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Apr 4, 2019 · 16m · top-founders

1349 Blogger Mentions Tool, Now $100k in ARR and CEO Doubling Down

Francois Mommens · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top Entrepreneurs Podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Francois Mommens, founder of LinkCheetah, detailing how an abandoned side project evolved into a bootstrapped SaaS business generating over $100,000 in ARR. The discussion highlights organic acquisition, subscription economics, and actionable strategies to overcome high logo churn among agency clients.

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 41.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 2.8 Guest teaching 1.5 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:000:00–2:12 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Nathan Latka's Book Promotion and Listener Review This is a solo intro monologue by the host featuring book promotion, listener testimonials, and a high-level summary of the upcoming interview.2:12–6:02 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Introducing Francois Mommens and LinkCheetah Overview Latka introduces Francois and explores the founding story and initial pricing. The tone is casual and conversational with standard exploratory questions about vacation time in Europe and the product's origin.6:05–9:43 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Bootstrapped Revenue, Growth, and Team Structure Latka does quick annual run-rate calculations and tests Francois's commitment by proposing a hypothetical $120,000 buyout. Francois politely refuses the low valuation and explains his organic growth strategy.9:43–14:07 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Tackling High Logo Churn and Pricing Models Latka presses Francois heavily on his 10% monthly churn rate, rejecting the excuse that 'the industry is just like that'. Latka also suggests a $399 lifetime deal based on LTV calculations, which Francois counters by noting ongoing data provider API costs.14:07–16:18 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Francois shares recommendations and personal anecdotes in a collaborative, friendly closing exchange.16:18–16:55 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Recap and Conclusion Latka provides a solo recap of the episode metrics, summarizing ARR, churn, and team size before thanking the guest.0:00–2:12 · Guest teaching 0/10 Nathan Latka's Book Promotion and Listener Review This is a solo intro monologue by the host featuring book promotion, listener testimonials, and a high-level summary of the upcoming interview.2:12–6:02 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Francois Mommens and LinkCheetah Overview Latka introduces Francois and explores the founding story and initial pricing. The tone is casual and conversational with standard exploratory questions about vacation time in Europe and the product's origin.6:05–9:43 · Guest teaching 1/10 Bootstrapped Revenue, Growth, and Team Structure Latka does quick annual run-rate calculations and tests Francois's commitment by proposing a hypothetical $120,000 buyout. Francois politely refuses the low valuation and explains his organic growth strategy.9:43–14:07 · Guest teaching 5/10 Tackling High Logo Churn and Pricing Models Latka presses Francois heavily on his 10% monthly churn rate, rejecting the excuse that 'the industry is just like that'. Latka also suggests a $399 lifetime deal based on LTV calculations, which Francois counters by noting ongoing data provider API costs.14:07–16:18 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Francois shares recommendations and personal anecdotes in a collaborative, friendly closing exchange.16:18–16:55 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Recap and Conclusion Latka provides a solo recap of the episode metrics, summarizing ARR, churn, and team size before thanking the guest.0:00–2:12 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Nathan Latka's Book Promotion and Listener Review This is a solo intro monologue by the host featuring book promotion, listener testimonials, and a high-level summary of the upcoming interview.2:12–6:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Francois Mommens and LinkCheetah Overview Latka introduces Francois and explores the founding story and initial pricing. The tone is casual and conversational with standard exploratory questions about vacation time in Europe and the product's origin.6:05–9:43 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Bootstrapped Revenue, Growth, and Team Structure Latka does quick annual run-rate calculations and tests Francois's commitment by proposing a hypothetical $120,000 buyout. Francois politely refuses the low valuation and explains his organic growth strategy.9:43–14:07 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Tackling High Logo Churn and Pricing Models Latka presses Francois heavily on his 10% monthly churn rate, rejecting the excuse that 'the industry is just like that'. Latka also suggests a $399 lifetime deal based on LTV calculations, which Francois counters by noting ongoing data provider API costs.14:07–16:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Francois shares recommendations and personal anecdotes in a collaborative, friendly closing exchange.16:18–16:55 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Recap and Conclusion Latka provides a solo recap of the episode metrics, summarizing ARR, churn, and team size before thanking the guest.0:00–2:12 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Nathan Latka's Book Promotion and Listener Review This is a solo intro monologue by the host featuring book promotion, listener testimonials, and a high-level summary of the upcoming interview.2:12–6:02 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Introducing Francois Mommens and LinkCheetah Overview Latka introduces Francois and explores the founding story and initial pricing. The tone is casual and conversational with standard exploratory questions about vacation time in Europe and the product's origin.6:05–9:43 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Bootstrapped Revenue, Growth, and Team Structure Latka does quick annual run-rate calculations and tests Francois's commitment by proposing a hypothetical $120,000 buyout. Francois politely refuses the low valuation and explains his organic growth strategy.9:43–14:07 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Tackling High Logo Churn and Pricing Models Latka presses Francois heavily on his 10% monthly churn rate, rejecting the excuse that 'the industry is just like that'. Latka also suggests a $399 lifetime deal based on LTV calculations, which Francois counters by noting ongoing data provider API costs.14:07–16:18 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Francois shares recommendations and personal anecdotes in a collaborative, friendly closing exchange.16:18–16:55 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Recap and Conclusion Latka provides a solo recap of the episode metrics, summarizing ARR, churn, and team size before thanking the guest.

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

0:00 · Nathan 85.6% · guest 14.4%0:00 · Nathan 85.6% · guest 14.4%3:00 · Nathan 15.6% · guest 84.4%3:00 · Nathan 15.6% · guest 84.4%6:00 · Nathan 35.3% · guest 64.7%6:00 · Nathan 35.3% · guest 64.7%9:00 · Nathan 32% · guest 68%9:00 · Nathan 32% · guest 68%12:00 · Nathan 35.9% · guest 64.1%12:00 · Nathan 35.9% · guest 64.1%15:00 · Nathan 46.2% · guest 53.8%15:00 · Nathan 46.2% · guest 53.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:04 Francois rejects lifetime pricing model

Francois directly rejects Latka's lifetime pricing proposal, explaining the underlying data provider costs that would make lifetime access unprofitable.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:22 Latka challenges industry churn excuse

Latka confronts Francois for using industry standards as an excuse for high churn rather than actively building stickier features.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:04 Francois explains marginal data costs to Latka

Francois educates Latka on why a one-off lifetime SaaS payment cannot work when there are recurring marginal third-party data API expenses.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:20 Latka derives lifetime value from churn metrics

Latka calculates LTV on the fly using inverse churn (10 months times $32 ARPU) to propose an alternative monetization structure.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Nathan Latka's Book Promotion and Listener Review 0000 This is a solo intro monologue by the host featuring book promotion, listener testimonials, and a high-level summary of the upcoming interview.
Introducing Francois Mommens and LinkCheetah Overview 3211 Latka introduces Francois and explores the founding story and initial pricing. The tone is casual and conversational with standard exploratory questions about vacation time in Europe and the product's origin.
Bootstrapped Revenue, Growth, and Team Structure 5123 Latka does quick annual run-rate calculations and tests Francois's commitment by proposing a hypothetical $120,000 buyout. Francois politely refuses the low valuation and explains his organic growth strategy.
Tackling High Logo Churn and Pricing Models 7547 Latka presses Francois heavily on his 10% monthly churn rate, rejecting the excuse that 'the industry is just like that'. Latka also suggests a $399 lifetime deal based on LTV calculations, which Francois counters by noting ongoing data provider API costs.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 2111 Latka runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions. Francois shares recommendations and personal anecdotes in a collaborative, friendly closing exchange.
Episode Recap and Conclusion 0000 Latka provides a solo recap of the episode metrics, summarizing ARR, churn, and team size before thanking the guest.

Statements from this episode (13)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mommens: LinkCheetah plans range $15–$150, averaging $30–$32 monthly
“Our plans start at 15 dollars, and all the way to 150, and the average is 30, 32.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 3:28
Disclosure
Mommens built LinkCheetah after finding no existing backlink verification tool
“I realized I needed a tool to check the backlinks, that I weren't removing the backlinks after a while, and so I looked for that, and I didn't find any tool, so I decided to create my own tool, and I decided to make it web-based, and just put it out there for …”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 4:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mommens: LinkCheetah surpasses $100k in annual recurring revenue
“No, we're about above 100,000 annual recurring revenue.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 6:17
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mommens: LinkCheetah grew revenue 60% year-over-year for three years
“Increasing my revenue for 60% year over year for the past three years.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 7:23
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Mommens: LinkCheetah revenue projected to maintain 60% annual growth
“And the projections is yes, look, shows that it's going to be the same.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 7:28
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mommens: LinkCheetah gets 100% of new customers from organic traffic
“It's 100% from organic traffic.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 7:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mommens: LinkCheetah's blog reaches 10,000 monthly visitors
“We have a blog, yes, and we reaching 10,000 visitors a month”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 8:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mommens: Paid AdWords and ad platforms failed for LinkCheetah
“And I tried to spend some money on AdWords and other advertisement platform, but it didn't work, and so what works the best for us is is organic traffic and work on our own SEO.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 8:22
Disclosure
Mommens will not sell LinkCheetah for $120,000 to focus on growth
“So no, I don't want to sell it.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 9:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mommens: LinkCheetah has a monthly churn rate around 10%
“So the churn is really our pain point here. It's around 10%.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 9:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Half of canceling LinkCheetah users tell exit surveys they plan to return
“So each time somebody can sell, I ask the reason. And so that, that person can choose it on the drop list between several choices and 50% say that they stopped the plan. For now, but they're going to come back later.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 9:58
Disclosure
Mommens: LinkCheetah is targeting digital agencies due to lower churn
“So the people who cancel the digital agencies that are customers have a tendency to less cancel subscriptions. So I want to direct the tools to more towards these people. That's what to decrease my churn on the long term. And that's the focus I'm going to put …”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 11:46
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mommens developed the first version of LinkCheetah in just three weeks
“The first version of LeanCody that I've developed in, in three weeks only at the time, back in the time.”
Francois Mommens Apr 4, 2019 ▶ 14:14
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