Nov 9, 2017 · 31m · top-founders
838: SaaS: Conga Passes 9,000 Customers, $77m Raised for Documents, Contract, and Data Management
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Host Nathan Latka interviews Conga CEO Matt Schiltz about scaling the Salesforce ecosystem's leading document and contract automation platform to over 9,000 customers, 85-87% gross margins, and $77 million in institutional funding.
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 36.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Nathan as informed peer 4.9 Guest teaching 2.9 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.3
speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 14:54 Matt resists sensationalized marketing framing
When pressed to share off-the-wall marketing stunts, Matt firmly declines to fabricate hype and insists Conga is built on reliable, unglamorous execution.
Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 14:54 Nathan rejects conventional referral answerNathan immediately cuts off Matt's cocktail party referral response, calling it an easy cop-out and demanding real edge-case marketing tactics.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 18:34 Matt clarifies sales bookings versus recognized revenueMatt corrects Nathan's interpretation of 200% growth by differentiating annual contract bookings velocity from recognized subscription revenue ramps.
Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:47 Nathan cites industry net negative churn benchmarksNathan demonstrates domain expertise by citing specific ARR expansion benchmarks and referencing metrics from other SaaS leaders like Demandbase.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Nathan as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Nathan pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promotional Announcement: GetLatka SaaS Database | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Nathan introduces Matt Schiltz and asks how hired CEOs partner with technical founders without provoking founder fear. Matt elaborates on his 'one-two punch' philosophy of executive scaling. | |
| Conga's Product Architecture and SaaS Model | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Matt outlines Conga's product suite in the Salesforce ISV ecosystem and claims negative churn. Nathan seeks immediate clarification on whether that metric is dollar or logo retention. | |
| Benchmarking Retention Rates and Net Negative Churn | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | Nathan benchmarks Conga's retention metrics against previous guests like Demandbase and explores customer tiering. Matt defines SaaS churn standards and explains how Salesforce delineates mid-market versus enterprise thresholds at 5,000 employees. | |
| Salesforce AppExchange Ecosystem and Acquisition Channels | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | Nathan probes AppExchange revenue-share splits and pushes Matt to share unconventional customer acquisition tactics. Matt deflects confidential revenue-split figures and defends unflashy, meat-and-potatoes B2B sales execution. | |
| Customer Footprint, Sales Growth, and Gross Margins | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | Matt claims 200% sales growth, leading Nathan to clarify the distinction between bookings and recognized revenue. Matt walks through the SaaS bookings mechanics and confirms standard gross margin ranges. | |
| Funding Structure: Insight Venture Partners and Salesforce | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | Nathan confirms funding details from Insight Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures before asking for exact employee headcount. Matt keeps the team size intentionally broad to prevent competitor talent poaching. | |
| Evaluating IPO Pathways and Capital Efficiency | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Nathan compares Conga to other scaled SaaS companies weighing public listings. Matt praises Nathan's framing of IPOs as funding events rather than finish lines and outlines brand and trust considerations. | |
| Sponsor Segment: Acuity Scheduling Promotion | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Nathan delivers an Acuity Scheduling ad read and navigates the Famous Five lightning round. Matt candidly identifies basic email as his highest-productivity tool and shares advice on early leadership culture. |
Statements from this episode (12)
Schiltz: Scale by Pairing Technical Founders With Execution-Driven CEOs
“The one, two punches, you've got a great founder, Really in-depth knowledge of the marketplace and the technology, and then you bring in a compatible business-oriented CEO that's got a lot of execution experience”
Schiltz: Conga Is a Top-Five Global ISV in Salesforce Network
“Bottom line is we're one of the top five global ISVs in the Salesforce network.”
Schiltz: Conga Operates With Negative Net Revenue Churn
“It's fair to say we actually have negative churn.”
Schiltz: Conga Customers Are Two-Thirds Mid-Market, One-Third Enterprise
“Our split is very similar actually to Salesforce, which is about two-thirds mid-market and department-level enterprise, and then one-third true kind of enterprise. Customer base.”
Schiltz: Salesforce AppExchange Is Conga's Top Customer Acquisition Channel
“The Salesforce AppExchange, excuse me, in general has been our number one customer acquisition vehicle”
Schiltz: Conga Pays Revenue Share to Be Active Salesforce Partner
“We contribute to the a percentage of revenue to be an active member a very active member in the global ecosystem.”
Schiltz: Conga Bookings Grew 200% Last Year and Will Double Again
“We grew on a sales basis 200% last year, and we'll do another hundred percent this year.”
Schiltz: Insight Venture Partners Acquired Majority Conga Stake in 2015
“We're majority owned by Insight Venture Partners of New York. So they're the largest software investor in the U.S. And so in 2015 they acquired a majority share of Conga”
Schiltz: Salesforce Ventures Invested $7 Million in Conga in May 2017
“They invest seven million dollars in the company.”
Schiltz: Public Scrutiny From an IPO Builds Crucial Brand Trust
“If you look at the service, it's a trusted service, right? You trust them to hold the signing process for very important contracts and documents and sales agreements, right? That lends itself to, Hey, I'm a public company. I'm under the scrutiny of all that. I…”