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Jul 7, 2017 · 18m · top-founders

713: You'll Never Guess What Salary They Gave Up To Launch Their Startup

Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Ryan Hungate · 4m spoken Zach Hungate · 3m 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 Simplifeye co-founders Ryan and Zach Hungate on how they walked away from lucrative medical and finance careers to build a HIPAA-compliant healthcare SaaS platform serving over 1,000 practices.

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 48.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 3.4 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.4
05100:0010:001:12–7:14 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Meet Ryan and Zach Hungate of Simplifeye Nathan inquires into the founders' backgrounds, pressing them to specify the high salaries they sacrificed to launch Simplifeye. The guests cooperatively provide context on their careers, AngelPad acceptance, and early seed financing.7:14–10:00 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Business Model, Pricing, and Wearable Tech Integration Ryan and Zach outline their SaaS pricing structure, location-based tiering, and early bet on Apple Watch hardware integration. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative with no friction.10:00–13:23 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 The High Stakes of HIPAA Compliance in Healthcare Ryan educates Nathan on HIPAA encryption requirements and potential 50,000 dollar penalty risks. When Nathan calculates their MRR at roughly 200k dollars, Zach tries to dodge, prompting Nathan to firmly press for a revenue floor.13:25–16:02 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sponsor Segment: TheTopInbox.com Announcement Nathan delivers a mid-roll acquisition ad for TheTopInbox before rolling into rapid-fire Famous Five questions with standard short responses.16:02–17:17 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Entrepreneurial Drive: Beating the Odds vs. Safe High Incomes Nathan probes the psychology behind walking away from secure, high-earning careers to pursue high-risk venture scale startups. The founders articulate their drive to beat the odds rather than settle for predictable compensation.1:12–7:14 · Guest teaching 3/10 Meet Ryan and Zach Hungate of Simplifeye Nathan inquires into the founders' backgrounds, pressing them to specify the high salaries they sacrificed to launch Simplifeye. The guests cooperatively provide context on their careers, AngelPad acceptance, and early seed financing.7:14–10:00 · Guest teaching 4/10 Business Model, Pricing, and Wearable Tech Integration Ryan and Zach outline their SaaS pricing structure, location-based tiering, and early bet on Apple Watch hardware integration. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative with no friction.10:00–13:23 · Guest teaching 6/10 The High Stakes of HIPAA Compliance in Healthcare Ryan educates Nathan on HIPAA encryption requirements and potential 50,000 dollar penalty risks. When Nathan calculates their MRR at roughly 200k dollars, Zach tries to dodge, prompting Nathan to firmly press for a revenue floor.13:25–16:02 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Segment: TheTopInbox.com Announcement Nathan delivers a mid-roll acquisition ad for TheTopInbox before rolling into rapid-fire Famous Five questions with standard short responses.16:02–17:17 · Guest teaching 3/10 Entrepreneurial Drive: Beating the Odds vs. Safe High Incomes Nathan probes the psychology behind walking away from secure, high-earning careers to pursue high-risk venture scale startups. The founders articulate their drive to beat the odds rather than settle for predictable compensation.1:12–7:14 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Meet Ryan and Zach Hungate of Simplifeye Nathan inquires into the founders' backgrounds, pressing them to specify the high salaries they sacrificed to launch Simplifeye. The guests cooperatively provide context on their careers, AngelPad acceptance, and early seed financing.7:14–10:00 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Business Model, Pricing, and Wearable Tech Integration Ryan and Zach outline their SaaS pricing structure, location-based tiering, and early bet on Apple Watch hardware integration. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative with no friction.10:00–13:23 · Guest disagreement 3/10 The High Stakes of HIPAA Compliance in Healthcare Ryan educates Nathan on HIPAA encryption requirements and potential 50,000 dollar penalty risks. When Nathan calculates their MRR at roughly 200k dollars, Zach tries to dodge, prompting Nathan to firmly press for a revenue floor.13:25–16:02 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Segment: TheTopInbox.com Announcement Nathan delivers a mid-roll acquisition ad for TheTopInbox before rolling into rapid-fire Famous Five questions with standard short responses.16:02–17:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Entrepreneurial Drive: Beating the Odds vs. Safe High Incomes Nathan probes the psychology behind walking away from secure, high-earning careers to pursue high-risk venture scale startups. The founders articulate their drive to beat the odds rather than settle for predictable compensation.1:12–7:14 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Meet Ryan and Zach Hungate of Simplifeye Nathan inquires into the founders' backgrounds, pressing them to specify the high salaries they sacrificed to launch Simplifeye. The guests cooperatively provide context on their careers, AngelPad acceptance, and early seed financing.7:14–10:00 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Business Model, Pricing, and Wearable Tech Integration Ryan and Zach outline their SaaS pricing structure, location-based tiering, and early bet on Apple Watch hardware integration. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative with no friction.10:00–13:23 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 The High Stakes of HIPAA Compliance in Healthcare Ryan educates Nathan on HIPAA encryption requirements and potential 50,000 dollar penalty risks. When Nathan calculates their MRR at roughly 200k dollars, Zach tries to dodge, prompting Nathan to firmly press for a revenue floor.13:25–16:02 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Sponsor Segment: TheTopInbox.com Announcement Nathan delivers a mid-roll acquisition ad for TheTopInbox before rolling into rapid-fire Famous Five questions with standard short responses.16:02–17:17 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Entrepreneurial Drive: Beating the Odds vs. Safe High Incomes Nathan probes the psychology behind walking away from secure, high-earning careers to pursue high-risk venture scale startups. The founders articulate their drive to beat the odds rather than settle for predictable compensation.

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 26.8% · guest 73.2%3:00 · Nathan 26.8% · guest 73.2%6:00 · Nathan 35.5% · guest 64.5%6:00 · Nathan 35.5% · guest 64.5%9:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%9:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%12:00 · Nathan 65.5% · guest 34.5%12:00 · Nathan 65.5% · guest 34.5%15:00 · Nathan 62.8% · guest 37.2%15:00 · Nathan 62.8% · guest 37.2%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:10 Zach resists revealing revenue metrics

Zach resists Nathan's MRR estimation by stating that they will not talk about exact revenue figures publicly.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:16 Nathan demands a revenue floor

Nathan refuses to let Zach dodge the MRR estimate, challenging him directly to point out flaws in the math and establish a 150k dollar floor.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:19 Ryan breaks down HIPAA encryption and fine liabilities

Ryan explains the technical gap between 128-bit Gmail encryption and 256-bit AES standards, detailing the severe 50,000 dollar per incident liability doctors face.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:03 Nathan calculates MRR from unit metrics

Nathan leverages SaaS benchmarking by multiplying the 1,000 customer count by 200 dollar ARPU to deduce an estimated 200k dollar MRR.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Meet Ryan and Zach Hungate of Simplifeye 5313 Nathan inquires into the founders' backgrounds, pressing them to specify the high salaries they sacrificed to launch Simplifeye. The guests cooperatively provide context on their careers, AngelPad acceptance, and early seed financing.
Business Model, Pricing, and Wearable Tech Integration 4402 Ryan and Zach outline their SaaS pricing structure, location-based tiering, and early bet on Apple Watch hardware integration. The exchange is straightforward and collaborative with no friction.
The High Stakes of HIPAA Compliance in Healthcare 6636 Ryan educates Nathan on HIPAA encryption requirements and potential 50,000 dollar penalty risks. When Nathan calculates their MRR at roughly 200k dollars, Zach tries to dodge, prompting Nathan to firmly press for a revenue floor.
Sponsor Segment: TheTopInbox.com Announcement 2100 Nathan delivers a mid-roll acquisition ad for TheTopInbox before rolling into rapid-fire Famous Five questions with standard short responses.
Entrepreneurial Drive: Beating the Odds vs. Safe High Incomes 4311 Nathan probes the psychology behind walking away from secure, high-earning careers to pursue high-risk venture scale startups. The founders articulate their drive to beat the odds rather than settle for predictable compensation.

Statements from this episode (8)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zach Hungate: Simplifeye was one of 10 to 12 selected from 10,000 AngelPad applicants
“Over 10,000 companies applied, and we were one of 10 or 12, and so things worked out really well.”
Zach Hungate Jul 7, 2017 ▶ 4:21
Assertion Partly supported
Zach Hungate: Simplifeye has raised about $3.5M in total funding
“About three and a half million.”
Zach Hungate Jul 7, 2017 ▶ 6:21
Assertion Supported
Zach Hungate: AngelPad invests $50K for 5% to 7% equity
“They put 50 K in and then the equity is up for grabs, but it's about, yeah, five to seven.”
Zach Hungate Jul 7, 2017 ▶ 6:28
Disclosure
Simplifeye charges an average healthcare provider $199 per month
“So like 2400 dollars a year, basically, or really we like to think of it as a month to month thing because we prove ourselves every single month to your business. So basically it's about, you know, one 99 a month.”
Ryan Hungate Jul 7, 2017 ▶ 8:21
Assertion Supported
Zach Hungate: Simplifeye was the first wearable-first healthcare SaaS product
“So we actually started on the Apple Watch. I think we're the first company that went all in wearable first, and so over the last year, we built out the suite to be on the phone, on the desktop,”
Zach Hungate Jul 7, 2017 ▶ 9:32
Assertion Supported
Ryan Hungate: HIPAA violation penalties reach $50,000 per non-compliant email instance
“And the fee if they break it is 50,000 dollars per instance. So every time I send one email, that's 50 grand.”
Ryan Hungate Jul 7, 2017 ▶ 10:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ryan Hungate: Simplifeye has signed up over 1,000 offices
“We're just over a thousand offices which is great. And so we were really excited to celebrate that, that that, that milestone.”
Ryan Hungate Jul 7, 2017 ▶ 11:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zach Hungate: Simplifeye maintains 98% annual customer retention
“We're good. We've got 98% retention. People really love the product.”
Zach Hungate Jul 7, 2017 ▶ 12:49
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