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Mar 29, 2019 · 18m · top-founders

1343 Data Cleaning and Analytics Tool Passes $7m ARR, Raising $20m on $80m Pre

Chris Matty · 10m 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 podcast interview, Versium founder and CEO Chris Matty explains how his company scaled an automated predictive analytics and data cleansing platform to a $7 million ARR run rate through extreme capital efficiency and an agency-driven channel distribution model. He also discusses Versium's proprietary software automation moat, expansion into B2B digital ad tech, and roadmap to raise growth funding for a full Customer Data Platform transition.

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 36.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.6 Guest teaching 3.2 Guest disagreement 2.2 Nathan pushing back 4.4
05100:0010:000:00–2:22 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Versium and the Automated Predictive Analytics Workflow Latka probes early on customer churn challenges typical in predictive analytics workflows. Matty systematically walks through Versium's three-step process of cleaning, enriching, and modeling customer data to establish sticky value.2:22–6:17 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Structure, Lean Operations, and Agency Channel Distribution Latka immediately checks Matty's pricing math against total customer counts, pointing out that 500 customers at $10k per month would be $5M per month rather than a $7M run rate. Matty concedes the discrepancy and clarifies the real revenue baseline.6:17–8:45 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Channel Economics, Competitive Pressures, and Partner Revenue Sharing Latka pushes Matty to clarify whether growth is coming from account expansion or channel sales, and examines the aggressive 30-50% partner revenue share economics. Matty explains how agency kickbacks and professional service billables drive adoption.8:45–14:23 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Customer Retention Dynamics and Expansion into B2B Ad Tech Latka challenges Matty on churn definitions and calls out the industry's incestuous data-sharing ecosystem, asking what Versium's true proprietary edge is. Matty pushes back strongly, arguing that data is a commodity and Versium's advantage lies entirely in its rapid automated modeling technology.14:23–17:10 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Strategic Direction, CDP Platform Evolution, and Series Funding Plans The conversation concludes with fundraising targets, valuation expectations, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka summarizes Versium's financial profile and operating metrics.0:00–2:22 · Guest teaching 4/10 Introducing Versium and the Automated Predictive Analytics Workflow Latka probes early on customer churn challenges typical in predictive analytics workflows. Matty systematically walks through Versium's three-step process of cleaning, enriching, and modeling customer data to establish sticky value.2:22–6:17 · Guest teaching 3/10 Pricing Structure, Lean Operations, and Agency Channel Distribution Latka immediately checks Matty's pricing math against total customer counts, pointing out that 500 customers at $10k per month would be $5M per month rather than a $7M run rate. Matty concedes the discrepancy and clarifies the real revenue baseline.6:17–8:45 · Guest teaching 2/10 Channel Economics, Competitive Pressures, and Partner Revenue Sharing Latka pushes Matty to clarify whether growth is coming from account expansion or channel sales, and examines the aggressive 30-50% partner revenue share economics. Matty explains how agency kickbacks and professional service billables drive adoption.8:45–14:23 · Guest teaching 5/10 Customer Retention Dynamics and Expansion into B2B Ad Tech Latka challenges Matty on churn definitions and calls out the industry's incestuous data-sharing ecosystem, asking what Versium's true proprietary edge is. Matty pushes back strongly, arguing that data is a commodity and Versium's advantage lies entirely in its rapid automated modeling technology.14:23–17:10 · Guest teaching 2/10 Strategic Direction, CDP Platform Evolution, and Series Funding Plans The conversation concludes with fundraising targets, valuation expectations, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka summarizes Versium's financial profile and operating metrics.0:00–2:22 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Versium and the Automated Predictive Analytics Workflow Latka probes early on customer churn challenges typical in predictive analytics workflows. Matty systematically walks through Versium's three-step process of cleaning, enriching, and modeling customer data to establish sticky value.2:22–6:17 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pricing Structure, Lean Operations, and Agency Channel Distribution Latka immediately checks Matty's pricing math against total customer counts, pointing out that 500 customers at $10k per month would be $5M per month rather than a $7M run rate. Matty concedes the discrepancy and clarifies the real revenue baseline.6:17–8:45 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Channel Economics, Competitive Pressures, and Partner Revenue Sharing Latka pushes Matty to clarify whether growth is coming from account expansion or channel sales, and examines the aggressive 30-50% partner revenue share economics. Matty explains how agency kickbacks and professional service billables drive adoption.8:45–14:23 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Customer Retention Dynamics and Expansion into B2B Ad Tech Latka challenges Matty on churn definitions and calls out the industry's incestuous data-sharing ecosystem, asking what Versium's true proprietary edge is. Matty pushes back strongly, arguing that data is a commodity and Versium's advantage lies entirely in its rapid automated modeling technology.14:23–17:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Strategic Direction, CDP Platform Evolution, and Series Funding Plans The conversation concludes with fundraising targets, valuation expectations, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka summarizes Versium's financial profile and operating metrics.0:00–2:22 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Introducing Versium and the Automated Predictive Analytics Workflow Latka probes early on customer churn challenges typical in predictive analytics workflows. Matty systematically walks through Versium's three-step process of cleaning, enriching, and modeling customer data to establish sticky value.2:22–6:17 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Pricing Structure, Lean Operations, and Agency Channel Distribution Latka immediately checks Matty's pricing math against total customer counts, pointing out that 500 customers at $10k per month would be $5M per month rather than a $7M run rate. Matty concedes the discrepancy and clarifies the real revenue baseline.6:17–8:45 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Channel Economics, Competitive Pressures, and Partner Revenue Sharing Latka pushes Matty to clarify whether growth is coming from account expansion or channel sales, and examines the aggressive 30-50% partner revenue share economics. Matty explains how agency kickbacks and professional service billables drive adoption.8:45–14:23 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Customer Retention Dynamics and Expansion into B2B Ad Tech Latka challenges Matty on churn definitions and calls out the industry's incestuous data-sharing ecosystem, asking what Versium's true proprietary edge is. Matty pushes back strongly, arguing that data is a commodity and Versium's advantage lies entirely in its rapid automated modeling technology.14:23–17:10 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Strategic Direction, CDP Platform Evolution, and Series Funding Plans The conversation concludes with fundraising targets, valuation expectations, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka summarizes Versium's financial profile and operating metrics.

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

0:00 · Nathan 31.9% · guest 68.1%0:00 · Nathan 31.9% · guest 68.1%3:00 · Nathan 44.4% · guest 55.6%3:00 · Nathan 44.4% · guest 55.6%6:00 · Nathan 30.5% · guest 69.5%6:00 · Nathan 30.5% · guest 69.5%9:00 · Nathan 36.3% · guest 63.7%9:00 · Nathan 36.3% · guest 63.7%12:00 · Nathan 26.2% · guest 73.8%12:00 · Nathan 26.2% · guest 73.8%15:00 · Nathan 49.3% · guest 50.7%15:00 · Nathan 49.3% · guest 50.7%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:54 Matty firmly reframes data as a commodity

Matty rejects Latka's premise about needing a unique data source, asserting that data is inevitably a commodity and that technology execution is what drives real enterprise value.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:33 Latka calls out the data industry's incestuous nature

Latka interrupts Matty to challenge the circular data sharing between vendors, demanding to know what unique source of truth Versium actually provides.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:54 Matty explains speed advantages in automated ETL modeling

Matty educates Latka on enterprise AI deployment, contrasting multi-week competitor modeling times with Versium's automated multi-hour data cleaning and enrichment pipeline.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:07 Latka schools Matty on net revenue retention mechanics

When Matty admits he does not know if his churn figure is gross or net, Latka explains the exact mechanics of net revenue retention and expansion revenue models.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Versium and the Automated Predictive Analytics Workflow 5413 Latka probes early on customer churn challenges typical in predictive analytics workflows. Matty systematically walks through Versium's three-step process of cleaning, enriching, and modeling customer data to establish sticky value.
Pricing Structure, Lean Operations, and Agency Channel Distribution 6325 Latka immediately checks Matty's pricing math against total customer counts, pointing out that 500 customers at $10k per month would be $5M per month rather than a $7M run rate. Matty concedes the discrepancy and clarifies the real revenue baseline.
Channel Economics, Competitive Pressures, and Partner Revenue Sharing 6225 Latka pushes Matty to clarify whether growth is coming from account expansion or channel sales, and examines the aggressive 30-50% partner revenue share economics. Matty explains how agency kickbacks and professional service billables drive adoption.
Customer Retention Dynamics and Expansion into B2B Ad Tech 7557 Latka challenges Matty on churn definitions and calls out the industry's incestuous data-sharing ecosystem, asking what Versium's true proprietary edge is. Matty pushes back strongly, arguing that data is a commodity and Versium's advantage lies entirely in its rapid automated modeling technology.
Strategic Direction, CDP Platform Evolution, and Series Funding Plans 4212 The conversation concludes with fundraising targets, valuation expectations, and standard Famous Five questions. Latka summarizes Versium's financial profile and operating metrics.

Statements from this episode (13)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Matty: 40% to 50% of CRM data is unusable
“For example, 40 to 50% of data in a CRM is not usable.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 1:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Matty: Versium owns over 1.5 trillion data attributes
“So we own over 1.5 trillion data attributes, and we're able to overlay that onto the existing data that organization has.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 1:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Versium pricing spans $1k to $30k monthly across three tiers
“We've got a self-service tool with the average price point is a thousand. Then we go to sort of mid to per month per month. Mid-tier markets. What's where it's five to seven. And then the big enterprise grade, which is, you know, 20 to 30 grant based upon volu…”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 2:39
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Matty: Versium drives substantial growth via agency channel partners
“We do have a small direct sales team, but we're seeing substantial growth using channel strategies and partners to get to market.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 4:10
Disclosure
Versium raised $4.2M and achieved seven consecutive profitable quarters
“We've raised two seed rounds. So a very capital efficient 4.2 million dollars over two years. The last round was two years ago and we just launched our seventh consecutive quarter of being profitable.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 4:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Versium has 300 API users and 50 enterprise clients
“We got 300 companies using our APIs directly. We've got About 250 to 300 on a monthly basis that are the small mid-tier folks. And then we got about 50 enterprise clients that are paying us the bigger money.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 5:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Versium reaches $7M run rate and targets $8M-$9M this year
“We're at a seven million run rate right now. Targeting about 9,000,008 to nine million this year.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 5:51
Assertion Supported
Matty: Accenture Is Now the Fastest-Growing Digital Agency
“Accenture is the fastest growing digital agency now.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 6:30
Opinion
Matty: B2B digital ad tech is nascent due to consumer-focused targeting
“The B to B ad tech arena in terms of digital has been pretty nascent because most of the targeting in the digital ad tech is tied to consumer entity data.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 10:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Matty: Versium overlays consumer data onto business data to 4x reach
“We have the unique ability to overlay consumer entity data on the business data that allows us to target an increased reach by four X.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 10:15
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Matty: Versium owns its data and doesn't license from Acxiom or D&B
“So what's interesting, we own all of our data, right? So we're not licensing data from the axioms and DMVs. In fact, we supply data to companies like that.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 12:15
Insight
Matty: Pure data businesses receive commodity multiples unlike tech companies
“So data is a commodity. If you're just a day in a business, you're going to be treated as a commodity. If you're a technology company, you're going to get the multiples.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 14:16
Disclosure
Matty: Versium Aiming to Raise $15M to $25M
“Somewhere between 15 to 25, depending on the structure of the deal.”
Chris Matty Mar 29, 2019 ▶ 15:23
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