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Jul 18, 2017 · 23m · top-founders

724: The $70m+ Recruiting Company You've Never Heard Of

Colin Day · 12m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m 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 iCIMS founder and CEO Colin Day to explore how he bootstrapped a corporate spin-out into a market-leading talent acquisition SaaS generating over $8.7 million in monthly recurring revenue.

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

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 2.2 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 3.0
05100:0010:0020:001:07–4:50 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Overview of iCIMS and the Talent Acquisition Market Nathan probes how Colin measures being the largest standalone provider and verifies their business model. Colin explains talent acquisition software features and pricing tiers in a cooperative exchange.4:50–12:17 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 The 1999 Spin-Out and Early Bootstrapped Journey Nathan digs into the exact deal terms and loan structures behind the 1999 spin-out from Comrise. Colin details how he secured payroll loans without upfront personal guarantees or initial equity negotiations.12:18–16:32 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Scaling to 650 Employees and Secondary Equity Financing Nathan halts the conversation to clarify how secondary equity funding works without injecting operational capital into the balance sheet. He then breaks down the wealth creation mechanics for the audience.16:33–19:57 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Founder Focus, Contrarian Strategy, and the 10x Rule Nathan challenges Colin on opportunity cost compared to figures like Elon Musk and calculates iCIMS's $8.7M+ MRR on the fly. Colin defends his contrarian, singular focus on best-of-breed recruiting tech.19:58–22:35 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sponsor Break: HostGator Website Hosting Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor segment for HostGator before moving through standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Colin shares brief insights on Microsoft tools, sleep habits, and trusting founder instincts.1:07–4:50 · Guest teaching 3/10 Overview of iCIMS and the Talent Acquisition Market Nathan probes how Colin measures being the largest standalone provider and verifies their business model. Colin explains talent acquisition software features and pricing tiers in a cooperative exchange.4:50–12:17 · Guest teaching 3/10 The 1999 Spin-Out and Early Bootstrapped Journey Nathan digs into the exact deal terms and loan structures behind the 1999 spin-out from Comrise. Colin details how he secured payroll loans without upfront personal guarantees or initial equity negotiations.12:18–16:32 · Guest teaching 2/10 Scaling to 650 Employees and Secondary Equity Financing Nathan halts the conversation to clarify how secondary equity funding works without injecting operational capital into the balance sheet. He then breaks down the wealth creation mechanics for the audience.16:33–19:57 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founder Focus, Contrarian Strategy, and the 10x Rule Nathan challenges Colin on opportunity cost compared to figures like Elon Musk and calculates iCIMS's $8.7M+ MRR on the fly. Colin defends his contrarian, singular focus on best-of-breed recruiting tech.19:58–22:35 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Break: HostGator Website Hosting Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor segment for HostGator before moving through standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Colin shares brief insights on Microsoft tools, sleep habits, and trusting founder instincts.1:07–4:50 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Overview of iCIMS and the Talent Acquisition Market Nathan probes how Colin measures being the largest standalone provider and verifies their business model. Colin explains talent acquisition software features and pricing tiers in a cooperative exchange.4:50–12:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The 1999 Spin-Out and Early Bootstrapped Journey Nathan digs into the exact deal terms and loan structures behind the 1999 spin-out from Comrise. Colin details how he secured payroll loans without upfront personal guarantees or initial equity negotiations.12:18–16:32 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Scaling to 650 Employees and Secondary Equity Financing Nathan halts the conversation to clarify how secondary equity funding works without injecting operational capital into the balance sheet. He then breaks down the wealth creation mechanics for the audience.16:33–19:57 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Founder Focus, Contrarian Strategy, and the 10x Rule Nathan challenges Colin on opportunity cost compared to figures like Elon Musk and calculates iCIMS's $8.7M+ MRR on the fly. Colin defends his contrarian, singular focus on best-of-breed recruiting tech.19:58–22:35 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Break: HostGator Website Hosting Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor segment for HostGator before moving through standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Colin shares brief insights on Microsoft tools, sleep habits, and trusting founder instincts.1:07–4:50 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Overview of iCIMS and the Talent Acquisition Market Nathan probes how Colin measures being the largest standalone provider and verifies their business model. Colin explains talent acquisition software features and pricing tiers in a cooperative exchange.4:50–12:17 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 The 1999 Spin-Out and Early Bootstrapped Journey Nathan digs into the exact deal terms and loan structures behind the 1999 spin-out from Comrise. Colin details how he secured payroll loans without upfront personal guarantees or initial equity negotiations.12:18–16:32 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Scaling to 650 Employees and Secondary Equity Financing Nathan halts the conversation to clarify how secondary equity funding works without injecting operational capital into the balance sheet. He then breaks down the wealth creation mechanics for the audience.16:33–19:57 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Founder Focus, Contrarian Strategy, and the 10x Rule Nathan challenges Colin on opportunity cost compared to figures like Elon Musk and calculates iCIMS's $8.7M+ MRR on the fly. Colin defends his contrarian, singular focus on best-of-breed recruiting tech.19:58–22:35 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Break: HostGator Website Hosting Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor segment for HostGator before moving through standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Colin shares brief insights on Microsoft tools, sleep habits, and trusting founder instincts.

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

0:00 · Nathan 58.5% · guest 41.5%0:00 · Nathan 58.5% · guest 41.5%3:00 · Nathan 21.9% · guest 78.1%3:00 · Nathan 21.9% · guest 78.1%6:00 · Nathan 23.4% · guest 76.6%6:00 · Nathan 23.4% · guest 76.6%9:00 · Nathan 33.1% · guest 66.9%9:00 · Nathan 33.1% · guest 66.9%12:00 · Nathan 38.7% · guest 61.3%12:00 · Nathan 38.7% · guest 61.3%15:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%15:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%18:00 · Nathan 59.5% · guest 40.5%18:00 · Nathan 59.5% · guest 40.5%21:00 · Nathan 57% · guest 43%21:00 · Nathan 57% · guest 43%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 17:30 Rejecting conventional enterprise expansion advice

Colin adamantly rejects 17 years of industry pressure urging him to dilute focus into broad ERP suites, insisting on being contrarian.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 13:40 Interrogating the growth equity deal structure

Nathan halts the dialogue to challenge Colin's description of the private equity deal, demanding clarity on whether operational cash or secondary liquidity was involved.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:10 Explaining secondary liquidity mechanics

Colin educates the host on how growth equity partners can provide founder liquidity without funding day-to-day operations in a profitable SaaS company.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 19:35 Instant live unit economics breakdown

Nathan demonstrates financial mastery by calculating the company's run rate ($8.7M MRR) live on air using ACV and customer counts.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Overview of iCIMS and the Talent Acquisition Market 5312 Nathan probes how Colin measures being the largest standalone provider and verifies their business model. Colin explains talent acquisition software features and pricing tiers in a cooperative exchange.
The 1999 Spin-Out and Early Bootstrapped Journey 5313 Nathan digs into the exact deal terms and loan structures behind the 1999 spin-out from Comrise. Colin details how he secured payroll loans without upfront personal guarantees or initial equity negotiations.
Scaling to 650 Employees and Secondary Equity Financing 6214 Nathan halts the conversation to clarify how secondary equity funding works without injecting operational capital into the balance sheet. He then breaks down the wealth creation mechanics for the audience.
Founder Focus, Contrarian Strategy, and the 10x Rule 7225 Nathan challenges Colin on opportunity cost compared to figures like Elon Musk and calculates iCIMS's $8.7M+ MRR on the fly. Colin defends his contrarian, singular focus on best-of-breed recruiting tech.
Sponsor Break: HostGator Website Hosting 2101 Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor segment for HostGator before moving through standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Colin shares brief insights on Microsoft tools, sleep habits, and trusting founder instincts.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Supported
iCIMS is the second largest standalone talent software provider behind Oracle
“We're the largest standalone provider. We're actually number two to Oracle, who bought a company called Taleo”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 1:58
Assertion Supported
iCIMS serves slightly over 3,500 enterprise customers
“So we're a little north of about 3500 companies.”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 2:13
Insight
Dedicated recruiting software becomes critical after a company reaches 100 employees
“We tend to see recruiting become really, really important, probably after you hit a hundred employees. We have seen some below a hundred employees, but I think after a hundred employees, you start getting to scale, depending on your growth rates, you're really…”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 4:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Day: iCIMS pricing ranges from $500 to six figures monthly
“It can start as low as, you know, call it 500 a month, and it can go up to six figures a month.”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 4:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
iCIMS funded its first two years with $2.5M in debt
“It was sort of bridged as needed. I would call up and get the cash, and it was to the tune overall, over about two years, about two and a half million dollars.”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 10:46
Disclosure
iCIMS funding from Susquehanna Growth Equity was entirely secondary liquidity
“We have since brought in a private equity, a growth equity partner called Susquehanna. But all of that was secondary. It was liquidity.”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 13:15
Insight
Recruiting is too critical to a business to run through an ERP
“Our premise is that is too important to screw up, to put through an ERP. I mean, that is your front of the funnel. You can't hire people, you hire bad people, you're screwing with your business.”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 15:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
iCIMS typically breaks even on customer acquisition by year two
“We have taking the return of the CAC plus the CLTV, we typically break even on a deal in year two.”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 18:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
iCIMS's average contract size is around $30,000 per year
“When you average it all out, I would say that right now it's probably about 30,000 a year.”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 18:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
iCIMS generates more than $8.7M in monthly recurring revenue
“So we're north of that.”
Colin Day Jul 18, 2017 ▶ 19:55
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