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Sep 17, 2019 · 20m · top-founders

1515 TrueAccord Passes $10m in Revenue Helping Banks Recover $40m+ in Defaulted Payments Over last 12 months

Ohad Samet · 10m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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TrueAccord co-founder and CEO Ohad Samet explains how his machine learning-driven debt collection platform replaces traditional hostile practices with empathetic digital engagement, generating over $10 million in annual revenue by recovering $40 million in defaulted payments over the past year.

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 42.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 2.3 Nathan pushing back 3.5
05100:0010:0020:000:00–4:30 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Host Overview and Key Metrics of TrueAccord Nathan frames the business model for his SaaS CEO audience and asks whether the product only applies to physical goods. Ohad clarifies that services and marketplaces like Upwork utilize TrueAccord.4:30–9:30 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Roleplaying Disputed Collections and Balancing Human Support Nathan initiates a role-play about disputed freelance work, pressing Ohad on how automated machine learning resolves subjective delivery conflicts. Ohad rejects the role-play framing, prompting Nathan to call out that Ohad did not answer the question.9:33–13:41 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Volusion All-in-One E-Commerce Platform Following a mid-roll ad read, Nathan drills into revenue breakdown between software fees and recovery cuts, clarifying capital raised and regulatory overhead costs.13:41–17:13 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Fintech Positioning, Empathetic Collections, and Revenue Estimation Ohad details TrueAccord's empathetic approach to debt collection with lenders, and Nathan calculates TrueAccord's implied annual revenue run rate at roughly $10M.17:13–20:07 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Ohad Samet's Entrepreneurial Transition from Klarna to TrueAccord Ohad discusses departing Klarna to build another startup, followed by rapid-fire questions where Nathan pushes Ohad to name specific CEOs he respects.20:07–20:41 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Recap and Final Acknowledgments Nathan delivers the closing recap monologue detailing key metrics and company size.0:00–4:30 · Guest teaching 4/10 Host Overview and Key Metrics of TrueAccord Nathan frames the business model for his SaaS CEO audience and asks whether the product only applies to physical goods. Ohad clarifies that services and marketplaces like Upwork utilize TrueAccord.4:30–9:30 · Guest teaching 5/10 Roleplaying Disputed Collections and Balancing Human Support Nathan initiates a role-play about disputed freelance work, pressing Ohad on how automated machine learning resolves subjective delivery conflicts. Ohad rejects the role-play framing, prompting Nathan to call out that Ohad did not answer the question.9:33–13:41 · Guest teaching 3/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Volusion All-in-One E-Commerce Platform Following a mid-roll ad read, Nathan drills into revenue breakdown between software fees and recovery cuts, clarifying capital raised and regulatory overhead costs.13:41–17:13 · Guest teaching 3/10 Fintech Positioning, Empathetic Collections, and Revenue Estimation Ohad details TrueAccord's empathetic approach to debt collection with lenders, and Nathan calculates TrueAccord's implied annual revenue run rate at roughly $10M.17:13–20:07 · Guest teaching 2/10 Ohad Samet's Entrepreneurial Transition from Klarna to TrueAccord Ohad discusses departing Klarna to build another startup, followed by rapid-fire questions where Nathan pushes Ohad to name specific CEOs he respects.20:07–20:41 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Recap and Final Acknowledgments Nathan delivers the closing recap monologue detailing key metrics and company size.0:00–4:30 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Host Overview and Key Metrics of TrueAccord Nathan frames the business model for his SaaS CEO audience and asks whether the product only applies to physical goods. Ohad clarifies that services and marketplaces like Upwork utilize TrueAccord.4:30–9:30 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Roleplaying Disputed Collections and Balancing Human Support Nathan initiates a role-play about disputed freelance work, pressing Ohad on how automated machine learning resolves subjective delivery conflicts. Ohad rejects the role-play framing, prompting Nathan to call out that Ohad did not answer the question.9:33–13:41 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Volusion All-in-One E-Commerce Platform Following a mid-roll ad read, Nathan drills into revenue breakdown between software fees and recovery cuts, clarifying capital raised and regulatory overhead costs.13:41–17:13 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Fintech Positioning, Empathetic Collections, and Revenue Estimation Ohad details TrueAccord's empathetic approach to debt collection with lenders, and Nathan calculates TrueAccord's implied annual revenue run rate at roughly $10M.17:13–20:07 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Ohad Samet's Entrepreneurial Transition from Klarna to TrueAccord Ohad discusses departing Klarna to build another startup, followed by rapid-fire questions where Nathan pushes Ohad to name specific CEOs he respects.20:07–20:41 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Recap and Final Acknowledgments Nathan delivers the closing recap monologue detailing key metrics and company size.0:00–4:30 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Host Overview and Key Metrics of TrueAccord Nathan frames the business model for his SaaS CEO audience and asks whether the product only applies to physical goods. Ohad clarifies that services and marketplaces like Upwork utilize TrueAccord.4:30–9:30 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Roleplaying Disputed Collections and Balancing Human Support Nathan initiates a role-play about disputed freelance work, pressing Ohad on how automated machine learning resolves subjective delivery conflicts. Ohad rejects the role-play framing, prompting Nathan to call out that Ohad did not answer the question.9:33–13:41 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Volusion All-in-One E-Commerce Platform Following a mid-roll ad read, Nathan drills into revenue breakdown between software fees and recovery cuts, clarifying capital raised and regulatory overhead costs.13:41–17:13 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Fintech Positioning, Empathetic Collections, and Revenue Estimation Ohad details TrueAccord's empathetic approach to debt collection with lenders, and Nathan calculates TrueAccord's implied annual revenue run rate at roughly $10M.17:13–20:07 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Ohad Samet's Entrepreneurial Transition from Klarna to TrueAccord Ohad discusses departing Klarna to build another startup, followed by rapid-fire questions where Nathan pushes Ohad to name specific CEOs he respects.20:07–20:41 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Recap and Final Acknowledgments Nathan delivers the closing recap monologue detailing key metrics and company size.

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

0:00 · Nathan 46.5% · guest 53.5%0:00 · Nathan 46.5% · guest 53.5%3:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%3:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%6:00 · Nathan 35.4% · guest 64.6%6:00 · Nathan 35.4% · guest 64.6%9:00 · Nathan 75.3% · guest 24.7%9:00 · Nathan 75.3% · guest 24.7%12:00 · Nathan 34.4% · guest 65.6%12:00 · Nathan 34.4% · guest 65.6%15:00 · Nathan 35.3% · guest 64.7%15:00 · Nathan 35.3% · guest 64.7%18:00 · Nathan 38.4% · guest 61.6%18:00 · Nathan 38.4% · guest 61.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:00 Ohad refuses to continue the role-play scenario

Ohad explicitly shuts down Nathan's interactive role-play premise, stating he is less into role-playing and prefers having customer care agents handle high-friction cases.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:27 Nathan confronts Ohad on automated vs human collection

Nathan directly challenges Ohad with 'You didn't answer my question,' pointing out an apparent contradiction between marketing automated machine learning and relying on phone agents.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:45 Ohad explains true drivers of consumer non-payment

Ohad reframes Nathan's assumption that debt non-payment stems from contract and spec disputes, explaining that the overwhelming majority of cases involve expired cards, financial distress, and cashflow problems.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 16:31 Nathan reverse-engineers TrueAccord's top-line revenue

Nathan synthesizes TrueAccord's $40M annual recovery volume with their 25-30% take rate to deduce a clean $10M revenue figure, validating his financial acumen.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Host Overview and Key Metrics of TrueAccord 5423 Nathan frames the business model for his SaaS CEO audience and asks whether the product only applies to physical goods. Ohad clarifies that services and marketplaces like Upwork utilize TrueAccord.
Roleplaying Disputed Collections and Balancing Human Support 6567 Nathan initiates a role-play about disputed freelance work, pressing Ohad on how automated machine learning resolves subjective delivery conflicts. Ohad rejects the role-play framing, prompting Nathan to call out that Ohad did not answer the question.
Mid-Roll Sponsorship: Volusion All-in-One E-Commerce Platform 5324 Following a mid-roll ad read, Nathan drills into revenue breakdown between software fees and recovery cuts, clarifying capital raised and regulatory overhead costs.
Fintech Positioning, Empathetic Collections, and Revenue Estimation 6323 Ohad details TrueAccord's empathetic approach to debt collection with lenders, and Nathan calculates TrueAccord's implied annual revenue run rate at roughly $10M.
Ohad Samet's Entrepreneurial Transition from Klarna to TrueAccord 4224 Ohad discusses departing Klarna to build another startup, followed by rapid-fire questions where Nathan pushes Ohad to name specific CEOs he respects.
Episode Recap and Final Acknowledgments 0000 Nathan delivers the closing recap monologue detailing key metrics and company size.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
TrueAccord claims an NPS of 60 in debt collection
“We have a net promoter score of 60.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 1:31
Disclosure
Samet: Upwork and Yelp use TrueAccord for debt collection
“We're being used by, we have Upwork that's doing services. They use us. We have Yelp.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 2:58
Disclosure
TrueAccord Does Not Sue Debtors or Report to Credit Bureaus
“You know, we don't sue people. We don't report to credit bureaus.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 7:12
Disclosure
TrueAccord charges flat monthly fees or a percentage of recovered debt
“With very small companies, we have a little bit of a monthly fee, but once you get to a certain size, it's mostly percentage of recoveries, yeah.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 9:24
Disclosure
TrueAccord has raised almost $40 million in total capital
“Almost forty million dollars.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 11:59
Disclosure
TrueAccord charges a 25% to 30% cut on recovered debt
“It's about 25 to 30%. Depends on the age of the debt and kind of complexity and so on.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 12:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
TrueAccord Crosses $75 Million in Total Recovered Debt Since 2014
“We are, we just crossed about seventy five million dollars in recovered money.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 15:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
TrueAccord Estimates $40 Million in Debt Recovered Over Past 12 Months
“I don't remember the number. I think it's about forty million. I mean, we're just, you know, we're accelerating, so obviously the majority of it is in the past 12 months.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 15:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
TrueAccord Reaches Over 4.3 Million Debtors Representing Billions in Debt
“So we're talking about more than 4.3 million consumers, Billions of dollars in debt, and it just continues to grow and grow and compound.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 16:22
Disclosure
Max Levchin is an investor in TrueAccord
“He's one of our investors and someone that I learned from a lot.”
Ohad Samet Sep 17, 2019 ▶ 18:45
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