StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Jan 10, 2017 · 18m · top-founders

EP 535: He's 24 yo Founder, Now VC at Hummingbird

Dominic Vasikhar · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 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 24-year-old Dominic Vasikhar, who bootstrapped lead-generation platform Spaceship before joining Hummingbird VC as an associate. Dominic discusses scaling and stepping back from his startup, developing proprietary machine-learning deal sourcing technology, and defining investment benchmarks for high-growth tech companies.

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 5.2 Guest teaching 0.8 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:001:33–4:58 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Dominic Vasikhar on Bootstrapping and Scaling Spaceship Latka systematically probes Spaceship's revenue model, breakdown of subscription versus pay-as-you-go clients, and launch timeline. Vasikhar provides straightforward factual data about the business.4:58–7:13 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Transitioning from Startup Founder to Hummingbird VC Associate Latka explores why Vasikhar stepped away from his startup to join Hummingbird VC. The tone remains collaborative with light banter over the initial seven-dollar domain investment.7:14–11:56 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Building Proprietary Deal-Sourcing Technology at Hummingbird VC Latka presses Vasikhar on how his internal deal-sourcing software differs from established databases like Crunchbase and CB Insights. When Vasikhar hesitates to share details, Latka directly challenges him to reveal what he can.11:56–13:57 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Investment Thesis and Target Metrics at Hummingbird VC Latka inquires about Hummingbird's check sizes, target stages, and ARR benchmarks. Vasikhar outlines their focus on Series A B2C marketplaces and B2B SaaS around the one million ARR mark.13:58–16:07 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Exploring a Spaceship Acquisition and Online Contact Channels Latka pitches acquiring Spaceship for his own software portfolio and requests an introduction to the co-founder, followed by a mid-roll advertisement.16:07–17:34 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Famous Five Questions with Dominic Vasikhar Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and summarizes the guest's background.1:33–4:58 · Guest teaching 1/10 Dominic Vasikhar on Bootstrapping and Scaling Spaceship Latka systematically probes Spaceship's revenue model, breakdown of subscription versus pay-as-you-go clients, and launch timeline. Vasikhar provides straightforward factual data about the business.4:58–7:13 · Guest teaching 1/10 Transitioning from Startup Founder to Hummingbird VC Associate Latka explores why Vasikhar stepped away from his startup to join Hummingbird VC. The tone remains collaborative with light banter over the initial seven-dollar domain investment.7:14–11:56 · Guest teaching 2/10 Building Proprietary Deal-Sourcing Technology at Hummingbird VC Latka presses Vasikhar on how his internal deal-sourcing software differs from established databases like Crunchbase and CB Insights. When Vasikhar hesitates to share details, Latka directly challenges him to reveal what he can.11:56–13:57 · Guest teaching 1/10 Investment Thesis and Target Metrics at Hummingbird VC Latka inquires about Hummingbird's check sizes, target stages, and ARR benchmarks. Vasikhar outlines their focus on Series A B2C marketplaces and B2B SaaS around the one million ARR mark.13:58–16:07 · Guest teaching 0/10 Exploring a Spaceship Acquisition and Online Contact Channels Latka pitches acquiring Spaceship for his own software portfolio and requests an introduction to the co-founder, followed by a mid-roll advertisement.16:07–17:34 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Famous Five Questions with Dominic Vasikhar Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and summarizes the guest's background.1:33–4:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Dominic Vasikhar on Bootstrapping and Scaling Spaceship Latka systematically probes Spaceship's revenue model, breakdown of subscription versus pay-as-you-go clients, and launch timeline. Vasikhar provides straightforward factual data about the business.4:58–7:13 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Transitioning from Startup Founder to Hummingbird VC Associate Latka explores why Vasikhar stepped away from his startup to join Hummingbird VC. The tone remains collaborative with light banter over the initial seven-dollar domain investment.7:14–11:56 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Building Proprietary Deal-Sourcing Technology at Hummingbird VC Latka presses Vasikhar on how his internal deal-sourcing software differs from established databases like Crunchbase and CB Insights. When Vasikhar hesitates to share details, Latka directly challenges him to reveal what he can.11:56–13:57 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Investment Thesis and Target Metrics at Hummingbird VC Latka inquires about Hummingbird's check sizes, target stages, and ARR benchmarks. Vasikhar outlines their focus on Series A B2C marketplaces and B2B SaaS around the one million ARR mark.13:58–16:07 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Exploring a Spaceship Acquisition and Online Contact Channels Latka pitches acquiring Spaceship for his own software portfolio and requests an introduction to the co-founder, followed by a mid-roll advertisement.16:07–17:34 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Questions with Dominic Vasikhar Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and summarizes the guest's background.1:33–4:58 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Dominic Vasikhar on Bootstrapping and Scaling Spaceship Latka systematically probes Spaceship's revenue model, breakdown of subscription versus pay-as-you-go clients, and launch timeline. Vasikhar provides straightforward factual data about the business.4:58–7:13 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Transitioning from Startup Founder to Hummingbird VC Associate Latka explores why Vasikhar stepped away from his startup to join Hummingbird VC. The tone remains collaborative with light banter over the initial seven-dollar domain investment.7:14–11:56 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Building Proprietary Deal-Sourcing Technology at Hummingbird VC Latka presses Vasikhar on how his internal deal-sourcing software differs from established databases like Crunchbase and CB Insights. When Vasikhar hesitates to share details, Latka directly challenges him to reveal what he can.11:56–13:57 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Investment Thesis and Target Metrics at Hummingbird VC Latka inquires about Hummingbird's check sizes, target stages, and ARR benchmarks. Vasikhar outlines their focus on Series A B2C marketplaces and B2B SaaS around the one million ARR mark.13:58–16:07 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Exploring a Spaceship Acquisition and Online Contact Channels Latka pitches acquiring Spaceship for his own software portfolio and requests an introduction to the co-founder, followed by a mid-roll advertisement.16:07–17:34 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Questions with Dominic Vasikhar Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and summarizes the guest's background.

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

0:00 · Nathan 62.3% · guest 37.7%0:00 · Nathan 62.3% · guest 37.7%3:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%3:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%6:00 · Nathan 23.8% · guest 76.2%6:00 · Nathan 23.8% · guest 76.2%9:00 · Nathan 30.2% · guest 69.8%9:00 · Nathan 30.2% · guest 69.8%12:00 · Nathan 42.1% · guest 57.9%12:00 · Nathan 42.1% · guest 57.9%15:00 · Nathan 84.3% · guest 15.7%15:00 · Nathan 84.3% · guest 15.7%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:06 Guest holds back proprietary formula

Vasikhar pushes back against Latka's probing by citing confidentiality contracts to avoid revealing proprietary sourcing variables.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:10 Latka dismisses secrecy around ideas

Latka rejects Vasikhar's hesitation, arguing that true entrepreneurs do not fear sharing ideas because business success comes down to execution.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:30 Automating deal flow via data points

Vasikhar breaks down the math behind aggregating 50 distinct data sources to automate startup deal discovery without manual review.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:13 Latka challenges tool differentiation

Latka cites multiple industry platforms including CB Insights, PitchBook, and Mattermark to challenge Vasikhar on whether Hummingbird is just reinventing existing tools.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Dominic Vasikhar on Bootstrapping and Scaling Spaceship 5112 Latka systematically probes Spaceship's revenue model, breakdown of subscription versus pay-as-you-go clients, and launch timeline. Vasikhar provides straightforward factual data about the business.
Transitioning from Startup Founder to Hummingbird VC Associate 5112 Latka explores why Vasikhar stepped away from his startup to join Hummingbird VC. The tone remains collaborative with light banter over the initial seven-dollar domain investment.
Building Proprietary Deal-Sourcing Technology at Hummingbird VC 7236 Latka presses Vasikhar on how his internal deal-sourcing software differs from established databases like Crunchbase and CB Insights. When Vasikhar hesitates to share details, Latka directly challenges him to reveal what he can.
Investment Thesis and Target Metrics at Hummingbird VC 6111 Latka inquires about Hummingbird's check sizes, target stages, and ARR benchmarks. Vasikhar outlines their focus on Series A B2C marketplaces and B2B SaaS around the one million ARR mark.
Exploring a Spaceship Acquisition and Online Contact Channels 4000 Latka pitches acquiring Spaceship for his own software portfolio and requests an introduction to the co-founder, followed by a mid-roll advertisement.
The Famous Five Questions with Dominic Vasikhar 4001 Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire and summarizes the guest's background.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vasikhar: Spaceship had roughly 800 customers with 10% on monthly plans
“Well in total we had somewhere around 800 customers monthly, I would say 10% of that was on a monthly plan.”
Dominic Vasikhar Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 3:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vasikhar: Spaceship generated close to $250,000 in its first 12 months
“But in total it was somewhere close to a quarter of a million in, in the first 12 months.”
Dominic Vasikhar Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 4:32
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vasikhar: Spaceship was bootstrapped with just seven dollars
“It was bootstrapped from the very beginning, so like, we invested seven dollars into it in the beginning.”
Dominic Vasikhar Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 6:32
Disclosure
Vasikhar: Spaceship is pivoting toward a Mattermark-style automated database
“Basically, my co-founder is now taking over and he's planning to pivot our business a bit to make it a bit more scalable and automated. So let's say somewhere close to, a bit closer to, let's say, Mattermark or Crunchbase or so when, where you have some kind o…”
Dominic Vasikhar Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 6:56
Disclosure
Hummingbird VC Is Building Proprietary AI for Automated Deal Screening
“We want to basically put in more and more sources and we basically want we want to build some kind of a, let's say machine learning or artificial intelligence, which basically helps us To do our initial screening for us. So we don't have to go through like 300…”
Dominic Vasikhar Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 8:46
Disclosure
Hummingbird VC Aims to Embed Founder DNA Evaluation into Sourcing Software
“One of the things that Hummingbird is really, like, very good at is sort of identifying the founder's DNA. And that's something that we want to also deeply embed into a product that we are going to build.”
Dominic Vasikhar Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 11:43
Insight
Vasikhar: VCs typically target $100K MRR or $1M ARR for Series A
“Yeah, I would say for most of the VCs I met, and it's also the case for us, we are looking at somewhere around 100,000 dollars at a monthly recording revenue which would translate to somewhere around a million ARR.”
Dominic Vasikhar Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 13:25
Disclosure
Latka: Executing an Email and Sales Tool Roll-Up via TheTopInbox.com
“I am actively executing a rollup in this space. So if you go to the top inbox.com, I've acquired many, many companies already kind of in the kind of get leads, email the leads, send later, set reminders, close deals kind of space.”
Nathan Latka Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 13:58
Insight
Vasikhar: Feeling stupid about past actions indicates personal progress
“Like for me, the biggest, biggest turning is always like, well, let's say the biggest value that I'm striving for is to look back and I feel stupid about the way I acted and about the things I do. And as long as this is the case, I feel that I'm progressing.”
Dominic Vasikhar Jan 10, 2017 ▶ 16:52
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