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Jul 17, 2021 · 17m · top-founders

They Help Banks Underwrite Cannabis Founders, $500k ARR Now, $1m Soon?

Justin Fisher · 12m spoken Nathan Latka · 3m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Justin Fisher, founder and CEO of RiskScout, details how his enterprise compliance software empowers community banks and credit unions to securely underwrite and bank high-risk, cash-intensive businesses such as cannabis dispensaries and independent ATM networks.

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 22.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 4.0 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:000:50–4:48 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Demystifying High-Risk Banking and Independent ATM Operations Latka asks open-ended and curious questions about independent ATM operations and regulatory roadblocks. Fisher thoroughly educates him on how independent ATM economics work, regulator mandates, and why high-risk cash businesses struggle to secure banking.4:49–8:38 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 RiskScout's Automated Compliance Platform and Revenue Model Latka interrogates RiskScout's software business model, parsing pricing tiers and contract minimums. When Fisher quotes customer MRR averages, Latka immediately presses him to distinguish average customer revenue from total company ARR.8:38–12:27 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Company Origins, Capital Strategy, and COVID-Era Funding Fisher shares his background at Q2 and RiskScout's early seed funding milestones. Latka drills into convertible note valuations, caps, and Fisher's personal skin in the game.12:28–17:24 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Expansion Strategy, Channel Partnerships, and Series A Plans The conversation covers Series A fundraising targets, channel partner strategy, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka and Fisher maintain a highly collaborative and cordial tone throughout the wrap-up.0:50–4:48 · Guest teaching 7/10 Demystifying High-Risk Banking and Independent ATM Operations Latka asks open-ended and curious questions about independent ATM operations and regulatory roadblocks. Fisher thoroughly educates him on how independent ATM economics work, regulator mandates, and why high-risk cash businesses struggle to secure banking.4:49–8:38 · Guest teaching 4/10 RiskScout's Automated Compliance Platform and Revenue Model Latka interrogates RiskScout's software business model, parsing pricing tiers and contract minimums. When Fisher quotes customer MRR averages, Latka immediately presses him to distinguish average customer revenue from total company ARR.8:38–12:27 · Guest teaching 3/10 Company Origins, Capital Strategy, and COVID-Era Funding Fisher shares his background at Q2 and RiskScout's early seed funding milestones. Latka drills into convertible note valuations, caps, and Fisher's personal skin in the game.12:28–17:24 · Guest teaching 2/10 Expansion Strategy, Channel Partnerships, and Series A Plans The conversation covers Series A fundraising targets, channel partner strategy, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka and Fisher maintain a highly collaborative and cordial tone throughout the wrap-up.0:50–4:48 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Demystifying High-Risk Banking and Independent ATM Operations Latka asks open-ended and curious questions about independent ATM operations and regulatory roadblocks. Fisher thoroughly educates him on how independent ATM economics work, regulator mandates, and why high-risk cash businesses struggle to secure banking.4:49–8:38 · Guest disagreement 1/10 RiskScout's Automated Compliance Platform and Revenue Model Latka interrogates RiskScout's software business model, parsing pricing tiers and contract minimums. When Fisher quotes customer MRR averages, Latka immediately presses him to distinguish average customer revenue from total company ARR.8:38–12:27 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Company Origins, Capital Strategy, and COVID-Era Funding Fisher shares his background at Q2 and RiskScout's early seed funding milestones. Latka drills into convertible note valuations, caps, and Fisher's personal skin in the game.12:28–17:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Expansion Strategy, Channel Partnerships, and Series A Plans The conversation covers Series A fundraising targets, channel partner strategy, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka and Fisher maintain a highly collaborative and cordial tone throughout the wrap-up.0:50–4:48 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Demystifying High-Risk Banking and Independent ATM Operations Latka asks open-ended and curious questions about independent ATM operations and regulatory roadblocks. Fisher thoroughly educates him on how independent ATM economics work, regulator mandates, and why high-risk cash businesses struggle to secure banking.4:49–8:38 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 RiskScout's Automated Compliance Platform and Revenue Model Latka interrogates RiskScout's software business model, parsing pricing tiers and contract minimums. When Fisher quotes customer MRR averages, Latka immediately presses him to distinguish average customer revenue from total company ARR.8:38–12:27 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Company Origins, Capital Strategy, and COVID-Era Funding Fisher shares his background at Q2 and RiskScout's early seed funding milestones. Latka drills into convertible note valuations, caps, and Fisher's personal skin in the game.12:28–17:24 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Expansion Strategy, Channel Partnerships, and Series A Plans The conversation covers Series A fundraising targets, channel partner strategy, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka and Fisher maintain a highly collaborative and cordial tone throughout the wrap-up.

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

0:00 · Nathan 35% · guest 65%0:00 · Nathan 35% · guest 65%3:00 · Nathan 11.8% · guest 88.2%3:00 · Nathan 11.8% · guest 88.2%6:00 · Nathan 21.3% · guest 78.7%6:00 · Nathan 21.3% · guest 78.7%9:00 · Nathan 20.5% · guest 79.5%9:00 · Nathan 20.5% · guest 79.5%12:00 · Nathan 19.6% · guest 80.4%12:00 · Nathan 19.6% · guest 80.4%15:00 · Nathan 27% · guest 73%15:00 · Nathan 27% · guest 73%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:05 Fisher quickly clarifying ARR vs MRR numbers

In a very amicable episode, this is the sharpest interaction when Fisher immediately rejects the host's interpretation that RiskScout only does 15k to 20k total monthly revenue.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:05 Latka demanding clarification on revenue metrics

Latka halts the momentum to force a precise distinction between average customer spend and company-wide ARR.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 2:58 Fisher breaking down convoluted banking compliance rules

Fisher provides an eye-opening explanation of how bank examiners arbitrarily demand hundreds of individual accounts for ATM operators.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:16 Latka calculating the unit economics and ARR math live

Latka demonstrates his SaaS expertise by immediately reconciling customer count, seat-based pricing, and the run-rate to arrive at the 500k ARR figure.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Demystifying High-Risk Banking and Independent ATM Operations 3712 Latka asks open-ended and curious questions about independent ATM operations and regulatory roadblocks. Fisher thoroughly educates him on how independent ATM economics work, regulator mandates, and why high-risk cash businesses struggle to secure banking.
RiskScout's Automated Compliance Platform and Revenue Model 6414 Latka interrogates RiskScout's software business model, parsing pricing tiers and contract minimums. When Fisher quotes customer MRR averages, Latka immediately presses him to distinguish average customer revenue from total company ARR.
Company Origins, Capital Strategy, and COVID-Era Funding 5313 Fisher shares his background at Q2 and RiskScout's early seed funding milestones. Latka drills into convertible note valuations, caps, and Fisher's personal skin in the game.
Expansion Strategy, Channel Partnerships, and Series A Plans 4212 The conversation covers Series A fundraising targets, channel partner strategy, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka and Fisher maintain a highly collaborative and cordial tone throughout the wrap-up.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Supported
Fisher: 60% of US ATMs Are Run by Independent Operators
“Little, little fact that people don't know, 60% of the ATMs in the country are actually run by independent operators.”
Justin Fisher Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 1:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fisher: Dispensary ATMs Can Be 15x More Profitable Than Regular ATMs
“And the funny side point to that is you put an ATM in a cannabis, cannabis dispensary because they're so cash based. Hopefully you don't rig people over the coals with fees, but they can be very lucrative about 15 times the profitability as a regular ATM.”
Justin Fisher Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 2:29
Disclosure
Fisher: RiskScout Serves Under 12 Banks and Over 1,000 Businesses
“So we have under a dozen banks. We have over a thousand businesses on the system. We have, like I said, probably an average of usage right now is averaging in the 15 to 20 K a month MRR.”
Justin Fisher Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 7:52
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Fisher: RiskScout is on track to reach over $1M ARR by end of 2021
“Now we're, you know, approaching half, you know, half a million of AR. We're actually, the end of the year, we're approaching over a million of AR on track for.”
Justin Fisher Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 9:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fisher: RiskScout Partnerships Open Resale Access to 3,500 Banks
“I can't mention the two partnerships we just landed, but they open up about 3500 banks, trusted partnerships for resale.”
Justin Fisher Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 12:43
Disclosure
Fisher: RiskScout Targets an $8M to $10M Series A Round
“You know, like I think we're going to be looking around eight to 10. It's a pretty typical series A round. You know, honestly, man, the valuation is going to be interesting, right? Some of this is what market to bear, but you know, if I'm a founder saying what…”
Justin Fisher Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 13:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fisher: RiskScout Churn Is Non-Existent and Net Retention Over 100%
“Oh, absolutely. Yeah. The churn is like absolutely non-existent, right? Because the only churn that we kind of exposed to is if a bank calls back their program, but they don't really churn the enterprise agreements with us because it's very sticky, right?”
Justin Fisher Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 14:13
Insight
Fisher: Workplace Meritocracy Often Fuels Destructive Internal Competition
“Sometimes meritocracy builds internal struggle, internal competition, right? I've been in way too many businesses where it's like sales versus development or sales versus operations or what have you, right? And it's always about who's going to make the numbers…”
Justin Fisher Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 16:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Latka: RiskScout grew revenue from $5k/mo to $40k/mo
“RiskScout grew from five grand a month last year in revenue to 40,000 dollars a month today in revenue on a path to break a million in terms of AR by the end of this year.”
Nathan Latka Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 17:25
Assertion Open · timeframe Jul 2021
Latka: RiskScout raised $2.2M at a $12M valuation
“They've raised about three million bucks to do it. Last one was 2.2 million on a twelve million valuation, teeing up and getting ready for their series A.”
Nathan Latka Jul 17, 2021 ▶ 17:33
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