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Dec 5, 2016 · 22m · top-founders

EP 499: GetSignEasy Passes $200k MRR and 130k Customers To Help Sign Documents withCEO Sunil Patro

Sunil Patro · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 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 of 'The Top,' host Nathan Latka interviews SignEasy founder and CEO Sunil Patro to examine how the digital signature platform bootstrapped its way to nearly $200,000 in monthly recurring revenue and 130,000 paying customers through pure App Store optimization and lean operations.

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 43.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 3.4 Guest disagreement 1.4 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:0020:002:32–7:05 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 SignEasy Product Overview and Early Monetization History Nathan pushes hard to pin down SignEasy's precise MRR and annual revenue numbers, performing quick back-of-the-envelope calculations. Sunil clarifies that early grandfathered pricing means the recurring revenue is below Nathan's initial estimate of $280k.7:06–10:45 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Bootstrapping Strategy and Distributed Team Structure Nathan applies standard SaaS unit economic formulas to calculate implied lifetime value from churn rates. Sunil explains that their contracts are 100% annual billing rather than true monthly renewals, refining the retention picture.10:46–14:01 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Zero-Paid Acquisition and App Store Optimization Secrets Nathan tests App Store searches live and questions where keywords are placed. Sunil educates him on Apple's confidential 100-character backend keyword limit and multi-signal ranking algorithm.14:01–17:57 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Download Conversions and Feature Upgrades to Pro and Business Sunil breaks down conversion differences between iOS and Android and discusses product-led upgrade triggers. Nathan tests his exit appetite with a hypothetical $15 million acquisition offer.17:59–20:50 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Batching Interviews with Acuity Scheduling Nathan delivers a sponsor segment for Acuity Scheduling before transitioning into the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire.2:32–7:05 · Guest teaching 4/10 SignEasy Product Overview and Early Monetization History Nathan pushes hard to pin down SignEasy's precise MRR and annual revenue numbers, performing quick back-of-the-envelope calculations. Sunil clarifies that early grandfathered pricing means the recurring revenue is below Nathan's initial estimate of $280k.7:06–10:45 · Guest teaching 4/10 Bootstrapping Strategy and Distributed Team Structure Nathan applies standard SaaS unit economic formulas to calculate implied lifetime value from churn rates. Sunil explains that their contracts are 100% annual billing rather than true monthly renewals, refining the retention picture.10:46–14:01 · Guest teaching 6/10 Zero-Paid Acquisition and App Store Optimization Secrets Nathan tests App Store searches live and questions where keywords are placed. Sunil educates him on Apple's confidential 100-character backend keyword limit and multi-signal ranking algorithm.14:01–17:57 · Guest teaching 2/10 Download Conversions and Feature Upgrades to Pro and Business Sunil breaks down conversion differences between iOS and Android and discusses product-led upgrade triggers. Nathan tests his exit appetite with a hypothetical $15 million acquisition offer.17:59–20:50 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Batching Interviews with Acuity Scheduling Nathan delivers a sponsor segment for Acuity Scheduling before transitioning into the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire.2:32–7:05 · Guest disagreement 2/10 SignEasy Product Overview and Early Monetization History Nathan pushes hard to pin down SignEasy's precise MRR and annual revenue numbers, performing quick back-of-the-envelope calculations. Sunil clarifies that early grandfathered pricing means the recurring revenue is below Nathan's initial estimate of $280k.7:06–10:45 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Bootstrapping Strategy and Distributed Team Structure Nathan applies standard SaaS unit economic formulas to calculate implied lifetime value from churn rates. Sunil explains that their contracts are 100% annual billing rather than true monthly renewals, refining the retention picture.10:46–14:01 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Zero-Paid Acquisition and App Store Optimization Secrets Nathan tests App Store searches live and questions where keywords are placed. Sunil educates him on Apple's confidential 100-character backend keyword limit and multi-signal ranking algorithm.14:01–17:57 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Download Conversions and Feature Upgrades to Pro and Business Sunil breaks down conversion differences between iOS and Android and discusses product-led upgrade triggers. Nathan tests his exit appetite with a hypothetical $15 million acquisition offer.17:59–20:50 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Batching Interviews with Acuity Scheduling Nathan delivers a sponsor segment for Acuity Scheduling before transitioning into the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire.2:32–7:05 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 SignEasy Product Overview and Early Monetization History Nathan pushes hard to pin down SignEasy's precise MRR and annual revenue numbers, performing quick back-of-the-envelope calculations. Sunil clarifies that early grandfathered pricing means the recurring revenue is below Nathan's initial estimate of $280k.7:06–10:45 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Bootstrapping Strategy and Distributed Team Structure Nathan applies standard SaaS unit economic formulas to calculate implied lifetime value from churn rates. Sunil explains that their contracts are 100% annual billing rather than true monthly renewals, refining the retention picture.10:46–14:01 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Zero-Paid Acquisition and App Store Optimization Secrets Nathan tests App Store searches live and questions where keywords are placed. Sunil educates him on Apple's confidential 100-character backend keyword limit and multi-signal ranking algorithm.14:01–17:57 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Download Conversions and Feature Upgrades to Pro and Business Sunil breaks down conversion differences between iOS and Android and discusses product-led upgrade triggers. Nathan tests his exit appetite with a hypothetical $15 million acquisition offer.17:59–20:50 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Batching Interviews with Acuity Scheduling Nathan delivers a sponsor segment for Acuity Scheduling before transitioning into the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire.

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

0:00 · Nathan 82.1% · guest 17.9%0:00 · Nathan 82.1% · guest 17.9%3:00 · Nathan 32% · guest 68%3:00 · Nathan 32% · guest 68%6:00 · Nathan 24.7% · guest 75.3%6:00 · Nathan 24.7% · guest 75.3%9:00 · Nathan 41.5% · guest 58.5%9:00 · Nathan 41.5% · guest 58.5%12:00 · Nathan 18.9% · guest 81.1%12:00 · Nathan 18.9% · guest 81.1%15:00 · Nathan 12.1% · guest 87.9%15:00 · Nathan 12.1% · guest 87.9%18:00 · Nathan 72.4% · guest 27.6%18:00 · Nathan 72.4% · guest 27.6%21:00 · Nathan 98.7% · guest 1.3%21:00 · Nathan 98.7% · guest 1.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:11 Pushback on simple MRR multiplication

Sunil rejects Nathan's clean multiplication of $4 by 70k subscribers, explaining that grandfathered users make the true MRR noticeably lower than $200k.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:47 Pressing for revenue bracket

When Sunil avoids giving a specific 2015 revenue figure, Nathan directly pushes him into narrowing the range between $2M and $5M.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:06 ASO keyword mechanics explained

Sunil corrects Nathan's assumption about App Store titles and descriptions, explaining Apple's hidden 100-character backend metadata constraints.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:08 Live SaaS unit economic calculation

Nathan demonstrates financial fluency by calculating customer lifespan and lifetime value on the fly using churn and ARPU inputs.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
SignEasy Product Overview and Early Monetization History 5425 Nathan pushes hard to pin down SignEasy's precise MRR and annual revenue numbers, performing quick back-of-the-envelope calculations. Sunil clarifies that early grandfathered pricing means the recurring revenue is below Nathan's initial estimate of $280k.
Bootstrapping Strategy and Distributed Team Structure 6413 Nathan applies standard SaaS unit economic formulas to calculate implied lifetime value from churn rates. Sunil explains that their contracts are 100% annual billing rather than true monthly renewals, refining the retention picture.
Zero-Paid Acquisition and App Store Optimization Secrets 4624 Nathan tests App Store searches live and questions where keywords are placed. Sunil educates him on Apple's confidential 100-character backend keyword limit and multi-signal ranking algorithm.
Download Conversions and Feature Upgrades to Pro and Business 4213 Sunil breaks down conversion differences between iOS and Android and discusses product-led upgrade triggers. Nathan tests his exit appetite with a hypothetical $15 million acquisition offer.
Sponsor Spotlight: Batching Interviews with Acuity Scheduling 2111 Nathan delivers a sponsor segment for Acuity Scheduling before transitioning into the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire.

Statements from this episode (15)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Patro: SignEasy has surpassed 4M downloads and 130k paid users
“Right now, we have over four million downloads, and out of that, we have over 130,000 paid users.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 4:04
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Patro: 40% to 45% of SignEasy paying customers are subscription users
“Around around 40 to 45% of them are subscriptions, and the rest are one-time page-a-go users.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 4:17
Disclosure
Patro: SignEasy's Pro plan drives 80% to 90% of subscriptions
“So our most popular plan is the pro plan. They pay four to five dollars per month per user. And that's around, I would say, out of our subscription user base, that's probably around you know, 80 to 90% of our subscriptions are actually pro subscriptions.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 4:36
Disclosure
Patro: SignEasy MRR is slightly below $200K
“No, it should be like somewhere lower than 200 K, but in that order.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 5:40
Disclosure
Patro: SignEasy has under $5M ARR and grows high double digits
“Yeah, but we are still at a sub five million dollar revenue. At this point. And we have grown high double desert year over year for the last three years.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 6:35
Disclosure
Patro: SignEasy is fully bootstrapped and growing profitably
“It's actually completely bootstrapped and we have just built a lean team that That just continues to, you know, create innovative products on the mobile and the web. And so far we have been fortunate to grow profitably.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 7:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SignEasy operates with a team of 25 to 30 people
“We are around 25 to 30 people at this point.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 7:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SignEasy splits team between US remote staff and Bangalore office
“We have a remote team with around five to six people in the US. And the rest of the product management, engineering, design, and support It's based in Bangalore, India.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 7:36
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Patro: Over 50% of SignEasy revenue originates from the US
“More than 50% of revenue comes from the US.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 8:32
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Patro: SignEasy is lowering annual customer churn to 30-40%
“At this point, Sineasy is in the higher end of that. But there are specific measures we have taken. Which is actually bringing us low, closer to 30 to 40% year over year churn.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 9:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Patro: 100% of SignEasy subscriptions are billed annually
“No, we have for us, it's, a hundred percent is annual.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 9:46
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Patro: SignEasy average customer lifetime is 24 to 32 months
“At this stage it is, at this stage it is probably more in the ballpark of 24 to 32 months. Lifetime value of the user in number of months,”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 10:29
Disclosure
Patro: SignEasy spends nothing on paid user acquisition
“So we actually don't do any paid user acquisition yet.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 10:46
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SignEasy generates approximately 60,000 App Store downloads per month
“So we get somewhere around 60, 60,000 downloads a month from App Store.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 14:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SignEasy converts 5-6% of iOS downloads and half that on Android
“In iOS, from a free user to a paid user, we see a conversion of somewhere between five to six percent. And on Android, we see half, half of that.”
Sunil Patro Dec 5, 2016 ▶ 14:34
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