StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Apr 15, 2017 · 22m · top-founders

630: Mention Helping 4000 Customers With Google Alerts on Steroids, All Paying Minimum $60/mo for $240k in MRR with CEO Matthieu Vaxelaire

Nathan Latka · 10m spoken Matt Vaxelaire · 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

Nathan Latka interviews Mention CEO Matthieu Vaxelaire to analyze the SaaS monitoring platform's unit economics, customer acquisition funnel, and expansion past $240,000 in monthly recurring revenue. Matthieu details the transition between self-service SME tiers and high-value mid-market accounts, as well as the company's shift from bootstrapped growth toward active fundraising.

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 55.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.7 Guest teaching 2.4 Guest disagreement 1.9 Nathan pushing back 2.9
05100:0010:0020:001:13–4:32 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Overview of Mention and Client Use Cases Latka immediately pushes Vaxelaire to provide a real customer name and concrete metrics rather than hypothetical examples like Nike. Vaxelaire accommodates and explains Ogilvy's specific use case.4:32–9:11 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Mention's Origin, Funding, and Team Structure Latka challenges Vaxelaire when he calls Mention's funding 'in between' bootstrapped and venture-backed, forcing a clear $500k figure. Latka then calculates their minimum baseline MRR ($240k) on the fly.9:11–11:12 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Churn Dynamics Across Customer Segments Vaxelaire corrects Latka's confusion regarding SME pricing versus mid-market pricing and their respective churn metrics, clarifying which tier experiences net negative churn.11:12–14:11 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Customer Acquisition and Marketing Tactics Vaxelaire firmly pushes back against giving a single blended CAC metric, arguing that blending across SME and enterprise channels is meaningless. Latka narrows the framing specifically to mid-market to get a $1k figure.14:11–17:01 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 2017 Growth Targets and Fundraising Plans Latka tests an aggressive $800k MRR projection target for end of 2017, which Vaxelaire validates if funding goes through. The latter portion transitions into sponsor ad reads.17:04–19:19 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Questions with Matthieu Vaxelaire Standard Famous Five sequence where Latka presses for actual sleep hours versus aspirational sleep, and Vaxelaire introduces Hull.io as an analytics tool.19:20–20:15 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Interview Summary and Key Takeaways Host monologue summarizing Mention's key financial and operational figures followed by a promotional call to action.1:13–4:32 · Guest teaching 3/10 Overview of Mention and Client Use Cases Latka immediately pushes Vaxelaire to provide a real customer name and concrete metrics rather than hypothetical examples like Nike. Vaxelaire accommodates and explains Ogilvy's specific use case.4:32–9:11 · Guest teaching 2/10 Mention's Origin, Funding, and Team Structure Latka challenges Vaxelaire when he calls Mention's funding 'in between' bootstrapped and venture-backed, forcing a clear $500k figure. Latka then calculates their minimum baseline MRR ($240k) on the fly.9:11–11:12 · Guest teaching 5/10 Churn Dynamics Across Customer Segments Vaxelaire corrects Latka's confusion regarding SME pricing versus mid-market pricing and their respective churn metrics, clarifying which tier experiences net negative churn.11:12–14:11 · Guest teaching 5/10 Customer Acquisition and Marketing Tactics Vaxelaire firmly pushes back against giving a single blended CAC metric, arguing that blending across SME and enterprise channels is meaningless. Latka narrows the framing specifically to mid-market to get a $1k figure.14:11–17:01 · Guest teaching 1/10 2017 Growth Targets and Fundraising Plans Latka tests an aggressive $800k MRR projection target for end of 2017, which Vaxelaire validates if funding goes through. The latter portion transitions into sponsor ad reads.17:04–19:19 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Questions with Matthieu Vaxelaire Standard Famous Five sequence where Latka presses for actual sleep hours versus aspirational sleep, and Vaxelaire introduces Hull.io as an analytics tool.19:20–20:15 · Guest teaching 0/10 Interview Summary and Key Takeaways Host monologue summarizing Mention's key financial and operational figures followed by a promotional call to action.1:13–4:32 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Overview of Mention and Client Use Cases Latka immediately pushes Vaxelaire to provide a real customer name and concrete metrics rather than hypothetical examples like Nike. Vaxelaire accommodates and explains Ogilvy's specific use case.4:32–9:11 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Mention's Origin, Funding, and Team Structure Latka challenges Vaxelaire when he calls Mention's funding 'in between' bootstrapped and venture-backed, forcing a clear $500k figure. Latka then calculates their minimum baseline MRR ($240k) on the fly.9:11–11:12 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Churn Dynamics Across Customer Segments Vaxelaire corrects Latka's confusion regarding SME pricing versus mid-market pricing and their respective churn metrics, clarifying which tier experiences net negative churn.11:12–14:11 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Customer Acquisition and Marketing Tactics Vaxelaire firmly pushes back against giving a single blended CAC metric, arguing that blending across SME and enterprise channels is meaningless. Latka narrows the framing specifically to mid-market to get a $1k figure.14:11–17:01 · Guest disagreement 1/10 2017 Growth Targets and Fundraising Plans Latka tests an aggressive $800k MRR projection target for end of 2017, which Vaxelaire validates if funding goes through. The latter portion transitions into sponsor ad reads.17:04–19:19 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Questions with Matthieu Vaxelaire Standard Famous Five sequence where Latka presses for actual sleep hours versus aspirational sleep, and Vaxelaire introduces Hull.io as an analytics tool.19:20–20:15 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Interview Summary and Key Takeaways Host monologue summarizing Mention's key financial and operational figures followed by a promotional call to action.1:13–4:32 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Overview of Mention and Client Use Cases Latka immediately pushes Vaxelaire to provide a real customer name and concrete metrics rather than hypothetical examples like Nike. Vaxelaire accommodates and explains Ogilvy's specific use case.4:32–9:11 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Mention's Origin, Funding, and Team Structure Latka challenges Vaxelaire when he calls Mention's funding 'in between' bootstrapped and venture-backed, forcing a clear $500k figure. Latka then calculates their minimum baseline MRR ($240k) on the fly.9:11–11:12 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Churn Dynamics Across Customer Segments Vaxelaire corrects Latka's confusion regarding SME pricing versus mid-market pricing and their respective churn metrics, clarifying which tier experiences net negative churn.11:12–14:11 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Customer Acquisition and Marketing Tactics Vaxelaire firmly pushes back against giving a single blended CAC metric, arguing that blending across SME and enterprise channels is meaningless. Latka narrows the framing specifically to mid-market to get a $1k figure.14:11–17:01 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 2017 Growth Targets and Fundraising Plans Latka tests an aggressive $800k MRR projection target for end of 2017, which Vaxelaire validates if funding goes through. The latter portion transitions into sponsor ad reads.17:04–19:19 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Famous Five Questions with Matthieu Vaxelaire Standard Famous Five sequence where Latka presses for actual sleep hours versus aspirational sleep, and Vaxelaire introduces Hull.io as an analytics tool.19:20–20:15 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Interview Summary and Key Takeaways Host monologue summarizing Mention's key financial and operational figures followed by a promotional call to action.

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

0:00 · Nathan 66.6% · guest 33.4%0:00 · Nathan 66.6% · guest 33.4%3:00 · Nathan 44.5% · guest 55.5%3:00 · Nathan 44.5% · guest 55.5%6:00 · Nathan 39.6% · guest 60.4%6:00 · Nathan 39.6% · guest 60.4%9:00 · Nathan 44.6% · guest 55.4%9:00 · Nathan 44.6% · guest 55.4%12:00 · Nathan 38.7% · guest 61.3%12:00 · Nathan 38.7% · guest 61.3%15:00 · Nathan 81.3% · guest 18.7%15:00 · Nathan 81.3% · guest 18.7%18:00 · Nathan 69.6% · guest 30.4%18:00 · Nathan 69.6% · guest 30.4%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:17 Refusal to provide blended CAC

Vaxelaire directly pushes back on Latka's question, stating it makes no sense to put one blended CAC number across diverse customer segments.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 3:05 Insisting on verified active clients

Latka cuts off Vaxelaire when he brings up Nike as a hypothetical example, demanding a named paying client like Ogilvy instead.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:15 Correcting cohort pricing and churn structure

Vaxelaire systematically corrects Latka after Latka conflates the $60 SME tier with the $400 mid-market tier and misattributes the net negative churn.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:44 Deducing minimum revenue baseline

Latka uses Vaxelaire's minimum customer count and lowest pricing tier to deduce and confirm that Mention generates at least $240k in monthly recurring revenue.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Overview of Mention and Client Use Cases 5325 Latka immediately pushes Vaxelaire to provide a real customer name and concrete metrics rather than hypothetical examples like Nike. Vaxelaire accommodates and explains Ogilvy's specific use case.
Mention's Origin, Funding, and Team Structure 6224 Latka challenges Vaxelaire when he calls Mention's funding 'in between' bootstrapped and venture-backed, forcing a clear $500k figure. Latka then calculates their minimum baseline MRR ($240k) on the fly.
Churn Dynamics Across Customer Segments 5533 Vaxelaire corrects Latka's confusion regarding SME pricing versus mid-market pricing and their respective churn metrics, clarifying which tier experiences net negative churn.
Customer Acquisition and Marketing Tactics 5544 Vaxelaire firmly pushes back against giving a single blended CAC metric, arguing that blending across SME and enterprise channels is meaningless. Latka narrows the framing specifically to mid-market to get a $1k figure.
2017 Growth Targets and Fundraising Plans 3112 Latka tests an aggressive $800k MRR projection target for end of 2017, which Vaxelaire validates if funding goes through. The latter portion transitions into sponsor ad reads.
The Famous Five Questions with Matthieu Vaxelaire 2112 Standard Famous Five sequence where Latka presses for actual sleep hours versus aspirational sleep, and Vaxelaire introduces Hull.io as an analytics tool.
Interview Summary and Key Takeaways 0000 Host monologue summarizing Mention's key financial and operational figures followed by a promotional call to action.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mention's SME customers pay $65 monthly; mid-market customers pay $400
“So we have the SME type of customers that pays on average, 65 a month. And then we have the mid market that pays on average 400 a month.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 2:07
Assertion Supported
Ogilvy uses Mention to track the impact of client campaigns
“Ogilvy is using Mansion to track campaigns they're building for their own clients.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 3:39
Disclosure
Startup studio eFounders built and spun out Mention
“Long story short more of a finance background, but I was in entrepreneurship working at a company called eFounders, which is a startup studio that builds startups on average three to four startups per year. And actually mentioned was one of the startup built b…”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 5:40
Disclosure
Mention has over 600,000 users and 4,000 paying customers
“On a monthly basis, we have more than 600,000 users, and we have several paying, several thousand paying customers. More than 4000 paying customers.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 6:17
Disclosure
Mention generates more than $240,000 in monthly recurring revenue
“Yes, at least... As a very minimum... Higher than that. Yeah.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 8:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mention sees near net-negative MRR churn on $400/month mid-market accounts
“But I want just to reiterate where we have almost like negative net churn is on the mid market where they pay 400 months.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 10:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mention reports 2% to 3% monthly gross MRR churn for SMEs
“However, on the SME, ok, they pay on average 60 months and here gross three to three percent per month.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 10:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mention receives an average of 10,000 organic signups per month
“We have on average every month, 10,000 people that sign up for Manchin regardless of marketing action or whatsoever.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 11:19
Disclosure
Mention spends $5,000 to $10,000 per month on paid acquisition
“We're still at the very beginning, anything from five to 10 K.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 11:47
Disclosure
Mention is willing to spend up to $1,000 CAC for mid-market customers
“I can go easily. I can go up to one K to pay for a bank.”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 13:59
Opinion
Hull.io is like Segment on steroids, but executed better
“Oh, so H U L L dot AO, which is basically segment on steroids. So done better. That allows you to store your data and manipulate your data. And this has been a tremendous help for marketing sales and customer success team to improve process game time and add a…”
Matt Vaxelaire Apr 15, 2017 ▶ 18:00
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