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Dec 18, 2019 · 18m · top-founders

1607 Why She Said No To Vista Equity Despite $10m in ARR

Lauren Hall · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this interview with Nathan Latka, Ivy founder and CEO Lauren Hall explains how she rebuilt her life after personal tragedy to scale an enterprise hospitality platform to over $10 million in ARR while rejecting private equity buyouts in pursuit of building a female-led unicorn.

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 28.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.8 Guest teaching 3.2 Guest disagreement 2.2 Nathan pushing back 3.8
05100:0010:000:55–3:29 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Ivy's Business Model and Global Distribution Architecture Nathan asks whether Ivy is a pure-play SaaS company and assumes they take referral commissions. Lauren explains Ivy acts as a full GDS platform at the supply chain source, clarifying that 85% of revenue is software while moving into distribution.3:29–7:29 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Solving Hospitality Supply Chain Inefficiencies for Venues Nathan repeatedly clarifies terminology like suppliers and packs before interrupting Lauren's detailed product pitch due to time constraints. Lauren then recounts founding the company after relocating from South Africa.7:30–11:53 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Pricing Tiers, Revenue Scale, and Global Expansion Nathan attempts to extrapolate her 25,000 customers by average price point, which Lauren corrects to between $10M and $20M ARR. When Nathan pushes for exact historical revenue from a year prior, Lauren firmly declines to disclose past figures.11:55–15:04 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Rejecting Buyouts to Build a Female-Led Unicorn Nathan presses on acquisition interest from Vista Equity, churn definitions, and continuous integration practices. Lauren asserts her ambition to reject buyout offers and build a female-led billion-dollar unicorn.15:04–17:59 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Famous Five Reflections on Leadership and Resilience Nathan navigates through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Lauren reflects on sleeping only four hours a night and maintaining personal resilience.0:55–3:29 · Guest teaching 4/10 Ivy's Business Model and Global Distribution Architecture Nathan asks whether Ivy is a pure-play SaaS company and assumes they take referral commissions. Lauren explains Ivy acts as a full GDS platform at the supply chain source, clarifying that 85% of revenue is software while moving into distribution.3:29–7:29 · Guest teaching 3/10 Solving Hospitality Supply Chain Inefficiencies for Venues Nathan repeatedly clarifies terminology like suppliers and packs before interrupting Lauren's detailed product pitch due to time constraints. Lauren then recounts founding the company after relocating from South Africa.7:30–11:53 · Guest teaching 4/10 Pricing Tiers, Revenue Scale, and Global Expansion Nathan attempts to extrapolate her 25,000 customers by average price point, which Lauren corrects to between $10M and $20M ARR. When Nathan pushes for exact historical revenue from a year prior, Lauren firmly declines to disclose past figures.11:55–15:04 · Guest teaching 3/10 Rejecting Buyouts to Build a Female-Led Unicorn Nathan presses on acquisition interest from Vista Equity, churn definitions, and continuous integration practices. Lauren asserts her ambition to reject buyout offers and build a female-led billion-dollar unicorn.15:04–17:59 · Guest teaching 2/10 Famous Five Reflections on Leadership and Resilience Nathan navigates through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Lauren reflects on sleeping only four hours a night and maintaining personal resilience.0:55–3:29 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Ivy's Business Model and Global Distribution Architecture Nathan asks whether Ivy is a pure-play SaaS company and assumes they take referral commissions. Lauren explains Ivy acts as a full GDS platform at the supply chain source, clarifying that 85% of revenue is software while moving into distribution.3:29–7:29 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Solving Hospitality Supply Chain Inefficiencies for Venues Nathan repeatedly clarifies terminology like suppliers and packs before interrupting Lauren's detailed product pitch due to time constraints. Lauren then recounts founding the company after relocating from South Africa.7:30–11:53 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Pricing Tiers, Revenue Scale, and Global Expansion Nathan attempts to extrapolate her 25,000 customers by average price point, which Lauren corrects to between $10M and $20M ARR. When Nathan pushes for exact historical revenue from a year prior, Lauren firmly declines to disclose past figures.11:55–15:04 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Rejecting Buyouts to Build a Female-Led Unicorn Nathan presses on acquisition interest from Vista Equity, churn definitions, and continuous integration practices. Lauren asserts her ambition to reject buyout offers and build a female-led billion-dollar unicorn.15:04–17:59 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Famous Five Reflections on Leadership and Resilience Nathan navigates through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Lauren reflects on sleeping only four hours a night and maintaining personal resilience.0:55–3:29 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Ivy's Business Model and Global Distribution Architecture Nathan asks whether Ivy is a pure-play SaaS company and assumes they take referral commissions. Lauren explains Ivy acts as a full GDS platform at the supply chain source, clarifying that 85% of revenue is software while moving into distribution.3:29–7:29 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Solving Hospitality Supply Chain Inefficiencies for Venues Nathan repeatedly clarifies terminology like suppliers and packs before interrupting Lauren's detailed product pitch due to time constraints. Lauren then recounts founding the company after relocating from South Africa.7:30–11:53 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Pricing Tiers, Revenue Scale, and Global Expansion Nathan attempts to extrapolate her 25,000 customers by average price point, which Lauren corrects to between $10M and $20M ARR. When Nathan pushes for exact historical revenue from a year prior, Lauren firmly declines to disclose past figures.11:55–15:04 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Rejecting Buyouts to Build a Female-Led Unicorn Nathan presses on acquisition interest from Vista Equity, churn definitions, and continuous integration practices. Lauren asserts her ambition to reject buyout offers and build a female-led billion-dollar unicorn.15:04–17:59 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Famous Five Reflections on Leadership and Resilience Nathan navigates through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Lauren reflects on sleeping only four hours a night and maintaining personal resilience.

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

0:00 · Nathan 40.9% · guest 59.1%0:00 · Nathan 40.9% · guest 59.1%3:00 · Nathan 14.6% · guest 85.4%3:00 · Nathan 14.6% · guest 85.4%6:00 · Nathan 16.1% · guest 83.9%6:00 · Nathan 16.1% · guest 83.9%9:00 · Nathan 34.7% · guest 65.3%9:00 · Nathan 34.7% · guest 65.3%12:00 · Nathan 24.9% · guest 75.1%12:00 · Nathan 24.9% · guest 75.1%15:00 · Nathan 20.9% · guest 79.1%15:00 · Nathan 20.9% · guest 79.1%18:00 · Nathan 85.2% · guest 14.8%18:00 · Nathan 85.2% · guest 14.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:17 Lauren declines historical revenue disclosures

Lauren directly deflects Nathan's inquiry into prior year revenue, stating she prefers to focus forward toward $100M rather than backward.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 5:00 Nathan interrupts extended product explanation

Nathan intervenes to halt Lauren's lengthy technical explanation of hospitality supply chain systems to redirect the interview toward her origin story.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 1:02 Lauren breaks down GDS infrastructure

Lauren corrects the premise of a simple SaaS model by detailing how Ivy builds operating systems at the supply chain source comparable to Sabre.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:04 Nathan stress-tests customer and pricing metrics

Nathan immediately multiplies her $100 average monthly price by the 25,000 venue count to check whether her stated metrics align with monthly revenue reality.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Ivy's Business Model and Global Distribution Architecture 4423 Nathan asks whether Ivy is a pure-play SaaS company and assumes they take referral commissions. Lauren explains Ivy acts as a full GDS platform at the supply chain source, clarifying that 85% of revenue is software while moving into distribution.
Solving Hospitality Supply Chain Inefficiencies for Venues 3325 Nathan repeatedly clarifies terminology like suppliers and packs before interrupting Lauren's detailed product pitch due to time constraints. Lauren then recounts founding the company after relocating from South Africa.
Pricing Tiers, Revenue Scale, and Global Expansion 5445 Nathan attempts to extrapolate her 25,000 customers by average price point, which Lauren corrects to between $10M and $20M ARR. When Nathan pushes for exact historical revenue from a year prior, Lauren firmly declines to disclose past figures.
Rejecting Buyouts to Build a Female-Led Unicorn 5324 Nathan presses on acquisition interest from Vista Equity, churn definitions, and continuous integration practices. Lauren asserts her ambition to reject buyout offers and build a female-led billion-dollar unicorn.
Famous Five Reflections on Leadership and Resilience 2212 Nathan navigates through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Lauren reflects on sleeping only four hours a night and maintaining personal resilience.

Statements from this episode (11)

Disclosure
Hall: Pure SaaS represents roughly 85% of Ivy's revenue
“Probably 85% is pure SaaS.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 2:43
Assertion Supported
Hall: Ivy powers event platforms globally for American Express and Flight Centre
“So what we do is we power the platforms for like American Express, Flight Center globally.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 2:53
Assertion Contradicted
Hall: Top five travel management companies control over $100B in event spend
“As an example, the top five travel management companies of the world, Control over a hundred billion dollars worth of meetings and events spend because they already service the travel market for those big, large corporate customers.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 3:06
Disclosure
Hall: Ivy has raised nearly $26 million to date
“Well, we're now close to nearly twenty six million.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 6:10
Disclosure
Hall: Bootstrapped initial software platform with 3 million of personal cash
“I had funded that for about three million of my own cash. That was in 2008.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 6:32
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Hall: Awarded 10 million from South African government for software platform
“I was awarded ten million from the government because of the national benefits”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 6:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hall: Ivy serves roughly 25,000 customer locations globally
“Oh, we've got about 25,000 now.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 7:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hall: Ivy generates between $10M and $20M in annual revenue
“I mean, we're sitting probably closer between the 10 to twenty million in revenue a year.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 9:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hall: Ivy is growing 100% to 150% year-over-year
“You know, we've been growing anything between, you know, a hundred to a 150% year on year.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 11:28
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hall: Ivy maintains a 96% revenue retention rate and 4% churn
“Look, one of the things that I think is really important, I think we've got a 96% retention rate, which is only a four percent churn.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 13:08
Assertion Contradicted
Hall: Ivy recently closed a $15 million funding round
“Well, I've just completed around now for fifteen million.”
Lauren Hall Dec 18, 2019 ▶ 14:21
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