StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Aug 21, 2019 · 18m · top-founders

1488 ECommerce Solution Hits $8m in ARR and $8m in Services, Raising $20m on $60m pre?

Suchit Bachali · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 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 episode of The Top Entrepreneurs, host Nathan Latka interviews Unilog CEO Suchit Bachali to explore how the enterprise e-commerce platform scaled to a $16 million run rate ($8M SaaS ARR and $8M services) on just $3 million in total equity. The discussion breaks down Unilog's business transformation, efficient go-to-market metrics, sub-0.5% churn, global operations, and target valuation for future growth rounds.

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 41.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.9 Guest teaching 1.8 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.3
05100:0010:000:00–2:08 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Nathan Latka Promotes Audiobook 'How to Be a Capitalist' Monologue segment consisting of Latka's book promotion, podcast summary stats, and intro snippet. Latka is not interacting live with a guest here.2:08–4:34 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Suchit Bachali on Unilog's Evolution to SaaS Bachali explains Unilog's 19-year history transitioning from product data content services to a pure SaaS e-commerce platform. The exchange is highly cordial and informative.4:34–7:14 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Analyzing Unilog's SaaS Pricing, ARR, and Customer Base Latka drills into customer counts and contract sizes, running rapid mental math to reconcile 290 SaaS customers at $4,500/month into an ~$8M-$10M ARR run rate.7:14–9:26 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Historical Growth, Low Churn, and Net Revenue Retention Latka presses Bachali to clarify churn terminology, differentiating logo versus revenue churn and gross versus net revenue retention.9:28–12:01 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Sponsor Break: SaaStock West Coast Conference Following a sponsor read, Latka asks about organizational headcount and quickly corrects Bachali when he provides direct reports instead of total company size.12:01–14:04 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Enterprise Sales Cycle, CAC, and Payback Dynamics When Bachali suggests enterprise CAC is difficult to quantify compared to consumer models, Latka forcefully pushes back by citing his extensive interview data with B2B SaaS founders to demand a fully loaded figure.14:04–16:30 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Capital History, Future Funding, and Valuation Targets Latka explores fundraising history and future valuation targets, breaking down how SaaS revenue multiple (4-6x) combined with lower multiple services revenue yield a $60M-$70M pre-money valuation.16:30–17:50 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. The tone is collaborative, conversational, and lighthearted.0:00–2:08 · Guest teaching 0/10 Nathan Latka Promotes Audiobook 'How to Be a Capitalist' Monologue segment consisting of Latka's book promotion, podcast summary stats, and intro snippet. Latka is not interacting live with a guest here.2:08–4:34 · Guest teaching 4/10 Suchit Bachali on Unilog's Evolution to SaaS Bachali explains Unilog's 19-year history transitioning from product data content services to a pure SaaS e-commerce platform. The exchange is highly cordial and informative.4:34–7:14 · Guest teaching 2/10 Analyzing Unilog's SaaS Pricing, ARR, and Customer Base Latka drills into customer counts and contract sizes, running rapid mental math to reconcile 290 SaaS customers at $4,500/month into an ~$8M-$10M ARR run rate.7:14–9:26 · Guest teaching 2/10 Historical Growth, Low Churn, and Net Revenue Retention Latka presses Bachali to clarify churn terminology, differentiating logo versus revenue churn and gross versus net revenue retention.9:28–12:01 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Break: SaaStock West Coast Conference Following a sponsor read, Latka asks about organizational headcount and quickly corrects Bachali when he provides direct reports instead of total company size.12:01–14:04 · Guest teaching 2/10 Enterprise Sales Cycle, CAC, and Payback Dynamics When Bachali suggests enterprise CAC is difficult to quantify compared to consumer models, Latka forcefully pushes back by citing his extensive interview data with B2B SaaS founders to demand a fully loaded figure.14:04–16:30 · Guest teaching 2/10 Capital History, Future Funding, and Valuation Targets Latka explores fundraising history and future valuation targets, breaking down how SaaS revenue multiple (4-6x) combined with lower multiple services revenue yield a $60M-$70M pre-money valuation.16:30–17:50 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. The tone is collaborative, conversational, and lighthearted.0:00–2:08 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Nathan Latka Promotes Audiobook 'How to Be a Capitalist' Monologue segment consisting of Latka's book promotion, podcast summary stats, and intro snippet. Latka is not interacting live with a guest here.2:08–4:34 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Suchit Bachali on Unilog's Evolution to SaaS Bachali explains Unilog's 19-year history transitioning from product data content services to a pure SaaS e-commerce platform. The exchange is highly cordial and informative.4:34–7:14 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Analyzing Unilog's SaaS Pricing, ARR, and Customer Base Latka drills into customer counts and contract sizes, running rapid mental math to reconcile 290 SaaS customers at $4,500/month into an ~$8M-$10M ARR run rate.7:14–9:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Historical Growth, Low Churn, and Net Revenue Retention Latka presses Bachali to clarify churn terminology, differentiating logo versus revenue churn and gross versus net revenue retention.9:28–12:01 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Break: SaaStock West Coast Conference Following a sponsor read, Latka asks about organizational headcount and quickly corrects Bachali when he provides direct reports instead of total company size.12:01–14:04 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Enterprise Sales Cycle, CAC, and Payback Dynamics When Bachali suggests enterprise CAC is difficult to quantify compared to consumer models, Latka forcefully pushes back by citing his extensive interview data with B2B SaaS founders to demand a fully loaded figure.14:04–16:30 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Capital History, Future Funding, and Valuation Targets Latka explores fundraising history and future valuation targets, breaking down how SaaS revenue multiple (4-6x) combined with lower multiple services revenue yield a $60M-$70M pre-money valuation.16:30–17:50 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. The tone is collaborative, conversational, and lighthearted.0:00–2:08 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Nathan Latka Promotes Audiobook 'How to Be a Capitalist' Monologue segment consisting of Latka's book promotion, podcast summary stats, and intro snippet. Latka is not interacting live with a guest here.2:08–4:34 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Suchit Bachali on Unilog's Evolution to SaaS Bachali explains Unilog's 19-year history transitioning from product data content services to a pure SaaS e-commerce platform. The exchange is highly cordial and informative.4:34–7:14 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Analyzing Unilog's SaaS Pricing, ARR, and Customer Base Latka drills into customer counts and contract sizes, running rapid mental math to reconcile 290 SaaS customers at $4,500/month into an ~$8M-$10M ARR run rate.7:14–9:26 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Historical Growth, Low Churn, and Net Revenue Retention Latka presses Bachali to clarify churn terminology, differentiating logo versus revenue churn and gross versus net revenue retention.9:28–12:01 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Break: SaaStock West Coast Conference Following a sponsor read, Latka asks about organizational headcount and quickly corrects Bachali when he provides direct reports instead of total company size.12:01–14:04 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Enterprise Sales Cycle, CAC, and Payback Dynamics When Bachali suggests enterprise CAC is difficult to quantify compared to consumer models, Latka forcefully pushes back by citing his extensive interview data with B2B SaaS founders to demand a fully loaded figure.14:04–16:30 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Capital History, Future Funding, and Valuation Targets Latka explores fundraising history and future valuation targets, breaking down how SaaS revenue multiple (4-6x) combined with lower multiple services revenue yield a $60M-$70M pre-money valuation.16:30–17:50 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. The tone is collaborative, conversational, and lighthearted.

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

0:00 · Nathan 85% · guest 15%0:00 · Nathan 85% · guest 15%3:00 · Nathan 15.7% · guest 84.3%3:00 · Nathan 15.7% · guest 84.3%6:00 · Nathan 34.2% · guest 65.8%6:00 · Nathan 34.2% · guest 65.8%9:00 · Nathan 50.4% · guest 49.6%9:00 · Nathan 50.4% · guest 49.6%12:00 · Nathan 20.6% · guest 79.4%12:00 · Nathan 20.6% · guest 79.4%15:00 · Nathan 34% · guest 66%15:00 · Nathan 34% · guest 66%18:00 · Nathan 95.1% · guest 4.9%18:00 · Nathan 95.1% · guest 4.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:11 Bachali pushes back on simplistic CAC metrics for enterprise

Bachali resists providing a standard CAC figure by arguing enterprise sales economics fundamentally differ from consumer SaaS acquisition.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:49 Latka insists on enterprise CAC transparency

Latka directly refutes Bachali's claim that enterprise CAC cannot be easily tracked, pointing to thousands of enterprise SaaS CEO interviews.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 2:40 Bachali outlines legacy company transformation to SaaS

Bachali educates Latka on Unilog's 19-year journey from content servicing legacy platforms to building a modern Forrester-ranked SaaS solution.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:49 Latka demonstrates benchmark authority on B2B CAC

Latka uses his extensive domain benchmarking to demand a fully loaded sales and marketing CAC estimate rather than letting the question get deflected.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Nathan Latka Promotes Audiobook 'How to Be a Capitalist' 0000 Monologue segment consisting of Latka's book promotion, podcast summary stats, and intro snippet. Latka is not interacting live with a guest here.
Suchit Bachali on Unilog's Evolution to SaaS 4411 Bachali explains Unilog's 19-year history transitioning from product data content services to a pure SaaS e-commerce platform. The exchange is highly cordial and informative.
Analyzing Unilog's SaaS Pricing, ARR, and Customer Base 6212 Latka drills into customer counts and contract sizes, running rapid mental math to reconcile 290 SaaS customers at $4,500/month into an ~$8M-$10M ARR run rate.
Historical Growth, Low Churn, and Net Revenue Retention 7213 Latka presses Bachali to clarify churn terminology, differentiating logo versus revenue churn and gross versus net revenue retention.
Sponsor Break: SaaStock West Coast Conference 4113 Following a sponsor read, Latka asks about organizational headcount and quickly corrects Bachali when he provides direct reports instead of total company size.
Enterprise Sales Cycle, CAC, and Payback Dynamics 8237 When Bachali suggests enterprise CAC is difficult to quantify compared to consumer models, Latka forcefully pushes back by citing his extensive interview data with B2B SaaS founders to demand a fully loaded figure.
Capital History, Future Funding, and Valuation Targets 7212 Latka explores fundraising history and future valuation targets, breaking down how SaaS revenue multiple (4-6x) combined with lower multiple services revenue yield a $60M-$70M pre-money valuation.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3100 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. The tone is collaborative, conversational, and lighthearted.

Statements from this episode (16)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bachali says Unilog's software is pure SaaS with no on-premises deployments.
“So the software is offered as a pure SaaS model. We have no on-prem. We have no software that gets deployed in any other way other than SaaS.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 3:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Unilog's 2018 revenue was split exactly evenly between software and services.
“Our, this financial year, which ended March, 2018 our, this was the first year where the revenues were fifty-fifty split, so 50% of our revenues came from PurePlay software, and then 50% of our revenues came from services.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 4:15
Disclosure
Bachali says Unilog's SaaS customers spend between $800 and $12,000 monthly.
“A typical customer, you know, starts out at about, you know, they can go from anywhere from 800 dollars a month in, in monthly spend on the SaaS platform all the way up to 10, 12,000 dollars a month in annual, in monthly spend for the SaaS platform.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 4:45
Disclosure
Unilog's average SaaS contract value is $4,500 to $5,000 monthly.
“I would say the average SAS more, for, from our modeling perspective, we would say, you know, 4500 to 5000 would be the average.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 5:21
Disclosure
Bachali states that Unilog serves roughly 400 total enterprise customers.
“We have overall just shy, I would say for about 400 customers.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 5:58
Disclosure
Bachali says Unilog's SaaS annual recurring revenue is $8M to $12M.
“That's close to our run rate. I want to get it. But I would say the range is, you know, eight to 12.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 6:49
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Bachali projects a 32.5% CAGR for Unilog's SaaS business over four years.
“We're doing a CAGR of about forty-ish percent and the next four years we're our CAGR is 32.5.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 7:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bachali says up to 90% of Unilog's SaaS growth is net new.
“80%, 90% would be net new.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 8:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Unilog maintains an incredibly low annual churn rate of under 0.5%.
“I mean, we, our churn is less than half a percent.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 8:21
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bachali notes that Unilog employs about 210 people on its software team.
“Just on the software side, we're about 210 people.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 11:37
Disclosure
Bachali: Unilog Has About 40 North America Staff, Remainder Globally Distributed
“About forty-ish, I would say, are in North America. The others are India. We have a development team in Minsk, in Belarus. And we have a couple of other offshore people in Canada, as well as in Australia.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 11:47
Disclosure
Unilog operates its enterprise SaaS business with only three salespeople.
“You'd be surprised to know that our sales team is actually just three people.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 12:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bachali claims Unilog's enterprise customer acquisition payback period is just 40 days.
“So on our payback period, it's usually 40 days ish 4045 days because we're essentially considering that on a typical sales cycle, which is about two and a half to three months, a sales rep is, is probably spending On average about 60 to seven, 60 hours, right?”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 13:26
Assertion Supported
Unilog reached scale on just a $3M capital raise in 2015.
“The only capital we raised was three million dollars from Kalari Capital Ventures in 2015, and at that time we had no SaaS revenue, so their return on equity has been phenomenal.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 14:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bachali confirms that Unilog is EBITDA positive with strong cash flows.
“I think right now we have really strong Cash flows. We have strong balance sheets. We're EBITDA positive.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 14:36
Insight
Bachali says software investors value services revenue at 1.1x to 1.2x.
“I mean, the service revenue is, is not very valuable from a, from an investor's perspective, you know, it's, 1.11 times to 1.2 times is probably what you would expect.”
Suchit Bachali Aug 21, 2019 ▶ 16:12
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