StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Feb 20, 2018 · 19m · top-founders

941 From Affiliate Marketer to $150k MRR SaaS Entrepreneur

Jimmy Kim · 9m 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 interview, Sendlane CEO Jimmy Kim breaks down how his bootstrapped email automation platform scaled to $150,000 in monthly recurring revenue across 6,500 paying customers. Kim shares insights on SaaS unit economics, building a 24/7 customer support moat, and transitioning from serial entrepreneurship to singular focus.

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 46.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.5 Guest teaching 1.5 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:000:49–3:04 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Introducing Jimmy Kim and Sendlane The conversation starts warmly with Jimmy complimenting Nathan's show for teaching him about SaaS metrics. Nathan shares an anecdote about learning ARPU to connect with Jimmy's journey into tracking churn and MRR.3:06–5:54 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Origin Story, Customer Scale, and Churn Management Nathan quickly calculates MRR based on Jimmy's 6,500 active customers and $23 ARPU. He digs into the monthly churn rate of 6% and asks for tactical measures to lower it.5:54–8:34 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Customer Service Strategy and Influencer Growth Nathan questions how Sendlane can afford a five-minute 24/7 customer service response time on low ARPU. He articulates the advantage of Jimmy leveraging his influencer audience to attain SaaS margins.8:34–11:00 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Marketing Spend and Potential $1 Million Fundraising Nathan queries Jimmy's CAC, sales team structure, and potential fundraising plans. Jimmy admits CAC is still shaky due to minimal ad spend, while outlining a planned $1M raise.11:03–15:22 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Acquisition Offers and Sendlane's Long-Term Vision Nathan pushes Jimmy on why he would decline early acquisition offers, explaining how an early exit builds founder momentum. He then pivots into evaluating Jimmy's side venture Doodly and assesses potential valuation multiples.15:23–18:36 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Sendlane Customer Tiers and Lifetime Value Jimmy breaks down the difference in churn between lower tier users and those paying $49 or more. Nathan tests Jimmy on industry competitor revenue figures and does fast math on Jimmy's potential payout from a software exit.0:49–3:04 · Guest teaching 1/10 Introducing Jimmy Kim and Sendlane The conversation starts warmly with Jimmy complimenting Nathan's show for teaching him about SaaS metrics. Nathan shares an anecdote about learning ARPU to connect with Jimmy's journey into tracking churn and MRR.3:06–5:54 · Guest teaching 2/10 Origin Story, Customer Scale, and Churn Management Nathan quickly calculates MRR based on Jimmy's 6,500 active customers and $23 ARPU. He digs into the monthly churn rate of 6% and asks for tactical measures to lower it.5:54–8:34 · Guest teaching 1/10 Customer Service Strategy and Influencer Growth Nathan questions how Sendlane can afford a five-minute 24/7 customer service response time on low ARPU. He articulates the advantage of Jimmy leveraging his influencer audience to attain SaaS margins.8:34–11:00 · Guest teaching 1/10 Marketing Spend and Potential $1 Million Fundraising Nathan queries Jimmy's CAC, sales team structure, and potential fundraising plans. Jimmy admits CAC is still shaky due to minimal ad spend, while outlining a planned $1M raise.11:03–15:22 · Guest teaching 2/10 Acquisition Offers and Sendlane's Long-Term Vision Nathan pushes Jimmy on why he would decline early acquisition offers, explaining how an early exit builds founder momentum. He then pivots into evaluating Jimmy's side venture Doodly and assesses potential valuation multiples.15:23–18:36 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sendlane Customer Tiers and Lifetime Value Jimmy breaks down the difference in churn between lower tier users and those paying $49 or more. Nathan tests Jimmy on industry competitor revenue figures and does fast math on Jimmy's potential payout from a software exit.0:49–3:04 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Jimmy Kim and Sendlane The conversation starts warmly with Jimmy complimenting Nathan's show for teaching him about SaaS metrics. Nathan shares an anecdote about learning ARPU to connect with Jimmy's journey into tracking churn and MRR.3:06–5:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Origin Story, Customer Scale, and Churn Management Nathan quickly calculates MRR based on Jimmy's 6,500 active customers and $23 ARPU. He digs into the monthly churn rate of 6% and asks for tactical measures to lower it.5:54–8:34 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Customer Service Strategy and Influencer Growth Nathan questions how Sendlane can afford a five-minute 24/7 customer service response time on low ARPU. He articulates the advantage of Jimmy leveraging his influencer audience to attain SaaS margins.8:34–11:00 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Marketing Spend and Potential $1 Million Fundraising Nathan queries Jimmy's CAC, sales team structure, and potential fundraising plans. Jimmy admits CAC is still shaky due to minimal ad spend, while outlining a planned $1M raise.11:03–15:22 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Acquisition Offers and Sendlane's Long-Term Vision Nathan pushes Jimmy on why he would decline early acquisition offers, explaining how an early exit builds founder momentum. He then pivots into evaluating Jimmy's side venture Doodly and assesses potential valuation multiples.15:23–18:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sendlane Customer Tiers and Lifetime Value Jimmy breaks down the difference in churn between lower tier users and those paying $49 or more. Nathan tests Jimmy on industry competitor revenue figures and does fast math on Jimmy's potential payout from a software exit.0:49–3:04 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Jimmy Kim and Sendlane The conversation starts warmly with Jimmy complimenting Nathan's show for teaching him about SaaS metrics. Nathan shares an anecdote about learning ARPU to connect with Jimmy's journey into tracking churn and MRR.3:06–5:54 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Origin Story, Customer Scale, and Churn Management Nathan quickly calculates MRR based on Jimmy's 6,500 active customers and $23 ARPU. He digs into the monthly churn rate of 6% and asks for tactical measures to lower it.5:54–8:34 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Customer Service Strategy and Influencer Growth Nathan questions how Sendlane can afford a five-minute 24/7 customer service response time on low ARPU. He articulates the advantage of Jimmy leveraging his influencer audience to attain SaaS margins.8:34–11:00 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Marketing Spend and Potential $1 Million Fundraising Nathan queries Jimmy's CAC, sales team structure, and potential fundraising plans. Jimmy admits CAC is still shaky due to minimal ad spend, while outlining a planned $1M raise.11:03–15:22 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Acquisition Offers and Sendlane's Long-Term Vision Nathan pushes Jimmy on why he would decline early acquisition offers, explaining how an early exit builds founder momentum. He then pivots into evaluating Jimmy's side venture Doodly and assesses potential valuation multiples.15:23–18:36 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sendlane Customer Tiers and Lifetime Value Jimmy breaks down the difference in churn between lower tier users and those paying $49 or more. Nathan tests Jimmy on industry competitor revenue figures and does fast math on Jimmy's potential payout from a software exit.

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

0:00 · Nathan 54.5% · guest 45.5%0:00 · Nathan 54.5% · guest 45.5%3:00 · Nathan 29.8% · guest 70.2%3:00 · Nathan 29.8% · guest 70.2%6:00 · Nathan 42.8% · guest 57.2%6:00 · Nathan 42.8% · guest 57.2%9:00 · Nathan 60.1% · guest 39.9%9:00 · Nathan 60.1% · guest 39.9%12:00 · Nathan 43.2% · guest 56.8%12:00 · Nathan 43.2% · guest 56.8%15:00 · Nathan 42.3% · guest 57.7%15:00 · Nathan 42.3% · guest 57.7%18:00 · Nathan 65.6% · guest 34.4%18:00 · Nathan 65.6% · guest 34.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:18 Jimmy flatly rejects buyout proposition

Jimmy directly dismisses Nathan's premise that he should take a quick multi-million dollar exit, expressing high confidence in dominating the competitive email market.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:47 Nathan challenges founder reluctance around early exits

Nathan counters Jimmy's rejection by lecturing on the strategic value of momentum events and asks why founders consistently turn down early acquisitions.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:44 Jimmy details bifurcated cohort retention dynamics

Jimmy explains the operational reality of SaaS churn in his business, demonstrating that 18-month retention on $49+ plans offsets high turnover among starter tiers.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:33 Nathan articulates the content-to-SaaS playbook

Nathan demonstrates sharp industry knowledge by breaking down why info-product creators launch software products to capture higher margins through built-in distribution.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Jimmy Kim and Sendlane 6112 The conversation starts warmly with Jimmy complimenting Nathan's show for teaching him about SaaS metrics. Nathan shares an anecdote about learning ARPU to connect with Jimmy's journey into tracking churn and MRR.
Origin Story, Customer Scale, and Churn Management 6213 Nathan quickly calculates MRR based on Jimmy's 6,500 active customers and $23 ARPU. He digs into the monthly churn rate of 6% and asks for tactical measures to lower it.
Customer Service Strategy and Influencer Growth 7124 Nathan questions how Sendlane can afford a five-minute 24/7 customer service response time on low ARPU. He articulates the advantage of Jimmy leveraging his influencer audience to attain SaaS margins.
Marketing Spend and Potential $1 Million Fundraising 6123 Nathan queries Jimmy's CAC, sales team structure, and potential fundraising plans. Jimmy admits CAC is still shaky due to minimal ad spend, while outlining a planned $1M raise.
Acquisition Offers and Sendlane's Long-Term Vision 7224 Nathan pushes Jimmy on why he would decline early acquisition offers, explaining how an early exit builds founder momentum. He then pivots into evaluating Jimmy's side venture Doodly and assesses potential valuation multiples.
Sendlane Customer Tiers and Lifetime Value 7213 Jimmy breaks down the difference in churn between lower tier users and those paying $49 or more. Nathan tests Jimmy on industry competitor revenue figures and does fast math on Jimmy's potential payout from a software exit.

Statements from this episode (15)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane's average customer pays $23 per month
“Right now it's 23 dollars.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 1:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane has been 100% bootstrapped since launch
“100% bootstrapped from the day we started.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 4:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane reached profitability almost from its first month of hiring
“We put our money in initially to build the platform out, and the moment we started hiring people, we were actually profitable from almost the first month in.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 4:15
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane currently has 6,500 active paying customers
“Active customers, we have 6500 right now.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 4:25
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane's monthly churn rate is slightly above 6%
“It's about a little over six percent right now.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 5:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane maintains a five-minute customer service response time 24/7
“An average customer service response time in most industries, about eight hours, right? Ours is five minutes, 24 hours a day. It's 365 days a year.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 6:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane spent only $36K on advertising across two years
“That actually explains why we've spent only 36,000 dollars in two years of advertising, and everything else has been 100% influencer driven. We don't have many affiliates. We pay out like 2000 a month affiliates.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 8:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane has zero dedicated salespeople besides its CEO
“Zero. Just me.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 8:40
Disclosure
Kim: Sendlane plans to raise $1M to fund marketing
“We're looking at raise about a million dollars probably.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 9:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Jimmy Kim: Doodly generates $60K in monthly recurring revenue
“Does about 60,000 a month, monthly reoccurring.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 12:41
Disclosure
Kim: Spends just one hour weekly managing Doodly media
“The only thing I do personally is I spend one hour on Saturdays taking care of media.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 13:05
Disclosure
Jimmy Kim: Willing to sell Doodly for $1M to $2M
“I think anywhere from two million dollars, right around one to two million dollars would make me very happy.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 13:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Jimmy Kim: Doodly nets $10K to $15K monthly profit
“Last month it probably made 15 grand, 10, 15 grand, so about 20%.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 14:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane's customer lifetime value is under $300
“Right now it's right under 300 bucks right now.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 15:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Kim: Sendlane's $49+ customers stay 18 months versus 3 for cheaper tiers
“When they're paying 49 or above right now, the stick rate is like 18 months. It's really heavy. When they're under there, that's where all my churn rate comes in. It's like three months.”
Jimmy Kim Feb 20, 2018 ▶ 16:01
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more