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May 10, 2021 · 23m · top-founders

DevOps Tool Copado Breaks $400m Valuation, as New CEO Ushers in 100% YoY Growth with Founders

Ted Elliott · 15m 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

In this in-depth interview with Nathan Latka, Copado CEO Ted Elliott reveals how he scaled the enterprise DevOps platform to a $400M+ valuation and $40M in revenue while overcoming a stage-three cancer diagnosis and building a purpose-driven company culture.

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 22.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 3.7 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.3
05100:0010:0020:001:40–5:02 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Welcome and Guest Reintroduction Nathan demonstrates solid domain knowledge of HR tech and Bullhorn's executive leadership, though Ted politely corrects Nathan's revenue estimate for Jobscience at exit from $15-18M to $25M.5:03–8:43 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Meeting Copado Founders and Becoming CEO Nathan confirms funding details ($7.5M round) while Ted delivers an engaging narrative regarding his governance conditions for stepping in as CEO.8:44–11:34 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Overcoming Cancer and Finding True Purpose Ted details his personal battle with cancer and shifting motivations, while Nathan mostly listens and prompts for current customer metrics.11:35–15:13 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Go-to-Market Strategy and Enterprise Focus Nathan demonstrates familiarity with Indian tech hubs by correctly guessing Bangalore and references Ted's founding timeline from 1999 while Ted explains Copado's talent strategy.15:13–18:19 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Valuation Growth and Revenue Retention Metrics Nathan actively interrupts Ted's storytelling to extract exact valuation multiples and retention percentages, benchmarking Copado's 140% NRR directly against top public SaaS companies.18:20–22:24 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Headcount, Quota Setting, and Execution Pace Ted explains his quota-setting formula of eight times base salary and corrects Nathan's assumption on total ARR contribution relative to full OTE.1:40–5:02 · Guest teaching 4/10 Welcome and Guest Reintroduction Nathan demonstrates solid domain knowledge of HR tech and Bullhorn's executive leadership, though Ted politely corrects Nathan's revenue estimate for Jobscience at exit from $15-18M to $25M.5:03–8:43 · Guest teaching 3/10 Meeting Copado Founders and Becoming CEO Nathan confirms funding details ($7.5M round) while Ted delivers an engaging narrative regarding his governance conditions for stepping in as CEO.8:44–11:34 · Guest teaching 2/10 Overcoming Cancer and Finding True Purpose Ted details his personal battle with cancer and shifting motivations, while Nathan mostly listens and prompts for current customer metrics.11:35–15:13 · Guest teaching 4/10 Go-to-Market Strategy and Enterprise Focus Nathan demonstrates familiarity with Indian tech hubs by correctly guessing Bangalore and references Ted's founding timeline from 1999 while Ted explains Copado's talent strategy.15:13–18:19 · Guest teaching 4/10 Valuation Growth and Revenue Retention Metrics Nathan actively interrupts Ted's storytelling to extract exact valuation multiples and retention percentages, benchmarking Copado's 140% NRR directly against top public SaaS companies.18:20–22:24 · Guest teaching 5/10 Headcount, Quota Setting, and Execution Pace Ted explains his quota-setting formula of eight times base salary and corrects Nathan's assumption on total ARR contribution relative to full OTE.1:40–5:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Welcome and Guest Reintroduction Nathan demonstrates solid domain knowledge of HR tech and Bullhorn's executive leadership, though Ted politely corrects Nathan's revenue estimate for Jobscience at exit from $15-18M to $25M.5:03–8:43 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Meeting Copado Founders and Becoming CEO Nathan confirms funding details ($7.5M round) while Ted delivers an engaging narrative regarding his governance conditions for stepping in as CEO.8:44–11:34 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Overcoming Cancer and Finding True Purpose Ted details his personal battle with cancer and shifting motivations, while Nathan mostly listens and prompts for current customer metrics.11:35–15:13 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Go-to-Market Strategy and Enterprise Focus Nathan demonstrates familiarity with Indian tech hubs by correctly guessing Bangalore and references Ted's founding timeline from 1999 while Ted explains Copado's talent strategy.15:13–18:19 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Valuation Growth and Revenue Retention Metrics Nathan actively interrupts Ted's storytelling to extract exact valuation multiples and retention percentages, benchmarking Copado's 140% NRR directly against top public SaaS companies.18:20–22:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Headcount, Quota Setting, and Execution Pace Ted explains his quota-setting formula of eight times base salary and corrects Nathan's assumption on total ARR contribution relative to full OTE.1:40–5:02 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Welcome and Guest Reintroduction Nathan demonstrates solid domain knowledge of HR tech and Bullhorn's executive leadership, though Ted politely corrects Nathan's revenue estimate for Jobscience at exit from $15-18M to $25M.5:03–8:43 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Meeting Copado Founders and Becoming CEO Nathan confirms funding details ($7.5M round) while Ted delivers an engaging narrative regarding his governance conditions for stepping in as CEO.8:44–11:34 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Overcoming Cancer and Finding True Purpose Ted details his personal battle with cancer and shifting motivations, while Nathan mostly listens and prompts for current customer metrics.11:35–15:13 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Go-to-Market Strategy and Enterprise Focus Nathan demonstrates familiarity with Indian tech hubs by correctly guessing Bangalore and references Ted's founding timeline from 1999 while Ted explains Copado's talent strategy.15:13–18:19 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Valuation Growth and Revenue Retention Metrics Nathan actively interrupts Ted's storytelling to extract exact valuation multiples and retention percentages, benchmarking Copado's 140% NRR directly against top public SaaS companies.18:20–22:24 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Headcount, Quota Setting, and Execution Pace Ted explains his quota-setting formula of eight times base salary and corrects Nathan's assumption on total ARR contribution relative to full OTE.

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

0:00 · Nathan 59.4% · guest 40.6%0:00 · Nathan 59.4% · guest 40.6%3:00 · Nathan 22.5% · guest 77.5%3:00 · Nathan 22.5% · guest 77.5%6:00 · Nathan 1.7% · guest 98.3%6:00 · Nathan 1.7% · guest 98.3%9:00 · Nathan 5% · guest 95%9:00 · Nathan 5% · guest 95%12:00 · Nathan 5.4% · guest 94.6%12:00 · Nathan 5.4% · guest 94.6%15:00 · Nathan 30.2% · guest 69.8%15:00 · Nathan 30.2% · guest 69.8%18:00 · Nathan 23% · guest 77%18:00 · Nathan 23% · guest 77%21:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%21:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 15:38 Ted guards exact valuation while teasing unicorn status

Ted firmly resists disclosing the precise valuation of their $96M round, countering Nathan by only confirming it is more than 10x the previous round.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 15:13 Nathan halts stories to demand hard financial numbers

Nathan cuts through Ted's anecdotes to demand specific funding and valuation numbers from both historical and recent investment rounds.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 19:14 Ted corrects Nathan's sales compensation multiplier calculation

When Nathan assumes a rep brings in 8x total earnings, Ted clarifies that the 8x multiplier applies strictly to base pay on a 50/50 plan, translating to 4x total OTE.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 18:01 Nathan benchmarks retention against public SaaS leaders

Nathan demonstrates his analytical domain depth by immediately contextualizing Copado's 140% net retention rate alongside top public tech companies like Zoom and ZoomInfo.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Welcome and Guest Reintroduction 6412 Nathan demonstrates solid domain knowledge of HR tech and Bullhorn's executive leadership, though Ted politely corrects Nathan's revenue estimate for Jobscience at exit from $15-18M to $25M.
Meeting Copado Founders and Becoming CEO 4311 Nathan confirms funding details ($7.5M round) while Ted delivers an engaging narrative regarding his governance conditions for stepping in as CEO.
Overcoming Cancer and Finding True Purpose 2201 Ted details his personal battle with cancer and shifting motivations, while Nathan mostly listens and prompts for current customer metrics.
Go-to-Market Strategy and Enterprise Focus 5413 Nathan demonstrates familiarity with Indian tech hubs by correctly guessing Bangalore and references Ted's founding timeline from 1999 while Ted explains Copado's talent strategy.
Valuation Growth and Revenue Retention Metrics 7425 Nathan actively interrupts Ted's storytelling to extract exact valuation multiples and retention percentages, benchmarking Copado's 140% NRR directly against top public SaaS companies.
Headcount, Quota Setting, and Execution Pace 5512 Ted explains his quota-setting formula of eight times base salary and corrects Nathan's assumption on total ARR contribution relative to full OTE.

Statements from this episode (11)

Disclosure
Elliott: Jobscience sold at over 3x multiple while growing 30%
“So that business was growing at 30%. And you know, it was a multiple that was over three. It wasn't a great multiple, but because the ownership was 70%, Myself, my dad, and my sister it was it was a good exit.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 4:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Elliott: Jobscience generated roughly $25M in revenue at acquisition
“I think when we sold it, we were doing more like 25.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 4:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Salesforce made an acquisition offer to buy Copado in 2018
“And they called me and they said, Salesforce is offering to buy us. What do you think we should do? And I'm like, well, Is it a good deal? And they're like, it's a great deal. This was in 2018.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 6:21
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Copado grew ARR from $4.25M to $15M in Elliott's first year
“And I think when I walked in the door, we had Four and a quarter in ARR. And you know, we took it from four and a quarter to fifteen million in the first year.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 8:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Elliott: Copado reaches $40M in revenue after two years
“Right now, Capato is at forty million in revenue after two years.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 11:15
Disclosure
Elliott: Copado has penetrated 400 of top 5,000 Salesforce buyers
“We only focus on the top 5000 buyers of Salesforce in the world, and right now, we've penetrated 400 of them.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 11:37
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Elliott: 80% of Salesforce DevOps talent lives in 3 Indian cities
“We found out that 80% of the world's DevOps community on Salesforce lives in India in one of three cities. They go to one of three schools.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 12:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Copado CEO: Company receives multiple weekly inbound offers at unicorn valuation
“I was just, I get calls, multiple calls a week of people who will offer us a unicorn valuation today.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 15:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Copado CEO: Net revenue retention is running over 140%
“So we're running 140% plus net revenue retention.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 17:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Copado CEO: Customers expand 40% within eight months on average
“On average, you know, our customers come back on average within eight months, and by, A second set of products from us that are about 40% of the first sale.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 17:53
Disclosure
Elliott: Copado Sets First-Year Sales Quotas at Eight Times Base
“Eight times base is your first year with the three month ramp.”
Ted Elliott May 10, 2021 ▶ 18:32
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