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Nov 23, 2018 · 16m · top-founders

1217 We've increased employee retention 30% at call centers

Sarah Nadel · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top Entrepreneurs, host Nathan Latka interviews Sarah Nadel, co-founder of Stellar Employ, who explains how her B2B SaaS platform leverages machine learning to cut hourly worker turnover by 30% while raising a $1.5 million seed round to scale enterprise contracts.

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 41.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.8 Guest teaching 2.4 Guest disagreement 0.6 Nathan pushing back 1.4
05100:0010:001:13–5:07 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Sarah Nadel and Stellar Employ Nathan details his own hiring method using Fiverr to test how her SaaS fits into existing workflows. Sarah explains the structural challenges of hourly call center recruitment and why traditional resumes fail in high-turnover industries.5:07–8:02 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 SaaS Pricing Model and Minimum Volume Thresholds Sarah outlines the $100-per-hire pricing structure and the 30-hire monthly minimum threshold needed for algorithm calibration. Nathan immediately runs the math to calculate their minimum floor contract value before diving into her background.8:05–11:09 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Freshworks Freshchat Following the mid-roll ad read, Nathan investigates funding history and fundraising strategy. Sarah explains their disciplined capital approach and target of raising 1.5 million dollars to reach 3 million ARR.11:09–14:30 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Capital Allocation, Team Roles, and Applicant Scale Nathan drills into applicant volume, customer count, and current MRR, reconciling the five-thousand-dollar monthly revenue with earlier pricing metrics. Both find common ground on leveraging freelance talent platforms to keep overhead low.14:30–16:17 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Questions with Sarah Nadel Nathan executes the standard Famous Five sequence. Sarah shares personal management inspirations like Scooter Braun and gives advice about the difference between winning an argument and having the right facts.1:13–5:07 · Guest teaching 4/10 Introducing Sarah Nadel and Stellar Employ Nathan details his own hiring method using Fiverr to test how her SaaS fits into existing workflows. Sarah explains the structural challenges of hourly call center recruitment and why traditional resumes fail in high-turnover industries.5:07–8:02 · Guest teaching 3/10 SaaS Pricing Model and Minimum Volume Thresholds Sarah outlines the $100-per-hire pricing structure and the 30-hire monthly minimum threshold needed for algorithm calibration. Nathan immediately runs the math to calculate their minimum floor contract value before diving into her background.8:05–11:09 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Freshworks Freshchat Following the mid-roll ad read, Nathan investigates funding history and fundraising strategy. Sarah explains their disciplined capital approach and target of raising 1.5 million dollars to reach 3 million ARR.11:09–14:30 · Guest teaching 2/10 Capital Allocation, Team Roles, and Applicant Scale Nathan drills into applicant volume, customer count, and current MRR, reconciling the five-thousand-dollar monthly revenue with earlier pricing metrics. Both find common ground on leveraging freelance talent platforms to keep overhead low.14:30–16:17 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Questions with Sarah Nadel Nathan executes the standard Famous Five sequence. Sarah shares personal management inspirations like Scooter Braun and gives advice about the difference between winning an argument and having the right facts.1:13–5:07 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Sarah Nadel and Stellar Employ Nathan details his own hiring method using Fiverr to test how her SaaS fits into existing workflows. Sarah explains the structural challenges of hourly call center recruitment and why traditional resumes fail in high-turnover industries.5:07–8:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 SaaS Pricing Model and Minimum Volume Thresholds Sarah outlines the $100-per-hire pricing structure and the 30-hire monthly minimum threshold needed for algorithm calibration. Nathan immediately runs the math to calculate their minimum floor contract value before diving into her background.8:05–11:09 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Freshworks Freshchat Following the mid-roll ad read, Nathan investigates funding history and fundraising strategy. Sarah explains their disciplined capital approach and target of raising 1.5 million dollars to reach 3 million ARR.11:09–14:30 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Capital Allocation, Team Roles, and Applicant Scale Nathan drills into applicant volume, customer count, and current MRR, reconciling the five-thousand-dollar monthly revenue with earlier pricing metrics. Both find common ground on leveraging freelance talent platforms to keep overhead low.14:30–16:17 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Questions with Sarah Nadel Nathan executes the standard Famous Five sequence. Sarah shares personal management inspirations like Scooter Braun and gives advice about the difference between winning an argument and having the right facts.1:13–5:07 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Introducing Sarah Nadel and Stellar Employ Nathan details his own hiring method using Fiverr to test how her SaaS fits into existing workflows. Sarah explains the structural challenges of hourly call center recruitment and why traditional resumes fail in high-turnover industries.5:07–8:02 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 SaaS Pricing Model and Minimum Volume Thresholds Sarah outlines the $100-per-hire pricing structure and the 30-hire monthly minimum threshold needed for algorithm calibration. Nathan immediately runs the math to calculate their minimum floor contract value before diving into her background.8:05–11:09 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Freshworks Freshchat Following the mid-roll ad read, Nathan investigates funding history and fundraising strategy. Sarah explains their disciplined capital approach and target of raising 1.5 million dollars to reach 3 million ARR.11:09–14:30 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Capital Allocation, Team Roles, and Applicant Scale Nathan drills into applicant volume, customer count, and current MRR, reconciling the five-thousand-dollar monthly revenue with earlier pricing metrics. Both find common ground on leveraging freelance talent platforms to keep overhead low.14:30–16:17 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Questions with Sarah Nadel Nathan executes the standard Famous Five sequence. Sarah shares personal management inspirations like Scooter Braun and gives advice about the difference between winning an argument and having the right facts.

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

0:00 · Nathan 56.2% · guest 43.8%0:00 · Nathan 56.2% · guest 43.8%3:00 · Nathan 33.3% · guest 66.7%3:00 · Nathan 33.3% · guest 66.7%6:00 · Nathan 41.3% · guest 58.7%6:00 · Nathan 41.3% · guest 58.7%9:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%9:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%12:00 · Nathan 37.8% · guest 62.2%12:00 · Nathan 37.8% · guest 62.2%15:00 · Nathan 48.8% · guest 51.2%15:00 · Nathan 48.8% · guest 51.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 3:31 Reframing hiring model away from host workflow

Sarah politely but firmly rejects Nathan's personal Fiverr hiring workflow as a relevant model, clarifying that high-volume hourly call centers face completely different constraints.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:03 Host insists on calculating contract minimums

Nathan cuts through descriptive pricing to pin down the exact minimum recurring monthly contract size of three thousand dollars.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 1:40 Educating host on hourly workforce turnover economics

Sarah educates Nathan on the macroeconomic scale of sixty million hourly American workers and the resulting sixty-billion-dollar turnover cost problem.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:46 Reconciling revenue numbers against pricing assumptions

Nathan demonstrates sharp business acumen by instantly cross-referencing her reported five-thousand MRR against her stated pricing model to deduce early pilot discounting.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Sarah Nadel and Stellar Employ 4411 Nathan details his own hiring method using Fiverr to test how her SaaS fits into existing workflows. Sarah explains the structural challenges of hourly call center recruitment and why traditional resumes fail in high-turnover industries.
SaaS Pricing Model and Minimum Volume Thresholds 4312 Sarah outlines the $100-per-hire pricing structure and the 30-hire monthly minimum threshold needed for algorithm calibration. Nathan immediately runs the math to calculate their minimum floor contract value before diving into her background.
Sponsor Spotlight: Freshworks Freshchat 4201 Following the mid-roll ad read, Nathan investigates funding history and fundraising strategy. Sarah explains their disciplined capital approach and target of raising 1.5 million dollars to reach 3 million ARR.
Capital Allocation, Team Roles, and Applicant Scale 5212 Nathan drills into applicant volume, customer count, and current MRR, reconciling the five-thousand-dollar monthly revenue with earlier pricing metrics. Both find common ground on leveraging freelance talent platforms to keep overhead low.
The Famous Five Questions with Sarah Nadel 2101 Nathan executes the standard Famous Five sequence. Sarah shares personal management inspirations like Scooter Braun and gives advice about the difference between winning an argument and having the right facts.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Contradicted
Nadel: 60 million Americans work hourly jobs, comprising 40% of workforce
“There are sixty million Americans in hourly jobs. That's 40% of the labor force.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 2:00
Disclosure
Latka tests 30 Fiverr freelancers at $10 each to find full-time hires
“Currently like how I find new talent to hire full-time at my company is I'll just put out like a, the same process doc to like 30 different people on Fiverr and I'll pay them all, you know, 10 bucks to do the task. And then whoever like goes above and beyond l…”
Nathan Latka Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 2:59
Insight
Nadel: Resumes are useless when screening hourly job applicants
“You don't really have to have a particular educational or professional background to do well on the job, so the resumes are actually useless.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 4:02
Insight
Nadel notes call center hiring over-indexes on personable but unqualified candidates
“And we discovered that, not surprisingly they are over-indexing on people who are personable. So then they hire people who are personable, they're not necessarily good at the job, et cetera.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 4:12
Disclosure
Stellar Employ charges clients roughly $100 for every successful hire
“We have tiered pricing, but it's kind of like a quick and dirty number is that we end up charging about a hundred dollars for every hire they make through our platform.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 5:17
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nadel claims Stellar Employ reduces turnover by 30% across five industries
“So we now have, we have demonstrated that we reduced turnover by 30% in five industries. So call centers, retail, fast food, delivery, fulfillment centers.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 10:28
Disclosure
Nadel seeks $1.5M to drive Stellar Employ to $3M ARR in 2019
“We looked at how long it takes to roll out, where we want to be, what we would need to get to. Three million ARR by the end of 2019, landed on about 1.5 million, which is what we're raising right now.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 10:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Stellar Employ filters approximately 2,000 hourly job applicants every week
“We're filtering about 2000 applicants every week. And we're and that's across three industries. Okay. Five locations.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 11:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nadel reveals Stellar Employ currently generates roughly $5,000 in monthly revenue
“We're about five K a month.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 12:46
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Stellar Employ booked demos with three top call centers from 180 emails
“Sent a 180 emails to a swath of the population and got two second stage demos. We're still in conversation second stage demos with three of the top 20 call centers in the US.”
Sarah Nadel Nov 23, 2018 ▶ 13:37
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