StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Jan 18, 2019 · 15m · top-founders

1273 270,000 ECommerce Shops Use This Tool (Not Shopify)

Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Alexandre Eruimy · 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

PrestaShop CEO Alexandre Eruimy discusses how the open-source e-commerce platform powers over 270,000 merchants, generates 16 million dollars in revenue, and expands into cloud SaaS while prioritizing merchant data sovereignty against competitors like Shopify.

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 51.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 3.8 Guest disagreement 2.0 Nathan pushing back 4.3
05100:0010:001:16–3:44 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 PrestaShop's Open-Source Model vs. Shopify Nathan inquires about PrestaShop's business model and presses Alex on why merchants would choose an on-premise open-source solution over closed SaaS giants like Shopify. Alex explains the open-source module marketplace and their new hybrid SaaS migration path.3:45–7:01 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Merchant Scale, Partner Acquisition, and Events Nathan posits a detailed scenario assuming partners like Google purchase bulk subsidized licenses for merchants. Alex clarifies that the partnership works in reverse, generating bounty referral fees when PrestaShop refers merchants to partners.7:05–10:24 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Asana Project Management Following an ad read for Asana, Nathan asks how PrestaShop tracks activity on on-premise stores without SaaS telemetry. Nathan demonstrates familiarity with JavaScript web crawlers used to identify live sites.10:25–13:33 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 PrestaShop's Financials, Capital Structure, and Growth Nathan drills into the capital structure, pushing back on the term 'bootstrapped' after learning the company raised 15 million dollars. He also uncovers Alex's hiring path as an appointed non-founder CEO and maps out their 16 million to 20 million revenue run rate.1:16–3:44 · Guest teaching 4/10 PrestaShop's Open-Source Model vs. Shopify Nathan inquires about PrestaShop's business model and presses Alex on why merchants would choose an on-premise open-source solution over closed SaaS giants like Shopify. Alex explains the open-source module marketplace and their new hybrid SaaS migration path.3:45–7:01 · Guest teaching 6/10 Merchant Scale, Partner Acquisition, and Events Nathan posits a detailed scenario assuming partners like Google purchase bulk subsidized licenses for merchants. Alex clarifies that the partnership works in reverse, generating bounty referral fees when PrestaShop refers merchants to partners.7:05–10:24 · Guest teaching 3/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Asana Project Management Following an ad read for Asana, Nathan asks how PrestaShop tracks activity on on-premise stores without SaaS telemetry. Nathan demonstrates familiarity with JavaScript web crawlers used to identify live sites.10:25–13:33 · Guest teaching 2/10 PrestaShop's Financials, Capital Structure, and Growth Nathan drills into the capital structure, pushing back on the term 'bootstrapped' after learning the company raised 15 million dollars. He also uncovers Alex's hiring path as an appointed non-founder CEO and maps out their 16 million to 20 million revenue run rate.1:16–3:44 · Guest disagreement 2/10 PrestaShop's Open-Source Model vs. Shopify Nathan inquires about PrestaShop's business model and presses Alex on why merchants would choose an on-premise open-source solution over closed SaaS giants like Shopify. Alex explains the open-source module marketplace and their new hybrid SaaS migration path.3:45–7:01 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Merchant Scale, Partner Acquisition, and Events Nathan posits a detailed scenario assuming partners like Google purchase bulk subsidized licenses for merchants. Alex clarifies that the partnership works in reverse, generating bounty referral fees when PrestaShop refers merchants to partners.7:05–10:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Asana Project Management Following an ad read for Asana, Nathan asks how PrestaShop tracks activity on on-premise stores without SaaS telemetry. Nathan demonstrates familiarity with JavaScript web crawlers used to identify live sites.10:25–13:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 PrestaShop's Financials, Capital Structure, and Growth Nathan drills into the capital structure, pushing back on the term 'bootstrapped' after learning the company raised 15 million dollars. He also uncovers Alex's hiring path as an appointed non-founder CEO and maps out their 16 million to 20 million revenue run rate.1:16–3:44 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 PrestaShop's Open-Source Model vs. Shopify Nathan inquires about PrestaShop's business model and presses Alex on why merchants would choose an on-premise open-source solution over closed SaaS giants like Shopify. Alex explains the open-source module marketplace and their new hybrid SaaS migration path.3:45–7:01 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Merchant Scale, Partner Acquisition, and Events Nathan posits a detailed scenario assuming partners like Google purchase bulk subsidized licenses for merchants. Alex clarifies that the partnership works in reverse, generating bounty referral fees when PrestaShop refers merchants to partners.7:05–10:24 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Asana Project Management Following an ad read for Asana, Nathan asks how PrestaShop tracks activity on on-premise stores without SaaS telemetry. Nathan demonstrates familiarity with JavaScript web crawlers used to identify live sites.10:25–13:33 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 PrestaShop's Financials, Capital Structure, and Growth Nathan drills into the capital structure, pushing back on the term 'bootstrapped' after learning the company raised 15 million dollars. He also uncovers Alex's hiring path as an appointed non-founder CEO and maps out their 16 million to 20 million revenue run rate.

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

0:00 · Nathan 53.1% · guest 46.9%0:00 · Nathan 53.1% · guest 46.9%3:00 · Nathan 36.5% · guest 63.5%3:00 · Nathan 36.5% · guest 63.5%6:00 · Nathan 64.1% · guest 35.9%6:00 · Nathan 64.1% · guest 35.9%9:00 · Nathan 38.9% · guest 61.1%9:00 · Nathan 38.9% · guest 61.1%12:00 · Nathan 62.5% · guest 37.5%12:00 · Nathan 62.5% · guest 37.5%15:00 · Nathan 95% · guest 5%15:00 · Nathan 95% · guest 5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:56 Alex disputes the subsidized reseller model

Alex directly rejects Nathan's hypothetical model of Google buying bulk licenses, explaining that PrestaShop acts as an affiliate earning bounties instead.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:48 Nathan challenges the bootstrapped label

Nathan cuts through the guest's ambiguous description of funding, stating definitively that raising fifteen million dollars means the company is not bootstrapped.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:56 Educating the host on partner referral economics

Alex educates Nathan on their revenue streams by clarifying that Google does not buy user licenses, but rather pays bounty fees to PrestaShop for referring merchants.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:31 Host explains JS crawler tracking mechanics

Nathan demonstrates technical understanding of how on-premise open-source installations are tracked externally via web crawlers detecting embedded JavaScript.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
PrestaShop's Open-Source Model vs. Shopify 5424 Nathan inquires about PrestaShop's business model and presses Alex on why merchants would choose an on-premise open-source solution over closed SaaS giants like Shopify. Alex explains the open-source module marketplace and their new hybrid SaaS migration path.
Merchant Scale, Partner Acquisition, and Events 5635 Nathan posits a detailed scenario assuming partners like Google purchase bulk subsidized licenses for merchants. Alex clarifies that the partnership works in reverse, generating bounty referral fees when PrestaShop refers merchants to partners.
Sponsor Spotlight: Asana Project Management 4313 Following an ad read for Asana, Nathan asks how PrestaShop tracks activity on on-premise stores without SaaS telemetry. Nathan demonstrates familiarity with JavaScript web crawlers used to identify live sites.
PrestaShop's Financials, Capital Structure, and Growth 6225 Nathan drills into the capital structure, pushing back on the term 'bootstrapped' after learning the company raised 15 million dollars. He also uncovers Alex's hiring path as an appointed non-founder CEO and maps out their 16 million to 20 million revenue run rate.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
PrestaShop monetizes free open-source software via marketplace add-ons and sponsors
“We mostly monetize through add-ons sales. So we've built and developed a software which is open source and distributed for free on our websites. And the way we get money, it mainly comes from So modules or add-ons or connectors, which are sold on our marketpla…”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 1:42
Assertion Supported
PrestaShop Launches 'PrestaShop Ready' SaaS Tier in France, Italy, and Spain
“We've just launched our SaaS Software and a SAS version last week. In France, Italy, and Spain. So it's called PrestaShop ready. It's a brand new offer launched in the market.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 2:26
Assertion Contradicted
Eruimy: Shopify locks users in by owning their merchant data
“Because Shopify, you, you're in a closed environment. So your data are owned by Shopify. And if you want to shift to something else, you have to rebuild your store from scratch.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 3:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
PrestaShop powers 270,000 active on-premise stores, with 80% based in Europe
“Hundreds of merchants and on our on-prem solution, we have 270,000 stores active to date, which means that we are part of the leading solution worldwide and the leader on in Europe, because 80% are based in Europe, making us a leader solution in Europe.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 4:39
Assertion Supported
PrestaShop has raised a total of $15 million in venture funding
“15 fifteen million dollars.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 10:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
PrestaShop employs almost 120 people across its offices
“So overall we have almost 120 people.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 12:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Eruimy: PrestaShop doubled sales and grew store base 20% annually over 5 years
“So we have doubled off sales over the last the last five years. And also we acknowledge a plus 20% year on year growth of our store base over the last five years.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 12:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
PrestaShop generated around $16 million in revenue in 2017
“So 12 months ago, we were around sixteen million.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 12:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Eruimy: PrestaShop is currently cash flow positive
“We are now being cash positive.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 13:12
Assertion Supported
Eruimy: PrestaShop last raised venture capital in 2014
“It was in 2014.”
Alexandre Eruimy Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 13:19
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