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Jun 15, 2020 · 18m · top-founders

GeoSpiza First 3 Customers at $160k ACV For Climate Risk Software, How?

Sarah Tuneberg · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Archive Audio · 6s 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, Nathan Latka speaks with GeoSpiza co-founder and CEO Sarah Tuneberg about how the climate intelligence startup pivoted from $15,000 GovTech contracts to securing $160,000 enterprise annual deals while scaling to $60,000 in monthly recurring revenue.

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 45% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 2.0 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 1.5
05100:0010:004:02–7:00 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Inbound Lead Drivers and Transition from GovTech Latka explores the transition from GovTech to enterprise SaaS, questioning whether the pivot was planned or purely reactive. Tuneberg explains their market discovery process and how organic inbound stemmed from press coverage.7:01–9:24 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Revenue Growth, Team Structure, and Non-Dilutive Funding Latka parses the company's MRR and ARR figures while categorizing equity funding versus non-dilutive grants. Tuneberg clarifies how legacy accounts contribute alongside new enterprise contracts.9:28–14:02 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Commercial Break: Fiverr and Sonic Branding Following an ad break on sonic branding, Latka audits monthly net burn and team expenditures. Tuneberg explains how LinkedIn Sales Navigator targets supply chain leaders managing climate risk.14:03–17:30 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Retention, AI Features, and Enterprise Expansion Plans Latka inquires about expansion pricing mechanics and target account values before moving into the standard closing questions. Tuneberg outlines the role of their AI recommendation engine in driving upsells.4:02–7:00 · Guest teaching 2/10 Inbound Lead Drivers and Transition from GovTech Latka explores the transition from GovTech to enterprise SaaS, questioning whether the pivot was planned or purely reactive. Tuneberg explains their market discovery process and how organic inbound stemmed from press coverage.7:01–9:24 · Guest teaching 2/10 Revenue Growth, Team Structure, and Non-Dilutive Funding Latka parses the company's MRR and ARR figures while categorizing equity funding versus non-dilutive grants. Tuneberg clarifies how legacy accounts contribute alongside new enterprise contracts.9:28–14:02 · Guest teaching 2/10 Commercial Break: Fiverr and Sonic Branding Following an ad break on sonic branding, Latka audits monthly net burn and team expenditures. Tuneberg explains how LinkedIn Sales Navigator targets supply chain leaders managing climate risk.14:03–17:30 · Guest teaching 2/10 Retention, AI Features, and Enterprise Expansion Plans Latka inquires about expansion pricing mechanics and target account values before moving into the standard closing questions. Tuneberg outlines the role of their AI recommendation engine in driving upsells.4:02–7:00 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Inbound Lead Drivers and Transition from GovTech Latka explores the transition from GovTech to enterprise SaaS, questioning whether the pivot was planned or purely reactive. Tuneberg explains their market discovery process and how organic inbound stemmed from press coverage.7:01–9:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Revenue Growth, Team Structure, and Non-Dilutive Funding Latka parses the company's MRR and ARR figures while categorizing equity funding versus non-dilutive grants. Tuneberg clarifies how legacy accounts contribute alongside new enterprise contracts.9:28–14:02 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Commercial Break: Fiverr and Sonic Branding Following an ad break on sonic branding, Latka audits monthly net burn and team expenditures. Tuneberg explains how LinkedIn Sales Navigator targets supply chain leaders managing climate risk.14:03–17:30 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Retention, AI Features, and Enterprise Expansion Plans Latka inquires about expansion pricing mechanics and target account values before moving into the standard closing questions. Tuneberg outlines the role of their AI recommendation engine in driving upsells.4:02–7:00 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Inbound Lead Drivers and Transition from GovTech Latka explores the transition from GovTech to enterprise SaaS, questioning whether the pivot was planned or purely reactive. Tuneberg explains their market discovery process and how organic inbound stemmed from press coverage.7:01–9:24 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Revenue Growth, Team Structure, and Non-Dilutive Funding Latka parses the company's MRR and ARR figures while categorizing equity funding versus non-dilutive grants. Tuneberg clarifies how legacy accounts contribute alongside new enterprise contracts.9:28–14:02 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Commercial Break: Fiverr and Sonic Branding Following an ad break on sonic branding, Latka audits monthly net burn and team expenditures. Tuneberg explains how LinkedIn Sales Navigator targets supply chain leaders managing climate risk.14:03–17:30 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Retention, AI Features, and Enterprise Expansion Plans Latka inquires about expansion pricing mechanics and target account values before moving into the standard closing questions. Tuneberg outlines the role of their AI recommendation engine in driving upsells.

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

0:00 · Nathan 66.8% · guest 33.2%0:00 · Nathan 66.8% · guest 33.2%3:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%3:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%6:00 · Nathan 33.3% · guest 66.7%6:00 · Nathan 33.3% · guest 66.7%9:00 · Nathan 72.6% · guest 27.4%9:00 · Nathan 72.6% · guest 27.4%12:00 · Nathan 28.8% · guest 71.2%12:00 · Nathan 28.8% · guest 71.2%15:00 · Nathan 42.6% · guest 57.4%15:00 · Nathan 42.6% · guest 57.4%18:00 · Nathan 86.1% · guest 13.9%18:00 · Nathan 86.1% · guest 13.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:32 Correcting customer revenue breakdown

Tuneberg gently pushes back on Latka's assumption about enterprise customer pricing by clarifying that legacy GovTech contracts also contribute to the monthly run rate.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 4:48 Challenging the pivot trigger

Latka interrupts to challenge the narrative of the pivot, pushing to clarify whether the team made an intentional strategic pivot or simply reacted to unexpected inbound requests.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:13 Climate risk migration to enterprise supply chain

Tuneberg educates Latka on enterprise buyer behavior, citing data that climate risk has shifted from a marketing concern to a core enterprise supply chain management priority.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:23 Extrapolating annual run rate math

Latka demonstrates SaaS metric expertise by rapidly calculating the forward-looking ARR run rate from the current month's $60k recurring revenue base.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Inbound Lead Drivers and Transition from GovTech 4212 Latka explores the transition from GovTech to enterprise SaaS, questioning whether the pivot was planned or purely reactive. Tuneberg explains their market discovery process and how organic inbound stemmed from press coverage.
Revenue Growth, Team Structure, and Non-Dilutive Funding 5212 Latka parses the company's MRR and ARR figures while categorizing equity funding versus non-dilutive grants. Tuneberg clarifies how legacy accounts contribute alongside new enterprise contracts.
Commercial Break: Fiverr and Sonic Branding 4201 Following an ad break on sonic branding, Latka audits monthly net burn and team expenditures. Tuneberg explains how LinkedIn Sales Navigator targets supply chain leaders managing climate risk.
Retention, AI Features, and Enterprise Expansion Plans 4211 Latka inquires about expansion pricing mechanics and target account values before moving into the standard closing questions. Tuneberg outlines the role of their AI recommendation engine in driving upsells.

Statements from this episode (9)

Disclosure
Tuneberg: GeoSpiza enterprise ACV is $160k compared to $15k GovTech deals
“We went to market originally with a GovTech product. This is where you go, ooh, GovTech. But it worked out great. We have lots of government customers who really love us. Right about 15,000 dollars a year. And then starting in August, we went to market with an…”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 3:11
Disclosure
GeoSpiza Secures 3 Customers at $160k ACV with 28 Global 2000 in Pipeline
“And we explored that and then went to market in August and we have three customers at that 160,000 dollars. Point 28 global 2000 in our sales pipeline after a net new. So either in demo or sales negotiation stages, really making progress.”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 4:26
Disclosure
Deloitte Japan Became GeoSpiza's First Enterprise Customer via Cold Inbound
“Japanese Deloitte, I think was the first one. We're working with a property and casualty insurer. What can you do to help them with their sea level rise risk? And they actually turned out to be our first customer.”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 5:28
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Tuneberg: GeoSpiza will hit $500k in 2020 revenue, targeting $1.5M next year
“We'll hit about 500 K this year with sites that on, on 1.5 million next.”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 7:17
Disclosure
Tuneberg: GeoSpiza has raised $1 million in lifetime equity
“No, we've raised, so we did Techstars Boulder, raised a little bit on that note, and then in total, over the lifetime of the company, we've raised a million”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 8:04
Disclosure
Tuneberg: GeoSpiza has raised $500k in non-dilutive funding, $3M pending
“But in total, we've raised 500,000 in non-dilutive. We have three million under consideration now.”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 8:24
Disclosure
Tuneberg: GeoSpiza burns about $50,000 net cash per month
“We're burning about 50 K a month.”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 12:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Tuneberg: GeoSpiza has lost only one customer to date
“So we've only lost one customer GovTech customer.”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 14:07
Disclosure
GeoSpiza targets $1M subscription contract sizes within 24 months
“We'd like to get these subscriptions up in the million dollar range within 24 months.”
Sarah Tuneberg Jun 15, 2020 ▶ 14:33
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