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Dec 29, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

EP 523: xIQ Using AI to Power Sales Teams with $1.1m Raised with CEO Usman Sheikh

Usman Sheikh · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
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In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews XIQ founder and CEO Usman Sheikh to explore how his AI-driven sales intelligence platform generated $70,000 in monthly recurring revenue with $1.125 million in funding.

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 48.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.2 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 3.5
05100:0010:0020:000:58–4:10 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Productivity Insights and Episode Previews Nathan introduces Usman and sets the premise of the episode, asking clarifying questions about XIQ's business model and recurring SaaS revenue structure.4:11–7:16 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Founding Background, Funding, and Team Makeup Nathan rapidly calculates the company's MRR ($70k) from their 10 enterprise accounts paying an average of $7,000 per month, probing funding rounds and team structure.7:16–9:43 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Real-World Enterprise Use Cases and Technology Architecture Usman provides deep technical detail on XIQ's tech stack (Solr Apache, NLP, IBM Watson) and breaks down how Genpact utilizes their real-time competitive intelligence.9:44–12:37 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Inbound Lead Generation and Sales Organization Breakdown Nathan pushes back against the notion that $70k ACV deals close purely through word of mouth, prompting Usman to reveal their top-of-funnel content digest strategy and sales team allocation.12:38–15:05 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Evaluating Unit Economics, CAC Sensitivity, and Enterprise LTV Usman flatly refuses to share CAC numbers on air, stating it was not his intent to discuss private metrics. Nathan pushes back hard, asking if Usman had listened to prior episodes and explaining the necessity of CAC to LTV metrics in SaaS.15:05–18:56 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Where to Connect with Usman Sheikh Online Nathan moves into the 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questions after an ad read, keeping the atmosphere cordial and focused on quick responses.0:58–4:10 · Guest teaching 3/10 Productivity Insights and Episode Previews Nathan introduces Usman and sets the premise of the episode, asking clarifying questions about XIQ's business model and recurring SaaS revenue structure.4:11–7:16 · Guest teaching 1/10 Founding Background, Funding, and Team Makeup Nathan rapidly calculates the company's MRR ($70k) from their 10 enterprise accounts paying an average of $7,000 per month, probing funding rounds and team structure.7:16–9:43 · Guest teaching 6/10 Real-World Enterprise Use Cases and Technology Architecture Usman provides deep technical detail on XIQ's tech stack (Solr Apache, NLP, IBM Watson) and breaks down how Genpact utilizes their real-time competitive intelligence.9:44–12:37 · Guest teaching 2/10 Inbound Lead Generation and Sales Organization Breakdown Nathan pushes back against the notion that $70k ACV deals close purely through word of mouth, prompting Usman to reveal their top-of-funnel content digest strategy and sales team allocation.12:38–15:05 · Guest teaching 1/10 Evaluating Unit Economics, CAC Sensitivity, and Enterprise LTV Usman flatly refuses to share CAC numbers on air, stating it was not his intent to discuss private metrics. Nathan pushes back hard, asking if Usman had listened to prior episodes and explaining the necessity of CAC to LTV metrics in SaaS.15:05–18:56 · Guest teaching 1/10 Where to Connect with Usman Sheikh Online Nathan moves into the 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questions after an ad read, keeping the atmosphere cordial and focused on quick responses.0:58–4:10 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Productivity Insights and Episode Previews Nathan introduces Usman and sets the premise of the episode, asking clarifying questions about XIQ's business model and recurring SaaS revenue structure.4:11–7:16 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founding Background, Funding, and Team Makeup Nathan rapidly calculates the company's MRR ($70k) from their 10 enterprise accounts paying an average of $7,000 per month, probing funding rounds and team structure.7:16–9:43 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Real-World Enterprise Use Cases and Technology Architecture Usman provides deep technical detail on XIQ's tech stack (Solr Apache, NLP, IBM Watson) and breaks down how Genpact utilizes their real-time competitive intelligence.9:44–12:37 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Inbound Lead Generation and Sales Organization Breakdown Nathan pushes back against the notion that $70k ACV deals close purely through word of mouth, prompting Usman to reveal their top-of-funnel content digest strategy and sales team allocation.12:38–15:05 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Evaluating Unit Economics, CAC Sensitivity, and Enterprise LTV Usman flatly refuses to share CAC numbers on air, stating it was not his intent to discuss private metrics. Nathan pushes back hard, asking if Usman had listened to prior episodes and explaining the necessity of CAC to LTV metrics in SaaS.15:05–18:56 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Where to Connect with Usman Sheikh Online Nathan moves into the 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questions after an ad read, keeping the atmosphere cordial and focused on quick responses.0:58–4:10 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Productivity Insights and Episode Previews Nathan introduces Usman and sets the premise of the episode, asking clarifying questions about XIQ's business model and recurring SaaS revenue structure.4:11–7:16 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Founding Background, Funding, and Team Makeup Nathan rapidly calculates the company's MRR ($70k) from their 10 enterprise accounts paying an average of $7,000 per month, probing funding rounds and team structure.7:16–9:43 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Real-World Enterprise Use Cases and Technology Architecture Usman provides deep technical detail on XIQ's tech stack (Solr Apache, NLP, IBM Watson) and breaks down how Genpact utilizes their real-time competitive intelligence.9:44–12:37 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Inbound Lead Generation and Sales Organization Breakdown Nathan pushes back against the notion that $70k ACV deals close purely through word of mouth, prompting Usman to reveal their top-of-funnel content digest strategy and sales team allocation.12:38–15:05 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Evaluating Unit Economics, CAC Sensitivity, and Enterprise LTV Usman flatly refuses to share CAC numbers on air, stating it was not his intent to discuss private metrics. Nathan pushes back hard, asking if Usman had listened to prior episodes and explaining the necessity of CAC to LTV metrics in SaaS.15:05–18:56 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Where to Connect with Usman Sheikh Online Nathan moves into the 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questions after an ad read, keeping the atmosphere cordial and focused on quick responses.

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

0:00 · Nathan 78.7% · guest 21.3%0:00 · Nathan 78.7% · guest 21.3%3:00 · Nathan 31% · guest 69%3:00 · Nathan 31% · guest 69%6:00 · Nathan 26% · guest 74%6:00 · Nathan 26% · guest 74%9:00 · Nathan 26% · guest 74%9:00 · Nathan 26% · guest 74%12:00 · Nathan 39.2% · guest 60.8%12:00 · Nathan 39.2% · guest 60.8%15:00 · Nathan 68.4% · guest 31.6%15:00 · Nathan 68.4% · guest 31.6%18:00 · Nathan 83.2% · guest 16.8%18:00 · Nathan 83.2% · guest 16.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:15 Usman refuses to share CAC

Usman directly pushes back on Nathan's line of questioning, stating that unit economics are private and not the intended topic of the interview.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 13:29 Nathan presses on SaaS metrics

Nathan refuses Usman's deflection, challenging him on whether he understood the podcast format and insisting that LTV:CAC ratios are fundamental to SaaS growth analysis.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:07 Explaining the custom NLP and AI architecture

Usman corrects Nathan's assumption that they merely wrap third-party data providers by detailing their proprietary corpus, Solr Apache NLP engine, and IBM Watson integration.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:17 Nathan breaks down enterprise sales reality

Nathan uses his domain knowledge to counter Usman's word-of-mouth claim, asserting that $70,000 contracts require structured outbound and inside sales workflows.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Productivity Insights and Episode Previews 4301 Nathan introduces Usman and sets the premise of the episode, asking clarifying questions about XIQ's business model and recurring SaaS revenue structure.
Founding Background, Funding, and Team Makeup 6113 Nathan rapidly calculates the company's MRR ($70k) from their 10 enterprise accounts paying an average of $7,000 per month, probing funding rounds and team structure.
Real-World Enterprise Use Cases and Technology Architecture 5612 Usman provides deep technical detail on XIQ's tech stack (Solr Apache, NLP, IBM Watson) and breaks down how Genpact utilizes their real-time competitive intelligence.
Inbound Lead Generation and Sales Organization Breakdown 6225 Nathan pushes back against the notion that $70k ACV deals close purely through word of mouth, prompting Usman to reveal their top-of-funnel content digest strategy and sales team allocation.
Evaluating Unit Economics, CAC Sensitivity, and Enterprise LTV 7168 Usman flatly refuses to share CAC numbers on air, stating it was not his intent to discuss private metrics. Nathan pushes back hard, asking if Usman had listened to prior episodes and explaining the necessity of CAC to LTV metrics in SaaS.
Where to Connect with Usman Sheikh Online 3112 Nathan moves into the 'Famous Five' rapid-fire questions after an ad read, keeping the atmosphere cordial and focused on quick responses.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sheikh: Companies can set up xIQ in under 30 minutes
“Companies come in, they can set up in less than half hour and start getting the benefits of the product and the platform immediately.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 4:03
Disclosure
xIQ raised $1.125 million across seed and institutional funding rounds
“The seed round was about 125,000, and then subsequently we've raised another million dollars.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 5:07
Disclosure
Sheikh: XIQ employs a team of fewer than 15 people
“We are a under 15 people team.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 5:37
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sheikh: XIQ has about 10 corporate customers
“So we have, as an, as corporate customers, we have about 10 corporate customers as of now.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 6:03
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sheikh: XIQ corporate customers pay an average of $7,000 monthly
“Yeah, on average about 7000 a month.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 6:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sheikh: All XIQ corporate customer agreements are annual contracts
“These are all annual contracts.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 7:06
Disclosure
Genpact is a paying xIQ customer running two platform instances
“We have a customer called Genpact. It's a big business process outsourcing and consulting firm. They have we are doing Two instances with them.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 7:24
Disclosure
Sheikh: XIQ uses Apache Solr and IBM Watson for content processing
“We use Solar Apache as the technology to first help us index and do NLP, natural language processing, and then we use IBM Watson to further help us characterize and categorize that content.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 9:19
Disclosure
Sheikh: XIQ's team consists of sales, pre-sales, and mostly developers
“There is myself, there is a pre-sales person, there's two sales guys, and the rest of them are developers.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 11:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sheikh: XIQ has experienced zero customer churn on annual plans
“As of yet, no, we have not.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 12:31
Disclosure
xIQ relies entirely on direct sales with zero paid marketing spend
“We are not really doing any paid marketing at this point. Our customer acquisition cost is the salespeople.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 12:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Sheikh expects large enterprise accounts to average $250,000 annually
“We believe that, you know, per year on an average, some of our large enterprise customers can easily be quarter million or average quarter million dollars.”
Usman Sheikh Dec 29, 2016 ▶ 13:53
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