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Jul 2, 2018 · 16m · top-founders

1073 Are 5 Companies at Once Too Many?

Dr. Iman Furutan · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 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

Nathan Latka interviews parallel entrepreneur Dr. Iman Furutan on how he scaled his bootstrapped promotional tech company, Contest Factory, from $800,000 to $1.6 million in revenue while concurrently managing multiple media and music ventures.

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 44.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.8 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 4.2
05100:0010:000:49–4:19 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Meet Dr. Iman Furutan and His Music Ventures Latka introduces Furutan and inquires about his background in the music industry and his patents. Furutan explains the economics of modern record labels and the origins of his user-generated contest patents from 2000.4:20–7:19 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Software vs. Services Revenue, Pricing, and Customer Acquisition Latka drills into Contest Factory's revenue split, pricing tiers, and acquisition metrics. When Furutan hesitates to disclose exact SaaS customer numbers calling it proprietary, Latka pushes him to narrow down the range.7:20–9:29 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Organizational Structure, High-Ticket Retainers, and Eliminating Pricing Friction Latka leverages his personal experience founding Heyo to interrogate SaaS churn in seasonal contest tools. When Furutan cryptically claims a new model will remove pricing obstacles and be almost free, Latka directly challenges the logic.9:32–12:54 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Sponsor Message: Launching Courses with Thinkific After a Thinkific sponsor read, Latka mentally estimates the company's cost structure and revenue baseline based on team size, which Furutan confirms. Latka then calls out Furutan's facial expression regarding his 2018 revenue target.12:55–16:15 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Managing Multiple Businesses and Entrepreneurial Focus Latka challenges Furutan on managing five companies at once, urging him to kill off side projects to focus on one winner. Furutan defends his multi-venture approach before transitioning to the Famous Five questions.0:49–4:19 · Guest teaching 3/10 Meet Dr. Iman Furutan and His Music Ventures Latka introduces Furutan and inquires about his background in the music industry and his patents. Furutan explains the economics of modern record labels and the origins of his user-generated contest patents from 2000.4:20–7:19 · Guest teaching 2/10 Software vs. Services Revenue, Pricing, and Customer Acquisition Latka drills into Contest Factory's revenue split, pricing tiers, and acquisition metrics. When Furutan hesitates to disclose exact SaaS customer numbers calling it proprietary, Latka pushes him to narrow down the range.7:20–9:29 · Guest teaching 2/10 Organizational Structure, High-Ticket Retainers, and Eliminating Pricing Friction Latka leverages his personal experience founding Heyo to interrogate SaaS churn in seasonal contest tools. When Furutan cryptically claims a new model will remove pricing obstacles and be almost free, Latka directly challenges the logic.9:32–12:54 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Message: Launching Courses with Thinkific After a Thinkific sponsor read, Latka mentally estimates the company's cost structure and revenue baseline based on team size, which Furutan confirms. Latka then calls out Furutan's facial expression regarding his 2018 revenue target.12:55–16:15 · Guest teaching 3/10 Managing Multiple Businesses and Entrepreneurial Focus Latka challenges Furutan on managing five companies at once, urging him to kill off side projects to focus on one winner. Furutan defends his multi-venture approach before transitioning to the Famous Five questions.0:49–4:19 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Meet Dr. Iman Furutan and His Music Ventures Latka introduces Furutan and inquires about his background in the music industry and his patents. Furutan explains the economics of modern record labels and the origins of his user-generated contest patents from 2000.4:20–7:19 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Software vs. Services Revenue, Pricing, and Customer Acquisition Latka drills into Contest Factory's revenue split, pricing tiers, and acquisition metrics. When Furutan hesitates to disclose exact SaaS customer numbers calling it proprietary, Latka pushes him to narrow down the range.7:20–9:29 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Organizational Structure, High-Ticket Retainers, and Eliminating Pricing Friction Latka leverages his personal experience founding Heyo to interrogate SaaS churn in seasonal contest tools. When Furutan cryptically claims a new model will remove pricing obstacles and be almost free, Latka directly challenges the logic.9:32–12:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Message: Launching Courses with Thinkific After a Thinkific sponsor read, Latka mentally estimates the company's cost structure and revenue baseline based on team size, which Furutan confirms. Latka then calls out Furutan's facial expression regarding his 2018 revenue target.12:55–16:15 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Managing Multiple Businesses and Entrepreneurial Focus Latka challenges Furutan on managing five companies at once, urging him to kill off side projects to focus on one winner. Furutan defends his multi-venture approach before transitioning to the Famous Five questions.0:49–4:19 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Meet Dr. Iman Furutan and His Music Ventures Latka introduces Furutan and inquires about his background in the music industry and his patents. Furutan explains the economics of modern record labels and the origins of his user-generated contest patents from 2000.4:20–7:19 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Software vs. Services Revenue, Pricing, and Customer Acquisition Latka drills into Contest Factory's revenue split, pricing tiers, and acquisition metrics. When Furutan hesitates to disclose exact SaaS customer numbers calling it proprietary, Latka pushes him to narrow down the range.7:20–9:29 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Organizational Structure, High-Ticket Retainers, and Eliminating Pricing Friction Latka leverages his personal experience founding Heyo to interrogate SaaS churn in seasonal contest tools. When Furutan cryptically claims a new model will remove pricing obstacles and be almost free, Latka directly challenges the logic.9:32–12:54 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Sponsor Message: Launching Courses with Thinkific After a Thinkific sponsor read, Latka mentally estimates the company's cost structure and revenue baseline based on team size, which Furutan confirms. Latka then calls out Furutan's facial expression regarding his 2018 revenue target.12:55–16:15 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Managing Multiple Businesses and Entrepreneurial Focus Latka challenges Furutan on managing five companies at once, urging him to kill off side projects to focus on one winner. Furutan defends his multi-venture approach before transitioning to the Famous Five questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 60.8% · guest 39.2%0:00 · Nathan 60.8% · guest 39.2%3:00 · Nathan 13.4% · guest 86.6%3:00 · Nathan 13.4% · guest 86.6%6:00 · Nathan 35.7% · guest 64.3%6:00 · Nathan 35.7% · guest 64.3%9:00 · Nathan 83.1% · guest 16.9%9:00 · Nathan 83.1% · guest 16.9%12:00 · Nathan 31.9% · guest 68.1%12:00 · Nathan 31.9% · guest 68.1%15:00 · Nathan 39.4% · guest 60.6%15:00 · Nathan 39.4% · guest 60.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:58 Furutan defends cryptic pricing claims against Latka's grilling

Furutan resists Latka's blunt inquiry about monetization by asserting that eliminating upfront pricing obstacles will disrupt competitors.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:58 Latka calls out contradictory pricing logic

Latka refuses to accept Furutan's vague claim of offering everything for free, immediately pointing out that it cannot be entirely free if the company makes money.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:26 Furutan details early patented UGC voting systems

Furutan educates Latka on how he created and patented the method for digital contest submissions and fan voting in 2000 before American Idol popularized the format.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:26 Latka applies domain experience running Heyo to highlight churn

Latka demonstrates firsthand industry expertise by citing his past SaaS startup Heyo and explaining the inherent churn problem with holiday-driven promotional software.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Meet Dr. Iman Furutan and His Music Ventures 4311 Latka introduces Furutan and inquires about his background in the music industry and his patents. Furutan explains the economics of modern record labels and the origins of his user-generated contest patents from 2000.
Software vs. Services Revenue, Pricing, and Customer Acquisition 6225 Latka drills into Contest Factory's revenue split, pricing tiers, and acquisition metrics. When Furutan hesitates to disclose exact SaaS customer numbers calling it proprietary, Latka pushes him to narrow down the range.
Organizational Structure, High-Ticket Retainers, and Eliminating Pricing Friction 7236 Latka leverages his personal experience founding Heyo to interrogate SaaS churn in seasonal contest tools. When Furutan cryptically claims a new model will remove pricing obstacles and be almost free, Latka directly challenges the logic.
Sponsor Message: Launching Courses with Thinkific 7114 After a Thinkific sponsor read, Latka mentally estimates the company's cost structure and revenue baseline based on team size, which Furutan confirms. Latka then calls out Furutan's facial expression regarding his 2018 revenue target.
Managing Multiple Businesses and Entrepreneurial Focus 5325 Latka challenges Furutan on managing five companies at once, urging him to kill off side projects to focus on one winner. Furutan defends his multi-venture approach before transitioning to the Famous Five questions.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Supported
Furutan: Partner Russ Regan signed Elton John, Barry White, and Neil Diamond
“My partner is Ross Regan. He's the one who actually signed Elton John and Olivia Newton John and Barry White and Neil Diamond.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 2:06
Assertion Supported
Furutan: Contest Factory owns patents for online contests and voting
“And in fact we, as you mentioned, we own the patents on online contests and voting.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 3:13
Disclosure
Furutan: Contest Factory revenue is 70% custom campaigns and 30% SaaS
“As of right now, I would say probably about 70% was custom, 30% SaaS, because we really haven't put a big push behind the SaaS.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 4:50
Disclosure
Furutan: Contest Factory SaaS averages $49 to $50 monthly
“Average will be about probably 50 bucks or 49 bucks but our top tier right now is 900 dollars, which actually comes with all the official rules, legally compliant rules, which is a piece that most people miss.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 5:23
Disclosure
Furutan: Contest Factory is entirely bootstrapped and has never raised capital
“It's all bootstrap. I've had the company for many years and never raised any money, even though now I'm being approached by all kinds of investors.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 6:24
Disclosure
Furutan: Contest Factory custom campaigns average $20,000 in price
“The, it starts as a minimum of about eight grand, and it goes all the way to, you know, to 60 or 70. The average would probably be about 20 grand.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 7:54
Disclosure
Furutan: Contest Factory is cashflow positive on agency work, not SaaS
“On the SaaS part, no, but on the other side, yes.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 11:21
Disclosure
Furutan: Contest Factory revenue grew about 50% over the past year
“Oh, but about 50%.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 12:32
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Furutan: Contest Factory will do over $2M in revenue in 2018
“We're looking to do over two million, we believe in, in 2018.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 12:48
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Furutan: Company software targets TV ads to 44,000 U.S. zip codes
“We have special software written to actually target any one of the 44,000 zip codes in the United States for TV ads at a fraction of the cost on any channel that you want.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 13:21
Disclosure
Furutan: Other business profits absorb Contest Factory's operating losses
“And Contest Factory, since it's my baby, and that's the one I started 17 years ago, I keep at it, so and that's why I've been able to actually absorb some of the losses, because the other sides make up for it.”
Dr. Iman Furutan Jul 2, 2018 ▶ 13:38
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