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Aug 20, 2021 · 20m · top-founders

Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?

Mark Smith · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Frank Bien · 4s spoken Eric Yuan · 4s spoken Vivek Bhaskaran · 2s 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, Nathan Latka speaks with CleanConnect.ai president Mark Smith about how his bootstrapped startup achieved a $1.2 million ARR run rate in under 18 months by providing AI-powered computer vision and thermal imaging for oil and gas ESG compliance. Mark details their hardware-enabled SaaS pricing, regulatory tailwinds, content-driven go-to-market strategy, and future plans for fundraising and M&A expansion.

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 42.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.9 Guest teaching 3.4 Guest disagreement 2.6 Nathan pushing back 3.6
05100:0010:0020:001:37–5:25 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Introducing CleanConnect.ai and ESG Compliance for Oil and Gas Nathan breaks down the unit economics and contract math quickly, but Mark corrects him on how the oil and gas industry structures CapEx tax write-offs for 10-year upfront deals.5:25–7:55 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Customer Base Breakdown and Reaching $1.2M ARR Nathan presses hard on customer counts versus MRR math when Mark's numbers seem conflicting, forcing Mark to clarify how pilot sites convert and scale into ARR.7:56–10:40 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 FLIR Partnership, Product Suite, and Oilfield Tax Incentives Nathan calculates that 20 upfront sites should equal $12M in cash, pushing Mark until Mark clarifies that cash is collected in tranches and distinguishes between new pad CapEx and existing OPEX financing.10:44–13:31 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Sponsor Break: Managing Global Teams with Remote.com This is a solo sponsor read by the host for Remote.com with zero guest interaction.13:32–16:06 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Mark Smith's $100 Million Media Exit with Windows NT Magazine Nathan explores Mark's previous $100M media exit with Windows NT Magazine, calculating subscription revenue while Mark elaborates on digital valuation multiples.16:06–18:18 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Bootstrapping Capital, Future Fundraising, and M&A Growth Strategy Nathan presses Mark on how much personal capital he invested and his current company valuation, calling Mark out playfully when he deflects on valuation.18:18–18:46 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Founder-Led Sales and the Digital Roughnecks Podcast Mark explains how he uses his podcast to conduct founder-led sales and establish authority in the energy niche.1:37–5:25 · Guest teaching 5/10 Introducing CleanConnect.ai and ESG Compliance for Oil and Gas Nathan breaks down the unit economics and contract math quickly, but Mark corrects him on how the oil and gas industry structures CapEx tax write-offs for 10-year upfront deals.5:25–7:55 · Guest teaching 4/10 Customer Base Breakdown and Reaching $1.2M ARR Nathan presses hard on customer counts versus MRR math when Mark's numbers seem conflicting, forcing Mark to clarify how pilot sites convert and scale into ARR.7:56–10:40 · Guest teaching 6/10 FLIR Partnership, Product Suite, and Oilfield Tax Incentives Nathan calculates that 20 upfront sites should equal $12M in cash, pushing Mark until Mark clarifies that cash is collected in tranches and distinguishes between new pad CapEx and existing OPEX financing.10:44–13:31 · Guest teaching 0/10 Sponsor Break: Managing Global Teams with Remote.com This is a solo sponsor read by the host for Remote.com with zero guest interaction.13:32–16:06 · Guest teaching 3/10 Mark Smith's $100 Million Media Exit with Windows NT Magazine Nathan explores Mark's previous $100M media exit with Windows NT Magazine, calculating subscription revenue while Mark elaborates on digital valuation multiples.16:06–18:18 · Guest teaching 4/10 Bootstrapping Capital, Future Fundraising, and M&A Growth Strategy Nathan presses Mark on how much personal capital he invested and his current company valuation, calling Mark out playfully when he deflects on valuation.18:18–18:46 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founder-Led Sales and the Digital Roughnecks Podcast Mark explains how he uses his podcast to conduct founder-led sales and establish authority in the energy niche.1:37–5:25 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Introducing CleanConnect.ai and ESG Compliance for Oil and Gas Nathan breaks down the unit economics and contract math quickly, but Mark corrects him on how the oil and gas industry structures CapEx tax write-offs for 10-year upfront deals.5:25–7:55 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Customer Base Breakdown and Reaching $1.2M ARR Nathan presses hard on customer counts versus MRR math when Mark's numbers seem conflicting, forcing Mark to clarify how pilot sites convert and scale into ARR.7:56–10:40 · Guest disagreement 4/10 FLIR Partnership, Product Suite, and Oilfield Tax Incentives Nathan calculates that 20 upfront sites should equal $12M in cash, pushing Mark until Mark clarifies that cash is collected in tranches and distinguishes between new pad CapEx and existing OPEX financing.10:44–13:31 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Break: Managing Global Teams with Remote.com This is a solo sponsor read by the host for Remote.com with zero guest interaction.13:32–16:06 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Mark Smith's $100 Million Media Exit with Windows NT Magazine Nathan explores Mark's previous $100M media exit with Windows NT Magazine, calculating subscription revenue while Mark elaborates on digital valuation multiples.16:06–18:18 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Bootstrapping Capital, Future Fundraising, and M&A Growth Strategy Nathan presses Mark on how much personal capital he invested and his current company valuation, calling Mark out playfully when he deflects on valuation.18:18–18:46 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founder-Led Sales and the Digital Roughnecks Podcast Mark explains how he uses his podcast to conduct founder-led sales and establish authority in the energy niche.1:37–5:25 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing CleanConnect.ai and ESG Compliance for Oil and Gas Nathan breaks down the unit economics and contract math quickly, but Mark corrects him on how the oil and gas industry structures CapEx tax write-offs for 10-year upfront deals.5:25–7:55 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Customer Base Breakdown and Reaching $1.2M ARR Nathan presses hard on customer counts versus MRR math when Mark's numbers seem conflicting, forcing Mark to clarify how pilot sites convert and scale into ARR.7:56–10:40 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 FLIR Partnership, Product Suite, and Oilfield Tax Incentives Nathan calculates that 20 upfront sites should equal $12M in cash, pushing Mark until Mark clarifies that cash is collected in tranches and distinguishes between new pad CapEx and existing OPEX financing.10:44–13:31 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Sponsor Break: Managing Global Teams with Remote.com This is a solo sponsor read by the host for Remote.com with zero guest interaction.13:32–16:06 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Mark Smith's $100 Million Media Exit with Windows NT Magazine Nathan explores Mark's previous $100M media exit with Windows NT Magazine, calculating subscription revenue while Mark elaborates on digital valuation multiples.16:06–18:18 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Bootstrapping Capital, Future Fundraising, and M&A Growth Strategy Nathan presses Mark on how much personal capital he invested and his current company valuation, calling Mark out playfully when he deflects on valuation.18:18–18:46 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Founder-Led Sales and the Digital Roughnecks Podcast Mark explains how he uses his podcast to conduct founder-led sales and establish authority in the energy niche.

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

0:00 · Nathan 57.5% · guest 42.5%0:00 · Nathan 57.5% · guest 42.5%3:00 · Nathan 24.7% · guest 75.3%3:00 · Nathan 24.7% · guest 75.3%6:00 · Nathan 40.4% · guest 59.6%6:00 · Nathan 40.4% · guest 59.6%9:00 · Nathan 64.7% · guest 35.3%9:00 · Nathan 64.7% · guest 35.3%12:00 · Nathan 25.3% · guest 74.7%12:00 · Nathan 25.3% · guest 74.7%15:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%15:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%18:00 · Nathan 64.7% · guest 35.3%18:00 · Nathan 64.7% · guest 35.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:58 Pushing back on monthly revenue breakdown

Mark firmly resists Nathan's low MRR estimate of 10k to 15k per month, asserting that their actual revenue is six figures per month across their scaled sites.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:58 Challenging the 12 million dollar upfront cash claim

Nathan refuses to let Mark claim 10-year upfront payments without verifying whether twelve million dollars actually landed in the bank account, forcing Mark to admit revenue comes in tranches.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 4:19 Intangible drilling cost tax mechanics

Mark explains how unique oil and gas tax accounting allows operators to write off 10 years of software and hardware CapEx upfront under intangible drilling costs.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:37 Deconstructing recognized MRR from multi-year contracts

Nathan rapidly calculates the amortized recognized MRR from 20 sites at $5k/month over 10-year contracts to prove the company sits at a $1.2M run rate.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing CleanConnect.ai and ESG Compliance for Oil and Gas 6534 Nathan breaks down the unit economics and contract math quickly, but Mark corrects him on how the oil and gas industry structures CapEx tax write-offs for 10-year upfront deals.
Customer Base Breakdown and Reaching $1.2M ARR 7457 Nathan presses hard on customer counts versus MRR math when Mark's numbers seem conflicting, forcing Mark to clarify how pilot sites convert and scale into ARR.
FLIR Partnership, Product Suite, and Oilfield Tax Incentives 6646 Nathan calculates that 20 upfront sites should equal $12M in cash, pushing Mark until Mark clarifies that cash is collected in tranches and distinguishes between new pad CapEx and existing OPEX financing.
Sponsor Break: Managing Global Teams with Remote.com 0000 This is a solo sponsor read by the host for Remote.com with zero guest interaction.
Mark Smith's $100 Million Media Exit with Windows NT Magazine 6312 Nathan explores Mark's previous $100M media exit with Windows NT Magazine, calculating subscription revenue while Mark elaborates on digital valuation multiples.
Bootstrapping Capital, Future Fundraising, and M&A Growth Strategy 5445 Nathan presses Mark on how much personal capital he invested and his current company valuation, calling Mark out playfully when he deflects on valuation.
Founder-Led Sales and the Digital Roughnecks Podcast 4211 Mark explains how he uses his podcast to conduct founder-led sales and establish authority in the energy niche.

Statements from this episode (14)

Prediction Open · timeframe Aug 2041
Smith: Fossil fuels will provide 80% of energy for 20 more years
“80% or more of our energy comes from fossil fuels and will in spite of all the focus on renewables for the next 20 years.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 2:06
Disclosure
CleanConnect.ai charges $5,000 to $6,000 per month per site
“An oil and gas site per site will pay about five to 6000 a month.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 3:37
Disclosure
CleanConnect.ai receives 10-year upfront cash payments from oil and gas customers
“So when you're building a new pad, there's a thing called intangible drilling costs. So in that case, they want to accelerate CapEx. So they'll pay us for 10 years up front, everything. All hardware, all software.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 4:25
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smith: FLIR GF320 OGI cameras cost oil companies $120,000 CapEx
“Every one of the customers we have has bought a FLIR GF three, 20 camera. It's a handheld OGI camera. That's how they do. What's called LDAR inspections, leak detection and repair. Those are a 120,000 dollar CapEx item.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 4:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smith: CleanConnect.ai reached 11 customers across 20 sites since March 2020
“Across 10, 11 customers. So we have, so the companies started in March, 20, 20. And we have 11.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 5:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smith: CleanConnect.ai enterprise pilot contracts are priced in six figures
“The pilots are six figures. But it's a finite period of time. However, all the pilots, if we meet the pilot objectives, start to go to scale.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 6:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
CleanConnect.ai generates over $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue
“We're, no, we're six figures.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 6:52
Assertion Supported
Mark Smith: CleanConnect.ai is completely funded by customers
“But let's put it this way. We're funded completely by our customers. Yes.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 9:13
Assertion Supported
CleanConnect.ai seeks EPA approval via client submission
“There's some other regulations coming up where we're getting our system being approved by the EPA. And it's done through one of our clients actually who's presenting our stuff to the EPA.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 13:03
Assertion Supported
Mark Smith: Windows NT Magazine was valued at $100M when sold
“It was valued at a hundred million.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 14:01
What-if
Smith: Delaying his September 2000 exit would have reduced value by two-thirds
“Honestly, if we had waited another year, probably would have got a third of that.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 15:31
Disclosure
Mark Smith: CleanConnect.ai plans to raise outside funding for ESG opportunity
“Yes, we're going to raise. And the main reason is because ESG is happening now and there's a big opportunity right now.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 16:55
Disclosure
Mark Smith: CleanConnect.ai considers SPAC route to acquire engineering companies
“You know, we're talking about doing a SPAC and putting extra money and buying up because I was very successful near the last year prior to exit of buying great engineering companies who couldn't market their way out of a wet paper bag.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 17:31
Insight
Smith gained oil and gas expertise by interviewing experts on his podcast
“I became an expert in the industry by interviewing experts in the industry.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 18:40
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