StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Apr 3, 2022 · 16m · top-founders

Language Optimization SaaS Hits $23k MRR in 6 Months, 9 FTE's, $3m Valuation

Nadia Fischer · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m 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, host Nathan Latka speaks with Nadia Fischer, CEO and co-founder of Wittyworks, about how her AI-driven language optimization SaaS generated $23,000 in MRR within six months of launch. Fischer explains her product's de-biased NLP capabilities, enterprise sales traction with zero ad spend, European fundraising journey, and commitment to building a diverse remote team.

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 39.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.6 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.4 Nathan pushing back 2.2
05100:0010:000:00–2:51 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Preview: Wittyworks Hits $250k Annual Recurring Revenue Target Nathan introduces the company and tests the value proposition by asking Nadia to provide concrete examples of how language should be de-biased. Nadia explains how words like 'ambitious' and 'guys' can be reframed into collaborative phrasing.2:51–7:33 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Licensing Model, Contract Expansion Goals, and MVP Timeline Nathan presses Nadia to clarify seat-level pricing versus overall ACV to understand company economics. Nadia explains the Swiss fundraising landscape where pre-seed valuations and convertible note structures differ sharply from the US.7:37–10:01 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Founderpath Sponsor: Evaluating SaaS Comps and Multiples Tool After an ad monologue, Nathan calculates Nadia's ARR and MRR run-rate from her customer count and ACV, prompting her to confirm the exact $23k MRR metric.10:02–12:08 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Building a Diverse Remote Team and Engineering Leadership Nadia corrects Nathan regarding company origin, noting they are based in Switzerland rather than Sweden. She describes their remote team structure and tech leadership background.12:08–15:37 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Product Roadmap, Enterprise Security Clouds, and Churn Reduction Nathan inquires about enterprise cloud compliance, sales quotas, and churn metrics before transitioning into the Famous Five questions. Nadia gives specifics on their freemium conversion rate and reduction of churn from 9% to 2%.0:00–2:51 · Guest teaching 3/10 Preview: Wittyworks Hits $250k Annual Recurring Revenue Target Nathan introduces the company and tests the value proposition by asking Nadia to provide concrete examples of how language should be de-biased. Nadia explains how words like 'ambitious' and 'guys' can be reframed into collaborative phrasing.2:51–7:33 · Guest teaching 4/10 Licensing Model, Contract Expansion Goals, and MVP Timeline Nathan presses Nadia to clarify seat-level pricing versus overall ACV to understand company economics. Nadia explains the Swiss fundraising landscape where pre-seed valuations and convertible note structures differ sharply from the US.7:37–10:01 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founderpath Sponsor: Evaluating SaaS Comps and Multiples Tool After an ad monologue, Nathan calculates Nadia's ARR and MRR run-rate from her customer count and ACV, prompting her to confirm the exact $23k MRR metric.10:02–12:08 · Guest teaching 3/10 Building a Diverse Remote Team and Engineering Leadership Nadia corrects Nathan regarding company origin, noting they are based in Switzerland rather than Sweden. She describes their remote team structure and tech leadership background.12:08–15:37 · Guest teaching 3/10 Product Roadmap, Enterprise Security Clouds, and Churn Reduction Nathan inquires about enterprise cloud compliance, sales quotas, and churn metrics before transitioning into the Famous Five questions. Nadia gives specifics on their freemium conversion rate and reduction of churn from 9% to 2%.0:00–2:51 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Preview: Wittyworks Hits $250k Annual Recurring Revenue Target Nathan introduces the company and tests the value proposition by asking Nadia to provide concrete examples of how language should be de-biased. Nadia explains how words like 'ambitious' and 'guys' can be reframed into collaborative phrasing.2:51–7:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Licensing Model, Contract Expansion Goals, and MVP Timeline Nathan presses Nadia to clarify seat-level pricing versus overall ACV to understand company economics. Nadia explains the Swiss fundraising landscape where pre-seed valuations and convertible note structures differ sharply from the US.7:37–10:01 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founderpath Sponsor: Evaluating SaaS Comps and Multiples Tool After an ad monologue, Nathan calculates Nadia's ARR and MRR run-rate from her customer count and ACV, prompting her to confirm the exact $23k MRR metric.10:02–12:08 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Building a Diverse Remote Team and Engineering Leadership Nadia corrects Nathan regarding company origin, noting they are based in Switzerland rather than Sweden. She describes their remote team structure and tech leadership background.12:08–15:37 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Product Roadmap, Enterprise Security Clouds, and Churn Reduction Nathan inquires about enterprise cloud compliance, sales quotas, and churn metrics before transitioning into the Famous Five questions. Nadia gives specifics on their freemium conversion rate and reduction of churn from 9% to 2%.0:00–2:51 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Preview: Wittyworks Hits $250k Annual Recurring Revenue Target Nathan introduces the company and tests the value proposition by asking Nadia to provide concrete examples of how language should be de-biased. Nadia explains how words like 'ambitious' and 'guys' can be reframed into collaborative phrasing.2:51–7:33 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Licensing Model, Contract Expansion Goals, and MVP Timeline Nathan presses Nadia to clarify seat-level pricing versus overall ACV to understand company economics. Nadia explains the Swiss fundraising landscape where pre-seed valuations and convertible note structures differ sharply from the US.7:37–10:01 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Founderpath Sponsor: Evaluating SaaS Comps and Multiples Tool After an ad monologue, Nathan calculates Nadia's ARR and MRR run-rate from her customer count and ACV, prompting her to confirm the exact $23k MRR metric.10:02–12:08 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Building a Diverse Remote Team and Engineering Leadership Nadia corrects Nathan regarding company origin, noting they are based in Switzerland rather than Sweden. She describes their remote team structure and tech leadership background.12:08–15:37 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Product Roadmap, Enterprise Security Clouds, and Churn Reduction Nathan inquires about enterprise cloud compliance, sales quotas, and churn metrics before transitioning into the Famous Five questions. Nadia gives specifics on their freemium conversion rate and reduction of churn from 9% to 2%.

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

0:00 · Nathan 54.1% · guest 45.9%0:00 · Nathan 54.1% · guest 45.9%3:00 · Nathan 26.1% · guest 73.9%3:00 · Nathan 26.1% · guest 73.9%6:00 · Nathan 49.6% · guest 50.4%6:00 · Nathan 49.6% · guest 50.4%9:00 · Nathan 36.4% · guest 63.6%9:00 · Nathan 36.4% · guest 63.6%12:00 · Nathan 23.1% · guest 76.9%12:00 · Nathan 23.1% · guest 76.9%15:00 · Nathan 60.6% · guest 39.4%15:00 · Nathan 60.6% · guest 39.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:36 Country origin correction

Nadia quickly cuts off Nathan's assumption about meeting in Sweden by correcting him that the company and founders are from Switzerland.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 3:24 Demanding total account value

Nathan interrupts Nadia's explanation of per-seat licensing to demand the actual average contract value per customer.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:37 Swiss pre-seed valuation realities

Nadia educates Nathan on why convertible notes are avoided in Switzerland due to small ticket sizes and explains how European pre-seed valuations sit around $2-3M compared to higher US comps.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:59 Instant ARR and MRR calculation

Nathan immediately calculates Nadia's implied annual and monthly run rate from her customer count and ACV metrics, prompting her to confirm his numbers.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Preview: Wittyworks Hits $250k Annual Recurring Revenue Target 4312 Nathan introduces the company and tests the value proposition by asking Nadia to provide concrete examples of how language should be de-biased. Nadia explains how words like 'ambitious' and 'guys' can be reframed into collaborative phrasing.
Licensing Model, Contract Expansion Goals, and MVP Timeline 6424 Nathan presses Nadia to clarify seat-level pricing versus overall ACV to understand company economics. Nadia explains the Swiss fundraising landscape where pre-seed valuations and convertible note structures differ sharply from the US.
Founderpath Sponsor: Evaluating SaaS Comps and Multiples Tool 6212 After an ad monologue, Nathan calculates Nadia's ARR and MRR run-rate from her customer count and ACV, prompting her to confirm the exact $23k MRR metric.
Building a Diverse Remote Team and Engineering Leadership 3322 Nadia corrects Nathan regarding company origin, noting they are based in Switzerland rather than Sweden. She describes their remote team structure and tech leadership background.
Product Roadmap, Enterprise Security Clouds, and Churn Reduction 4311 Nathan inquires about enterprise cloud compliance, sales quotas, and churn metrics before transitioning into the Famous Five questions. Nadia gives specifics on their freemium conversion rate and reduction of churn from 9% to 2%.

Statements from this episode (14)

Insight
Fischer: "Ambitious" and "performance" language alienates diverse talent pools
“There's much language out there that is a lot of people do not feel addressed because their socialization is different. So if you also write, yeah, we're really an ambitious team and performance is super important. That's all kind of language that only attract…”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 1:43
Disclosure
Fischer: Wittyworks charges $180 per seat annually
“It's a license per year of 180 US dollars per year.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 2:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Wittyworks' average contract value is $5,000 to $10,000
“Currently, the average contract values are between, let's say, five and then 10,000, I would say”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 3:36
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Wittyworks aims to reach $150,000 to $200,000 ACVs via seat expansion
“Naturally, we're hoping for the compounding effect that now it kind of starts to expand within the companies, and you know, that will reach ACVs of like 150 to 200,000.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 3:36
Disclosure
Fischer: Wittyworks raised a $750k friends and family round in 2021
“We raised capital mid last year with friends and family around. How much did you decide to raise? A 750 U.S. Dollars, 50,000 U.S. Dollars.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 4:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Swiss convertible notes are typically limited to just $25k
“In Switzerland, when you use notes, it's rather very small notes, like 20 to 25,000. So you would have to raise a lot of notes and that makes it very complicated.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 5:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Swiss pre-seed valuations trail the US by up to $8M
“The pre-seed valuations are like between two million and maybe three million, something like that, where I see when I'm watching out the US, you know, stuff like that can already be at eight, ten million.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 6:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Wittyworks serves 32 customers including Microsoft and Intel
“So so 32 customers and some of them really big brands like Microsoft, Intel, Deutsche Bahn so Deloitte, so quite big customers actually.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 8:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Wittyworks generates $23k in monthly recurring revenue
“It's a 23,000 MRR.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 9:05
Disclosure
Fischer: Wittyworks reached $23k MRR and enterprise clients with zero ad spend
“Actually, we didn't have any marketing spent so far either. So that's really cool. It's a lot of content marketing we do, but we didn't have to have any paid advertisement.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 9:42
Assertion Supported
Fischer: Wittyworks CTO Lukas was previously PHP's global release manager
“He used to be the global release manager of PHP, so that's also really cool when we, you know, when we're looking for tech talent, it's never a problem to find anyone.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 10:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Three of Wittyworks' four engineers are women
“Four engineers and three of them are women.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 11:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Wittyworks converts about 10% of visitors to freemium
“Well, I can tell you that we have a really good rate from our freemium from our visitors to our freemium. That's like a 10%, which is really nice.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 13:37
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fischer: Wittyworks reduced churn from 9% to 2% post-improvements
“I think we brought, at least we brought it down, I would say, before it was like nine percent, and now we've got it down to two percent when we, you know, made some improvements on the product, but it's still not stable, so we're still working on that.”
Nadia Fischer Apr 3, 2022 ▶ 13:54
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