StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Feb 15, 2019 · 18m · top-founders

1301 He Helps Pepsi Get Distribution in India, $7m+ in ARR, 100% yoy Growth

Lalit Bhise · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m 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 Lalit Bhise, founder of Bizom, discussing how the mobile-first enterprise SaaS platform scaled to $600,000 in monthly recurring revenue by digitalizing FMCG supply chains and sales operations for brands like PepsiCo in India.

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 37.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.0 Guest teaching 2.7 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.0
05100:0010:001:43–3:45 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Lalit Bhise and Bizom's Value Proposition Nathan introduces Lalit with detailed domain background and prompts him to explain Bizom's SaaS business model. Lalit clearly articulates the product's focus on FMCG workflows and field sales automation in emerging markets.3:46–6:08 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 PepsiCo Case Study and Per-User Pricing Nathan prompts Lalit to ground the product value in a real enterprise customer example like PepsiCo and asks about pricing metrics. Lalit explains how their per-user-per-month model scales across thousands of field sales representatives.6:08–8:12 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Bizom Founding Story and Early Validation Lalit recounts starting Bizom in 2012 as a technologist identifying FMCG distribution pain points and securing an upfront non-dilutive $10k prepay check from his first customer. Nathan validates this as ideal early customer traction.8:13–12:05 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Revenue Growth, Retention, and Low Churn Rates Nathan digs into exact MRR numbers, historical revenue, gross logo churn, and net revenue retention. When Lalit mentions 150% cohort expansion, Nathan presses to clarify if net negative churn is achieved and checks exact net retention figures.12:05–14:24 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and Sales Team Structure Nathan calculates CAC implied by payback metrics, prompting Lalit to clarify that Bizom measures CAC payback against net MRR growth rather than individual logo acquisition. Lalit also breaks down his hunting and farming sales team structure.14:24–17:18 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Fundraising History, Capital Efficiency, and Burn Nathan explores capital raised, historical profitability, and burn rate, while also asking if Lalit would consider selling at 3-4x ARR. Lalit firmly rejects selling at that valuation multiple and completes the Famous Five lightning round.1:43–3:45 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Lalit Bhise and Bizom's Value Proposition Nathan introduces Lalit with detailed domain background and prompts him to explain Bizom's SaaS business model. Lalit clearly articulates the product's focus on FMCG workflows and field sales automation in emerging markets.3:46–6:08 · Guest teaching 3/10 PepsiCo Case Study and Per-User Pricing Nathan prompts Lalit to ground the product value in a real enterprise customer example like PepsiCo and asks about pricing metrics. Lalit explains how their per-user-per-month model scales across thousands of field sales representatives.6:08–8:12 · Guest teaching 2/10 Bizom Founding Story and Early Validation Lalit recounts starting Bizom in 2012 as a technologist identifying FMCG distribution pain points and securing an upfront non-dilutive $10k prepay check from his first customer. Nathan validates this as ideal early customer traction.8:13–12:05 · Guest teaching 3/10 Revenue Growth, Retention, and Low Churn Rates Nathan digs into exact MRR numbers, historical revenue, gross logo churn, and net revenue retention. When Lalit mentions 150% cohort expansion, Nathan presses to clarify if net negative churn is achieved and checks exact net retention figures.12:05–14:24 · Guest teaching 4/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and Sales Team Structure Nathan calculates CAC implied by payback metrics, prompting Lalit to clarify that Bizom measures CAC payback against net MRR growth rather than individual logo acquisition. Lalit also breaks down his hunting and farming sales team structure.14:24–17:18 · Guest teaching 2/10 Fundraising History, Capital Efficiency, and Burn Nathan explores capital raised, historical profitability, and burn rate, while also asking if Lalit would consider selling at 3-4x ARR. Lalit firmly rejects selling at that valuation multiple and completes the Famous Five lightning round.1:43–3:45 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Lalit Bhise and Bizom's Value Proposition Nathan introduces Lalit with detailed domain background and prompts him to explain Bizom's SaaS business model. Lalit clearly articulates the product's focus on FMCG workflows and field sales automation in emerging markets.3:46–6:08 · Guest disagreement 1/10 PepsiCo Case Study and Per-User Pricing Nathan prompts Lalit to ground the product value in a real enterprise customer example like PepsiCo and asks about pricing metrics. Lalit explains how their per-user-per-month model scales across thousands of field sales representatives.6:08–8:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Bizom Founding Story and Early Validation Lalit recounts starting Bizom in 2012 as a technologist identifying FMCG distribution pain points and securing an upfront non-dilutive $10k prepay check from his first customer. Nathan validates this as ideal early customer traction.8:13–12:05 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Revenue Growth, Retention, and Low Churn Rates Nathan digs into exact MRR numbers, historical revenue, gross logo churn, and net revenue retention. When Lalit mentions 150% cohort expansion, Nathan presses to clarify if net negative churn is achieved and checks exact net retention figures.12:05–14:24 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and Sales Team Structure Nathan calculates CAC implied by payback metrics, prompting Lalit to clarify that Bizom measures CAC payback against net MRR growth rather than individual logo acquisition. Lalit also breaks down his hunting and farming sales team structure.14:24–17:18 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Fundraising History, Capital Efficiency, and Burn Nathan explores capital raised, historical profitability, and burn rate, while also asking if Lalit would consider selling at 3-4x ARR. Lalit firmly rejects selling at that valuation multiple and completes the Famous Five lightning round.1:43–3:45 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Lalit Bhise and Bizom's Value Proposition Nathan introduces Lalit with detailed domain background and prompts him to explain Bizom's SaaS business model. Lalit clearly articulates the product's focus on FMCG workflows and field sales automation in emerging markets.3:46–6:08 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 PepsiCo Case Study and Per-User Pricing Nathan prompts Lalit to ground the product value in a real enterprise customer example like PepsiCo and asks about pricing metrics. Lalit explains how their per-user-per-month model scales across thousands of field sales representatives.6:08–8:12 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Bizom Founding Story and Early Validation Lalit recounts starting Bizom in 2012 as a technologist identifying FMCG distribution pain points and securing an upfront non-dilutive $10k prepay check from his first customer. Nathan validates this as ideal early customer traction.8:13–12:05 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Revenue Growth, Retention, and Low Churn Rates Nathan digs into exact MRR numbers, historical revenue, gross logo churn, and net revenue retention. When Lalit mentions 150% cohort expansion, Nathan presses to clarify if net negative churn is achieved and checks exact net retention figures.12:05–14:24 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and Sales Team Structure Nathan calculates CAC implied by payback metrics, prompting Lalit to clarify that Bizom measures CAC payback against net MRR growth rather than individual logo acquisition. Lalit also breaks down his hunting and farming sales team structure.14:24–17:18 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Fundraising History, Capital Efficiency, and Burn Nathan explores capital raised, historical profitability, and burn rate, while also asking if Lalit would consider selling at 3-4x ARR. Lalit firmly rejects selling at that valuation multiple and completes the Famous Five lightning round.

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

0:00 · Nathan 71.7% · guest 28.3%0:00 · Nathan 71.7% · guest 28.3%3:00 · Nathan 20.4% · guest 79.6%3:00 · Nathan 20.4% · guest 79.6%6:00 · Nathan 19.6% · guest 80.4%6:00 · Nathan 19.6% · guest 80.4%9:00 · Nathan 28.7% · guest 71.3%9:00 · Nathan 28.7% · guest 71.3%12:00 · Nathan 22.3% · guest 77.7%12:00 · Nathan 22.3% · guest 77.7%15:00 · Nathan 53.7% · guest 46.3%15:00 · Nathan 53.7% · guest 46.3%18:00 · Nathan 87.4% · guest 12.6%18:00 · Nathan 87.4% · guest 12.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 16:16 Refusal of low ARR acquisition multiple

Lalit decisively dismisses Nathan's hypothetical acquisition scenario of selling the business for 3x to 4x ARR.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:26 Pressing on gross vs net churn metrics

Nathan refuses ambiguity on churn metrics, interrupting to clarify whether reported percentages represent gross or net logo and MRR churn.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:49 Schooling host on aggregate MRR CAC modeling

Lalit corrects Nathan's per-customer acquisition cost math by explaining that Bizom calculates CAC payback across aggregate monthly MRR expansion including marketing and CS costs.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:28 Quick mental arithmetic on top-line MRR run rate

Nathan instantly converts 307 customers paying $2,000 a month into a $600k MRR baseline and compares it against prior year metrics.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Lalit Bhise and Bizom's Value Proposition 5212 Nathan introduces Lalit with detailed domain background and prompts him to explain Bizom's SaaS business model. Lalit clearly articulates the product's focus on FMCG workflows and field sales automation in emerging markets.
PepsiCo Case Study and Per-User Pricing 6313 Nathan prompts Lalit to ground the product value in a real enterprise customer example like PepsiCo and asks about pricing metrics. Lalit explains how their per-user-per-month model scales across thousands of field sales representatives.
Bizom Founding Story and Early Validation 5211 Lalit recounts starting Bizom in 2012 as a technologist identifying FMCG distribution pain points and securing an upfront non-dilutive $10k prepay check from his first customer. Nathan validates this as ideal early customer traction.
Revenue Growth, Retention, and Low Churn Rates 7325 Nathan digs into exact MRR numbers, historical revenue, gross logo churn, and net revenue retention. When Lalit mentions 150% cohort expansion, Nathan presses to clarify if net negative churn is achieved and checks exact net retention figures.
Customer Acquisition Cost and Sales Team Structure 7424 Nathan calculates CAC implied by payback metrics, prompting Lalit to clarify that Bizom measures CAC payback against net MRR growth rather than individual logo acquisition. Lalit also breaks down his hunting and farming sales team structure.
Fundraising History, Capital Efficiency, and Burn 6223 Nathan explores capital raised, historical profitability, and burn rate, while also asking if Lalit would consider selling at 3-4x ARR. Lalit firmly rejects selling at that valuation multiple and completes the Famous Five lightning round.

Statements from this episode (15)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bhise: Bizom customers pay an average of $2,000 monthly
“An average customer for me pays me about 2000 dollars a month.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 3:30
Disclosure
PepsiCo uses Bizom for its 10,000 sales reps in India
“PepsiCo is, for example, one of the companies that we work with in India. So PepsiCo has in India, I don't know, 10 thousand-odd feet-on-street sales executives who go in the market, talk to these mom-and-pop retail shops, generate demand for Pepsi products”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 4:17
Disclosure
Bizom's first customer funded MVP development with a $10,000 prepay
“The first check was about 10,000 dollars.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 7:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bhise: Bizom works with around 307 customers
“We've worked with about some, you mentioned 250 plus actually the right number is somewhere around 307. So yeah, about 307 odd customers.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 8:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bhise: Bizom grew MRR at 7% to 8% monthly for three years
“MRR has been growing at somewhere around eight, seven, eight percent month on month for last three years.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 8:48
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bhise: Bizom generated around $350,000 monthly revenue one year prior
“We were doing somewhere around 350 K a month.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 9:03
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bhise: Bizom's average annual gross logo churn is around 1.3%
“On average over a year, it's somewhere around 1.3% or something. Okay. I'm talking about logo churn.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 10:10
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bhise: Bizom's gross annual MRR churn is around 0.39%
“The corresponding MRR churn, again, gross MRR churn is somewhere around .39%”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 10:43
Disclosure
Bizom CAC payback period ranges from 6 to 12 months
“Our CAC payback period again oscillates between six months to 12 months, which is half a year to about a year. That's a CAC payback period. So last month it was somewhere around 8.6, if I remember correctly, but we crack it month on month, obviously.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 12:12
Disclosure
Bizom operates with an 88% gross margin
“Our gross margin is somewhere around 88%.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 13:02
Disclosure
Bizom's sales team has 30 account farmers and only 5 hunters
“We have a larger farming team, about 30 people, a very small hunting team, about five, six people.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 13:54
Disclosure
Bizom was profitable from 2015 to 2017 before a $200k loss
“We turned profitable in 2015. I think till 2017, we were Profitable, I think, last financial year we have, in a very small loss, about 200 K USD.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 14:36
Disclosure
Bizom has raised a total of about $4 million
“Totally we have raised about four million. Including the round in May, that is.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 14:56
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Bhise: Bizom expects to return to cash flow positive by July-August 2019
“In the current predictions, we say somewhere around you know, July, August 2019, we will be, we want to be back again.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 15:44
Opinion
Bhise claims he should have skipped formal education altogether
“I wish I knew that the formal education doesn't have a value in real life. That's about it. I should have skipped formal education altogether.”
Lalit Bhise Feb 15, 2019 ▶ 17:10
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more