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Nov 2, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

EP 466: Agency Loses Money in 2015, $500k In Black in 2016 Helping Copmanies Market Online with CEO Greg Shanken

Greg Schenken · 9m 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

In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Greg Schenken, CEO of GlossTech.io, who shares how he transitioned from a declining $1.4 million affiliate marketing model to build a profitable, recurring digital agency pacing past $500,000 in revenue.

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 44.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.1 Guest teaching 1.7 Guest disagreement 1.4 Nathan pushing back 2.7
05100:0010:0020:000:27–4:27 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Weekly Giveaway Announcement and Listener Engagement Latka explores Greg's business model, distinguishing between SaaS and agency consulting models. Greg cooperatively details his company's ringless voicemail technology and services.4:27–6:43 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Agency Financials and Business Model Transition When Greg declines to disclose revenue figures, Latka firmly pushes back and argues that audience credibility and branding require transparent numbers. Greg relents and gives ranges for his financials.6:45–10:27 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Shifting Away from CPA & Affiliate Marketing Latka drills into specific annual losses, employee counts, and client retainer pricing tiers. Greg candidly reflects on how Google's shifting policies disrupted their earlier affiliate model.10:27–12:35 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Case Study: Modernizing a Baked Goods Business Greg walks through a case study of updating legacy infrastructure for a baked goods client. Latka asks clarifying questions about the client's business type.12:36–14:58 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Scaling Fulfillment Through Overseas Outsourcing Latka questions how Greg manages service scope creep. Greg explains how his eight-year remote fulfillment team in the Philippines maintains profitability across broad service offerings.15:01–18:45 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Cirrus Insight Assistant Tool Latka moves into sponsor spots and rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Greg participates cleanly and briefly elaborates on PandaDoc.18:45–19:36 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Summary and Next Show Teaser Latka delivers a closing monologue summarizing Greg's metrics, pitching upcoming episodes, and promoting HostGator.0:27–4:27 · Guest teaching 2/10 Weekly Giveaway Announcement and Listener Engagement Latka explores Greg's business model, distinguishing between SaaS and agency consulting models. Greg cooperatively details his company's ringless voicemail technology and services.4:27–6:43 · Guest teaching 1/10 Agency Financials and Business Model Transition When Greg declines to disclose revenue figures, Latka firmly pushes back and argues that audience credibility and branding require transparent numbers. Greg relents and gives ranges for his financials.6:45–10:27 · Guest teaching 2/10 Shifting Away from CPA & Affiliate Marketing Latka drills into specific annual losses, employee counts, and client retainer pricing tiers. Greg candidly reflects on how Google's shifting policies disrupted their earlier affiliate model.10:27–12:35 · Guest teaching 3/10 Case Study: Modernizing a Baked Goods Business Greg walks through a case study of updating legacy infrastructure for a baked goods client. Latka asks clarifying questions about the client's business type.12:36–14:58 · Guest teaching 3/10 Scaling Fulfillment Through Overseas Outsourcing Latka questions how Greg manages service scope creep. Greg explains how his eight-year remote fulfillment team in the Philippines maintains profitability across broad service offerings.15:01–18:45 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Cirrus Insight Assistant Tool Latka moves into sponsor spots and rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Greg participates cleanly and briefly elaborates on PandaDoc.18:45–19:36 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Summary and Next Show Teaser Latka delivers a closing monologue summarizing Greg's metrics, pitching upcoming episodes, and promoting HostGator.0:27–4:27 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Weekly Giveaway Announcement and Listener Engagement Latka explores Greg's business model, distinguishing between SaaS and agency consulting models. Greg cooperatively details his company's ringless voicemail technology and services.4:27–6:43 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Agency Financials and Business Model Transition When Greg declines to disclose revenue figures, Latka firmly pushes back and argues that audience credibility and branding require transparent numbers. Greg relents and gives ranges for his financials.6:45–10:27 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Shifting Away from CPA & Affiliate Marketing Latka drills into specific annual losses, employee counts, and client retainer pricing tiers. Greg candidly reflects on how Google's shifting policies disrupted their earlier affiliate model.10:27–12:35 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Case Study: Modernizing a Baked Goods Business Greg walks through a case study of updating legacy infrastructure for a baked goods client. Latka asks clarifying questions about the client's business type.12:36–14:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Scaling Fulfillment Through Overseas Outsourcing Latka questions how Greg manages service scope creep. Greg explains how his eight-year remote fulfillment team in the Philippines maintains profitability across broad service offerings.15:01–18:45 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Cirrus Insight Assistant Tool Latka moves into sponsor spots and rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Greg participates cleanly and briefly elaborates on PandaDoc.18:45–19:36 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Summary and Next Show Teaser Latka delivers a closing monologue summarizing Greg's metrics, pitching upcoming episodes, and promoting HostGator.0:27–4:27 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Weekly Giveaway Announcement and Listener Engagement Latka explores Greg's business model, distinguishing between SaaS and agency consulting models. Greg cooperatively details his company's ringless voicemail technology and services.4:27–6:43 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Agency Financials and Business Model Transition When Greg declines to disclose revenue figures, Latka firmly pushes back and argues that audience credibility and branding require transparent numbers. Greg relents and gives ranges for his financials.6:45–10:27 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Shifting Away from CPA & Affiliate Marketing Latka drills into specific annual losses, employee counts, and client retainer pricing tiers. Greg candidly reflects on how Google's shifting policies disrupted their earlier affiliate model.10:27–12:35 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Case Study: Modernizing a Baked Goods Business Greg walks through a case study of updating legacy infrastructure for a baked goods client. Latka asks clarifying questions about the client's business type.12:36–14:58 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Scaling Fulfillment Through Overseas Outsourcing Latka questions how Greg manages service scope creep. Greg explains how his eight-year remote fulfillment team in the Philippines maintains profitability across broad service offerings.15:01–18:45 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Cirrus Insight Assistant Tool Latka moves into sponsor spots and rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Greg participates cleanly and briefly elaborates on PandaDoc.18:45–19:36 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Summary and Next Show Teaser Latka delivers a closing monologue summarizing Greg's metrics, pitching upcoming episodes, and promoting HostGator.

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

0:00 · Nathan 76.1% · guest 23.9%0:00 · Nathan 76.1% · guest 23.9%3:00 · Nathan 24.1% · guest 75.9%3:00 · Nathan 24.1% · guest 75.9%6:00 · Nathan 25.4% · guest 74.6%6:00 · Nathan 25.4% · guest 74.6%9:00 · Nathan 11.2% · guest 88.8%9:00 · Nathan 11.2% · guest 88.8%12:00 · Nathan 10.1% · guest 89.9%12:00 · Nathan 10.1% · guest 89.9%15:00 · Nathan 87.7% · guest 12.3%15:00 · Nathan 87.7% · guest 12.3%18:00 · Nathan 84.7% · guest 15.3%18:00 · Nathan 84.7% · guest 15.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:35 Greg refuses to share revenue figures

Greg explicitly stonewalls Latka's revenue question, stating he would rather not get into actual revenue numbers because it is not public information.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 4:50 Latka rejects privacy pushback and demands transparency

Latka refuses to let Greg withhold revenue data, lecturing him on how podcast listeners expect hard figures to establish credibility.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:13 Greg explains the collapse of the legacy CPA affiliate landscape

Greg provides an unvarnished industry lesson on how Google's policy crackdown caught affiliate marketers flat-footed and forced their agency redesign.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 4:50 Latka educates guest on podcast listener engagement dynamics

Latka demonstrates his mastery of media and audience expectations by breaking down exactly why disclosing financial numbers benefits the guest's brand.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Giveaway Announcement and Listener Engagement 4212 Latka explores Greg's business model, distinguishing between SaaS and agency consulting models. Greg cooperatively details his company's ringless voicemail technology and services.
Agency Financials and Business Model Transition 5148 When Greg declines to disclose revenue figures, Latka firmly pushes back and argues that audience credibility and branding require transparent numbers. Greg relents and gives ranges for his financials.
Shifting Away from CPA & Affiliate Marketing 4224 Latka drills into specific annual losses, employee counts, and client retainer pricing tiers. Greg candidly reflects on how Google's shifting policies disrupted their earlier affiliate model.
Case Study: Modernizing a Baked Goods Business 3312 Greg walks through a case study of updating legacy infrastructure for a baked goods client. Latka asks clarifying questions about the client's business type.
Scaling Fulfillment Through Overseas Outsourcing 4312 Latka questions how Greg manages service scope creep. Greg explains how his eight-year remote fulfillment team in the Philippines maintains profitability across broad service offerings.
Sponsor Spotlight: Cirrus Insight Assistant Tool 2111 Latka moves into sponsor spots and rapid-fire Famous Five questions. Greg participates cleanly and briefly elaborates on PandaDoc.
Episode Summary and Next Show Teaser 0000 Latka delivers a closing monologue summarizing Greg's metrics, pitching upcoming episodes, and promoting HostGator.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Contradicted
GlossTech bypasses phone ringers with ringless voicemail technology
“So we have a very powerful platform that automates not only email, which certainly lots of companies do that, but also text messaging and a really powerful technology called ringless voicemail, where the user can create a Single recorded message, or a series o…”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 2:34
Disclosure
GlossTech operates primarily as a marketing agency rather than pure SaaS
“More of an agency model because in addition to this, we also provide a full range of Agency services like digital marketing, social media, SEO, etc.”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 3:59
Prediction Not checkable as stated
GlossTech will definitely surpass $1M in revenue in 2017
“In 2017, we'll definitely be north of seven figures.”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 6:02
Assertion Not checkable as stated
GlossTech expects 2016 revenue to reach between $500K and $1M
“This year between half a 1,000,007 figures.”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 6:07
Disclosure
GlossTech lost approximately $50,000 in 2015 during business shift
“No, we lost actually doing our tax returns now, we lost about 50,000 last year.”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 7:00
Disclosure
GlossTech operates with just five full-time employees
“We have five employees.”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 8:31
Disclosure
GlossTech charges monthly client retainers between $1,500 and $8,000
“Average is anywhere from 15 to 2500 per month, all the way up to six to 8000 dollars a month.”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 9:30
Disclosure
GlossTech serves 15 active clients with 25 more in pipeline
“Right now we have about 15 clients, and we're really starting to hit a growth curve, so we have about 25 in the pipeline, so we're really starting to gear up for some good growth moving into 17.”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 10:12
Disclosure
Schenken has utilized full-time Filipino offshore staff for eight years
“So I have a team in the Philippines, they're full-time employees, and I've been leveraging Filipino employees for over eight years.”
Greg Schenken Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 12:59
Assertion Not checkable as stated
RocketReach passed 120,000 paying customers and $200,000 MRR
“His company's passed 120,000 paying customers, 200,000 dollars a month in monthly recurring revenue, and will do ten million dollars in 2017. That's his ARR goal with RocketReach.co, CEO Amit Shambag.”
Nathan Latka Nov 2, 2016 ▶ 19:22
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