StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Dec 24, 2019 · 15m · top-founders

1613 Can He Build a $100M Company Selling $100k ACV Plans to So Few Customers?

Eric Horesnyi · 6m 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 podcast interview, Streamdata.io CEO Eric Horesnyi discusses how his company transitioned from high-frequency trading roots to deliver real-time data streaming infrastructure for enterprise banks, scaling to 17 major clients with $10 million in venture funding.

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 46.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.3
05100:0010:001:09–4:06 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 From High-Frequency Trading to Transparent Real-Time Data Nathan inquires into Eric's transition from high-frequency trading infrastructure to data distribution and clarifies the pricing structure. Eric cooperatively lays out the company's $100k ACV model and partner distribution strategy.4:06–8:56 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Early Origins, Founding Timeline, and Enterprise Customer Base Nathan aggressively tries to triangulate Eric's MRR based on growth projections and customer counts, refusing to accept Eric's refusal to disclose numbers. Eric resists the math by arguing that SaaS revenue timing differs from straightforward exit run rate calculations.8:57–13:07 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Venture Capital Funding and Distributed Team Structure Nathan drills into funding, team headcount, retention rates, and acquisition cost metrics. Eric explains their long two-year sales cycle alongside low churn and steady account expansion.13:08–14:47 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The conversation transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions, maintaining an amicable and smooth flow.1:09–4:06 · Guest teaching 2/10 From High-Frequency Trading to Transparent Real-Time Data Nathan inquires into Eric's transition from high-frequency trading infrastructure to data distribution and clarifies the pricing structure. Eric cooperatively lays out the company's $100k ACV model and partner distribution strategy.4:06–8:56 · Guest teaching 4/10 Early Origins, Founding Timeline, and Enterprise Customer Base Nathan aggressively tries to triangulate Eric's MRR based on growth projections and customer counts, refusing to accept Eric's refusal to disclose numbers. Eric resists the math by arguing that SaaS revenue timing differs from straightforward exit run rate calculations.8:57–13:07 · Guest teaching 2/10 Venture Capital Funding and Distributed Team Structure Nathan drills into funding, team headcount, retention rates, and acquisition cost metrics. Eric explains their long two-year sales cycle alongside low churn and steady account expansion.13:08–14:47 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The conversation transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions, maintaining an amicable and smooth flow.1:09–4:06 · Guest disagreement 1/10 From High-Frequency Trading to Transparent Real-Time Data Nathan inquires into Eric's transition from high-frequency trading infrastructure to data distribution and clarifies the pricing structure. Eric cooperatively lays out the company's $100k ACV model and partner distribution strategy.4:06–8:56 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Early Origins, Founding Timeline, and Enterprise Customer Base Nathan aggressively tries to triangulate Eric's MRR based on growth projections and customer counts, refusing to accept Eric's refusal to disclose numbers. Eric resists the math by arguing that SaaS revenue timing differs from straightforward exit run rate calculations.8:57–13:07 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Venture Capital Funding and Distributed Team Structure Nathan drills into funding, team headcount, retention rates, and acquisition cost metrics. Eric explains their long two-year sales cycle alongside low churn and steady account expansion.13:08–14:47 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The conversation transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions, maintaining an amicable and smooth flow.1:09–4:06 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 From High-Frequency Trading to Transparent Real-Time Data Nathan inquires into Eric's transition from high-frequency trading infrastructure to data distribution and clarifies the pricing structure. Eric cooperatively lays out the company's $100k ACV model and partner distribution strategy.4:06–8:56 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Early Origins, Founding Timeline, and Enterprise Customer Base Nathan aggressively tries to triangulate Eric's MRR based on growth projections and customer counts, refusing to accept Eric's refusal to disclose numbers. Eric resists the math by arguing that SaaS revenue timing differs from straightforward exit run rate calculations.8:57–13:07 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Venture Capital Funding and Distributed Team Structure Nathan drills into funding, team headcount, retention rates, and acquisition cost metrics. Eric explains their long two-year sales cycle alongside low churn and steady account expansion.13:08–14:47 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The conversation transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions, maintaining an amicable and smooth flow.

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

0:00 · Nathan 49.6% · guest 50.4%0:00 · Nathan 49.6% · guest 50.4%3:00 · Nathan 34.4% · guest 65.6%3:00 · Nathan 34.4% · guest 65.6%6:00 · Nathan 49.6% · guest 50.4%6:00 · Nathan 49.6% · guest 50.4%9:00 · Nathan 47% · guest 53%9:00 · Nathan 47% · guest 53%12:00 · Nathan 43.6% · guest 56.4%12:00 · Nathan 43.6% · guest 56.4%15:00 · Nathan 95.7% · guest 4.3%15:00 · Nathan 95.7% · guest 4.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:08 Rejecting the Host's Revenue Math

Eric directly pushes back against Nathan's attempt to deduce his exact revenue, asserting that Nathan's simplified division does not apply to SaaS accounting.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:38 Triangulating Hidden Revenue Figures

When Eric refuses to disclose exact MRR figures, Nathan immediately leverages growth rate percentages to box him into an exact dollar range.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:14 Explaining Contract Timing in SaaS Accounting

Eric explains to Nathan why quadruple MRR expansion does not translate to straightforward four-fold annual revenue totals due to contract start date timing.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:25 Clarifying Forward Run Rate vs. Cash Accounting

Nathan defends his calculation model by clarifying that he is strictly discussing exit run rate rather than GAAP revenue or cash accounting.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
From High-Frequency Trading to Transparent Real-Time Data 4212 Nathan inquires into Eric's transition from high-frequency trading infrastructure to data distribution and clarifies the pricing structure. Eric cooperatively lays out the company's $100k ACV model and partner distribution strategy.
Early Origins, Founding Timeline, and Enterprise Customer Base 6447 Nathan aggressively tries to triangulate Eric's MRR based on growth projections and customer counts, refusing to accept Eric's refusal to disclose numbers. Eric resists the math by arguing that SaaS revenue timing differs from straightforward exit run rate calculations.
Venture Capital Funding and Distributed Team Structure 5213 Nathan drills into funding, team headcount, retention rates, and acquisition cost metrics. Eric explains their long two-year sales cycle alongside low churn and steady account expansion.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 2101 The conversation transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions, maintaining an amicable and smooth flow.

Statements from this episode (10)

Opinion
Eric Horesnyi: High-frequency trading speed advantages harm the financial ecosystem
“What we were doing was not necessarily good for the ecosystem.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 1:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Streamdata.io's average contract value is approximately $100,000 per year
“This, it's around a 100,000 dollars a year.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 2:47
Disclosure
Streamdata.io has just 17 enterprise customers despite raising nearly $10M
“We're focused on very large companies and we have 17 customers.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 5:00
Disclosure
Not all 17 Streamdata.io customers currently provide recurring revenue
“Some of those numbers are actually based on contracts that were signed early on, so not necessarily in terms of recurring revenue.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 5:28
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Streamdata.io doubled its revenue in 2019 and plans to quadruple it
“Growth rate, we doubled. Our revenue this year, and we plan to quadruple next year.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 6:49
Assertion Supported
Streamdata.io signed a distribution partnership with Salesforce on AppExchange
“We just signed an agreement with Salesforce. They're gonna distribute us in the AppExchange.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 8:23
Disclosure
Streamdata.io has raised nearly $10 million to date
“We've raised nearly ten million dollars.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 9:10
Disclosure
Streamdata.io operates with just 15 employees while selling $100k contracts
“We're 15.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 10:03
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Streamdata.io endures two-year sales cycles for 7-to-10-year enterprise customer retention
“It takes up to two years between the start of a conversation and the start of a first payment. But then customers tend to stay with you for More than seven years, 10 years.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 10:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Streamdata.io's weighted annual revenue churn is approximately 5%
“Weighted, it should be around five percent.”
Eric Horesnyi Dec 24, 2019 ▶ 11:08
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more