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May 15, 2019 · 24m · top-founders

1390 With $3m+ in ARR and 300+ Customers, He's Making Digital Advertising Easier for Publishers

Chris Reid · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 9m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top Entrepreneurs, host Nathan Latka interviews Sortable founder and CEO Chris Reid, exploring how he bought back his company from private equity, pivoted it into a profitable ad-tech SaaS platform with over $3 million in ARR and 300+ customers, and achieved exceptional net retention and capital efficiency.

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 43.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.1 Guest teaching 2.9 Guest disagreement 3.3 Nathan pushing back 4.0
05100:0010:0020:000:01–2:33 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Promotion for How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital Monologue segment featuring host book promotions, intro clips, and episode context with no direct host-guest interaction.2:34–6:33 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Chris Reid on Founding and Pivoting Sortable Reid immediately corrects Latka's premise that Sortable was previously an agency, explaining it was a consumer publishing business. Latka pushes back on why it took three years to buy the company back from private equity.6:34–11:46 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Analyzing Pricing Models and Net Revenue Retention Latka probes SaaS metrics like net revenue retention and compares ad tech revenue lumpiness to predictable SaaS revenue. Reid educates Latka on how CPM and rev-share models mathematically align when optimizing entire publisher businesses.11:46–13:50 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Customer Contract Value, Capital Raised, and Office Locations Reid repeatedly stonewalls disclosing ACV and pricing ranges, stating 'we don't disclose that'. Latka firmly pushes back citing listener feedback across 3,000 interviews until Reid concedes a broad range.13:50–16:08 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Sales Strategy, Customer Onboarding, and Payback Efficiency A collaborative and straightforward segment where Reid details sales touch points, onboarding cycle times, and an accounting-based CAC payback period under six months.16:09–19:01 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Year-Over-Year Growth and Annual Recurring Revenue Debate Reid dismisses high-level top-line growth metrics as misleading, while Latka defends his methodology for exposing exaggerated figures and calculates an ARR estimate of over three million dollars which Reid disputes as too low.19:01–22:00 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Future Fundraising Strategy and Company Valuation Expectations Reid claims he would raise ten million dollars at less than standard dilution, leading Latka to press him on whether that implies an ambitious hundred-million-dollar-plus valuation.22:00–23:51 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Rapid-Fire Questions with Founder Chris Reid Standard rapid-fire closing segment where Reid gives concise, slightly unconventional answers regarding books and tools.0:01–2:33 · Guest teaching 0/10 Promotion for How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital Monologue segment featuring host book promotions, intro clips, and episode context with no direct host-guest interaction.2:34–6:33 · Guest teaching 5/10 Chris Reid on Founding and Pivoting Sortable Reid immediately corrects Latka's premise that Sortable was previously an agency, explaining it was a consumer publishing business. Latka pushes back on why it took three years to buy the company back from private equity.6:34–11:46 · Guest teaching 5/10 Analyzing Pricing Models and Net Revenue Retention Latka probes SaaS metrics like net revenue retention and compares ad tech revenue lumpiness to predictable SaaS revenue. Reid educates Latka on how CPM and rev-share models mathematically align when optimizing entire publisher businesses.11:46–13:50 · Guest teaching 2/10 Customer Contract Value, Capital Raised, and Office Locations Reid repeatedly stonewalls disclosing ACV and pricing ranges, stating 'we don't disclose that'. Latka firmly pushes back citing listener feedback across 3,000 interviews until Reid concedes a broad range.13:50–16:08 · Guest teaching 3/10 Sales Strategy, Customer Onboarding, and Payback Efficiency A collaborative and straightforward segment where Reid details sales touch points, onboarding cycle times, and an accounting-based CAC payback period under six months.16:09–19:01 · Guest teaching 4/10 Year-Over-Year Growth and Annual Recurring Revenue Debate Reid dismisses high-level top-line growth metrics as misleading, while Latka defends his methodology for exposing exaggerated figures and calculates an ARR estimate of over three million dollars which Reid disputes as too low.19:01–22:00 · Guest teaching 3/10 Future Fundraising Strategy and Company Valuation Expectations Reid claims he would raise ten million dollars at less than standard dilution, leading Latka to press him on whether that implies an ambitious hundred-million-dollar-plus valuation.22:00–23:51 · Guest teaching 1/10 Rapid-Fire Questions with Founder Chris Reid Standard rapid-fire closing segment where Reid gives concise, slightly unconventional answers regarding books and tools.0:01–2:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Promotion for How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital Monologue segment featuring host book promotions, intro clips, and episode context with no direct host-guest interaction.2:34–6:33 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Chris Reid on Founding and Pivoting Sortable Reid immediately corrects Latka's premise that Sortable was previously an agency, explaining it was a consumer publishing business. Latka pushes back on why it took three years to buy the company back from private equity.6:34–11:46 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Analyzing Pricing Models and Net Revenue Retention Latka probes SaaS metrics like net revenue retention and compares ad tech revenue lumpiness to predictable SaaS revenue. Reid educates Latka on how CPM and rev-share models mathematically align when optimizing entire publisher businesses.11:46–13:50 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Customer Contract Value, Capital Raised, and Office Locations Reid repeatedly stonewalls disclosing ACV and pricing ranges, stating 'we don't disclose that'. Latka firmly pushes back citing listener feedback across 3,000 interviews until Reid concedes a broad range.13:50–16:08 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sales Strategy, Customer Onboarding, and Payback Efficiency A collaborative and straightforward segment where Reid details sales touch points, onboarding cycle times, and an accounting-based CAC payback period under six months.16:09–19:01 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Year-Over-Year Growth and Annual Recurring Revenue Debate Reid dismisses high-level top-line growth metrics as misleading, while Latka defends his methodology for exposing exaggerated figures and calculates an ARR estimate of over three million dollars which Reid disputes as too low.19:01–22:00 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Future Fundraising Strategy and Company Valuation Expectations Reid claims he would raise ten million dollars at less than standard dilution, leading Latka to press him on whether that implies an ambitious hundred-million-dollar-plus valuation.22:00–23:51 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Rapid-Fire Questions with Founder Chris Reid Standard rapid-fire closing segment where Reid gives concise, slightly unconventional answers regarding books and tools.0:01–2:33 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Promotion for How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital Monologue segment featuring host book promotions, intro clips, and episode context with no direct host-guest interaction.2:34–6:33 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Chris Reid on Founding and Pivoting Sortable Reid immediately corrects Latka's premise that Sortable was previously an agency, explaining it was a consumer publishing business. Latka pushes back on why it took three years to buy the company back from private equity.6:34–11:46 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Analyzing Pricing Models and Net Revenue Retention Latka probes SaaS metrics like net revenue retention and compares ad tech revenue lumpiness to predictable SaaS revenue. Reid educates Latka on how CPM and rev-share models mathematically align when optimizing entire publisher businesses.11:46–13:50 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Customer Contract Value, Capital Raised, and Office Locations Reid repeatedly stonewalls disclosing ACV and pricing ranges, stating 'we don't disclose that'. Latka firmly pushes back citing listener feedback across 3,000 interviews until Reid concedes a broad range.13:50–16:08 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Sales Strategy, Customer Onboarding, and Payback Efficiency A collaborative and straightforward segment where Reid details sales touch points, onboarding cycle times, and an accounting-based CAC payback period under six months.16:09–19:01 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Year-Over-Year Growth and Annual Recurring Revenue Debate Reid dismisses high-level top-line growth metrics as misleading, while Latka defends his methodology for exposing exaggerated figures and calculates an ARR estimate of over three million dollars which Reid disputes as too low.19:01–22:00 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Future Fundraising Strategy and Company Valuation Expectations Reid claims he would raise ten million dollars at less than standard dilution, leading Latka to press him on whether that implies an ambitious hundred-million-dollar-plus valuation.22:00–23:51 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Rapid-Fire Questions with Founder Chris Reid Standard rapid-fire closing segment where Reid gives concise, slightly unconventional answers regarding books and tools.

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

0:00 · Nathan 99.1% · guest 0.9%0:00 · Nathan 99.1% · guest 0.9%3:00 · Nathan 34% · guest 66%3:00 · Nathan 34% · guest 66%6:00 · Nathan 23.5% · guest 76.5%6:00 · Nathan 23.5% · guest 76.5%9:00 · Nathan 32.8% · guest 67.2%9:00 · Nathan 32.8% · guest 67.2%12:00 · Nathan 50.2% · guest 49.8%12:00 · Nathan 50.2% · guest 49.8%15:00 · Nathan 40.4% · guest 59.6%15:00 · Nathan 40.4% · guest 59.6%18:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%18:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%21:00 · Nathan 28.7% · guest 71.3%21:00 · Nathan 28.7% · guest 71.3%24:00 · Nathan 98.7% · guest 1.3%24:00 · Nathan 98.7% · guest 1.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:50 Reid flatly refuses ACV disclosure

Reid repeatedly shuts down Latka's direct inquiry regarding average contract value, asserting 'we don't disclose that' and refusing to provide initial ranges.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:27 Latka refuses non-answer on customer contract sizes

Latka refuses Reid's deflection by highlighting thousands of podcast data points and insisting that customer contract tiers are essential context for the audience.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:25 Reid educates on ad tech pricing mechanics

Reid clarifies the structural misunderstanding between SaaS fees and revenue shares in ad tech, explaining they are mathematically two sides of the same per-impression coin.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 16:56 Latka defends interview rigor against metric skepticism

When Reid disparages top-line numbers as uninformative, Latka hits back with his philosophy on how detailed host cross-examination uncovers fraudulent founder metrics.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Promotion for How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital 0000 Monologue segment featuring host book promotions, intro clips, and episode context with no direct host-guest interaction.
Chris Reid on Founding and Pivoting Sortable 4545 Reid immediately corrects Latka's premise that Sortable was previously an agency, explaining it was a consumer publishing business. Latka pushes back on why it took three years to buy the company back from private equity.
Analyzing Pricing Models and Net Revenue Retention 6535 Latka probes SaaS metrics like net revenue retention and compares ad tech revenue lumpiness to predictable SaaS revenue. Reid educates Latka on how CPM and rev-share models mathematically align when optimizing entire publisher businesses.
Customer Contract Value, Capital Raised, and Office Locations 5267 Reid repeatedly stonewalls disclosing ACV and pricing ranges, stating 'we don't disclose that'. Latka firmly pushes back citing listener feedback across 3,000 interviews until Reid concedes a broad range.
Sales Strategy, Customer Onboarding, and Payback Efficiency 4312 A collaborative and straightforward segment where Reid details sales touch points, onboarding cycle times, and an accounting-based CAC payback period under six months.
Year-Over-Year Growth and Annual Recurring Revenue Debate 7456 Reid dismisses high-level top-line growth metrics as misleading, while Latka defends his methodology for exposing exaggerated figures and calculates an ARR estimate of over three million dollars which Reid disputes as too low.
Future Fundraising Strategy and Company Valuation Expectations 5356 Reid claims he would raise ten million dollars at less than standard dilution, leading Latka to press him on whether that implies an ambitious hundred-million-dollar-plus valuation.
Rapid-Fire Questions with Founder Chris Reid 2121 Standard rapid-fire closing segment where Reid gives concise, slightly unconventional answers regarding books and tools.

Statements from this episode (8)

Disclosure
Reid: Sortable was bought back post-acquisition and pivoted to B2B SaaS
“We built out a publishing business that was consumer focused sold it and yeah, wasn't happy with the sort of the trajectory we were going on post acquisition and so bought it back and Largely pivoted to a B to B focused yeah. SAS company trying to help publish…”
Chris Reid May 15, 2019 ▶ 3:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Reid: Sortable Achieves Over 100% Annual Net Revenue Retention
“I mean, in aggregate, we try and look at it across a few cohorts. Right. So that it's like, it makes sense. And I would say yes, cause there's, you know, normally in SAS you have a lot of upsell opportunity, right?”
Chris Reid May 15, 2019 ▶ 8:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Reid: Sortable Maintains Roughly 95% Publisher Logo Retention
“Oh, it's like 90, yeah, so this doesn't factor in upsell, but it's like 95%, something like that.”
Chris Reid May 15, 2019 ▶ 9:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Reid: Sortable annual contract values range from tens to hundreds of thousands
“Yeah, publishers could be anywhere from sort of tens of thousands of a year up to hundreds of thousands.”
Chris Reid May 15, 2019 ▶ 12:46
Disclosure
Reid: Sortable raised $1.4M for seed capital and buyback
“That was raised sort of on the onset as seed capital, but also as capital to do the buyback, to do part of the buyback.”
Chris Reid May 15, 2019 ▶ 13:41
Disclosure
Reid: Sortable targets under six-month customer payback period
“No, we're, we work on less than six months.”
Chris Reid May 15, 2019 ▶ 15:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Reid: Sortable is growing roughly 30% to 40% year-over-year
“I would say right now we're probably. It's 30, 40%.”
Chris Reid May 15, 2019 ▶ 16:19
Disclosure
Reid: Sortable Will Sell Far Less Than 30% Equity in Any Fundraise
“We're not looking to do typical things we will be giving less of the company away less than less than like 30% is typical right”
Chris Reid May 15, 2019 ▶ 21:00
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