StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Aug 24, 2019 · 15m · top-founders

1491 $1k/mo Scheduling Tool Turns Down $5m Offer, would you do the same?

Corey Warfield · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

Shedwell founder Corey Warfield discusses his workforce scheduling SaaS platform with host Nathan Latka, outlining the product's capabilities, early revenue metrics, and the decision to decline a $5 million buyout offer while generating $2,000 in monthly recurring revenue.

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 37.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.2 Guest teaching 1.8 Guest disagreement 2.6 Nathan pushing back 4.6
05100:0010:000:38–2:51 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Shedwell Product Capabilities and Industry Use Cases Latka asks standard foundational questions about Shedwell's value proposition, target market, and feature set. Warfield gives detailed, collaborative explanations about the platform's evolution from restaurants to other shift-based industries.2:51–5:45 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Pricing Structure and Monthly Recurring Revenue Clarification Latka immediately catches mathematical discrepancies between Warfield's claimed $400/month average account value across 50 customers and actual revenue, forcing Warfield to clarify that total monthly recurring revenue is only $2k.5:45–8:56 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Bootstrapping Journey, Personal Sacrifices, and Capital Raising Warfield recounts his personal financial sacrifices and accelerator journey, while Latka probes into the structure of his convertible note and valuation caps without major conflict.8:56–13:35 · Nathan as informed peer 9/10 The Debate Over Rejecting a Multi-Million Dollar Buyout A heated clash unfolds as Latka strongly questions Warfield's decision to reject a $5M-$10M buyout offer while generating under $2k/month MRR. Latka cites real-world comparables like TSheets reaching $35M ARR before selling, while Warfield remains firm on his $100M upside vision.13:35–15:21 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The interview transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Latka lightly questions Warfield's routine of sleeping four hours a night before wrapping up with a recap.0:38–2:51 · Guest teaching 3/10 Shedwell Product Capabilities and Industry Use Cases Latka asks standard foundational questions about Shedwell's value proposition, target market, and feature set. Warfield gives detailed, collaborative explanations about the platform's evolution from restaurants to other shift-based industries.2:51–5:45 · Guest teaching 1/10 Pricing Structure and Monthly Recurring Revenue Clarification Latka immediately catches mathematical discrepancies between Warfield's claimed $400/month average account value across 50 customers and actual revenue, forcing Warfield to clarify that total monthly recurring revenue is only $2k.5:45–8:56 · Guest teaching 2/10 Bootstrapping Journey, Personal Sacrifices, and Capital Raising Warfield recounts his personal financial sacrifices and accelerator journey, while Latka probes into the structure of his convertible note and valuation caps without major conflict.8:56–13:35 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Debate Over Rejecting a Multi-Million Dollar Buyout A heated clash unfolds as Latka strongly questions Warfield's decision to reject a $5M-$10M buyout offer while generating under $2k/month MRR. Latka cites real-world comparables like TSheets reaching $35M ARR before selling, while Warfield remains firm on his $100M upside vision.13:35–15:21 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The interview transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Latka lightly questions Warfield's routine of sleeping four hours a night before wrapping up with a recap.0:38–2:51 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Shedwell Product Capabilities and Industry Use Cases Latka asks standard foundational questions about Shedwell's value proposition, target market, and feature set. Warfield gives detailed, collaborative explanations about the platform's evolution from restaurants to other shift-based industries.2:51–5:45 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Pricing Structure and Monthly Recurring Revenue Clarification Latka immediately catches mathematical discrepancies between Warfield's claimed $400/month average account value across 50 customers and actual revenue, forcing Warfield to clarify that total monthly recurring revenue is only $2k.5:45–8:56 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Bootstrapping Journey, Personal Sacrifices, and Capital Raising Warfield recounts his personal financial sacrifices and accelerator journey, while Latka probes into the structure of his convertible note and valuation caps without major conflict.8:56–13:35 · Guest disagreement 7/10 The Debate Over Rejecting a Multi-Million Dollar Buyout A heated clash unfolds as Latka strongly questions Warfield's decision to reject a $5M-$10M buyout offer while generating under $2k/month MRR. Latka cites real-world comparables like TSheets reaching $35M ARR before selling, while Warfield remains firm on his $100M upside vision.13:35–15:21 · Guest disagreement 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The interview transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Latka lightly questions Warfield's routine of sleeping four hours a night before wrapping up with a recap.0:38–2:51 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Shedwell Product Capabilities and Industry Use Cases Latka asks standard foundational questions about Shedwell's value proposition, target market, and feature set. Warfield gives detailed, collaborative explanations about the platform's evolution from restaurants to other shift-based industries.2:51–5:45 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Pricing Structure and Monthly Recurring Revenue Clarification Latka immediately catches mathematical discrepancies between Warfield's claimed $400/month average account value across 50 customers and actual revenue, forcing Warfield to clarify that total monthly recurring revenue is only $2k.5:45–8:56 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Bootstrapping Journey, Personal Sacrifices, and Capital Raising Warfield recounts his personal financial sacrifices and accelerator journey, while Latka probes into the structure of his convertible note and valuation caps without major conflict.8:56–13:35 · Nathan pushing back 9/10 The Debate Over Rejecting a Multi-Million Dollar Buyout A heated clash unfolds as Latka strongly questions Warfield's decision to reject a $5M-$10M buyout offer while generating under $2k/month MRR. Latka cites real-world comparables like TSheets reaching $35M ARR before selling, while Warfield remains firm on his $100M upside vision.13:35–15:21 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions The interview transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Latka lightly questions Warfield's routine of sleeping four hours a night before wrapping up with a recap.

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

0:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%0:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%3:00 · Nathan 30.4% · guest 69.6%3:00 · Nathan 30.4% · guest 69.6%6:00 · Nathan 28.7% · guest 71.3%6:00 · Nathan 28.7% · guest 71.3%9:00 · Nathan 46.1% · guest 53.9%9:00 · Nathan 46.1% · guest 53.9%12:00 · Nathan 46.2% · guest 53.8%12:00 · Nathan 46.2% · guest 53.8%15:00 · Nathan 58.7% · guest 41.3%15:00 · Nathan 58.7% · guest 41.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:17 Warfield counters buyout with a hundred million dollar demand

Warfield doubles down against Latka's skepticism, insisting he did not hesitate to reject a $10M buyout and instead countered at $100M based on his long-term ambition.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:57 Latka calls rejecting the buyout offer insane given the revenue

Latka directly confronts Warfield, arguing that turning down a $5M-$10M buyout when making only $2k MRR is irrational given startup execution risks.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:22 Warfield reveals MRR was under one thousand when buyout offer arrived

Warfield reveals that Shedwell was actually under $1k MRR when the offer landed, using that data point to argue outside acquirers saw massive underlying software value.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:01 Latka cites TSheets' ten-year journey to thirty-five million ARR

Latka dismantles Warfield's industry comparison by pointing out that TSheets had to reach $35M in ARR over a decade before selling to Intuit, unlike early-stage Shedwell.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Shedwell Product Capabilities and Industry Use Cases 5301 Latka asks standard foundational questions about Shedwell's value proposition, target market, and feature set. Warfield gives detailed, collaborative explanations about the platform's evolution from restaurants to other shift-based industries.
Pricing Structure and Monthly Recurring Revenue Clarification 8137 Latka immediately catches mathematical discrepancies between Warfield's claimed $400/month average account value across 50 customers and actual revenue, forcing Warfield to clarify that total monthly recurring revenue is only $2k.
Bootstrapping Journey, Personal Sacrifices, and Capital Raising 5213 Warfield recounts his personal financial sacrifices and accelerator journey, while Latka probes into the structure of his convertible note and valuation caps without major conflict.
The Debate Over Rejecting a Multi-Million Dollar Buyout 9279 A heated clash unfolds as Latka strongly questions Warfield's decision to reject a $5M-$10M buyout offer while generating under $2k/month MRR. Latka cites real-world comparables like TSheets reaching $35M ARR before selling, while Warfield remains firm on his $100M upside vision.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 4123 The interview transitions into the standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Latka lightly questions Warfield's routine of sleeping four hours a night before wrapping up with a recap.

Statements from this episode (9)

Disclosure
Warfield: Shedwell to shift to $29 per-manager pricing in Q1
“We're moving more into a licensing model in Q one of next year, where it'll be 29 dollars per manager that needs access to the tool.”
Corey Warfield Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 3:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Warfield: Shedwell has around 50 paying customers
“We have about 50 paying customers on the platform.”
Corey Warfield Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 3:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Warfield: Fortune 50 firm reached out for potential 7-figure contract
“We have three international companies. One's a Fortune 50 company that's reached out. They want to figure out not only how to get us live on their B to B SaaS platform, but also to use us company-wide. They'd be our first seven-figure client.”
Corey Warfield Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 4:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Warfield: Shedwell generates around $2,000 in MRR
“Or like two KMRR.”
Corey Warfield Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 5:14
Assertion Partly supported
Warfield: Intuit acquired a close scheduling competitor for $346 million
“So earlier this year, a very close competitor of ours was bought by Intuit for three hundred forty six million dollars.”
Corey Warfield Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 9:53
Assertion Supported
Latka: TSheets took 10 years to reach $35M ARR before acquisition
“TSheets was doing thirty five million bucks a year in ARR. We had him on the show and it took him 10 years to get there, right?”
Nathan Latka Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 10:02
Disclosure
Warfield countered a $5M buyout offer for Shedwell with $100M
“I literally countered with a hundred million. We know where we're taking this.”
Corey Warfield Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 10:18
Disclosure
Warfield: Shedwell had under $1K MRR when offered a $5M buyout
“We were under a one K a month in MRR when that offer was made about three months ago.”
Corey Warfield Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 12:23
Opinion
Warfield: Extra sleep would come at the detriment of startup progress
“I think sleep would be at the detriment of progress and luckily at a young 40, I don't need much more than I'm getting.”
Corey Warfield Aug 24, 2019 ▶ 14:48
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