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Dec 16, 2017 · 18m · top-founders

875 SaaS: Bizable Passes $1m MRR in Attribution Wars

Aaron Bird · 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 episode of The Top Entrepreneurs Podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Bizible co-founder and CEO Aaron Bird, who discusses how his B2B attribution platform achieved over 50% market share, raised $19 million in venture capital, and scaled past $14 million in ARR.

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 42.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.2 Guest teaching 3.6 Guest disagreement 3.0 Nathan pushing back 4.2
05100:0010:001:13–3:21 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Aaron Bird and Bizible's Market Share Nathan challenges Aaron's assertion of being the market leader, asking for specific metrics. Aaron calmly explains Bizible's market share relative to companies currently paying for B2B marketing attribution.3:21–6:20 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Bizible's Origin, Venture Funding, and Team Growth Nathan drills into pricing tiers and contract values, forcing Aaron to settle on a middle five-figure average annual contract value rather than debating specific cohorts.6:20–11:19 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Debating Cohort Retention and SaaS Churn Metrics A vigorous debate over SaaS retention metrics. Nathan argues that overall revenue churn is standard based on hundreds of founder interviews, while Aaron insists that customer segmentation and cohort analysis are non-negotiable.11:21–15:58 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sponsor Message: HostGator Website Hosting After an ad read, Aaron critiques standard SaaS reliance on LTV/CAC ratios when net retention exceeds 100%, emphasizing CAC payback periods instead, with Nathan concurring.15:58–18:11 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Revenue Milestones and Doubling ARR Growth Nathan uses Bizible's customer count and average contract value to estimate Aaron's MRR and ARR run rate, followed by the standard Famous Five closing questions.1:13–3:21 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Aaron Bird and Bizible's Market Share Nathan challenges Aaron's assertion of being the market leader, asking for specific metrics. Aaron calmly explains Bizible's market share relative to companies currently paying for B2B marketing attribution.3:21–6:20 · Guest teaching 2/10 Bizible's Origin, Venture Funding, and Team Growth Nathan drills into pricing tiers and contract values, forcing Aaron to settle on a middle five-figure average annual contract value rather than debating specific cohorts.6:20–11:19 · Guest teaching 6/10 Debating Cohort Retention and SaaS Churn Metrics A vigorous debate over SaaS retention metrics. Nathan argues that overall revenue churn is standard based on hundreds of founder interviews, while Aaron insists that customer segmentation and cohort analysis are non-negotiable.11:21–15:58 · Guest teaching 5/10 Sponsor Message: HostGator Website Hosting After an ad read, Aaron critiques standard SaaS reliance on LTV/CAC ratios when net retention exceeds 100%, emphasizing CAC payback periods instead, with Nathan concurring.15:58–18:11 · Guest teaching 2/10 Revenue Milestones and Doubling ARR Growth Nathan uses Bizible's customer count and average contract value to estimate Aaron's MRR and ARR run rate, followed by the standard Famous Five closing questions.1:13–3:21 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Aaron Bird and Bizible's Market Share Nathan challenges Aaron's assertion of being the market leader, asking for specific metrics. Aaron calmly explains Bizible's market share relative to companies currently paying for B2B marketing attribution.3:21–6:20 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Bizible's Origin, Venture Funding, and Team Growth Nathan drills into pricing tiers and contract values, forcing Aaron to settle on a middle five-figure average annual contract value rather than debating specific cohorts.6:20–11:19 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Debating Cohort Retention and SaaS Churn Metrics A vigorous debate over SaaS retention metrics. Nathan argues that overall revenue churn is standard based on hundreds of founder interviews, while Aaron insists that customer segmentation and cohort analysis are non-negotiable.11:21–15:58 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Sponsor Message: HostGator Website Hosting After an ad read, Aaron critiques standard SaaS reliance on LTV/CAC ratios when net retention exceeds 100%, emphasizing CAC payback periods instead, with Nathan concurring.15:58–18:11 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Revenue Milestones and Doubling ARR Growth Nathan uses Bizible's customer count and average contract value to estimate Aaron's MRR and ARR run rate, followed by the standard Famous Five closing questions.1:13–3:21 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Aaron Bird and Bizible's Market Share Nathan challenges Aaron's assertion of being the market leader, asking for specific metrics. Aaron calmly explains Bizible's market share relative to companies currently paying for B2B marketing attribution.3:21–6:20 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Bizible's Origin, Venture Funding, and Team Growth Nathan drills into pricing tiers and contract values, forcing Aaron to settle on a middle five-figure average annual contract value rather than debating specific cohorts.6:20–11:19 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Debating Cohort Retention and SaaS Churn Metrics A vigorous debate over SaaS retention metrics. Nathan argues that overall revenue churn is standard based on hundreds of founder interviews, while Aaron insists that customer segmentation and cohort analysis are non-negotiable.11:21–15:58 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Message: HostGator Website Hosting After an ad read, Aaron critiques standard SaaS reliance on LTV/CAC ratios when net retention exceeds 100%, emphasizing CAC payback periods instead, with Nathan concurring.15:58–18:11 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Revenue Milestones and Doubling ARR Growth Nathan uses Bizible's customer count and average contract value to estimate Aaron's MRR and ARR run rate, followed by the standard Famous Five closing questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 59.4% · guest 40.6%0:00 · Nathan 59.4% · guest 40.6%3:00 · Nathan 37% · guest 63%3:00 · Nathan 37% · guest 63%6:00 · Nathan 44.4% · guest 55.6%6:00 · Nathan 44.4% · guest 55.6%9:00 · Nathan 31.9% · guest 68.1%9:00 · Nathan 31.9% · guest 68.1%12:00 · Nathan 41.6% · guest 58.4%12:00 · Nathan 41.6% · guest 58.4%15:00 · Nathan 33.3% · guest 66.7%15:00 · Nathan 33.3% · guest 66.7%18:00 · Nathan 73.4% · guest 26.6%18:00 · Nathan 73.4% · guest 26.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:55 Aaron challenges Nathan's customer concentration argument

Aaron directly counters Nathan's hypothetical scenario by questioning why a company would acquire low-value customers without segmentation in the first place.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:20 Nathan refutes Aaron's industry-wide claim

Nathan interrupts to push back against Aaron's claim that all SaaS operators track retention by cohort, citing data and experience from over 900 founder interviews.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:00 Aaron breaks down SMB versus enterprise CAC and retention dynamics

Aaron educates listeners and the host on how expansion revenue, acquisition cost trade-offs, and department profiles dictate distinct retention baselines.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:20 Nathan demonstrates SaaS churn math from his founder database

Nathan articulates how weighted revenue churn protects against volume loss when enterprise accounts dominate top-line revenue.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Aaron Bird and Bizible's Market Share 4324 Nathan challenges Aaron's assertion of being the market leader, asking for specific metrics. Aaron calmly explains Bizible's market share relative to companies currently paying for B2B marketing attribution.
Bizible's Origin, Venture Funding, and Team Growth 4224 Nathan drills into pricing tiers and contract values, forcing Aaron to settle on a middle five-figure average annual contract value rather than debating specific cohorts.
Debating Cohort Retention and SaaS Churn Metrics 7667 A vigorous debate over SaaS retention metrics. Nathan argues that overall revenue churn is standard based on hundreds of founder interviews, while Aaron insists that customer segmentation and cohort analysis are non-negotiable.
Sponsor Message: HostGator Website Hosting 5533 After an ad read, Aaron critiques standard SaaS reliance on LTV/CAC ratios when net retention exceeds 100%, emphasizing CAC payback periods instead, with Nathan concurring.
Revenue Milestones and Doubling ARR Growth 6223 Nathan uses Bizible's customer count and average contract value to estimate Aaron's MRR and ARR run rate, followed by the standard Famous Five closing questions.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bird: Bizible holds over 50% of B2B marketing attribution market
“So we've got over 50% of the market.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 2:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bird: Around 500 B2B companies pay for marketing attribution solutions
“There's like 500 companies that are paying for a marketing attribution solution in B to B.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 3:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bird: Bizible has 300 customers
“Yeah, 300 customers.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 3:18
Disclosure
Bird: Bizible has raised about $19 million in venture capital
“Yeah, we've raised about nineteen million of venture capital.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 3:41
Disclosure
Bird: Bizible employs a little over 100 people
“We've got a little over a hundred people.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 4:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bird: Bizible contracts range from $20k to hundreds of thousands
“You know, it goes as little as 20,000 a year up to a couple 100,000, something like that.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 5:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bird: Bizible's net revenue retention is slightly over 100%
“It's a little over a hundred percent. So it's the whole thing's growing”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 10:02
Disclosure
Bizible Targets 12 to 18-Month CAC Payback Period
“So the all in, we target 12 to 18 months payback. For CAC.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 13:04
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bird: Bizible's LTV-to-CAC Ratio Is Uniform Across Segments
“The CAC is lower in SMB, but then also, you know, retention is also lower. And so the LTV to CAC is actually about the same across all segments.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 13:13
Insight
Bird: Fast-Growing Startups Should Focus on CAC Payback Over LTV
“I think people, the LTV number is not a, I don't think it's a good number to focus on. We calculate it and it's in our metrics and everything, but it's I think, you know, again, you know, you have 95% logo retention or dollar retention. You know, that customer…”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 14:33
Insight
Bird: Doubling Year-Over-Year Is the Cadence for SaaS Escape Velocity
“Doubling year over year is about the right cadence to get to escape velocity.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 16:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bizible on Track to Double Revenue Year-Over-Year
“Our goal is, is kind of doubling year over year right now. So, I mean, that's the and we're on track to do that.”
Aaron Bird Dec 16, 2017 ▶ 17:13
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