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Jul 28, 2018 · 16m · top-founders

1099 Salt Lake Event Management Company Breaks $4m in ARR, 30,000 Paid Events

Craig Peeler · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top Entrepreneurs Podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Spingo founder Craig Peeler to explore how the event management software platform scaled to $3.6 million in revenue through an event-based SaaS model, media syndication partnerships, and 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 41.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.6 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 3.6
05100:0010:001:18–4:07 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Target Audience and Event-Based SaaS Business Model Latka pushes Peeler to normalize his per-event pricing into a standard recurring monthly SaaS figure. Peeler maintains that event organizers have disparate schedules, forcing Latka to accept the per-event framing and move on.4:08–6:24 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Founding History and Strategic Evolution of Spingo Peeler outlines the founding story of Spingo from 2008 to national expansion in 2012. Latka listens closely, clarifying the distinction between total historical events listed and annual paying customers.6:25–9:25 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Financial Planning, Revenue Growth, and Capital Raising Latka attempts to calculate ARR by multiplying 30k events by $1,000 to suggest $30M revenue, which Peeler immediately corrects. Latka then aggressively narrows down the actual revenue bracket until Peeler discloses $3.6M.9:27–14:48 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Customer Acquisition Engine and Enterprise Unit Economics Latka demonstrates deep SaaS expertise while questioning Peeler on CAC payback periods and distinguishing logo churn from net revenue churn. Peeler details their media syndication funnel and large fair economics.14:50–16:24 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Latka delivers an efficient wrap-up monologue synthesizing the company metrics and financial trajectory.1:18–4:07 · Guest teaching 3/10 Target Audience and Event-Based SaaS Business Model Latka pushes Peeler to normalize his per-event pricing into a standard recurring monthly SaaS figure. Peeler maintains that event organizers have disparate schedules, forcing Latka to accept the per-event framing and move on.4:08–6:24 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founding History and Strategic Evolution of Spingo Peeler outlines the founding story of Spingo from 2008 to national expansion in 2012. Latka listens closely, clarifying the distinction between total historical events listed and annual paying customers.6:25–9:25 · Guest teaching 5/10 Financial Planning, Revenue Growth, and Capital Raising Latka attempts to calculate ARR by multiplying 30k events by $1,000 to suggest $30M revenue, which Peeler immediately corrects. Latka then aggressively narrows down the actual revenue bracket until Peeler discloses $3.6M.9:27–14:48 · Guest teaching 3/10 Customer Acquisition Engine and Enterprise Unit Economics Latka demonstrates deep SaaS expertise while questioning Peeler on CAC payback periods and distinguishing logo churn from net revenue churn. Peeler details their media syndication funnel and large fair economics.14:50–16:24 · Guest teaching 1/10 Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Latka delivers an efficient wrap-up monologue synthesizing the company metrics and financial trajectory.1:18–4:07 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Target Audience and Event-Based SaaS Business Model Latka pushes Peeler to normalize his per-event pricing into a standard recurring monthly SaaS figure. Peeler maintains that event organizers have disparate schedules, forcing Latka to accept the per-event framing and move on.4:08–6:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founding History and Strategic Evolution of Spingo Peeler outlines the founding story of Spingo from 2008 to national expansion in 2012. Latka listens closely, clarifying the distinction between total historical events listed and annual paying customers.6:25–9:25 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Financial Planning, Revenue Growth, and Capital Raising Latka attempts to calculate ARR by multiplying 30k events by $1,000 to suggest $30M revenue, which Peeler immediately corrects. Latka then aggressively narrows down the actual revenue bracket until Peeler discloses $3.6M.9:27–14:48 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Customer Acquisition Engine and Enterprise Unit Economics Latka demonstrates deep SaaS expertise while questioning Peeler on CAC payback periods and distinguishing logo churn from net revenue churn. Peeler details their media syndication funnel and large fair economics.14:50–16:24 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Latka delivers an efficient wrap-up monologue synthesizing the company metrics and financial trajectory.1:18–4:07 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Target Audience and Event-Based SaaS Business Model Latka pushes Peeler to normalize his per-event pricing into a standard recurring monthly SaaS figure. Peeler maintains that event organizers have disparate schedules, forcing Latka to accept the per-event framing and move on.4:08–6:24 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Founding History and Strategic Evolution of Spingo Peeler outlines the founding story of Spingo from 2008 to national expansion in 2012. Latka listens closely, clarifying the distinction between total historical events listed and annual paying customers.6:25–9:25 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Financial Planning, Revenue Growth, and Capital Raising Latka attempts to calculate ARR by multiplying 30k events by $1,000 to suggest $30M revenue, which Peeler immediately corrects. Latka then aggressively narrows down the actual revenue bracket until Peeler discloses $3.6M.9:27–14:48 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Customer Acquisition Engine and Enterprise Unit Economics Latka demonstrates deep SaaS expertise while questioning Peeler on CAC payback periods and distinguishing logo churn from net revenue churn. Peeler details their media syndication funnel and large fair economics.14:50–16:24 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Latka delivers an efficient wrap-up monologue synthesizing the company metrics and financial trajectory.

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

0:00 · Nathan 59.2% · guest 40.8%0:00 · Nathan 59.2% · guest 40.8%3:00 · Nathan 28.9% · guest 71.1%3:00 · Nathan 28.9% · guest 71.1%6:00 · Nathan 49.3% · guest 50.7%6:00 · Nathan 49.3% · guest 50.7%9:00 · Nathan 19.7% · guest 80.3%9:00 · Nathan 19.7% · guest 80.3%12:00 · Nathan 30% · guest 70%12:00 · Nathan 30% · guest 70%15:00 · Nathan 86.7% · guest 13.3%15:00 · Nathan 86.7% · guest 13.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 3:50 Resisting monthly SaaS normalization

Peeler firmly resists Latka's attempts to frame his business as a standard monthly SaaS model, repeatedly insisting that pricing must be understood per-event.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:00 Drilling down to exact revenue figures

Latka refuses vague revenue ranges, pressing Peeler repeatedly on whether ARR is north of ten million or five million until Peeler provides the exact 3.6 million figure.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:49 Correcting inflated 30M ARR estimate

Peeler educates Latka on the wide variance in campaign sizes, dismantling Latka's napkin math assumption that 30k events equates to over thirty million in ARR.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:43 Clarifying logo vs net negative churn mechanics

Latka showcases his SaaS expertise by pressing past a top-level churn statistic to clarify whether it represents logo churn and if expansion puts them in net negative churn territory.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Target Audience and Event-Based SaaS Business Model 6325 Latka pushes Peeler to normalize his per-event pricing into a standard recurring monthly SaaS figure. Peeler maintains that event organizers have disparate schedules, forcing Latka to accept the per-event framing and move on.
Founding History and Strategic Evolution of Spingo 4212 Peeler outlines the founding story of Spingo from 2008 to national expansion in 2012. Latka listens closely, clarifying the distinction between total historical events listed and annual paying customers.
Financial Planning, Revenue Growth, and Capital Raising 6526 Latka attempts to calculate ARR by multiplying 30k events by $1,000 to suggest $30M revenue, which Peeler immediately corrects. Latka then aggressively narrows down the actual revenue bracket until Peeler discloses $3.6M.
Customer Acquisition Engine and Enterprise Unit Economics 7314 Latka demonstrates deep SaaS expertise while questioning Peeler on CAC payback periods and distinguishing logo churn from net revenue churn. Peeler details their media syndication funnel and large fair economics.
Famous Five Questions and Episode Conclusion 5101 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions. Latka delivers an efficient wrap-up monologue synthesizing the company metrics and financial trajectory.

Statements from this episode (10)

Disclosure
Peeler: Spingo operates on per-event SaaS model
“Yeah, it's a per event SaaS platform. You know, they pay as they do an event. A lot of our clients do an event every month, or at least you know, six events a year.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 1:57
Disclosure
Peeler: Spingo customers pay $1K to $10K per event
“Like I say, it's per event, and it's usually somewhere between a 1010 thousand dollars that they pay, and that's. That's marketing and registration.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 3:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Craig Peeler: Spingo has had 7 million events added over six years
“And all in, we've had seven million events added to spin go over the last six years.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 4:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Craig Peeler: Spingo has had nearly 100,000 paid customers over six years
“And then we've had close to a 100,000 that have come in and paid us for either marketing or event support.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 4:11
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Peeler: Spingo will surpass 30,000 paying clients in 2018
“So this year we'll probably have over 30,000 clients that will pay us for either campaigns or for Or for event support.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 4:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peeler: Spingo grew revenue 50% last year and 100% the year before
“We did we grew last year by 50%, and the year before that, we grew a hundred percent.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 8:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peeler: Spingo generated $3.6M in revenue last year
“Last year we did 3.6.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 8:21
Disclosure
Peeler: Spingo has raised $10M in capital
“We've raised 10.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 8:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peeler: Spingo generates $1.00 to $1.50 per attendee at major events
“And on average, we get between a dollar and a dollar 50 per attendee that comes through one of these events.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 12:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peeler: Spingo reports Event Master annual logo churn is below 4%
“For somebody who uses Event Master, our turn is less than four percent.”
Craig Peeler Jul 28, 2018 ▶ 12:45
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