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Nov 4, 2021 · 18m · top-founders

Recruiter.com $20m ARR at $40m Market Cap: Most Under-Priced Public SaaS Ever?

Evan Sohn · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, Recruiter.com CEO Evan Sohn discusses how the company leveraged its high-traffic media foundation to build a $20 million run-rate talent platform. Sohn outlines their diversified revenue streams, on-demand recruiter marketplace, and why the company is significantly undervalued at its current $40 million public market capitalization.

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 28.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.1 Guest teaching 3.1 Guest disagreement 2.3 Nathan pushing back 4.1
05100:0010:000:00–2:18 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Preview: Revenue Guidance and Run Rate Projections Nathan introduces Evan and the company, reciting the official company description which Evan compliments. The exchange is collegial as Evan outlines the company's transition from an SEO media property to an active recruiting platform.2:19–4:43 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Disrupting Traditional Headhunters with On-Demand Gig Recruiting Nathan asks Evan to quantify the media business metrics in unique views rather than SEO dollar value. Evan explains the strategic pivot to offering on-demand gig recruiting rather than traditional headhunting contingency fees.4:43–8:21 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Revenue Breakdown, Unit Economics, and Reaching a $20M Run Rate Nathan drills into the unit economics across SaaS subscriptions, job boards, and on-demand GMV, directly challenging why GMV is only twelve million in a booming hiring market. Evan clarifies the gross margin take rate and the company's constraint on balancing growth with profitability on Nasdaq.8:22–10:53 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Founder Equity, Nasdaq Listing, and Undervalued Market Capitalization Nathan inquires about Evan's personal four percent equity stake and low market cap. Evan walks through a detailed comparison of trading multiples across Fiverr, ZipRecruiter, and SaaS peers to demonstrate why Recruiter.com is trading at a steep discount.10:53–13:56 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Private Equity Dynamics and Advantages of Remaining Public Nathan aggressively challenges Evan's strategy, arguing that owning four percent of a forty million dollar public company makes little financial sense and urging him to take it private with private equity backing. Evan defends remaining public for liquidity and long-term multiple expansion.13:57–16:16 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Team Composition and Capitalizing on the 'Job Hopper Economy' Nathan investigates team headcount and challenges the company's organic customer acquisition advantage by citing its middling Alexa web ranking. Evan clarifies that high-intent inbound traffic still feeds their enterprise customer acquisition funnel.16:17–18:01 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Interview Questions Nathan conducts the standard Famous Five rapid-fire series covering favorite business books, sleep, age, and founding lessons, concluding with a recap of the company's numbers.0:00–2:18 · Guest teaching 2/10 Preview: Revenue Guidance and Run Rate Projections Nathan introduces Evan and the company, reciting the official company description which Evan compliments. The exchange is collegial as Evan outlines the company's transition from an SEO media property to an active recruiting platform.2:19–4:43 · Guest teaching 3/10 Disrupting Traditional Headhunters with On-Demand Gig Recruiting Nathan asks Evan to quantify the media business metrics in unique views rather than SEO dollar value. Evan explains the strategic pivot to offering on-demand gig recruiting rather than traditional headhunting contingency fees.4:43–8:21 · Guest teaching 3/10 Revenue Breakdown, Unit Economics, and Reaching a $20M Run Rate Nathan drills into the unit economics across SaaS subscriptions, job boards, and on-demand GMV, directly challenging why GMV is only twelve million in a booming hiring market. Evan clarifies the gross margin take rate and the company's constraint on balancing growth with profitability on Nasdaq.8:22–10:53 · Guest teaching 7/10 Founder Equity, Nasdaq Listing, and Undervalued Market Capitalization Nathan inquires about Evan's personal four percent equity stake and low market cap. Evan walks through a detailed comparison of trading multiples across Fiverr, ZipRecruiter, and SaaS peers to demonstrate why Recruiter.com is trading at a steep discount.10:53–13:56 · Guest teaching 4/10 Private Equity Dynamics and Advantages of Remaining Public Nathan aggressively challenges Evan's strategy, arguing that owning four percent of a forty million dollar public company makes little financial sense and urging him to take it private with private equity backing. Evan defends remaining public for liquidity and long-term multiple expansion.13:57–16:16 · Guest teaching 2/10 Team Composition and Capitalizing on the 'Job Hopper Economy' Nathan investigates team headcount and challenges the company's organic customer acquisition advantage by citing its middling Alexa web ranking. Evan clarifies that high-intent inbound traffic still feeds their enterprise customer acquisition funnel.16:17–18:01 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Interview Questions Nathan conducts the standard Famous Five rapid-fire series covering favorite business books, sleep, age, and founding lessons, concluding with a recap of the company's numbers.0:00–2:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Preview: Revenue Guidance and Run Rate Projections Nathan introduces Evan and the company, reciting the official company description which Evan compliments. The exchange is collegial as Evan outlines the company's transition from an SEO media property to an active recruiting platform.2:19–4:43 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Disrupting Traditional Headhunters with On-Demand Gig Recruiting Nathan asks Evan to quantify the media business metrics in unique views rather than SEO dollar value. Evan explains the strategic pivot to offering on-demand gig recruiting rather than traditional headhunting contingency fees.4:43–8:21 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Revenue Breakdown, Unit Economics, and Reaching a $20M Run Rate Nathan drills into the unit economics across SaaS subscriptions, job boards, and on-demand GMV, directly challenging why GMV is only twelve million in a booming hiring market. Evan clarifies the gross margin take rate and the company's constraint on balancing growth with profitability on Nasdaq.8:22–10:53 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Founder Equity, Nasdaq Listing, and Undervalued Market Capitalization Nathan inquires about Evan's personal four percent equity stake and low market cap. Evan walks through a detailed comparison of trading multiples across Fiverr, ZipRecruiter, and SaaS peers to demonstrate why Recruiter.com is trading at a steep discount.10:53–13:56 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Private Equity Dynamics and Advantages of Remaining Public Nathan aggressively challenges Evan's strategy, arguing that owning four percent of a forty million dollar public company makes little financial sense and urging him to take it private with private equity backing. Evan defends remaining public for liquidity and long-term multiple expansion.13:57–16:16 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Team Composition and Capitalizing on the 'Job Hopper Economy' Nathan investigates team headcount and challenges the company's organic customer acquisition advantage by citing its middling Alexa web ranking. Evan clarifies that high-intent inbound traffic still feeds their enterprise customer acquisition funnel.16:17–18:01 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Interview Questions Nathan conducts the standard Famous Five rapid-fire series covering favorite business books, sleep, age, and founding lessons, concluding with a recap of the company's numbers.0:00–2:18 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Preview: Revenue Guidance and Run Rate Projections Nathan introduces Evan and the company, reciting the official company description which Evan compliments. The exchange is collegial as Evan outlines the company's transition from an SEO media property to an active recruiting platform.2:19–4:43 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Disrupting Traditional Headhunters with On-Demand Gig Recruiting Nathan asks Evan to quantify the media business metrics in unique views rather than SEO dollar value. Evan explains the strategic pivot to offering on-demand gig recruiting rather than traditional headhunting contingency fees.4:43–8:21 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Revenue Breakdown, Unit Economics, and Reaching a $20M Run Rate Nathan drills into the unit economics across SaaS subscriptions, job boards, and on-demand GMV, directly challenging why GMV is only twelve million in a booming hiring market. Evan clarifies the gross margin take rate and the company's constraint on balancing growth with profitability on Nasdaq.8:22–10:53 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Founder Equity, Nasdaq Listing, and Undervalued Market Capitalization Nathan inquires about Evan's personal four percent equity stake and low market cap. Evan walks through a detailed comparison of trading multiples across Fiverr, ZipRecruiter, and SaaS peers to demonstrate why Recruiter.com is trading at a steep discount.10:53–13:56 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Private Equity Dynamics and Advantages of Remaining Public Nathan aggressively challenges Evan's strategy, arguing that owning four percent of a forty million dollar public company makes little financial sense and urging him to take it private with private equity backing. Evan defends remaining public for liquidity and long-term multiple expansion.13:57–16:16 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Team Composition and Capitalizing on the 'Job Hopper Economy' Nathan investigates team headcount and challenges the company's organic customer acquisition advantage by citing its middling Alexa web ranking. Evan clarifies that high-intent inbound traffic still feeds their enterprise customer acquisition funnel.16:17–18:01 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Interview Questions Nathan conducts the standard Famous Five rapid-fire series covering favorite business books, sleep, age, and founding lessons, concluding with a recap of the company's numbers.

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

0:00 · Nathan 43% · guest 57%0:00 · Nathan 43% · guest 57%3:00 · Nathan 7.9% · guest 92.1%3:00 · Nathan 7.9% · guest 92.1%6:00 · Nathan 24.9% · guest 75.1%6:00 · Nathan 24.9% · guest 75.1%9:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%9:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%12:00 · Nathan 20.5% · guest 79.5%12:00 · Nathan 20.5% · guest 79.5%15:00 · Nathan 32% · guest 68%15:00 · Nathan 32% · guest 68%18:00 · Nathan 95.3% · guest 4.7%18:00 · Nathan 95.3% · guest 4.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:13 Evan pushes back against obsessing over daily stock price

Evan firmly counters Nathan's relentless focus on equity value and take-private scenarios by emphasizing long-term operational execution and public market liquidity.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 13:01 Nathan directly challenges Evan's equity logic

Nathan explicitly says 'I don't believe you' and argues that no rational executive would settle for a small stake in an undervalued public firm instead of buying it out.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:32 Evan breaks down peer revenue multiples

Evan systematically educates the audience on marketplace multiples (Fiverr at 22x) versus SaaS comps to prove the company's 2x multiple is fundamentally mispriced.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 6:18 Nathan scrutinizes GMV metrics against macro tailwinds

Nathan quickly calculates annual GMV and pushes back on the CEO for not generating closer to a hundred million in volume during a peak hiring boom.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Preview: Revenue Guidance and Run Rate Projections 3211 Nathan introduces Evan and the company, reciting the official company description which Evan compliments. The exchange is collegial as Evan outlines the company's transition from an SEO media property to an active recruiting platform.
Disrupting Traditional Headhunters with On-Demand Gig Recruiting 5323 Nathan asks Evan to quantify the media business metrics in unique views rather than SEO dollar value. Evan explains the strategic pivot to offering on-demand gig recruiting rather than traditional headhunting contingency fees.
Revenue Breakdown, Unit Economics, and Reaching a $20M Run Rate 7337 Nathan drills into the unit economics across SaaS subscriptions, job boards, and on-demand GMV, directly challenging why GMV is only twelve million in a booming hiring market. Evan clarifies the gross margin take rate and the company's constraint on balancing growth with profitability on Nasdaq.
Founder Equity, Nasdaq Listing, and Undervalued Market Capitalization 6724 Nathan inquires about Evan's personal four percent equity stake and low market cap. Evan walks through a detailed comparison of trading multiples across Fiverr, ZipRecruiter, and SaaS peers to demonstrate why Recruiter.com is trading at a steep discount.
Private Equity Dynamics and Advantages of Remaining Public 7458 Nathan aggressively challenges Evan's strategy, arguing that owning four percent of a forty million dollar public company makes little financial sense and urging him to take it private with private equity backing. Evan defends remaining public for liquidity and long-term multiple expansion.
Team Composition and Capitalizing on the 'Job Hopper Economy' 6225 Nathan investigates team headcount and challenges the company's organic customer acquisition advantage by citing its middling Alexa web ranking. Evan clarifies that high-intent inbound traffic still feeds their enterprise customer acquisition funnel.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Interview Questions 2111 Nathan conducts the standard Famous Five rapid-fire series covering favorite business books, sleep, age, and founding lessons, concluding with a recap of the company's numbers.

Statements from this episode (17)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sohn: Recruiter.com generates around $4M monthly in organic SEO value
“We were probably getting four million dollars of organic SEO on a monthly basis.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 2:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sohn: The recruiting industry is a $120 billion fragmented market
“The recruiting industry is a hundred and twenty billion dollar industry, huge giant industry. Fragmented across, you know, so many different ways and sectors.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 3:17
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Sohn: Recruiter.com has over 50 standalone software subscription clients
“We have like 50 plus clients today that are just subscribing to our software to build pipelines of candidates.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 4:38
Assertion Supported
Sohn: Recruiter.com generates over $200K monthly in software MRR
“A little over 200,000 dollars a month in recurring monthly revenue on the software side.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 5:40
Assertion Supported
Sohn: Recruiter.com is growing 25% quarter-over-quarter
“We're growing 25% quarter over quarter.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 6:26
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Sohn predicts Recruiter.com will reach profitability by early 2022
“And so we're trying to do this in a balanced fashion, hit profitability, and we'll, we'll get there early in 22.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 7:14
Assertion Supported
Sohn: Recruiter.com has reached a $20M annualized revenue run rate
“So if we did over five million last quarter, that brings it to about a twenty million dollar run rate.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 8:10
Disclosure
Sohn personally owns about 4% of Recruiter.com fully diluted
“About four percent.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 8:30
Opinion
Sohn: Recruiter.com should be valued at $80M to $100M
“I would say no less than no less than 80 to a hundred million.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 9:27
Assertion Partly supported
Sohn: ZipRecruiter trades at 5x to 6x run-rate revenue
“ZipRecruiter is probably trading at, you know, five, six times revenues run rate revenue.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 9:35
Assertion Supported
Sohn: Recruiter.com trades at 2x revenue on $20M run rate
“So if we're doing, you know, if we're doing a twenty million dollar run rate now on revenue, we're only trading two times revenue.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 10:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sohn: Many funds cannot invest in companies under $200M market cap
“Many funds have limitations on, they can't buy a company that's under two hundred million dollars in market cap.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 12:25
Disclosure
Sohn: Recruiter.com will not do dilutive financing right now
“The answer is that we do not want to do anything dilutive right now.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 12:40
Assertion Supported
Sohn: Recruiter.com has approximately 75 employees
“The company is about 75 people.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 14:00
Disclosure
Sohn's long-term incentive plan is tied to stock price multiples
“My long-term incentive plan is tied to a multiples of the stock price, not 10%, 20%, like real noticeable.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 14:51
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Sohn: The job hopper economy and high quit rates are permanent
“We saw a 4.3 million people quit in August. That is not going away. We are in a new economy. I call it the job hopper economy.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 15:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sohn: Recruiter.com's largest customers come directly from inbound web traffic
“But our biggest customers are all people that hit our website.”
Evan Sohn Nov 4, 2021 ▶ 16:11
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