StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Oct 28, 2021 · 18m · top-founders

Leasecake Helps Companies Manage Leases, Breaks $1m in ARR

Taj Adhav · 10m 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

In this interview with Nathan Latka, Leasecake founder and CEO Taj Adhav discusses building a category-defining lease and location management operating system for commercial real estate tenants, detailing the company's path to reaching a $1 million ARR run rate.

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 34.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.2 Guest teaching 3.5 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 3.8
05100:0010:002:37–4:50 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Inception and Core Value Proposition of Leasecake Nathan asks foundational questions about the origin of Leasecake and how it works for large multi-location brands like McDonald's. Taj explains the specific market niche of tenant location management versus traditional landlord software.4:51–8:34 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Structure and Per-Lease Economics Nathan catches a discrepancy when Taj initially says pricing is 10 to 15k a month, clarifying that it is annual contract value. When Nathan calculates implied revenue from customer count, Taj clarifies that legacy customers were on lower tiers.8:38–12:00 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sponsor Break: Scaling Global Teams with Remote.com Following an ad break, Nathan drills into current ARR run rate and historical monthly revenue, confirming the company's valuation at 12.2 million post-money during their seed round.12:01–14:14 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Cap Table Dilution, Co-Founder Equity, and Future Series A Plans Nathan immediately performs cap table math, pointing out that rolling a $2M note into a $3.2M raise on a $12M valuation is heavily dilutive. He also pushes through Taj's diplomatic answer regarding co-founder equity splits.14:15–16:33 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Capital Allocation, Team Composition, and Retention Metrics Nathan breaks down Leasecake's 32-person team composition and scrutinizes their 127% net revenue retention, specifically asking about gross revenue churn and location downgrades.16:33–18:12 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions During the rapid-fire section, Taj playfully refuses to disclose his exact age, while Nathan comments on Taj's unhealthy 4.5 hours of sleep per night.2:37–4:50 · Guest teaching 5/10 The Inception and Core Value Proposition of Leasecake Nathan asks foundational questions about the origin of Leasecake and how it works for large multi-location brands like McDonald's. Taj explains the specific market niche of tenant location management versus traditional landlord software.4:51–8:34 · Guest teaching 4/10 Pricing Structure and Per-Lease Economics Nathan catches a discrepancy when Taj initially says pricing is 10 to 15k a month, clarifying that it is annual contract value. When Nathan calculates implied revenue from customer count, Taj clarifies that legacy customers were on lower tiers.8:38–12:00 · Guest teaching 3/10 Sponsor Break: Scaling Global Teams with Remote.com Following an ad break, Nathan drills into current ARR run rate and historical monthly revenue, confirming the company's valuation at 12.2 million post-money during their seed round.12:01–14:14 · Guest teaching 3/10 Cap Table Dilution, Co-Founder Equity, and Future Series A Plans Nathan immediately performs cap table math, pointing out that rolling a $2M note into a $3.2M raise on a $12M valuation is heavily dilutive. He also pushes through Taj's diplomatic answer regarding co-founder equity splits.14:15–16:33 · Guest teaching 4/10 Capital Allocation, Team Composition, and Retention Metrics Nathan breaks down Leasecake's 32-person team composition and scrutinizes their 127% net revenue retention, specifically asking about gross revenue churn and location downgrades.16:33–18:12 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions During the rapid-fire section, Taj playfully refuses to disclose his exact age, while Nathan comments on Taj's unhealthy 4.5 hours of sleep per night.2:37–4:50 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Inception and Core Value Proposition of Leasecake Nathan asks foundational questions about the origin of Leasecake and how it works for large multi-location brands like McDonald's. Taj explains the specific market niche of tenant location management versus traditional landlord software.4:51–8:34 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pricing Structure and Per-Lease Economics Nathan catches a discrepancy when Taj initially says pricing is 10 to 15k a month, clarifying that it is annual contract value. When Nathan calculates implied revenue from customer count, Taj clarifies that legacy customers were on lower tiers.8:38–12:00 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Break: Scaling Global Teams with Remote.com Following an ad break, Nathan drills into current ARR run rate and historical monthly revenue, confirming the company's valuation at 12.2 million post-money during their seed round.12:01–14:14 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Cap Table Dilution, Co-Founder Equity, and Future Series A Plans Nathan immediately performs cap table math, pointing out that rolling a $2M note into a $3.2M raise on a $12M valuation is heavily dilutive. He also pushes through Taj's diplomatic answer regarding co-founder equity splits.14:15–16:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Capital Allocation, Team Composition, and Retention Metrics Nathan breaks down Leasecake's 32-person team composition and scrutinizes their 127% net revenue retention, specifically asking about gross revenue churn and location downgrades.16:33–18:12 · Guest disagreement 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions During the rapid-fire section, Taj playfully refuses to disclose his exact age, while Nathan comments on Taj's unhealthy 4.5 hours of sleep per night.2:37–4:50 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Inception and Core Value Proposition of Leasecake Nathan asks foundational questions about the origin of Leasecake and how it works for large multi-location brands like McDonald's. Taj explains the specific market niche of tenant location management versus traditional landlord software.4:51–8:34 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Pricing Structure and Per-Lease Economics Nathan catches a discrepancy when Taj initially says pricing is 10 to 15k a month, clarifying that it is annual contract value. When Nathan calculates implied revenue from customer count, Taj clarifies that legacy customers were on lower tiers.8:38–12:00 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Break: Scaling Global Teams with Remote.com Following an ad break, Nathan drills into current ARR run rate and historical monthly revenue, confirming the company's valuation at 12.2 million post-money during their seed round.12:01–14:14 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Cap Table Dilution, Co-Founder Equity, and Future Series A Plans Nathan immediately performs cap table math, pointing out that rolling a $2M note into a $3.2M raise on a $12M valuation is heavily dilutive. He also pushes through Taj's diplomatic answer regarding co-founder equity splits.14:15–16:33 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Capital Allocation, Team Composition, and Retention Metrics Nathan breaks down Leasecake's 32-person team composition and scrutinizes their 127% net revenue retention, specifically asking about gross revenue churn and location downgrades.16:33–18:12 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions During the rapid-fire section, Taj playfully refuses to disclose his exact age, while Nathan comments on Taj's unhealthy 4.5 hours of sleep per night.

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

0:00 · Nathan 41.6% · guest 58.4%0:00 · Nathan 41.6% · guest 58.4%3:00 · Nathan 9.2% · guest 90.8%3:00 · Nathan 9.2% · guest 90.8%6:00 · Nathan 33.2% · guest 66.8%6:00 · Nathan 33.2% · guest 66.8%9:00 · Nathan 51.2% · guest 48.8%9:00 · Nathan 51.2% · guest 48.8%12:00 · Nathan 29.6% · guest 70.4%12:00 · Nathan 29.6% · guest 70.4%15:00 · Nathan 37.2% · guest 62.8%15:00 · Nathan 37.2% · guest 62.8%18:00 · Nathan 62.7% · guest 37.3%18:00 · Nathan 62.7% · guest 37.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 17:39 Taj refuses to state his age

Taj politely pushes back against Nathan's standard rapid-fire age question, deflecting by saying he is a lot older than you would think.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:26 Nathan highlights heavy seed dilution

Nathan runs the quick conversion math on the convertible note plus priced round against the post-money cap and bluntly calls it a pretty dilutive seed round.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:38 Taj breaks down commercial lease blind spots

Taj explains to Nathan why traditional landlord property management software does not address tenant-specific commercial risks like expiring renewal options and personal guarantees.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 13:24 Nathan cuts through diplomatic founder equity response

Nathan directly cuts through Taj's elaborate narrative about thoughtful value contributions to state bluntly that Taj owns significantly more than his two co-founders.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
The Inception and Core Value Proposition of Leasecake 4512 Nathan asks foundational questions about the origin of Leasecake and how it works for large multi-location brands like McDonald's. Taj explains the specific market niche of tenant location management versus traditional landlord software.
Pricing Structure and Per-Lease Economics 6425 Nathan catches a discrepancy when Taj initially says pricing is 10 to 15k a month, clarifying that it is annual contract value. When Nathan calculates implied revenue from customer count, Taj clarifies that legacy customers were on lower tiers.
Sponsor Break: Scaling Global Teams with Remote.com 5313 Following an ad break, Nathan drills into current ARR run rate and historical monthly revenue, confirming the company's valuation at 12.2 million post-money during their seed round.
Cap Table Dilution, Co-Founder Equity, and Future Series A Plans 7326 Nathan immediately performs cap table math, pointing out that rolling a $2M note into a $3.2M raise on a $12M valuation is heavily dilutive. He also pushes through Taj's diplomatic answer regarding co-founder equity splits.
Capital Allocation, Team Composition, and Retention Metrics 6424 Nathan breaks down Leasecake's 32-person team composition and scrutinizes their 127% net revenue retention, specifically asking about gross revenue churn and location downgrades.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3233 During the rapid-fire section, Taj playfully refuses to disclose his exact age, while Nathan comments on Taj's unhealthy 4.5 hours of sleep per night.

Statements from this episode (13)

Insight
Adhav: Real Estate Software Underserves Tenants by Focusing on Landlords
“There's tools like property management, facility management. Those are traditionally geared for landlords. Location management is a new domain”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 3:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Deal Sizes Grew Unpredictably During the COVID-19 Pandemic
“As our deal size has gotten larger, we've seen explosive growth through COVID, which was frankly surprises the investor community, but it doesn't surprise us.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 5:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Asserts an Average Contract Value of $10,000
“10 grand a year. That's it. That's the ACV.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 5:35
Assertion Supported
Adhav: Leasecake Raised an Oversubscribed $3.2M Seed Round in 2021
“Three million. It was oversubscribed. 3.2, I think it was.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 6:55
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Manages 10,000 Locations Across 250 Total Customers
“About 250 customers represents maybe about a thousand different users in our system. And you know, 10,000 plus locations across the U.S. And other geos.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 7:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Reached a 127% Net Revenue Retention Rate
“We have seen a pretty strong adoption was strong enough to have a 127% net revenue retention.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 8:10
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Tracks Toward $1M in Annual Recurring Revenue
“We're basically at a million in ARR. We're tracking to be a million in ARR.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 10:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Sales Cycles Span Two Days to Two Months
“We typically have a fast sales cycle of anywhere between two days to two Two months, I'd say on average.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 10:28
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Generated $10,000 in Monthly Revenue One Year Prior
“Yeah, we were at probably let's say 20, 15 grand, I'd say. No, actually even less. 10, 10 grand.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 10:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Seed Round Reached a $12.2M Post-Money Valuation
“It was a, see, let's see, it was a 12 post. So it's 12.2 right now.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 11:08
Disclosure
Adhav: Leasecake Sold Over 30% Equity to Early-Stage Investors
“A little bit more than that.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 13:47
Disclosure
Adhav: Leasecake Planned to Raise a Series A in Mid-2022
“Series a is definitely in the plans for you know, mid 20, 22.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 14:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Adhav: Leasecake Reached Zero Gross Customer and Revenue Churn
“Correct. Right. No customer churn, no revenue churn.”
Taj Adhav Oct 28, 2021 ▶ 15:53
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more