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Oct 28, 2017 · 19m · top-founders

826: AdTech: Bootstrapped to $1m-$10m With 20% EBIDTA Margin

Christian Geissendoerfer · 10m 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, host Nathan Latka interviews Christian Geissendoerfer, founder and CEO of Yoose, exploring how the bootstrapped AdTech startup scaled to multi-million-dollar revenue and 20% EBITDA margins through location-based mobile advertising.

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 39.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 0.7 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:001:03–4:03 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Exclusive Access Offer for the GetLatka.com Database The segment begins with Nathan's database promo before introducing Christian. Nathan asks foundational questions about how Yoose operates and acquires ad inventory, which Christian explains cooperatively.4:04–9:40 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 CPM Arbitrage Business Model and Yoose's Strategic Evolution Nathan drills into the CPM arbitrage model and pins Christian down on revenue figures. Christian openly admits he anticipated the rapid-fire financial probing as a regular listener of the show.9:41–12:35 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Channel Partnerships, Profit Margins, and Operational Hub in Vietnam Christian clarifies that their partner agreements rely on transparent profit sharing rather than standard sales commissions. Nathan presses on EBITDA margins and how Christian allocates operational capital.12:35–15:25 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Founder Journey, Corporate Career at IBM, and Early Location Ideas Nathan probes Christian's personal finances and prior career at IBM. Christian details leveraging the French unemployment safety net and early concepts for location-based dating apps.15:25–17:30 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Overview of German Accelerator Southeast Asia Nathan questions why Christian manages an accelerator without taking equity, prompting Christian to clarify his government-backed compensation and mission before Nathan cuts to a mid-roll sponsor segment.17:30–18:59 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire conclusion where Christian provides succinct answers and Nathan delivers a quick recap of the company metrics.1:03–4:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Exclusive Access Offer for the GetLatka.com Database The segment begins with Nathan's database promo before introducing Christian. Nathan asks foundational questions about how Yoose operates and acquires ad inventory, which Christian explains cooperatively.4:04–9:40 · Guest teaching 2/10 CPM Arbitrage Business Model and Yoose's Strategic Evolution Nathan drills into the CPM arbitrage model and pins Christian down on revenue figures. Christian openly admits he anticipated the rapid-fire financial probing as a regular listener of the show.9:41–12:35 · Guest teaching 3/10 Channel Partnerships, Profit Margins, and Operational Hub in Vietnam Christian clarifies that their partner agreements rely on transparent profit sharing rather than standard sales commissions. Nathan presses on EBITDA margins and how Christian allocates operational capital.12:35–15:25 · Guest teaching 3/10 Founder Journey, Corporate Career at IBM, and Early Location Ideas Nathan probes Christian's personal finances and prior career at IBM. Christian details leveraging the French unemployment safety net and early concepts for location-based dating apps.15:25–17:30 · Guest teaching 2/10 Overview of German Accelerator Southeast Asia Nathan questions why Christian manages an accelerator without taking equity, prompting Christian to clarify his government-backed compensation and mission before Nathan cuts to a mid-roll sponsor segment.17:30–18:59 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire conclusion where Christian provides succinct answers and Nathan delivers a quick recap of the company metrics.1:03–4:03 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Exclusive Access Offer for the GetLatka.com Database The segment begins with Nathan's database promo before introducing Christian. Nathan asks foundational questions about how Yoose operates and acquires ad inventory, which Christian explains cooperatively.4:04–9:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 CPM Arbitrage Business Model and Yoose's Strategic Evolution Nathan drills into the CPM arbitrage model and pins Christian down on revenue figures. Christian openly admits he anticipated the rapid-fire financial probing as a regular listener of the show.9:41–12:35 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Channel Partnerships, Profit Margins, and Operational Hub in Vietnam Christian clarifies that their partner agreements rely on transparent profit sharing rather than standard sales commissions. Nathan presses on EBITDA margins and how Christian allocates operational capital.12:35–15:25 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founder Journey, Corporate Career at IBM, and Early Location Ideas Nathan probes Christian's personal finances and prior career at IBM. Christian details leveraging the French unemployment safety net and early concepts for location-based dating apps.15:25–17:30 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Overview of German Accelerator Southeast Asia Nathan questions why Christian manages an accelerator without taking equity, prompting Christian to clarify his government-backed compensation and mission before Nathan cuts to a mid-roll sponsor segment.17:30–18:59 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire conclusion where Christian provides succinct answers and Nathan delivers a quick recap of the company metrics.1:03–4:03 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Exclusive Access Offer for the GetLatka.com Database The segment begins with Nathan's database promo before introducing Christian. Nathan asks foundational questions about how Yoose operates and acquires ad inventory, which Christian explains cooperatively.4:04–9:40 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 CPM Arbitrage Business Model and Yoose's Strategic Evolution Nathan drills into the CPM arbitrage model and pins Christian down on revenue figures. Christian openly admits he anticipated the rapid-fire financial probing as a regular listener of the show.9:41–12:35 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Channel Partnerships, Profit Margins, and Operational Hub in Vietnam Christian clarifies that their partner agreements rely on transparent profit sharing rather than standard sales commissions. Nathan presses on EBITDA margins and how Christian allocates operational capital.12:35–15:25 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Founder Journey, Corporate Career at IBM, and Early Location Ideas Nathan probes Christian's personal finances and prior career at IBM. Christian details leveraging the French unemployment safety net and early concepts for location-based dating apps.15:25–17:30 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Overview of German Accelerator Southeast Asia Nathan questions why Christian manages an accelerator without taking equity, prompting Christian to clarify his government-backed compensation and mission before Nathan cuts to a mid-roll sponsor segment.17:30–18:59 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Standard Famous Five rapid-fire conclusion where Christian provides succinct answers and Nathan delivers a quick recap of the company metrics.

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

0:00 · Nathan 79.5% · guest 20.5%0:00 · Nathan 79.5% · guest 20.5%3:00 · Nathan 11% · guest 89%3:00 · Nathan 11% · guest 89%6:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%6:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%9:00 · Nathan 28.6% · guest 71.4%9:00 · Nathan 28.6% · guest 71.4%12:00 · Nathan 13.6% · guest 86.4%12:00 · Nathan 13.6% · guest 86.4%15:00 · Nathan 57.7% · guest 42.3%15:00 · Nathan 57.7% · guest 42.3%18:00 · Nathan 63.9% · guest 36.1%18:00 · Nathan 63.9% · guest 36.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:20 Teasing the host about predictable grilling

Christian playfully preempts Nathan's standard line of questioning regarding venture capital versus bootstrapping, turning the interrogation dynamic into a self-aware game.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 15:52 Challenging the incentive structure of the accelerator

Nathan bluntly challenges why Christian would run an accelerator without taking equity stakes or fees from participating startups.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:35 Clarifying white label margin mechanics

Christian corrects Nathan's assumption that partners simply take standard reseller commissions, explaining they operate on transparent two-way profit-sharing.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 6:49 Pinning down revenue bracket and EBITDA range

Nathan systematically bounds Christian's revenue between $1M and $10M and calculates implied bottom-line cash flow based on stated margins.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Exclusive Access Offer for the GetLatka.com Database 4202 The segment begins with Nathan's database promo before introducing Christian. Nathan asks foundational questions about how Yoose operates and acquires ad inventory, which Christian explains cooperatively.
CPM Arbitrage Business Model and Yoose's Strategic Evolution 6214 Nathan drills into the CPM arbitrage model and pins Christian down on revenue figures. Christian openly admits he anticipated the rapid-fire financial probing as a regular listener of the show.
Channel Partnerships, Profit Margins, and Operational Hub in Vietnam 6314 Christian clarifies that their partner agreements rely on transparent profit sharing rather than standard sales commissions. Nathan presses on EBITDA margins and how Christian allocates operational capital.
Founder Journey, Corporate Career at IBM, and Early Location Ideas 4313 Nathan probes Christian's personal finances and prior career at IBM. Christian details leveraging the French unemployment safety net and early concepts for location-based dating apps.
Overview of German Accelerator Southeast Asia 3213 Nathan questions why Christian manages an accelerator without taking equity, prompting Christian to clarify his government-backed compensation and mission before Nathan cuts to a mid-roll sponsor segment.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 4101 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire conclusion where Christian provides succinct answers and Nathan delivers a quick recap of the company metrics.

Statements from this episode (7)

Insight
Geissendoerfer: Chinese-speaking community is key demographic for luxury travel targeting
“For travelers specifically, the Chinese speaking community is quite important as luxury travelers.”
Christian Geissendoerfer Oct 28, 2017 ▶ 3:32
Insight
Self-service couponing for small retailers is very difficult to scale
“Initially also we were doing a location based couponing self service platform which technically worked, but from a business model point of view, it's very hard to scale. It's very hard to work with small retailers in a self service.”
Christian Geissendoerfer Oct 28, 2017 ▶ 5:31
Disclosure
Yoose bootstrapped to over $1 million in revenue with 15 employees
“2016, well, revenue is in a million digit figure we have a team of 15 the majority of the team is based out of Vietnam, and probably important there to know also, to anticipate also your question, it's a bootstrap business. So we didn't go for a venture fundin…”
Christian Geissendoerfer Oct 28, 2017 ▶ 6:02
Disclosure
Geissendoerfer: Yoose is cashflow positive and reinvesting all earnings
“At this stage, I'm putting all back in the company, so it's all about now, I mean, the company is cashflow positive, and it's all about building that further up.”
Christian Geissendoerfer Oct 28, 2017 ▶ 11:43
Assertion Supported
French unemployment pays 60% of previous salary for up to two years
“That's 60% of your last drawn salary for up to two years.”
Christian Geissendoerfer Oct 28, 2017 ▶ 13:22
Assertion Supported
German Accelerator Expands into Southeast Asia via Singapore Hub
“The program exists for expansion into the U.S. Already since five years, and now we're launching this for the whole Southeast Asia, based out of Singapore.”
Christian Geissendoerfer Oct 28, 2017 ▶ 15:37
Assertion Partly supported
German Accelerator Takes Zero Equity and Charges No Fees to Startups
“It's not capital, but also there's no equity stake or payment from the company, so.”
Christian Geissendoerfer Oct 28, 2017 ▶ 15:55
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