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Nov 5, 2018 · 15m · top-founders

1199 Bootstrapping your way to your first $10k in MRR

Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Uffe Koch · 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

Host Nathan Latka interviews entrepreneur Uffe Koch on bootstrapping his idea-management software Pre.do to $2,200 in MRR, examining his transition from a seven-figure agency exit, high-touch enterprise onboarding fees, and strategies to scale toward $10,000 in recurring revenue.

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 52% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 1.8 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 2.5
05100:0010:000:00–3:18 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Episode Preview: Uffe Koch's SaaS Transition with Pre.do Nathan introduces the guest and quickly frames Pre.do's value proposition against tools like Trello, while prompting Uffe to clarify the specific functionality beyond basic SaaS subscription models.3:18–7:31 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pre.do's Origins, Early Customer Traction, and Pricing Structure Nathan challenges Uffe's intention to remove setup fees by citing Infusionsoft's churn reduction case study under Clate Mask, though Uffe remains humble and receptive.7:35–13:47 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sponsor Feature: Monday.com Project Management Tool Following the sponsor read, Nathan drills into Uffe's runway, exit numbers, and warns about the common trap of agency founders leaning on consulting cash flow instead of scaling SaaS.13:47–15:36 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Uffe Koch Standard Famous Five rapid-fire section followed by an outro summarizing the metrics and history of Pre.do with total cooperation from the guest.0:00–3:18 · Guest teaching 2/10 Episode Preview: Uffe Koch's SaaS Transition with Pre.do Nathan introduces the guest and quickly frames Pre.do's value proposition against tools like Trello, while prompting Uffe to clarify the specific functionality beyond basic SaaS subscription models.3:18–7:31 · Guest teaching 2/10 Pre.do's Origins, Early Customer Traction, and Pricing Structure Nathan challenges Uffe's intention to remove setup fees by citing Infusionsoft's churn reduction case study under Clate Mask, though Uffe remains humble and receptive.7:35–13:47 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sponsor Feature: Monday.com Project Management Tool Following the sponsor read, Nathan drills into Uffe's runway, exit numbers, and warns about the common trap of agency founders leaning on consulting cash flow instead of scaling SaaS.13:47–15:36 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Uffe Koch Standard Famous Five rapid-fire section followed by an outro summarizing the metrics and history of Pre.do with total cooperation from the guest.0:00–3:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Episode Preview: Uffe Koch's SaaS Transition with Pre.do Nathan introduces the guest and quickly frames Pre.do's value proposition against tools like Trello, while prompting Uffe to clarify the specific functionality beyond basic SaaS subscription models.3:18–7:31 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Pre.do's Origins, Early Customer Traction, and Pricing Structure Nathan challenges Uffe's intention to remove setup fees by citing Infusionsoft's churn reduction case study under Clate Mask, though Uffe remains humble and receptive.7:35–13:47 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Feature: Monday.com Project Management Tool Following the sponsor read, Nathan drills into Uffe's runway, exit numbers, and warns about the common trap of agency founders leaning on consulting cash flow instead of scaling SaaS.13:47–15:36 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Uffe Koch Standard Famous Five rapid-fire section followed by an outro summarizing the metrics and history of Pre.do with total cooperation from the guest.0:00–3:18 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Episode Preview: Uffe Koch's SaaS Transition with Pre.do Nathan introduces the guest and quickly frames Pre.do's value proposition against tools like Trello, while prompting Uffe to clarify the specific functionality beyond basic SaaS subscription models.3:18–7:31 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Pre.do's Origins, Early Customer Traction, and Pricing Structure Nathan challenges Uffe's intention to remove setup fees by citing Infusionsoft's churn reduction case study under Clate Mask, though Uffe remains humble and receptive.7:35–13:47 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Feature: Monday.com Project Management Tool Following the sponsor read, Nathan drills into Uffe's runway, exit numbers, and warns about the common trap of agency founders leaning on consulting cash flow instead of scaling SaaS.13:47–15:36 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Uffe Koch Standard Famous Five rapid-fire section followed by an outro summarizing the metrics and history of Pre.do with total cooperation from the guest.

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

0:00 · Nathan 69.2% · guest 30.8%0:00 · Nathan 69.2% · guest 30.8%3:00 · Nathan 26.9% · guest 73.1%3:00 · Nathan 26.9% · guest 73.1%6:00 · Nathan 69.2% · guest 30.8%6:00 · Nathan 69.2% · guest 30.8%9:00 · Nathan 45.1% · guest 54.9%9:00 · Nathan 45.1% · guest 54.9%12:00 · Nathan 38.1% · guest 61.9%12:00 · Nathan 38.1% · guest 61.9%15:00 · Nathan 98.3% · guest 1.7%15:00 · Nathan 98.3% · guest 1.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:53 Uffe defending onboarding transition

Uffe respectfully counters the host's suggestion to keep high setup fees by explaining that intensive handheld onboarding cannot scale.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:39 Nathan questioning the removal of setup fees

Nathan directly questions Uffe's strategy of removing setup fees, citing Infusionsoft's churn turnaround as counter-evidence.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 2:45 Uffe explains non-tech worker idea capture

Uffe educates Nathan on how Pre.do caters to shop-floor workers like blacksmiths via voice inputs and Alexa, expanding beyond typical SaaS paradigms.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 6:39 Nathan cites Infusionsoft case study

Nathan demonstrates industry domain expertise by referencing Clate Mask and Infusionsoft's 2012 churn data to critique pricing structure decisions.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Episode Preview: Uffe Koch's SaaS Transition with Pre.do 4212 Nathan introduces the guest and quickly frames Pre.do's value proposition against tools like Trello, while prompting Uffe to clarify the specific functionality beyond basic SaaS subscription models.
Pre.do's Origins, Early Customer Traction, and Pricing Structure 6215 Nathan challenges Uffe's intention to remove setup fees by citing Infusionsoft's churn reduction case study under Clate Mask, though Uffe remains humble and receptive.
Sponsor Feature: Monday.com Project Management Tool 5213 Following the sponsor read, Nathan drills into Uffe's runway, exit numbers, and warns about the common trap of agency founders leaning on consulting cash flow instead of scaling SaaS.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Uffe Koch 2100 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire section followed by an outro summarizing the metrics and history of Pre.do with total cooperation from the guest.

Statements from this episode (5)

Disclosure
Pre.do is building Alexa voice input for frontline workers
“So you can capture ideas in the tool on email and even with voice and so on. We're building that. So so, so blacksmith with dirty hands can actually go speak to an Alexa in the corner of the production environment.”
Uffe Koch Nov 5, 2018 ▶ 2:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Koch: Pre.do charges customers an average of $449 per month
“They are paying four 449 dollars a month.”
Uffe Koch Nov 5, 2018 ▶ 3:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Koch: Pre.do has five paying customers and seven on trial
“We are used in 12 companies, but five of those are paid customers. The others are on trial still.”
Uffe Koch Nov 5, 2018 ▶ 5:31
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Koch: Pre.do should reach $10,000 MRR by end of 2018
“Oh, that's, I, we should hit the 10,000 dollar mark.”
Uffe Koch Nov 5, 2018 ▶ 11:29
Disclosure
Koch: Pre.do only takes consultancy work driving recurring revenue
“So we basically talk about each consultancy task we take in. It should be something that leads to a recurring revenue somewhere. We say no to a lot of tasks.”
Uffe Koch Nov 5, 2018 ▶ 13:31
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