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Nov 20, 2021 · 17m · top-founders

How this SaaS Raised $2.4m Crowdfunding at $10m Valuation

Charles Yeomans · 9m 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

Atombeam Tech CEO Charles Yeomans discusses how his startup's proprietary software quadruples IoT bandwidth, balances $4 million in angel and crowdfunding capital against founder dilution, and transitions active enterprise pilots into lucrative recurring revenue.

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 37.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.0 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 1.6 Nathan pushing back 4.0
05100:0010:001:19–4:48 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Proprietary IoT Bandwidth and Data Compaction Mechanics Charles explains the core technical differentiation of using codebooks and machine learning on tiny IoT data files compared to traditional compression algorithms. Nathan presses to pin down the exact SaaS pricing unit economics, getting Charles to agree to an estimated blended rate of one dollar per machine per month.4:48–7:58 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Company Origins, Capitalization, and StartEngine Crowdfunding Nathan inquires into the startup capital, equity breakdown, and the recent $2.6M StartEngine crowdfunding round on a $10M valuation cap. Charles explains their dilution and how previous angel investors responded to the crowdfunding campaign.7:59–11:16 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Active Proof of Concepts and Engineering Team Size Nathan presses Charles on customer traction, forcing him to clarify that out of four active proof-of-concepts, only two are currently paying. Charles explains their joint engineering revenue-share model with satellite providers before Nathan transitions into a mid-episode sponsor read.11:18–14:15 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Overcoming Founder Hesitation and Pricing Power Dynamics Nathan challenges Charles on whether he is taking too much dilution while still pre-revenue and confronts him about founder hesitation in enterprise sales. Charles agrees with the critique, while Nathan provides a direct script for pitching seven-figure annual contracts.14:15–17:27 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Conversion Timelines, Investor Support, and Company Longevity Nathan pushes Charles on what failure criteria or shutdown timeline he has set if POCs fail to convert. Charles pushes back firmly, stating that supportive investors ensure they will not shut down, before moving smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.1:19–4:48 · Guest teaching 6/10 Proprietary IoT Bandwidth and Data Compaction Mechanics Charles explains the core technical differentiation of using codebooks and machine learning on tiny IoT data files compared to traditional compression algorithms. Nathan presses to pin down the exact SaaS pricing unit economics, getting Charles to agree to an estimated blended rate of one dollar per machine per month.4:48–7:58 · Guest teaching 2/10 Company Origins, Capitalization, and StartEngine Crowdfunding Nathan inquires into the startup capital, equity breakdown, and the recent $2.6M StartEngine crowdfunding round on a $10M valuation cap. Charles explains their dilution and how previous angel investors responded to the crowdfunding campaign.7:59–11:16 · Guest teaching 3/10 Active Proof of Concepts and Engineering Team Size Nathan presses Charles on customer traction, forcing him to clarify that out of four active proof-of-concepts, only two are currently paying. Charles explains their joint engineering revenue-share model with satellite providers before Nathan transitions into a mid-episode sponsor read.11:18–14:15 · Guest teaching 1/10 Overcoming Founder Hesitation and Pricing Power Dynamics Nathan challenges Charles on whether he is taking too much dilution while still pre-revenue and confronts him about founder hesitation in enterprise sales. Charles agrees with the critique, while Nathan provides a direct script for pitching seven-figure annual contracts.14:15–17:27 · Guest teaching 2/10 Conversion Timelines, Investor Support, and Company Longevity Nathan pushes Charles on what failure criteria or shutdown timeline he has set if POCs fail to convert. Charles pushes back firmly, stating that supportive investors ensure they will not shut down, before moving smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.1:19–4:48 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Proprietary IoT Bandwidth and Data Compaction Mechanics Charles explains the core technical differentiation of using codebooks and machine learning on tiny IoT data files compared to traditional compression algorithms. Nathan presses to pin down the exact SaaS pricing unit economics, getting Charles to agree to an estimated blended rate of one dollar per machine per month.4:48–7:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Company Origins, Capitalization, and StartEngine Crowdfunding Nathan inquires into the startup capital, equity breakdown, and the recent $2.6M StartEngine crowdfunding round on a $10M valuation cap. Charles explains their dilution and how previous angel investors responded to the crowdfunding campaign.7:59–11:16 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Active Proof of Concepts and Engineering Team Size Nathan presses Charles on customer traction, forcing him to clarify that out of four active proof-of-concepts, only two are currently paying. Charles explains their joint engineering revenue-share model with satellite providers before Nathan transitions into a mid-episode sponsor read.11:18–14:15 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Overcoming Founder Hesitation and Pricing Power Dynamics Nathan challenges Charles on whether he is taking too much dilution while still pre-revenue and confronts him about founder hesitation in enterprise sales. Charles agrees with the critique, while Nathan provides a direct script for pitching seven-figure annual contracts.14:15–17:27 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Conversion Timelines, Investor Support, and Company Longevity Nathan pushes Charles on what failure criteria or shutdown timeline he has set if POCs fail to convert. Charles pushes back firmly, stating that supportive investors ensure they will not shut down, before moving smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.1:19–4:48 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Proprietary IoT Bandwidth and Data Compaction Mechanics Charles explains the core technical differentiation of using codebooks and machine learning on tiny IoT data files compared to traditional compression algorithms. Nathan presses to pin down the exact SaaS pricing unit economics, getting Charles to agree to an estimated blended rate of one dollar per machine per month.4:48–7:58 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Company Origins, Capitalization, and StartEngine Crowdfunding Nathan inquires into the startup capital, equity breakdown, and the recent $2.6M StartEngine crowdfunding round on a $10M valuation cap. Charles explains their dilution and how previous angel investors responded to the crowdfunding campaign.7:59–11:16 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Active Proof of Concepts and Engineering Team Size Nathan presses Charles on customer traction, forcing him to clarify that out of four active proof-of-concepts, only two are currently paying. Charles explains their joint engineering revenue-share model with satellite providers before Nathan transitions into a mid-episode sponsor read.11:18–14:15 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Overcoming Founder Hesitation and Pricing Power Dynamics Nathan challenges Charles on whether he is taking too much dilution while still pre-revenue and confronts him about founder hesitation in enterprise sales. Charles agrees with the critique, while Nathan provides a direct script for pitching seven-figure annual contracts.14:15–17:27 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Conversion Timelines, Investor Support, and Company Longevity Nathan pushes Charles on what failure criteria or shutdown timeline he has set if POCs fail to convert. Charles pushes back firmly, stating that supportive investors ensure they will not shut down, before moving smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 38.7% · guest 61.3%0:00 · Nathan 38.7% · guest 61.3%3:00 · Nathan 23.1% · guest 76.9%3:00 · Nathan 23.1% · guest 76.9%6:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%6:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%9:00 · Nathan 68.1% · guest 31.9%9:00 · Nathan 68.1% · guest 31.9%12:00 · Nathan 37.7% · guest 62.3%12:00 · Nathan 37.7% · guest 62.3%15:00 · Nathan 33.3% · guest 66.7%15:00 · Nathan 33.3% · guest 66.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:52 Rejection of company shutdown scenario

Charles firmly rejects Nathan's hypothetical question about shutting down if revenue fails to materialize, asserting committed investor backing makes shutdown impossible.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:32 Calling out founder pricing hesitation

Nathan refuses to accept timid enterprise pricing and directly calls out Charles for being afraid to ask for large contract values.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 1:26 Explaining micro-file compaction physics

Charles educates Nathan on why conventional compression actually enlarges sub-10-byte files, whereas their proprietary codebook method compresses them by 75 percent.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:43 Enterprise sales scripting and coaching

Nathan demonstrates high sales domain expertise by roleplaying the exact script needed to close million-dollar multi-year enterprise contracts.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Proprietary IoT Bandwidth and Data Compaction Mechanics 4613 Charles explains the core technical differentiation of using codebooks and machine learning on tiny IoT data files compared to traditional compression algorithms. Nathan presses to pin down the exact SaaS pricing unit economics, getting Charles to agree to an estimated blended rate of one dollar per machine per month.
Company Origins, Capitalization, and StartEngine Crowdfunding 4212 Nathan inquires into the startup capital, equity breakdown, and the recent $2.6M StartEngine crowdfunding round on a $10M valuation cap. Charles explains their dilution and how previous angel investors responded to the crowdfunding campaign.
Active Proof of Concepts and Engineering Team Size 3315 Nathan presses Charles on customer traction, forcing him to clarify that out of four active proof-of-concepts, only two are currently paying. Charles explains their joint engineering revenue-share model with satellite providers before Nathan transitions into a mid-episode sponsor read.
Overcoming Founder Hesitation and Pricing Power Dynamics 6116 Nathan challenges Charles on whether he is taking too much dilution while still pre-revenue and confronts him about founder hesitation in enterprise sales. Charles agrees with the critique, while Nathan provides a direct script for pitching seven-figure annual contracts.
Conversion Timelines, Investor Support, and Company Longevity 3244 Nathan pushes Charles on what failure criteria or shutdown timeline he has set if POCs fail to convert. Charles pushes back firmly, stating that supportive investors ensure they will not shut down, before moving smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Open · timeframe Nov 2024
Yeomans: Atombeam runs 400x faster than compression on sub-10-byte files
“We make a piece of software that is small, light, ultra fast, 400 times faster than compression. And it will work on the tiniest little files that you could imagine, like under 10 bytes.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 2:01
Assertion Supported
Yeomans: Atombeam reduces IoT data 75% on average, quadrupling network capacity
“Consequently, because we're super fast and we reduce it on an average of 75%, we get a, an average of four times more bandwidth simply with software. So we can take your existing network and quadruple its capacity.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 2:24
Disclosure
Yeomans: Atombeam Prices Software at Pennies to a Dollar per Machine
“It on a per machine basis, it's either pennies or a dollar or something. It's really small”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 3:42
Assertion Supported
Yeomans: Atombeam Won Proof-of-Concept Competition with Saab
“We just want to proof of concept in a competition in Sweden with Saab.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 3:51
Assertion Supported
Yeomans: Atombeam has raised over $4 million in total capital
“The investors have come in, you know, for, you know, four, over four million now.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 5:37
Assertion Supported
Yeomans: Atombeam raised up to $2.6M in crowdfunding round
“That was two and a half, 2.6 million.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 5:57
Assertion Supported
Yeomans: Atombeam crowdfunded via convertible note with $10M cap
“It was a cap and a, on a convertible note and the cap was 10.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 6:08
Insight
Yeomans: Commodity dynamics will force satellite providers to adopt Atombeam
“If one satellite company, we have a big satellite company is late stage of incorporating it. Once they deploy, then satellite data bandwidth is a commodity. If one provider is providing satellite bandwidth at price X minus and well, everybody is at price X and…”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 6:31
Disclosure
Yeomans: Atombeam is running a POC with the Department of Defense
“We're in really in POC mode with all of them right now, including Department of Defense.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 8:06
Disclosure
Yeomans: Atombeam has about four active and two to three inactive POCs
“So there's about four that are very active and there's two or three more that aren't as active.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 8:25
Disclosure
Yeomans: Atombeam will split revenue via surcharge with satellite partner
“Once it's up and running, we're going to, they're going to add a surcharge onto everybody who uses our stuff, and we're going to split the revenue.”
Charles Yeomans Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 9:07
Insight
Latka: The Majority of Founders Undervalue Products and Undercharge
“I think there's a ton of founders that undervalue, the majority of founders undervalue what they've built. And they're so nervous to ask For the contract value that they deserve.”
Nathan Latka Nov 20, 2021 ▶ 13:12
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