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Jul 31, 2020 · 24m · top-founders

Big brands, manufacturers with raw material (oil plastic) where going factory to warehouse.

Adam Compain · 13m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m 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 interview, ClearMetal CEO Adam Compain discusses how his enterprise supply chain SaaS platform achieved 400% year-over-year growth, detailing the company's $300k average contract value, sales compensation structures, and preparation for a Series B funding round.

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 38.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.4 Guest teaching 1.9 Guest disagreement 2.4 Nathan pushing back 4.7
05100:0010:0020:000:18–3:39 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Podcast Promotion: getlatka.com Subscription and Benefits Introductory segment dominated by a promotional ad read for the subscription feed followed by standard company overview questions.3:39–8:18 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Architecture: Platform Base and Volume Tiers Latka presses Compain on specific pricing tiers, digging into the exact split between fixed platform fees and variable volume charges.8:18–11:41 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Founding Journey and the Strategic Choice to Raise Capital Latka aggressively challenges Compain's decision to raise $25M in venture capital after getting early revenue while bootstrapping, rejecting his justification.11:42–14:39 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Organizational Headcount, Quotas, and Sales Compensation Models Latka inspects sales rep quotas, OTE ratios, and coverage metrics, validating standard SaaS unit economics in a collaborative manner.14:40–18:00 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Enterprise Market Penetration and Planning for Series B Compain hedges about sharing private revenue figures, prompting Latka to corner him with ARR math based on customer counts and Series B benchmarks.18:00–21:20 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Assessing 400% Growth, Capital Burn, and Market Velocity Latka relentlessly reverse-engineers monthly burn and run rate metrics when Compain attempts to remain vague on financial specifics.21:21–24:37 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Payback Dynamics Latka drills into cohort retention and expansion metrics before concluding the interview with rapid-fire Famous Five questions.0:18–3:39 · Guest teaching 0/10 Podcast Promotion: getlatka.com Subscription and Benefits Introductory segment dominated by a promotional ad read for the subscription feed followed by standard company overview questions.3:39–8:18 · Guest teaching 3/10 Pricing Architecture: Platform Base and Volume Tiers Latka presses Compain on specific pricing tiers, digging into the exact split between fixed platform fees and variable volume charges.8:18–11:41 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founding Journey and the Strategic Choice to Raise Capital Latka aggressively challenges Compain's decision to raise $25M in venture capital after getting early revenue while bootstrapping, rejecting his justification.11:42–14:39 · Guest teaching 1/10 Organizational Headcount, Quotas, and Sales Compensation Models Latka inspects sales rep quotas, OTE ratios, and coverage metrics, validating standard SaaS unit economics in a collaborative manner.14:40–18:00 · Guest teaching 3/10 Enterprise Market Penetration and Planning for Series B Compain hedges about sharing private revenue figures, prompting Latka to corner him with ARR math based on customer counts and Series B benchmarks.18:00–21:20 · Guest teaching 2/10 Assessing 400% Growth, Capital Burn, and Market Velocity Latka relentlessly reverse-engineers monthly burn and run rate metrics when Compain attempts to remain vague on financial specifics.21:21–24:37 · Guest teaching 2/10 Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Payback Dynamics Latka drills into cohort retention and expansion metrics before concluding the interview with rapid-fire Famous Five questions.0:18–3:39 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Podcast Promotion: getlatka.com Subscription and Benefits Introductory segment dominated by a promotional ad read for the subscription feed followed by standard company overview questions.3:39–8:18 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pricing Architecture: Platform Base and Volume Tiers Latka presses Compain on specific pricing tiers, digging into the exact split between fixed platform fees and variable volume charges.8:18–11:41 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Founding Journey and the Strategic Choice to Raise Capital Latka aggressively challenges Compain's decision to raise $25M in venture capital after getting early revenue while bootstrapping, rejecting his justification.11:42–14:39 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Organizational Headcount, Quotas, and Sales Compensation Models Latka inspects sales rep quotas, OTE ratios, and coverage metrics, validating standard SaaS unit economics in a collaborative manner.14:40–18:00 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Enterprise Market Penetration and Planning for Series B Compain hedges about sharing private revenue figures, prompting Latka to corner him with ARR math based on customer counts and Series B benchmarks.18:00–21:20 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Assessing 400% Growth, Capital Burn, and Market Velocity Latka relentlessly reverse-engineers monthly burn and run rate metrics when Compain attempts to remain vague on financial specifics.21:21–24:37 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Payback Dynamics Latka drills into cohort retention and expansion metrics before concluding the interview with rapid-fire Famous Five questions.0:18–3:39 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Podcast Promotion: getlatka.com Subscription and Benefits Introductory segment dominated by a promotional ad read for the subscription feed followed by standard company overview questions.3:39–8:18 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Pricing Architecture: Platform Base and Volume Tiers Latka presses Compain on specific pricing tiers, digging into the exact split between fixed platform fees and variable volume charges.8:18–11:41 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Founding Journey and the Strategic Choice to Raise Capital Latka aggressively challenges Compain's decision to raise $25M in venture capital after getting early revenue while bootstrapping, rejecting his justification.11:42–14:39 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Organizational Headcount, Quotas, and Sales Compensation Models Latka inspects sales rep quotas, OTE ratios, and coverage metrics, validating standard SaaS unit economics in a collaborative manner.14:40–18:00 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Enterprise Market Penetration and Planning for Series B Compain hedges about sharing private revenue figures, prompting Latka to corner him with ARR math based on customer counts and Series B benchmarks.18:00–21:20 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Assessing 400% Growth, Capital Burn, and Market Velocity Latka relentlessly reverse-engineers monthly burn and run rate metrics when Compain attempts to remain vague on financial specifics.21:21–24:37 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Payback Dynamics Latka drills into cohort retention and expansion metrics before concluding the interview with rapid-fire Famous Five questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 53.7% · guest 46.3%0:00 · Nathan 53.7% · guest 46.3%3:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%3:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%6:00 · Nathan 48.6% · guest 51.4%6:00 · Nathan 48.6% · guest 51.4%9:00 · Nathan 30% · guest 70%9:00 · Nathan 30% · guest 70%12:00 · Nathan 22.4% · guest 77.6%12:00 · Nathan 22.4% · guest 77.6%15:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%15:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%18:00 · Nathan 43.3% · guest 56.7%18:00 · Nathan 43.3% · guest 56.7%21:00 · Nathan 45.7% · guest 54.3%21:00 · Nathan 45.7% · guest 54.3%24:00 · Nathan 92.5% · guest 7.5%24:00 · Nathan 92.5% · guest 7.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:36 Guest defends venture scale ambition

Compain pushes back against Latka's insinuation that raising capital caused unnecessary dilution, defending high-caliber hiring and aggressive market capture.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:23 Host rejects VC narrative and warns of Blue Apron outcome

Latka explicitly rejects Compain's framing that raising venture money automatically equals building a bigger company, citing risks of overcapitalization.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:48 Guest explains enterprise supply chain ROI mechanics

Compain details how optimizing multi-billion-dollar freight flows and reducing buffer stock creates high contract value across massive enterprise accounts.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 21:09 Host deduces exact burn rate from headcount math

When Compain refuses to share cash burn directly, Latka leverages industry standards and team size to pinpoint the monthly burn figure between $400k and $500k.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Podcast Promotion: getlatka.com Subscription and Benefits 1000 Introductory segment dominated by a promotional ad read for the subscription feed followed by standard company overview questions.
Pricing Architecture: Platform Base and Volume Tiers 6325 Latka presses Compain on specific pricing tiers, digging into the exact split between fixed platform fees and variable volume charges.
Founding Journey and the Strategic Choice to Raise Capital 6247 Latka aggressively challenges Compain's decision to raise $25M in venture capital after getting early revenue while bootstrapping, rejecting his justification.
Organizational Headcount, Quotas, and Sales Compensation Models 6113 Latka inspects sales rep quotas, OTE ratios, and coverage metrics, validating standard SaaS unit economics in a collaborative manner.
Enterprise Market Penetration and Planning for Series B 6346 Compain hedges about sharing private revenue figures, prompting Latka to corner him with ARR math based on customer counts and Series B benchmarks.
Assessing 400% Growth, Capital Burn, and Market Velocity 7247 Latka relentlessly reverse-engineers monthly burn and run rate metrics when Compain attempts to remain vague on financial specifics.
Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Payback Dynamics 6225 Latka drills into cohort retention and expansion metrics before concluding the interview with rapid-fire Famous Five questions.

Statements from this episode (14)

Disclosure
Compain: ClearMetal contracts range from mid six figures to low seven figures
“Typically we're looking at, I'd say low to often mid six figures and then you know, low seven figures per year.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 3:52
Disclosure
Compain: ClearMetal contract fees are 50% to 60% fixed platform fees
“I mean, typically, you know, we're talking probably call it 50, 60% of the fee would be a fixed. And the variable component is often a lesser component of that.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 6:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Compain: ClearMetal collected paying contract revenue in its first year
“We were under a commercial contract with first dollars collected within the first year we wrote code.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 9:03
Disclosure
Compain: ClearMetal raised about $25M across three funding rounds
“We've now gone through three rounds of capital with a total investment of around twenty five million or so.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 9:26
Disclosure
Compain: ClearMetal has 5 to 10 quota-carrying sales reps
“We've got today between five and 10, and we're hiring actively right now.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 11:58
Disclosure
Compain: ClearMetal sales reps carry $1M to $2M annual ARR quotas
“Yeah, I think, you know, typical for our kind of stage and size SaaS, you know, as we move forward, you know, reps carry anywhere between a million or two million per year.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 12:09
Assertion Supported
Compain: ClearMetal pivoted from logistics providers to enterprise shipper brands
“We started selling our software to the logistics providers themselves prior to us evolving the business to sell to The brands and suppliers whose goods are being carried by those logistics providers.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 13:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Compain: ClearMetal works with 25% of Gartner's top supply chains
“Not only did Gartner name us a cool vendor and AI supply chain, But a quarter of all those top supply chains have actually engaged us for further help on digitizing their supply chain.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 15:14
Insight
Compain: SaaS Series B rounds typically require $5M-$12M ARR
“I mean, I'd say companies are on Silicon Valley and SAS. We're seeing anywhere between You know, five to twelve million of ARR annual recurring revenues per year is typically that striking point of a series B, which would be, you know, 20 to forty million of a…”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 16:02
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Compain: ClearMetal is growing roughly 4x year-over-year
“We're, I mean, we're looking at probably four X year over year.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 19:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Compain: ClearMetal headcount is 40 to 50 employees and hiring aggressively
“We have a team of you know, call it 40, approaching 50, and are hiring aggressively.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 20:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Compain: ClearMetal converts 85% of phase-one trials to subscriptions
“80% of folks that we engage with in a phase one deployment, actually 85%, convert to full subscription contracts in the event that we have to do trials.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 21:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Compain: ClearMetal has had zero customer churn to date
“We have not to date had a customer churn after subscribing to our software.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 21:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Compain: ClearMetal sees about 30% expansion in existing accounts
“I'd say generally the easy number, it looks like about 30% growth in existing accounts.”
Adam Compain Jul 31, 2020 ▶ 22:43
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