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Jul 14, 2020 · 19m · top-founders

Workable Hits $30m Run Rate, Burning $10m, Series C Valuation "Less Than $250m"

Nikos Moraitakis · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Workable co-founder and CEO Nikos Moraitakis joins Nathan Latka to discuss the recruiting SaaS platform's trajectory toward a $30 million ARR run rate. Moraitakis explains Workable's disciplined capital management, unit economics across SMB and mid-market tiers, $50 million Series C fundraising strategy, and organic inbound acquisition engine.

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 47.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.3 Guest teaching 2.7 Guest disagreement 2.0 Nathan pushing back 4.0
05100:0010:000:20–4:47 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Podcast Membership Pitch and Platform Announcements Latka performs live unit-economic calculations on Workable's 20k customers and $10k ACV, challenging the resulting $16M monthly run-rate figure until Moraitakis clarifies the SMB product mix and true annual ARR.4:48–9:06 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 ARR Trajectory and Growth Expectations vs. VC Pressure Latka pushes hard on whether VCs are disappointed with 50% year-over-year growth after raising $95M, prompting Moraitakis to defend their capital efficiency and deliberate multi-year runway strategy.9:06–12:48 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Hiring Metrics, Team Structure, and Market Positioning Latka shows industry awareness by naming competitors like iCIMS and Taleo while probing for potential PE acquisition talks, which Moraitakis politely deflects while defining Workable's sub-500 employee target market.12:48–15:26 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Retention Metrics, Payback Periods, and Organic Lead Generation Latka carefully unpacks net vs. gross revenue retention formulas, while Moraitakis breaks down the economics of Workable's content marketing engine and organic lead capture.15:27–17:30 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Series C Valuation and Sustainable SaaS Economics Latka benchmarks Workable against the SaaS Rule of 40 metric using their burn and growth rates, while Moraitakis rejects vanity valuations in favor of sustainable P&L discipline.17:30–19:19 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Famous Five Questions with Nikos Moraitakis The conversation concludes with standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, books, and influences, followed by Latka's rapid summary of the business fundamentals.0:20–4:47 · Guest teaching 3/10 Podcast Membership Pitch and Platform Announcements Latka performs live unit-economic calculations on Workable's 20k customers and $10k ACV, challenging the resulting $16M monthly run-rate figure until Moraitakis clarifies the SMB product mix and true annual ARR.4:48–9:06 · Guest teaching 3/10 ARR Trajectory and Growth Expectations vs. VC Pressure Latka pushes hard on whether VCs are disappointed with 50% year-over-year growth after raising $95M, prompting Moraitakis to defend their capital efficiency and deliberate multi-year runway strategy.9:06–12:48 · Guest teaching 2/10 Hiring Metrics, Team Structure, and Market Positioning Latka shows industry awareness by naming competitors like iCIMS and Taleo while probing for potential PE acquisition talks, which Moraitakis politely deflects while defining Workable's sub-500 employee target market.12:48–15:26 · Guest teaching 3/10 Retention Metrics, Payback Periods, and Organic Lead Generation Latka carefully unpacks net vs. gross revenue retention formulas, while Moraitakis breaks down the economics of Workable's content marketing engine and organic lead capture.15:27–17:30 · Guest teaching 4/10 Series C Valuation and Sustainable SaaS Economics Latka benchmarks Workable against the SaaS Rule of 40 metric using their burn and growth rates, while Moraitakis rejects vanity valuations in favor of sustainable P&L discipline.17:30–19:19 · Guest teaching 1/10 Famous Five Questions with Nikos Moraitakis The conversation concludes with standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, books, and influences, followed by Latka's rapid summary of the business fundamentals.0:20–4:47 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Podcast Membership Pitch and Platform Announcements Latka performs live unit-economic calculations on Workable's 20k customers and $10k ACV, challenging the resulting $16M monthly run-rate figure until Moraitakis clarifies the SMB product mix and true annual ARR.4:48–9:06 · Guest disagreement 3/10 ARR Trajectory and Growth Expectations vs. VC Pressure Latka pushes hard on whether VCs are disappointed with 50% year-over-year growth after raising $95M, prompting Moraitakis to defend their capital efficiency and deliberate multi-year runway strategy.9:06–12:48 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Hiring Metrics, Team Structure, and Market Positioning Latka shows industry awareness by naming competitors like iCIMS and Taleo while probing for potential PE acquisition talks, which Moraitakis politely deflects while defining Workable's sub-500 employee target market.12:48–15:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Retention Metrics, Payback Periods, and Organic Lead Generation Latka carefully unpacks net vs. gross revenue retention formulas, while Moraitakis breaks down the economics of Workable's content marketing engine and organic lead capture.15:27–17:30 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Series C Valuation and Sustainable SaaS Economics Latka benchmarks Workable against the SaaS Rule of 40 metric using their burn and growth rates, while Moraitakis rejects vanity valuations in favor of sustainable P&L discipline.17:30–19:19 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Famous Five Questions with Nikos Moraitakis The conversation concludes with standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, books, and influences, followed by Latka's rapid summary of the business fundamentals.0:20–4:47 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Podcast Membership Pitch and Platform Announcements Latka performs live unit-economic calculations on Workable's 20k customers and $10k ACV, challenging the resulting $16M monthly run-rate figure until Moraitakis clarifies the SMB product mix and true annual ARR.4:48–9:06 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 ARR Trajectory and Growth Expectations vs. VC Pressure Latka pushes hard on whether VCs are disappointed with 50% year-over-year growth after raising $95M, prompting Moraitakis to defend their capital efficiency and deliberate multi-year runway strategy.9:06–12:48 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Hiring Metrics, Team Structure, and Market Positioning Latka shows industry awareness by naming competitors like iCIMS and Taleo while probing for potential PE acquisition talks, which Moraitakis politely deflects while defining Workable's sub-500 employee target market.12:48–15:26 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Retention Metrics, Payback Periods, and Organic Lead Generation Latka carefully unpacks net vs. gross revenue retention formulas, while Moraitakis breaks down the economics of Workable's content marketing engine and organic lead capture.15:27–17:30 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Series C Valuation and Sustainable SaaS Economics Latka benchmarks Workable against the SaaS Rule of 40 metric using their burn and growth rates, while Moraitakis rejects vanity valuations in favor of sustainable P&L discipline.17:30–19:19 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Famous Five Questions with Nikos Moraitakis The conversation concludes with standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, books, and influences, followed by Latka's rapid summary of the business fundamentals.

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

0:00 · Nathan 67.4% · guest 32.6%0:00 · Nathan 67.4% · guest 32.6%3:00 · Nathan 51.1% · guest 48.9%3:00 · Nathan 51.1% · guest 48.9%6:00 · Nathan 36.9% · guest 63.1%6:00 · Nathan 36.9% · guest 63.1%9:00 · Nathan 38.4% · guest 61.6%9:00 · Nathan 38.4% · guest 61.6%12:00 · Nathan 38.1% · guest 61.9%12:00 · Nathan 38.1% · guest 61.9%15:00 · Nathan 46.5% · guest 53.5%15:00 · Nathan 46.5% · guest 53.5%18:00 · Nathan 52.8% · guest 47.2%18:00 · Nathan 52.8% · guest 47.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 16:15 Rejection of theoretical preferred stock valuations

Moraitakis firmly dismisses Latka's push toward billion-dollar valuation milestones, asserting that paper valuations mean nothing compared to building a sustainable, profitable business.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 5:47 Challenging VC growth expectations at scale

Latka directly refuses the premise that 50% growth is acceptable after raising $95M, pressing Moraitakis on whether his venture backers are unhappy with missing triple-digit growth.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 11:39 Explaining why enterprise enterprise whale-hunting damages SMB SaaS

Moraitakis explains that chasing seven-figure enterprise contracts would compromise product usability for their core sub-500 employee market, educating the host on Workable's strategic positioning.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 17:05 Live SaaS Rule of 40 evaluation

Latka calculates Workable's EBITDA margin and growth rate in real time, demonstrating his financial expertise by proving the company is currently trailing the Rule of 40 benchmark.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Podcast Membership Pitch and Platform Announcements 6325 Latka performs live unit-economic calculations on Workable's 20k customers and $10k ACV, challenging the resulting $16M monthly run-rate figure until Moraitakis clarifies the SMB product mix and true annual ARR.
ARR Trajectory and Growth Expectations vs. VC Pressure 6336 Latka pushes hard on whether VCs are disappointed with 50% year-over-year growth after raising $95M, prompting Moraitakis to defend their capital efficiency and deliberate multi-year runway strategy.
Hiring Metrics, Team Structure, and Market Positioning 5224 Latka shows industry awareness by naming competitors like iCIMS and Taleo while probing for potential PE acquisition talks, which Moraitakis politely deflects while defining Workable's sub-500 employee target market.
Retention Metrics, Payback Periods, and Organic Lead Generation 5313 Latka carefully unpacks net vs. gross revenue retention formulas, while Moraitakis breaks down the economics of Workable's content marketing engine and organic lead capture.
Series C Valuation and Sustainable SaaS Economics 7435 Latka benchmarks Workable against the SaaS Rule of 40 metric using their burn and growth rates, while Moraitakis rejects vanity valuations in favor of sustainable P&L discipline.
Famous Five Questions with Nikos Moraitakis 3111 The conversation concludes with standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, books, and influences, followed by Latka's rapid summary of the business fundamentals.

Statements from this episode (16)

Disclosure
Moraitakis: Workable has about 20,000 customers
“We have about 20,000 customers.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 2:19
Disclosure
Moraitakis: 75% of Workable customers have under 100 employees
“About three quarters of our customers are companies with fewer than hundred employees.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 2:55
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Moraitakis: Workable will pass $30M ARR by year-end
“I think it's going to be this year.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 4:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Moraitakis: Workable's prior-year ARR run rate was just under $20M
“Ah, it was, ah, it was about 20, slightly below 20.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 5:08
Opinion
Moraitakis: Workable is satisfied with 50% to 60% ARR growth
“So actually we're happy to be at 50, 60% growth. It's the whole picture of the PNL.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 6:13
Disclosure
Moraitakis: Workable raised $50 million in its last funding round
“We raised another fifty million last summer.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 6:28
Disclosure
Moraitakis: Workable is targeting acquisitions in recruitment marketing and community job sites
“Right now we'll, we're very interested in the recruiting marketing space and what's happening with job sites that deviate from traditional job sites and create communities and have you know, richer audiences in terms of the data, their intent and where you can…”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 8:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Moraitakis: Workable reaches nearly 1.5 million lifetime candidate hires
“About a million, actually, but now it must be nearly about a million and a half. total hires.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 9:20
Disclosure
Moraitakis: Workable aims to replace recruiting agencies via flat SaaS pricing
“What we're trying to do is essentially to replace and automate some of what agencies do in the future. and we felt that following their business model would not send the right message.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 9:56
Insight
Moraitakis: Workable avoids enterprise contracts to protect its SMB market lead
“To be honest with you, we're not so keenly interested in million dollar contracts because that would necessarily mean that the product would become less appealing to the smaller customers. Right now, the way the market is we are the leading player with compani…”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 11:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Moraitakis: Workable NRR is over 100% for corporate, 85% for SMBs
“If you add expansion, the net revenue retention is above a hundred for annual corporate customers. For the monthly, the small ones, it's about 85%.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 13:46
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Moraitakis: Workable CAC payback is 6-7 months SMB, 12-14 months enterprise
“Typically the payback is for the small customers is actually six or seven months, and for the bigger customers is 12 to 14.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 14:14
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Moraitakis: Workable operates the world's most popular HR website with 25M uniques
“Right now, I think we have the most popular HR website in the world with about twenty five million uniques a year for HR professionals.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 14:35
Insight
Moraitakis: Series C dilution is typically 10% to 15%
“I think in C rounds, I think typically somewhere below 20%. It's not like A and B rounds. It's usually like 10, 15, that sort of thing.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 15:44
Disclosure
Moraitakis: Workable valued at over $200M in Series C
“A little over 200.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 16:03
Disclosure
Moraitakis: Workable operates with an 87% gross margin
“Depends then what margin, because we have margin of 87%.”
Nikos Moraitakis Jul 14, 2020 ▶ 17:23
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