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Jun 16, 2021 · 16m · top-founders

Ingo Breaks $100k/mo Helping Major Media Brands Get More Conference Attendees

Michael Barnett · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

Michael Barnett, founder and CEO of Ingo, details how his company overcame an overnight revenue collapse in 2020 by pivoting from in-person event registration to year-round community advocacy software. He outlines Ingo's viral enterprise growth engine, customer acquisition economics, and strategic roadmap toward reaching $25 million in annual recurring revenue.

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 33.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.0 Guest teaching 1.7 Guest disagreement 0.7 Nathan pushing back 2.2
05100:0010:001:16–4:17 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Ingo's Core Value Proposition and Post-COVID Transformation Nathan probes Ingo's pricing structure and tech placement, prompting Michael to clarify that the $1 rate is annual per member rather than monthly. Michael explains their enterprise tiering with average customer contracts around $20k.4:18–7:41 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Founding Story, Business Model Pivot, and 2015 Capital Raise Nathan inquires about team size, funding history, and the decision to outsource engineering to Ukraine. Michael details their transition from Upwork contractors to a dedicated Eastern European agency.7:42–10:31 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Customer Base, Word-of-Mouth Acquisition, and Live Implementation Nathan pulls up live client event pages to inspect Ingo's registration integration in real time. Michael corrects the URL domain and explains how word-of-mouth registration prompts drive high inbound conversion.10:31–12:31 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 M&A Interest, Fundraising Strategy, and Path to $25M ARR Michael fumbles his target ARR and valuation numbers when discussing a potential $5M fundraise and asks to clarify. Nathan steps in to calculate Ingo's current monthly run rate live based on 80 customers and $20k ACV.12:32–16:02 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Rebuilding from Zero: The COVID Pivot and Market Multiples Nathan presses Michael on the valuation cap of his 2015 convertible note to evaluate their current recovery and multiple expansion. Michael shares how his CFO helped them survive zero revenue at the onset of COVID.16:03–16:40 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Performance Summary Nathan delivers a solo closing summary highlighting Ingo's rebound from COVID to a $100k-$150k monthly run rate, summarizing their strategic options.1:16–4:17 · Guest teaching 3/10 Ingo's Core Value Proposition and Post-COVID Transformation Nathan probes Ingo's pricing structure and tech placement, prompting Michael to clarify that the $1 rate is annual per member rather than monthly. Michael explains their enterprise tiering with average customer contracts around $20k.4:18–7:41 · Guest teaching 1/10 Founding Story, Business Model Pivot, and 2015 Capital Raise Nathan inquires about team size, funding history, and the decision to outsource engineering to Ukraine. Michael details their transition from Upwork contractors to a dedicated Eastern European agency.7:42–10:31 · Guest teaching 2/10 Customer Base, Word-of-Mouth Acquisition, and Live Implementation Nathan pulls up live client event pages to inspect Ingo's registration integration in real time. Michael corrects the URL domain and explains how word-of-mouth registration prompts drive high inbound conversion.10:31–12:31 · Guest teaching 2/10 M&A Interest, Fundraising Strategy, and Path to $25M ARR Michael fumbles his target ARR and valuation numbers when discussing a potential $5M fundraise and asks to clarify. Nathan steps in to calculate Ingo's current monthly run rate live based on 80 customers and $20k ACV.12:32–16:02 · Guest teaching 2/10 Rebuilding from Zero: The COVID Pivot and Market Multiples Nathan presses Michael on the valuation cap of his 2015 convertible note to evaluate their current recovery and multiple expansion. Michael shares how his CFO helped them survive zero revenue at the onset of COVID.16:03–16:40 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Performance Summary Nathan delivers a solo closing summary highlighting Ingo's rebound from COVID to a $100k-$150k monthly run rate, summarizing their strategic options.1:16–4:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Ingo's Core Value Proposition and Post-COVID Transformation Nathan probes Ingo's pricing structure and tech placement, prompting Michael to clarify that the $1 rate is annual per member rather than monthly. Michael explains their enterprise tiering with average customer contracts around $20k.4:18–7:41 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Founding Story, Business Model Pivot, and 2015 Capital Raise Nathan inquires about team size, funding history, and the decision to outsource engineering to Ukraine. Michael details their transition from Upwork contractors to a dedicated Eastern European agency.7:42–10:31 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Customer Base, Word-of-Mouth Acquisition, and Live Implementation Nathan pulls up live client event pages to inspect Ingo's registration integration in real time. Michael corrects the URL domain and explains how word-of-mouth registration prompts drive high inbound conversion.10:31–12:31 · Guest disagreement 1/10 M&A Interest, Fundraising Strategy, and Path to $25M ARR Michael fumbles his target ARR and valuation numbers when discussing a potential $5M fundraise and asks to clarify. Nathan steps in to calculate Ingo's current monthly run rate live based on 80 customers and $20k ACV.12:32–16:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Rebuilding from Zero: The COVID Pivot and Market Multiples Nathan presses Michael on the valuation cap of his 2015 convertible note to evaluate their current recovery and multiple expansion. Michael shares how his CFO helped them survive zero revenue at the onset of COVID.16:03–16:40 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Performance Summary Nathan delivers a solo closing summary highlighting Ingo's rebound from COVID to a $100k-$150k monthly run rate, summarizing their strategic options.1:16–4:17 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Ingo's Core Value Proposition and Post-COVID Transformation Nathan probes Ingo's pricing structure and tech placement, prompting Michael to clarify that the $1 rate is annual per member rather than monthly. Michael explains their enterprise tiering with average customer contracts around $20k.4:18–7:41 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Founding Story, Business Model Pivot, and 2015 Capital Raise Nathan inquires about team size, funding history, and the decision to outsource engineering to Ukraine. Michael details their transition from Upwork contractors to a dedicated Eastern European agency.7:42–10:31 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Customer Base, Word-of-Mouth Acquisition, and Live Implementation Nathan pulls up live client event pages to inspect Ingo's registration integration in real time. Michael corrects the URL domain and explains how word-of-mouth registration prompts drive high inbound conversion.10:31–12:31 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 M&A Interest, Fundraising Strategy, and Path to $25M ARR Michael fumbles his target ARR and valuation numbers when discussing a potential $5M fundraise and asks to clarify. Nathan steps in to calculate Ingo's current monthly run rate live based on 80 customers and $20k ACV.12:32–16:02 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Rebuilding from Zero: The COVID Pivot and Market Multiples Nathan presses Michael on the valuation cap of his 2015 convertible note to evaluate their current recovery and multiple expansion. Michael shares how his CFO helped them survive zero revenue at the onset of COVID.16:03–16:40 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Performance Summary Nathan delivers a solo closing summary highlighting Ingo's rebound from COVID to a $100k-$150k monthly run rate, summarizing their strategic options.

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

0:00 · Nathan 38.3% · guest 61.7%0:00 · Nathan 38.3% · guest 61.7%3:00 · Nathan 30.1% · guest 69.9%3:00 · Nathan 30.1% · guest 69.9%6:00 · Nathan 31.8% · guest 68.2%6:00 · Nathan 31.8% · guest 68.2%9:00 · Nathan 32.9% · guest 67.1%9:00 · Nathan 32.9% · guest 67.1%12:00 · Nathan 22.6% · guest 77.4%12:00 · Nathan 22.6% · guest 77.4%15:00 · Nathan 53.2% · guest 46.8%15:00 · Nathan 53.2% · guest 46.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:40 Retracting Mixed-Up Metrics

Michael catches himself giving inconsistent target numbers and bluntly pauses the flow to reject his own statement before resetting the math.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 13:50 Pressing on 2015 Valuation Cap

Nathan repeatedly drills into the 2015 note cap to see whether the company has truly recovered enough value to raise at an up-round.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:10 Correcting Per-Member Pricing

Michael corrects Nathan's assumption that customers pay $500-$600 a month, explaining the billing is annual per member with an average contract value of $20,000.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:13 Live Revenue Calculation

Nathan immediately calculates Ingo's monthly run rate of $150k by multiplying the 80 community count by the $20k ACV.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Ingo's Core Value Proposition and Post-COVID Transformation 5313 Nathan probes Ingo's pricing structure and tech placement, prompting Michael to clarify that the $1 rate is annual per member rather than monthly. Michael explains their enterprise tiering with average customer contracts around $20k.
Founding Story, Business Model Pivot, and 2015 Capital Raise 4101 Nathan inquires about team size, funding history, and the decision to outsource engineering to Ukraine. Michael details their transition from Upwork contractors to a dedicated Eastern European agency.
Customer Base, Word-of-Mouth Acquisition, and Live Implementation 4212 Nathan pulls up live client event pages to inspect Ingo's registration integration in real time. Michael corrects the URL domain and explains how word-of-mouth registration prompts drive high inbound conversion.
M&A Interest, Fundraising Strategy, and Path to $25M ARR 6214 Michael fumbles his target ARR and valuation numbers when discussing a potential $5M fundraise and asks to clarify. Nathan steps in to calculate Ingo's current monthly run rate live based on 80 customers and $20k ACV.
Rebuilding from Zero: The COVID Pivot and Market Multiples 5213 Nathan presses Michael on the valuation cap of his 2015 convertible note to evaluate their current recovery and multiple expansion. Michael shares how his CFO helped them survive zero revenue at the onset of COVID.
Episode Conclusion and Performance Summary 0000 Nathan delivers a solo closing summary highlighting Ingo's rebound from COVID to a $100k-$150k monthly run rate, summarizing their strategic options.

Statements from this episode (13)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ingo's revenue dropped to zero during COVID shutdowns
“Revenue went to zero. Events went to zero. Everything shut down which was a horrible experience, terrifying.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 1:50
Disclosure
Ingo charges enterprise customers $1 per member annually
“They're paying a dollar a member. So per year. So, you know, imagine subscriber a year, basically in, you know, in the podcast world would be what they're paying.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 2:48
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ingo's average customer pays $20,000 per year
“No, the average customer is paying and it's per member per year. Sorry. But the average customer is at 20,000 dollars a year and going up.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 3:28
Assertion Not checkable as stated
One-fifth of the world's biggest events used Ingo in 2019
“So in 2019, one fifth of the biggest events in the world used us for to do that.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 4:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ingo reached five million global attendees through 2019
“Did that, grew that all the way through 2019, five million attendees globally.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 4:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ingo raised $2M in 2015 and achieved profitability
“We raised a cap in, we raised about two million bucks in 2015 and then became profitable and now are quite profitable.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 5:14
Disclosure
Ingo operates with an 11-person team split between product and sales
“There's 11 of us now about half product, half sales and marketing.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 5:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ingo serves about 80 communities, adding one weekly
“There's about 80, we call them communities. We got about 80 communities in-house and then we keep adding about one a week now, one every yeah, one a week”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 7:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ingo closes about 40% of its sales meetings
“40% of the meetings we take close.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 8:28
Disclosure
Ingo has received inbound acquisition inquiries and funding interest
“Well, we've had a lot of reach out over the last few months. And so we've been growing quickly and kind of holding off those conversations and also talking to funding sources as well, but we'll see what happens.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 10:32
Prediction Not checkable as stated
A $5M raise would scale Ingo to 2,000 customers and $25M ARR
“Five million gets us an additional give or take 2000 customers that gets us to the place where we're generating about twenty-five million a month in twenty-five million a year in revenue.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 11:56
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ingo projects reaching nearly $2M in revenue this year
“Yeah, we'll get, we'll, we'll get there. We'll get to somewhere near two million.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 12:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ingo turned 200 email invites into 4,000 event attendees
“We launched an event. On virtual events in April, like third, third of last year. And we went, we emailed out, got 200 people. Those 200 people used Ingo and got us another 4000 people to go to our events.”
Michael Barnett Jun 16, 2021 ▶ 13:15
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