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Jan 24, 2021 · 15m · top-founders

Modigie Gets You Accurate Prospect Cell Numbers, Hits $300k ARR, 29 Customers

Ken Hoppe · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 3m 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

Ken Hopp, founder and CEO of Modigie, discusses how his bootstrapped B2B data platform hit nearly $300,000 in first-year revenue by providing real-time mobile phone verification and employment validation for sales teams. The interview breaks down Modigie's hybrid pricing, Salesforce integration, lean operational framework, and pathway toward reaching $1 million in ARR.

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 27.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.8 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.8
05100:0010:000:15–4:07 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview The opening portion consists of standard podcast housekeeping and an intro, followed by Ken Hopp introducing Modigie's core value proposition. Latka asks a basic clarifying question regarding target mobile phone data.4:07–8:50 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Modigie's Hybrid Pricing Model and Accelerated Consumption Latka drills into unit economics, dissecting the split between platform fees and consumption credits, and immediately probes into net revenue retention and monthly run rate figures.8:51–12:41 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Bootstrapping Strategy and Outbound Customer Acquisition Latka investigates capital efficiency, questioning how the founders built the platform cheaply and pressing Hopp to clarify his exact team composition between full-time staff and contract developers.12:42–15:47 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 API Volume Dynamics and Core Data Microservices Latka attempts to deduce monthly API volume from daily ranges, prompting Hopp to clarify actual consumption rates before transitioning smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.0:15–4:07 · Guest teaching 2/10 Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview The opening portion consists of standard podcast housekeeping and an intro, followed by Ken Hopp introducing Modigie's core value proposition. Latka asks a basic clarifying question regarding target mobile phone data.4:07–8:50 · Guest teaching 3/10 Modigie's Hybrid Pricing Model and Accelerated Consumption Latka drills into unit economics, dissecting the split between platform fees and consumption credits, and immediately probes into net revenue retention and monthly run rate figures.8:51–12:41 · Guest teaching 3/10 Bootstrapping Strategy and Outbound Customer Acquisition Latka investigates capital efficiency, questioning how the founders built the platform cheaply and pressing Hopp to clarify his exact team composition between full-time staff and contract developers.12:42–15:47 · Guest teaching 4/10 API Volume Dynamics and Core Data Microservices Latka attempts to deduce monthly API volume from daily ranges, prompting Hopp to clarify actual consumption rates before transitioning smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.0:15–4:07 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview The opening portion consists of standard podcast housekeeping and an intro, followed by Ken Hopp introducing Modigie's core value proposition. Latka asks a basic clarifying question regarding target mobile phone data.4:07–8:50 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Modigie's Hybrid Pricing Model and Accelerated Consumption Latka drills into unit economics, dissecting the split between platform fees and consumption credits, and immediately probes into net revenue retention and monthly run rate figures.8:51–12:41 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Bootstrapping Strategy and Outbound Customer Acquisition Latka investigates capital efficiency, questioning how the founders built the platform cheaply and pressing Hopp to clarify his exact team composition between full-time staff and contract developers.12:42–15:47 · Guest disagreement 2/10 API Volume Dynamics and Core Data Microservices Latka attempts to deduce monthly API volume from daily ranges, prompting Hopp to clarify actual consumption rates before transitioning smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.0:15–4:07 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview The opening portion consists of standard podcast housekeeping and an intro, followed by Ken Hopp introducing Modigie's core value proposition. Latka asks a basic clarifying question regarding target mobile phone data.4:07–8:50 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Modigie's Hybrid Pricing Model and Accelerated Consumption Latka drills into unit economics, dissecting the split between platform fees and consumption credits, and immediately probes into net revenue retention and monthly run rate figures.8:51–12:41 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Bootstrapping Strategy and Outbound Customer Acquisition Latka investigates capital efficiency, questioning how the founders built the platform cheaply and pressing Hopp to clarify his exact team composition between full-time staff and contract developers.12:42–15:47 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 API Volume Dynamics and Core Data Microservices Latka attempts to deduce monthly API volume from daily ranges, prompting Hopp to clarify actual consumption rates before transitioning smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 56.5% · guest 43.5%0:00 · Nathan 56.5% · guest 43.5%3:00 · Nathan 15.1% · guest 84.9%3:00 · Nathan 15.1% · guest 84.9%6:00 · Nathan 12.4% · guest 87.6%6:00 · Nathan 12.4% · guest 87.6%9:00 · Nathan 19.7% · guest 80.3%9:00 · Nathan 19.7% · guest 80.3%12:00 · Nathan 25.2% · guest 74.8%12:00 · Nathan 25.2% · guest 74.8%15:00 · Nathan 67.2% · guest 32.8%15:00 · Nathan 67.2% · guest 32.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:18 Ken Hopp corrects monthly API volume estimate

When Latka suggests the platform processes up to 300,000 calls monthly, Hopp politely but firmly pushes back, setting the real monthly volume at 20,000 to 30,000.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 4:44 Nathan Latka demands pricing structure breakdown

Latka interrupts to demand specific clarity on how much of the $1,000 average monthly spend represents a baseline subscription platform fee versus variable consumption charges.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:00 Ken Hopp explains API usage distribution and microservices

Hopp explains that API volume follows a cosine curve rather than steady monthly run rates and clarifies that requests involve distinct microservices like employer verification and mobile phone lookup.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 6:29 Nathan Latka calculates monthly ARR and customer averages

Latka immediately translates Hopp's bookings metric into monthly cash figures and runs the customer arithmetic on the fly to establish run rate context.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview 4212 The opening portion consists of standard podcast housekeeping and an intro, followed by Ken Hopp introducing Modigie's core value proposition. Latka asks a basic clarifying question regarding target mobile phone data.
Modigie's Hybrid Pricing Model and Accelerated Consumption 7325 Latka drills into unit economics, dissecting the split between platform fees and consumption credits, and immediately probes into net revenue retention and monthly run rate figures.
Bootstrapping Strategy and Outbound Customer Acquisition 6314 Latka investigates capital efficiency, questioning how the founders built the platform cheaply and pressing Hopp to clarify his exact team composition between full-time staff and contract developers.
API Volume Dynamics and Core Data Microservices 6424 Latka attempts to deduce monthly API volume from daily ranges, prompting Hopp to clarify actual consumption rates before transitioning smoothly into the Famous Five closing questions.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Partly supported
Hopp: IDC and BCG Found 80% of Business Professionals Use Smartphones for Work
“We stumbled across a study by IDC and then the Boston Consulting Group, and they really confirmed what we thought is that eight out of every 10 business professionals use their smartphone as their business phone.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 2:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Outbound BDRs Waste 10% to 20% of Outreach on Former Employees
“What we often find is BDR reps that are doing large volume outbound are oftentimes chasing or pursuing 10 to 20% or more of the prospects that don't even work at the target company.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 3:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Modigie Averages Approximately $1,000 in Monthly Revenue per Client
“Right now we're averaging about a thousand dollars a month per client.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 4:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Modigie Clients Consume Their Annualized Credits Within Three to Four Months
“Our clients are consuming those one month or those annualized credits in a period of three or four months. So they're already re-upping their contracts.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 5:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Modigie Generated Just Under $300,000 in Bookings in 2020
“And we came in just a hair under, under 300,000.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 6:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Modigie Pre-Sold 20 Contracts for Its Salesforce Managed Package
“So we have about 20, 20 Pre-sold contracts for the Salesforce managed package of Modigi.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 7:41
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ken Hopp Projects Modigie Will Exceed $1 Million in 2021 Revenue
“So, I mean, I'm modeling it for over a million. So it'd be a, you know, a three X growth.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 8:31
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Building Modigie Cost $300k Versus an Estimated $3M Five Years Ago
“So our application all in probably is just under 300,000. If you, five years ago, that might've been. To build it. That might've been a three million dollar a bill.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 10:15
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Modigie's Co-Founder Grew a Previous Solo Company to $120M Without Funding
“Keith's former company, he grew from himself to one hundred and twenty million in revenue. With zero funding.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 10:35
Disclosure
Modigie Plans to Eventually Raise Venture Capital to Accelerate Growth
“I think the opportunity is big enough to, we'll eventually take some VC funding.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 10:43
Disclosure
Modigie's Co-Founders Invested Approximately $100,000 to Launch the Company
“So we probably only put in about a hundred grand total.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 11:04
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Modigie Processes 20,000 to 30,000 Prospect Data Requests per Month
“I would not say it's 300,000 yet. It's closer to 20, 20, 30.”
Ken Hoppe Jan 24, 2021 ▶ 13:18
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