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Nov 29, 2018 · 20m · top-founders

1223 Just $1m Raised and $1m+ in MRR as Formstack Grows in Indianapolis

Chris Byers · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m 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 Podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Formstack CEO Chris Byers on how the SaaS company scaled past $1 million in monthly recurring revenue with only $1 million in total outside capital raised. Byers details Formstack's evolution from a basic web form builder into an enterprise workflow automation platform, driven by strict payback economics, a pioneering remote culture, and upmarket expansion.

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 40% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 3.2 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 1.5
05100:0010:0020:001:29–4:12 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Formstack's Value Proposition and Differentiation from Google Forms Nathan probes how Formstack survives against free behemoths like Google Forms. Chris explains the strategic pivot from basic forms to automated, collaborative multi-user workflows.4:12–6:43 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Tiers, Early Origins, and CEO Transition Nathan breaks down the ARPU and user counts to understand tier economics, then digs into Chris's origin story as an interim manager who stayed as CEO.6:43–9:51 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Scaling Revenue to $1M MRR and Expansion Dynamics Nathan quickly does the math on 16k customers at $70/month to establish $1M+ MRR, and clarifies net churn mechanics where flat net revenue retention is actually a strong indicator.9:54–14:00 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Sponsor Message: Freshworks FreshChat Messaging Solution Mid-roll sponsor break featuring Freshworks FreshChat. The interview continues afterwards discussing the transition into enterprise sales.14:00–16:39 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and SaaS Metric Philosophy Chris articulates why Formstack prioritizes a conservative 12-month payback period over easily distorted LTV:CAC ratios, which Nathan strongly validates with his industry observations.16:39–20:05 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Remote Culture, Self-Funding, and Long-Term Goals Nathan explores the Indianapolis tech scene and acquisition possibilities before moving into the standard Famous Five lightning round, which Chris answers comfortably.1:29–4:12 · Guest teaching 5/10 Formstack's Value Proposition and Differentiation from Google Forms Nathan probes how Formstack survives against free behemoths like Google Forms. Chris explains the strategic pivot from basic forms to automated, collaborative multi-user workflows.4:12–6:43 · Guest teaching 3/10 Pricing Tiers, Early Origins, and CEO Transition Nathan breaks down the ARPU and user counts to understand tier economics, then digs into Chris's origin story as an interim manager who stayed as CEO.6:43–9:51 · Guest teaching 4/10 Scaling Revenue to $1M MRR and Expansion Dynamics Nathan quickly does the math on 16k customers at $70/month to establish $1M+ MRR, and clarifies net churn mechanics where flat net revenue retention is actually a strong indicator.9:54–14:00 · Guest teaching 0/10 Sponsor Message: Freshworks FreshChat Messaging Solution Mid-roll sponsor break featuring Freshworks FreshChat. The interview continues afterwards discussing the transition into enterprise sales.14:00–16:39 · Guest teaching 5/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and SaaS Metric Philosophy Chris articulates why Formstack prioritizes a conservative 12-month payback period over easily distorted LTV:CAC ratios, which Nathan strongly validates with his industry observations.16:39–20:05 · Guest teaching 2/10 Remote Culture, Self-Funding, and Long-Term Goals Nathan explores the Indianapolis tech scene and acquisition possibilities before moving into the standard Famous Five lightning round, which Chris answers comfortably.1:29–4:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Formstack's Value Proposition and Differentiation from Google Forms Nathan probes how Formstack survives against free behemoths like Google Forms. Chris explains the strategic pivot from basic forms to automated, collaborative multi-user workflows.4:12–6:43 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Pricing Tiers, Early Origins, and CEO Transition Nathan breaks down the ARPU and user counts to understand tier economics, then digs into Chris's origin story as an interim manager who stayed as CEO.6:43–9:51 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Scaling Revenue to $1M MRR and Expansion Dynamics Nathan quickly does the math on 16k customers at $70/month to establish $1M+ MRR, and clarifies net churn mechanics where flat net revenue retention is actually a strong indicator.9:54–14:00 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Message: Freshworks FreshChat Messaging Solution Mid-roll sponsor break featuring Freshworks FreshChat. The interview continues afterwards discussing the transition into enterprise sales.14:00–16:39 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and SaaS Metric Philosophy Chris articulates why Formstack prioritizes a conservative 12-month payback period over easily distorted LTV:CAC ratios, which Nathan strongly validates with his industry observations.16:39–20:05 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Remote Culture, Self-Funding, and Long-Term Goals Nathan explores the Indianapolis tech scene and acquisition possibilities before moving into the standard Famous Five lightning round, which Chris answers comfortably.1:29–4:12 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Formstack's Value Proposition and Differentiation from Google Forms Nathan probes how Formstack survives against free behemoths like Google Forms. Chris explains the strategic pivot from basic forms to automated, collaborative multi-user workflows.4:12–6:43 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Pricing Tiers, Early Origins, and CEO Transition Nathan breaks down the ARPU and user counts to understand tier economics, then digs into Chris's origin story as an interim manager who stayed as CEO.6:43–9:51 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Scaling Revenue to $1M MRR and Expansion Dynamics Nathan quickly does the math on 16k customers at $70/month to establish $1M+ MRR, and clarifies net churn mechanics where flat net revenue retention is actually a strong indicator.9:54–14:00 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Sponsor Message: Freshworks FreshChat Messaging Solution Mid-roll sponsor break featuring Freshworks FreshChat. The interview continues afterwards discussing the transition into enterprise sales.14:00–16:39 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Customer Acquisition Cost and SaaS Metric Philosophy Chris articulates why Formstack prioritizes a conservative 12-month payback period over easily distorted LTV:CAC ratios, which Nathan strongly validates with his industry observations.16:39–20:05 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Remote Culture, Self-Funding, and Long-Term Goals Nathan explores the Indianapolis tech scene and acquisition possibilities before moving into the standard Famous Five lightning round, which Chris answers comfortably.

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

0:00 · Nathan 70.5% · guest 29.5%0:00 · Nathan 70.5% · guest 29.5%3:00 · Nathan 15.3% · guest 84.7%3:00 · Nathan 15.3% · guest 84.7%6:00 · Nathan 31.7% · guest 68.3%6:00 · Nathan 31.7% · guest 68.3%9:00 · Nathan 59.2% · guest 40.8%9:00 · Nathan 59.2% · guest 40.8%12:00 · Nathan 28% · guest 72%12:00 · Nathan 28% · guest 72%15:00 · Nathan 23.8% · guest 76.2%15:00 · Nathan 23.8% · guest 76.2%18:00 · Nathan 52.2% · guest 47.8%18:00 · Nathan 52.2% · guest 47.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 3:30 Dismissing Google Forms competition

In an overall very cordial episode, Chris calmly counters the idea of Google Forms being direct competition by explaining they serve entirely separate automation needs.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:04 Clarifying cap table and equity role

Nathan cuts through the narrative to explicitly ask whether Chris joined as an equity co-founder or an appointed hire on 1-2% equity.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:09 Demystifying LTV to CAC traps

Chris explains the financial danger of relying on LTV:CAC ratios when closing occasional large deals versus sticking to strict 12-month payback discipline.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:15 Rapid MRR calculation

Nathan swiftly extrapolates Formstack's monthly recurring revenue from logo count and ARPU figures to pinpoint that they are over $1M MRR.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Formstack's Value Proposition and Differentiation from Google Forms 5512 Nathan probes how Formstack survives against free behemoths like Google Forms. Chris explains the strategic pivot from basic forms to automated, collaborative multi-user workflows.
Pricing Tiers, Early Origins, and CEO Transition 6313 Nathan breaks down the ARPU and user counts to understand tier economics, then digs into Chris's origin story as an interim manager who stayed as CEO.
Scaling Revenue to $1M MRR and Expansion Dynamics 7412 Nathan quickly does the math on 16k customers at $70/month to establish $1M+ MRR, and clarifies net churn mechanics where flat net revenue retention is actually a strong indicator.
Sponsor Message: Freshworks FreshChat Messaging Solution 0000 Mid-roll sponsor break featuring Freshworks FreshChat. The interview continues afterwards discussing the transition into enterprise sales.
Customer Acquisition Cost and SaaS Metric Philosophy 6511 Chris articulates why Formstack prioritizes a conservative 12-month payback period over easily distorted LTV:CAC ratios, which Nathan strongly validates with his industry observations.
Remote Culture, Self-Funding, and Long-Term Goals 5211 Nathan explores the Indianapolis tech scene and acquisition possibilities before moving into the standard Famous Five lightning round, which Chris answers comfortably.

Statements from this episode (15)

Opinion
Byers: Formstack rarely loses to Google Forms due to workflow automation
“And so we definitely have, I'm sure we lose business to them, but we don't hear it much because people are really starting to automate a process when they're thinking about form stack versus just quick data collection and quick form collection.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 3:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Byers: Formstack customers pay an average of $60 to $80 monthly
“On average, 6070, 80 bucks a month.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 4:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Formstack reaches 16,000 paying customer accounts and 100,000 active users
“I've grown to kind of 16,000 and there were about a 100,000 kind of active users sitting on top of those paid accounts.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 7:02
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Formstack sustains 30% to 40% annual growth over multiple years
“Yeah, I mean, we, we've kind of been in the 30 to 40% growth range probably for the past few years.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 7:30
Insight
Byers: The core web forms market cannot support a $100M business
“As you grow, you know, as you grow a business, one of the things that gets obviously more challenging is, I mean, realistically, the core and initial market forms, let's say, it's just, it's not going to grow to a hundred million dollar business.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 7:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Formstack achieves flat net revenue churn through upmarket expansion
“And one of the things as we've really gotten better at going up market and expanding with customers, we've driven that kind of, we're not at a regular negative kind of Churn rate, but we are pretty flat.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 9:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Formstack ARPU doubled to $40-$50 per month by moving upmarket
“And that's where we really started to see our poop grow and go from say, 20 bucks a month to 40, 50 bucks a month because we were getting some big deals.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 12:31
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Formstack employs around 20 salespeople managing 4,000 trials per month
“Sales is about 20 and that grew dramatically last year. So we had had an inbound sales team who deal with the kind of 4000 trailers a month for, like I said, four or five years.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 13:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
HIPAA compliance unlocked upmarket healthcare traction for Formstack
“And last year we really started to see some traction in up market, specifically healthcare. We got our product HIPAA compliant and which kind of became this gate that helped us really have very different conversations with customers.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 13:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Byers: Formstack customer acquisition cost is roughly $1,000
“Yeah, CAC is probably, I'd call it a thousand bucks per kind of acquisition.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 14:08
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Byers: Formstack raised under $1M total in 2008-2009
“I mean, that was like a million bucks or a little bit less than that back in oh, eight or nine.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 14:33
Insight
Byers: 12-month payback is safer than targeting 3x LTV/CAC
“We actually went back to the twelve-month payback because it, A, is simpler for people to understand. It's actually a little bit more conservative because you can get pretty crazy in terms of keeping a, say, three LTV to CAC ratio.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 15:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Byers: Formstack customer lifetime value is around $4,000
“Yeah, probably in the 4000 range.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 16:16
Disclosure
Byers: Formstack seeks cash-funded acquisitions instead of raising new capital
“No plans right now. I think we're in good shape right now and looking to kind of just keep growing the business as is and look for potential acquisitions where, where it makes sense and where we've got the cash to fund it.”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 17:51
Disclosure
Byers: Formstack targets $100M in revenue rather than seeking an acquisition
“Yeah, I think at this point, we're still trying to grow a really Large enterprise, and I think we're trying to figure out how do we get to a hundred million dollars in revenue. And so, of course, we're always going to be entertaining, you know, an offer or som…”
Chris Byers Nov 29, 2018 ▶ 18:13
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