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May 27, 2017 · 23m · top-founders

672: How to Use Your Agency to Launch a SaaS Product with Leadberry CEO Adam Jankovits

Adam Jankovic · 12m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Leadberry CEO Adam Jankovits about how he leveraged his $1 million digital agency to bootstrap, validate, and scale a B2B lead generation SaaS platform to over 2,000 organizations.

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 38.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.1 Guest teaching 2.9 Guest disagreement 1.4 Nathan pushing back 3.7
05100:0010:0020:001:38–3:56 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Overview of Leadberry and Free Beta Status Nathan presses on the monetization and burn rate of the early beta product. Adam explains their business model and technical integration with Google Analytics in a straightforward and cooperative manner.3:56–6:04 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Evaluating Beta Traction and Conversion Strategies Nathan challenges Adam on how he validates that 2,000 free beta users will actually convert to paying customers. Adam candidly admits they have no guarantee and frames conversion as their primary upcoming risk.6:04–9:27 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Leveraging Agency Resources to Bootstrap SaaS Nathan drills down into the exact dollar value invested from agency resources into the SaaS product, estimating human and ad spend at fifty thousand dollars. Nathan then contextualizes this into the common agency-to-SaaS playbook.9:27–12:56 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Brandlift Agency Background and Financials Nathan asks detailed financial questions about Brandlift's revenue and margins, stepping in to correct a syntax misunderstanding when Adam conflates gross top-line revenue with net take-home profit.12:56–17:33 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Leadberry Competitive Advantage and Technical Architecture Nathan pushes back against generic lead gen claims by mimicking standard scraper pitches and demanding Leadberry's exact differentiation. Adam details their no-code Google Analytics integration and automated enrichment architecture.17:33–20:44 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Buyout Offer Discussion and Valuation Thoughts Nathan tests Adam's valuation floor with a hypothetical cash buyout offer of one hundred thousand dollars, which Adam rejects by suggesting adding zeroes, before moving through the Famous Five questionnaire.20:44–21:18 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Episode Recap and Guest Farewell Nathan delivers an accurate summary of Brandlift's agency metrics and Leadberry's launch trajectory before wrapping up the interview amicably.1:38–3:56 · Guest teaching 4/10 Overview of Leadberry and Free Beta Status Nathan presses on the monetization and burn rate of the early beta product. Adam explains their business model and technical integration with Google Analytics in a straightforward and cooperative manner.3:56–6:04 · Guest teaching 3/10 Evaluating Beta Traction and Conversion Strategies Nathan challenges Adam on how he validates that 2,000 free beta users will actually convert to paying customers. Adam candidly admits they have no guarantee and frames conversion as their primary upcoming risk.6:04–9:27 · Guest teaching 3/10 Leveraging Agency Resources to Bootstrap SaaS Nathan drills down into the exact dollar value invested from agency resources into the SaaS product, estimating human and ad spend at fifty thousand dollars. Nathan then contextualizes this into the common agency-to-SaaS playbook.9:27–12:56 · Guest teaching 2/10 Brandlift Agency Background and Financials Nathan asks detailed financial questions about Brandlift's revenue and margins, stepping in to correct a syntax misunderstanding when Adam conflates gross top-line revenue with net take-home profit.12:56–17:33 · Guest teaching 5/10 Leadberry Competitive Advantage and Technical Architecture Nathan pushes back against generic lead gen claims by mimicking standard scraper pitches and demanding Leadberry's exact differentiation. Adam details their no-code Google Analytics integration and automated enrichment architecture.17:33–20:44 · Guest teaching 2/10 Buyout Offer Discussion and Valuation Thoughts Nathan tests Adam's valuation floor with a hypothetical cash buyout offer of one hundred thousand dollars, which Adam rejects by suggesting adding zeroes, before moving through the Famous Five questionnaire.20:44–21:18 · Guest teaching 1/10 Episode Recap and Guest Farewell Nathan delivers an accurate summary of Brandlift's agency metrics and Leadberry's launch trajectory before wrapping up the interview amicably.1:38–3:56 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Overview of Leadberry and Free Beta Status Nathan presses on the monetization and burn rate of the early beta product. Adam explains their business model and technical integration with Google Analytics in a straightforward and cooperative manner.3:56–6:04 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Evaluating Beta Traction and Conversion Strategies Nathan challenges Adam on how he validates that 2,000 free beta users will actually convert to paying customers. Adam candidly admits they have no guarantee and frames conversion as their primary upcoming risk.6:04–9:27 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Leveraging Agency Resources to Bootstrap SaaS Nathan drills down into the exact dollar value invested from agency resources into the SaaS product, estimating human and ad spend at fifty thousand dollars. Nathan then contextualizes this into the common agency-to-SaaS playbook.9:27–12:56 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Brandlift Agency Background and Financials Nathan asks detailed financial questions about Brandlift's revenue and margins, stepping in to correct a syntax misunderstanding when Adam conflates gross top-line revenue with net take-home profit.12:56–17:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Leadberry Competitive Advantage and Technical Architecture Nathan pushes back against generic lead gen claims by mimicking standard scraper pitches and demanding Leadberry's exact differentiation. Adam details their no-code Google Analytics integration and automated enrichment architecture.17:33–20:44 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Buyout Offer Discussion and Valuation Thoughts Nathan tests Adam's valuation floor with a hypothetical cash buyout offer of one hundred thousand dollars, which Adam rejects by suggesting adding zeroes, before moving through the Famous Five questionnaire.20:44–21:18 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Recap and Guest Farewell Nathan delivers an accurate summary of Brandlift's agency metrics and Leadberry's launch trajectory before wrapping up the interview amicably.1:38–3:56 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Overview of Leadberry and Free Beta Status Nathan presses on the monetization and burn rate of the early beta product. Adam explains their business model and technical integration with Google Analytics in a straightforward and cooperative manner.3:56–6:04 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Evaluating Beta Traction and Conversion Strategies Nathan challenges Adam on how he validates that 2,000 free beta users will actually convert to paying customers. Adam candidly admits they have no guarantee and frames conversion as their primary upcoming risk.6:04–9:27 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Leveraging Agency Resources to Bootstrap SaaS Nathan drills down into the exact dollar value invested from agency resources into the SaaS product, estimating human and ad spend at fifty thousand dollars. Nathan then contextualizes this into the common agency-to-SaaS playbook.9:27–12:56 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Brandlift Agency Background and Financials Nathan asks detailed financial questions about Brandlift's revenue and margins, stepping in to correct a syntax misunderstanding when Adam conflates gross top-line revenue with net take-home profit.12:56–17:33 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Leadberry Competitive Advantage and Technical Architecture Nathan pushes back against generic lead gen claims by mimicking standard scraper pitches and demanding Leadberry's exact differentiation. Adam details their no-code Google Analytics integration and automated enrichment architecture.17:33–20:44 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Buyout Offer Discussion and Valuation Thoughts Nathan tests Adam's valuation floor with a hypothetical cash buyout offer of one hundred thousand dollars, which Adam rejects by suggesting adding zeroes, before moving through the Famous Five questionnaire.20:44–21:18 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Recap and Guest Farewell Nathan delivers an accurate summary of Brandlift's agency metrics and Leadberry's launch trajectory before wrapping up the interview amicably.

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

0:00 · Nathan 53.3% · guest 46.7%0:00 · Nathan 53.3% · guest 46.7%3:00 · Nathan 19.3% · guest 80.7%3:00 · Nathan 19.3% · guest 80.7%6:00 · Nathan 9.4% · guest 90.6%6:00 · Nathan 9.4% · guest 90.6%9:00 · Nathan 40.3% · guest 59.7%9:00 · Nathan 40.3% · guest 59.7%12:00 · Nathan 32.9% · guest 67.1%12:00 · Nathan 32.9% · guest 67.1%15:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%15:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%18:00 · Nathan 64.8% · guest 35.2%18:00 · Nathan 64.8% · guest 35.2%21:00 · Nathan 98.2% · guest 1.8%21:00 · Nathan 98.2% · guest 1.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 17:27 Rejecting the lowball buyout hypothetical

Adam dismisses Nathan's lowball hypothetical offer to purchase the business on the spot, indicating it would require adding one or two zeroes to be considered.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:55 Challenging crowded lead gen positioning

Nathan pre-empts and mocks the standard web-scraping pitch given by lead gen founders, insisting on knowing what genuinely differentiates Leadberry.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:41 Adam clarifies how GA data drives B2B identification

Adam explains the technical mechanics of converting anonymous Google Analytics data into actionable corporate contacts without requiring any tracking code installation.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:57 Correcting financial definitions of top line and net margin

Nathan steps in to dissect Adam's financial reporting, clarifying the difference between top-line gross billings and net free cash flow.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Overview of Leadberry and Free Beta Status 4413 Nathan presses on the monetization and burn rate of the early beta product. Adam explains their business model and technical integration with Google Analytics in a straightforward and cooperative manner.
Evaluating Beta Traction and Conversion Strategies 5325 Nathan challenges Adam on how he validates that 2,000 free beta users will actually convert to paying customers. Adam candidly admits they have no guarantee and frames conversion as their primary upcoming risk.
Leveraging Agency Resources to Bootstrap SaaS 6314 Nathan drills down into the exact dollar value invested from agency resources into the SaaS product, estimating human and ad spend at fifty thousand dollars. Nathan then contextualizes this into the common agency-to-SaaS playbook.
Brandlift Agency Background and Financials 7225 Nathan asks detailed financial questions about Brandlift's revenue and margins, stepping in to correct a syntax misunderstanding when Adam conflates gross top-line revenue with net take-home profit.
Leadberry Competitive Advantage and Technical Architecture 6525 Nathan pushes back against generic lead gen claims by mimicking standard scraper pitches and demanding Leadberry's exact differentiation. Adam details their no-code Google Analytics integration and automated enrichment architecture.
Buyout Offer Discussion and Valuation Thoughts 4224 Nathan tests Adam's valuation floor with a hypothetical cash buyout offer of one hundred thousand dollars, which Adam rejects by suggesting adding zeroes, before moving through the Famous Five questionnaire.
Episode Recap and Guest Farewell 4100 Nathan delivers an accurate summary of Brandlift's agency metrics and Leadberry's launch trajectory before wrapping up the interview amicably.

Statements from this episode (7)

Disclosure
Leadberry acquired over 2,000 subscribers during its five-month free beta
“And in, and since October, we had we had we are over 2000 subscribers which are, most of them are companies.”
Adam Jankovic May 27, 2017 ▶ 4:39
Disclosure
Leadberry generated over 2 million leads for its 2,000 beta subscribers
“And we have over two, two million leads generated for these 2000 companies.”
Adam Jankovic May 27, 2017 ▶ 4:57
Disclosure
Leadberry spends $3,000 to $4,000 monthly on performance acquisition channels
“Right now we are throwing somewhere around three to 4000 dollars a month into performance channels, because here even we are also kind of on a learning curve, trying to optimize and see where this really resonates with our prospect clients”
Adam Jankovic May 27, 2017 ▶ 7:33
Disclosure
Brandlift invested $50,000 in staff time and marketing to bootstrap Leadberry
“I think 50,000 is a valid guess. That's on that line.”
Adam Jankovic May 27, 2017 ▶ 8:24
Insight
Building internal agency tooling is a proven playbook for launching SaaS
“I think it's such a good piece of advice for folks listening right now, thinking about trying to get, build their own software company to start up in an agency, because I have talked to so many agencies where they have all these clients and they start realizin…”
Nathan Latka May 27, 2017 ▶ 8:58
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Parent agency Brandlift generated over $1M gross revenue in 2016
“The gross revenue in that form was somewhat above above one million in US dollars, and if we take net revenue in that type of way, then I would say around that's a good question. So between around a hundred 5200 thousand.”
Adam Jankovic May 27, 2017 ▶ 12:13
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Leadberry reached number one in Google Analytics app store within five months
“Since our beta launch, and only after five months after launching became the number one Google Analytics technology solution in the, in Google Analytics app listing”
Adam Jankovic May 27, 2017 ▶ 13:31
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