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Jan 15, 2017 · 18m · top-founders

EP 540: Cliently Hits $8k MRR, Aims for $5m Valuation Next Round with CEO Spencer Farber

Nathan Latka · 8m spoken Spencer Farber · 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

In this episode of 'The Top,' host Nathan Latka interviews Cliently founder and CEO Spencer Farber to explore how the SaaS startup scaled to $8,000 in monthly recurring revenue by automating multi-channel B2B prospecting across email, video, and direct-mail postcards. Farber breaks down his SaaS pricing tiers, fundraising plans targeting a $5 million valuation, and operational insights from building an integrated sales platform with a lean team.

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 53.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.8 Guest teaching 0.7 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 2.2
05100:0010:002:05–4:16 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Cliently Business Model, SaaS Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Traction Nathan quickly runs through SaaS metrics, calculating MRR on the fly based on customer count and ARPU. Spencer answers transparently and cooperatively.4:16–6:36 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Rapid Product Launch, Case Study, and Hyper-Personalization Nathan asks about competitors in the space (Email Hunter, Boomerang). Spencer reframes how Cliently integrates hyper-personalization like video messaging and postcards rather than acting as a standard CRM.6:36–9:41 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Postcard Integration Strategy and Workflow Advantage Over Competitors Nathan bluntly challenges Spencer on how Cliently can beat specialized point solutions with APIs, and probes for proprietary data vendors. Spencer defends the integrated workflow value proposition while protecting vendor relationships.9:41–13:18 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Future Fundraising Strategy and $5 Million Target Valuation Nathan immediately calculates the implied multiple (15x ARR) when Spencer proposes raising $500k for 10-15% equity at $25k MRR. Spencer defends the valuation target by emphasizing the proprietary tech build and native feature integrations.13:19–16:59 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Mid-Roll Promo: Nathan's Long-Term Vision for TheTopInbox.com Solo promotional segment and sponsor ad read by Nathan with no guest interaction.16:59–17:53 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Interview Summary, Key Takeaways, and Founder Contact Details Standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions and concluding recap of Cliently's metrics.2:05–4:16 · Guest teaching 0/10 Cliently Business Model, SaaS Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Traction Nathan quickly runs through SaaS metrics, calculating MRR on the fly based on customer count and ARPU. Spencer answers transparently and cooperatively.4:16–6:36 · Guest teaching 1/10 Rapid Product Launch, Case Study, and Hyper-Personalization Nathan asks about competitors in the space (Email Hunter, Boomerang). Spencer reframes how Cliently integrates hyper-personalization like video messaging and postcards rather than acting as a standard CRM.6:36–9:41 · Guest teaching 2/10 Postcard Integration Strategy and Workflow Advantage Over Competitors Nathan bluntly challenges Spencer on how Cliently can beat specialized point solutions with APIs, and probes for proprietary data vendors. Spencer defends the integrated workflow value proposition while protecting vendor relationships.9:41–13:18 · Guest teaching 1/10 Future Fundraising Strategy and $5 Million Target Valuation Nathan immediately calculates the implied multiple (15x ARR) when Spencer proposes raising $500k for 10-15% equity at $25k MRR. Spencer defends the valuation target by emphasizing the proprietary tech build and native feature integrations.13:19–16:59 · Guest teaching 0/10 Mid-Roll Promo: Nathan's Long-Term Vision for TheTopInbox.com Solo promotional segment and sponsor ad read by Nathan with no guest interaction.16:59–17:53 · Guest teaching 0/10 Interview Summary, Key Takeaways, and Founder Contact Details Standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions and concluding recap of Cliently's metrics.2:05–4:16 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Cliently Business Model, SaaS Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Traction Nathan quickly runs through SaaS metrics, calculating MRR on the fly based on customer count and ARPU. Spencer answers transparently and cooperatively.4:16–6:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Rapid Product Launch, Case Study, and Hyper-Personalization Nathan asks about competitors in the space (Email Hunter, Boomerang). Spencer reframes how Cliently integrates hyper-personalization like video messaging and postcards rather than acting as a standard CRM.6:36–9:41 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Postcard Integration Strategy and Workflow Advantage Over Competitors Nathan bluntly challenges Spencer on how Cliently can beat specialized point solutions with APIs, and probes for proprietary data vendors. Spencer defends the integrated workflow value proposition while protecting vendor relationships.9:41–13:18 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Future Fundraising Strategy and $5 Million Target Valuation Nathan immediately calculates the implied multiple (15x ARR) when Spencer proposes raising $500k for 10-15% equity at $25k MRR. Spencer defends the valuation target by emphasizing the proprietary tech build and native feature integrations.13:19–16:59 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Roll Promo: Nathan's Long-Term Vision for TheTopInbox.com Solo promotional segment and sponsor ad read by Nathan with no guest interaction.16:59–17:53 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Interview Summary, Key Takeaways, and Founder Contact Details Standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions and concluding recap of Cliently's metrics.2:05–4:16 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Cliently Business Model, SaaS Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Traction Nathan quickly runs through SaaS metrics, calculating MRR on the fly based on customer count and ARPU. Spencer answers transparently and cooperatively.4:16–6:36 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Rapid Product Launch, Case Study, and Hyper-Personalization Nathan asks about competitors in the space (Email Hunter, Boomerang). Spencer reframes how Cliently integrates hyper-personalization like video messaging and postcards rather than acting as a standard CRM.6:36–9:41 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Postcard Integration Strategy and Workflow Advantage Over Competitors Nathan bluntly challenges Spencer on how Cliently can beat specialized point solutions with APIs, and probes for proprietary data vendors. Spencer defends the integrated workflow value proposition while protecting vendor relationships.9:41–13:18 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Future Fundraising Strategy and $5 Million Target Valuation Nathan immediately calculates the implied multiple (15x ARR) when Spencer proposes raising $500k for 10-15% equity at $25k MRR. Spencer defends the valuation target by emphasizing the proprietary tech build and native feature integrations.13:19–16:59 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Mid-Roll Promo: Nathan's Long-Term Vision for TheTopInbox.com Solo promotional segment and sponsor ad read by Nathan with no guest interaction.16:59–17:53 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Interview Summary, Key Takeaways, and Founder Contact Details Standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions and concluding recap of Cliently's metrics.

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

0:00 · Nathan 75.9% · guest 24.1%0:00 · Nathan 75.9% · guest 24.1%3:00 · Nathan 37.3% · guest 62.7%3:00 · Nathan 37.3% · guest 62.7%6:00 · Nathan 21.7% · guest 78.3%6:00 · Nathan 21.7% · guest 78.3%9:00 · Nathan 33.9% · guest 66.1%9:00 · Nathan 33.9% · guest 66.1%12:00 · Nathan 76.3% · guest 23.7%12:00 · Nathan 76.3% · guest 23.7%15:00 · Nathan 59.9% · guest 40.1%15:00 · Nathan 59.9% · guest 40.1%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:56 Spencer defends aggressive 15x valuation expectation

Spencer pushes back against Nathan's skepticism regarding a $5M valuation on $25k MRR, arguing that baked-in native functionality like in-app video and postcards justifies a higher multiple than pure API wrappers.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:39 Nathan challenges the 15x revenue multiple

Nathan directly highlights the high valuation gap, noting that targeting a $5M valuation on roughly $300k ARR equates to a steep 15x ARR multiple.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:25 Spencer explains workflow friction in point solutions

Spencer educates Nathan on why SMBs fail when trying to stitch together separate point solutions via APIs, explaining that integration friction makes single-focus tools ineffective for non-technical teams.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:28 Nathan calculates implicit valuation multiple on the fly

Nathan instantly converts Spencer's funding ask and equity percentage into an implied post-money valuation of $4-5 million, translating it into an exact 15x ARR multiple.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Cliently Business Model, SaaS Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Traction 5002 Nathan quickly runs through SaaS metrics, calculating MRR on the fly based on customer count and ARPU. Spencer answers transparently and cooperatively.
Rapid Product Launch, Case Study, and Hyper-Personalization 4112 Nathan asks about competitors in the space (Email Hunter, Boomerang). Spencer reframes how Cliently integrates hyper-personalization like video messaging and postcards rather than acting as a standard CRM.
Postcard Integration Strategy and Workflow Advantage Over Competitors 5224 Nathan bluntly challenges Spencer on how Cliently can beat specialized point solutions with APIs, and probes for proprietary data vendors. Spencer defends the integrated workflow value proposition while protecting vendor relationships.
Future Fundraising Strategy and $5 Million Target Valuation 6125 Nathan immediately calculates the implied multiple (15x ARR) when Spencer proposes raising $500k for 10-15% equity at $25k MRR. Spencer defends the valuation target by emphasizing the proprietary tech build and native feature integrations.
Mid-Roll Promo: Nathan's Long-Term Vision for TheTopInbox.com 0000 Solo promotional segment and sponsor ad read by Nathan with no guest interaction.
Interview Summary, Key Takeaways, and Founder Contact Details 3000 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions and concluding recap of Cliently's metrics.

Statements from this episode (11)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Farber: Most Cliently customers pay annually for campaign creation help
“Most of our clients are paying annually and they're doing that because our expertise is creating their campaigns for them. At the end of the day, you have to have a great campaign. So we offer that with that annual commitment.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 3:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Farber: Cliently serves 70 to 80 customers mostly on $99/month plan
“We're serving right now about, I want to say somewhere between 70 to 80 mostly of that you know, older enterprise plan of 99 per month.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 3:44
Disclosure
Farber: Cliently funded with $30k bootstrapped and $75k from friends and family
“You know, bootstrapped about 30 K friends and family about 75.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 4:10
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Latka: Cliently scaled to $8,000 MRR in first eight months
“So not from nothing to about eight grand a monthly recurring revenue and call it eight or nine months, right?”
Nathan Latka Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 4:40
Disclosure
Farber: Cliently plans to raise $500,000 at $25k to $35k MRR
“Right now we're thinking of looking for about half a million.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 9:56
Disclosure
Farber plans to sell 10% to 15% equity for $500k seed
“You know, I would probably estimate, you know, there's other variables too, but somewhere around, you know, the 10 to 15%.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 10:29
Disclosure
Farber: Cliently operates with a core team of three people plus freelancers
“Our core team right now is three people, including myself, and then, of course, we've got a bevy of different freelancers, some that we use more often than others.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 11:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Farber: Cliently has about 15 month-to-month clients with three cancellations
“I can say, you know, we've got maybe 15 clients that are month to month. We've really only had about three cancellations to date, so we found that clients like what we're doing.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 12:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Farber: Only one of 40 annual Cliently clients has canceled
“And out of 40, we've only had one that's canceled today.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 12:41
Assertion Contradicted
Latka: PandaDoc surpassed $10 million in ARR in 2016
“We had Jared Fuller and Makita on, and they talked about how they passed ten million bucks in ARR in 2016.”
Nathan Latka Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 15:49
Assertion Supported
Farber was PandaDoc's first US employee and built their sales team
“Yeah, I was actually a U.S. Employee number one and started that sales team there.”
Spencer Farber Jan 15, 2017 ▶ 15:58
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