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May 3, 2019 · 24m · top-founders

1378 250 Content Producers Pay Him $6k/yr For Storytelling Drag and Drop Platform

Ricky Robinson · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 9m 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, Nathan Latka interviews Shorthand CEO Ricky Robinson to discuss how the visual storytelling platform scaled to $1.5 million in ARR with zero paid marketing spend, 250 enterprise clients, and a unique 100 percent investor-owned cap table targeted for restructuring.

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 45.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.3
05100:0010:0020:000:01–2:31 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Book Promotion for 'How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital' Monologue opening featuring an ad read for Nathan's book followed by an introductory summary of the guest and company metrics.2:32–7:37 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introduction to Shorthand, Visual Storytelling, and Tech Architecture Nathan inquires about technical performance and load speeds, prompting Ricky to explain how Shorthand utilizes static flat files rather than dynamic database serving.7:37–12:15 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Capital Raised, Customer Growth, and Churn Analysis Nathan rapidly models the company's financial metrics and unit economics, gently challenging Ricky's negative perspective on their 2% monthly gross revenue churn.12:15–15:53 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Remote Team Structure, Organic Distribution, and Sales Strategy Nathan probes the unit economics and viability of an inside sales team given Shorthand's price point, while Ricky explains their tiered pricing strategy.15:53–21:55 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Cap Table Restructuring, Valuation Realities, and Executive Equity Nathan aggressively interrogates the unusual 100% investor ownership, presses Ricky on working without equity, and dissects the mathematical reality of a rumored $20M buyout versus investment.21:56–23:08 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A straightforward Famous Five segment where Ricky gives concise answers and Nathan offers commentary on sleep habits in startups.0:01–2:31 · Guest teaching 0/10 Book Promotion for 'How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital' Monologue opening featuring an ad read for Nathan's book followed by an introductory summary of the guest and company metrics.2:32–7:37 · Guest teaching 4/10 Introduction to Shorthand, Visual Storytelling, and Tech Architecture Nathan inquires about technical performance and load speeds, prompting Ricky to explain how Shorthand utilizes static flat files rather than dynamic database serving.7:37–12:15 · Guest teaching 3/10 Capital Raised, Customer Growth, and Churn Analysis Nathan rapidly models the company's financial metrics and unit economics, gently challenging Ricky's negative perspective on their 2% monthly gross revenue churn.12:15–15:53 · Guest teaching 3/10 Remote Team Structure, Organic Distribution, and Sales Strategy Nathan probes the unit economics and viability of an inside sales team given Shorthand's price point, while Ricky explains their tiered pricing strategy.15:53–21:55 · Guest teaching 2/10 Cap Table Restructuring, Valuation Realities, and Executive Equity Nathan aggressively interrogates the unusual 100% investor ownership, presses Ricky on working without equity, and dissects the mathematical reality of a rumored $20M buyout versus investment.21:56–23:08 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A straightforward Famous Five segment where Ricky gives concise answers and Nathan offers commentary on sleep habits in startups.0:01–2:31 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Book Promotion for 'How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital' Monologue opening featuring an ad read for Nathan's book followed by an introductory summary of the guest and company metrics.2:32–7:37 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introduction to Shorthand, Visual Storytelling, and Tech Architecture Nathan inquires about technical performance and load speeds, prompting Ricky to explain how Shorthand utilizes static flat files rather than dynamic database serving.7:37–12:15 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Capital Raised, Customer Growth, and Churn Analysis Nathan rapidly models the company's financial metrics and unit economics, gently challenging Ricky's negative perspective on their 2% monthly gross revenue churn.12:15–15:53 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Remote Team Structure, Organic Distribution, and Sales Strategy Nathan probes the unit economics and viability of an inside sales team given Shorthand's price point, while Ricky explains their tiered pricing strategy.15:53–21:55 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Cap Table Restructuring, Valuation Realities, and Executive Equity Nathan aggressively interrogates the unusual 100% investor ownership, presses Ricky on working without equity, and dissects the mathematical reality of a rumored $20M buyout versus investment.21:56–23:08 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A straightforward Famous Five segment where Ricky gives concise answers and Nathan offers commentary on sleep habits in startups.0:01–2:31 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Book Promotion for 'How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital' Monologue opening featuring an ad read for Nathan's book followed by an introductory summary of the guest and company metrics.2:32–7:37 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Introduction to Shorthand, Visual Storytelling, and Tech Architecture Nathan inquires about technical performance and load speeds, prompting Ricky to explain how Shorthand utilizes static flat files rather than dynamic database serving.7:37–12:15 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Capital Raised, Customer Growth, and Churn Analysis Nathan rapidly models the company's financial metrics and unit economics, gently challenging Ricky's negative perspective on their 2% monthly gross revenue churn.12:15–15:53 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Remote Team Structure, Organic Distribution, and Sales Strategy Nathan probes the unit economics and viability of an inside sales team given Shorthand's price point, while Ricky explains their tiered pricing strategy.15:53–21:55 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Cap Table Restructuring, Valuation Realities, and Executive Equity Nathan aggressively interrogates the unusual 100% investor ownership, presses Ricky on working without equity, and dissects the mathematical reality of a rumored $20M buyout versus investment.21:56–23:08 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions A straightforward Famous Five segment where Ricky gives concise answers and Nathan offers commentary on sleep habits in startups.

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

0:00 · Nathan 98.7% · guest 1.3%0:00 · Nathan 98.7% · guest 1.3%3:00 · Nathan 25.3% · guest 74.7%3:00 · Nathan 25.3% · guest 74.7%6:00 · Nathan 29.8% · guest 70.2%6:00 · Nathan 29.8% · guest 70.2%9:00 · Nathan 27.2% · guest 72.8%9:00 · Nathan 27.2% · guest 72.8%12:00 · Nathan 25.1% · guest 74.9%12:00 · Nathan 25.1% · guest 74.9%15:00 · Nathan 32.3% · guest 67.7%15:00 · Nathan 32.3% · guest 67.7%18:00 · Nathan 48.9% · guest 51.1%18:00 · Nathan 48.9% · guest 51.1%21:00 · Nathan 75.6% · guest 24.4%21:00 · Nathan 75.6% · guest 24.4%24:00 · Nathan 75.6% · guest 24.4%24:00 · Nathan 75.6% · guest 24.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 20:36 Ricky rejects cap table dilution framing

Ricky directly counters Nathan's interpretation of how the equity math breaks down, insisting the prospective deal involves a complete restructure.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 21:05 Nathan drills into Graham's cap table dilution

Nathan refuses to let Ricky gloss over the math, pressing that someone must purchase the remaining 40% equity from the sole owner.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:44 Static flat files vs dynamic databases

Ricky explains the modern architectural choice of static HTML flat files over dynamic database queries to answer Nathan's concerns about page load speeds.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 19:20 Calling out the 200x valuation multiple

Nathan instantly calculates the math on a $20M check for 10% equity, demonstrating to Ricky that it implies an unrealistic $200M valuation on $1.5M ARR.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Book Promotion for 'How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital' 0000 Monologue opening featuring an ad read for Nathan's book followed by an introductory summary of the guest and company metrics.
Introduction to Shorthand, Visual Storytelling, and Tech Architecture 5413 Nathan inquires about technical performance and load speeds, prompting Ricky to explain how Shorthand utilizes static flat files rather than dynamic database serving.
Capital Raised, Customer Growth, and Churn Analysis 6324 Nathan rapidly models the company's financial metrics and unit economics, gently challenging Ricky's negative perspective on their 2% monthly gross revenue churn.
Remote Team Structure, Organic Distribution, and Sales Strategy 5313 Nathan probes the unit economics and viability of an inside sales team given Shorthand's price point, while Ricky explains their tiered pricing strategy.
Cap Table Restructuring, Valuation Realities, and Executive Equity 8248 Nathan aggressively interrogates the unusual 100% investor ownership, presses Ricky on working without equity, and dissects the mathematical reality of a rumored $20M buyout versus investment.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3112 A straightforward Famous Five segment where Ricky gives concise answers and Nathan offers commentary on sleep habits in startups.

Statements from this episode (15)

Disclosure
Shorthand Only Sells Annual Subscriptions and Refuses Monthly Plans
“These days we do annual subscriptions. It's just annual subscriptions. We don't do monthlies.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 3:12
Disclosure
Business Insider Uses Shorthand for Sponsored Content With Volvo and Cartier
“Business Insider they use it for commercial content. So they do sponsored content for, you know, likes of Volvo, Cartier those sorts of brands.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 4:52
Disclosure
Shorthand Averages $6,000 Annual Contract Value per Customer
“So it's 6000 U S”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 5:36
Disclosure
Shorthand Raised $3M AUD in Initial Funding From Graham Wood
“So three million Australian.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 7:59
Disclosure
Shorthand Raised an Additional $500k AUD to Open a New York Office
“We, sorry. We did we raised another 500 basically to open up a shop in New York.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 8:07
Disclosure
Shorthand Has Just Under 250 Active Customers
“So we're just shy of 250 customers at the moment.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 8:45
Disclosure
Shorthand Generated Approximately $60k MRR One Year Prior to the Interview
“Yeah, about a year ago we were doing where are we? We're doing about S the 60, 60 MRR.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 9:06
Disclosure
Shorthand Sees Roughly 2% Monthly Gross Revenue Churn
“Like our churn is like two, two percent.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 10:01
Disclosure
Shorthand Spends $0.50 in Customer Acquisition Cost per New $1 ARR
“Yeah, so our CAC so it costs us 50 cents on the new AR, ARR dollar.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 11:35
Prediction Not checkable as stated
US Market Projected to Overtake UK and Europe for Shorthand
“The US is kind of just coming up and maybe going to overtake that over the next 12 months.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 12:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Shorthand Grew to Nearly 250 Enterprise Customers With Zero Marketing Spend
“So we've spent nothing on marketing, literally nothing.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 13:10
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Footer Logo Clicks Drive 30% to 40% of Shorthand's Inbound Leads
“So I'd say 30, 40% of people reach us that way. And the rest is pretty much all just search.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 13:31
Assertion Supported
BBC and Honda Are Top-Tier Enterprise Customers for Shorthand
“And then at the top end, we've got, you know, the likes of the BBC Honda, et cetera.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 15:44
Assertion Supported
Sole Investor Graham Wood Currently Owns 100% of Shorthand
“No, he owns, so, so at the moment, he owns actually the whole company.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 16:39
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Shorthand Reaches Cashflow Profitability After Digging Out of Early Hole
“I mean, you know, the story so far is, you know, we, we've kind of dug ourselves out of a hole and now we're cashflow positive.”
Ricky Robinson May 3, 2019 ▶ 18:41
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