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Nov 7, 2020 · 20m · top-founders

York hits $1.5m Revenue Helping Founders Scale

Kyle York · 13m spoken Nathan Latka · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this interview, York IE co-founder and CEO Kyle York details how his firm built a $1.5 million ARR hybrid advisory and investment platform that combines proprietary SaaS intelligence with an evergreen syndicate model to help early-stage B2B founders scale.

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 26.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.4 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:0020:000:18–3:55 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 GetLatka Subscription Feed Announcement After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Kyle York and playfully presses him on the undisclosed Dyn acquisition price. York smoothly handles the probe by citing the rumored $600M figure and explaining the origin of York IE.3:55–10:02 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Overview of the Fuel Platform and Managed Services Latka pushes hard against York IE's wide database strategy by drawing direct comparisons to Mattermark's failure. York defends his model by highlighting self-funding, internal IP integration, and operator-focused workflow tooling.10:03–13:20 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Evergreen Syndicate Investment Model Latka asks for fund mechanics and deal velocity. York provides a comprehensive breakdown of the evergreen syndicate model on AngelList, highlighting no management fees and deal-by-deal carried interest.13:20–16:16 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Portfolio Highlight: Growth and Marketing with OnFleet Latka displays domain knowledge regarding OnFleet and prompts York on advisory metrics. York explains their advisory revenue ramp and hiring strategy to reach $1.5M ARR across 25 accounts.16:16–19:20 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Long-Term Growth Flywheel and Vertical Integration Latka observes the classic agency-to-SaaS product transition pattern, which York affirms and expands upon. The conversation wraps smoothly with the standard Famous Five lightning round.0:18–3:55 · Guest teaching 2/10 GetLatka Subscription Feed Announcement After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Kyle York and playfully presses him on the undisclosed Dyn acquisition price. York smoothly handles the probe by citing the rumored $600M figure and explaining the origin of York IE.3:55–10:02 · Guest teaching 4/10 Overview of the Fuel Platform and Managed Services Latka pushes hard against York IE's wide database strategy by drawing direct comparisons to Mattermark's failure. York defends his model by highlighting self-funding, internal IP integration, and operator-focused workflow tooling.10:03–13:20 · Guest teaching 5/10 The Evergreen Syndicate Investment Model Latka asks for fund mechanics and deal velocity. York provides a comprehensive breakdown of the evergreen syndicate model on AngelList, highlighting no management fees and deal-by-deal carried interest.13:20–16:16 · Guest teaching 2/10 Portfolio Highlight: Growth and Marketing with OnFleet Latka displays domain knowledge regarding OnFleet and prompts York on advisory metrics. York explains their advisory revenue ramp and hiring strategy to reach $1.5M ARR across 25 accounts.16:16–19:20 · Guest teaching 2/10 Long-Term Growth Flywheel and Vertical Integration Latka observes the classic agency-to-SaaS product transition pattern, which York affirms and expands upon. The conversation wraps smoothly with the standard Famous Five lightning round.0:18–3:55 · Guest disagreement 1/10 GetLatka Subscription Feed Announcement After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Kyle York and playfully presses him on the undisclosed Dyn acquisition price. York smoothly handles the probe by citing the rumored $600M figure and explaining the origin of York IE.3:55–10:02 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Overview of the Fuel Platform and Managed Services Latka pushes hard against York IE's wide database strategy by drawing direct comparisons to Mattermark's failure. York defends his model by highlighting self-funding, internal IP integration, and operator-focused workflow tooling.10:03–13:20 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Evergreen Syndicate Investment Model Latka asks for fund mechanics and deal velocity. York provides a comprehensive breakdown of the evergreen syndicate model on AngelList, highlighting no management fees and deal-by-deal carried interest.13:20–16:16 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Portfolio Highlight: Growth and Marketing with OnFleet Latka displays domain knowledge regarding OnFleet and prompts York on advisory metrics. York explains their advisory revenue ramp and hiring strategy to reach $1.5M ARR across 25 accounts.16:16–19:20 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Long-Term Growth Flywheel and Vertical Integration Latka observes the classic agency-to-SaaS product transition pattern, which York affirms and expands upon. The conversation wraps smoothly with the standard Famous Five lightning round.0:18–3:55 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 GetLatka Subscription Feed Announcement After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Kyle York and playfully presses him on the undisclosed Dyn acquisition price. York smoothly handles the probe by citing the rumored $600M figure and explaining the origin of York IE.3:55–10:02 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Overview of the Fuel Platform and Managed Services Latka pushes hard against York IE's wide database strategy by drawing direct comparisons to Mattermark's failure. York defends his model by highlighting self-funding, internal IP integration, and operator-focused workflow tooling.10:03–13:20 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Evergreen Syndicate Investment Model Latka asks for fund mechanics and deal velocity. York provides a comprehensive breakdown of the evergreen syndicate model on AngelList, highlighting no management fees and deal-by-deal carried interest.13:20–16:16 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Portfolio Highlight: Growth and Marketing with OnFleet Latka displays domain knowledge regarding OnFleet and prompts York on advisory metrics. York explains their advisory revenue ramp and hiring strategy to reach $1.5M ARR across 25 accounts.16:16–19:20 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Long-Term Growth Flywheel and Vertical Integration Latka observes the classic agency-to-SaaS product transition pattern, which York affirms and expands upon. The conversation wraps smoothly with the standard Famous Five lightning round.

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

0:00 · Nathan 73.1% · guest 26.9%0:00 · Nathan 73.1% · guest 26.9%3:00 · Nathan 6.4% · guest 93.6%3:00 · Nathan 6.4% · guest 93.6%6:00 · Nathan 25.8% · guest 74.2%6:00 · Nathan 25.8% · guest 74.2%9:00 · Nathan 16.8% · guest 83.2%9:00 · Nathan 16.8% · guest 83.2%12:00 · Nathan 10.7% · guest 89.3%12:00 · Nathan 10.7% · guest 89.3%15:00 · Nathan 12.4% · guest 87.6%15:00 · Nathan 12.4% · guest 87.6%18:00 · Nathan 56.8% · guest 43.2%18:00 · Nathan 56.8% · guest 43.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:19 York rejects Mattermark comparison and defends self-funding

York counters Latka's critique by dismissing the venture-backed data aggregation model and highlighting York IE's self-funded control over its roadmap.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:38 Latka questions wide data scraping against failed competitors

Latka aggressively challenges York's strategy of going wide on company data by citing Mattermark's failure and demanding what unique data points Fuel can offer.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:47 York breaks down non-traditional syndicate economics

York educates Latka on the structural differences between traditional VC funds with management fees and their evergreen syndicate that relies solely on deal-by-deal carry.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:38 Latka delivers detailed post-mortem on Mattermark's strategy

Latka demonstrates deep market knowledge by analyzing Danielle Morrill's data indexing strategy at Mattermark and using it as a case study against York IE's model.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
GetLatka Subscription Feed Announcement 3213 After an opening subscription promo, Latka introduces Kyle York and playfully presses him on the undisclosed Dyn acquisition price. York smoothly handles the probe by citing the rumored $600M figure and explaining the origin of York IE.
Overview of the Fuel Platform and Managed Services 7437 Latka pushes hard against York IE's wide database strategy by drawing direct comparisons to Mattermark's failure. York defends his model by highlighting self-funding, internal IP integration, and operator-focused workflow tooling.
The Evergreen Syndicate Investment Model 3511 Latka asks for fund mechanics and deal velocity. York provides a comprehensive breakdown of the evergreen syndicate model on AngelList, highlighting no management fees and deal-by-deal carried interest.
Portfolio Highlight: Growth and Marketing with OnFleet 5212 Latka displays domain knowledge regarding OnFleet and prompts York on advisory metrics. York explains their advisory revenue ramp and hiring strategy to reach $1.5M ARR across 25 accounts.
Long-Term Growth Flywheel and Vertical Integration 6211 Latka observes the classic agency-to-SaaS product transition pattern, which York affirms and expands upon. The conversation wraps smoothly with the standard Famous Five lightning round.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Supported
Latka: Kyle York Has Invested in Over 75 Startups in Past Decade
“Investing in over 75 startups over the past decade, Kyle is also a co-founder and board member of a fourth-third generation family business called York Athletics MFG, an e-commerce footwear brand based in Boston, and is also a board member of CAMS, Ascent Comp…”
Nathan Latka Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 1:58
Assertion Supported
York: Dyn scaled to $100M ARR before 2016 Oracle acquisition
“You know, claim to fame, helped build a company called Dine that we built to a hundred million ARR and sold to Oracle back in 2016.”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 2:34
Disclosure
York: York IE managed services start at $3,000 per month
“And so those services start at three K a month. And they scale up from there.”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 4:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
York IE database tracks 800K companies and scrapes 3M more
“I think the current database is about 800,000. But last I checked just this past Friday release, it's we're recording this on a Monday in mid-October, they we added the capability to scrape another three million companies through our data sets.”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 6:00
Opinion
Mattermark failed because it raised too much venture capital, says York
“The other reason why Metamark wasn't a successful company is because they fundraise too much.”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 8:51
Assertion Supported
Kyle York: Dyn bootstrapped to $30M ARR before taking outside capital
“I mean, the best part of the Dine story is that we didn't raise a dollar of outside capital till we were a thirty million ARR.”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 8:59
Assertion Supported
York: SaaS syndicate remains AngelList's largest SaaS-specific syndicate
“So back in 2014, I co-founded the SAS syndicate on AngelList, which remains the largest SAS specific syndicate on the platform.”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 10:53
Disclosure
York: York IE charges zero management fees, taking only deal-by-deal carry
“So what we basically created is a master series vehicle, a high net worth individuals and family offices invest alongside our capital. There's no traditional management fee and there's no traditional fund economics. We get a five year commitment from our inves…”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 11:24
Disclosure
York: York IE has deployed around $6.5M across 17 investments
“And so we've done, since we launched, actually we were just wired a deal today. We've done 17 investments. We've deployed right around six and a half million dollars. We average about a 500 K check size now because it's evergreen.”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 12:25
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kyle York: York IE reached roughly $1.5M ARR in its first year
“Yeah, we have about 25 outside clients, you know, average tickets paying around seven grand a month for the services. So, you know, we've got ourselves upwards of, you know, with our, with some of our other project work and things we've done, we've got ourselv…”
Kyle York Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 15:47
Insight
Nathan Latka: Successful agencies spin out software via built-in customer bases
“From what I've seen, at least a glaring pattern is a successful agency spins out successful tech because they've got a built-in base.”
Nathan Latka Nov 7, 2020 ▶ 16:19
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