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Mar 2, 2022 · 20m · top-founders

How he plans to sell first $2k/mo plan

Aris Verne · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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Alfinder founder Aris Verne joins Nathan Latka to discuss his AI behavioral marketing platform, detailing how he acquired 200 agency beta users, secured $150,000 in pilot revenue, and plans to transition to high-ticket $2k-$5k monthly SaaS pricing.

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 38.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.4 Guest teaching 2.4 Guest disagreement 3.6 Nathan pushing back 6.1
05100:0010:0020:000:59–3:04 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Aris Verne and Alfinder's Core Concept Nathan interrupts Aris's initial pitch to point out the confusing branding between 'Alfinder' and 'AI', before steering the rambling bookshelf analogy back onto track.3:05–6:04 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Defining Target Audience, Pricing, and Initial Funding Nathan reins in the conversation to establish firm baseline metrics around pricing, target customers, and whether the company is truly pre-revenue.6:05–10:15 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 LinkedIn Cold Outreach Tactics and Messaging Copy Nathan cuts through vague assertions about an 'amazing product' and aggressively interrogates Aris on specific LinkedIn search parameters, filters, and cold outreach copy.10:16–13:13 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Why Beta Users Have Not Transitioned to Paying Nathan challenges Aris's timeline logic, pressing why beta users who joined 18 months ago have not converted to paid accounts if testing only requires 3 to 6 months.13:16–15:56 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Replacing Agency Tech Stacks and Pilot Contract Revenue Nathan argues that replacing an entire agency stack creates too much friction, prompting Aris to push back with a 'go big or go home' mindset and disclose $150k in paid pilot contracts.15:57–18:20 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Pre-Revenue Valuation, Fundraising, and Offshore Engineering Team Nathan scrutinizes Aris's target $20M pre-money valuation for a pre-revenue startup with only two listed LinkedIn employees, questioning where the defensible IP lies.18:20–20:43 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Launch Timeline and Beta-to-Paid Monetization Strategy Nathan transitions through launch pricing expectations and the Famous Five, finishing with a quick quip catching the irony in Aris's advice on connections.0:59–3:04 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Aris Verne and Alfinder's Core Concept Nathan interrupts Aris's initial pitch to point out the confusing branding between 'Alfinder' and 'AI', before steering the rambling bookshelf analogy back onto track.3:05–6:04 · Guest teaching 2/10 Defining Target Audience, Pricing, and Initial Funding Nathan reins in the conversation to establish firm baseline metrics around pricing, target customers, and whether the company is truly pre-revenue.6:05–10:15 · Guest teaching 4/10 LinkedIn Cold Outreach Tactics and Messaging Copy Nathan cuts through vague assertions about an 'amazing product' and aggressively interrogates Aris on specific LinkedIn search parameters, filters, and cold outreach copy.10:16–13:13 · Guest teaching 2/10 Why Beta Users Have Not Transitioned to Paying Nathan challenges Aris's timeline logic, pressing why beta users who joined 18 months ago have not converted to paid accounts if testing only requires 3 to 6 months.13:16–15:56 · Guest teaching 4/10 Replacing Agency Tech Stacks and Pilot Contract Revenue Nathan argues that replacing an entire agency stack creates too much friction, prompting Aris to push back with a 'go big or go home' mindset and disclose $150k in paid pilot contracts.15:57–18:20 · Guest teaching 2/10 Pre-Revenue Valuation, Fundraising, and Offshore Engineering Team Nathan scrutinizes Aris's target $20M pre-money valuation for a pre-revenue startup with only two listed LinkedIn employees, questioning where the defensible IP lies.18:20–20:43 · Guest teaching 1/10 Launch Timeline and Beta-to-Paid Monetization Strategy Nathan transitions through launch pricing expectations and the Famous Five, finishing with a quick quip catching the irony in Aris's advice on connections.0:59–3:04 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Aris Verne and Alfinder's Core Concept Nathan interrupts Aris's initial pitch to point out the confusing branding between 'Alfinder' and 'AI', before steering the rambling bookshelf analogy back onto track.3:05–6:04 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Defining Target Audience, Pricing, and Initial Funding Nathan reins in the conversation to establish firm baseline metrics around pricing, target customers, and whether the company is truly pre-revenue.6:05–10:15 · Guest disagreement 3/10 LinkedIn Cold Outreach Tactics and Messaging Copy Nathan cuts through vague assertions about an 'amazing product' and aggressively interrogates Aris on specific LinkedIn search parameters, filters, and cold outreach copy.10:16–13:13 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Why Beta Users Have Not Transitioned to Paying Nathan challenges Aris's timeline logic, pressing why beta users who joined 18 months ago have not converted to paid accounts if testing only requires 3 to 6 months.13:16–15:56 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Replacing Agency Tech Stacks and Pilot Contract Revenue Nathan argues that replacing an entire agency stack creates too much friction, prompting Aris to push back with a 'go big or go home' mindset and disclose $150k in paid pilot contracts.15:57–18:20 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Pre-Revenue Valuation, Fundraising, and Offshore Engineering Team Nathan scrutinizes Aris's target $20M pre-money valuation for a pre-revenue startup with only two listed LinkedIn employees, questioning where the defensible IP lies.18:20–20:43 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Launch Timeline and Beta-to-Paid Monetization Strategy Nathan transitions through launch pricing expectations and the Famous Five, finishing with a quick quip catching the irony in Aris's advice on connections.0:59–3:04 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Aris Verne and Alfinder's Core Concept Nathan interrupts Aris's initial pitch to point out the confusing branding between 'Alfinder' and 'AI', before steering the rambling bookshelf analogy back onto track.3:05–6:04 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Defining Target Audience, Pricing, and Initial Funding Nathan reins in the conversation to establish firm baseline metrics around pricing, target customers, and whether the company is truly pre-revenue.6:05–10:15 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 LinkedIn Cold Outreach Tactics and Messaging Copy Nathan cuts through vague assertions about an 'amazing product' and aggressively interrogates Aris on specific LinkedIn search parameters, filters, and cold outreach copy.10:16–13:13 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Why Beta Users Have Not Transitioned to Paying Nathan challenges Aris's timeline logic, pressing why beta users who joined 18 months ago have not converted to paid accounts if testing only requires 3 to 6 months.13:16–15:56 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Replacing Agency Tech Stacks and Pilot Contract Revenue Nathan argues that replacing an entire agency stack creates too much friction, prompting Aris to push back with a 'go big or go home' mindset and disclose $150k in paid pilot contracts.15:57–18:20 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Pre-Revenue Valuation, Fundraising, and Offshore Engineering Team Nathan scrutinizes Aris's target $20M pre-money valuation for a pre-revenue startup with only two listed LinkedIn employees, questioning where the defensible IP lies.18:20–20:43 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Launch Timeline and Beta-to-Paid Monetization Strategy Nathan transitions through launch pricing expectations and the Famous Five, finishing with a quick quip catching the irony in Aris's advice on connections.

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

0:00 · Nathan 39.6% · guest 60.4%0:00 · Nathan 39.6% · guest 60.4%3:00 · Nathan 27% · guest 73%3:00 · Nathan 27% · guest 73%6:00 · Nathan 40.3% · guest 59.7%6:00 · Nathan 40.3% · guest 59.7%9:00 · Nathan 23.4% · guest 76.6%9:00 · Nathan 23.4% · guest 76.6%12:00 · Nathan 60.2% · guest 39.8%12:00 · Nathan 60.2% · guest 39.8%15:00 · Nathan 29.8% · guest 70.2%15:00 · Nathan 29.8% · guest 70.2%18:00 · Nathan 53% · guest 47%18:00 · Nathan 53% · guest 47%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:48 Rejecting the friction premise with 'go big or go home'

Aris firmly dismisses Nathan's claim that requiring agencies to cancel existing software creates fatal friction, defending his ambitious vision and revealing enterprise pilot contracts.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 17:18 Incredulous pushback on a $20M pre-revenue valuation

Nathan directly challenges Aris on expecting a $20M valuation pre-revenue, pointing out that having only two public employees contradicts claims of deep proprietary IP.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:44 Explaining LinkedIn Sales Navigator revenue filtering

Aris clarifies how he targets agencies by filtering specific agency categories by revenue range in Sales Navigator when Nathan doubts that small agency owners can be targeted directly.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:17 Exposing the beta retention vs conversion discrepancy

Nathan uses Aris's own claim that marketing validation takes 3 to 6 months to corner him on why 18-month-old beta cohorts have still not been converted to paying customers.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Aris Verne and Alfinder's Core Concept 4224 Nathan interrupts Aris's initial pitch to point out the confusing branding between 'Alfinder' and 'AI', before steering the rambling bookshelf analogy back onto track.
Defining Target Audience, Pricing, and Initial Funding 5236 Nathan reins in the conversation to establish firm baseline metrics around pricing, target customers, and whether the company is truly pre-revenue.
LinkedIn Cold Outreach Tactics and Messaging Copy 6437 Nathan cuts through vague assertions about an 'amazing product' and aggressively interrogates Aris on specific LinkedIn search parameters, filters, and cold outreach copy.
Why Beta Users Have Not Transitioned to Paying 6247 Nathan challenges Aris's timeline logic, pressing why beta users who joined 18 months ago have not converted to paid accounts if testing only requires 3 to 6 months.
Replacing Agency Tech Stacks and Pilot Contract Revenue 6467 Nathan argues that replacing an entire agency stack creates too much friction, prompting Aris to push back with a 'go big or go home' mindset and disclose $150k in paid pilot contracts.
Pre-Revenue Valuation, Fundraising, and Offshore Engineering Team 7258 Nathan scrutinizes Aris's target $20M pre-money valuation for a pre-revenue startup with only two listed LinkedIn employees, questioning where the defensible IP lies.
Launch Timeline and Beta-to-Paid Monetization Strategy 4124 Nathan transitions through launch pricing expectations and the Famous Five, finishing with a quick quip catching the irony in Aris's advice on connections.

Statements from this episode (8)

Disclosure
Verne: Alfinder raised $200K from angels alongside $100K personal investment
“I put about a 100,000 and I have about a 200 K outside investment from angels.”
Aris Verne Mar 2, 2022 ▶ 4:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Verne: Alfinder Has Upwards of 200 Beta Testers
“We've had a couple of crazy beta testers, huge companies international companies. Locally we have, I mean, there are upwards of 200 people that beta tested it, and they have an account, you know, from marketing strategists all the way to very small marketing a…”
Aris Verne Mar 2, 2022 ▶ 5:33
Disclosure
Verne: Alfinder Is Currently Pre-Revenue
“I'll be pre-revenue.”
Aris Verne Mar 2, 2022 ▶ 6:03
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Aris Verne: Alfinder will completely replace agency software stacks
“The moment we integrate into the any agencies, you know, environment, Alpha is going to be the only software that they're going to use.”
Aris Verne Mar 2, 2022 ▶ 13:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Aris Verne: Alfinder generated $150,000 in pilot contract revenue
“We've had contracts. Those contracts total about 150,000 dollars in nine months.”
Aris Verne Mar 2, 2022 ▶ 15:05
Disclosure
Verne: Alfinder is raising couple million seed ahead of mid-March launch
“We're trying to raise another, a couple of million seed stage before launch. And then we're planning on launching mid March ish.”
Aris Verne Mar 2, 2022 ▶ 15:58
Opinion
Verne: A $2M seed round is "worth almost nothing" without connections
“The connections within the industry comes from the money that we gain, you know, that two million, a couple of million is worth almost nothing. I don't care about the zeros in front of the, you know, the cash in the bank account, rather the connections that co…”
Aris Verne Mar 2, 2022 ▶ 16:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Verne: Alfinder splits offshore engineering between Pakistan for AI and India
“India and Pakistan, Pakistan on the AI side, mainly India on the, you know, on the website, let's say.”
Aris Verne Mar 2, 2022 ▶ 18:13
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