high-value computations. Latka estimates their runway by citing their investors' typical check sizes.18:31–20:31 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Famous Five Questions with Dirk Sakil A standard, friendly closing sequence covering favorite sales literature, sleep, and family background.0:49–4:46 · Guest teaching 5/10 Defining Quantagonia's Quantum Hybrid Computing Platform Sakil educates Latka on hybrid quantum computing, explaining that true industry quantum hardware is years away and clarifying that Quantagonia translates x86 code to classical compute rather than using crowdsourced mesh networks.4:47–7:09 · Guest teaching 0/10 Pre-Seed Stage Funding Secrecy and Enterprise LOIs Latka relentlessly grills Sakil over his refusal to disclose funding figures, arguing that secrecy hinders talent recruitment and enterprise credibility. Sakil repeatedly deflects by citing investor NDAs and strategic choices.7:12–10:13 · Guest teaching 3/10 Co-Founders' Academic Backgrounds and Fraunhofer Connection Sakil describes his co-founders' academic credentials and his own background scaling Gurobi GmbH. Latka probes into whether the company is an academic or Fraunhofer IP spinout.10:16–15:11 · Guest teaching 4/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Pilot Bookkeeping and Tax Services Latka explores how early LOIs operate in practice, pushing Sakil to define benchmark criteria and how a 15-minute energy grid optimization cycle translates into software validation.15:11–18:29 · Guest teaching 4/10 Enterprise Pricing Models and Projected Runway Latka questions value-based enterprise pricing due to attribution complexity, while Sakil explains why time-based or objective-function metrics fail for sporadic high-value computations. Latka estimates their runway by citing their investors' typical check sizes.18:31–20:31 · Guest teaching 1/10 Famous Five Questions with Dirk Sakil A standard, friendly closing sequence covering favorite sales literature, sleep, and family background.0:49–4:46 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Defining Quantagonia's Quantum Hybrid Computing Platform Sakil educates Latka on hybrid quantum computing, explaining that true industry quantum hardware is years away and clarifying that Quantagonia translates x86 code to classical compute rather than using crowdsourced mesh networks.4:47–7:09 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Pre-Seed Stage Funding Secrecy and Enterprise LOIs Latka relentlessly grills Sakil over his refusal to disclose funding figures, arguing that secrecy hinders talent recruitment and enterprise credibility. Sakil repeatedly deflects by citing investor NDAs and strategic choices.7:12–10:13 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Co-Founders' Academic Backgrounds and Fraunhofer Connection Sakil describes his co-founders' academic credentials and his own background scaling Gurobi GmbH. Latka probes into whether the company is an academic or Fraunhofer IP spinout.10:16–15:11 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Pilot Bookkeeping and Tax Services Latka explores how early LOIs operate in practice, pushing Sakil to define benchmark criteria and how a 15-minute energy grid optimization cycle translates into software validation.15:11–18:29 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Enterprise Pricing Models and Projected Runway Latka questions value-based enterprise pricing due to attribution complexity, while Sakil explains why time-based or objective-function metrics fail for sporadic high-value computations. Latka estimates their runway by citing their investors' typical check sizes.18:31–20:31 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Famous Five Questions with Dirk Sakil A standard, friendly closing sequence covering favorite sales literature, sleep, and family background.0:49–4:46 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Defining Quantagonia's Quantum Hybrid Computing Platform Sakil educates Latka on hybrid quantum computing, explaining that true industry quantum hardware is years away and clarifying that Quantagonia translates x86 code to classical compute rather than using crowdsourced mesh networks.4:47–7:09 · Nathan pushing back 9/10 Pre-Seed Stage Funding Secrecy and Enterprise LOIs Latka relentlessly grills Sakil over his refusal to disclose funding figures, arguing that secrecy hinders talent recruitment and enterprise credibility. Sakil repeatedly deflects by citing investor NDAs and strategic choices.7:12–10:13 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Co-Founders' Academic Backgrounds and Fraunhofer Connection Sakil describes his co-founders' academic credentials and his own background scaling Gurobi GmbH. Latka probes into whether the company is an academic or Fraunhofer IP spinout.10:16–15:11 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Pilot Bookkeeping and Tax Services Latka explores how early LOIs operate in practice, pushing Sakil to define benchmark criteria and how a 15-minute energy grid optimization cycle translates into software validation.15:11–18:29 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Enterprise Pricing Models and Projected Runway Latka questions value-based enterprise pricing due to attribution complexity, while Sakil explains why time-based or objective-function metrics fail for sporadic high-value computations. Latka estimates their runway by citing their investors' typical check sizes.18:31–20:31 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Famous Five Questions with Dirk Sakil A standard, friendly closing sequence covering favorite sales literature, sleep, and family background.

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

0:00 · Nathan 35.9% · guest 64.1%0:00 · Nathan 35.9% · guest 64.1%3:00 · Nathan 34% · guest 66%3:00 · Nathan 34% · guest 66%6:00 · Nathan 36% · guest 64%6:00 · Nathan 36% · guest 64%9:00 · Nathan 64.1% · guest 35.9%9:00 · Nathan 64.1% · guest 35.9%12:00 · Nathan 30.3% · guest 69.7%12:00 · Nathan 30.3% · guest 69.7%15:00 · Nathan 25.9% · guest 74.1%15:00 · Nathan 25.9% · guest 74.1%18:00 · Nathan 45.5% · guest 54.5%18:00 · Nathan 45.5% · guest 54.5%21:00 · Nathan 89.4% · guest 10.6%21:00 · Nathan 89.4% · guest 10.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:52 Sakil stonewalls Latka on funding secrecy

Sakil repeatedly shuts down Latka's inquiries into the strategic reasons behind non-disclosure, firmly stating that the decision itself is confidential.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:39 Latka calls out repeated deflections

Latka directly confronts Sakil for missing the point and dodging the question four consecutive times before abandoning the topic.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 16:37 Sakil reframes pricing around variables instead of objective functions

Sakil educates Latka on mathematical modeling, explaining that pricing cannot be tied to objective function counts because variable volume and business value vary drastically.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 17:55 Latka benchmarks check sizes from VC fund data

After Sakil refused to disclose their raise amount, Latka demonstrates domain knowledge by naming their specific VCs and citing their standard €500k to €2M deal range.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Defining Quantagonia's Quantum Hybrid Computing Platform 4512 Sakil educates Latka on hybrid quantum computing, explaining that true industry quantum hardware is years away and clarifying that Quantagonia translates x86 code to classical compute rather than using crowdsourced mesh networks.
Pre-Seed Stage Funding Secrecy and Enterprise LOIs 7049 Latka relentlessly grills Sakil over his refusal to disclose funding figures, arguing that secrecy hinders talent recruitment and enterprise credibility. Sakil repeatedly deflects by citing investor NDAs and strategic choices.
Co-Founders' Academic Backgrounds and Fraunhofer Connection 4312 Sakil describes his co-founders' academic credentials and his own background scaling Gurobi GmbH. Latka probes into whether the company is an academic or Fraunhofer IP spinout.
Sponsor Spotlight: Pilot Bookkeeping and Tax Services 5413 Latka explores how early LOIs operate in practice, pushing Sakil to define benchmark criteria and how a 15-minute energy grid optimization cycle translates into software validation.
Enterprise Pricing Models and Projected Runway 6426 Latka questions value-based enterprise pricing due to attribution complexity, while Sakil explains why time-based or objective-function metrics fail for sporadic high-value computations. Latka estimates their runway by citing their investors' typical check sizes.
Famous Five Questions with Dirk Sakil 2101 A standard, friendly closing sequence covering favorite sales literature, sleep, and family background.

Statements from this episode (7)

Prediction Open · timeframe Apr 2027
Sakil: Industry-ready quantum computers are three to five years away
“Industry availability of these computers would take at least three years. We estimate three to five years”
Dirk Sakil Apr 14, 2022 ▶ 2:10
Disclosure
Quantagonia plans to compile x86 code to run on quantum computers
“And we will do basically the same for quantum computing. So put your x-eighty-six code in and you can run it on the quantum computer in the future.”
Dirk Sakil Apr 14, 2022 ▶ 4:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Quantagonia has signed 10 to 11 enterprise letters of intent
“We have signed up with 10, 11 customers on an LOI basis.”
Dirk Sakil Apr 14, 2022 ▶ 5:10
Assertion Supported
Sakil: NFL runs thousands of AWS nodes for months to generate schedules
“Like the NFL, they are running several thousand notes on Amazon for a few months just to get the best NFL schedule in the US.”
Dirk Sakil Apr 14, 2022 ▶ 9:16
Disclosure
Quantagonia's 11 enterprise LOIs do not guarantee payment upon hitting benchmarks
“No, it's not paying Z, but it's stating that we have a joint collaboration, and if that turns out, then we work on a commercial relationship, yeah.”
Dirk Sakil Apr 14, 2022 ▶ 13:16
Assertion Supported
German energy companies trade in 15-minute windows requiring rapid compute decisions
“For example, in Germany all the energy is traded within windows of 15 minutes. So a big, Energy companies, they make every 15 minutes a decision. Should we buy energy? Should we produce energy? Do we get enough solar energy for the next 15 minutes or wind ener…”
Dirk Sakil Apr 14, 2022 ▶ 13:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sakil: Optimization enterprise customers are willing to pay six-figure annual contracts
“And they, as I said, they are saving a lot of money if they get to the best solution, and they're easily willing to pay in the six digits US dollar space per year, for example.”
Dirk Sakil Apr 14, 2022 ▶ 16:14
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