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Apr 10, 2018 · 22m · top-founders

990 How Commenting App Disqus Makes $20m+ Annually

Daniel Ha · 12m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m 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 Disqus co-founder and CEO Daniel Ha on scaling the ubiquitous web commenting platform to two billion monthly visitors. Ha breaks down their $20M+ programmatic advertising and subscription revenue model, lean operational discipline, and ultimate ~$90 million acquisition by Zeta Global.

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 36.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 4.2 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 3.6
05100:0010:0020:000:49–4:01 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Introducing Daniel Ha, Co-Founder and CEO of Disqus Latka introduces Ha and Discuss (mispronouncing it initially) and asks standard founding origin questions. The dynamic is conversational and collaborative as Ha outlines early product traction.4:02–7:48 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Monetization Strategy: Advertising vs. Software Subscriptions Latka challenges whether a $10/month tier is viable, prompting Ha to reveal that 80% of revenue comes from advertising. Latka connects this to a recent guest from ShareThis and asks Ha to define SSP and DMP industry acronyms.7:48–10:14 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Company Scale and the Zeta Global Acquisition Latka is caught off guard when Ha reveals that Disqus was acquired by Zeta Global the prior week, which Latka's research team had missed. Ha explains Zeta's business model and the rationale for remaining an independent unit.10:18–12:40 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sponsor Message: SignEasy Electronic Signature Platform Following an ad read, Latka presses on revenue concentration risk among Disqus's 25 platform partners. Latka successfully corners Ha into confirming annual revenue sits between $20M and $40M.12:40–19:36 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Strategic Rationale and Valuation in the Zeta Acquisition Latka aggressively drills into how Disqus was valued, highlighting the difference between media multiples and SaaS multiples. Ha explains their 70%+ gross margins while politely deflecting the exact sale price, which Latka's team looks up live.0:49–4:01 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Daniel Ha, Co-Founder and CEO of Disqus Latka introduces Ha and Discuss (mispronouncing it initially) and asks standard founding origin questions. The dynamic is conversational and collaborative as Ha outlines early product traction.4:02–7:48 · Guest teaching 4/10 Monetization Strategy: Advertising vs. Software Subscriptions Latka challenges whether a $10/month tier is viable, prompting Ha to reveal that 80% of revenue comes from advertising. Latka connects this to a recent guest from ShareThis and asks Ha to define SSP and DMP industry acronyms.7:48–10:14 · Guest teaching 6/10 Company Scale and the Zeta Global Acquisition Latka is caught off guard when Ha reveals that Disqus was acquired by Zeta Global the prior week, which Latka's research team had missed. Ha explains Zeta's business model and the rationale for remaining an independent unit.10:18–12:40 · Guest teaching 4/10 Sponsor Message: SignEasy Electronic Signature Platform Following an ad read, Latka presses on revenue concentration risk among Disqus's 25 platform partners. Latka successfully corners Ha into confirming annual revenue sits between $20M and $40M.12:40–19:36 · Guest teaching 5/10 Strategic Rationale and Valuation in the Zeta Acquisition Latka aggressively drills into how Disqus was valued, highlighting the difference between media multiples and SaaS multiples. Ha explains their 70%+ gross margins while politely deflecting the exact sale price, which Latka's team looks up live.0:49–4:01 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Introducing Daniel Ha, Co-Founder and CEO of Disqus Latka introduces Ha and Discuss (mispronouncing it initially) and asks standard founding origin questions. The dynamic is conversational and collaborative as Ha outlines early product traction.4:02–7:48 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Monetization Strategy: Advertising vs. Software Subscriptions Latka challenges whether a $10/month tier is viable, prompting Ha to reveal that 80% of revenue comes from advertising. Latka connects this to a recent guest from ShareThis and asks Ha to define SSP and DMP industry acronyms.7:48–10:14 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Company Scale and the Zeta Global Acquisition Latka is caught off guard when Ha reveals that Disqus was acquired by Zeta Global the prior week, which Latka's research team had missed. Ha explains Zeta's business model and the rationale for remaining an independent unit.10:18–12:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Message: SignEasy Electronic Signature Platform Following an ad read, Latka presses on revenue concentration risk among Disqus's 25 platform partners. Latka successfully corners Ha into confirming annual revenue sits between $20M and $40M.12:40–19:36 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Strategic Rationale and Valuation in the Zeta Acquisition Latka aggressively drills into how Disqus was valued, highlighting the difference between media multiples and SaaS multiples. Ha explains their 70%+ gross margins while politely deflecting the exact sale price, which Latka's team looks up live.0:49–4:01 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Introducing Daniel Ha, Co-Founder and CEO of Disqus Latka introduces Ha and Discuss (mispronouncing it initially) and asks standard founding origin questions. The dynamic is conversational and collaborative as Ha outlines early product traction.4:02–7:48 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Monetization Strategy: Advertising vs. Software Subscriptions Latka challenges whether a $10/month tier is viable, prompting Ha to reveal that 80% of revenue comes from advertising. Latka connects this to a recent guest from ShareThis and asks Ha to define SSP and DMP industry acronyms.7:48–10:14 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Company Scale and the Zeta Global Acquisition Latka is caught off guard when Ha reveals that Disqus was acquired by Zeta Global the prior week, which Latka's research team had missed. Ha explains Zeta's business model and the rationale for remaining an independent unit.10:18–12:40 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Sponsor Message: SignEasy Electronic Signature Platform Following an ad read, Latka presses on revenue concentration risk among Disqus's 25 platform partners. Latka successfully corners Ha into confirming annual revenue sits between $20M and $40M.12:40–19:36 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Strategic Rationale and Valuation in the Zeta Acquisition Latka aggressively drills into how Disqus was valued, highlighting the difference between media multiples and SaaS multiples. Ha explains their 70%+ gross margins while politely deflecting the exact sale price, which Latka's team looks up live.

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

0:00 · Nathan 63.4% · guest 36.6%0:00 · Nathan 63.4% · guest 36.6%3:00 · Nathan 21.1% · guest 78.9%3:00 · Nathan 21.1% · guest 78.9%6:00 · Nathan 30.3% · guest 69.7%6:00 · Nathan 30.3% · guest 69.7%9:00 · Nathan 47.7% · guest 52.3%9:00 · Nathan 47.7% · guest 52.3%12:00 · Nathan 26.2% · guest 73.8%12:00 · Nathan 26.2% · guest 73.8%15:00 · Nathan 17.2% · guest 82.8%15:00 · Nathan 17.2% · guest 82.8%18:00 · Nathan 40% · guest 60%18:00 · Nathan 40% · guest 60%21:00 · Nathan 55.5% · guest 44.5%21:00 · Nathan 55.5% · guest 44.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 18:43 Ha deflects Latka's questions on sale price

Ha resists Latka's direct prompts to reveal the exact acquisition price and multiple, telling Latka to do his own research.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 17:25 Latka challenges low media multiples

Latka refuses soft corporate framing around valuation, bluntly asserting that media businesses receive poor revenue multiples compared to SaaS.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:10 Ha informs Latka of company acquisition

Ha catches Latka completely unprepared by announcing Disqus was just acquired by Zeta Global, which Latka admits his research team missed.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 17:45 Latka breaks down SaaS vs media gross margins

Latka demonstrates his financial fluency by pinpointing gross operating margins and contrasting media multiples with SaaS multiples.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Daniel Ha, Co-Founder and CEO of Disqus 3201 Latka introduces Ha and Discuss (mispronouncing it initially) and asks standard founding origin questions. The dynamic is conversational and collaborative as Ha outlines early product traction.
Monetization Strategy: Advertising vs. Software Subscriptions 6413 Latka challenges whether a $10/month tier is viable, prompting Ha to reveal that 80% of revenue comes from advertising. Latka connects this to a recent guest from ShareThis and asks Ha to define SSP and DMP industry acronyms.
Company Scale and the Zeta Global Acquisition 3602 Latka is caught off guard when Ha reveals that Disqus was acquired by Zeta Global the prior week, which Latka's research team had missed. Ha explains Zeta's business model and the rationale for remaining an independent unit.
Sponsor Message: SignEasy Electronic Signature Platform 5415 Following an ad read, Latka presses on revenue concentration risk among Disqus's 25 platform partners. Latka successfully corners Ha into confirming annual revenue sits between $20M and $40M.
Strategic Rationale and Valuation in the Zeta Acquisition 7527 Latka aggressively drills into how Disqus was valued, highlighting the difference between media multiples and SaaS multiples. Ha explains their 70%+ gross margins while politely deflecting the exact sale price, which Latka's team looks up live.

Statements from this episode (6)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ha: Advertising makes up 80% of Disqus revenue
“So advertising and software are two businesses and advertising makes up 80% of our business.”
Daniel Ha Apr 10, 2018 ▶ 6:25
Disclosure
Ha: Disqus raised less than $30M total over 10 years
“We've raised less than thirty million.”
Daniel Ha Apr 10, 2018 ▶ 7:54
Disclosure
Ha: Disqus maintains a team of under 100 employees
“And team is under a hundred people.”
Daniel Ha Apr 10, 2018 ▶ 8:08
Disclosure
Ha: Disqus is profitable and makes over $20M in annual revenue
“So discuss has been a profitable. We are in the 20 plus million dollar annual mark.”
Daniel Ha Apr 10, 2018 ▶ 12:31
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ha: Media Businesses Typically Get Only 1x to 2x Revenue Multiples
“Media businesses typically don't have, you know, one, maybe two X multiple off their top.”
Daniel Ha Apr 10, 2018 ▶ 17:10
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ha: Disqus Operates at 70%+ Gross Operating Margins
“Yeah, gross gross operating margins. We're in the 70 plus percent range.”
Daniel Ha Apr 10, 2018 ▶ 17:55
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