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Nov 14, 2021 · 15m · top-founders

224 Communities use Seva to Manage Volunteers, Raising $1.5m on $6m Now

Anita Beberg · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, Seva Exchange founder and CEO Anita Beberg explains how her civic volunteerism platform onboarded 224 communities, established its public and enterprise monetization model, and launched a $1.5 million seed funding round at a $6 million pre-money valuation.

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 40.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 4.0
05100:0010:000:50–3:07 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Anita Beberg and Seva Exchange Latka introduces the company and explores their target market and MVP launch. Anita immediately corrects his pronunciation of the company name and clarifies her vision for public sector and nonprofit pricing.3:07–5:31 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Structure for Municipalities and Nonprofits Latka repeatedly cuts through vague answers about boroughs and community building to pin down the actual unit economics and how many of the 224 onboarded communities are paying customers. Anita declines to share exact customer counts.5:31–8:14 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Early Bootstrapping and Friends-and-Family SAFE Financing Latka investigates how Anita funded the company pre-revenue, clarifying the difference between informal friends and family rounds and standard SAFE notes totaling $250k.8:17–10:22 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Seed Fundraising Strategy and Enterprise Revenue Model Latka performs the venture math on Anita's target round, calculating a $7.5M post-money valuation against roughly $150 in current MRR and questioning if she can raise at that multiple without further revenue.10:22–12:45 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Seva's Global Engineering and Core Team Structure Anita describes her core collaborator and overseas contractor team in India, while Latka interrupts to pin down the exact headcount and equity ownership structure.12:45–14:57 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The conversation concludes with standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite books, tech stacks, and Anita's four-hour sleep schedule.0:50–3:07 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Anita Beberg and Seva Exchange Latka introduces the company and explores their target market and MVP launch. Anita immediately corrects his pronunciation of the company name and clarifies her vision for public sector and nonprofit pricing.3:07–5:31 · Guest teaching 1/10 Pricing Structure for Municipalities and Nonprofits Latka repeatedly cuts through vague answers about boroughs and community building to pin down the actual unit economics and how many of the 224 onboarded communities are paying customers. Anita declines to share exact customer counts.5:31–8:14 · Guest teaching 2/10 Early Bootstrapping and Friends-and-Family SAFE Financing Latka investigates how Anita funded the company pre-revenue, clarifying the difference between informal friends and family rounds and standard SAFE notes totaling $250k.8:17–10:22 · Guest teaching 3/10 Seed Fundraising Strategy and Enterprise Revenue Model Latka performs the venture math on Anita's target round, calculating a $7.5M post-money valuation against roughly $150 in current MRR and questioning if she can raise at that multiple without further revenue.10:22–12:45 · Guest teaching 2/10 Seva's Global Engineering and Core Team Structure Anita describes her core collaborator and overseas contractor team in India, while Latka interrupts to pin down the exact headcount and equity ownership structure.12:45–14:57 · Guest teaching 2/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The conversation concludes with standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite books, tech stacks, and Anita's four-hour sleep schedule.0:50–3:07 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Anita Beberg and Seva Exchange Latka introduces the company and explores their target market and MVP launch. Anita immediately corrects his pronunciation of the company name and clarifies her vision for public sector and nonprofit pricing.3:07–5:31 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Pricing Structure for Municipalities and Nonprofits Latka repeatedly cuts through vague answers about boroughs and community building to pin down the actual unit economics and how many of the 224 onboarded communities are paying customers. Anita declines to share exact customer counts.5:31–8:14 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Early Bootstrapping and Friends-and-Family SAFE Financing Latka investigates how Anita funded the company pre-revenue, clarifying the difference between informal friends and family rounds and standard SAFE notes totaling $250k.8:17–10:22 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Seed Fundraising Strategy and Enterprise Revenue Model Latka performs the venture math on Anita's target round, calculating a $7.5M post-money valuation against roughly $150 in current MRR and questioning if she can raise at that multiple without further revenue.10:22–12:45 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Seva's Global Engineering and Core Team Structure Anita describes her core collaborator and overseas contractor team in India, while Latka interrupts to pin down the exact headcount and equity ownership structure.12:45–14:57 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The conversation concludes with standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite books, tech stacks, and Anita's four-hour sleep schedule.0:50–3:07 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Anita Beberg and Seva Exchange Latka introduces the company and explores their target market and MVP launch. Anita immediately corrects his pronunciation of the company name and clarifies her vision for public sector and nonprofit pricing.3:07–5:31 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Pricing Structure for Municipalities and Nonprofits Latka repeatedly cuts through vague answers about boroughs and community building to pin down the actual unit economics and how many of the 224 onboarded communities are paying customers. Anita declines to share exact customer counts.5:31–8:14 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Early Bootstrapping and Friends-and-Family SAFE Financing Latka investigates how Anita funded the company pre-revenue, clarifying the difference between informal friends and family rounds and standard SAFE notes totaling $250k.8:17–10:22 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Seed Fundraising Strategy and Enterprise Revenue Model Latka performs the venture math on Anita's target round, calculating a $7.5M post-money valuation against roughly $150 in current MRR and questioning if she can raise at that multiple without further revenue.10:22–12:45 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Seva's Global Engineering and Core Team Structure Anita describes her core collaborator and overseas contractor team in India, while Latka interrupts to pin down the exact headcount and equity ownership structure.12:45–14:57 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The conversation concludes with standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite books, tech stacks, and Anita's four-hour sleep schedule.

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

0:00 · Nathan 44.3% · guest 55.7%0:00 · Nathan 44.3% · guest 55.7%3:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%3:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%6:00 · Nathan 74.1% · guest 25.9%6:00 · Nathan 74.1% · guest 25.9%9:00 · Nathan 26.5% · guest 73.5%9:00 · Nathan 26.5% · guest 73.5%12:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%12:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%15:00 · Nathan 98.5% · guest 1.5%15:00 · Nathan 98.5% · guest 1.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:59 Deflecting paid customer numbers

Anita pushes back against Latka's request for conversion data, explicitly stating that she does not want to give away numbers and prefers to focus on product building.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 3:44 Refocusing from narrative to pricing mechanics

Latka halts Anita's narrative about New York boroughs to firmly redirect her toward the specific pricing model and monthly fees.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 1:13 Correcting the company name pronunciation

Anita immediately interrupts Latka's intro to correct how he pronounces Seva, spelling it out directly on air.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:51 Highlighting $150 MRR against venture valuation

Latka leverages the guest's own metrics to point out that ten paying communities at $15 per month equals $150 in MRR, illustrating the gap between current revenue and a $7.5M post-money valuation.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Anita Beberg and Seva Exchange 4322 Latka introduces the company and explores their target market and MVP launch. Anita immediately corrects his pronunciation of the company name and clarifies her vision for public sector and nonprofit pricing.
Pricing Structure for Municipalities and Nonprofits 6137 Latka repeatedly cuts through vague answers about boroughs and community building to pin down the actual unit economics and how many of the 224 onboarded communities are paying customers. Anita declines to share exact customer counts.
Early Bootstrapping and Friends-and-Family SAFE Financing 5213 Latka investigates how Anita funded the company pre-revenue, clarifying the difference between informal friends and family rounds and standard SAFE notes totaling $250k.
Seed Fundraising Strategy and Enterprise Revenue Model 7336 Latka performs the venture math on Anita's target round, calculating a $7.5M post-money valuation against roughly $150 in current MRR and questioning if she can raise at that multiple without further revenue.
Seva's Global Engineering and Core Team Structure 4214 Anita describes her core collaborator and overseas contractor team in India, while Latka interrupts to pin down the exact headcount and equity ownership structure.
Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3212 The conversation concludes with standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite books, tech stacks, and Anita's four-hour sleep schedule.

Statements from this episode (11)

Disclosure
Beberg: Seva Exchange targets public sector clients rather than charging users
“So it would be the public sector that would pay for this cities, smaller towns. We're going after those because we don't want to charge members.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 2:26
Opinion
Beberg: A re-envisioned Facebook would be Seva Exchange
“So if Facebook were to be redone, like, Envisioned. I would say that it would be Seva exchange.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 3:37
Disclosure
Beberg: Seva Exchange is free for neighborhoods, $15 for small communities
“Right now, if you are a community, a neighborhood, it's free for neighborhoods. And then it's only 15 dollars for a smaller community of let's say 200 to 500. We'll just give it to you for 15 bucks just to start it off. It's really based on the features that y…”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 3:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Beberg: Seva Exchange has onboarded 224 communities worldwide
“Well, we've got a 224 communities onboarded that are from around the world.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 4:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Beberg: Seva Exchange has an $80k backlog of clients to convert
“We've got like an 80,000 dollar backlog of clients that we can convert right now.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 5:16
Disclosure
Beberg: Seva Exchange has raised about $250,000 from friends and family
“Because it's family, I just get it as needed, so it's about two 50 at this point.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 6:06
Disclosure
Beberg: Seva Exchange is raising $1.5 million for 20% equity
“I am right now wanting to raise 1.5 million for equity round of 20, 20%.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 8:28
Disclosure
Beberg: Seva Exchange charges enterprises $1 to $2 per employee monthly
“If I get enterprises, it's a dollar to two dollars per employee per month.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 10:05
Disclosure
Beberg: Seva has about seven core staff and seven contract developers
“Well, he's, I had to do a shout out to him. He's basically my co-founder about seven. And we have a team in India of about seven. They're contract developers.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 10:37
Disclosure
Beberg: Seva Exchange operates on an unpaid, volunteer basis
“I wish I could pay all of you, but it's volunteer based right now.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 11:56
Opinion
Beberg: Jenny Kassan's book beats Venture Deals for female social founders
“I actually liked her book better than Brad Feld's Venture Deals. I mean, I know people are going to yell at me, but for a female social impact entrepreneur, it is, it's the best book for fundraising.”
Anita Beberg Nov 14, 2021 ▶ 12:58
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