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Nov 25, 2016 · 23m · top-founders

EP 489: $200k Shark Tank Deal, Cuban/Sacca, 30,000 People Booked $12M Worth of Sports Weekend Housing from RentLikeAChampion CEO Mike Doyle

Mike Doyle · 14m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Nathan Latka interviews Rent Like A Champion CEO Mike Doyle to explore how the sports-focused vacation rental marketplace scaled to $4.5 million in gross volume, secured investment from Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca on Shark Tank, and defended its niche against Airbnb.

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 34.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:0020:003:07–5:11 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Marketplace Fundamentals, Origin Story, and Platform Mechanics Latka methodically breaks down the two-sided marketplace structure, drilling into supply and demand metrics. Doyle cooperatively provides exact figures on fan counts, average party sizes, and concentrated core markets.5:11–10:11 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Revenue Growth, Commission Structure, and Marketplace Take Rates Latka drills into commission mechanics and explicitly corrects the guest's timeframe focus, demanding trip-completion metrics over cash-collection timing. Doyle works through his spreadsheet to provide exact gross transaction values.10:11–13:11 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Shark Tank Pitch Insights and Chris Sacca's Investment Motive Latka probes whether Chris Sacca invested purely out of Airbnb regret, showing awareness of venture history. Doyle explains how he deliberately leveraged Sacca's public Airbnb regret during the Shark Tank pitch.13:11–16:05 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Retention Dynamics and Off-Season Market Expansion Latka applies Peter Thiel's Zero to One framework to evaluate Doyle's niche dominance against broad competitors like Airbnb. Doyle details his customer reorder frequency and plans to monetize adjacent events in college towns.16:05–19:48 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Instant Booking Architecture and High-Touch Investor Relations Latka pushes Doyle on platform utilization metrics and investor responsiveness. Doyle openly admits utilization varies widely depending on matchup popularity and details how hands-on Cuban and Sacca remain.19:50–23:28 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sponsor Segment: Acuity Scheduling Efficiency Promotion Segment begins with Latka's sponsor monologue for Acuity Scheduling followed by standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Doyle gives concise personal answers without any conflict.3:07–5:11 · Guest teaching 2/10 Marketplace Fundamentals, Origin Story, and Platform Mechanics Latka methodically breaks down the two-sided marketplace structure, drilling into supply and demand metrics. Doyle cooperatively provides exact figures on fan counts, average party sizes, and concentrated core markets.5:11–10:11 · Guest teaching 3/10 Revenue Growth, Commission Structure, and Marketplace Take Rates Latka drills into commission mechanics and explicitly corrects the guest's timeframe focus, demanding trip-completion metrics over cash-collection timing. Doyle works through his spreadsheet to provide exact gross transaction values.10:11–13:11 · Guest teaching 3/10 Shark Tank Pitch Insights and Chris Sacca's Investment Motive Latka probes whether Chris Sacca invested purely out of Airbnb regret, showing awareness of venture history. Doyle explains how he deliberately leveraged Sacca's public Airbnb regret during the Shark Tank pitch.13:11–16:05 · Guest teaching 3/10 Customer Retention Dynamics and Off-Season Market Expansion Latka applies Peter Thiel's Zero to One framework to evaluate Doyle's niche dominance against broad competitors like Airbnb. Doyle details his customer reorder frequency and plans to monetize adjacent events in college towns.16:05–19:48 · Guest teaching 3/10 Instant Booking Architecture and High-Touch Investor Relations Latka pushes Doyle on platform utilization metrics and investor responsiveness. Doyle openly admits utilization varies widely depending on matchup popularity and details how hands-on Cuban and Sacca remain.19:50–23:28 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Segment: Acuity Scheduling Efficiency Promotion Segment begins with Latka's sponsor monologue for Acuity Scheduling followed by standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Doyle gives concise personal answers without any conflict.3:07–5:11 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Marketplace Fundamentals, Origin Story, and Platform Mechanics Latka methodically breaks down the two-sided marketplace structure, drilling into supply and demand metrics. Doyle cooperatively provides exact figures on fan counts, average party sizes, and concentrated core markets.5:11–10:11 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Revenue Growth, Commission Structure, and Marketplace Take Rates Latka drills into commission mechanics and explicitly corrects the guest's timeframe focus, demanding trip-completion metrics over cash-collection timing. Doyle works through his spreadsheet to provide exact gross transaction values.10:11–13:11 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Shark Tank Pitch Insights and Chris Sacca's Investment Motive Latka probes whether Chris Sacca invested purely out of Airbnb regret, showing awareness of venture history. Doyle explains how he deliberately leveraged Sacca's public Airbnb regret during the Shark Tank pitch.13:11–16:05 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Customer Retention Dynamics and Off-Season Market Expansion Latka applies Peter Thiel's Zero to One framework to evaluate Doyle's niche dominance against broad competitors like Airbnb. Doyle details his customer reorder frequency and plans to monetize adjacent events in college towns.16:05–19:48 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Instant Booking Architecture and High-Touch Investor Relations Latka pushes Doyle on platform utilization metrics and investor responsiveness. Doyle openly admits utilization varies widely depending on matchup popularity and details how hands-on Cuban and Sacca remain.19:50–23:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Sponsor Segment: Acuity Scheduling Efficiency Promotion Segment begins with Latka's sponsor monologue for Acuity Scheduling followed by standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Doyle gives concise personal answers without any conflict.3:07–5:11 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Marketplace Fundamentals, Origin Story, and Platform Mechanics Latka methodically breaks down the two-sided marketplace structure, drilling into supply and demand metrics. Doyle cooperatively provides exact figures on fan counts, average party sizes, and concentrated core markets.5:11–10:11 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Revenue Growth, Commission Structure, and Marketplace Take Rates Latka drills into commission mechanics and explicitly corrects the guest's timeframe focus, demanding trip-completion metrics over cash-collection timing. Doyle works through his spreadsheet to provide exact gross transaction values.10:11–13:11 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Shark Tank Pitch Insights and Chris Sacca's Investment Motive Latka probes whether Chris Sacca invested purely out of Airbnb regret, showing awareness of venture history. Doyle explains how he deliberately leveraged Sacca's public Airbnb regret during the Shark Tank pitch.13:11–16:05 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Customer Retention Dynamics and Off-Season Market Expansion Latka applies Peter Thiel's Zero to One framework to evaluate Doyle's niche dominance against broad competitors like Airbnb. Doyle details his customer reorder frequency and plans to monetize adjacent events in college towns.16:05–19:48 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Instant Booking Architecture and High-Touch Investor Relations Latka pushes Doyle on platform utilization metrics and investor responsiveness. Doyle openly admits utilization varies widely depending on matchup popularity and details how hands-on Cuban and Sacca remain.19:50–23:28 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Segment: Acuity Scheduling Efficiency Promotion Segment begins with Latka's sponsor monologue for Acuity Scheduling followed by standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Doyle gives concise personal answers without any conflict.

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

0:00 · Nathan 69.1% · guest 30.9%0:00 · Nathan 69.1% · guest 30.9%3:00 · Nathan 31.1% · guest 68.9%3:00 · Nathan 31.1% · guest 68.9%6:00 · Nathan 26% · guest 74%6:00 · Nathan 26% · guest 74%9:00 · Nathan 17% · guest 83%9:00 · Nathan 17% · guest 83%12:00 · Nathan 15.5% · guest 84.5%12:00 · Nathan 15.5% · guest 84.5%15:00 · Nathan 17.2% · guest 82.8%15:00 · Nathan 17.2% · guest 82.8%18:00 · Nathan 45.6% · guest 54.4%18:00 · Nathan 45.6% · guest 54.4%21:00 · Nathan 63.2% · guest 36.8%21:00 · Nathan 63.2% · guest 36.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:24 Doyle corrects take rate math interpretation

Doyle pushes back gently on Latka's calculation, clarifying that the 15% host fee and 9% guest markup operate on different base amounts rather than a simple 24% flat cut.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:02 Latka rejects cash-collection timing framing

Latka interrupts Doyle's cash receipt explanation and restructures the query to isolate purely the trips occurring in that specific operating month.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:03 Doyle demystifies Shark Tank editing vs actual diligence

Doyle educates the host on how the real 25-60 minute pitches involve deep granular unit economics that television producers routinely cut out to create entertainment drama.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 14:17 Latka applies Thiel monopoly theory

Latka synthesizes Doyle's operational strategy by invoking Peter Thiel's concept of cornering hyper-specific submarkets to build defensibility.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Marketplace Fundamentals, Origin Story, and Platform Mechanics 5212 Latka methodically breaks down the two-sided marketplace structure, drilling into supply and demand metrics. Doyle cooperatively provides exact figures on fan counts, average party sizes, and concentrated core markets.
Revenue Growth, Commission Structure, and Marketplace Take Rates 6325 Latka drills into commission mechanics and explicitly corrects the guest's timeframe focus, demanding trip-completion metrics over cash-collection timing. Doyle works through his spreadsheet to provide exact gross transaction values.
Shark Tank Pitch Insights and Chris Sacca's Investment Motive 5313 Latka probes whether Chris Sacca invested purely out of Airbnb regret, showing awareness of venture history. Doyle explains how he deliberately leveraged Sacca's public Airbnb regret during the Shark Tank pitch.
Customer Retention Dynamics and Off-Season Market Expansion 6313 Latka applies Peter Thiel's Zero to One framework to evaluate Doyle's niche dominance against broad competitors like Airbnb. Doyle details his customer reorder frequency and plans to monetize adjacent events in college towns.
Instant Booking Architecture and High-Touch Investor Relations 5313 Latka pushes Doyle on platform utilization metrics and investor responsiveness. Doyle openly admits utilization varies widely depending on matchup popularity and details how hands-on Cuban and Sacca remain.
Sponsor Segment: Acuity Scheduling Efficiency Promotion 2101 Segment begins with Latka's sponsor monologue for Acuity Scheduling followed by standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Doyle gives concise personal answers without any conflict.

Statements from this episode (15)

Disclosure
Rent Like A Champion raised $200k for 10% from Cuban and Sacca
“So we took a total it was 200,000 dollars for 10% of the company. So they each came in for a hundred grand and they each got a five percent of run like a champion.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 1:59
Opinion
Pre-Shark Tank fair market valuation was between $3M and $5M
“At the time, you know, we thought it was somewhere between three and five million dollars, just kind of looking at comparable businesses and kind of where we were.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 2:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
The platform completed 7,500 bookings averaging eight guests per rental
“Book destinations. It's more like seven, 500. So it's usually about eight, eight fans is kind of on average per rental.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 4:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Doyle: Rent Like A Champion has over 3,000 listings across 100+ towns
“So we have over 3000 homes on the platform. We have properties available in over a hundred towns around the country. There's really about 25 towns that we kind of consider to be core markets where, you know, we have a good concentration of homes.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 4:46
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Doyle: Rent Like A Champion on pace for $4.5M in 2016 bookings
“And then this year we're on pace to four and a half million and kind of top line total rentals. And we'll keep just a shade under a million dollars in our fees.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 5:27
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Doyle: Rent Like A Champion reached $3.3M in bookings in 2015
“2015. This is just under 3.3 million. So we kept about 720,000.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 5:57
Disclosure
The platform takes 15% from hosts and 9% from renters
“So it's 15% on the homeowner side and then nine percent added onto the booking or excuse me, onto the booking. And I know that adds up to 24, but it's, you know, 15% that we take from the homeowners from their list price. So if it's a thousand, we take a 150 a…”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 6:24
Assertion Supported
Rent Like A Champion partners with six PGA tournament events
“So I mentioned PGA were actually, you know, officially partnered with six PGA tournament events where we are their private home rental provider.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 7:03
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Average order value is $1,650 for a two-night rental
“So the average rental through our site is about 1650 dollars. That's for a two night rental.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 9:07
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Platform expects to surpass $12M in cumulative volume through 2016
“Just a little over twelve million that that we'll do, including all of 2016.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 10:00
Opinion
Chris Sacca invested in the company due to Airbnb FOMO
“I think there was maybe, I think there was definitely some FOMO from Airbnb.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 11:21
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Shark Tank producers revealed the investor panel 12 hours before filming
“We got a call from the producers the night before we were going to film, letting us know who our panel of sharks was going to be. So up until, you know, 12 hours before we didn't know that Chris was going to be there.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 11:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Doyle: Rent Like A Champion has an average 50% reorder rate
“About 50% once we can get somebody in the door.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 13:14
Assertion Not checkable as stated
The platform averages 50% inventory utilization on college football weekends
“So depending on, you know, for instance Notre Dame versus Texas last year, we were probably at like 90% an average game I'd say is more like 50%, just cause there are, there is such fluctuation.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 17:31
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Cuban and Sacca reply to portfolio emails within 30 minutes
“Yet if we email them something, they're responding within 30 minutes.”
Mike Doyle Nov 25, 2016 ▶ 18:44
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