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May 12, 2018 · 18m · top-founders

1022 How This Barcelona Sales Tool Grew 2x YoY, Raised $16m, Charging $200/Seat

Oscar Macia · 9m 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

In this episode of Top Entrepreneurs, host Nathan Latka interviews Force Manager co-founder and CEO Oscar Macia, who explains how the Barcelona-based mobile CRM grew 2x year-over-year to $1.4 million in monthly recurring revenue by targeting field sales teams and raising $16 million in venture capital.

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 38.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.5 Guest teaching 3.2 Guest disagreement 1.7 Nathan pushing back 4.0
05100:0010:000:49–3:12 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Introducing Oscar Macia and Force Manager Nathan introduces Force Manager and establishes the industry context, summarizing the use case of field sales apps. Oscar agrees collaboratively and explains how their AI and geolocation context assist field reps.3:12–7:24 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Use Cases: How Hertz Uses Force Manager Nathan probes how a car rental company like Hertz uses field sales and pushes on cap table changes after co-founder equity splits. Oscar clarifies Hertz's B2B corporate sales division and details their funding rounds.7:24–10:20 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Capital Utilization, Scaling Priorities, and Global Team Nathan explicitly interrupts Oscar's general answer about capital raising to pin down where the budget is specifically spent (product vs customer acquisition). Oscar clarifies their transition from inbound to outbound SDRs.10:22–13:41 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Sponsor Break: Nathan Latka on The Top Inbox Following the sponsor read, Nathan presses on fully weighted CAC and pushes back when Oscar gives an LTV-focused margin rather than payback timing, correcting Oscar that long payback horizons can kill a company despite high margins.13:41–16:15 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Net Negative Revenue Churn and Retention Performance Nathan drills deep into SaaS unit economics, disentangling gross logo churn from MRR churn and calculating net expansion. Oscar provides the specific -0.5% net monthly churn figure and customer metrics.16:15–18:42 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through his Famous Five rapid-fire format and playfully notes the irony of using HubSpot while running outbound campaigns before concluding with a comprehensive recap of Force Manager's financial metrics.0:49–3:12 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Oscar Macia and Force Manager Nathan introduces Force Manager and establishes the industry context, summarizing the use case of field sales apps. Oscar agrees collaboratively and explains how their AI and geolocation context assist field reps.3:12–7:24 · Guest teaching 4/10 Customer Use Cases: How Hertz Uses Force Manager Nathan probes how a car rental company like Hertz uses field sales and pushes on cap table changes after co-founder equity splits. Oscar clarifies Hertz's B2B corporate sales division and details their funding rounds.7:24–10:20 · Guest teaching 3/10 Capital Utilization, Scaling Priorities, and Global Team Nathan explicitly interrupts Oscar's general answer about capital raising to pin down where the budget is specifically spent (product vs customer acquisition). Oscar clarifies their transition from inbound to outbound SDRs.10:22–13:41 · Guest teaching 3/10 Sponsor Break: Nathan Latka on The Top Inbox Following the sponsor read, Nathan presses on fully weighted CAC and pushes back when Oscar gives an LTV-focused margin rather than payback timing, correcting Oscar that long payback horizons can kill a company despite high margins.13:41–16:15 · Guest teaching 4/10 Net Negative Revenue Churn and Retention Performance Nathan drills deep into SaaS unit economics, disentangling gross logo churn from MRR churn and calculating net expansion. Oscar provides the specific -0.5% net monthly churn figure and customer metrics.16:15–18:42 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through his Famous Five rapid-fire format and playfully notes the irony of using HubSpot while running outbound campaigns before concluding with a comprehensive recap of Force Manager's financial metrics.0:49–3:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Oscar Macia and Force Manager Nathan introduces Force Manager and establishes the industry context, summarizing the use case of field sales apps. Oscar agrees collaboratively and explains how their AI and geolocation context assist field reps.3:12–7:24 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Customer Use Cases: How Hertz Uses Force Manager Nathan probes how a car rental company like Hertz uses field sales and pushes on cap table changes after co-founder equity splits. Oscar clarifies Hertz's B2B corporate sales division and details their funding rounds.7:24–10:20 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Capital Utilization, Scaling Priorities, and Global Team Nathan explicitly interrupts Oscar's general answer about capital raising to pin down where the budget is specifically spent (product vs customer acquisition). Oscar clarifies their transition from inbound to outbound SDRs.10:22–13:41 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Sponsor Break: Nathan Latka on The Top Inbox Following the sponsor read, Nathan presses on fully weighted CAC and pushes back when Oscar gives an LTV-focused margin rather than payback timing, correcting Oscar that long payback horizons can kill a company despite high margins.13:41–16:15 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Net Negative Revenue Churn and Retention Performance Nathan drills deep into SaaS unit economics, disentangling gross logo churn from MRR churn and calculating net expansion. Oscar provides the specific -0.5% net monthly churn figure and customer metrics.16:15–18:42 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through his Famous Five rapid-fire format and playfully notes the irony of using HubSpot while running outbound campaigns before concluding with a comprehensive recap of Force Manager's financial metrics.0:49–3:12 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Introducing Oscar Macia and Force Manager Nathan introduces Force Manager and establishes the industry context, summarizing the use case of field sales apps. Oscar agrees collaboratively and explains how their AI and geolocation context assist field reps.3:12–7:24 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Customer Use Cases: How Hertz Uses Force Manager Nathan probes how a car rental company like Hertz uses field sales and pushes on cap table changes after co-founder equity splits. Oscar clarifies Hertz's B2B corporate sales division and details their funding rounds.7:24–10:20 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Capital Utilization, Scaling Priorities, and Global Team Nathan explicitly interrupts Oscar's general answer about capital raising to pin down where the budget is specifically spent (product vs customer acquisition). Oscar clarifies their transition from inbound to outbound SDRs.10:22–13:41 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Sponsor Break: Nathan Latka on The Top Inbox Following the sponsor read, Nathan presses on fully weighted CAC and pushes back when Oscar gives an LTV-focused margin rather than payback timing, correcting Oscar that long payback horizons can kill a company despite high margins.13:41–16:15 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Net Negative Revenue Churn and Retention Performance Nathan drills deep into SaaS unit economics, disentangling gross logo churn from MRR churn and calculating net expansion. Oscar provides the specific -0.5% net monthly churn figure and customer metrics.16:15–18:42 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through his Famous Five rapid-fire format and playfully notes the irony of using HubSpot while running outbound campaigns before concluding with a comprehensive recap of Force Manager's financial metrics.

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

0:00 · Nathan 46.4% · guest 53.6%0:00 · Nathan 46.4% · guest 53.6%3:00 · Nathan 22.1% · guest 77.9%3:00 · Nathan 22.1% · guest 77.9%6:00 · Nathan 21.2% · guest 78.8%6:00 · Nathan 21.2% · guest 78.8%9:00 · Nathan 55.3% · guest 44.7%9:00 · Nathan 55.3% · guest 44.7%12:00 · Nathan 29.9% · guest 70.1%12:00 · Nathan 29.9% · guest 70.1%15:00 · Nathan 42.5% · guest 57.5%15:00 · Nathan 42.5% · guest 57.5%18:00 · Nathan 80.9% · guest 19.1%18:00 · Nathan 80.9% · guest 19.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:43 Correcting the host on net negative churn status

When Nathan assumes the company has not reached net negative revenue churn, Oscar firmly clarifies that his prior figures were gross churn and that net churn is indeed negative.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:07 Demanding specifics on capital allocation

Nathan cuts through Oscar's general commentary on tech growth to force him to detail exact strategic expenditures between engineering and sales.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:58 Explaining Hertz's corporate B2B sales model

Oscar educates Nathan on why a seemingly stationary car rental brand like Hertz requires mobile field reps to hunt and farm corporate accounts in-person.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:47 Explaining the critical importance of payback period over lifetime margin

Nathan intervenes on Oscar's lifetime value ratio answer to emphasize that prolonged payback periods can bankrupt a SaaS business regardless of ultimate margins.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Oscar Macia and Force Manager 6311 Nathan introduces Force Manager and establishes the industry context, summarizing the use case of field sales apps. Oscar agrees collaboratively and explains how their AI and geolocation context assist field reps.
Customer Use Cases: How Hertz Uses Force Manager 6425 Nathan probes how a car rental company like Hertz uses field sales and pushes on cap table changes after co-founder equity splits. Oscar clarifies Hertz's B2B corporate sales division and details their funding rounds.
Capital Utilization, Scaling Priorities, and Global Team 7326 Nathan explicitly interrupts Oscar's general answer about capital raising to pin down where the budget is specifically spent (product vs customer acquisition). Oscar clarifies their transition from inbound to outbound SDRs.
Sponsor Break: Nathan Latka on The Top Inbox 7326 Following the sponsor read, Nathan presses on fully weighted CAC and pushes back when Oscar gives an LTV-focused margin rather than payback timing, correcting Oscar that long payback horizons can kill a company despite high margins.
Net Negative Revenue Churn and Retention Performance 8424 Nathan drills deep into SaaS unit economics, disentangling gross logo churn from MRR churn and calculating net expansion. Oscar provides the specific -0.5% net monthly churn figure and customer metrics.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 5212 Nathan runs through his Famous Five rapid-fire format and playfully notes the irony of using HubSpot while running outbound campaigns before concluding with a comprehensive recap of Force Manager's financial metrics.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Contradicted
Macia: Force Manager is Doubling Staff and Revenue Annually
“Well, basically we are doubling our staff and our business every year.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 2:15
Disclosure
Macia: Hertz Uses Force Manager for B2B Client Acquisition and Sales Tracking
“In this case, we help them to get a new customers on board and running through campaigns. And track everything on the process and have a full trackability on how these campaigns are going, or basically managing their sales teams like you do with your.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 3:41
Disclosure
Macia: Force Manager customers average 20-30 reps and $2,000 monthly
“Yeah, I would say it's around a 20, 30 sales reps. Well, that's probably around a two, 2000 dollars per month.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 4:53
Insight
Macia: Growth Is the Best Barrier to Entry in Tech
“As long as we are in the tech business, we know that the best A barrier to entry to our competitors is growth. So we need to grow very, very fast. And the only way to grow very, very fast is having capital.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 7:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Force Manager Spends 80% of Monthly Budget on Sales and Marketing
“Right now I would say that 80% of our expenditure every month, it's going to market it in sales and other related activities to market in sales.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 8:31
Insight
Macia: Outbound sales outperforms online marketing for vertical targeting and feedback
“Now we are putting more resources on, on Advant, because it's a way to be more strategic in sales, because this way we can target better with the industries where we are more strong, and the good thing here is that we get a lot of feedback, because we can actu…”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 9:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Macia: ForceManager CAC is $3k for mid-market, $8k-$10k for enterprise
“In mid-market, it's around a three, three K per customer. And in, in big market, the big corporations, it's about eight to 10 K.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 11:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Macia: ForceManager CAC payback period is 8 to 10 months
“And basically it's between eight to 10 months.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 13:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Macia: Force Manager maintains net negative monthly revenue churn of -0.5%
“The figures I was telling you was a gross turn. The net turn is negative. -0.5%.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 14:48
Disclosure
Force Manager Has 700 Customers With Deployments Up to 3,000 Seats
“We have around 700 customers. Right now, paying customers, and they used to be, you know, around between 23,000 sales reps. 3000 sales reps is the biggest one that we have right now.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 15:14
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Macia doubts Force Manager will break $20M ARR this year
“Well, I don't think so. We will try. It's going to be hard.”
Oscar Macia May 12, 2018 ▶ 15:51
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