StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

May 12, 2017 · 24m · top-founders

657: Is OnFleet New King of Delivery Economy with 300 Customers Paying $500/mo?

Khaled Naim · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 9m 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 Khalid Naim, CEO and co-founder of OnFleet, to break down the company's last-mile delivery software, usage-based pricing model, and rapid SaaS revenue growth.

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 43.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.4 Guest teaching 1.4 Guest disagreement 0.1 Nathan pushing back 1.1
05100:0010:0020:001:12–4:09 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Khalid Naim and OnFleet's Core Delivery Platform Nathan probes OnFleet's business model and throws out potential customer examples like Blue Apron. Khalid clarifies that Blue Apron ships nationally via FedEx rather than using local delivery drivers.4:09–7:25 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Founding OnFleet, Stanford Accelerator, and Fundraising Journey Nathan digs into the founding timeline, accelerator history, and whether the seed round was equity or convertible notes. Khalid transparently outlines their funding stages and background.7:25–11:40 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Usage-Based Pricing Structure and Telephony Integration Nathan explores OnFleet's tiered usage pricing and telephony pass-through costs, doing rapid mental math to estimate their monthly recurring revenue floor at 150k dollars. Khalid confirms the math and explains the zero-margin telephony cost structure.11:40–14:28 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Trial Conversion, Organic Expansion, and Route Optimization Upsells Khalid explains their negative net churn rate of negative seven percent and add-on feature pricing like route optimization. Nathan demonstrates his SaaS domain knowledge by commending Khalid on correctly phrasing negative churn.14:29–18:08 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Churn Dynamics, Acquisition Economics, and Market Shift The conversation covers CAC, LTV estimations, and customer churn drivers such as returning to pen-and-paper or building in-house. Nathan provides analytical insight on why cash payback period is often more critical than moving LTV targets.18:10–21:32 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Sponsor Break: Organifi Superfood Juice Packets Nathan performs a mid-roll sponsor read for Organifi before transitioning directly into the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Khalid answers smoothly without any friction.21:33–22:55 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 OnFleet Episode Summary and Audience Review Request Pure monologue recap and listener call to action.1:12–4:09 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Khalid Naim and OnFleet's Core Delivery Platform Nathan probes OnFleet's business model and throws out potential customer examples like Blue Apron. Khalid clarifies that Blue Apron ships nationally via FedEx rather than using local delivery drivers.4:09–7:25 · Guest teaching 1/10 Founding OnFleet, Stanford Accelerator, and Fundraising Journey Nathan digs into the founding timeline, accelerator history, and whether the seed round was equity or convertible notes. Khalid transparently outlines their funding stages and background.7:25–11:40 · Guest teaching 2/10 Usage-Based Pricing Structure and Telephony Integration Nathan explores OnFleet's tiered usage pricing and telephony pass-through costs, doing rapid mental math to estimate their monthly recurring revenue floor at 150k dollars. Khalid confirms the math and explains the zero-margin telephony cost structure.11:40–14:28 · Guest teaching 2/10 Trial Conversion, Organic Expansion, and Route Optimization Upsells Khalid explains their negative net churn rate of negative seven percent and add-on feature pricing like route optimization. Nathan demonstrates his SaaS domain knowledge by commending Khalid on correctly phrasing negative churn.14:29–18:08 · Guest teaching 2/10 Customer Churn Dynamics, Acquisition Economics, and Market Shift The conversation covers CAC, LTV estimations, and customer churn drivers such as returning to pen-and-paper or building in-house. Nathan provides analytical insight on why cash payback period is often more critical than moving LTV targets.18:10–21:32 · Guest teaching 0/10 Sponsor Break: Organifi Superfood Juice Packets Nathan performs a mid-roll sponsor read for Organifi before transitioning directly into the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Khalid answers smoothly without any friction.21:33–22:55 · Guest teaching 0/10 OnFleet Episode Summary and Audience Review Request Pure monologue recap and listener call to action.1:12–4:09 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Khalid Naim and OnFleet's Core Delivery Platform Nathan probes OnFleet's business model and throws out potential customer examples like Blue Apron. Khalid clarifies that Blue Apron ships nationally via FedEx rather than using local delivery drivers.4:09–7:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Founding OnFleet, Stanford Accelerator, and Fundraising Journey Nathan digs into the founding timeline, accelerator history, and whether the seed round was equity or convertible notes. Khalid transparently outlines their funding stages and background.7:25–11:40 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Usage-Based Pricing Structure and Telephony Integration Nathan explores OnFleet's tiered usage pricing and telephony pass-through costs, doing rapid mental math to estimate their monthly recurring revenue floor at 150k dollars. Khalid confirms the math and explains the zero-margin telephony cost structure.11:40–14:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Trial Conversion, Organic Expansion, and Route Optimization Upsells Khalid explains their negative net churn rate of negative seven percent and add-on feature pricing like route optimization. Nathan demonstrates his SaaS domain knowledge by commending Khalid on correctly phrasing negative churn.14:29–18:08 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Customer Churn Dynamics, Acquisition Economics, and Market Shift The conversation covers CAC, LTV estimations, and customer churn drivers such as returning to pen-and-paper or building in-house. Nathan provides analytical insight on why cash payback period is often more critical than moving LTV targets.18:10–21:32 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Break: Organifi Superfood Juice Packets Nathan performs a mid-roll sponsor read for Organifi before transitioning directly into the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Khalid answers smoothly without any friction.21:33–22:55 · Guest disagreement 0/10 OnFleet Episode Summary and Audience Review Request Pure monologue recap and listener call to action.1:12–4:09 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Khalid Naim and OnFleet's Core Delivery Platform Nathan probes OnFleet's business model and throws out potential customer examples like Blue Apron. Khalid clarifies that Blue Apron ships nationally via FedEx rather than using local delivery drivers.4:09–7:25 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Founding OnFleet, Stanford Accelerator, and Fundraising Journey Nathan digs into the founding timeline, accelerator history, and whether the seed round was equity or convertible notes. Khalid transparently outlines their funding stages and background.7:25–11:40 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Usage-Based Pricing Structure and Telephony Integration Nathan explores OnFleet's tiered usage pricing and telephony pass-through costs, doing rapid mental math to estimate their monthly recurring revenue floor at 150k dollars. Khalid confirms the math and explains the zero-margin telephony cost structure.11:40–14:28 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Trial Conversion, Organic Expansion, and Route Optimization Upsells Khalid explains their negative net churn rate of negative seven percent and add-on feature pricing like route optimization. Nathan demonstrates his SaaS domain knowledge by commending Khalid on correctly phrasing negative churn.14:29–18:08 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Customer Churn Dynamics, Acquisition Economics, and Market Shift The conversation covers CAC, LTV estimations, and customer churn drivers such as returning to pen-and-paper or building in-house. Nathan provides analytical insight on why cash payback period is often more critical than moving LTV targets.18:10–21:32 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Sponsor Break: Organifi Superfood Juice Packets Nathan performs a mid-roll sponsor read for Organifi before transitioning directly into the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Khalid answers smoothly without any friction.21:33–22:55 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 OnFleet Episode Summary and Audience Review Request Pure monologue recap and listener call to action.

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

0:00 · Nathan 67.7% · guest 32.3%0:00 · Nathan 67.7% · guest 32.3%3:00 · Nathan 19.8% · guest 80.2%3:00 · Nathan 19.8% · guest 80.2%6:00 · Nathan 21.3% · guest 78.7%6:00 · Nathan 21.3% · guest 78.7%9:00 · Nathan 36.6% · guest 63.4%9:00 · Nathan 36.6% · guest 63.4%12:00 · Nathan 34.2% · guest 65.8%12:00 · Nathan 34.2% · guest 65.8%15:00 · Nathan 21.2% · guest 78.8%15:00 · Nathan 21.2% · guest 78.8%18:00 · Nathan 76.2% · guest 23.8%18:00 · Nathan 76.2% · guest 23.8%21:00 · Nathan 80.6% · guest 19.4%21:00 · Nathan 80.6% · guest 19.4%24:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%24:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 3:32 Correction on Blue Apron delivery mechanics

Khalid corrects Nathan's assumption about Blue Apron by pointing out they use traditional carrier shipping rather than local delivery networks.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:08 Pinning down baseline revenue figures

Nathan aggressively combines the 300 customer count and 500 dollar ARPU to pin Khalid down to a minimum 150,000 dollar monthly revenue run rate.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:32 Educating host on local vs freight logistics

Khalid educates Nathan on why national meal kit companies rely on third-party parcel carriers whereas local grocers require OnFleet's dispatcher tools.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 17:05 SaaS financial insight on payback velocity

Nathan showcases strong financial expertise by contextualizing why a three-month payback period provides better operational clarity than fluctuating lifetime value metrics.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Khalid Naim and OnFleet's Core Delivery Platform 5312 Nathan probes OnFleet's business model and throws out potential customer examples like Blue Apron. Khalid clarifies that Blue Apron ships nationally via FedEx rather than using local delivery drivers.
Founding OnFleet, Stanford Accelerator, and Fundraising Journey 5102 Nathan digs into the founding timeline, accelerator history, and whether the seed round was equity or convertible notes. Khalid transparently outlines their funding stages and background.
Usage-Based Pricing Structure and Telephony Integration 6202 Nathan explores OnFleet's tiered usage pricing and telephony pass-through costs, doing rapid mental math to estimate their monthly recurring revenue floor at 150k dollars. Khalid confirms the math and explains the zero-margin telephony cost structure.
Trial Conversion, Organic Expansion, and Route Optimization Upsells 6201 Khalid explains their negative net churn rate of negative seven percent and add-on feature pricing like route optimization. Nathan demonstrates his SaaS domain knowledge by commending Khalid on correctly phrasing negative churn.
Customer Churn Dynamics, Acquisition Economics, and Market Shift 6201 The conversation covers CAC, LTV estimations, and customer churn drivers such as returning to pen-and-paper or building in-house. Nathan provides analytical insight on why cash payback period is often more critical than moving LTV targets.
Sponsor Break: Organifi Superfood Juice Packets 3000 Nathan performs a mid-roll sponsor read for Organifi before transitioning directly into the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Khalid answers smoothly without any friction.
OnFleet Episode Summary and Audience Review Request 0000 Pure monologue recap and listener call to action.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Supported
Naim: Blue Apron relies on FedEx and carriers rather than local delivery
“Blue Apron is a bit different because they don't really do their deliveries locally. They actually ship using FedEx and perhaps other carriers, but our focus is on companies that are delivering goods locally.”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 3:33
Assertion Supported
Naim: Onfleet has raised approximately $4.5 million in total funding
“We've raised about four and a half million in total funding so far.”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 4:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Naim: Onfleet has reached approximately 300 paying customers
“We have several hundred customers using OnFleet today. I think we're around the 300 customer mark now.”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 9:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Naim: Onfleet ARPU is $400 to $500, with accounts over $10,000
“You know, some of them are paying us north of 10,000 dollars a month. Some of them are paying us only a 125 bucks a month. So but average is average is right in between sort of four and 500 dollars now.”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 11:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Naim: Onfleet's net MRR churn is around negative 7%
“So our net MR churn is, is, is more negative than negative five percent. We're around negative seven percent right now.”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 13:12
Disclosure
Naim: Onfleet charges an extra nine cents per task for route optimization
“If they want to say, take a thousand delivery stops and optimize those across. 50 drivers, they can do that really easily with on fleet, but that is a premium feature. So they pay an extra nine cents per task for that.”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 13:45
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Naim: Pen, paper, and Excel are Onfleet's primary competitors
“Really pen and paper Excel files and, you know, Google Docs are the primary competitor”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 15:14
Disclosure
Naim: Onfleet CAC is $1,500 with a 3-month payback period
“Our cost of acquisition right now is, is around 1500 dollars for customers. So average, average revenue per account, they pay themselves back in about three months.”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 16:04
Disclosure
Naim: Onfleet estimates average customer lifetime to be 18 months
“We estimate that it's about 18 months.”
Khaled Naim May 12, 2017 ▶ 17:05
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more