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Sep 21, 2016 · 26m · top-founders

EP 424: SaaS Teckst Passes 65 Enterprise Customers, $2.5M Raised with CEO Matt Tumbleson

Matt Tumbleson · 14m spoken Nathan Latka · 9m 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,' Nathan Latka interviews Teckst founder and CEO Matt Tumbleson to discuss how the startup scaled its two-way enterprise SMS platform to 65 major corporate clients, raised $2.5 million in seed funding, and expanded toward a $2 million annual revenue run rate.

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 40.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.7 Guest teaching 1.9 Guest disagreement 0.9 Nathan pushing back 2.6
05100:0010:0020:002:21–6:48 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Teckst's Core Value Proposition and Subscription Model Nathan presses Matt to name actual enterprise clients when Matt hesitates due to confidentiality. Matt clarifies why enterprise clients treat two-way SMS software as a proprietary competitive advantage.6:48–10:40 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Founding Teckst and Leaving Golden Handcuffs Nathan drills into the financial details of Matt leaving Seamless/Grubhub, asking for exact figures on his personal investment and forfeited equity. Matt cooperates openly, detailing the seven-figure sum he walked away from.10:40–13:22 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sales Team Economics and Series A Growth Plans Nathan interrupts to dissect sales economics and does back-of-the-napkin math to calculate annual contract values and an implied $40M-$60M Series A pre-money valuation.13:22–16:49 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 CAC, Marketing Channels, and Founder Compensation When Matt explains they have not formalized their CAC yet, Nathan pushes him to give a fully loaded estimate including sales salaries and overhead.16:49–21:08 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 2016 Revenue Milestones and Account Upsell Strategy Matt outlines his quarterly business review strategy that doubles client spend, and Nathan immediately links this mechanism to negative net revenue churn metrics.21:09–23:36 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Where to Follow Teckst and Matt Tumbleson Online Matt shares his social handles followed by host mid-roll sponsor reads for Toptal and HostGator.23:38–25:00 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions with quick, direct answers from Matt.2:21–6:48 · Guest teaching 3/10 Teckst's Core Value Proposition and Subscription Model Nathan presses Matt to name actual enterprise clients when Matt hesitates due to confidentiality. Matt clarifies why enterprise clients treat two-way SMS software as a proprietary competitive advantage.6:48–10:40 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founding Teckst and Leaving Golden Handcuffs Nathan drills into the financial details of Matt leaving Seamless/Grubhub, asking for exact figures on his personal investment and forfeited equity. Matt cooperates openly, detailing the seven-figure sum he walked away from.10:40–13:22 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sales Team Economics and Series A Growth Plans Nathan interrupts to dissect sales economics and does back-of-the-napkin math to calculate annual contract values and an implied $40M-$60M Series A pre-money valuation.13:22–16:49 · Guest teaching 2/10 CAC, Marketing Channels, and Founder Compensation When Matt explains they have not formalized their CAC yet, Nathan pushes him to give a fully loaded estimate including sales salaries and overhead.16:49–21:08 · Guest teaching 3/10 2016 Revenue Milestones and Account Upsell Strategy Matt outlines his quarterly business review strategy that doubles client spend, and Nathan immediately links this mechanism to negative net revenue churn metrics.21:09–23:36 · Guest teaching 0/10 Where to Follow Teckst and Matt Tumbleson Online Matt shares his social handles followed by host mid-roll sponsor reads for Toptal and HostGator.23:38–25:00 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions with quick, direct answers from Matt.2:21–6:48 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Teckst's Core Value Proposition and Subscription Model Nathan presses Matt to name actual enterprise clients when Matt hesitates due to confidentiality. Matt clarifies why enterprise clients treat two-way SMS software as a proprietary competitive advantage.6:48–10:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Founding Teckst and Leaving Golden Handcuffs Nathan drills into the financial details of Matt leaving Seamless/Grubhub, asking for exact figures on his personal investment and forfeited equity. Matt cooperates openly, detailing the seven-figure sum he walked away from.10:40–13:22 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sales Team Economics and Series A Growth Plans Nathan interrupts to dissect sales economics and does back-of-the-napkin math to calculate annual contract values and an implied $40M-$60M Series A pre-money valuation.13:22–16:49 · Guest disagreement 1/10 CAC, Marketing Channels, and Founder Compensation When Matt explains they have not formalized their CAC yet, Nathan pushes him to give a fully loaded estimate including sales salaries and overhead.16:49–21:08 · Guest disagreement 1/10 2016 Revenue Milestones and Account Upsell Strategy Matt outlines his quarterly business review strategy that doubles client spend, and Nathan immediately links this mechanism to negative net revenue churn metrics.21:09–23:36 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Where to Follow Teckst and Matt Tumbleson Online Matt shares his social handles followed by host mid-roll sponsor reads for Toptal and HostGator.23:38–25:00 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions with quick, direct answers from Matt.2:21–6:48 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Teckst's Core Value Proposition and Subscription Model Nathan presses Matt to name actual enterprise clients when Matt hesitates due to confidentiality. Matt clarifies why enterprise clients treat two-way SMS software as a proprietary competitive advantage.6:48–10:40 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Founding Teckst and Leaving Golden Handcuffs Nathan drills into the financial details of Matt leaving Seamless/Grubhub, asking for exact figures on his personal investment and forfeited equity. Matt cooperates openly, detailing the seven-figure sum he walked away from.10:40–13:22 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sales Team Economics and Series A Growth Plans Nathan interrupts to dissect sales economics and does back-of-the-napkin math to calculate annual contract values and an implied $40M-$60M Series A pre-money valuation.13:22–16:49 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 CAC, Marketing Channels, and Founder Compensation When Matt explains they have not formalized their CAC yet, Nathan pushes him to give a fully loaded estimate including sales salaries and overhead.16:49–21:08 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 2016 Revenue Milestones and Account Upsell Strategy Matt outlines his quarterly business review strategy that doubles client spend, and Nathan immediately links this mechanism to negative net revenue churn metrics.21:09–23:36 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Where to Follow Teckst and Matt Tumbleson Online Matt shares his social handles followed by host mid-roll sponsor reads for Toptal and HostGator.23:38–25:00 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions with quick, direct answers from Matt.

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

0:00 · Nathan 80.1% · guest 19.9%0:00 · Nathan 80.1% · guest 19.9%3:00 · Nathan 13.2% · guest 86.8%3:00 · Nathan 13.2% · guest 86.8%6:00 · Nathan 22.7% · guest 77.3%6:00 · Nathan 22.7% · guest 77.3%9:00 · Nathan 26.7% · guest 73.3%9:00 · Nathan 26.7% · guest 73.3%12:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%12:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%15:00 · Nathan 24.6% · guest 75.4%15:00 · Nathan 24.6% · guest 75.4%18:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%18:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%21:00 · Nathan 80.3% · guest 19.7%21:00 · Nathan 80.3% · guest 19.7%24:00 · Nathan 87.1% · guest 12.9%24:00 · Nathan 87.1% · guest 12.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:56 Refusal to disclose large telecom client name

Matt declines Nathan's direct demand to name a major telecom client, citing customer confidentiality agreements.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 5:00 Host insists on named reference customers

Nathan refuses to let the client anonymity stand without pressing Matt twice to name any active enterprise customer.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 17:53 QBR pricing model explanation

Matt educates Nathan on why enterprise two-way SMS contracts start small and expand 100%+ at the 3-month quarterly review.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 18:54 Host maps upsell dynamic to negative churn

Nathan showcases his SaaS expertise by synthesizing Matt's pricing explanation into negative net revenue churn dynamics and forward MRR targets.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Teckst's Core Value Proposition and Subscription Model 4324 Nathan presses Matt to name actual enterprise clients when Matt hesitates due to confidentiality. Matt clarifies why enterprise clients treat two-way SMS software as a proprietary competitive advantage.
Founding Teckst and Leaving Golden Handcuffs 4214 Nathan drills into the financial details of Matt leaving Seamless/Grubhub, asking for exact figures on his personal investment and forfeited equity. Matt cooperates openly, detailing the seven-figure sum he walked away from.
Sales Team Economics and Series A Growth Plans 5213 Nathan interrupts to dissect sales economics and does back-of-the-napkin math to calculate annual contract values and an implied $40M-$60M Series A pre-money valuation.
CAC, Marketing Channels, and Founder Compensation 4214 When Matt explains they have not formalized their CAC yet, Nathan pushes him to give a fully loaded estimate including sales salaries and overhead.
2016 Revenue Milestones and Account Upsell Strategy 6313 Matt outlines his quarterly business review strategy that doubles client spend, and Nathan immediately links this mechanism to negative net revenue churn metrics.
Where to Follow Teckst and Matt Tumbleson Online 1000 Matt shares his social handles followed by host mid-roll sponsor reads for Toptal and HostGator.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 2100 Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions with quick, direct answers from Matt.

Statements from this episode (14)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Teckst serves 65 enterprise clients on its SMS platform
“Total count is 65 enterprises. So we're specifically for large businesses, and we've got 65 clients right now.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 3:52
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Teckst plans to expand in-store SMS to 2,500 locations in 2016
“And so we kicked off that pilot with a hundred stores and then we'll be rolling out to 2500 before the end of year.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 4:45
Disclosure
Betterment is a customer of Teckst's two-way SMS messaging platform
“We can name Betterment is one of them.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 5:11
Assertion Supported
Teckst raises approximately $2.5 million seed round
“We just raised about two and a half million dollars and that was for a seed round.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 6:53
Disclosure
CEO Matt Tumbleson invested $300,000 of his personal savings into Teckst
“That was about 300,000.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 7:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Teckst made roughly $10,000 to $12,000 in first-year revenue
“I mean, I think we maybe brought in, like, 10 or 12,000 dollars.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 10:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
New Teckst salespeople land two to three enterprise clients monthly
“Every time we had a salesperson, we're basically able to bring in, you know, two or three Large enterprises every month, which is kind of unheard of in, in this space.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 11:14
Disclosure
Teckst has 13 employees and adds two new hires per month
“Right now we're at 13. We have the right now we're looking to go up to around 15 by the end of this month. And we're adding at least two people a month right now.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 12:05
Disclosure
Teckst targets at least $10 million in its next funding round
“It would be a lot more, at least four times what we've raised so far if not more. So 10, 10 plus.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 12:48
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Teckst has only lost one enterprise client to date
“We've had one client leave us so far.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 13:29
Disclosure
Teckst spent $10,000 on Google AdWords yielding 2,000 unqualified leads
“We tried doing Google AdWords and we spent around 10 K on that. And it was about 2000 unqualified leads in, in one month.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 14:12
Disclosure
Teckst CEO Matt Tumbleson takes an annual salary of $50,000
“I pay myself around 50 K.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 14:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Teckst's fully loaded customer acquisition cost is near $2,500
“It's probably closer to, ah, I'd say it's probably closer to 2500.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 16:07
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Teckst aims to achieve $2 million in 2016 sales on current runway
“I mean, for me, it would be two million in sales. That would be the number that we want to hit. And that's totally achievable. That's within our runway. That's, you know, that's, it's completely achievable.”
Matt Tumbleson Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 17:13
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