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Sep 12, 2018 · 22m · top-founders

1145 How Eero is Locking Down Distribution Channel for "Home Automation Wars" With $100m

Nathan Latka · 10m spoken Nick Weaver · 9m 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 Nick Weaver, co-founder and CEO of Eero, detailing how the company raised $100 million to revolutionize home Wi-Fi through mesh networking, strategic ISP distribution partnerships, and high-margin security software subscriptions.

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 51.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 2.3 Nathan pushing back 4.0
05100:0010:0020:002:01–4:03 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Eero's Mesh Wi-Fi Technology and Software Platform Nathan asks basic clarifying questions using his own poor home internet setup as a reference. Nick politely explains the technical boundaries of mesh Wi-Fi versus incoming ISP signals.4:03–7:16 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Market Positioning and ISP Competition Nathan aggressively presses Nick on the conversion rate to the digital Eero Plus subscription. When Nick gives evasive answers like 'higher than you'd expect', Nathan directly calls out the logic of that statement.7:18–10:33 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Nick Weaver's Background and Founding Inspiration The conversation shifts to founder origins and VC funding history at Menlo. Nathan validates Nick's thesis of owning home network real estate as a strategic distribution play.10:36–15:03 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Sponsor Break: Sideline App Following a sponsor read, Nathan drills into unit volumes, clarifying the difference between manufactured units, homes penetrated, and individual Beacon devices.15:03–18:15 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Hardware Margins and Premium Customer Experience Nathan applies startup financing math to calculate that Nick must be currently raising or selling based on typical 12-24 month runway cycles. Nick deflects with corporate positivity while Nathan repeatedly corners him.18:15–22:03 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Eero Plus Ecosystem Partnerships and Growth Targets Nathan connects Eero's software bundling to past guest data (Malwarebytes) before moving through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions.2:01–4:03 · Guest teaching 4/10 Eero's Mesh Wi-Fi Technology and Software Platform Nathan asks basic clarifying questions using his own poor home internet setup as a reference. Nick politely explains the technical boundaries of mesh Wi-Fi versus incoming ISP signals.4:03–7:16 · Guest teaching 4/10 Market Positioning and ISP Competition Nathan aggressively presses Nick on the conversion rate to the digital Eero Plus subscription. When Nick gives evasive answers like 'higher than you'd expect', Nathan directly calls out the logic of that statement.7:18–10:33 · Guest teaching 2/10 Nick Weaver's Background and Founding Inspiration The conversation shifts to founder origins and VC funding history at Menlo. Nathan validates Nick's thesis of owning home network real estate as a strategic distribution play.10:36–15:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sponsor Break: Sideline App Following a sponsor read, Nathan drills into unit volumes, clarifying the difference between manufactured units, homes penetrated, and individual Beacon devices.15:03–18:15 · Guest teaching 3/10 Hardware Margins and Premium Customer Experience Nathan applies startup financing math to calculate that Nick must be currently raising or selling based on typical 12-24 month runway cycles. Nick deflects with corporate positivity while Nathan repeatedly corners him.18:15–22:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Eero Plus Ecosystem Partnerships and Growth Targets Nathan connects Eero's software bundling to past guest data (Malwarebytes) before moving through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions.2:01–4:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Eero's Mesh Wi-Fi Technology and Software Platform Nathan asks basic clarifying questions using his own poor home internet setup as a reference. Nick politely explains the technical boundaries of mesh Wi-Fi versus incoming ISP signals.4:03–7:16 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Market Positioning and ISP Competition Nathan aggressively presses Nick on the conversion rate to the digital Eero Plus subscription. When Nick gives evasive answers like 'higher than you'd expect', Nathan directly calls out the logic of that statement.7:18–10:33 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Nick Weaver's Background and Founding Inspiration The conversation shifts to founder origins and VC funding history at Menlo. Nathan validates Nick's thesis of owning home network real estate as a strategic distribution play.10:36–15:03 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Sponsor Break: Sideline App Following a sponsor read, Nathan drills into unit volumes, clarifying the difference between manufactured units, homes penetrated, and individual Beacon devices.15:03–18:15 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Hardware Margins and Premium Customer Experience Nathan applies startup financing math to calculate that Nick must be currently raising or selling based on typical 12-24 month runway cycles. Nick deflects with corporate positivity while Nathan repeatedly corners him.18:15–22:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Eero Plus Ecosystem Partnerships and Growth Targets Nathan connects Eero's software bundling to past guest data (Malwarebytes) before moving through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions.2:01–4:03 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Eero's Mesh Wi-Fi Technology and Software Platform Nathan asks basic clarifying questions using his own poor home internet setup as a reference. Nick politely explains the technical boundaries of mesh Wi-Fi versus incoming ISP signals.4:03–7:16 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Market Positioning and ISP Competition Nathan aggressively presses Nick on the conversion rate to the digital Eero Plus subscription. When Nick gives evasive answers like 'higher than you'd expect', Nathan directly calls out the logic of that statement.7:18–10:33 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Nick Weaver's Background and Founding Inspiration The conversation shifts to founder origins and VC funding history at Menlo. Nathan validates Nick's thesis of owning home network real estate as a strategic distribution play.10:36–15:03 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Sponsor Break: Sideline App Following a sponsor read, Nathan drills into unit volumes, clarifying the difference between manufactured units, homes penetrated, and individual Beacon devices.15:03–18:15 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Hardware Margins and Premium Customer Experience Nathan applies startup financing math to calculate that Nick must be currently raising or selling based on typical 12-24 month runway cycles. Nick deflects with corporate positivity while Nathan repeatedly corners him.18:15–22:03 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Eero Plus Ecosystem Partnerships and Growth Targets Nathan connects Eero's software bundling to past guest data (Malwarebytes) before moving through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 71% · guest 29%0:00 · Nathan 71% · guest 29%3:00 · Nathan 16.8% · guest 83.2%3:00 · Nathan 16.8% · guest 83.2%6:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%6:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%9:00 · Nathan 53.7% · guest 46.3%9:00 · Nathan 53.7% · guest 46.3%12:00 · Nathan 61% · guest 39%12:00 · Nathan 61% · guest 39%15:00 · Nathan 57.1% · guest 42.9%15:00 · Nathan 57.1% · guest 42.9%18:00 · Nathan 53.9% · guest 46.1%18:00 · Nathan 53.9% · guest 46.1%21:00 · Nathan 58.1% · guest 41.9%21:00 · Nathan 58.1% · guest 41.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:39 Nick's snappy comeback on Nathan's baseline knowledge

Nick retorts with 'I didn't know how informed you were' after Nathan presses him on why he claimed conversion rates were higher than expected.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 17:36 Nathan presses on burn rate and acquisition

Nathan refuses Nick's vague deflection about having a great business, countering that Eero is not profitable and must be in the middle of a sale or fundraise.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 2:21 Explaining router capabilities vs upstream ISP failure

Nick corrects Nathan's assumption about router fixes, clarifying that hardware cannot repair a degraded incoming ISP signal.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 16:48 Nathan's runway calculation deduction

Nathan leverages standard venture runway math against Eero's 2016 $50M raise date to deduce that Eero is imminently raising capital or selling.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Eero's Mesh Wi-Fi Technology and Software Platform 4412 Nathan asks basic clarifying questions using his own poor home internet setup as a reference. Nick politely explains the technical boundaries of mesh Wi-Fi versus incoming ISP signals.
Market Positioning and ISP Competition 5457 Nathan aggressively presses Nick on the conversion rate to the digital Eero Plus subscription. When Nick gives evasive answers like 'higher than you'd expect', Nathan directly calls out the logic of that statement.
Nick Weaver's Background and Founding Inspiration 5211 The conversation shifts to founder origins and VC funding history at Menlo. Nathan validates Nick's thesis of owning home network real estate as a strategic distribution play.
Sponsor Break: Sideline App 4224 Following a sponsor read, Nathan drills into unit volumes, clarifying the difference between manufactured units, homes penetrated, and individual Beacon devices.
Hardware Margins and Premium Customer Experience 7348 Nathan applies startup financing math to calculate that Nick must be currently raising or selling based on typical 12-24 month runway cycles. Nick deflects with corporate positivity while Nathan repeatedly corners him.
Eero Plus Ecosystem Partnerships and Growth Targets 5212 Nathan connects Eero's software bundling to past guest data (Malwarebytes) before moving through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Supported
Nick Weaver says Eero invented its own proprietary mesh networking technology
“We invented our own mesh networking technology, so what that means is we're really good at having all these units join together and repeat the signal for each other, so you end up having a really strong signal that's really fast everywhere, and we use mesh tec…”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 3:05
Insight
Nick Weaver says home Wi-Fi complexity increased by two orders of magnitude
“Like the amount of software required to deliver a perfect internet experience in today's world with dozens of devices, people streaming videos, streaming audio, just the complexity is like one or two orders of magnitude greater than it was even just five years…”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 4:43
Disclosure
Eero partners with internet service providers to deploy hardware in customer homes
“So frankly, we've been partnering with a lot of great internet providers, and they've been you know, putting our product into their customers' homes to have a really great experience.”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 5:00
Insight
Nick Weaver says poor Wi-Fi was Roku and Dropcam's biggest product detriment
“And then when I was at Menlo like you mentioned in the intro, we backed companies like Roku and Dropcam and, you know, the single, you know, biggest detriment to their product experience was the internet just not working in people's homes.”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 7:50
Assertion Supported
Nick Weaver says Eero has raised about $100 million in total capital
“Yeah, we've raised about a hundred million dollars.”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 9:08
Insight
Nick Weaver says home networks face constant duty cycles unlike other hardware
“When you look at the network, I mean, even when people aren't home, their networks are under constant use. All those other devices, whether it's a streaming stick or a camera or a speaker, sensors your network's always being used.”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 9:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nick Weaver confirms Eero has manufactured millions of mesh Wi-Fi units
“I mean, we've built millions of euros.”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 12:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nick Weaver says Eero is active in well over 100,000 homes
“Yes, certainly well north of a 100,000 homes.”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 13:29
Disclosure
Nick Weaver says Eero cannot subsidize hardware at cost like Amazon
“Yeah, I mean, we're ensuring that this is a very real business. And, you know, unlike an Amazon, we don't have a incredibly, you know cashflow positive retail business or even more positive cloud business.”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 16:10
Assertion Supported
Eero bundles 1Password, Encrypt.me, and Malwarebytes in Eero Plus subscription
“The first, first big push into Eero plus was now that we've got people's homes connected, let's really focus on making sure they're safe. And it's been awesome to partner with folks like, you know, the team at one password and encrypt me at malware bites and o…”
Nick Weaver Sep 12, 2018 ▶ 18:42
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