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Mar 2, 2020 · 15m · top-founders

1682 How He Helps Small Instagram Influencers Make Big Bucks from Major Brands

Ramon Berrios · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

Trend.io founder Ramon Berrios shares how he bounced back from a prior startup shutdown to build an invite-only micro-influencer marketplace generating $25,000 in MRR. He breaks down the company's capital-efficient operations, native iOS logistics workflow, and user-generated content retention model.

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 36.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.5 Guest teaching 3.3 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 4.5
05100:0010:000:44–4:33 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 The Collapse of Socially Rich and Transition to Influencer Marketing Latka immediately calculates the implied churn percentage and qualifies early percentage growth metrics. Berrios remains cooperative and details the pivot from his previous shut-down business.4:34–8:34 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Capital Strategy, Burn Rate, and Runway Management Latka presses into the exact burn rate calculations and questions why a marketplace requires a native iOS app. Berrios educates Latka on the mobile-first logistics and shipment tracking necessary for influencers.8:35–12:51 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Marketplace Mechanics, Creator Payouts, and Micro-Influencer Value Latka aggressively dissects the unit economics of the brand spend versus creator payout, checking Berrios's math. Berrios clarifies the payout mechanics, confirming creators receive both cash and free product.12:52–14:54 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Combating Customer Churn Through User-Generated Content Latka challenges Berrios on seasonal churn risks inherent in campaign-driven platforms. Berrios defends the model by explaining the ongoing value of user-generated content for paid advertising.0:44–4:33 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Collapse of Socially Rich and Transition to Influencer Marketing Latka immediately calculates the implied churn percentage and qualifies early percentage growth metrics. Berrios remains cooperative and details the pivot from his previous shut-down business.4:34–8:34 · Guest teaching 4/10 Capital Strategy, Burn Rate, and Runway Management Latka presses into the exact burn rate calculations and questions why a marketplace requires a native iOS app. Berrios educates Latka on the mobile-first logistics and shipment tracking necessary for influencers.8:35–12:51 · Guest teaching 4/10 Marketplace Mechanics, Creator Payouts, and Micro-Influencer Value Latka aggressively dissects the unit economics of the brand spend versus creator payout, checking Berrios's math. Berrios clarifies the payout mechanics, confirming creators receive both cash and free product.12:52–14:54 · Guest teaching 3/10 Combating Customer Churn Through User-Generated Content Latka challenges Berrios on seasonal churn risks inherent in campaign-driven platforms. Berrios defends the model by explaining the ongoing value of user-generated content for paid advertising.0:44–4:33 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Collapse of Socially Rich and Transition to Influencer Marketing Latka immediately calculates the implied churn percentage and qualifies early percentage growth metrics. Berrios remains cooperative and details the pivot from his previous shut-down business.4:34–8:34 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Capital Strategy, Burn Rate, and Runway Management Latka presses into the exact burn rate calculations and questions why a marketplace requires a native iOS app. Berrios educates Latka on the mobile-first logistics and shipment tracking necessary for influencers.8:35–12:51 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Marketplace Mechanics, Creator Payouts, and Micro-Influencer Value Latka aggressively dissects the unit economics of the brand spend versus creator payout, checking Berrios's math. Berrios clarifies the payout mechanics, confirming creators receive both cash and free product.12:52–14:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Combating Customer Churn Through User-Generated Content Latka challenges Berrios on seasonal churn risks inherent in campaign-driven platforms. Berrios defends the model by explaining the ongoing value of user-generated content for paid advertising.0:44–4:33 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The Collapse of Socially Rich and Transition to Influencer Marketing Latka immediately calculates the implied churn percentage and qualifies early percentage growth metrics. Berrios remains cooperative and details the pivot from his previous shut-down business.4:34–8:34 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Capital Strategy, Burn Rate, and Runway Management Latka presses into the exact burn rate calculations and questions why a marketplace requires a native iOS app. Berrios educates Latka on the mobile-first logistics and shipment tracking necessary for influencers.8:35–12:51 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Marketplace Mechanics, Creator Payouts, and Micro-Influencer Value Latka aggressively dissects the unit economics of the brand spend versus creator payout, checking Berrios's math. Berrios clarifies the payout mechanics, confirming creators receive both cash and free product.12:52–14:54 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Combating Customer Churn Through User-Generated Content Latka challenges Berrios on seasonal churn risks inherent in campaign-driven platforms. Berrios defends the model by explaining the ongoing value of user-generated content for paid advertising.

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

0:00 · Nathan 37% · guest 63%0:00 · Nathan 37% · guest 63%3:00 · Nathan 47.2% · guest 52.8%3:00 · Nathan 47.2% · guest 52.8%6:00 · Nathan 20% · guest 80%6:00 · Nathan 20% · guest 80%9:00 · Nathan 25.1% · guest 74.9%9:00 · Nathan 25.1% · guest 74.9%12:00 · Nathan 42.4% · guest 57.6%12:00 · Nathan 42.4% · guest 57.6%15:00 · Nathan 97.5% · guest 2.5%15:00 · Nathan 97.5% · guest 2.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:41 Berrios clarifies cash payout to creators

Berrios directly corrects Latka's assumption that influencers only receive free product rather than cash payments.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:06 Latka challenges commission breakdown arithmetic

Latka stops the pitch to run the numbers on a $2,000 monthly brand spend and questions the per-creator math.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:45 Berrios explains mobile-first shipping logistics

Berrios educates Latka on why a desktop marketplace fails for influencers who need carrier package tracking and scheduling on mobile.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 5:35 Latka calculates exact net monthly burn

Latka immediately isolates the real cash burn by subtracting $25k MRR from $30k spend to confirm a $5k monthly burn rate.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
The Collapse of Socially Rich and Transition to Influencer Marketing 5213 Latka immediately calculates the implied churn percentage and qualifies early percentage growth metrics. Berrios remains cooperative and details the pivot from his previous shut-down business.
Capital Strategy, Burn Rate, and Runway Management 6414 Latka presses into the exact burn rate calculations and questions why a marketplace requires a native iOS app. Berrios educates Latka on the mobile-first logistics and shipment tracking necessary for influencers.
Marketplace Mechanics, Creator Payouts, and Micro-Influencer Value 6426 Latka aggressively dissects the unit economics of the brand spend versus creator payout, checking Berrios's math. Berrios clarifies the payout mechanics, confirming creators receive both cash and free product.
Combating Customer Churn Through User-Generated Content 5315 Latka challenges Berrios on seasonal churn risks inherent in campaign-driven platforms. Berrios defends the model by explaining the ongoing value of user-generated content for paid advertising.

Statements from this episode (11)

Disclosure
Berrios: Socially Rich lost all revenue after Facebook algorithm changes
“Yeah, we actually lost all the revenue. We figured it was a lot to do there with those clients. We had about 5000 contact information of people that we serve free trials to and customers, about 500 active subscriptions or so, so there was something to do there”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 0:56
Insight
Berrios: Searching influencer databases solves less than a quarter of workflow
“When we were looking at all these other platforms, there were sort of like a database where you would search and find influencers. But tricky part is that that is not even a quarter of the whole process of getting to work with influencers. Searching for them i…”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 1:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Berrios: Trend.io grows 40% month-over-month, peaking at 138%
“A year ago, it was nothing. About five months ago, we got our first client, so we've been over 40% month over month, and then our Healthiest month was October to November where we grew a 138%.”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 4:07
Disclosure
Ramon Berrios: Trend.io Raised $750,000 in Convertible Notes
“Yeah, so we did about a year ago, 250 from friends and family, and, ah, we have about 500 in notes.”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 4:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Berrios: Trend.io burns up to $30,000 monthly against $25,000 MRR
“We're burning around 25 to 30 and we're in 25 MRR.”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 5:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Berrios: Trend.io has 1,600 active influencers on its network
“We have around 1600 influencers active on the network.”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 8:46
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Berrios: 300 Trend.io creators earned payouts across 3,000 campaign posts
“I would say probably around 300 of those have made at least a dollar, and we've had 3000 campaigns created, so 3000 influencers have created posts through Trend.”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 8:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Berrios: Trend.io has served 25 paying brand clients, including Lyft
“Clients that have paid us are about 25 so far, and some of those are, some of those companies are Lyft.”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 9:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Berrios: Trend.io's largest creator has around 100,000 followers
“Around a 100,000 followers. It's probably the most in our platform. This is a micro influencer platform.”
Ramon Berrios Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 12:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Latka: Trend.io has only lost two customers
“You just lost two customers.”
Nathan Latka Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 13:05
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Latka: Trend.io will face high churn from campaign-driven usage
“My gut tells me you're going to have a lot of churn problems because this is so campaign driven.”
Nathan Latka Mar 2, 2020 ▶ 13:06
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