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Jan 8, 2017 · 24m · top-founders

EP 533: $1.5M Raised, $100k MRR Helping 800 Customers Manage and Track Documents with CEO Tim Samulet

Nathan Latka · 10m spoken Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) · 8m 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, Nathan Latka interviews Tilkee CTO Tim Saumet and Business Developer Kate to examine how their document tracking SaaS platform scaled from twenty thousand dollars to one hundred thousand dollars in MRR. They explore Tilkee's strategic enterprise pivot, European market dynamics, low churn metrics, and native CRM integrations.

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 49.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.3 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 0.5 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:0020:002:18–5:27 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Tilkee Core Value Proposition and Document Tracking Explained Nathan guides the conversation through standard founder backstory questions, asking about launch dates, early revenue, and customer counts. Tim cooperatively details how Tilkee evolved from a side project to serving 800 customers.5:27–8:49 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Tiers and Scaling to $100K Monthly Recurring Revenue Nathan does on-the-fly currency and ARR conversions, calculating Tilkee's 5x year-over-year expansion to $100k MRR. He presses Tim to identify whether this expansion is driven by seat growth or moving upmarket.8:50–11:54 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Fundraising Philosophy, Equity Distribution, and Low Churn Metrics Nathan drills down on equity retention, valuation multiples, and churn metrics, converting Tim's retention percentage into monthly gross churn rates. Tim explains the European norm of valuing businesses at 5x ARR and employee equity purchases.11:54–14:06 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sales Outreach Mechanics and Algorithmic Lead Scoring Kate describes Tilkee's document tracking algorithms and outbound prospecting workflow. Nathan questions their e-signature offering against players like DocuSign, prompting Tim to explain European regulatory and fee structures.14:11–18:24 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Acquisition Economics, Marketing Spend, and Traditional Media Trials Nathan probes for hard CAC and LTV numbers, dissecting their sales-heavy team composition and paid radio trials. He pushes Kate to clarify her comment regarding CRM capabilities until Tim steps in.18:25–22:55 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Contact Channels, Social Media, and Acuity Scheduling Promo Nathan runs through an Acuity Scheduling promo and the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. He briefly pushes Tim to provide a more specific tool answer after Tim simply responds with 'Google.'2:18–5:27 · Guest teaching 2/10 Tilkee Core Value Proposition and Document Tracking Explained Nathan guides the conversation through standard founder backstory questions, asking about launch dates, early revenue, and customer counts. Tim cooperatively details how Tilkee evolved from a side project to serving 800 customers.5:27–8:49 · Guest teaching 1/10 Pricing Tiers and Scaling to $100K Monthly Recurring Revenue Nathan does on-the-fly currency and ARR conversions, calculating Tilkee's 5x year-over-year expansion to $100k MRR. He presses Tim to identify whether this expansion is driven by seat growth or moving upmarket.8:50–11:54 · Guest teaching 3/10 Fundraising Philosophy, Equity Distribution, and Low Churn Metrics Nathan drills down on equity retention, valuation multiples, and churn metrics, converting Tim's retention percentage into monthly gross churn rates. Tim explains the European norm of valuing businesses at 5x ARR and employee equity purchases.11:54–14:06 · Guest teaching 4/10 Sales Outreach Mechanics and Algorithmic Lead Scoring Kate describes Tilkee's document tracking algorithms and outbound prospecting workflow. Nathan questions their e-signature offering against players like DocuSign, prompting Tim to explain European regulatory and fee structures.14:11–18:24 · Guest teaching 3/10 Acquisition Economics, Marketing Spend, and Traditional Media Trials Nathan probes for hard CAC and LTV numbers, dissecting their sales-heavy team composition and paid radio trials. He pushes Kate to clarify her comment regarding CRM capabilities until Tim steps in.18:25–22:55 · Guest teaching 1/10 Contact Channels, Social Media, and Acuity Scheduling Promo Nathan runs through an Acuity Scheduling promo and the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. He briefly pushes Tim to provide a more specific tool answer after Tim simply responds with 'Google.'2:18–5:27 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Tilkee Core Value Proposition and Document Tracking Explained Nathan guides the conversation through standard founder backstory questions, asking about launch dates, early revenue, and customer counts. Tim cooperatively details how Tilkee evolved from a side project to serving 800 customers.5:27–8:49 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Pricing Tiers and Scaling to $100K Monthly Recurring Revenue Nathan does on-the-fly currency and ARR conversions, calculating Tilkee's 5x year-over-year expansion to $100k MRR. He presses Tim to identify whether this expansion is driven by seat growth or moving upmarket.8:50–11:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Fundraising Philosophy, Equity Distribution, and Low Churn Metrics Nathan drills down on equity retention, valuation multiples, and churn metrics, converting Tim's retention percentage into monthly gross churn rates. Tim explains the European norm of valuing businesses at 5x ARR and employee equity purchases.11:54–14:06 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sales Outreach Mechanics and Algorithmic Lead Scoring Kate describes Tilkee's document tracking algorithms and outbound prospecting workflow. Nathan questions their e-signature offering against players like DocuSign, prompting Tim to explain European regulatory and fee structures.14:11–18:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Acquisition Economics, Marketing Spend, and Traditional Media Trials Nathan probes for hard CAC and LTV numbers, dissecting their sales-heavy team composition and paid radio trials. He pushes Kate to clarify her comment regarding CRM capabilities until Tim steps in.18:25–22:55 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Contact Channels, Social Media, and Acuity Scheduling Promo Nathan runs through an Acuity Scheduling promo and the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. He briefly pushes Tim to provide a more specific tool answer after Tim simply responds with 'Google.'2:18–5:27 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Tilkee Core Value Proposition and Document Tracking Explained Nathan guides the conversation through standard founder backstory questions, asking about launch dates, early revenue, and customer counts. Tim cooperatively details how Tilkee evolved from a side project to serving 800 customers.5:27–8:49 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Pricing Tiers and Scaling to $100K Monthly Recurring Revenue Nathan does on-the-fly currency and ARR conversions, calculating Tilkee's 5x year-over-year expansion to $100k MRR. He presses Tim to identify whether this expansion is driven by seat growth or moving upmarket.8:50–11:54 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Fundraising Philosophy, Equity Distribution, and Low Churn Metrics Nathan drills down on equity retention, valuation multiples, and churn metrics, converting Tim's retention percentage into monthly gross churn rates. Tim explains the European norm of valuing businesses at 5x ARR and employee equity purchases.11:54–14:06 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sales Outreach Mechanics and Algorithmic Lead Scoring Kate describes Tilkee's document tracking algorithms and outbound prospecting workflow. Nathan questions their e-signature offering against players like DocuSign, prompting Tim to explain European regulatory and fee structures.14:11–18:24 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Acquisition Economics, Marketing Spend, and Traditional Media Trials Nathan probes for hard CAC and LTV numbers, dissecting their sales-heavy team composition and paid radio trials. He pushes Kate to clarify her comment regarding CRM capabilities until Tim steps in.18:25–22:55 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Contact Channels, Social Media, and Acuity Scheduling Promo Nathan runs through an Acuity Scheduling promo and the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. He briefly pushes Tim to provide a more specific tool answer after Tim simply responds with 'Google.'

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

0:00 · Nathan 75.3% · guest 24.7%0:00 · Nathan 75.3% · guest 24.7%3:00 · Nathan 24% · guest 76%3:00 · Nathan 24% · guest 76%6:00 · Nathan 50.3% · guest 49.7%6:00 · Nathan 50.3% · guest 49.7%9:00 · Nathan 41.2% · guest 58.8%9:00 · Nathan 41.2% · guest 58.8%12:00 · Nathan 26.5% · guest 73.5%12:00 · Nathan 26.5% · guest 73.5%15:00 · Nathan 40.1% · guest 59.9%15:00 · Nathan 40.1% · guest 59.9%18:00 · Nathan 73.5% · guest 26.5%18:00 · Nathan 73.5% · guest 26.5%21:00 · Nathan 63.9% · guest 36.1%21:00 · Nathan 63.9% · guest 36.1%24:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%24:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:37 European vs US market distinction

Tim reframes Nathan's premise about e-signature competition by explaining that Europe operates under completely different technical and per-signature cost structures than the US.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 17:50 Challenging CRM capability statement

Nathan refuses to let Kate's ambiguous remark about Tilkee's CRM features pass, repeatedly questioning what she meant until Tim clarifies that it is purely an integration.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:37 European e-signature regulatory differences

Tim educates Nathan on why European companies pay 1-2 euros per signature and integrate regional providers like YouSign rather than US giants.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 6:35 Rapid ARR and expansion breakdown

Nathan immediately calculates Tilkee's annualized run rate and 5x growth trajectory from Tim's raw monthly figures, demonstrating his command of SaaS financial metrics.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Tilkee Core Value Proposition and Document Tracking Explained 5202 Nathan guides the conversation through standard founder backstory questions, asking about launch dates, early revenue, and customer counts. Tim cooperatively details how Tilkee evolved from a side project to serving 800 customers.
Pricing Tiers and Scaling to $100K Monthly Recurring Revenue 6103 Nathan does on-the-fly currency and ARR conversions, calculating Tilkee's 5x year-over-year expansion to $100k MRR. He presses Tim to identify whether this expansion is driven by seat growth or moving upmarket.
Fundraising Philosophy, Equity Distribution, and Low Churn Metrics 7314 Nathan drills down on equity retention, valuation multiples, and churn metrics, converting Tim's retention percentage into monthly gross churn rates. Tim explains the European norm of valuing businesses at 5x ARR and employee equity purchases.
Sales Outreach Mechanics and Algorithmic Lead Scoring 5413 Kate describes Tilkee's document tracking algorithms and outbound prospecting workflow. Nathan questions their e-signature offering against players like DocuSign, prompting Tim to explain European regulatory and fee structures.
Acquisition Economics, Marketing Spend, and Traditional Media Trials 6315 Nathan probes for hard CAC and LTV numbers, dissecting their sales-heavy team composition and paid radio trials. He pushes Kate to clarify her comment regarding CRM capabilities until Tim steps in.
Contact Channels, Social Media, and Acuity Scheduling Promo 3102 Nathan runs through an Acuity Scheduling promo and the rapid-fire Famous Five questions. He briefly pushes Tim to provide a more specific tool answer after Tim simply responds with 'Google.'

Statements from this episode (14)

Assertion Supported
Saumet: Tilkee tracks prospect reading behavior on sales proposals
“And Tilki is a very simple software, a SaaS. That you can use to analyze the reading behavior of your prospect. And using Tilki, you are able to follow up on the right prospect at the right time with the right message.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 3:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Saumet: Tilkee serves around 800 customers across Europe
“We serve around 800 customers from startups to enterprise-sized companies like Arrange, Adeco, and it's really 14, 500 European companies.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 5:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Saumet: Tilkee scaled from $20k to $100k in monthly recurring revenue
“20. And we are around the 100 now.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 6:29
Disclosure
Saumet: Tilkee pivoted sales focus from small businesses to enterprise
“So before that we used to sell to a very small companies and we pivoted to enterprise size or much bigger company.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 7:33
Assertion Supported
Saumet: Tilkee raised $1.5 million in venture capital in 2015
“Yes, we raised capital two years ago. We raised 1,000,001 million and a half dollars.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 8:13
Disclosure
Saumet: Tilkee will avoid a typical Series A to maintain founder control
“We won't go for a typical series A round. We don't want that because we want to keep the control of the company.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 9:03
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Saumet: Typical European SaaS valuation is 5x ARR
“The typical valuation in Europe would be five times our ARR.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 10:31
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Saumet: Tilkee will exceed $1M ARR by end of next year
“I think we will be more than one million of ARR end of next year.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 10:39
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Saumet: Tilkee retains over 80% of its customer base
“We keep 80, eighty-something percent of our customers.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 11:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Saumet: Complex regulations make European e-signatures cost 1 to 2 euros each
“You have to understand that the market is very different between the U S and Europe. Talking about the signature in France or in Europe generally speaking, A signature is a paying we would pay from one to two euros per signature because he has, it's a much mor…”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 13:38
Disclosure
Saumet: Tilkee spends approximately $200,000 annually on customer acquisition
“I can say that we spend I would say 200,000 per year on acquisition.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 14:47
Assertion Supported
Saumet: European buyers do not Google for proposal management tools
“Nobody in Europe would actually search in Google proposal management tool today. It's the case in the U S but not in Europe.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 15:15
Disclosure
Saumet: Tilkee uses French radio advertising to acquire enterprise B2B customers
“Right now we have radio advertising. In, in the French, one of the major French radio and we are calculating the return on investment almost every day.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 15:33
Disclosure
Saumet: 15 of Tilkee's 20 employees are dedicated to sales
“We are 20 total and I have there are 15 making sales.”
Tim Saumet (Tim Salme) Jan 8, 2017 ▶ 16:22
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