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Jul 14, 2021 · 23m · top-founders

Will Bizzabo Announce A Major Acquisition Next Month? (Flashback)

Eran Ben-Shushan · 12m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m 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 episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, Bizzabo co-founder and CEO Eran Ben-Shushan discusses the company's growth toward $20 million in ARR, its $27 million Series D fundraising, and its unit economics as an enterprise event success platform.

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 40.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.8 Guest teaching 2.0 Guest disagreement 1.7 Nathan pushing back 4.7
05100:0010:0020:003:08–7:43 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Analyzing Event SaaS Churn Dynamics and Net Retention Rates Latka drills into Bizzabo's churn dynamics, immediately catching Ben-Shushan when he accidentally states an 80% gross churn rate instead of gross retention.7:43–11:03 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Bizzabo's Founding Journey, Evolution, and Team Distribution Ben-Shushan outlines Bizzabo's evolution from a simple 2012 networking app to an end-to-end SaaS platform, along with their Tel Aviv and New York team footprint.11:06–14:53 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sponsor Break: Flatfile Data Onboarding Solution Following an ad read, Latka explores Bizzabo's $56M total funding and asks why Ben-Shushan felt the need to raise a fresh $27M Series D.14:53–17:17 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Financial Milestones, ARR Projections, and Customer Cohorts Latka attempts to pin down Bizzabo's exact customer count and ARR run rate, running quick math that contradicts the timeline Ben-Shushan presents.17:17–19:37 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Capital Burn Strategy, CAC Payback, and Scaling Economics Latka asks about runway planning and capital burn aggressiveness, with Ben-Shushan expressing comfort paying two years of ACV upfront for customer acquisition due to high LTV.19:37–22:35 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Competitive Landscape and the Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka pushes Ben-Shushan on whether he is stealing clients from Cvent, refusing Ben-Shushan's diplomatic non-answer before concluding with the Famous Five.3:08–7:43 · Guest teaching 2/10 Analyzing Event SaaS Churn Dynamics and Net Retention Rates Latka drills into Bizzabo's churn dynamics, immediately catching Ben-Shushan when he accidentally states an 80% gross churn rate instead of gross retention.7:43–11:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Bizzabo's Founding Journey, Evolution, and Team Distribution Ben-Shushan outlines Bizzabo's evolution from a simple 2012 networking app to an end-to-end SaaS platform, along with their Tel Aviv and New York team footprint.11:06–14:53 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sponsor Break: Flatfile Data Onboarding Solution Following an ad read, Latka explores Bizzabo's $56M total funding and asks why Ben-Shushan felt the need to raise a fresh $27M Series D.14:53–17:17 · Guest teaching 3/10 Financial Milestones, ARR Projections, and Customer Cohorts Latka attempts to pin down Bizzabo's exact customer count and ARR run rate, running quick math that contradicts the timeline Ben-Shushan presents.17:17–19:37 · Guest teaching 1/10 Capital Burn Strategy, CAC Payback, and Scaling Economics Latka asks about runway planning and capital burn aggressiveness, with Ben-Shushan expressing comfort paying two years of ACV upfront for customer acquisition due to high LTV.19:37–22:35 · Guest teaching 2/10 Competitive Landscape and the Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka pushes Ben-Shushan on whether he is stealing clients from Cvent, refusing Ben-Shushan's diplomatic non-answer before concluding with the Famous Five.3:08–7:43 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Analyzing Event SaaS Churn Dynamics and Net Retention Rates Latka drills into Bizzabo's churn dynamics, immediately catching Ben-Shushan when he accidentally states an 80% gross churn rate instead of gross retention.7:43–11:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Bizzabo's Founding Journey, Evolution, and Team Distribution Ben-Shushan outlines Bizzabo's evolution from a simple 2012 networking app to an end-to-end SaaS platform, along with their Tel Aviv and New York team footprint.11:06–14:53 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Break: Flatfile Data Onboarding Solution Following an ad read, Latka explores Bizzabo's $56M total funding and asks why Ben-Shushan felt the need to raise a fresh $27M Series D.14:53–17:17 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Financial Milestones, ARR Projections, and Customer Cohorts Latka attempts to pin down Bizzabo's exact customer count and ARR run rate, running quick math that contradicts the timeline Ben-Shushan presents.17:17–19:37 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Capital Burn Strategy, CAC Payback, and Scaling Economics Latka asks about runway planning and capital burn aggressiveness, with Ben-Shushan expressing comfort paying two years of ACV upfront for customer acquisition due to high LTV.19:37–22:35 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Competitive Landscape and the Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka pushes Ben-Shushan on whether he is stealing clients from Cvent, refusing Ben-Shushan's diplomatic non-answer before concluding with the Famous Five.3:08–7:43 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Analyzing Event SaaS Churn Dynamics and Net Retention Rates Latka drills into Bizzabo's churn dynamics, immediately catching Ben-Shushan when he accidentally states an 80% gross churn rate instead of gross retention.7:43–11:03 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Bizzabo's Founding Journey, Evolution, and Team Distribution Ben-Shushan outlines Bizzabo's evolution from a simple 2012 networking app to an end-to-end SaaS platform, along with their Tel Aviv and New York team footprint.11:06–14:53 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Sponsor Break: Flatfile Data Onboarding Solution Following an ad read, Latka explores Bizzabo's $56M total funding and asks why Ben-Shushan felt the need to raise a fresh $27M Series D.14:53–17:17 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Financial Milestones, ARR Projections, and Customer Cohorts Latka attempts to pin down Bizzabo's exact customer count and ARR run rate, running quick math that contradicts the timeline Ben-Shushan presents.17:17–19:37 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Capital Burn Strategy, CAC Payback, and Scaling Economics Latka asks about runway planning and capital burn aggressiveness, with Ben-Shushan expressing comfort paying two years of ACV upfront for customer acquisition due to high LTV.19:37–22:35 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Competitive Landscape and the Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka pushes Ben-Shushan on whether he is stealing clients from Cvent, refusing Ben-Shushan's diplomatic non-answer before concluding with the Famous Five.

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

0:00 · Nathan 53.5% · guest 46.5%0:00 · Nathan 53.5% · guest 46.5%3:00 · Nathan 33.4% · guest 66.6%3:00 · Nathan 33.4% · guest 66.6%6:00 · Nathan 21.2% · guest 78.8%6:00 · Nathan 21.2% · guest 78.8%9:00 · Nathan 37.3% · guest 62.7%9:00 · Nathan 37.3% · guest 62.7%12:00 · Nathan 34% · guest 66%12:00 · Nathan 34% · guest 66%15:00 · Nathan 49.9% · guest 50.1%15:00 · Nathan 49.9% · guest 50.1%18:00 · Nathan 55.1% · guest 44.9%18:00 · Nathan 55.1% · guest 44.9%21:00 · Nathan 42.7% · guest 57.3%21:00 · Nathan 42.7% · guest 57.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 20:38 Ben-Shushan deflects competitive posturing against Cvent

Ben-Shushan politely rejects Latka's framing around attacking Cvent's revenue, insisting on focusing internally rather than trash-talking competitors.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 16:32 Latka breaks down customer count versus ARR math

Latka refuses to let the vague customer numbers slide, multiplying the 700 customer estimate by the $24k ACV to prove the resulting $16.8M run rate contradicts the stated milestone.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 16:50 Ben-Shushan clarifies historic ACV trajectory

Ben-Shushan educates Latka on why static multiplication fails, pointing out that historical ACV was significantly lower and doubled over time.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 5:31 Latka corrects gross retention phrasing and computes NRR

Latka immediately catches Ben-Shushan mixing up gross churn with retention and rapidly walks through the net revenue retention formula.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Analyzing Event SaaS Churn Dynamics and Net Retention Rates 7215 Latka drills into Bizzabo's churn dynamics, immediately catching Ben-Shushan when he accidentally states an 80% gross churn rate instead of gross retention.
Bizzabo's Founding Journey, Evolution, and Team Distribution 4212 Ben-Shushan outlines Bizzabo's evolution from a simple 2012 networking app to an end-to-end SaaS platform, along with their Tel Aviv and New York team footprint.
Sponsor Break: Flatfile Data Onboarding Solution 5214 Following an ad read, Latka explores Bizzabo's $56M total funding and asks why Ben-Shushan felt the need to raise a fresh $27M Series D.
Financial Milestones, ARR Projections, and Customer Cohorts 7337 Latka attempts to pin down Bizzabo's exact customer count and ARR run rate, running quick math that contradicts the timeline Ben-Shushan presents.
Capital Burn Strategy, CAC Payback, and Scaling Economics 6114 Latka asks about runway planning and capital burn aggressiveness, with Ben-Shushan expressing comfort paying two years of ACV upfront for customer acquisition due to high LTV.
Competitive Landscape and the Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 6236 Latka pushes Ben-Shushan on whether he is stealing clients from Cvent, refusing Ben-Shushan's diplomatic non-answer before concluding with the Famous Five.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo Average Annual Contract Value Is $25,000
“We have three different cohorts, but I would say across the board, the average is 20 five K. 25,000 bucks.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 2:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo maintains 80% gross retention and negative net churn
“So in terms of gross churn, that would be around, I would say, 80%. And in the past you know, Six months or so, negative net churn, so overall pretty healthy. No, no, no. Retention.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 5:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo generates 20% to 25% annual revenue expansion
“It's between 20 to 25.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 5:55
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo has customer count in the high hundreds
“I can't say exact numbers but in the high hundreds.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 10:01
Disclosure
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo Has Raised $56 Million to Date
“We, no, we raised to date, fifty-six million dollars.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 12:48
Disclosure
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo Closed $27 Million Series D in April
“We just closed our Series D round earlier in April, a month ago twenty-seven million dollar round, yeah.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 12:59
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo will reach $15M-$20M ARR early next year
“Probably it's going to happen next year. But very early next year.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 15:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo grew over 100% year-over-year over past 12 months
“That and above. We are able and even more.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 16:03
Disclosure
Bizzabo targets 24 months of runway when raising capital
“24 and also thinking about how we can, you know, build a sustainable business.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 17:29
Disclosure
Ben-Shushan is willing to burn $1M/month to drive Bizzabo growth
“I would, and that the, you know, the reason is because when you have A whale oil machine that is working, and you get strong sentiment from the market, and you strongly believe in the long term and the market opportunity, so I strongly believe that's what you …”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 18:25
Disclosure
Bizzabo is willing to accept a two-year CAC payback period
“Yes. ... Because we know that those who are buying our product really need it, and we feel confident about the LTV.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 19:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ben-Shushan: Bizzabo has customers switching over from Cvent
“There are.”
Eran Ben-Shushan Jul 14, 2021 ▶ 20:34
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