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Nov 5, 2016 · 18m · top-founders

EP 469: SharkTank Sunk Him, Then He Won Big With $1.4M with Revestor CEO Bill Lyons

Bill Lyons · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 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

Host Nathan Latka interviews Bill Lyons, CEO of Revestor, exploring how he rebounded from a 2012 Shark Tank rejection and the 2008 financial crash to build a multi-million-dollar mortgage business and relaunch his real estate analytics software.

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 43.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.6 Guest teaching 2.8 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:000:28–4:07 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Weekly Giveaway Winner and Contest Instructions The segment begins with Nathan's solo giveaway and ad read before transitioning into a friendly conversation about Bill's Shark Tank experience. Nathan asks standard probing questions about valuation and dressing room adjustments without tension.4:09–8:25 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Post-Shark Tank Struggles and Mortgage Success Nathan presses Bill on Revestor's actual revenue metrics, revealing the site made zero dollars in recent months while Bill funded it through his separate mortgage business. Nathan shows domain familiarity with real estate syndication data and MLS costs like ListHub.8:26–11:05 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Live Demo of Revestor Short-Term Rental Analytics Nathan interacts with the live beta site, challenging the mathematical assumptions behind cash flow projections and daily rental algorithms. Bill educates Nathan on how title data, MLS syndication, and Airbnb occupancy estimates are blended.11:06–13:34 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Audience Scale and Entrepreneurial Resilience Nathan suggests Revestor is merely a lead-generation funnel for Bill's mortgage company. Bill rejects that framing, clarifying that mortgages are not his primary passion and outlining his plan to monetize via realtor advertising.13:34–17:04 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Connecting with Bill Lyons Online Contains a mid-roll advertisement followed by the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, resulting in low tension and minimal substantive debate.0:28–4:07 · Guest teaching 2/10 Weekly Giveaway Winner and Contest Instructions The segment begins with Nathan's solo giveaway and ad read before transitioning into a friendly conversation about Bill's Shark Tank experience. Nathan asks standard probing questions about valuation and dressing room adjustments without tension.4:09–8:25 · Guest teaching 3/10 Post-Shark Tank Struggles and Mortgage Success Nathan presses Bill on Revestor's actual revenue metrics, revealing the site made zero dollars in recent months while Bill funded it through his separate mortgage business. Nathan shows domain familiarity with real estate syndication data and MLS costs like ListHub.8:26–11:05 · Guest teaching 5/10 Live Demo of Revestor Short-Term Rental Analytics Nathan interacts with the live beta site, challenging the mathematical assumptions behind cash flow projections and daily rental algorithms. Bill educates Nathan on how title data, MLS syndication, and Airbnb occupancy estimates are blended.11:06–13:34 · Guest teaching 3/10 Audience Scale and Entrepreneurial Resilience Nathan suggests Revestor is merely a lead-generation funnel for Bill's mortgage company. Bill rejects that framing, clarifying that mortgages are not his primary passion and outlining his plan to monetize via realtor advertising.13:34–17:04 · Guest teaching 1/10 Connecting with Bill Lyons Online Contains a mid-roll advertisement followed by the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, resulting in low tension and minimal substantive debate.0:28–4:07 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Weekly Giveaway Winner and Contest Instructions The segment begins with Nathan's solo giveaway and ad read before transitioning into a friendly conversation about Bill's Shark Tank experience. Nathan asks standard probing questions about valuation and dressing room adjustments without tension.4:09–8:25 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Post-Shark Tank Struggles and Mortgage Success Nathan presses Bill on Revestor's actual revenue metrics, revealing the site made zero dollars in recent months while Bill funded it through his separate mortgage business. Nathan shows domain familiarity with real estate syndication data and MLS costs like ListHub.8:26–11:05 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Live Demo of Revestor Short-Term Rental Analytics Nathan interacts with the live beta site, challenging the mathematical assumptions behind cash flow projections and daily rental algorithms. Bill educates Nathan on how title data, MLS syndication, and Airbnb occupancy estimates are blended.11:06–13:34 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Audience Scale and Entrepreneurial Resilience Nathan suggests Revestor is merely a lead-generation funnel for Bill's mortgage company. Bill rejects that framing, clarifying that mortgages are not his primary passion and outlining his plan to monetize via realtor advertising.13:34–17:04 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Connecting with Bill Lyons Online Contains a mid-roll advertisement followed by the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, resulting in low tension and minimal substantive debate.0:28–4:07 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Weekly Giveaway Winner and Contest Instructions The segment begins with Nathan's solo giveaway and ad read before transitioning into a friendly conversation about Bill's Shark Tank experience. Nathan asks standard probing questions about valuation and dressing room adjustments without tension.4:09–8:25 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Post-Shark Tank Struggles and Mortgage Success Nathan presses Bill on Revestor's actual revenue metrics, revealing the site made zero dollars in recent months while Bill funded it through his separate mortgage business. Nathan shows domain familiarity with real estate syndication data and MLS costs like ListHub.8:26–11:05 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Live Demo of Revestor Short-Term Rental Analytics Nathan interacts with the live beta site, challenging the mathematical assumptions behind cash flow projections and daily rental algorithms. Bill educates Nathan on how title data, MLS syndication, and Airbnb occupancy estimates are blended.11:06–13:34 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Audience Scale and Entrepreneurial Resilience Nathan suggests Revestor is merely a lead-generation funnel for Bill's mortgage company. Bill rejects that framing, clarifying that mortgages are not his primary passion and outlining his plan to monetize via realtor advertising.13:34–17:04 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Connecting with Bill Lyons Online Contains a mid-roll advertisement followed by the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, resulting in low tension and minimal substantive debate.

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 20.3% · guest 79.7%3:00 · Nathan 20.3% · guest 79.7%6:00 · Nathan 29.6% · guest 70.4%6:00 · Nathan 29.6% · guest 70.4%9:00 · Nathan 21.1% · guest 78.9%9:00 · Nathan 21.1% · guest 78.9%12:00 · Nathan 51.7% · guest 48.3%12:00 · Nathan 51.7% · guest 48.3%15:00 · Nathan 61.3% · guest 38.7%15:00 · Nathan 61.3% · guest 38.7%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:33 Bill rejects mortgage lead-gen characterization

Bill directly corrects Nathan's assumption that Revestor is just a top-of-funnel lead generator for his mortgage business, explaining his broader vision and prior business losses.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 9:56 Nathan presses on rental ratio algorithms

Nathan refuses to accept superficial cash flow metrics on the demo site and presses Bill to explain the specific underlying data sources behind the estimates.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:11 Bill explains real estate stock-like metrics

Bill details how Revestor overlays cap rates, occupancy estimates, and mortgage parameters on top of MLS listings to modernize real estate investing for retail buyers.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:47 Nathan maps the mortgage and software business synergy

Nathan demonstrates sharp business acumen by outlining how Revestor's property search naturally serves as high-converting lead generation for mortgage origination.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Giveaway Winner and Contest Instructions 4212 The segment begins with Nathan's solo giveaway and ad read before transitioning into a friendly conversation about Bill's Shark Tank experience. Nathan asks standard probing questions about valuation and dressing room adjustments without tension.
Post-Shark Tank Struggles and Mortgage Success 6314 Nathan presses Bill on Revestor's actual revenue metrics, revealing the site made zero dollars in recent months while Bill funded it through his separate mortgage business. Nathan shows domain familiarity with real estate syndication data and MLS costs like ListHub.
Live Demo of Revestor Short-Term Rental Analytics 6514 Nathan interacts with the live beta site, challenging the mathematical assumptions behind cash flow projections and daily rental algorithms. Bill educates Nathan on how title data, MLS syndication, and Airbnb occupancy estimates are blended.
Audience Scale and Entrepreneurial Resilience 5333 Nathan suggests Revestor is merely a lead-generation funnel for Bill's mortgage company. Bill rejects that framing, clarifying that mortgages are not his primary passion and outlining his plan to monetize via realtor advertising.
Connecting with Bill Lyons Online 2101 Contains a mid-roll advertisement followed by the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, resulting in low tension and minimal substantive debate.

Statements from this episode (8)

Disclosure
Producer told Lyons to lower Shark Tank ask: 'sharks are pissed today'
“Originally I was asking for 500 grand for 10%, and then in the dressing room, the producer came back, he goes, man, the sharks are pissed today, you need to lower it.”
Bill Lyons Nov 5, 2016 ▶ 3:02
Assertion Contradicted
Lyons: No tech companies had appeared on Shark Tank before 2012
“I mean, at the time there had been no tech companies on Shark Tank.”
Bill Lyons Nov 5, 2016 ▶ 3:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bill Lyons: Revestor never surpassed 1,000 paying users post-Shark Tank
“We built it up to about 15,000 users. We never got over a thousand paid users and it just kind of sat there for awhile.”
Bill Lyons Nov 5, 2016 ▶ 4:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bill Lyons: Mortgage company grew from $500K in 2014 to $5.5M in 2016
“At the end of 2013 and in 2014, we did 500 K in revenue, 2015, 1.7. And in 2016, we're going to do 5.5 million.”
Bill Lyons Nov 5, 2016 ▶ 5:05
Disclosure
Revestor generated zero revenue in September 2016
“Zero.”
Bill Lyons Nov 5, 2016 ▶ 5:56
Disclosure
Revestor pays ListHub around $6,000 per month for MLS data
“It's like six grand a month.”
Bill Lyons Nov 5, 2016 ▶ 7:33
Opinion
Lyons: San Diego properties cannot cash flow on long-term rental leases
“In San Diego, you know, you're never going to get anything to cashflow on a long-term basis on a short-term basis. You know, you can get five or 600 bucks a night.”
Bill Lyons Nov 5, 2016 ▶ 10:37
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lyons: Prior business reached $20M revenue before losing everything in 2007
“You know, I had a company before, It did twenty million in revenue you know, seven and I lost everything.”
Bill Lyons Nov 5, 2016 ▶ 11:36
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