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Dec 4, 2020 · 17m · top-founders

G2 Hits $50m in ARR (+$20m), and $450m Valuation

Godard Abel · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken Frank Bien · 4s spoken Eric Yuan · 4s spoken Vivek Bhaskaran · 2s spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this live onstage interview with Nathan Latka, G2 founder and CEO Godard Abel breaks down how the company scaled to $50 million in ARR at a $450 million valuation, drawing on lessons from his prior nine-figure exits with BigMachines and SteelBrick. Abel provides an in-depth look at G2's SaaS monetization model, unit economics, platform neutrality, and the importance of transparent user reviews.

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 44.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.7 Guest teaching 4.0 Guest disagreement 2.5 Nathan pushing back 4.8
05100:0010:002:18–5:25 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Godard Abel on Building and Exiting BigMachines Latka rapidly interrogates Godard on previous exits at BigMachines and Steelbrick, demonstrating familiarity with CPQ exits and stock valuations. Godard cheerfully clarifies the mechanics of his stock holding and diversification advice.5:29–7:44 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 G2 Business Model, Monetization, and Pricing Tiers Latka cites historical revenue and growth stats from Inc. magazine and attempts to pin Godard down on a blended average ACV. Godard resists the simplification, breaking down contract sizes across SMB and enterprise tiers.7:46–10:32 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Bootstrapping G2 in 2012 and Early VC Rejection Latka strongly challenges Godard's claim that he couldn't raise VC money after two massive exits, citing David Cancel and Drift as a counterexample. Godard holds firm that institutional VCs disliked the Yelp-for-software concept in 2012.10:32–13:17 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Funding Milestones, Half-a-Unicorn Valuation, and Independence Latka playfully presses Godard on acquisition rumors and valuation figures, drilling into the cryptic 'half a unicorn' label to narrow down pre- and post-money numbers between $400M and $500M.13:17–15:26 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Churn Dynamics, Sales Organization, and Monthly Cash Burn Latka breaks down net expansion math and extracts Godard's monthly cash burn rate of two million dollars. Godard reframes the burn as deliberate European growth investment rather than wasteful spending.15:26–17:06 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Value of Authenticity and Power of Negative Reviews Godard remarks on Latka's cross-examination style before explaining consumer psychology around negative reviews. The segment wraps with Latka summarizing Godard's company metrics.2:18–5:25 · Guest teaching 3/10 Godard Abel on Building and Exiting BigMachines Latka rapidly interrogates Godard on previous exits at BigMachines and Steelbrick, demonstrating familiarity with CPQ exits and stock valuations. Godard cheerfully clarifies the mechanics of his stock holding and diversification advice.5:29–7:44 · Guest teaching 4/10 G2 Business Model, Monetization, and Pricing Tiers Latka cites historical revenue and growth stats from Inc. magazine and attempts to pin Godard down on a blended average ACV. Godard resists the simplification, breaking down contract sizes across SMB and enterprise tiers.7:46–10:32 · Guest teaching 5/10 Bootstrapping G2 in 2012 and Early VC Rejection Latka strongly challenges Godard's claim that he couldn't raise VC money after two massive exits, citing David Cancel and Drift as a counterexample. Godard holds firm that institutional VCs disliked the Yelp-for-software concept in 2012.10:32–13:17 · Guest teaching 3/10 Funding Milestones, Half-a-Unicorn Valuation, and Independence Latka playfully presses Godard on acquisition rumors and valuation figures, drilling into the cryptic 'half a unicorn' label to narrow down pre- and post-money numbers between $400M and $500M.13:17–15:26 · Guest teaching 4/10 Churn Dynamics, Sales Organization, and Monthly Cash Burn Latka breaks down net expansion math and extracts Godard's monthly cash burn rate of two million dollars. Godard reframes the burn as deliberate European growth investment rather than wasteful spending.15:26–17:06 · Guest teaching 5/10 The Value of Authenticity and Power of Negative Reviews Godard remarks on Latka's cross-examination style before explaining consumer psychology around negative reviews. The segment wraps with Latka summarizing Godard's company metrics.2:18–5:25 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Godard Abel on Building and Exiting BigMachines Latka rapidly interrogates Godard on previous exits at BigMachines and Steelbrick, demonstrating familiarity with CPQ exits and stock valuations. Godard cheerfully clarifies the mechanics of his stock holding and diversification advice.5:29–7:44 · Guest disagreement 2/10 G2 Business Model, Monetization, and Pricing Tiers Latka cites historical revenue and growth stats from Inc. magazine and attempts to pin Godard down on a blended average ACV. Godard resists the simplification, breaking down contract sizes across SMB and enterprise tiers.7:46–10:32 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Bootstrapping G2 in 2012 and Early VC Rejection Latka strongly challenges Godard's claim that he couldn't raise VC money after two massive exits, citing David Cancel and Drift as a counterexample. Godard holds firm that institutional VCs disliked the Yelp-for-software concept in 2012.10:32–13:17 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Funding Milestones, Half-a-Unicorn Valuation, and Independence Latka playfully presses Godard on acquisition rumors and valuation figures, drilling into the cryptic 'half a unicorn' label to narrow down pre- and post-money numbers between $400M and $500M.13:17–15:26 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Churn Dynamics, Sales Organization, and Monthly Cash Burn Latka breaks down net expansion math and extracts Godard's monthly cash burn rate of two million dollars. Godard reframes the burn as deliberate European growth investment rather than wasteful spending.15:26–17:06 · Guest disagreement 2/10 The Value of Authenticity and Power of Negative Reviews Godard remarks on Latka's cross-examination style before explaining consumer psychology around negative reviews. The segment wraps with Latka summarizing Godard's company metrics.2:18–5:25 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Godard Abel on Building and Exiting BigMachines Latka rapidly interrogates Godard on previous exits at BigMachines and Steelbrick, demonstrating familiarity with CPQ exits and stock valuations. Godard cheerfully clarifies the mechanics of his stock holding and diversification advice.5:29–7:44 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 G2 Business Model, Monetization, and Pricing Tiers Latka cites historical revenue and growth stats from Inc. magazine and attempts to pin Godard down on a blended average ACV. Godard resists the simplification, breaking down contract sizes across SMB and enterprise tiers.7:46–10:32 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Bootstrapping G2 in 2012 and Early VC Rejection Latka strongly challenges Godard's claim that he couldn't raise VC money after two massive exits, citing David Cancel and Drift as a counterexample. Godard holds firm that institutional VCs disliked the Yelp-for-software concept in 2012.10:32–13:17 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Funding Milestones, Half-a-Unicorn Valuation, and Independence Latka playfully presses Godard on acquisition rumors and valuation figures, drilling into the cryptic 'half a unicorn' label to narrow down pre- and post-money numbers between $400M and $500M.13:17–15:26 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Churn Dynamics, Sales Organization, and Monthly Cash Burn Latka breaks down net expansion math and extracts Godard's monthly cash burn rate of two million dollars. Godard reframes the burn as deliberate European growth investment rather than wasteful spending.15:26–17:06 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Value of Authenticity and Power of Negative Reviews Godard remarks on Latka's cross-examination style before explaining consumer psychology around negative reviews. The segment wraps with Latka summarizing Godard's company metrics.

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

0:00 · Nathan 74.1% · guest 25.9%0:00 · Nathan 74.1% · guest 25.9%3:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%3:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%6:00 · Nathan 32.5% · guest 67.5%6:00 · Nathan 32.5% · guest 67.5%9:00 · Nathan 41.7% · guest 58.3%9:00 · Nathan 41.7% · guest 58.3%12:00 · Nathan 33.5% · guest 66.5%12:00 · Nathan 33.5% · guest 66.5%15:00 · Nathan 42.6% · guest 57.4%15:00 · Nathan 42.6% · guest 57.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:57 Refusing algorithmic tampering accusation

Godard forcefully refutes Latka's insinuation that he can manually boost friendly vendors' review scores on G2.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:10 Challenging VC rejection narrative

Latka refuses Godard's premise that VCs turned him down, citing David Cancel and CRV to argue that tier-one VCs write blank checks to repeat successful founders.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:54 The psychology of negative reviews

Godard educates Latka on consumer purchasing behavior, explaining how one-star reviews build authenticity and resolve buyer fear.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 13:29 Dissecting net expansion and gross churn math

Latka immediately calculates the exact underlying expansion percentage needed to hit 130% net dollar retention given Godard's gross retention figure.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Godard Abel on Building and Exiting BigMachines 6312 Latka rapidly interrogates Godard on previous exits at BigMachines and Steelbrick, demonstrating familiarity with CPQ exits and stock valuations. Godard cheerfully clarifies the mechanics of his stock holding and diversification advice.
G2 Business Model, Monetization, and Pricing Tiers 7425 Latka cites historical revenue and growth stats from Inc. magazine and attempts to pin Godard down on a blended average ACV. Godard resists the simplification, breaking down contract sizes across SMB and enterprise tiers.
Bootstrapping G2 in 2012 and Early VC Rejection 8548 Latka strongly challenges Godard's claim that he couldn't raise VC money after two massive exits, citing David Cancel and Drift as a counterexample. Godard holds firm that institutional VCs disliked the Yelp-for-software concept in 2012.
Funding Milestones, Half-a-Unicorn Valuation, and Independence 7336 Latka playfully presses Godard on acquisition rumors and valuation figures, drilling into the cryptic 'half a unicorn' label to narrow down pre- and post-money numbers between $400M and $500M.
Churn Dynamics, Sales Organization, and Monthly Cash Burn 8436 Latka breaks down net expansion math and extracts Godard's monthly cash burn rate of two million dollars. Godard reframes the burn as deliberate European growth investment rather than wasteful spending.
The Value of Authenticity and Power of Negative Reviews 4522 Godard remarks on Latka's cross-examination style before explaining consumer psychology around negative reviews. The segment wraps with Latka summarizing Godard's company metrics.

Statements from this episode (14)

Disclosure
Abel: BigMachines burned $20M from dot-com boom before bootstrapping
“It's kind of a long story, and I was worse than bootstrapped, because we kind of raised a bunch of money, dot com, twenty million, wasted it, and then went into bootstrapped.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 2:38
Assertion Supported
Abel: SteelBrick reached a $360M exit to Salesforce in seven quarters
“Because there in seven quarters, we achieved, you know, three hundred sixty million dollar exit to Salesforce. Really it was better because we got stock, which has since doubled.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 3:40
Disclosure
Abel: Diversifying Salesforce stock post-acquisition was a mistake in hindsight
“I had a financial advisor, and unfortunately they encouraged me to diversify. So I did. So sold. A lot. I mean, I kept a little bit, but obviously in hindsight, but it doubled, right? Obviously, but you have such a concentrated financial position, every financ…”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 4:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Abel: Slack has never paid G2 despite ranking number one
“Like Slack has never paid us, to my chagrin, but they've always been number one rated on GQ, and we don't change that.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 6:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Abel: G2 pricing ranges from $10k for SMBs to seven figures for enterprise
“Small vendors, it starts about 10,000 a year. Mid-market vendors is probably more, like, 30 to 50, even to a hundred, depending on how many products they have, how much of our solution they use, and then some enterprises are now spending over seven figures.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 6:58
Disclosure
Abel: G2's first $2 million was self-funded by its founders
“The first two million funding came from us.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 7:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Abel: G2 has about 2,000 paying customer vendors
“About 2000.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 8:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Abel: G2's revenue is almost 100% pure SaaS subscriptions
“Almost a hundred now. Because we used to also have, like, a per lead adder, and now we just said, hey, let's just bundle it in, the API, all you can drink.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 9:30
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Abel: G2 will finish its fiscal year over $50M run rate
“You know, we'll finish at certainly over 50.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 10:30
Insight
Abel: Initiating M&A talks as a founder never leads to good outcomes
“If you listen to Mark Benioff or John Smorjai at Salesforce, they always say good companies are bought, not sold. I think that's true with good strategic outcomes. If you initiate it, I don't think it's ever good.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 10:48
Assertion Supported
Abel: G2 has raised $100 million in total funding
“A hundred million.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 11:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Abel: G2 Gross Revenue Retention Runs Around 80%
“And we're probably running, like a lot of marketing solutions, maybe it's too low, our retention is probably running around 80%.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 13:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Abel: G2 Net Dollar Retention Exceeds 130%
“And we're going over a 130% net dollar.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 13:33
Insight
Abel: Perfect 5.0 product ratings are 'bullshit' and lack credibility
“And actually a vendor with all five point overviews, I would never believe it. It's bullshit. The world isn't that way.”
Godard Abel Dec 4, 2020 ▶ 16:37
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