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Aug 26, 2018 · 18m · top-founders

1128 New CEO with New Funding Grows SalesScout from $35k to $260k MRR

Chris Lynde · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m 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, host Nathan Latka interviews SalesScout CEO Chris Lynde on scaling the B2B data-as-a-service platform from $35k to $260k in monthly recurring revenue within a single year. Lynde breaks down their hybrid global data validation model, performance-based pricing, and capital-efficient enterprise acquisition strategy.

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 35.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 3.3
05100:0010:001:24–4:02 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Chris Lynde and SalesScout's Business Model Latka presses Lynde to pin down his contract values and unpacks how their cost-per-lead pricing differentiates them from standard SaaS companies.4:02–8:35 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Retention, Funding, and Hyper-Growth Scaling Latka challenges the lead-generation model on churn risk, then aggressively calculates run rates and monthly growth targets alongside Lynde.8:35–15:57 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Data Accuracy Strategy, Global Operations, and Unit Economics Latka resolves blended ACV discrepancies and drills into CAC, while Lynde provides an in-depth lesson on B2B data compilation and census statistics.15:57–18:21 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion A quick and friendly walkthrough of the standard Famous Five questions followed by Latka's outro summary.1:24–4:02 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Chris Lynde and SalesScout's Business Model Latka presses Lynde to pin down his contract values and unpacks how their cost-per-lead pricing differentiates them from standard SaaS companies.4:02–8:35 · Guest teaching 2/10 Customer Retention, Funding, and Hyper-Growth Scaling Latka challenges the lead-generation model on churn risk, then aggressively calculates run rates and monthly growth targets alongside Lynde.8:35–15:57 · Guest teaching 6/10 Data Accuracy Strategy, Global Operations, and Unit Economics Latka resolves blended ACV discrepancies and drills into CAC, while Lynde provides an in-depth lesson on B2B data compilation and census statistics.15:57–18:21 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion A quick and friendly walkthrough of the standard Famous Five questions followed by Latka's outro summary.1:24–4:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Chris Lynde and SalesScout's Business Model Latka presses Lynde to pin down his contract values and unpacks how their cost-per-lead pricing differentiates them from standard SaaS companies.4:02–8:35 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Customer Retention, Funding, and Hyper-Growth Scaling Latka challenges the lead-generation model on churn risk, then aggressively calculates run rates and monthly growth targets alongside Lynde.8:35–15:57 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Data Accuracy Strategy, Global Operations, and Unit Economics Latka resolves blended ACV discrepancies and drills into CAC, while Lynde provides an in-depth lesson on B2B data compilation and census statistics.15:57–18:21 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion A quick and friendly walkthrough of the standard Famous Five questions followed by Latka's outro summary.1:24–4:02 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Introducing Chris Lynde and SalesScout's Business Model Latka presses Lynde to pin down his contract values and unpacks how their cost-per-lead pricing differentiates them from standard SaaS companies.4:02–8:35 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Customer Retention, Funding, and Hyper-Growth Scaling Latka challenges the lead-generation model on churn risk, then aggressively calculates run rates and monthly growth targets alongside Lynde.8:35–15:57 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Data Accuracy Strategy, Global Operations, and Unit Economics Latka resolves blended ACV discrepancies and drills into CAC, while Lynde provides an in-depth lesson on B2B data compilation and census statistics.15:57–18:21 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion A quick and friendly walkthrough of the standard Famous Five questions followed by Latka's outro summary.

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

0:00 · Nathan 63.6% · guest 36.4%0:00 · Nathan 63.6% · guest 36.4%3:00 · Nathan 34.7% · guest 65.3%3:00 · Nathan 34.7% · guest 65.3%6:00 · Nathan 33.2% · guest 66.8%6:00 · Nathan 33.2% · guest 66.8%9:00 · Nathan 21.3% · guest 78.7%9:00 · Nathan 21.3% · guest 78.7%12:00 · Nathan 18.8% · guest 81.2%12:00 · Nathan 18.8% · guest 81.2%15:00 · Nathan 32.7% · guest 67.3%15:00 · Nathan 32.7% · guest 67.3%18:00 · Nathan 91% · guest 9%18:00 · Nathan 91% · guest 9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:15 Deflecting exact CAC dollar figures

When pushed repeatedly for an exact acquisition cost metric, Lynde resists direct numerical categorization and insists they essentially spent nothing by eating their own dog food.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 4:02 Pushback on lead pricing churn volatility

Latka directly confronts the model's viability by pointing out that cost-per-lead pricing typically suffers from high churn due to seasonal demand swings.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:07 Exposing the dirty secret of data compilers

Lynde explains the flaw in data compilers claiming tens of millions of contacts by breaking down US Census figures on non-employer businesses.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:15 Rapid calculation of blended ACV

Latka quickly runs the mental math dividing $280k MRR across 100 customers to correct the ACV baseline to $2,800 a month.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Chris Lynde and SalesScout's Business Model 5213 Latka presses Lynde to pin down his contract values and unpacks how their cost-per-lead pricing differentiates them from standard SaaS companies.
Customer Retention, Funding, and Hyper-Growth Scaling 6214 Latka challenges the lead-generation model on churn risk, then aggressively calculates run rates and monthly growth targets alongside Lynde.
Data Accuracy Strategy, Global Operations, and Unit Economics 6625 Latka resolves blended ACV discrepancies and drills into CAC, while Lynde provides an in-depth lesson on B2B data compilation and census statistics.
The Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion 3001 A quick and friendly walkthrough of the standard Famous Five questions followed by Latka's outro summary.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Partly supported
Lynde: SalesScout counts CenturyLink, RingCentral, and WeWork as customers
“We work with some of the biggest brands out there, CenturyLink, Mitel, RingCentral, Windstream, Iron Mountain, WeWork.”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 2:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lynde: SalesScout customer contracts range from $60k to $400k annually
“So it can be anywhere from three to 400,000 dollars a year to as little as five to 10,000 dollars a month, right?”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 2:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SalesScout maintains annual revenue churn below 2%
“I lost less than two percent.”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 4:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SalesScout counts 30 enterprise and 70 smaller customers
“We have we have 30 enterprise customers, And roughly 70 smaller customers.”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 6:31
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SalesScout grew MRR from $35k to $260k in 2017
“I came in, we were at a run rate of 35,000 dollars a month. We closed December at 260. Yeah, in twenty-seventeen. So I came in March first, January first of that year, we were doing about 35,000 in revenue. In December of 2017, we finished at two 60.”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 7:33
Prediction Not checkable as stated
SalesScout targets $15M to $20M revenue by 2020
“We'll do about three and a half million next year, seven million after that, and 15 to 20 and 20.”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 7:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SalesScout database contains 10M companies and 3.5M decision makers
“We have ten million companies, three and a half million decision makers.”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 11:37
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lynde: 90% of businesses in typical compiler databases have no employees
“Well, if you, the dirty little secret about this business is that 90% of those are non-employer based companies. And companies that are selling B to B services to another company certainly don't want to target other companies with no employees.”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 11:52
Disclosure
SalesScout spent zero on marketing last year with one salesperson
“We didn't spend a dime on, on marketing last year. We had one person beating the street, and we saw that kind of growth.”
Chris Lynde Aug 26, 2018 ▶ 14:24
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