StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Feb 9, 2017 · 17m · top-founders

EP 565: Giraffe360 Hits $84k MRR Helping Real Estate Industry Record 360 Virtual Tours Quickly with CEO Mikus Opelts

Mikus Opelts · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m 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, Nathan Latka interviews Mikus Opelts, CEO of Giraffe360, examining how the company built proprietary 360-degree virtual tour camera technology and scaled a usage-based subscription model to $84,000 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 40.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 1.7 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 1.5
05100:0010:001:04–3:35 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Mikus Opelts and Giraffe360 Nathan probes into the development timeline and self-funding numbers, pushing Mikus to put a dollar figure on the R&D costs before raising outside capital. Mikus clarifies that costs were around $200k rather than Nathan's guess of over a million.3:36–7:10 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Fundraising Journey and Investor Selection in London Nathan quickly runs through the mechanics of the funding round and dissects the business model math, calculating monthly minimum spend per customer based on per-apartment pricing.7:12–9:54 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Hardware Rollout and $84k MRR Run-Rate Nathan calculates the projected $84k MRR run rate based on 60 units and actively presses Mikus when he tries to keep the hardware manufacturing cost secret, successfully extracting an approximate $5,000 range.9:54–12:10 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Organic Customer Acquisition, Team Size, and Zero Churn Nathan asks straightforward questions about acquisition channels, engineering team composition, and churn, with Mikus explaining that all initial clients have retained the product.12:11–15:41 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Subscription Dynamics and 2017 Scaling Targets Nathan queries Mikus on whether the business operates strictly as SaaS economics and then guides him smoothly through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions.15:42–16:20 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Recap and Host Summary Host monologue summarizing the guest's business metrics and delivering promotional sponsor reads.1:04–3:35 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Mikus Opelts and Giraffe360 Nathan probes into the development timeline and self-funding numbers, pushing Mikus to put a dollar figure on the R&D costs before raising outside capital. Mikus clarifies that costs were around $200k rather than Nathan's guess of over a million.3:36–7:10 · Guest teaching 2/10 Fundraising Journey and Investor Selection in London Nathan quickly runs through the mechanics of the funding round and dissects the business model math, calculating monthly minimum spend per customer based on per-apartment pricing.7:12–9:54 · Guest teaching 2/10 Hardware Rollout and $84k MRR Run-Rate Nathan calculates the projected $84k MRR run rate based on 60 units and actively presses Mikus when he tries to keep the hardware manufacturing cost secret, successfully extracting an approximate $5,000 range.9:54–12:10 · Guest teaching 1/10 Organic Customer Acquisition, Team Size, and Zero Churn Nathan asks straightforward questions about acquisition channels, engineering team composition, and churn, with Mikus explaining that all initial clients have retained the product.12:11–15:41 · Guest teaching 2/10 Subscription Dynamics and 2017 Scaling Targets Nathan queries Mikus on whether the business operates strictly as SaaS economics and then guides him smoothly through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions.15:42–16:20 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Recap and Host Summary Host monologue summarizing the guest's business metrics and delivering promotional sponsor reads.1:04–3:35 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Mikus Opelts and Giraffe360 Nathan probes into the development timeline and self-funding numbers, pushing Mikus to put a dollar figure on the R&D costs before raising outside capital. Mikus clarifies that costs were around $200k rather than Nathan's guess of over a million.3:36–7:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Fundraising Journey and Investor Selection in London Nathan quickly runs through the mechanics of the funding round and dissects the business model math, calculating monthly minimum spend per customer based on per-apartment pricing.7:12–9:54 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Hardware Rollout and $84k MRR Run-Rate Nathan calculates the projected $84k MRR run rate based on 60 units and actively presses Mikus when he tries to keep the hardware manufacturing cost secret, successfully extracting an approximate $5,000 range.9:54–12:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Organic Customer Acquisition, Team Size, and Zero Churn Nathan asks straightforward questions about acquisition channels, engineering team composition, and churn, with Mikus explaining that all initial clients have retained the product.12:11–15:41 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Subscription Dynamics and 2017 Scaling Targets Nathan queries Mikus on whether the business operates strictly as SaaS economics and then guides him smoothly through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions.15:42–16:20 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Recap and Host Summary Host monologue summarizing the guest's business metrics and delivering promotional sponsor reads.1:04–3:35 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Mikus Opelts and Giraffe360 Nathan probes into the development timeline and self-funding numbers, pushing Mikus to put a dollar figure on the R&D costs before raising outside capital. Mikus clarifies that costs were around $200k rather than Nathan's guess of over a million.3:36–7:10 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Fundraising Journey and Investor Selection in London Nathan quickly runs through the mechanics of the funding round and dissects the business model math, calculating monthly minimum spend per customer based on per-apartment pricing.7:12–9:54 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Hardware Rollout and $84k MRR Run-Rate Nathan calculates the projected $84k MRR run rate based on 60 units and actively presses Mikus when he tries to keep the hardware manufacturing cost secret, successfully extracting an approximate $5,000 range.9:54–12:10 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Organic Customer Acquisition, Team Size, and Zero Churn Nathan asks straightforward questions about acquisition channels, engineering team composition, and churn, with Mikus explaining that all initial clients have retained the product.12:11–15:41 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Subscription Dynamics and 2017 Scaling Targets Nathan queries Mikus on whether the business operates strictly as SaaS economics and then guides him smoothly through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions.15:42–16:20 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Recap and Host Summary Host monologue summarizing the guest's business metrics and delivering promotional sponsor reads.

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

0:00 · Nathan 59.4% · guest 40.6%0:00 · Nathan 59.4% · guest 40.6%3:00 · Nathan 29.3% · guest 70.7%3:00 · Nathan 29.3% · guest 70.7%6:00 · Nathan 30.9% · guest 69.1%6:00 · Nathan 30.9% · guest 69.1%9:00 · Nathan 19.4% · guest 80.6%9:00 · Nathan 19.4% · guest 80.6%12:00 · Nathan 33.6% · guest 66.4%12:00 · Nathan 33.6% · guest 66.4%15:00 · Nathan 73.2% · guest 26.8%15:00 · Nathan 73.2% · guest 26.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:57 Mikus deflects hardware production cost question

Mikus resists revealing unit economics by stating that hardware manufacturing costs are proprietary information.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 9:35 Nathan refuses secret framing on hardware cost

Nathan refuses to let Mikus dodge the hardware cost question, pressing him with a specific $5,000 benchmark to force an answer.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:12 Mikus corrects Nathan's million-dollar estimate

Mikus reframes the development budget, explaining they spent only $200k bootstrapped from service revenue rather than over a million.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:14 Nathan calculates the $84k MRR run rate

Nathan synthesizes the pricing tier of $1,400 minimum across 60 pipeline units to independently arrive at the $84,000 MRR figure.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Mikus Opelts and Giraffe360 5312 Nathan probes into the development timeline and self-funding numbers, pushing Mikus to put a dollar figure on the R&D costs before raising outside capital. Mikus clarifies that costs were around $200k rather than Nathan's guess of over a million.
Fundraising Journey and Investor Selection in London 6212 Nathan quickly runs through the mechanics of the funding round and dissects the business model math, calculating monthly minimum spend per customer based on per-apartment pricing.
Hardware Rollout and $84k MRR Run-Rate 6223 Nathan calculates the projected $84k MRR run rate based on 60 units and actively presses Mikus when he tries to keep the hardware manufacturing cost secret, successfully extracting an approximate $5,000 range.
Organic Customer Acquisition, Team Size, and Zero Churn 4111 Nathan asks straightforward questions about acquisition channels, engineering team composition, and churn, with Mikus explaining that all initial clients have retained the product.
Subscription Dynamics and 2017 Scaling Targets 4211 Nathan queries Mikus on whether the business operates strictly as SaaS economics and then guides him smoothly through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions.
Episode Recap and Host Summary 0000 Host monologue summarizing the guest's business metrics and delivering promotional sponsor reads.

Statements from this episode (9)

Disclosure
Giraffe360 self-funded $200k from service revenue before raising $500k
“200,000 we invested probably from our own budgets, and, ah, and, ah, we pushed away from our service business income, and now we just raise a half a million to get our product development further.”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 3:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Opelts took 100 investor meetings to close Giraffe360's $500k note
“A hundred.”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 4:17
Disclosure
One lead investor provided 90% of Giraffe360's $500k seed round
“Well, one company, there was one add-on investor, so basically, 90% of investment is done by one company. So, but we had, like, some five okay offers on the table, so we had something to choose from, and we choose the partners that we believe we can go”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 4:23
Disclosure
Giraffe360 gives hardware away for free, charges £53 per virtual tour
“So we give our cameras out for free. We give to the clients who mostly has large volume of properties. So the first group of clients are real estate brokers. So, and then we charge per property created with our camera. That's basically at one apartment virtual…”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 5:19
Disclosure
Giraffe360 requires a 20-tour monthly minimum to qualify for free hardware
“But there's only a minimum volume that you have to do with the camera per month, and that's 20 apartments.”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 6:21
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Giraffe360 to expand from 10 to 60 deployed cameras in February 2017
“Right now we are, we have 10, our first cameras out in the market, and the big news is that next 50 cameras is coming into the market on the 10th of February.”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 7:12
Disclosure
Giraffe360 will pause onboarding for three months to test new hardware units
“After the first 50 cameras, we will let them work for three months, and we will not be available for any other subscriptions, but in three months we are launching next hundred subscriptions.”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 8:37
Disclosure
Giraffe360's engineering team builds its early camera units by hand in-office
“We do most of this stuff ourselves in our office, by our own hands, by our engineering and technical team. So we, it's basically hand-built cameras.”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 9:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Giraffe360's hand-built cameras cost roughly $5,000 each to manufacture
“The range is definitely, is there what you mentioned”
Mikus Opelts Feb 9, 2017 ▶ 9:49
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