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Jan 1, 2017 · 18m · top-founders

EP 526: Yanado Hits $25k MRR, Helping 17000 Users Better Manage Tasks with CEO Ivan Mojsilovic

Nathan Latka · 8m spoken Ivan Mojsilovic · 7m spoken Podcast Intro Snippet · 8s 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 Ivan Mojsilovic, CEO of Yanado, exploring how his six-person remote team scaled a Gmail-embedded task management tool to $25,000 in monthly recurring revenue and navigated Eastern European fundraising, churn dynamics, and acquisition valuation targets.

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 54.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.6 Guest teaching 2.6 Guest disagreement 2.0 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:000:28–3:28 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Giveaway Announcement After an opening monologue and contest announcement, Nathan welcomes Ivan and establishes the core pricing model of Yanado. The interaction is cordial and informative with Nathan probing basic unit metrics.3:29–6:01 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 The Origins and Early Research of Yanado Nathan digs into fundraising mechanics, inquiring about convertible notes versus equity and target dilution percentages. Ivan educates Nathan on the scarcity of venture capital in Eastern Europe.6:02–8:54 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Sunsetting the Previous Document Management Venture Nathan calculates MRR on the fly using customer counts and average pricing, which Ivan slightly refines due to revenue skew. Nathan also checks on sunsetting the prior enterprise business.8:55–14:06 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Churn Rates, Revenue Distribution, and Inside Sales Nathan sharply challenges Ivan's $10M acquisition target as an unrealistic 40x multiple on ARR, claiming Google could clone the app with three engineers. Ivan pushes back firmly, explaining Google's historical failures with Google Tasks and the huge enterprise demand for native G Suite productivity add-ons.14:08–17:08 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Mid-Roll Promo: The Top Inbox Free Tool Segment begins with a promotional host monologue for Top Inbox and HostGator, followed by a rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire with light and cooperative answers.0:28–3:28 · Guest teaching 2/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Giveaway Announcement After an opening monologue and contest announcement, Nathan welcomes Ivan and establishes the core pricing model of Yanado. The interaction is cordial and informative with Nathan probing basic unit metrics.3:29–6:01 · Guest teaching 3/10 The Origins and Early Research of Yanado Nathan digs into fundraising mechanics, inquiring about convertible notes versus equity and target dilution percentages. Ivan educates Nathan on the scarcity of venture capital in Eastern Europe.6:02–8:54 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sunsetting the Previous Document Management Venture Nathan calculates MRR on the fly using customer counts and average pricing, which Ivan slightly refines due to revenue skew. Nathan also checks on sunsetting the prior enterprise business.8:55–14:06 · Guest teaching 5/10 Churn Rates, Revenue Distribution, and Inside Sales Nathan sharply challenges Ivan's $10M acquisition target as an unrealistic 40x multiple on ARR, claiming Google could clone the app with three engineers. Ivan pushes back firmly, explaining Google's historical failures with Google Tasks and the huge enterprise demand for native G Suite productivity add-ons.14:08–17:08 · Guest teaching 1/10 Mid-Roll Promo: The Top Inbox Free Tool Segment begins with a promotional host monologue for Top Inbox and HostGator, followed by a rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire with light and cooperative answers.0:28–3:28 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Giveaway Announcement After an opening monologue and contest announcement, Nathan welcomes Ivan and establishes the core pricing model of Yanado. The interaction is cordial and informative with Nathan probing basic unit metrics.3:29–6:01 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Origins and Early Research of Yanado Nathan digs into fundraising mechanics, inquiring about convertible notes versus equity and target dilution percentages. Ivan educates Nathan on the scarcity of venture capital in Eastern Europe.6:02–8:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sunsetting the Previous Document Management Venture Nathan calculates MRR on the fly using customer counts and average pricing, which Ivan slightly refines due to revenue skew. Nathan also checks on sunsetting the prior enterprise business.8:55–14:06 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Churn Rates, Revenue Distribution, and Inside Sales Nathan sharply challenges Ivan's $10M acquisition target as an unrealistic 40x multiple on ARR, claiming Google could clone the app with three engineers. Ivan pushes back firmly, explaining Google's historical failures with Google Tasks and the huge enterprise demand for native G Suite productivity add-ons.14:08–17:08 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Mid-Roll Promo: The Top Inbox Free Tool Segment begins with a promotional host monologue for Top Inbox and HostGator, followed by a rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire with light and cooperative answers.0:28–3:28 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Giveaway Announcement After an opening monologue and contest announcement, Nathan welcomes Ivan and establishes the core pricing model of Yanado. The interaction is cordial and informative with Nathan probing basic unit metrics.3:29–6:01 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Origins and Early Research of Yanado Nathan digs into fundraising mechanics, inquiring about convertible notes versus equity and target dilution percentages. Ivan educates Nathan on the scarcity of venture capital in Eastern Europe.6:02–8:54 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sunsetting the Previous Document Management Venture Nathan calculates MRR on the fly using customer counts and average pricing, which Ivan slightly refines due to revenue skew. Nathan also checks on sunsetting the prior enterprise business.8:55–14:06 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Churn Rates, Revenue Distribution, and Inside Sales Nathan sharply challenges Ivan's $10M acquisition target as an unrealistic 40x multiple on ARR, claiming Google could clone the app with three engineers. Ivan pushes back firmly, explaining Google's historical failures with Google Tasks and the huge enterprise demand for native G Suite productivity add-ons.14:08–17:08 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Mid-Roll Promo: The Top Inbox Free Tool Segment begins with a promotional host monologue for Top Inbox and HostGator, followed by a rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire with light and cooperative answers.

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

0:00 · Nathan 74.1% · guest 25.9%0:00 · Nathan 74.1% · guest 25.9%3:00 · Nathan 32.5% · guest 67.5%3:00 · Nathan 32.5% · guest 67.5%6:00 · Nathan 33% · guest 67%6:00 · Nathan 33% · guest 67%9:00 · Nathan 37.8% · guest 62.2%9:00 · Nathan 37.8% · guest 62.2%12:00 · Nathan 53.1% · guest 46.9%12:00 · Nathan 53.1% · guest 46.9%15:00 · Nathan 85.1% · guest 14.9%15:00 · Nathan 85.1% · guest 14.9%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:38 Ivan rejects premise that Google can easily clone Yanado

Ivan directly contradicts Nathan's assertion that Google could build this in a month, pointing out Google's past acquisitions and failed internal attempts.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:19 Nathan aggressively challenges $10M exit valuation expectation

Nathan bluntly tells Ivan that Google would laugh at a 40x revenue multiple and build the functionality for $40k instead.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:07 Ivan explains the G Suite enterprise ecosystem and third-party SaaS spending

Ivan explains how enterprise G Suite customers are forced to purchase external tools like Asana and Trello because Google lacks native workflow integration.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:19 Nathan breaks down valuation multiple reality check

Nathan uses quick financial modeling to demonstrate that demanding $10 million on roughly $250k ARR represents an extreme 40x multiple.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Contest Winner and Giveaway Announcement 5212 After an opening monologue and contest announcement, Nathan welcomes Ivan and establishes the core pricing model of Yanado. The interaction is cordial and informative with Nathan probing basic unit metrics.
The Origins and Early Research of Yanado 6312 Nathan digs into fundraising mechanics, inquiring about convertible notes versus equity and target dilution percentages. Ivan educates Nathan on the scarcity of venture capital in Eastern Europe.
Sunsetting the Previous Document Management Venture 6213 Nathan calculates MRR on the fly using customer counts and average pricing, which Ivan slightly refines due to revenue skew. Nathan also checks on sunsetting the prior enterprise business.
Churn Rates, Revenue Distribution, and Inside Sales 8568 Nathan sharply challenges Ivan's $10M acquisition target as an unrealistic 40x multiple on ARR, claiming Google could clone the app with three engineers. Ivan pushes back firmly, explaining Google's historical failures with Google Tasks and the huge enterprise demand for native G Suite productivity add-ons.
Mid-Roll Promo: The Top Inbox Free Tool 3111 Segment begins with a promotional host monologue for Top Inbox and HostGator, followed by a rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire with light and cooperative answers.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mojsilovic: Average Yanado customer pays around $3,000 annually
“So the average customer paying around three K's Per, per year. So it's a little bit around, it's a little bit lower than 300 bucks a month.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 2:55
Assertion Partly supported
Yanado has raised $200,000 in total capital
“In total we raised 200,000 dollars for my investors.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 4:42
Opinion
Mojsilovic: Eastern European startup investment ecosystem is almost nonexistent
“So it's almost nonexistent. It's almost nonexistent. There's maybe, ah, five, six funds, you know, institutional investors, and maybe like, and a few dozen angels, but that's about it. It's not, not very, not the best place to raise money.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 5:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Yanado has just under 100 paying customers
“We're just a little bit under a hundred paying, paying customers.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 7:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Yanado reaches 17,200 total users
“Yeah, 17, 17,202 hundred users, exactly.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 8:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Yanado experiences a 7% monthly customer churn rate
“Currently, it's seven percent, but that's because you get people with one or two users using me for one month or two months, and then they leave.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 9:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mojsilovic: Yanado sees negative churn and zero departures among large accounts
“The big company, the bigger companies, actually, we don't have, you know, it's a negative churn. Nobody left us yet, but the small ones is that make us trouble.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 9:34
Disclosure
Mojsilovic: Yanado would not accept an acquisition offer below $10 million
“No, they have to, today they have to offer around ten million. Not less than that.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 11:41
Assertion Contradicted
Mojsilovic: Google enterprise is growing 30% YoY with 5M–10M business users
“Because the Google in an enterprise world is growing around 30% year by year, and they already have more than, between five and ten million businesses using Google Apps.”
Ivan Mojsilovic Jan 1, 2017 ▶ 13:08
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