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Mar 7, 2022 · 19m · top-founders

How to Sell $50k Contracts on Day 1 of your Startup

Shafik Bawas · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, Brainboard founder Shafik Bawas breaks down how his visual cloud infrastructure startup scaled from $200 to over $40,000 in monthly recurring revenue through consultative LinkedIn outreach, 14-day proof-of-concept enterprise trials, and strategic Y Combinator expansion.

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 39.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.9 Guest teaching 2.9 Guest disagreement 1.9 Nathan pushing back 4.9
05100:0010:000:45–2:46 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Brainboard: Visual Cloud Infrastructure Management and SaaS Pricing Latka probes Brainboard's target persona and immediately parses the pricing model. When Shafik hesitates to categorize their $12k-15k monthly ACV as enterprise, Latka clarifies the distinction between product model and enterprise sales motions.2:46–5:20 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Founding Journey, French Government Runway, and Pre-Seed Fundraising Latka runs the dilution and pre/post-money math instantly on Shafik's pre-seed round. Shafik educates Latka on French labor laws that let workers take two years off at partial salary to bootstrap startups.5:21–8:23 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Early Customer Acquisition, Revenue Realities, and Partnership Discounts Latka spots an arithmetic contradiction between Shafik's stated 10 customers, $12k ARPU, and expected revenue. He pushes past vague answers until Shafik clarifies that heavy onboarding discounts put actual MRR around $40k-$50k.8:24–11:14 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Enterprise Outbound Sales Strategy and Lead Generation via LinkedIn Latka pushes Shafik to specify his outbound LinkedIn outreach rather than giving vague generalities. When Shafik claims he just asks for feedback, Latka challenges whether anyone actually replies to that without specifics.11:16–14:00 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Founderpath Valuation Tool Mid-Roll Sponsor Following the mid-roll ad read, Latka explores Shafik's POC conversion funnel. Latka challenges the notion that free POCs carry zero risk by highlighting the prospect's investment of time, while validating a 10% conversion rate.14:01–17:33 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Strategic Decision Behind Joining Y Combinator and Investor Alignment Latka identifies the mathematical valuation disparity of taking YC's standard deal at an implied down valuation relative to their earlier $4M pre-seed round. He presses Shafik on how existing investors reacted to the dilution.17:33–18:59 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Post-Interview Debrief and Enterprise POC Template Request In the post-interview debrief, Latka persistently negotiates to acquire a redacted version of Brainboard's enterprise POC document to provide actionable value to listeners, clarifying Shafik's initial confusion.0:45–2:46 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Brainboard: Visual Cloud Infrastructure Management and SaaS Pricing Latka probes Brainboard's target persona and immediately parses the pricing model. When Shafik hesitates to categorize their $12k-15k monthly ACV as enterprise, Latka clarifies the distinction between product model and enterprise sales motions.2:46–5:20 · Guest teaching 5/10 Founding Journey, French Government Runway, and Pre-Seed Fundraising Latka runs the dilution and pre/post-money math instantly on Shafik's pre-seed round. Shafik educates Latka on French labor laws that let workers take two years off at partial salary to bootstrap startups.5:21–8:23 · Guest teaching 3/10 Early Customer Acquisition, Revenue Realities, and Partnership Discounts Latka spots an arithmetic contradiction between Shafik's stated 10 customers, $12k ARPU, and expected revenue. He pushes past vague answers until Shafik clarifies that heavy onboarding discounts put actual MRR around $40k-$50k.8:24–11:14 · Guest teaching 2/10 Enterprise Outbound Sales Strategy and Lead Generation via LinkedIn Latka pushes Shafik to specify his outbound LinkedIn outreach rather than giving vague generalities. When Shafik claims he just asks for feedback, Latka challenges whether anyone actually replies to that without specifics.11:16–14:00 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founderpath Valuation Tool Mid-Roll Sponsor Following the mid-roll ad read, Latka explores Shafik's POC conversion funnel. Latka challenges the notion that free POCs carry zero risk by highlighting the prospect's investment of time, while validating a 10% conversion rate.14:01–17:33 · Guest teaching 3/10 Strategic Decision Behind Joining Y Combinator and Investor Alignment Latka identifies the mathematical valuation disparity of taking YC's standard deal at an implied down valuation relative to their earlier $4M pre-seed round. He presses Shafik on how existing investors reacted to the dilution.17:33–18:59 · Guest teaching 2/10 Post-Interview Debrief and Enterprise POC Template Request In the post-interview debrief, Latka persistently negotiates to acquire a redacted version of Brainboard's enterprise POC document to provide actionable value to listeners, clarifying Shafik's initial confusion.0:45–2:46 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Brainboard: Visual Cloud Infrastructure Management and SaaS Pricing Latka probes Brainboard's target persona and immediately parses the pricing model. When Shafik hesitates to categorize their $12k-15k monthly ACV as enterprise, Latka clarifies the distinction between product model and enterprise sales motions.2:46–5:20 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founding Journey, French Government Runway, and Pre-Seed Fundraising Latka runs the dilution and pre/post-money math instantly on Shafik's pre-seed round. Shafik educates Latka on French labor laws that let workers take two years off at partial salary to bootstrap startups.5:21–8:23 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Early Customer Acquisition, Revenue Realities, and Partnership Discounts Latka spots an arithmetic contradiction between Shafik's stated 10 customers, $12k ARPU, and expected revenue. He pushes past vague answers until Shafik clarifies that heavy onboarding discounts put actual MRR around $40k-$50k.8:24–11:14 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Enterprise Outbound Sales Strategy and Lead Generation via LinkedIn Latka pushes Shafik to specify his outbound LinkedIn outreach rather than giving vague generalities. When Shafik claims he just asks for feedback, Latka challenges whether anyone actually replies to that without specifics.11:16–14:00 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founderpath Valuation Tool Mid-Roll Sponsor Following the mid-roll ad read, Latka explores Shafik's POC conversion funnel. Latka challenges the notion that free POCs carry zero risk by highlighting the prospect's investment of time, while validating a 10% conversion rate.14:01–17:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Strategic Decision Behind Joining Y Combinator and Investor Alignment Latka identifies the mathematical valuation disparity of taking YC's standard deal at an implied down valuation relative to their earlier $4M pre-seed round. He presses Shafik on how existing investors reacted to the dilution.17:33–18:59 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Post-Interview Debrief and Enterprise POC Template Request In the post-interview debrief, Latka persistently negotiates to acquire a redacted version of Brainboard's enterprise POC document to provide actionable value to listeners, clarifying Shafik's initial confusion.0:45–2:46 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Brainboard: Visual Cloud Infrastructure Management and SaaS Pricing Latka probes Brainboard's target persona and immediately parses the pricing model. When Shafik hesitates to categorize their $12k-15k monthly ACV as enterprise, Latka clarifies the distinction between product model and enterprise sales motions.2:46–5:20 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Founding Journey, French Government Runway, and Pre-Seed Fundraising Latka runs the dilution and pre/post-money math instantly on Shafik's pre-seed round. Shafik educates Latka on French labor laws that let workers take two years off at partial salary to bootstrap startups.5:21–8:23 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Early Customer Acquisition, Revenue Realities, and Partnership Discounts Latka spots an arithmetic contradiction between Shafik's stated 10 customers, $12k ARPU, and expected revenue. He pushes past vague answers until Shafik clarifies that heavy onboarding discounts put actual MRR around $40k-$50k.8:24–11:14 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Enterprise Outbound Sales Strategy and Lead Generation via LinkedIn Latka pushes Shafik to specify his outbound LinkedIn outreach rather than giving vague generalities. When Shafik claims he just asks for feedback, Latka challenges whether anyone actually replies to that without specifics.11:16–14:00 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Founderpath Valuation Tool Mid-Roll Sponsor Following the mid-roll ad read, Latka explores Shafik's POC conversion funnel. Latka challenges the notion that free POCs carry zero risk by highlighting the prospect's investment of time, while validating a 10% conversion rate.14:01–17:33 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Strategic Decision Behind Joining Y Combinator and Investor Alignment Latka identifies the mathematical valuation disparity of taking YC's standard deal at an implied down valuation relative to their earlier $4M pre-seed round. He presses Shafik on how existing investors reacted to the dilution.17:33–18:59 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Post-Interview Debrief and Enterprise POC Template Request In the post-interview debrief, Latka persistently negotiates to acquire a redacted version of Brainboard's enterprise POC document to provide actionable value to listeners, clarifying Shafik's initial confusion.

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

0:00 · Nathan 47.9% · guest 52.1%0:00 · Nathan 47.9% · guest 52.1%3:00 · Nathan 24.4% · guest 75.6%3:00 · Nathan 24.4% · guest 75.6%6:00 · Nathan 30.8% · guest 69.2%6:00 · Nathan 30.8% · guest 69.2%9:00 · Nathan 45.5% · guest 54.5%9:00 · Nathan 45.5% · guest 54.5%12:00 · Nathan 31.3% · guest 68.7%12:00 · Nathan 31.3% · guest 68.7%15:00 · Nathan 53.1% · guest 46.9%15:00 · Nathan 53.1% · guest 46.9%18:00 · Nathan 63.4% · guest 36.6%18:00 · Nathan 63.4% · guest 36.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:58 Shafik defends his cold feedback outreach strategy

When Latka expresses skepticism that cold messaging asking for feedback gets responses, Shafik pushes back directly, insisting that it is their proven method.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:01 Latka refuses to let ambiguous MRR numbers slide

Latka catches the gap between 10 customers times $12k ARPU and real revenue, firmly pressing Shafik until he reveals actual MRR is closer to $40k-$50k.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:51 Shafik explains the French startup funding safety net

Shafik educates Latka on French unemployment laws that allow professionals to receive 60% of their salary for two years to fund new startup ventures.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 15:10 Latka details YC implied valuation haircut

Latka demonstrates deep startup finance fluency by calculating that YC's standard check represented an effective down-round valuation compared to their $4M pre-seed round.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Brainboard: Visual Cloud Infrastructure Management and SaaS Pricing 5324 Latka probes Brainboard's target persona and immediately parses the pricing model. When Shafik hesitates to categorize their $12k-15k monthly ACV as enterprise, Latka clarifies the distinction between product model and enterprise sales motions.
Founding Journey, French Government Runway, and Pre-Seed Fundraising 6512 Latka runs the dilution and pre/post-money math instantly on Shafik's pre-seed round. Shafik educates Latka on French labor laws that let workers take two years off at partial salary to bootstrap startups.
Early Customer Acquisition, Revenue Realities, and Partnership Discounts 7327 Latka spots an arithmetic contradiction between Shafik's stated 10 customers, $12k ARPU, and expected revenue. He pushes past vague answers until Shafik clarifies that heavy onboarding discounts put actual MRR around $40k-$50k.
Enterprise Outbound Sales Strategy and Lead Generation via LinkedIn 6236 Latka pushes Shafik to specify his outbound LinkedIn outreach rather than giving vague generalities. When Shafik claims he just asks for feedback, Latka challenges whether anyone actually replies to that without specifics.
Founderpath Valuation Tool Mid-Roll Sponsor 5213 Following the mid-roll ad read, Latka explores Shafik's POC conversion funnel. Latka challenges the notion that free POCs carry zero risk by highlighting the prospect's investment of time, while validating a 10% conversion rate.
Strategic Decision Behind Joining Y Combinator and Investor Alignment 8327 Latka identifies the mathematical valuation disparity of taking YC's standard deal at an implied down valuation relative to their earlier $4M pre-seed round. He presses Shafik on how existing investors reacted to the dilution.
Post-Interview Debrief and Enterprise POC Template Request 4225 In the post-interview debrief, Latka persistently negotiates to acquire a redacted version of Brainboard's enterprise POC document to provide actionable value to listeners, clarifying Shafik's initial confusion.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bawas: Brainboard customers pay $12,000 to $15,000 per month on average
“The average company is between 12 and 15 K a month.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 2:24
Disclosure
Bawas: Brainboard raised over $1.2M in 2021 pre-seed round
“We raised more than one dot two million USD.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 3:34
Disclosure
Bawas: Brainboard raised pre-seed round at over $4M pre-money valuation
“And we, yeah, the valuation it's more than four million.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 4:06
Disclosure
Bawas: Brainboard founders bootstrapped using French salary benefits for two years
“You know, we got a, we were based in France and we got a system in France, you know, when you work for more than six years, you can take like two years off and you got all 60%, something like that of your salary. So we took advantage of that. We used it to fen…”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 4:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bawas: Brainboard has over 10 paying customers
“So we have like more than 10 customers.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 5:29
Disclosure
Bawas: Brainboard trades 15-25% discounts for annual commitments or feedback
“So what we usually do, we apply between 15 and 25%. And yeah, but in return, we take either an engagement for a year or they accept to give us a regular feedback.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 7:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bawas: Brainboard made around $200 a month one year ago
“A year ago. A year ago, we were like, a hundred of bucks. We were like, 200 a month.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 8:04
Disclosure
Bawas: LinkedIn is Brainboard's most effective customer acquisition channel
“LinkedIn is working a lot for us. I mean, actually, because, you know, we are talking to experts, cloud architects and managers, and these people are present in LinkedIn because they work with LinkedIn. You know, when you are looking for a job, you put it on L…”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 8:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bawas: Brainboard ran over 100 free POCs in six months
“Well, we have done like more than a hundred.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 13:28
Disclosure
Brainboard's pre-seed investors supported the company joining Y Combinator
“They're comfortable with it. I mean, the investors we have, they already know the systems like you know, our context is we are in France. It's a French company and a lot of companies from France move to the U S and do YC.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 15:28
Opinion
Bawas: European startups have higher success rates by doing YC
“They know that if you do YC, it's like you have more chance to succeed in the business. Then when you do it alone and in, in Europe.”
Shafik Bawas Mar 7, 2022 ▶ 15:46
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