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Feb 22, 2020 · 15m · top-founders

1673 How He Sells $600/mo Software to Museums

Brendan Ciecko · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 3m 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, host Nathan Latka speaks with Brendan Ciecko, founder and CEO of Cuseum, exploring how the vertical SaaS platform scaled past $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue and reached cash flow positivity while serving cultural institutions.

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 27.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.6 Guest teaching 2.4 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:000:52–3:24 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Origin Story: Transitioning to Cultural Tech Nathan probes for specific unit economics and pricing tiers, pressing Brendan to provide a concrete sweet spot price rather than vague ranges. Brendan describes transitioning his agency background to software replacing legacy audio guides in museums.3:24–6:42 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Fundraising History and Revenue Growth Milestones Nathan immediately performs backward calculations from customer count and price to estimate $100k MRR and historical $35k MRR. Brendan outlines their fundraising history and explains how the long nonprofit sales cycle impacts team structure.6:43–9:34 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 SaaS Retention Rates and Churn Mitigation Nathan frames retention metrics in SaaS benchmarks like net revenue retention over 100% and refuses a generic narrative on early pilots, steering Brendan to name exact first customers. Brendan names the Boston Athenaeum and MIT List Visual Arts Center.9:34–12:51 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Customer Acquisition Strategies and Paid Channel Testing Nathan challenges the idea of operating as a slow-growth cash-flow positive startup after taking VC funds, citing VC return horizons and referencing Wistia debt buyouts. Brendan maintains that seed investors remain patient and supportive of sustainable growth.12:52–14:50 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan navigates the standard rapid-fire questions, demonstrating domain awareness by noting the CEO of Yesware, while gently pinning down an exact number of sleep hours. Brendan shares insights on the value of metropolitan ecosystems.0:52–3:24 · Guest teaching 3/10 Origin Story: Transitioning to Cultural Tech Nathan probes for specific unit economics and pricing tiers, pressing Brendan to provide a concrete sweet spot price rather than vague ranges. Brendan describes transitioning his agency background to software replacing legacy audio guides in museums.3:24–6:42 · Guest teaching 3/10 Fundraising History and Revenue Growth Milestones Nathan immediately performs backward calculations from customer count and price to estimate $100k MRR and historical $35k MRR. Brendan outlines their fundraising history and explains how the long nonprofit sales cycle impacts team structure.6:43–9:34 · Guest teaching 2/10 SaaS Retention Rates and Churn Mitigation Nathan frames retention metrics in SaaS benchmarks like net revenue retention over 100% and refuses a generic narrative on early pilots, steering Brendan to name exact first customers. Brendan names the Boston Athenaeum and MIT List Visual Arts Center.9:34–12:51 · Guest teaching 3/10 Customer Acquisition Strategies and Paid Channel Testing Nathan challenges the idea of operating as a slow-growth cash-flow positive startup after taking VC funds, citing VC return horizons and referencing Wistia debt buyouts. Brendan maintains that seed investors remain patient and supportive of sustainable growth.12:52–14:50 · Guest teaching 1/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan navigates the standard rapid-fire questions, demonstrating domain awareness by noting the CEO of Yesware, while gently pinning down an exact number of sleep hours. Brendan shares insights on the value of metropolitan ecosystems.0:52–3:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Origin Story: Transitioning to Cultural Tech Nathan probes for specific unit economics and pricing tiers, pressing Brendan to provide a concrete sweet spot price rather than vague ranges. Brendan describes transitioning his agency background to software replacing legacy audio guides in museums.3:24–6:42 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Fundraising History and Revenue Growth Milestones Nathan immediately performs backward calculations from customer count and price to estimate $100k MRR and historical $35k MRR. Brendan outlines their fundraising history and explains how the long nonprofit sales cycle impacts team structure.6:43–9:34 · Guest disagreement 1/10 SaaS Retention Rates and Churn Mitigation Nathan frames retention metrics in SaaS benchmarks like net revenue retention over 100% and refuses a generic narrative on early pilots, steering Brendan to name exact first customers. Brendan names the Boston Athenaeum and MIT List Visual Arts Center.9:34–12:51 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Customer Acquisition Strategies and Paid Channel Testing Nathan challenges the idea of operating as a slow-growth cash-flow positive startup after taking VC funds, citing VC return horizons and referencing Wistia debt buyouts. Brendan maintains that seed investors remain patient and supportive of sustainable growth.12:52–14:50 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan navigates the standard rapid-fire questions, demonstrating domain awareness by noting the CEO of Yesware, while gently pinning down an exact number of sleep hours. Brendan shares insights on the value of metropolitan ecosystems.0:52–3:24 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Origin Story: Transitioning to Cultural Tech Nathan probes for specific unit economics and pricing tiers, pressing Brendan to provide a concrete sweet spot price rather than vague ranges. Brendan describes transitioning his agency background to software replacing legacy audio guides in museums.3:24–6:42 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Fundraising History and Revenue Growth Milestones Nathan immediately performs backward calculations from customer count and price to estimate $100k MRR and historical $35k MRR. Brendan outlines their fundraising history and explains how the long nonprofit sales cycle impacts team structure.6:43–9:34 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 SaaS Retention Rates and Churn Mitigation Nathan frames retention metrics in SaaS benchmarks like net revenue retention over 100% and refuses a generic narrative on early pilots, steering Brendan to name exact first customers. Brendan names the Boston Athenaeum and MIT List Visual Arts Center.9:34–12:51 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Customer Acquisition Strategies and Paid Channel Testing Nathan challenges the idea of operating as a slow-growth cash-flow positive startup after taking VC funds, citing VC return horizons and referencing Wistia debt buyouts. Brendan maintains that seed investors remain patient and supportive of sustainable growth.12:52–14:50 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan navigates the standard rapid-fire questions, demonstrating domain awareness by noting the CEO of Yesware, while gently pinning down an exact number of sleep hours. Brendan shares insights on the value of metropolitan ecosystems.

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

0:00 · Nathan 43.9% · guest 56.1%0:00 · Nathan 43.9% · guest 56.1%3:00 · Nathan 18.8% · guest 81.2%3:00 · Nathan 18.8% · guest 81.2%6:00 · Nathan 19.1% · guest 80.9%6:00 · Nathan 19.1% · guest 80.9%9:00 · Nathan 21.6% · guest 78.4%9:00 · Nathan 21.6% · guest 78.4%12:00 · Nathan 27.6% · guest 72.4%12:00 · Nathan 27.6% · guest 72.4%15:00 · Nathan 94.8% · guest 5.2%15:00 · Nathan 94.8% · guest 5.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:03 Defending seed investor alignment

Brendan counters Nathan's assertion that institutional venture funding strictly imposes rigid aggressive growth timelines by detailing the flexibility of his seed round.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:46 Interrupting generic customer acquisition narrative

Nathan cuts through Brendan's high-level startup generalities to demand the exact identity and acquisition story of the very first customer.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:22 Explaining nonprofit enterprise sales cycles

Brendan explains how year-long sales cycles in the cultural sector force a fundamentally different capital allocation and resource deployment strategy compared to typical SaaS.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:38 Challenging VC alignment and citing buyout models

Nathan showcases deep SaaS market knowledge by pressing on implied venture timelines and suggesting debt buyouts inspired by Wistia.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Origin Story: Transitioning to Cultural Tech 5313 Nathan probes for specific unit economics and pricing tiers, pressing Brendan to provide a concrete sweet spot price rather than vague ranges. Brendan describes transitioning his agency background to software replacing legacy audio guides in museums.
Fundraising History and Revenue Growth Milestones 6312 Nathan immediately performs backward calculations from customer count and price to estimate $100k MRR and historical $35k MRR. Brendan outlines their fundraising history and explains how the long nonprofit sales cycle impacts team structure.
SaaS Retention Rates and Churn Mitigation 6214 Nathan frames retention metrics in SaaS benchmarks like net revenue retention over 100% and refuses a generic narrative on early pilots, steering Brendan to name exact first customers. Brendan names the Boston Athenaeum and MIT List Visual Arts Center.
Customer Acquisition Strategies and Paid Channel Testing 7325 Nathan challenges the idea of operating as a slow-growth cash-flow positive startup after taking VC funds, citing VC return horizons and referencing Wistia debt buyouts. Brendan maintains that seed investors remain patient and supportive of sustainable growth.
Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 4112 Nathan navigates the standard rapid-fire questions, demonstrating domain awareness by noting the CEO of Yesware, while gently pinning down an exact number of sleep hours. Brendan shares insights on the value of metropolitan ecosystems.

Statements from this episode (12)

Disclosure
Ciecko: Cuseum average customer pays $500 to $700 monthly
“Average might be in the, you know, yeah, five, six, 700 dollars.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 2:27
Disclosure
Cuseum Offers Mobile Tour Guides and Digital Membership Solutions
“So that is kind of the basic mobile engagement toolkit, but we also have digital membership solutions as well. Those are our two products today.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 3:15
Disclosure
Ciecko: Cuseum raised about $1.5M from Techstars, Foundry Group, and Accomplice
“So we raised about one and a half million dollars. We're backed by Techstars, we're backed by Foundry Group and Accomplice.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 3:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ciecko: Cuseum has grown to over 175 paying customers
“Three or four pilot customers, and then over the summer of 2015 being at Techstars, we took that from, you know, the three, three to four up to 30, and have grown to over a 175 paying customers to date.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 4:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ciecko: Cuseum revenue is growing roughly 3x year-over-year
“So we've been doubling and tripling year over year. So it's going to depend on, you know, which year we've introduced a we've introduced a second product, which has definitely you know, aided our growth numbers. So we're doing maybe three X what we did last.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 4:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ciecko: Selling to Nonprofits Entails Sales Cycles Exceeding One Year
“We're dealing in a space of, you know, nonprofit organizations that have long sales cycles, you know, over a year from first touch point on to getting things going.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 5:39
Disclosure
Ciecko: Cuseum Has an Eight-Person Team
“Eight people total.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 6:25
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ciecko: Cuseum Signs Multi-Year Contracts With Below-Average Churn
“These are larger con, you know you know, longer term contracts multi-year contracts. And once people have allocated budget to, you know, utilize one of the One of the products that we serve relatively low churn, lower than, you know, industry.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 7:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ciecko: Cuseum Account Expansion Outpaces Revenue Lost to Churn
“We've also found opportunities to move you know, move customers to other offerings rather than full churn when, you know, when, you know, budgets are reduced or needs change. But yeah, our growth has more than, you know, accommodated any of that profit loss th…”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 7:35
Disclosure
Cuseum Acquires Customers Primarily Through Direct Outreach Over Social Marketing
“Most of our acquisition channels have been pulled outreach sales. We've done very, very little with regards to social media marketing or traditional marketing avenues.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 9:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ciecko: Cuseum has been cash flow positive for about a year
“We've been cashflow positive for about a year.”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 10:43
Insight
Ciecko: Century-old institutions require startups to have 2-3 year track records
“Realistically for a lot of these spaces, if you're selling to, let's say nonprofits or higher ed or organizations that have been around for a hundred plus years, They want to see that the company has been around for two, three years before they're willing to e…”
Brendan Ciecko Feb 22, 2020 ▶ 11:00
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