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Mar 13, 2019 · 22m · top-founders

1327 Prague Based Translation Tool Passes $5m in ARR, Bootstrapped

David Chaniak · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m 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, host Nathan Latka interviews Memsource founder and CEO David Chaniak to explore how the Prague-based cloud translation platform bootstrapped to over $5 million in ARR with strong unit economics, low churn, and efficient trade show marketing.

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 5.6 Guest teaching 2.6 Guest disagreement 3.0 Nathan pushing back 5.4
05100:0010:0020:003:46–7:30 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Revenue Metrics, Bootstrapping, and Growth Targets Nathan does mental math by multiplying 500 customers by $5,000 to challenge David's revenue figures when David hesitates to state current monthly numbers. David evasively redirects toward annual targets, prompting Nathan to repeatedly reframe the question around growth rates.7:31–12:03 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Company Origins, Team Expansion, and Churn Rate Discussion Nathan tries to drill David on net versus gross churn, but David deflects by saying he needs to check with his churn manager. David also corrects Nathan's major misunderstanding about team headcount, clarifying they have 80 employees rather than eight.12:03–14:29 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Discussion on Show Format and Financial Transparency David flatly refuses to share fully weighted CAC, stating he will not discuss financial details. Nathan aggressively pushes back by asking if David has ever listened to the show, asserting that the interview is not a product marketing pitch.14:30–17:26 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Marketing via Global Trade Shows and Annual Prepayment Dynamics David opens up about spending $6k-$10k across 50 annual trade shows to acquire 3-5 enterprise clients each. Nathan quickly synthesizes this into CAC and annual upfront cash flow dynamics, demanding David verify rather than just agree blindly.17:26–19:41 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 SaaS Retention Benchmarks and Perspectives on Outside Capital Nathan tests David on LTV and hypothetical fundraising terms at a 10x ARR multiple. David remains cautious and mildly detached before transitioning into the Famous Five closing questions.3:46–7:30 · Guest teaching 1/10 Revenue Metrics, Bootstrapping, and Growth Targets Nathan does mental math by multiplying 500 customers by $5,000 to challenge David's revenue figures when David hesitates to state current monthly numbers. David evasively redirects toward annual targets, prompting Nathan to repeatedly reframe the question around growth rates.7:31–12:03 · Guest teaching 5/10 Company Origins, Team Expansion, and Churn Rate Discussion Nathan tries to drill David on net versus gross churn, but David deflects by saying he needs to check with his churn manager. David also corrects Nathan's major misunderstanding about team headcount, clarifying they have 80 employees rather than eight.12:03–14:29 · Guest teaching 3/10 Discussion on Show Format and Financial Transparency David flatly refuses to share fully weighted CAC, stating he will not discuss financial details. Nathan aggressively pushes back by asking if David has ever listened to the show, asserting that the interview is not a product marketing pitch.14:30–17:26 · Guest teaching 2/10 Marketing via Global Trade Shows and Annual Prepayment Dynamics David opens up about spending $6k-$10k across 50 annual trade shows to acquire 3-5 enterprise clients each. Nathan quickly synthesizes this into CAC and annual upfront cash flow dynamics, demanding David verify rather than just agree blindly.17:26–19:41 · Guest teaching 2/10 SaaS Retention Benchmarks and Perspectives on Outside Capital Nathan tests David on LTV and hypothetical fundraising terms at a 10x ARR multiple. David remains cautious and mildly detached before transitioning into the Famous Five closing questions.3:46–7:30 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Revenue Metrics, Bootstrapping, and Growth Targets Nathan does mental math by multiplying 500 customers by $5,000 to challenge David's revenue figures when David hesitates to state current monthly numbers. David evasively redirects toward annual targets, prompting Nathan to repeatedly reframe the question around growth rates.7:31–12:03 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Company Origins, Team Expansion, and Churn Rate Discussion Nathan tries to drill David on net versus gross churn, but David deflects by saying he needs to check with his churn manager. David also corrects Nathan's major misunderstanding about team headcount, clarifying they have 80 employees rather than eight.12:03–14:29 · Guest disagreement 7/10 Discussion on Show Format and Financial Transparency David flatly refuses to share fully weighted CAC, stating he will not discuss financial details. Nathan aggressively pushes back by asking if David has ever listened to the show, asserting that the interview is not a product marketing pitch.14:30–17:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Marketing via Global Trade Shows and Annual Prepayment Dynamics David opens up about spending $6k-$10k across 50 annual trade shows to acquire 3-5 enterprise clients each. Nathan quickly synthesizes this into CAC and annual upfront cash flow dynamics, demanding David verify rather than just agree blindly.17:26–19:41 · Guest disagreement 2/10 SaaS Retention Benchmarks and Perspectives on Outside Capital Nathan tests David on LTV and hypothetical fundraising terms at a 10x ARR multiple. David remains cautious and mildly detached before transitioning into the Famous Five closing questions.3:46–7:30 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Revenue Metrics, Bootstrapping, and Growth Targets Nathan does mental math by multiplying 500 customers by $5,000 to challenge David's revenue figures when David hesitates to state current monthly numbers. David evasively redirects toward annual targets, prompting Nathan to repeatedly reframe the question around growth rates.7:31–12:03 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Company Origins, Team Expansion, and Churn Rate Discussion Nathan tries to drill David on net versus gross churn, but David deflects by saying he needs to check with his churn manager. David also corrects Nathan's major misunderstanding about team headcount, clarifying they have 80 employees rather than eight.12:03–14:29 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Discussion on Show Format and Financial Transparency David flatly refuses to share fully weighted CAC, stating he will not discuss financial details. Nathan aggressively pushes back by asking if David has ever listened to the show, asserting that the interview is not a product marketing pitch.14:30–17:26 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Marketing via Global Trade Shows and Annual Prepayment Dynamics David opens up about spending $6k-$10k across 50 annual trade shows to acquire 3-5 enterprise clients each. Nathan quickly synthesizes this into CAC and annual upfront cash flow dynamics, demanding David verify rather than just agree blindly.17:26–19:41 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 SaaS Retention Benchmarks and Perspectives on Outside Capital Nathan tests David on LTV and hypothetical fundraising terms at a 10x ARR multiple. David remains cautious and mildly detached before transitioning into the Famous Five closing questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 58.8% · guest 41.2%0:00 · Nathan 58.8% · guest 41.2%3:00 · Nathan 43% · guest 57%3:00 · Nathan 43% · guest 57%6:00 · Nathan 37.6% · guest 62.4%6:00 · Nathan 37.6% · guest 62.4%9:00 · Nathan 32.3% · guest 67.7%9:00 · Nathan 32.3% · guest 67.7%12:00 · Nathan 51.5% · guest 48.5%12:00 · Nathan 51.5% · guest 48.5%15:00 · Nathan 43.1% · guest 56.9%15:00 · Nathan 43.1% · guest 56.9%18:00 · Nathan 45.8% · guest 54.2%18:00 · Nathan 45.8% · guest 54.2%21:00 · Nathan 57.3% · guest 42.7%21:00 · Nathan 57.3% · guest 42.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:09 Refusal to disclose financial data

David directly refuses to share customer acquisition costs and pushes back on the host's financial focus, arguing he is only willing to discuss the product.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:33 Nathan rejects product pitch pivot

Nathan bluntly asks David if he has listened to the show before and insists the interview will not be used as an open marketing segment for the product.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:25 Headcount correction to 80 employees

David corrects Nathan's mistaken belief that Memsource has only eight employees, forcing Nathan to retract his calculation of revenue per employee.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 16:26 Immediate unit economics calculation

Nathan deduces CAC payback periods and upfront cash flows on the fly from David's trade show spend and client acquisition numbers.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Revenue Metrics, Bootstrapping, and Growth Targets 6126 Nathan does mental math by multiplying 500 customers by $5,000 to challenge David's revenue figures when David hesitates to state current monthly numbers. David evasively redirects toward annual targets, prompting Nathan to repeatedly reframe the question around growth rates.
Company Origins, Team Expansion, and Churn Rate Discussion 6535 Nathan tries to drill David on net versus gross churn, but David deflects by saying he needs to check with his churn manager. David also corrects Nathan's major misunderstanding about team headcount, clarifying they have 80 employees rather than eight.
Discussion on Show Format and Financial Transparency 5378 David flatly refuses to share fully weighted CAC, stating he will not discuss financial details. Nathan aggressively pushes back by asking if David has ever listened to the show, asserting that the interview is not a product marketing pitch.
Marketing via Global Trade Shows and Annual Prepayment Dynamics 6214 David opens up about spending $6k-$10k across 50 annual trade shows to acquire 3-5 enterprise clients each. Nathan quickly synthesizes this into CAC and annual upfront cash flow dynamics, demanding David verify rather than just agree blindly.
SaaS Retention Benchmarks and Perspectives on Outside Capital 5224 Nathan tests David on LTV and hypothetical fundraising terms at a 10x ARR multiple. David remains cautious and mildly detached before transitioning into the Famous Five closing questions.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Memsource Has About 500 Paying Enterprise Customers
“So we have about 500 paying enterprise customers.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 3:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Memsource Reaches Approximately 200,000 Total Users
“And we have about 200 K users.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 3:13
Assertion Open · timeframe Mar 2019
Memsource Grew Revenue 100% Year-Over-Year in 2018
“So we grew a hundred percent year on year last year.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 5:41
Assertion Supported
Memsource Generated Approximately $5 Million in Revenue in 2018
“So, so, you know, last year we were at about five million dollars.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 6:07
Prediction Held up
Memsource Will Reach $10 Million in Annual Revenue Next Year
“So if we doubled this year, we would be at ten million. And so we'll be at 10,000,010 million next year.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 6:22
Disclosure
Memsource Is Bootstrapped and Prioritizes Profitable Growth
“We're bootstrapped. So, so we're, you know, our growth is, is, is You know, needs to be profitable in, in, so, so we need to, you know, we, we're running a company that is a self-financed.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 6:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Memsource Reaches Headcount of 80 Employees
“So we're 80 currently.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 8:17
Disclosure
Memsource Attends About 50 Trade Shows Globally Every Year
“So just to give you an idea, we go to about 50 trade shows every year. Across the world.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 15:16
Disclosure
Memsource Spends Between $6,000 and $10,000 Per Trade Show
“So we're talking, you know, we're talking about, you know, every trade show will, you know, could be something between, you know, like six to 10,000 dollars. So it will be approaching that figure.”
David Chaniak Mar 13, 2019 ▶ 15:39
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