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May 11, 2019 · 18m · top-founders

1386 AdTech Platform Acquired by GTCR Doing "Well North of $30m in ARR"

Frost Prioleau · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m 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 Podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Simpli.fi Co-founder and CEO Frost Prioleau to examine how the localized programmatic ad tech platform scaled to over $30 million in net revenue and achieved an acquisition by private equity firm GTCR. Prioleau breaks down the company's high-volume micro-campaign automation, 130% net revenue retention, transparent pricing models, and founder equity rollover strategy.

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 49.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 2.7 Guest disagreement 1.6 Nathan pushing back 2.9
05100:0010:000:00–2:08 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review Solo intro and book promotional read by Latka with brief introductory soundbites. Because this is a monologue and promo, all interaction scores are baseline zero.2:09–4:10 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Simpli.fi's Local Programmatic Platform and Retention Model Frost explains their percent of spend model and SaaS-like metrics. Latka demonstrates SaaS familiarity by immediately mapping Frost's 30 percent expansion description to 130 percent net revenue retention.4:11–7:31 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Simpli.fi Funding History and GTCR Equity Rollover Latka challenges Frost on why he remains post-acquisition and presses on whether GTCR forced an equity rollover. Frost playfully pushes back that reinvesting was an honor rather than an obligation.7:32–10:23 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Pricing Mechanics, Platform Take Rates, and Managed Services Frost details the unit economics between platform fees and managed service fees. Latka demonstrates strong financial acumen by synthesizing the breakdown into a precise 26 cent take-rate example.10:23–13:08 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Team Geography, Platform Ad Volume, and Revenue Estimates When Frost declines to give exact platform ad volume or revenue, Latka persistently presses for ranges and performs a back-of-the-napkin calculation estimating north of 25 to 30 million dollars in revenue.13:09–15:21 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Growth Drivers, Micro-Campaign Automation, and Competitive Moats Latka asks how Simpli.fi defends against middleman disintermediation or lower take-rate competitors. Frost educates Latka on their automation moat required to manage 100,000 hyper-local micro-campaigns.15:21–17:18 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Founder Alignment and GTCR Partnership Dynamics Latka asks if the founders plan to buy the business back from GTCR before running through the standard Famous Five questions in a fast, collaborative wrap-up.0:00–2:08 · Guest teaching 0/10 Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review Solo intro and book promotional read by Latka with brief introductory soundbites. Because this is a monologue and promo, all interaction scores are baseline zero.2:09–4:10 · Guest teaching 3/10 Simpli.fi's Local Programmatic Platform and Retention Model Frost explains their percent of spend model and SaaS-like metrics. Latka demonstrates SaaS familiarity by immediately mapping Frost's 30 percent expansion description to 130 percent net revenue retention.4:11–7:31 · Guest teaching 3/10 Simpli.fi Funding History and GTCR Equity Rollover Latka challenges Frost on why he remains post-acquisition and presses on whether GTCR forced an equity rollover. Frost playfully pushes back that reinvesting was an honor rather than an obligation.7:32–10:23 · Guest teaching 4/10 Pricing Mechanics, Platform Take Rates, and Managed Services Frost details the unit economics between platform fees and managed service fees. Latka demonstrates strong financial acumen by synthesizing the breakdown into a precise 26 cent take-rate example.10:23–13:08 · Guest teaching 3/10 Team Geography, Platform Ad Volume, and Revenue Estimates When Frost declines to give exact platform ad volume or revenue, Latka persistently presses for ranges and performs a back-of-the-napkin calculation estimating north of 25 to 30 million dollars in revenue.13:09–15:21 · Guest teaching 5/10 Growth Drivers, Micro-Campaign Automation, and Competitive Moats Latka asks how Simpli.fi defends against middleman disintermediation or lower take-rate competitors. Frost educates Latka on their automation moat required to manage 100,000 hyper-local micro-campaigns.15:21–17:18 · Guest teaching 1/10 Founder Alignment and GTCR Partnership Dynamics Latka asks if the founders plan to buy the business back from GTCR before running through the standard Famous Five questions in a fast, collaborative wrap-up.0:00–2:08 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review Solo intro and book promotional read by Latka with brief introductory soundbites. Because this is a monologue and promo, all interaction scores are baseline zero.2:09–4:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Simpli.fi's Local Programmatic Platform and Retention Model Frost explains their percent of spend model and SaaS-like metrics. Latka demonstrates SaaS familiarity by immediately mapping Frost's 30 percent expansion description to 130 percent net revenue retention.4:11–7:31 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Simpli.fi Funding History and GTCR Equity Rollover Latka challenges Frost on why he remains post-acquisition and presses on whether GTCR forced an equity rollover. Frost playfully pushes back that reinvesting was an honor rather than an obligation.7:32–10:23 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Pricing Mechanics, Platform Take Rates, and Managed Services Frost details the unit economics between platform fees and managed service fees. Latka demonstrates strong financial acumen by synthesizing the breakdown into a precise 26 cent take-rate example.10:23–13:08 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Team Geography, Platform Ad Volume, and Revenue Estimates When Frost declines to give exact platform ad volume or revenue, Latka persistently presses for ranges and performs a back-of-the-napkin calculation estimating north of 25 to 30 million dollars in revenue.13:09–15:21 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Growth Drivers, Micro-Campaign Automation, and Competitive Moats Latka asks how Simpli.fi defends against middleman disintermediation or lower take-rate competitors. Frost educates Latka on their automation moat required to manage 100,000 hyper-local micro-campaigns.15:21–17:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founder Alignment and GTCR Partnership Dynamics Latka asks if the founders plan to buy the business back from GTCR before running through the standard Famous Five questions in a fast, collaborative wrap-up.0:00–2:08 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Nathan Latka Book Promotion and Listener Review Solo intro and book promotional read by Latka with brief introductory soundbites. Because this is a monologue and promo, all interaction scores are baseline zero.2:09–4:10 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Simpli.fi's Local Programmatic Platform and Retention Model Frost explains their percent of spend model and SaaS-like metrics. Latka demonstrates SaaS familiarity by immediately mapping Frost's 30 percent expansion description to 130 percent net revenue retention.4:11–7:31 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Simpli.fi Funding History and GTCR Equity Rollover Latka challenges Frost on why he remains post-acquisition and presses on whether GTCR forced an equity rollover. Frost playfully pushes back that reinvesting was an honor rather than an obligation.7:32–10:23 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Pricing Mechanics, Platform Take Rates, and Managed Services Frost details the unit economics between platform fees and managed service fees. Latka demonstrates strong financial acumen by synthesizing the breakdown into a precise 26 cent take-rate example.10:23–13:08 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Team Geography, Platform Ad Volume, and Revenue Estimates When Frost declines to give exact platform ad volume or revenue, Latka persistently presses for ranges and performs a back-of-the-napkin calculation estimating north of 25 to 30 million dollars in revenue.13:09–15:21 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Growth Drivers, Micro-Campaign Automation, and Competitive Moats Latka asks how Simpli.fi defends against middleman disintermediation or lower take-rate competitors. Frost educates Latka on their automation moat required to manage 100,000 hyper-local micro-campaigns.15:21–17:18 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Founder Alignment and GTCR Partnership Dynamics Latka asks if the founders plan to buy the business back from GTCR before running through the standard Famous Five questions in a fast, collaborative wrap-up.

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

0:00 · Nathan 79.8% · guest 20.2%0:00 · Nathan 79.8% · guest 20.2%3:00 · Nathan 25.9% · guest 74.1%3:00 · Nathan 25.9% · guest 74.1%6:00 · Nathan 44.9% · guest 55.1%6:00 · Nathan 44.9% · guest 55.1%9:00 · Nathan 45.7% · guest 54.3%9:00 · Nathan 45.7% · guest 54.3%12:00 · Nathan 39.2% · guest 60.8%12:00 · Nathan 39.2% · guest 60.8%15:00 · Nathan 60.3% · guest 39.7%15:00 · Nathan 60.3% · guest 39.7%18:00 · Nathan 30% · guest 70%18:00 · Nathan 30% · guest 70%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:03 Frost rejects Latka's forced rollover framing

Frost directly corrects Latka's insinuation that PE firm GTCR forced him to buy back equity, stating they were honored to reinvest on the same favorable terms.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:05 Latka presses Frost on ad spend volume numbers

After Frost initially refuses to disclose annual ad spend volume, Latka rejects the non-answer and demands a broad range that won't hurt competitively.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:50 Frost explains the micro-campaign automation moat

Frost explains the operational difficulty of executing 100,000 localized campaigns where half spend under $4 a day, demonstrating why simple price undercutting does not work.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:25 Latka reverse-engineers Simpli.fi's revenue

Latka transparently uses previously stated platform fees, managed services take rates, and ad volumes to calculate Simpli.fi's net revenue to be well north of $25M.
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 Solo intro and book promotional read by Latka with brief introductory soundbites. Because this is a monologue and promo, all interaction scores are baseline zero.
Simpli.fi's Local Programmatic Platform and Retention Model 5312 Frost explains their percent of spend model and SaaS-like metrics. Latka demonstrates SaaS familiarity by immediately mapping Frost's 30 percent expansion description to 130 percent net revenue retention.
Simpli.fi Funding History and GTCR Equity Rollover 6334 Latka challenges Frost on why he remains post-acquisition and presses on whether GTCR forced an equity rollover. Frost playfully pushes back that reinvesting was an honor rather than an obligation.
Pricing Mechanics, Platform Take Rates, and Managed Services 7412 Frost details the unit economics between platform fees and managed service fees. Latka demonstrates strong financial acumen by synthesizing the breakdown into a precise 26 cent take-rate example.
Team Geography, Platform Ad Volume, and Revenue Estimates 8336 When Frost declines to give exact platform ad volume or revenue, Latka persistently presses for ranges and performs a back-of-the-napkin calculation estimating north of 25 to 30 million dollars in revenue.
Growth Drivers, Micro-Campaign Automation, and Competitive Moats 6524 Latka asks how Simpli.fi defends against middleman disintermediation or lower take-rate competitors. Frost educates Latka on their automation moat required to manage 100,000 hyper-local micro-campaigns.
Founder Alignment and GTCR Partnership Dynamics 3112 Latka asks if the founders plan to buy the business back from GTCR before running through the standard Famous Five questions in a fast, collaborative wrap-up.

Statements from this episode (13)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi achieves 130% annual net revenue retention
“That means like our net recurring revenue, so if we didn't sell a new customer all year, we'd still grow 30% in a year because our existing customers come back.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 3:37
Assertion Contradicted
Prioleau: Simpli.fi raised about $10M prior to GTCR sale
“We sold about a year ago to GTCR which is a private equity firm up in Chicago. Prior to that, we'd raised about ten million dollars.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 4:14
Disclosure
Prioleau: Simpli.fi founders reinvested almost half their buyout proceeds
“And we actually reinvested almost half of our proceeds back in the business.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 4:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi counts 400 billing customers and 30k advertisers
“So we have about 400 customers that are billing customers. We have about 30,000 advertisers, but many of our customers are media companies who have thousands of advertisers working through them.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 5:32
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi has 250 employees and 40%+ revenue growth
“We're about 250 people now. We're growing at 40 plus percent still, and we've been profitable for the last three years.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 6:17
Assertion Contradicted
Prioleau: GTCR acquired 100% of Simpli.fi, not just majority
“One of the headlines came out saying they had a majority investment, but accurately they actually did buy the whole thing.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 7:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi has no pure SaaS revenue, only percentage fees
“So today we are truly percent. We do not have any pure SAS revenue.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 7:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi platform fees range from high single digits to mid teens
“So platform fees, depending on depending on depending on the size of the customer, typically go from high single digits to the mid teens as far as the platform fee”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 8:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi charges 10% of spend for managed services
“We also offer a managed service. And so for those who want to use our managed service, we charge another 10% of spend”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 9:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi processes well north of hundreds of millions in ad spend
“I'll, yeah, I mean you know, well north of in the hundreds of millions, let me put it that way.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 11:06
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi is a few years away from $1B in ad volume
“We would grow a lot if it was next year. It'll be a few years down.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 11:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi generates well north of $25 million in annual revenue
“Well, well north of that.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 12:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Prioleau: Simpli.fi Ran 100k Campaigns Last Month, Half Under $4/Day
“Running a 100,000 campaigns like we did last month. 50,000 of those were spending less than four dollars a day.”
Frost Prioleau May 11, 2019 ▶ 14:57
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