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Dec 22, 2016 · 26m · top-founders

EP 516: SalesHacker $2.5m 2015 Revenue Helping Sales Reps Get Smarter with CEO Max Altshculer

Max Altshuler · 13m spoken Nathan Latka · 9m spoken
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Sales Hacker CEO Max Altshuler joins Nathan Latka to break down how his lean B2B media company reached $2.5 million in revenue through high-margin conferences, proprietary email distribution, and disciplined event sponsorship frameworks.

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 39.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 4.0 Guest disagreement 1.1 Nathan pushing back 2.6
05100:0010:0020:001:23–5:24 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Welcoming Sales Hacker CEO Max Altshuler Nathan methodically breaks down the unit economics of a Sales Hacker event, pressing Max on sponsor revenue, ticket sales, attendee count, and cost structures.5:24–9:03 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Preselling Sponsorships and Creating High-Converting Prospectuses Max educates listeners and Nathan on de-risking event production by preselling sponsorships via targeted prospectuses before putting down any venue deposits.9:03–11:16 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Co-Producing Major Tech Conferences and Deal Structures Nathan digs into deal terms behind co-producing major industry conferences like SaaStr Annual and Gainsight Pulse, parsing profit-sharing versus sponsorship-percentage splits.11:16–14:01 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Sales Hacker 2015 Revenue and Lean Remote Operations Nathan probes why Max hasn't built high-multiple SaaS software given his audience reach, prompting Max to explain his strategic optionality and VC fund ambitions.14:01–19:14 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Max Altshuler's Entrepreneurial Roots and Udemy Experience Max shares his angel investing thesis and firmly explains why he refuses to cannibalize Sales Hacker by trading media promotion for startup advisory equity.19:15–24:19 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Connecting with Max Altshuler Online Nathan moves through the Famous Five questions, discussing book publishing deals with Wiley, tools, and entrepreneurial lessons.24:19–24:54 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Summary and Key Performance Metrics Recap Solo host outro summarizing Max Altshuler's metrics and key takeaways from the conversation.1:23–5:24 · Guest teaching 4/10 Welcoming Sales Hacker CEO Max Altshuler Nathan methodically breaks down the unit economics of a Sales Hacker event, pressing Max on sponsor revenue, ticket sales, attendee count, and cost structures.5:24–9:03 · Guest teaching 6/10 Preselling Sponsorships and Creating High-Converting Prospectuses Max educates listeners and Nathan on de-risking event production by preselling sponsorships via targeted prospectuses before putting down any venue deposits.9:03–11:16 · Guest teaching 5/10 Co-Producing Major Tech Conferences and Deal Structures Nathan digs into deal terms behind co-producing major industry conferences like SaaStr Annual and Gainsight Pulse, parsing profit-sharing versus sponsorship-percentage splits.11:16–14:01 · Guest teaching 5/10 Sales Hacker 2015 Revenue and Lean Remote Operations Nathan probes why Max hasn't built high-multiple SaaS software given his audience reach, prompting Max to explain his strategic optionality and VC fund ambitions.14:01–19:14 · Guest teaching 5/10 Max Altshuler's Entrepreneurial Roots and Udemy Experience Max shares his angel investing thesis and firmly explains why he refuses to cannibalize Sales Hacker by trading media promotion for startup advisory equity.19:15–24:19 · Guest teaching 3/10 Connecting with Max Altshuler Online Nathan moves through the Famous Five questions, discussing book publishing deals with Wiley, tools, and entrepreneurial lessons.24:19–24:54 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Summary and Key Performance Metrics Recap Solo host outro summarizing Max Altshuler's metrics and key takeaways from the conversation.1:23–5:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Welcoming Sales Hacker CEO Max Altshuler Nathan methodically breaks down the unit economics of a Sales Hacker event, pressing Max on sponsor revenue, ticket sales, attendee count, and cost structures.5:24–9:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Preselling Sponsorships and Creating High-Converting Prospectuses Max educates listeners and Nathan on de-risking event production by preselling sponsorships via targeted prospectuses before putting down any venue deposits.9:03–11:16 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Co-Producing Major Tech Conferences and Deal Structures Nathan digs into deal terms behind co-producing major industry conferences like SaaStr Annual and Gainsight Pulse, parsing profit-sharing versus sponsorship-percentage splits.11:16–14:01 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Sales Hacker 2015 Revenue and Lean Remote Operations Nathan probes why Max hasn't built high-multiple SaaS software given his audience reach, prompting Max to explain his strategic optionality and VC fund ambitions.14:01–19:14 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Max Altshuler's Entrepreneurial Roots and Udemy Experience Max shares his angel investing thesis and firmly explains why he refuses to cannibalize Sales Hacker by trading media promotion for startup advisory equity.19:15–24:19 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Connecting with Max Altshuler Online Nathan moves through the Famous Five questions, discussing book publishing deals with Wiley, tools, and entrepreneurial lessons.24:19–24:54 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Summary and Key Performance Metrics Recap Solo host outro summarizing Max Altshuler's metrics and key takeaways from the conversation.1:23–5:24 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Welcoming Sales Hacker CEO Max Altshuler Nathan methodically breaks down the unit economics of a Sales Hacker event, pressing Max on sponsor revenue, ticket sales, attendee count, and cost structures.5:24–9:03 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Preselling Sponsorships and Creating High-Converting Prospectuses Max educates listeners and Nathan on de-risking event production by preselling sponsorships via targeted prospectuses before putting down any venue deposits.9:03–11:16 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Co-Producing Major Tech Conferences and Deal Structures Nathan digs into deal terms behind co-producing major industry conferences like SaaStr Annual and Gainsight Pulse, parsing profit-sharing versus sponsorship-percentage splits.11:16–14:01 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Sales Hacker 2015 Revenue and Lean Remote Operations Nathan probes why Max hasn't built high-multiple SaaS software given his audience reach, prompting Max to explain his strategic optionality and VC fund ambitions.14:01–19:14 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Max Altshuler's Entrepreneurial Roots and Udemy Experience Max shares his angel investing thesis and firmly explains why he refuses to cannibalize Sales Hacker by trading media promotion for startup advisory equity.19:15–24:19 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Connecting with Max Altshuler Online Nathan moves through the Famous Five questions, discussing book publishing deals with Wiley, tools, and entrepreneurial lessons.24:19–24:54 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Summary and Key Performance Metrics Recap Solo host outro summarizing Max Altshuler's metrics and key takeaways from the conversation.

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

0:00 · Nathan 70.1% · guest 29.9%0:00 · Nathan 70.1% · guest 29.9%3:00 · Nathan 27% · guest 73%3:00 · Nathan 27% · guest 73%6:00 · Nathan 20.9% · guest 79.1%6:00 · Nathan 20.9% · guest 79.1%9:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%9:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%12:00 · Nathan 20.3% · guest 79.7%12:00 · Nathan 20.3% · guest 79.7%15:00 · Nathan 13.8% · guest 86.2%15:00 · Nathan 13.8% · guest 86.2%18:00 · Nathan 56.9% · guest 43.1%18:00 · Nathan 56.9% · guest 43.1%21:00 · Nathan 42.3% · guest 57.7%21:00 · Nathan 42.3% · guest 57.7%24:00 · Nathan 83.7% · guest 16.3%24:00 · Nathan 83.7% · guest 16.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 18:37 Refusing pay-to-play advisory deals

Max firmly rejects the premise that he should use his media platform to pump his angel portfolio companies, noting it would compromise his business integrity.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 12:06 Challenging guest on skipping software development

Nathan directly challenges Max on why he has not capitalized on high SaaS valuation multiples given his influential distribution channel.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:24 Preselling conference strategy breakdown

Max educates Nathan and the audience on the exact mechanics of drafting an early prospectus and securing sponsor cash before risking capital on a venue.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:03 Instant event profit margin calculation

Nathan synthesizes the raw ticket and sponsor numbers to immediately pinpoint the event's bottom-line net profit of $600k on $1.6M top-line revenue.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Welcoming Sales Hacker CEO Max Altshuler 5413 Nathan methodically breaks down the unit economics of a Sales Hacker event, pressing Max on sponsor revenue, ticket sales, attendee count, and cost structures.
Preselling Sponsorships and Creating High-Converting Prospectuses 5613 Max educates listeners and Nathan on de-risking event production by preselling sponsorships via targeted prospectuses before putting down any venue deposits.
Co-Producing Major Tech Conferences and Deal Structures 5513 Nathan digs into deal terms behind co-producing major industry conferences like SaaStr Annual and Gainsight Pulse, parsing profit-sharing versus sponsorship-percentage splits.
Sales Hacker 2015 Revenue and Lean Remote Operations 6524 Nathan probes why Max hasn't built high-multiple SaaS software given his audience reach, prompting Max to explain his strategic optionality and VC fund ambitions.
Max Altshuler's Entrepreneurial Roots and Udemy Experience 5523 Max shares his angel investing thesis and firmly explains why he refuses to cannibalize Sales Hacker by trading media promotion for startup advisory equity.
Connecting with Max Altshuler Online 4312 Nathan moves through the Famous Five questions, discussing book publishing deals with Wiley, tools, and entrepreneurial lessons.
Episode Summary and Key Performance Metrics Recap 0000 Solo host outro summarizing Max Altshuler's metrics and key takeaways from the conversation.

Statements from this episode (13)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Altshuler: Sales Hacker events draw about 2,500 attendees per conference
“We do crowdsource content on our blog, and then a couple conferences a year, about 2500 people at each conference focus on future sales.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 2:36
Disclosure
Altshuler: 75% of conference revenue comes from sponsorships, 25% from tickets
“You get 75% of your income through sponsorships, about 25% of your income through ticket sales.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 3:36
Disclosure
Altshuler: Sales Hacker generated $1.2M in sponsorships for June 2016 conference
“Sponsor revenue for that one is about 1.2 and change.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 4:05
Disclosure
Altshuler: Sales Hacker kept its June 2016 conference costs under $1M
“Yeah, so our costs were sub one million, right around”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 4:42
Insight
Altshuler: Sell event sponsorships before booking a venue
“You should start selling sponsorships before you have the venue.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 5:35
Insight
Altshuler: Use early sponsor payments to fund conference expenses
“Incentivizing sponsors to sign up early and pay early is imperative because you want to pay for the conference out of conference revenues. You don't want to go into pocket.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 7:31
Disclosure
Altshuler: Sales Hacker took a profit share for producing SaaStr Annual
“We took a percentage of profits of all profits for Saster because we managed the entire event.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 10:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Altshuler: Sales Hacker generated approximately $2.5M in 2015 revenue
“20 15 total revenue. I think we were around like 2.5.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 11:31
Disclosure
Altshuler: Sales Hacker is raising an early-stage B2B venture fund
“You know, we actually, we're gearing up, so to speak. To raise a fund to invest in early stage B to B companies and be able to help them with their sales and marketing.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 12:21
Disclosure
Altshuler: Sales Hacker reaches 40,000 to 50,000 email subscribers
“Somewhere between 40 and 50,000.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 12:58
Disclosure
Altshuler: Target size for new venture fund is $15M to $30M
“The goal would be somewhere between 15 and thirties.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 13:55
Disclosure
Altshuler: Writes $10K to $20K angel checks at $3M to $6M valuations
“I'm doing like 10 or 20 K checks in in the earliest round I can get in, like, preferably in like a three to six million dollar valuation.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 16:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Altshuler: Sold 15,000 self-published copies of 'Hacking Sales' before Wiley deal
“I actually self published it and probably sold 15,000. And then Wiley came in maybe 10 months later bought like the second edition and did another five or so through them.”
Max Altshuler Dec 22, 2016 ▶ 21:51
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