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Dec 3, 2016 · 15m · top-founders

EP 497: Woopra $1M Raised, $1.6M 2015 Revenue, $300k MRR To Help Businesses Get Smarter with CEO Elie Khoury

Nathan Latka · 6m spoken Elie Khoury · 6m 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 Elie Khoury, CEO of Woopra, uncovering how the customer intelligence platform achieved profitability, $300k MRR, and zero enterprise churn with a lean 12-person team.

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 52.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.7 Guest teaching 1.2 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 2.3
05100:0010:000:27–3:09 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Weekly Community Cash Prize and Subscription Drive Nathan opens the interview by probing Woopra's business model, fundraising history, and capitalization structure, asking specifically whether the seed angel round was priced equity or a convertible note.3:10–5:20 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Target Market, Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Split When Elie hesitates to disclose exact MRR figures, Nathan utilizes the customer count and ACV figures already shared to calculate an estimated $300k MRR on air.5:20–8:00 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Retention Dynamics, Low Churn, and Sales Operations Elie details the disparity between enterprise retention and SMB churn. Nathan analyzes their CAC and extrapolates an estimated enterprise LTV of $90,000 to determine if high-touch sales reps are utilized.8:00–10:53 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Founding Story, Freemium Monetization, and 2015 Revenue After discussing Woopra's transition from freemium to paid monetization, Elie declines to disclose exact 2015 revenue, prompting Nathan to push for confirmation that it exceeded $1.5M based on growth rates.10:55–13:29 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Acuity Scheduling Mid-Roll Sponsorship Promotion The segment includes a mid-roll sponsorship read followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, which remains friendly and personal.13:30–14:33 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Woopra Metrics Summary and Episode Conclusion Nathan delivers a solo summary wrap-up outlining Woopra's key SaaS metrics before closing the episode.0:27–3:09 · Guest teaching 1/10 Weekly Community Cash Prize and Subscription Drive Nathan opens the interview by probing Woopra's business model, fundraising history, and capitalization structure, asking specifically whether the seed angel round was priced equity or a convertible note.3:10–5:20 · Guest teaching 1/10 Target Market, Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Split When Elie hesitates to disclose exact MRR figures, Nathan utilizes the customer count and ACV figures already shared to calculate an estimated $300k MRR on air.5:20–8:00 · Guest teaching 3/10 Retention Dynamics, Low Churn, and Sales Operations Elie details the disparity between enterprise retention and SMB churn. Nathan analyzes their CAC and extrapolates an estimated enterprise LTV of $90,000 to determine if high-touch sales reps are utilized.8:00–10:53 · Guest teaching 1/10 Founding Story, Freemium Monetization, and 2015 Revenue After discussing Woopra's transition from freemium to paid monetization, Elie declines to disclose exact 2015 revenue, prompting Nathan to push for confirmation that it exceeded $1.5M based on growth rates.10:55–13:29 · Guest teaching 1/10 Acuity Scheduling Mid-Roll Sponsorship Promotion The segment includes a mid-roll sponsorship read followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, which remains friendly and personal.13:30–14:33 · Guest teaching 0/10 Woopra Metrics Summary and Episode Conclusion Nathan delivers a solo summary wrap-up outlining Woopra's key SaaS metrics before closing the episode.0:27–3:09 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Weekly Community Cash Prize and Subscription Drive Nathan opens the interview by probing Woopra's business model, fundraising history, and capitalization structure, asking specifically whether the seed angel round was priced equity or a convertible note.3:10–5:20 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Target Market, Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Split When Elie hesitates to disclose exact MRR figures, Nathan utilizes the customer count and ACV figures already shared to calculate an estimated $300k MRR on air.5:20–8:00 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Retention Dynamics, Low Churn, and Sales Operations Elie details the disparity between enterprise retention and SMB churn. Nathan analyzes their CAC and extrapolates an estimated enterprise LTV of $90,000 to determine if high-touch sales reps are utilized.8:00–10:53 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Founding Story, Freemium Monetization, and 2015 Revenue After discussing Woopra's transition from freemium to paid monetization, Elie declines to disclose exact 2015 revenue, prompting Nathan to push for confirmation that it exceeded $1.5M based on growth rates.10:55–13:29 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Acuity Scheduling Mid-Roll Sponsorship Promotion The segment includes a mid-roll sponsorship read followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, which remains friendly and personal.13:30–14:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Woopra Metrics Summary and Episode Conclusion Nathan delivers a solo summary wrap-up outlining Woopra's key SaaS metrics before closing the episode.0:27–3:09 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Weekly Community Cash Prize and Subscription Drive Nathan opens the interview by probing Woopra's business model, fundraising history, and capitalization structure, asking specifically whether the seed angel round was priced equity or a convertible note.3:10–5:20 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Target Market, Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Split When Elie hesitates to disclose exact MRR figures, Nathan utilizes the customer count and ACV figures already shared to calculate an estimated $300k MRR on air.5:20–8:00 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Retention Dynamics, Low Churn, and Sales Operations Elie details the disparity between enterprise retention and SMB churn. Nathan analyzes their CAC and extrapolates an estimated enterprise LTV of $90,000 to determine if high-touch sales reps are utilized.8:00–10:53 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Founding Story, Freemium Monetization, and 2015 Revenue After discussing Woopra's transition from freemium to paid monetization, Elie declines to disclose exact 2015 revenue, prompting Nathan to push for confirmation that it exceeded $1.5M based on growth rates.10:55–13:29 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Acuity Scheduling Mid-Roll Sponsorship Promotion The segment includes a mid-roll sponsorship read followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, which remains friendly and personal.13:30–14:33 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Woopra Metrics Summary and Episode Conclusion Nathan delivers a solo summary wrap-up outlining Woopra's key SaaS metrics before closing the episode.

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

0:00 · Nathan 78.4% · guest 21.6%0:00 · Nathan 78.4% · guest 21.6%3:00 · Nathan 31.3% · guest 68.7%3:00 · Nathan 31.3% · guest 68.7%6:00 · Nathan 28.5% · guest 71.5%6:00 · Nathan 28.5% · guest 71.5%9:00 · Nathan 52.9% · guest 47.1%9:00 · Nathan 52.9% · guest 47.1%12:00 · Nathan 75.7% · guest 24.3%12:00 · Nathan 75.7% · guest 24.3%15:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%15:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:58 Elie declines to disclose exact MRR

Elie directly pushes back against giving precise monthly recurring revenue numbers, stating he cannot share them on air.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 5:02 Nathan insists on calculating MRR using disclosed metrics

After the guest demurs on MRR, Nathan pushes forward with his own mathematical calculation from the ACV and cohort distribution to establish the run rate.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:26 Elie explains enterprise versus SMB retention mechanics

Elie educates Nathan on why zero enterprise churn exists due to deep product integration and data stickiness, compared to high switching velocity in SMB tag management.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 5:02 Nathan deduces $300k MRR live

Nathan demonstrates SaaS financial mastery by breaking down the $30k enterprise ACV and $3k SMB ACV across 500 customers each to derive the $300k MRR figure.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Community Cash Prize and Subscription Drive 4102 Nathan opens the interview by probing Woopra's business model, fundraising history, and capitalization structure, asking specifically whether the seed angel round was priced equity or a convertible note.
Target Market, Pricing Tiers, and Revenue Split 6125 When Elie hesitates to disclose exact MRR figures, Nathan utilizes the customer count and ACV figures already shared to calculate an estimated $300k MRR on air.
Retention Dynamics, Low Churn, and Sales Operations 5313 Elie details the disparity between enterprise retention and SMB churn. Nathan analyzes their CAC and extrapolates an estimated enterprise LTV of $90,000 to determine if high-touch sales reps are utilized.
Founding Story, Freemium Monetization, and 2015 Revenue 5124 After discussing Woopra's transition from freemium to paid monetization, Elie declines to disclose exact 2015 revenue, prompting Nathan to push for confirmation that it exceeded $1.5M based on growth rates.
Acuity Scheduling Mid-Roll Sponsorship Promotion 2100 The segment includes a mid-roll sponsorship read followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five questionnaire, which remains friendly and personal.
Woopra Metrics Summary and Episode Conclusion 0000 Nathan delivers a solo summary wrap-up outlining Woopra's key SaaS metrics before closing the episode.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Supported
Woopra raised a $1 million angel round
“It was a million dollars.”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 2:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Woopra operates with 12 full-time employees in-office
“We're 12 people full time in the office and we have a few people who work with us part time and offsite.”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 2:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Woopra has 100,000 active projects and 1,000 paying businesses
“So we have about a 100,000 active projects on our system. Out of those, we have a thousand that is like premium paying businesses.”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 3:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Woopra enterprise customers average $30k ARR, SMBs average $3k ARR
“So our average enterprise customer today is worth around 30,000 dollars a year and the small business customers about 3000 dollars a year.”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 4:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Woopra claims zero enterprise churn over the past two years
“The interesting thing is that on the enterprise edition side, we haven't churned a single customer over the past two years.”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 5:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Woopra spends $1,000 to $2,000 to acquire a customer
“We're actually spending about One to 2000 dollars to acquire a customer.”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 6:13
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Woopra had 50,000 free active projects before introducing paid plans
“We actually started building the product in 2007. We launched in early 2008 and we operated on a freemium model for a couple of years. We did not charge our customers at all. We actually got to a point where we had about 50,000 active projects on the system us…”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 8:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Woopra grows revenue roughly 50% year-over-year
“We've been growing about like 50% every year.”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 9:25
Disclosure
Woopra aims to hit 100% YoY growth before raising another round
“So we're giving ourselves six more months at this point to figure that out and maybe get ourselves from 50% growth to a hundred percent growth every year. That can put us in a much better position to raise a better round of funding on better terms.”
Elie Khoury Dec 3, 2016 ▶ 10:22
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