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Aug 18, 2019 · 18m · top-founders

1485 Social Media Management For Banks Raising $1.5m on $8m Pre (4x ARR)

Doug Wilbur · 10m 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

Host Nathan Latka interviews Doug Wilbur, CEO of Gremlin Social, exploring how the vertical SaaS company scales compliant social selling software across 300 banking institutions, manages an operational turnaround, and seeks a $1.5 million strategic funding round.

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 38.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.3 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 2.0 Nathan pushing back 4.0
05100:0010:000:00–2:28 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review Nathan delivers a solo promotional segment reading reviews for his book and introduces the episode summary metrics.2:30–5:16 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Doug Wilbur and Gremlin Social's Value Proposition Nathan asks foundational questions about Gremlin Social's compliance functionality and pricing tiers, which Wilbur cleanly outlines.5:16–8:14 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Vertical Software Specialization and Revenue Scaling Nathan displays historical market knowledge by naming specific 2012-era social media exits like Buddy Media and Vitrue, and presses Wilbur to clarify what tightening pricing actually meant.8:16–11:51 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Fundraising Strategy and Capital Structure Considerations Nathan scrutinizes the round terms, soft commitments, and directly confronts Wilbur over an 11% monthly churn rate being dangerously high.11:51–15:00 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and Industry Association Channels A sharp conceptual debate where Wilbur defends industry association endorsements as superior to ad spend in banking, while Nathan argues that having near-zero CAC means paid acquisition remains an unproven vulnerability.15:01–17:31 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Team Composition and Strategic Acquisition of Social IQ Wilbur details the acquisition of SocialIQ and answers the Famous Five, resisting Latka's attempt to force him to name a specific local CEO.0:00–2:28 · Guest teaching 0/10 Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review Nathan delivers a solo promotional segment reading reviews for his book and introduces the episode summary metrics.2:30–5:16 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Doug Wilbur and Gremlin Social's Value Proposition Nathan asks foundational questions about Gremlin Social's compliance functionality and pricing tiers, which Wilbur cleanly outlines.5:16–8:14 · Guest teaching 2/10 Vertical Software Specialization and Revenue Scaling Nathan displays historical market knowledge by naming specific 2012-era social media exits like Buddy Media and Vitrue, and presses Wilbur to clarify what tightening pricing actually meant.8:16–11:51 · Guest teaching 3/10 Fundraising Strategy and Capital Structure Considerations Nathan scrutinizes the round terms, soft commitments, and directly confronts Wilbur over an 11% monthly churn rate being dangerously high.11:51–15:00 · Guest teaching 5/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and Industry Association Channels A sharp conceptual debate where Wilbur defends industry association endorsements as superior to ad spend in banking, while Nathan argues that having near-zero CAC means paid acquisition remains an unproven vulnerability.15:01–17:31 · Guest teaching 1/10 Team Composition and Strategic Acquisition of Social IQ Wilbur details the acquisition of SocialIQ and answers the Famous Five, resisting Latka's attempt to force him to name a specific local CEO.0:00–2:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review Nathan delivers a solo promotional segment reading reviews for his book and introduces the episode summary metrics.2:30–5:16 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Doug Wilbur and Gremlin Social's Value Proposition Nathan asks foundational questions about Gremlin Social's compliance functionality and pricing tiers, which Wilbur cleanly outlines.5:16–8:14 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Vertical Software Specialization and Revenue Scaling Nathan displays historical market knowledge by naming specific 2012-era social media exits like Buddy Media and Vitrue, and presses Wilbur to clarify what tightening pricing actually meant.8:16–11:51 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Fundraising Strategy and Capital Structure Considerations Nathan scrutinizes the round terms, soft commitments, and directly confronts Wilbur over an 11% monthly churn rate being dangerously high.11:51–15:00 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and Industry Association Channels A sharp conceptual debate where Wilbur defends industry association endorsements as superior to ad spend in banking, while Nathan argues that having near-zero CAC means paid acquisition remains an unproven vulnerability.15:01–17:31 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Team Composition and Strategic Acquisition of Social IQ Wilbur details the acquisition of SocialIQ and answers the Famous Five, resisting Latka's attempt to force him to name a specific local CEO.0:00–2:28 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review Nathan delivers a solo promotional segment reading reviews for his book and introduces the episode summary metrics.2:30–5:16 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Doug Wilbur and Gremlin Social's Value Proposition Nathan asks foundational questions about Gremlin Social's compliance functionality and pricing tiers, which Wilbur cleanly outlines.5:16–8:14 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Vertical Software Specialization and Revenue Scaling Nathan displays historical market knowledge by naming specific 2012-era social media exits like Buddy Media and Vitrue, and presses Wilbur to clarify what tightening pricing actually meant.8:16–11:51 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Fundraising Strategy and Capital Structure Considerations Nathan scrutinizes the round terms, soft commitments, and directly confronts Wilbur over an 11% monthly churn rate being dangerously high.11:51–15:00 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and Industry Association Channels A sharp conceptual debate where Wilbur defends industry association endorsements as superior to ad spend in banking, while Nathan argues that having near-zero CAC means paid acquisition remains an unproven vulnerability.15:01–17:31 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Team Composition and Strategic Acquisition of Social IQ Wilbur details the acquisition of SocialIQ and answers the Famous Five, resisting Latka's attempt to force him to name a specific local CEO.

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

0:00 · Nathan 95% · guest 5%0:00 · Nathan 95% · guest 5%3:00 · Nathan 22.6% · guest 77.4%3:00 · Nathan 22.6% · guest 77.4%6:00 · Nathan 14.7% · guest 85.3%6:00 · Nathan 14.7% · guest 85.3%9:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%9:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%12:00 · Nathan 42.6% · guest 57.4%12:00 · Nathan 42.6% · guest 57.4%15:00 · Nathan 31.3% · guest 68.7%15:00 · Nathan 31.3% · guest 68.7%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:58 Wilbur defends revenue-share channel strategy

Wilbur firmly counters Nathan's criticism of his marketing model, insisting that banking relationships require established association endorsements rather than standard A/B tested ad channels.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:16 Latka challenges high logo churn

Nathan aggressively rejects the viability of 11% monthly churn, pointing out that it implies burning through the customer base in less than a year.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:29 Wilbur educates on institutional bank sales cycles

Wilbur explains why direct digital ads fail in banking and how exclusive partnerships like the American Bankers Association endorsement drive access to 5,500 FDIC banks.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 14:36 Latka explains why zero CAC is an investor red flag

Nathan articulates the venture thesis that winning founders demonstrate predictable unit economics on paid acquisition rather than relying exclusively on organic channels.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review 0000 Nathan delivers a solo promotional segment reading reviews for his book and introduces the episode summary metrics.
Introducing Doug Wilbur and Gremlin Social's Value Proposition 5212 Nathan asks foundational questions about Gremlin Social's compliance functionality and pricing tiers, which Wilbur cleanly outlines.
Vertical Software Specialization and Revenue Scaling 7214 Nathan displays historical market knowledge by naming specific 2012-era social media exits like Buddy Media and Vitrue, and presses Wilbur to clarify what tightening pricing actually meant.
Fundraising Strategy and Capital Structure Considerations 7337 Nathan scrutinizes the round terms, soft commitments, and directly confronts Wilbur over an 11% monthly churn rate being dangerously high.
Customer Acquisition Cost and Industry Association Channels 8558 A sharp conceptual debate where Wilbur defends industry association endorsements as superior to ad spend in banking, while Nathan argues that having near-zero CAC means paid acquisition remains an unproven vulnerability.
Team Composition and Strategic Acquisition of Social IQ 5123 Wilbur details the acquisition of SocialIQ and answers the Famous Five, resisting Latka's attempt to force him to name a specific local CEO.

Statements from this episode (15)

Disclosure
Wilbur: Gremlin Social charges between $625 and $1,500 per month
“So we're really transparent with our pricing. It's up on the website. If anybody wants to see it's, you know, anywhere between call it six, 25 and 1500 dollars a month.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 4:12
Disclosure
Wilbur: Gremlin Social launched in 2011 and pivoted to banks in 2014
“So the company has been around since 20 11. We pivoted to work specifically for regulated industries and even more specifically financial services around 2014.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 5:03
Disclosure
Gremlin Social serves 300 US banks and targets adjacent verticals
“So we work with about 300 banks today, primarily in the United States, and, you know, are looking to grow via adjacency, so growing into insurance, growing into wealth management, growing into mortgage, things like that.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 6:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gremlin Social's year-over-year revenue growth is between 30% and 40%
“Year on year growth is somewhere between 30, 40%”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 6:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gremlin Social's sales and deal sizes rose 33% under new pricing
“So our sales last quarter, which was the first quarter that we were under our new pricing model, sales were up like 33%. Our average deal size was up about 33%.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 7:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Wilbur: Gremlin Social's sales cycle takes 90 to 100 days
“It takes us about 90 to a hundred days to close the deal.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 7:25
Disclosure
Wilbur: Gremlin Social has raised $4.5 million in venture capital
“We've raised about four and a half million dollars to date through the venture market.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 8:18
Disclosure
Wilbur: Gremlin Social is raising $1.5M at an $8M pre-money valuation
“It's a, we're raising one and a half and an eight million pre nine and a half post.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 9:04
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gremlin Social previously suffered from 10% to 11% monthly logo churn
“It was probably somewhere around, call it, 10, 11% month on month, and we're ratcheting that back.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 10:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Wilbur: Gremlin Social bills annually on three-year contracts
“Yeah, they've got a monthly fee, but we bill them annually and we have them locked up on three year contracts.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 10:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gremlin Social acquires $625-a-month customers for under $200
“Oh, I mean, definitely less than 200 dollars.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 12:13
Assertion Supported
American Bankers Association endorsement gives Gremlin Social access to 5,500 banks
“We're, you know, we're in the endorsed social media solution for the American Bankers Association, for example. That provides us with a conduit into the 5500 FDIC insured banks in the United States.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 12:52
Insight
Latka: Investors prefer proven paid CAC models over purely organic growth
“In a world where the person that can pay the most wins the customer, you actually want to see people that have proved that they can afford a two dollar dollar based CAC to get a new dollar in ARR. That's actually where you want to put your money.”
Nathan Latka Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 14:46
Assertion Supported
Wilbur: Gremlin Social Acquired Competitor Social IQ
“Yeah, so we acquired a competitor. They're a company based out of Birmingham, Alabama called Social IQ.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 15:16
Assertion Contradicted
Acquired competitor Social IQ is embedded with core processors FIS and CSI
“SocialIQ is firmly embedded with FIS and CSI, so two leading core processors, and so we like that.”
Doug Wilbur Aug 18, 2019 ▶ 15:35
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