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Feb 7, 2017 · 21m · top-founders

EP 563: InsightPool Near $300k MRR Helping 100 Big Brands Find Influencers with CEO Devon Wijesinghe

Devin Wijesinghe · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In episode 563 of 'The Top,' host Nathan Latka interviews InsightPool CEO Devon Wijesinghe to explore how the enterprise influencer marketing platform scaled to 300,000 dollars in monthly recurring revenue. The conversation delivers an in-depth breakdown of the company's SaaS unit economics, sales payback cycles, fundraising history, and Devon's prior nine-figure entrepreneurial exit.

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 44.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.1 Guest teaching 1.6 Guest disagreement 1.4 Nathan pushing back 2.5
05100:0010:0020:000:28–3:02 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Weekly Top Tribe Contest Winner Announcement Nathan introduces the show and Devin Wijesinghe of InsightPool. Devin smoothly explains the company's influencer marketing platform and tiered SaaS pricing model without friction.3:03–5:50 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 SaaS Metrics, ARPU, and Onboarding Structure Devin quotes an average revenue per account of over $3,000 per month. Nathan probes into past exit valuations and initial angel investments, with Devin disclosing a 9-figure previous exit while navigating NDA constraints.5:50–8:01 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Scaling the Team and Atlanta Tech Ecosystem Devin describes growing to 60 employees and serving over 100 enterprise brands. Nathan multiplies the 100 brands by the $3,000 ARPU to estimate monthly recurring revenue at roughly $300k, which Devin implicitly confirms.8:02–10:17 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Sales Strategy, CAC, LTV, and Payback Dynamics Devin details sales structure and challenges simplistic LTV metrics by highlighting cash flow realities. Nathan swiftly calculates the implied $12k CAC from a 4-month payback period at $3k monthly spend.10:17–13:31 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Customer Retention, Gross Churn, and Upsell Rates Nathan halts Devin to untangle conflicting statements between annual and monthly churn figures, forcing precise definitions of gross churn and net revenue churn. Nathan also attempts to pin down monthly burn and future funding plans.13:33–16:21 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Sponsor Message: FreshBooks Accounting and Expense Tracking Following a sponsor read for FreshBooks, the Famous Five begins smoothly. Devin shares his favorite business book and discusses admiring Travis Kalanick's operational discipline at Uber.16:23–19:12 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Famous Five: Preferred Tools and Atlanta Tech Peers The conversation covers marketing tools like Pardot, the Atlanta tech ecosystem, age, and advice to younger founders on mastering financial metrics early.19:14–20:22 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 2017 Growth Outlook and Interview Conclusion Nathan adds an extra question regarding growth targets for 2017, targeting 2.5x expansion towards a $1M MRR run rate, before delivering a thorough quantitative recap of the company's vitals.0:28–3:02 · Guest teaching 1/10 Weekly Top Tribe Contest Winner Announcement Nathan introduces the show and Devin Wijesinghe of InsightPool. Devin smoothly explains the company's influencer marketing platform and tiered SaaS pricing model without friction.3:03–5:50 · Guest teaching 2/10 SaaS Metrics, ARPU, and Onboarding Structure Devin quotes an average revenue per account of over $3,000 per month. Nathan probes into past exit valuations and initial angel investments, with Devin disclosing a 9-figure previous exit while navigating NDA constraints.5:50–8:01 · Guest teaching 1/10 Scaling the Team and Atlanta Tech Ecosystem Devin describes growing to 60 employees and serving over 100 enterprise brands. Nathan multiplies the 100 brands by the $3,000 ARPU to estimate monthly recurring revenue at roughly $300k, which Devin implicitly confirms.8:02–10:17 · Guest teaching 3/10 Sales Strategy, CAC, LTV, and Payback Dynamics Devin details sales structure and challenges simplistic LTV metrics by highlighting cash flow realities. Nathan swiftly calculates the implied $12k CAC from a 4-month payback period at $3k monthly spend.10:17–13:31 · Guest teaching 2/10 Customer Retention, Gross Churn, and Upsell Rates Nathan halts Devin to untangle conflicting statements between annual and monthly churn figures, forcing precise definitions of gross churn and net revenue churn. Nathan also attempts to pin down monthly burn and future funding plans.13:33–16:21 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Message: FreshBooks Accounting and Expense Tracking Following a sponsor read for FreshBooks, the Famous Five begins smoothly. Devin shares his favorite business book and discusses admiring Travis Kalanick's operational discipline at Uber.16:23–19:12 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Famous Five: Preferred Tools and Atlanta Tech Peers The conversation covers marketing tools like Pardot, the Atlanta tech ecosystem, age, and advice to younger founders on mastering financial metrics early.19:14–20:22 · Guest teaching 1/10 2017 Growth Outlook and Interview Conclusion Nathan adds an extra question regarding growth targets for 2017, targeting 2.5x expansion towards a $1M MRR run rate, before delivering a thorough quantitative recap of the company's vitals.0:28–3:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Weekly Top Tribe Contest Winner Announcement Nathan introduces the show and Devin Wijesinghe of InsightPool. Devin smoothly explains the company's influencer marketing platform and tiered SaaS pricing model without friction.3:03–5:50 · Guest disagreement 2/10 SaaS Metrics, ARPU, and Onboarding Structure Devin quotes an average revenue per account of over $3,000 per month. Nathan probes into past exit valuations and initial angel investments, with Devin disclosing a 9-figure previous exit while navigating NDA constraints.5:50–8:01 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Scaling the Team and Atlanta Tech Ecosystem Devin describes growing to 60 employees and serving over 100 enterprise brands. Nathan multiplies the 100 brands by the $3,000 ARPU to estimate monthly recurring revenue at roughly $300k, which Devin implicitly confirms.8:02–10:17 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sales Strategy, CAC, LTV, and Payback Dynamics Devin details sales structure and challenges simplistic LTV metrics by highlighting cash flow realities. Nathan swiftly calculates the implied $12k CAC from a 4-month payback period at $3k monthly spend.10:17–13:31 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Customer Retention, Gross Churn, and Upsell Rates Nathan halts Devin to untangle conflicting statements between annual and monthly churn figures, forcing precise definitions of gross churn and net revenue churn. Nathan also attempts to pin down monthly burn and future funding plans.13:33–16:21 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Message: FreshBooks Accounting and Expense Tracking Following a sponsor read for FreshBooks, the Famous Five begins smoothly. Devin shares his favorite business book and discusses admiring Travis Kalanick's operational discipline at Uber.16:23–19:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five: Preferred Tools and Atlanta Tech Peers The conversation covers marketing tools like Pardot, the Atlanta tech ecosystem, age, and advice to younger founders on mastering financial metrics early.19:14–20:22 · Guest disagreement 1/10 2017 Growth Outlook and Interview Conclusion Nathan adds an extra question regarding growth targets for 2017, targeting 2.5x expansion towards a $1M MRR run rate, before delivering a thorough quantitative recap of the company's vitals.0:28–3:02 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Weekly Top Tribe Contest Winner Announcement Nathan introduces the show and Devin Wijesinghe of InsightPool. Devin smoothly explains the company's influencer marketing platform and tiered SaaS pricing model without friction.3:03–5:50 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 SaaS Metrics, ARPU, and Onboarding Structure Devin quotes an average revenue per account of over $3,000 per month. Nathan probes into past exit valuations and initial angel investments, with Devin disclosing a 9-figure previous exit while navigating NDA constraints.5:50–8:01 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Scaling the Team and Atlanta Tech Ecosystem Devin describes growing to 60 employees and serving over 100 enterprise brands. Nathan multiplies the 100 brands by the $3,000 ARPU to estimate monthly recurring revenue at roughly $300k, which Devin implicitly confirms.8:02–10:17 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Sales Strategy, CAC, LTV, and Payback Dynamics Devin details sales structure and challenges simplistic LTV metrics by highlighting cash flow realities. Nathan swiftly calculates the implied $12k CAC from a 4-month payback period at $3k monthly spend.10:17–13:31 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Customer Retention, Gross Churn, and Upsell Rates Nathan halts Devin to untangle conflicting statements between annual and monthly churn figures, forcing precise definitions of gross churn and net revenue churn. Nathan also attempts to pin down monthly burn and future funding plans.13:33–16:21 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Message: FreshBooks Accounting and Expense Tracking Following a sponsor read for FreshBooks, the Famous Five begins smoothly. Devin shares his favorite business book and discusses admiring Travis Kalanick's operational discipline at Uber.16:23–19:12 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Famous Five: Preferred Tools and Atlanta Tech Peers The conversation covers marketing tools like Pardot, the Atlanta tech ecosystem, age, and advice to younger founders on mastering financial metrics early.19:14–20:22 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 2017 Growth Outlook and Interview Conclusion Nathan adds an extra question regarding growth targets for 2017, targeting 2.5x expansion towards a $1M MRR run rate, before delivering a thorough quantitative recap of the company's vitals.

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

0:00 · Nathan 64.7% · guest 35.3%0:00 · Nathan 64.7% · guest 35.3%3:00 · Nathan 28.2% · guest 71.8%3:00 · Nathan 28.2% · guest 71.8%6:00 · Nathan 35.3% · guest 64.7%6:00 · Nathan 35.3% · guest 64.7%9:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%9:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%12:00 · Nathan 61.5% · guest 38.5%12:00 · Nathan 61.5% · guest 38.5%15:00 · Nathan 17.4% · guest 82.6%15:00 · Nathan 17.4% · guest 82.6%18:00 · Nathan 61.6% · guest 38.4%18:00 · Nathan 61.6% · guest 38.4%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:15 Devin deflects buyout and fundraising binary choices

When Nathan tries to box him into choosing between acquisition talks with Salesforce or an active raise, Devin deflects by offering a fourth unmentioned option of pre-billing cash flow.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:53 Nathan interrupts to clarify confusing churn figures

Nathan halts the conversation after Devin mixes up monthly and annual churn percentages, insisting on clearing up the math before proceeding.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:40 Devin explains the danger of standard LTV assumptions

Devin explains how theoretical LTV math causes startups to go bankrupt if contract terms and real cash flow timing are ignored.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:56 Nathan immediately calculates CAC from payback and ARPU

Nathan instantly combines Devin's four-month payback metric and $3k ARPU to state the exact $12k customer acquisition cost.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Top Tribe Contest Winner Announcement 4111 Nathan introduces the show and Devin Wijesinghe of InsightPool. Devin smoothly explains the company's influencer marketing platform and tiered SaaS pricing model without friction.
SaaS Metrics, ARPU, and Onboarding Structure 5224 Devin quotes an average revenue per account of over $3,000 per month. Nathan probes into past exit valuations and initial angel investments, with Devin disclosing a 9-figure previous exit while navigating NDA constraints.
Scaling the Team and Atlanta Tech Ecosystem 6112 Devin describes growing to 60 employees and serving over 100 enterprise brands. Nathan multiplies the 100 brands by the $3,000 ARPU to estimate monthly recurring revenue at roughly $300k, which Devin implicitly confirms.
Sales Strategy, CAC, LTV, and Payback Dynamics 6312 Devin details sales structure and challenges simplistic LTV metrics by highlighting cash flow realities. Nathan swiftly calculates the implied $12k CAC from a 4-month payback period at $3k monthly spend.
Customer Retention, Gross Churn, and Upsell Rates 7236 Nathan halts Devin to untangle conflicting statements between annual and monthly churn figures, forcing precise definitions of gross churn and net revenue churn. Nathan also attempts to pin down monthly burn and future funding plans.
Sponsor Message: FreshBooks Accounting and Expense Tracking 3111 Following a sponsor read for FreshBooks, the Famous Five begins smoothly. Devin shares his favorite business book and discusses admiring Travis Kalanick's operational discipline at Uber.
The Famous Five: Preferred Tools and Atlanta Tech Peers 4212 The conversation covers marketing tools like Pardot, the Atlanta tech ecosystem, age, and advice to younger founders on mastering financial metrics early.
2017 Growth Outlook and Interview Conclusion 6112 Nathan adds an extra question regarding growth targets for 2017, targeting 2.5x expansion towards a $1M MRR run rate, before delivering a thorough quantitative recap of the company's vitals.

Statements from this episode (14)

Disclosure
InsightPool ARPA Is Just Over $3,000 Per Month
“So the average ARPA, if you'd like to use SAS metrics is just over 3000 dollars a month.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 3:12
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Wijesinghe Sold Previous Company eVerify for Nine Figures
“It's a it was nine figures.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 4:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
eVerify Scaled to Nearly 3,500 Field Personnel Before Sale
“We built that up to You know, almost 3500 people that were in the field for us, and it was data on individuals”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 4:26
Disclosure
Wijesinghe Seeded InsightPool With a $250,000 Personal Check
“Seated for 250 grand.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 5:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
InsightPool Reaches a Headcount of Around 60 Employees
“Yeah, just around, right around 60 people today.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 6:48
Insight
Incubators Become Like 'Mom's Basement' After Product-Market Fit
“Being an ATV is awesome to launch, but if you stay there too long A, the math doesn't work. And then B, it's kind of like living in your mom's basement, right? If you've hit a product market fit and you can scale the business, you should go and do something tr…”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 6:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
InsightPool Serves Over 100 Enterprise Clients Across 200 Properties
“So it's about over a hundred different large enterprises per month. And many of them have like multiple properties that we serve. So if, you know, it's in, in, in the count of 200 plus of the properties that we serve.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 7:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
InsightPool Monthly Recurring Revenue Nears $300,000
“It's a, it's close. It's close to accurate.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 7:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
InsightPool Achieves a Four-Month CAC Payback Period
“Ours is right around four months right now.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 9:37
Disclosure
InsightPool Averages 2.5% Gross Monthly Customer Churn
“It's typically, you know, averaging right around that two and a half percent... So if you take, you know, 27% or so annually”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 10:22
Disclosure
InsightPool Achieves a 15% Annual Customer Upsell Rate
“Annually, you know, upsell is about 15%.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 10:45
Disclosure
InsightPool Has Raised Just Under $8 Million in Total Funding
“We did an A round and total invested into the company is just under eight million.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 11:55
Opinion
Uber Maintains Operational Discipline Despite Unlimited Capital Access
“How he has so much discipline practices in a company that you would think can raise any amount of money they can, which they can, and their discipline would be, you know, subpar because they have all of that access, and I would, from listening to him, I would …”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 15:53
Prediction Not checkable as stated
InsightPool Forecasts 2.5x to 3x Revenue Growth in 2017
“You know, this is a, I think the market is shaping up that this is going to be a big year. So, you know, ours is about a, you know, 2.5 X forecast. But you know, if somebody said we hit three, I'm not going to cry.”
Devin Wijesinghe Feb 7, 2017 ▶ 19:25
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