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Dec 14, 2017 · 24m · top-founders

873 How ShareThis Is Pivoting To A B2B SaaS Data Play

Kurt Abrahamson · 13m spoken Nathan Latka · 9m 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, ShareThis CEO Kurt Abrahamson explains how the company transitioned from a ubiquitous free sharing widget and low-margin ad media network into a high-margin, recurring B2B behavioral data licensing SaaS business.

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 40.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.4 Guest teaching 1.9 Guest disagreement 1.1 Nathan pushing back 2.6
05100:0010:0020:001:13–3:20 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Kurt Abrahamson and ShareThis Core Offering Nathan introduces Kurt and candidly provokes him by calling ShareThis an oversimplified 'sharing widget.' Kurt calmly reframes the premise by pointing to their massive global footprint across three million domains.3:20–6:03 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Monetization Strategy and Anonymous Data Licensing Kurt explains the monetization model of licensing anonymized data. When Nathan accidentally says 'unanimous' data, Kurt playfully corrects him.6:03–8:41 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Pricing Models, Global Data Moat, and Privacy Compliance Nathan digs into pricing structures (flat-fee SaaS vs. variable CPM) and typical deal sizes. Kurt shares that the average flat-fee client pays $10k-$15k/month with longer enterprise sales cycles driven by privacy compliance.8:41–11:46 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pivoting from Low-Margin Media to Pure Data SaaS Nathan explores the history of ShareThis, its capital raised, and Kurt's appointment as CEO. Kurt outlines why the business shifted away from lower-margin media buying to focus entirely on high-margin data feeds.11:49–16:45 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Sponsor Segment: ProsperWorks CRM Following a sponsor read, Nathan calculates ShareThis's new ARR trajectory and presses Kurt on the timeline for data SaaS to overtake legacy revenue. Kurt validates the math and outlines why insertion-order revenue was too unpredictable.16:45–21:03 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Team Operations, Retention Metrics, and Market Expansion Nathan drills down on unit economics, team allocation across product and sales, and customer retention. Kurt acknowledges high retention (90%+) and explains their international moat across Europe, APAC, and LatAm.21:03–22:35 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 The 2012 AdTech M&A Boom and Series C Fundraising Nathan displays deep industry knowledge citing 2012 M&A deals like Buddy Media, Wildfire, and Involver, asking why ShareThis didn't sell and whether they leveraged the hype to raise their Series C.1:13–3:20 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Kurt Abrahamson and ShareThis Core Offering Nathan introduces Kurt and candidly provokes him by calling ShareThis an oversimplified 'sharing widget.' Kurt calmly reframes the premise by pointing to their massive global footprint across three million domains.3:20–6:03 · Guest teaching 3/10 Monetization Strategy and Anonymous Data Licensing Kurt explains the monetization model of licensing anonymized data. When Nathan accidentally says 'unanimous' data, Kurt playfully corrects him.6:03–8:41 · Guest teaching 2/10 Pricing Models, Global Data Moat, and Privacy Compliance Nathan digs into pricing structures (flat-fee SaaS vs. variable CPM) and typical deal sizes. Kurt shares that the average flat-fee client pays $10k-$15k/month with longer enterprise sales cycles driven by privacy compliance.8:41–11:46 · Guest teaching 2/10 Pivoting from Low-Margin Media to Pure Data SaaS Nathan explores the history of ShareThis, its capital raised, and Kurt's appointment as CEO. Kurt outlines why the business shifted away from lower-margin media buying to focus entirely on high-margin data feeds.11:49–16:45 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Segment: ProsperWorks CRM Following a sponsor read, Nathan calculates ShareThis's new ARR trajectory and presses Kurt on the timeline for data SaaS to overtake legacy revenue. Kurt validates the math and outlines why insertion-order revenue was too unpredictable.16:45–21:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Team Operations, Retention Metrics, and Market Expansion Nathan drills down on unit economics, team allocation across product and sales, and customer retention. Kurt acknowledges high retention (90%+) and explains their international moat across Europe, APAC, and LatAm.21:03–22:35 · Guest teaching 1/10 The 2012 AdTech M&A Boom and Series C Fundraising Nathan displays deep industry knowledge citing 2012 M&A deals like Buddy Media, Wildfire, and Involver, asking why ShareThis didn't sell and whether they leveraged the hype to raise their Series C.1:13–3:20 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Kurt Abrahamson and ShareThis Core Offering Nathan introduces Kurt and candidly provokes him by calling ShareThis an oversimplified 'sharing widget.' Kurt calmly reframes the premise by pointing to their massive global footprint across three million domains.3:20–6:03 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Monetization Strategy and Anonymous Data Licensing Kurt explains the monetization model of licensing anonymized data. When Nathan accidentally says 'unanimous' data, Kurt playfully corrects him.6:03–8:41 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Pricing Models, Global Data Moat, and Privacy Compliance Nathan digs into pricing structures (flat-fee SaaS vs. variable CPM) and typical deal sizes. Kurt shares that the average flat-fee client pays $10k-$15k/month with longer enterprise sales cycles driven by privacy compliance.8:41–11:46 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Pivoting from Low-Margin Media to Pure Data SaaS Nathan explores the history of ShareThis, its capital raised, and Kurt's appointment as CEO. Kurt outlines why the business shifted away from lower-margin media buying to focus entirely on high-margin data feeds.11:49–16:45 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Segment: ProsperWorks CRM Following a sponsor read, Nathan calculates ShareThis's new ARR trajectory and presses Kurt on the timeline for data SaaS to overtake legacy revenue. Kurt validates the math and outlines why insertion-order revenue was too unpredictable.16:45–21:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Team Operations, Retention Metrics, and Market Expansion Nathan drills down on unit economics, team allocation across product and sales, and customer retention. Kurt acknowledges high retention (90%+) and explains their international moat across Europe, APAC, and LatAm.21:03–22:35 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The 2012 AdTech M&A Boom and Series C Fundraising Nathan displays deep industry knowledge citing 2012 M&A deals like Buddy Media, Wildfire, and Involver, asking why ShareThis didn't sell and whether they leveraged the hype to raise their Series C.1:13–3:20 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Introducing Kurt Abrahamson and ShareThis Core Offering Nathan introduces Kurt and candidly provokes him by calling ShareThis an oversimplified 'sharing widget.' Kurt calmly reframes the premise by pointing to their massive global footprint across three million domains.3:20–6:03 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Monetization Strategy and Anonymous Data Licensing Kurt explains the monetization model of licensing anonymized data. When Nathan accidentally says 'unanimous' data, Kurt playfully corrects him.6:03–8:41 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Pricing Models, Global Data Moat, and Privacy Compliance Nathan digs into pricing structures (flat-fee SaaS vs. variable CPM) and typical deal sizes. Kurt shares that the average flat-fee client pays $10k-$15k/month with longer enterprise sales cycles driven by privacy compliance.8:41–11:46 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Pivoting from Low-Margin Media to Pure Data SaaS Nathan explores the history of ShareThis, its capital raised, and Kurt's appointment as CEO. Kurt outlines why the business shifted away from lower-margin media buying to focus entirely on high-margin data feeds.11:49–16:45 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Segment: ProsperWorks CRM Following a sponsor read, Nathan calculates ShareThis's new ARR trajectory and presses Kurt on the timeline for data SaaS to overtake legacy revenue. Kurt validates the math and outlines why insertion-order revenue was too unpredictable.16:45–21:03 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Team Operations, Retention Metrics, and Market Expansion Nathan drills down on unit economics, team allocation across product and sales, and customer retention. Kurt acknowledges high retention (90%+) and explains their international moat across Europe, APAC, and LatAm.21:03–22:35 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The 2012 AdTech M&A Boom and Series C Fundraising Nathan displays deep industry knowledge citing 2012 M&A deals like Buddy Media, Wildfire, and Involver, asking why ShareThis didn't sell and whether they leveraged the hype to raise their Series C.

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

0:00 · Nathan 74.3% · guest 25.7%0:00 · Nathan 74.3% · guest 25.7%3:00 · Nathan 17% · guest 83%3:00 · Nathan 17% · guest 83%6:00 · Nathan 21.9% · guest 78.1%6:00 · Nathan 21.9% · guest 78.1%9:00 · Nathan 16.7% · guest 83.3%9:00 · Nathan 16.7% · guest 83.3%12:00 · Nathan 61.5% · guest 38.5%12:00 · Nathan 61.5% · guest 38.5%15:00 · Nathan 42% · guest 58%15:00 · Nathan 42% · guest 58%18:00 · Nathan 31.4% · guest 68.6%18:00 · Nathan 31.4% · guest 68.6%21:00 · Nathan 52.2% · guest 47.8%21:00 · Nathan 52.2% · guest 47.8%24:00 · Nathan 94.6% · guest 5.4%24:00 · Nathan 94.6% · guest 5.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:14 Kurt corrects unanimous to anonymous

Kurt humorously interrupts and calls out Nathan for mispronouncing 'anonymous' data as 'unanimous.'

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 1:40 Nathan bluntly challenges widget differentiation

Nathan intentionally minimizes the product to a commoditized sharing widget and demands Kurt explain their real moat against WordPress plugin copycats.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:00 Kurt explains the margin realities of media vs data

Kurt provides an insider breakdown of agency consolidation and explains why buying media inventory cuts gross margins by 40-50%.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 21:03 Nathan rattles off exact 2012 adtech buyout comps

Nathan showcases strong domain memory by citing exact 2012 acquisition valuations (Buddy Media, Wildfire, Involver) to probe ShareThis's funding history.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Kurt Abrahamson and ShareThis Core Offering 5213 Nathan introduces Kurt and candidly provokes him by calling ShareThis an oversimplified 'sharing widget.' Kurt calmly reframes the premise by pointing to their massive global footprint across three million domains.
Monetization Strategy and Anonymous Data Licensing 3321 Kurt explains the monetization model of licensing anonymized data. When Nathan accidentally says 'unanimous' data, Kurt playfully corrects him.
Pricing Models, Global Data Moat, and Privacy Compliance 5213 Nathan digs into pricing structures (flat-fee SaaS vs. variable CPM) and typical deal sizes. Kurt shares that the average flat-fee client pays $10k-$15k/month with longer enterprise sales cycles driven by privacy compliance.
Pivoting from Low-Margin Media to Pure Data SaaS 6212 Nathan explores the history of ShareThis, its capital raised, and Kurt's appointment as CEO. Kurt outlines why the business shifted away from lower-margin media buying to focus entirely on high-margin data feeds.
Sponsor Segment: ProsperWorks CRM 6113 Following a sponsor read, Nathan calculates ShareThis's new ARR trajectory and presses Kurt on the timeline for data SaaS to overtake legacy revenue. Kurt validates the math and outlines why insertion-order revenue was too unpredictable.
Team Operations, Retention Metrics, and Market Expansion 6213 Nathan drills down on unit economics, team allocation across product and sales, and customer retention. Kurt acknowledges high retention (90%+) and explains their international moat across Europe, APAC, and LatAm.
The 2012 AdTech M&A Boom and Series C Fundraising 7113 Nathan displays deep industry knowledge citing 2012 M&A deals like Buddy Media, Wildfire, and Involver, asking why ShareThis didn't sell and whether they leveraged the hype to raise their Series C.

Statements from this episode (13)

Assertion Not publicly verifiable
ShareThis tools are installed on over three million domains globally
“So we sit on over three million domains globally.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 1:58
Assertion Supported
ShareThis ranks as a top 10 digital property by tool distribution
“So it was and is a top 10 property if you just look at the distribution of the tools.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 2:07
Disclosure
ShareThis generates the majority of its revenue through data licensing
“Right now we make money mostly through licensing the data.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 3:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
ShareThis tracks 30 to 40 million users sharing entertainment content
“We have, you know, 30 or forty million people who've shared content in the entertainment vertical that are interested in entertainment content.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 5:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
70% of ShareThis's publishers and data originate outside the United States
“Now, the other thing that's really our moat, so to speak, is that 70% of the publishers and the data is non-US which is surprising to a lot of people, right?”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 7:12
Disclosure
ShareThis charges its flat-fee SaaS data customers $10,000 to $15,000 monthly
“I would say the average is 10 to 15,000.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 7:48
Disclosure
ShareThis has raised over $50 million in total funding
“We've raised over fifty million to date.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 8:45
Assertion Contradicted
Procter & Gamble reduced its ad vendor count from 500 to 50
“Procter & Gamble is a good example. They've gone from. 500 vendors to 50 vendors in the last two or three years.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 9:12
Insight
Ad media businesses pay 40% to 50% of revenue to publishers
“Media business, you know, when you run your inventory, generally. 40 to 50% of that money goes to the publisher, so to speak, directly for that inventory. And so it's a lower margin, more capital intensive business.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 9:36
Disclosure
ShareThis has approximately 30 direct enterprise customers for data licensing
“So we have about 30 direct customers on the data”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 10:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
ShareThis's legacy advertising media revenue significantly exceeded $10 million annually
“Significantly more than ten million.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 16:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
ShareThis's B2B data licensing business maintains over 90% customer retention
“Right now it's a 90% plus.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 20:00
Opinion
Most 2012 social media software acquisitions failed to deliver for acquirers
“Most of those acquisitions were great for the companies that were acquired, but they, the business model did not work out the way a lot of those big companies thought.”
Kurt Abrahamson Dec 14, 2017 ▶ 22:03
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