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Feb 26, 2020 · 18m · top-founders

1677 50% Of The UK Police Force Use This Recruiting Tool, $13m ARR

Jeanette Meister · 10m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

Jeanette Meister, Head of the Americas at Olio, explains how the enterprise recruitment software provider scaled to a profitable $13 million ARR with over 100 percent net revenue retention across public sector and Wall Street clients. She details Olio's early public listing, headcount-based SaaS monetization, and disciplined expansion strategy against heavily venture-backed competitors.

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 35.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.0 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 2.7
05100:0010:000:43–4:44 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Olio's Origins and Jeanette's Path to Leadership Nathan inquires about Olio's origins and tests Jeanette on SaaS revenue percentages and modern tier pricing versus legacy HR tech pricing. Jeanette explains their transition to employee-based pricing while maintaining a collaborative rapport.4:44–7:28 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Public Market Dynamics, Profitability, and Growth Rates Nathan notes that US SaaS firms typically wait until reaching $80M–$150M ARR to go public, asking why Olio went public so early. Jeanette educates him on differences in UK public market history and their strict mandate on profitability over pure revenue growth.7:29–12:05 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Executive Daily Workflow and Regional Market Variations Nathan executes quick mental math on customer ARPU and presses Jeanette on high-velocity client metrics such as UK police turnover rates. Jeanette candidly admits she does not know the turnover figure off the top of her head.12:06–15:44 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Acquisition Strategy Nathan uses data patterns from past SaaS interviews to drill into gross versus net revenue retention and presses on CAC payback period. Jeanette intentionally declines to share exact customer acquisition costs for competitive reasons.15:44–18:19 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Career Advice The conversation moves through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite business books, tools, and sleep habits. The dynamic is cooperative and conversational.18:20–18:53 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Key Metric Recap Nathan recaps the key revenue and retention metrics of Olio in an outro monologue, thanking the guest to close the episode.0:43–4:44 · Guest teaching 2/10 Olio's Origins and Jeanette's Path to Leadership Nathan inquires about Olio's origins and tests Jeanette on SaaS revenue percentages and modern tier pricing versus legacy HR tech pricing. Jeanette explains their transition to employee-based pricing while maintaining a collaborative rapport.4:44–7:28 · Guest teaching 5/10 Public Market Dynamics, Profitability, and Growth Rates Nathan notes that US SaaS firms typically wait until reaching $80M–$150M ARR to go public, asking why Olio went public so early. Jeanette educates him on differences in UK public market history and their strict mandate on profitability over pure revenue growth.7:29–12:05 · Guest teaching 3/10 Executive Daily Workflow and Regional Market Variations Nathan executes quick mental math on customer ARPU and presses Jeanette on high-velocity client metrics such as UK police turnover rates. Jeanette candidly admits she does not know the turnover figure off the top of her head.12:06–15:44 · Guest teaching 2/10 Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Acquisition Strategy Nathan uses data patterns from past SaaS interviews to drill into gross versus net revenue retention and presses on CAC payback period. Jeanette intentionally declines to share exact customer acquisition costs for competitive reasons.15:44–18:19 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Career Advice The conversation moves through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite business books, tools, and sleep habits. The dynamic is cooperative and conversational.18:20–18:53 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Key Metric Recap Nathan recaps the key revenue and retention metrics of Olio in an outro monologue, thanking the guest to close the episode.0:43–4:44 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Olio's Origins and Jeanette's Path to Leadership Nathan inquires about Olio's origins and tests Jeanette on SaaS revenue percentages and modern tier pricing versus legacy HR tech pricing. Jeanette explains their transition to employee-based pricing while maintaining a collaborative rapport.4:44–7:28 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Public Market Dynamics, Profitability, and Growth Rates Nathan notes that US SaaS firms typically wait until reaching $80M–$150M ARR to go public, asking why Olio went public so early. Jeanette educates him on differences in UK public market history and their strict mandate on profitability over pure revenue growth.7:29–12:05 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Executive Daily Workflow and Regional Market Variations Nathan executes quick mental math on customer ARPU and presses Jeanette on high-velocity client metrics such as UK police turnover rates. Jeanette candidly admits she does not know the turnover figure off the top of her head.12:06–15:44 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Acquisition Strategy Nathan uses data patterns from past SaaS interviews to drill into gross versus net revenue retention and presses on CAC payback period. Jeanette intentionally declines to share exact customer acquisition costs for competitive reasons.15:44–18:19 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Career Advice The conversation moves through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite business books, tools, and sleep habits. The dynamic is cooperative and conversational.18:20–18:53 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Key Metric Recap Nathan recaps the key revenue and retention metrics of Olio in an outro monologue, thanking the guest to close the episode.0:43–4:44 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Olio's Origins and Jeanette's Path to Leadership Nathan inquires about Olio's origins and tests Jeanette on SaaS revenue percentages and modern tier pricing versus legacy HR tech pricing. Jeanette explains their transition to employee-based pricing while maintaining a collaborative rapport.4:44–7:28 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Public Market Dynamics, Profitability, and Growth Rates Nathan notes that US SaaS firms typically wait until reaching $80M–$150M ARR to go public, asking why Olio went public so early. Jeanette educates him on differences in UK public market history and their strict mandate on profitability over pure revenue growth.7:29–12:05 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Executive Daily Workflow and Regional Market Variations Nathan executes quick mental math on customer ARPU and presses Jeanette on high-velocity client metrics such as UK police turnover rates. Jeanette candidly admits she does not know the turnover figure off the top of her head.12:06–15:44 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Acquisition Strategy Nathan uses data patterns from past SaaS interviews to drill into gross versus net revenue retention and presses on CAC payback period. Jeanette intentionally declines to share exact customer acquisition costs for competitive reasons.15:44–18:19 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Career Advice The conversation moves through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite business books, tools, and sleep habits. The dynamic is cooperative and conversational.18:20–18:53 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Key Metric Recap Nathan recaps the key revenue and retention metrics of Olio in an outro monologue, thanking the guest to close the episode.

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

0:00 · Nathan 53.3% · guest 46.7%0:00 · Nathan 53.3% · guest 46.7%3:00 · Nathan 27.1% · guest 72.9%3:00 · Nathan 27.1% · guest 72.9%6:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%6:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%9:00 · Nathan 28.1% · guest 71.9%9:00 · Nathan 28.1% · guest 71.9%12:00 · Nathan 47.8% · guest 52.2%12:00 · Nathan 47.8% · guest 52.2%15:00 · Nathan 16.9% · guest 83.1%15:00 · Nathan 16.9% · guest 83.1%18:00 · Nathan 73.7% · guest 26.3%18:00 · Nathan 73.7% · guest 26.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:39 Jeanette refuses to disclose CAC figures

When Nathan presses for specific customer acquisition dollar amounts and payback windows, Jeanette politely but firmly refuses to share proprietary details publicly.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 14:45 Nathan attempts to pin down payback period

After Jeanette hedges on giving direct acquisition costs, Nathan pushes back by estimating a greater than 12-month payback and $36k CAC.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:05 Jeanette explains UK public market fundamentals

Jeanette educates Nathan on why UK public listings prioritize running profitable balance sheets rather than chasing pure top-line revenue like US tech firms.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 13:15 Nathan demonstrates high ACV expansion dynamics

Nathan showcases his domain knowledge across thousands of SaaS founder interviews, contrasting sub-$1k ARPU retention patterns with high-touch enterprise expansion machines.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Olio's Origins and Jeanette's Path to Leadership 5213 Nathan inquires about Olio's origins and tests Jeanette on SaaS revenue percentages and modern tier pricing versus legacy HR tech pricing. Jeanette explains their transition to employee-based pricing while maintaining a collaborative rapport.
Public Market Dynamics, Profitability, and Growth Rates 6513 Nathan notes that US SaaS firms typically wait until reaching $80M–$150M ARR to go public, asking why Olio went public so early. Jeanette educates him on differences in UK public market history and their strict mandate on profitability over pure revenue growth.
Executive Daily Workflow and Regional Market Variations 5324 Nathan executes quick mental math on customer ARPU and presses Jeanette on high-velocity client metrics such as UK police turnover rates. Jeanette candidly admits she does not know the turnover figure off the top of her head.
Customer Retention, Account Expansion, and Acquisition Strategy 6235 Nathan uses data patterns from past SaaS interviews to drill into gross versus net revenue retention and presses on CAC payback period. Jeanette intentionally declines to share exact customer acquisition costs for competitive reasons.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Career Advice 2111 The conversation moves through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering favorite business books, tools, and sleep habits. The dynamic is cooperative and conversational.
Episode Conclusion and Key Metric Recap 0000 Nathan recaps the key revenue and retention metrics of Olio in an outro monologue, thanking the guest to close the episode.

Statements from this episode (8)

Insight
Meister: Increased Competition Has Driven Down HR Tech Pricing
“I think the interesting piece that we've certainly seen in the market over the past number of years is the pricing in, in SaaS and within HR tech certainly has come down. So a bit of a commodity pricing, you know, the prices that we used to be able to look at …”
Jeanette Meister Feb 26, 2020 ▶ 4:16
Assertion Supported
Meister: Olio generates approximately $13 million in revenue
“Revenue is depending on the exchange rate. It's about thirteen million dollars.”
Jeanette Meister Feb 26, 2020 ▶ 5:26
Assertion Supported
Meister: Olio Consistently Operates At A Profit
“The other interesting thing that's very different with the UK based company versus US that we found is we are profitable. We always run it a profit.”
Jeanette Meister Feb 26, 2020 ▶ 6:14
Assertion Contradicted
Meister: Olio Grew US Revenue 33% Over Two Years
“Over the past two years, our growth rate has been double digit. We grew about 25% globally. Last we just look at the U.S. Two years, about 33% growth”
Jeanette Meister Feb 26, 2020 ▶ 7:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Meister: Olio serves over 400 employer customers
“We are over 400 employers that, that use the technology.”
Jeanette Meister Feb 26, 2020 ▶ 8:32
Assertion Supported
Meister: Over 50% of UK police forces use Olio's software
“We actually have over 50% of the UK police forces use our technology.”
Jeanette Meister Feb 26, 2020 ▶ 11:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Meister: Olio maintains an approximately 98% customer retention rate
“We actually have a very high customer return retention rate. In the, I think it last we checked was not 98%.”
Jeanette Meister Feb 26, 2020 ▶ 12:17
Disclosure
Meister: Olio is aggressively cutting pricing to win US enterprise logos
“We're being very, very aggressive, much more than we have been, you know, compared to years past. Given, given the market and the competitive nature and, you know, the expansion that we're really looking to do in the U S and the focus on ensuring we're bringin…”
Jeanette Meister Feb 26, 2020 ▶ 15:01
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