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Aug 4, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

EP 376: $5M on $15M Pre Money Goal For BlockChain Based BurstIQ

Nathan Latka · 9m spoken Frank Ricotta · 8m 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 Episode 376 of The Top podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews BurstIQ founder and CEO Frank Ricotta to analyze the startup's blockchain-enabled healthcare data platform, revenue metrics approaching a $1M annual run rate, and upcoming $5M Series A fundraising round.

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 54% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.3 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 2.3
05100:0010:0020:003:22–5:54 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Company Origins, Seed Capital, and Dot-Com Crash Lessons Latka probes Ricotta's previous startup failure during the 2000 dot-com bubble, asking direct questions about capital raised and lost valuation. Ricotta answers transparently without friction.5:54–11:07 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Growth, Enterprise Pricing, Integration, and CAC Latka drills into unit economics including MRR, integration lock-in, and CAC payback. He playfully pushes back on Ricotta for keeping a thin cash runway despite past startup trauma.11:07–14:36 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Series A Fundraising Target and Denver Health Tech Ecosystem Latka explores Series A fundraising expectations and tests a $10M pre-money valuation anchor. Ricotta reframes the valuation expectation higher to $15M-$20M pre based on pipeline and blockchain network dynamics.14:36–18:50 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 HostGator Sponsor Ad and Austin Live Event Promotion A standard sponsor break and Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Ricotta shares his literary influences and lifestyle habits in a warm, collaborative close.3:22–5:54 · Guest teaching 2/10 Company Origins, Seed Capital, and Dot-Com Crash Lessons Latka probes Ricotta's previous startup failure during the 2000 dot-com bubble, asking direct questions about capital raised and lost valuation. Ricotta answers transparently without friction.5:54–11:07 · Guest teaching 3/10 Customer Growth, Enterprise Pricing, Integration, and CAC Latka drills into unit economics including MRR, integration lock-in, and CAC payback. He playfully pushes back on Ricotta for keeping a thin cash runway despite past startup trauma.11:07–14:36 · Guest teaching 3/10 Series A Fundraising Target and Denver Health Tech Ecosystem Latka explores Series A fundraising expectations and tests a $10M pre-money valuation anchor. Ricotta reframes the valuation expectation higher to $15M-$20M pre based on pipeline and blockchain network dynamics.14:36–18:50 · Guest teaching 1/10 HostGator Sponsor Ad and Austin Live Event Promotion A standard sponsor break and Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Ricotta shares his literary influences and lifestyle habits in a warm, collaborative close.3:22–5:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Company Origins, Seed Capital, and Dot-Com Crash Lessons Latka probes Ricotta's previous startup failure during the 2000 dot-com bubble, asking direct questions about capital raised and lost valuation. Ricotta answers transparently without friction.5:54–11:07 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Customer Growth, Enterprise Pricing, Integration, and CAC Latka drills into unit economics including MRR, integration lock-in, and CAC payback. He playfully pushes back on Ricotta for keeping a thin cash runway despite past startup trauma.11:07–14:36 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Series A Fundraising Target and Denver Health Tech Ecosystem Latka explores Series A fundraising expectations and tests a $10M pre-money valuation anchor. Ricotta reframes the valuation expectation higher to $15M-$20M pre based on pipeline and blockchain network dynamics.14:36–18:50 · Guest disagreement 1/10 HostGator Sponsor Ad and Austin Live Event Promotion A standard sponsor break and Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Ricotta shares his literary influences and lifestyle habits in a warm, collaborative close.3:22–5:54 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Company Origins, Seed Capital, and Dot-Com Crash Lessons Latka probes Ricotta's previous startup failure during the 2000 dot-com bubble, asking direct questions about capital raised and lost valuation. Ricotta answers transparently without friction.5:54–11:07 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Customer Growth, Enterprise Pricing, Integration, and CAC Latka drills into unit economics including MRR, integration lock-in, and CAC payback. He playfully pushes back on Ricotta for keeping a thin cash runway despite past startup trauma.11:07–14:36 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Series A Fundraising Target and Denver Health Tech Ecosystem Latka explores Series A fundraising expectations and tests a $10M pre-money valuation anchor. Ricotta reframes the valuation expectation higher to $15M-$20M pre based on pipeline and blockchain network dynamics.14:36–18:50 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 HostGator Sponsor Ad and Austin Live Event Promotion A standard sponsor break and Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Ricotta shares his literary influences and lifestyle habits in a warm, collaborative close.

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

0:00 · Nathan 64.1% · guest 35.9%0:00 · Nathan 64.1% · guest 35.9%3:00 · Nathan 38.7% · guest 61.3%3:00 · Nathan 38.7% · guest 61.3%6:00 · Nathan 36.5% · guest 63.5%6:00 · Nathan 36.5% · guest 63.5%9:00 · Nathan 34.9% · guest 65.1%9:00 · Nathan 34.9% · guest 65.1%12:00 · Nathan 46.4% · guest 53.6%12:00 · Nathan 46.4% · guest 53.6%15:00 · Nathan 71.3% · guest 28.7%15:00 · Nathan 71.3% · guest 28.7%18:00 · Nathan 89.5% · guest 10.5%18:00 · Nathan 89.5% · guest 10.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:20 Ricotta rejects $10M valuation anchor

When Latka floats a $10M pre-money valuation, Ricotta immediately dismisses it as too low, insisting his pipeline justifies $15M to $20M.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:25 Latka calls out low runway buffer

Latka challenges Ricotta's lean cash management, pointing out that an entrepreneur who suffered a catastrophic dot-com bust should logically hold far more runway.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:05 Ricotta explains healthcare integration standard speedups

When Latka assumes enterprise healthcare setups require heavy bespoke integration to maintain customer lock-in, Ricotta educates him on how standards like FHIR cut onboarding from 18 months down to 60 days.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:15 Latka unpacks 500 Startups math

Latka immediately calculates the exact standard 500 Startups accelerator terms and deduces the total round size of $375k.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Company Origins, Seed Capital, and Dot-Com Crash Lessons 4212 Latka probes Ricotta's previous startup failure during the 2000 dot-com bubble, asking direct questions about capital raised and lost valuation. Ricotta answers transparently without friction.
Customer Growth, Enterprise Pricing, Integration, and CAC 6313 Latka drills into unit economics including MRR, integration lock-in, and CAC payback. He playfully pushes back on Ricotta for keeping a thin cash runway despite past startup trauma.
Series A Fundraising Target and Denver Health Tech Ecosystem 5323 Latka explores Series A fundraising expectations and tests a $10M pre-money valuation anchor. Ricotta reframes the valuation expectation higher to $15M-$20M pre based on pipeline and blockchain network dynamics.
HostGator Sponsor Ad and Austin Live Event Promotion 2111 A standard sponsor break and Famous Five rapid-fire segment where Ricotta shares his literary influences and lifestyle habits in a warm, collaborative close.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Ricotta: UC Anschutz Is BurstIQ's First Major Enterprise Customer
“So our first large customer is the University of Colorado Anschutz medical campus, and we're helping them implement a regional network so they can implement new care models, integrate new digital health services.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 2:24
Assertion Supported
Ricotta: BurstIQ launched with $250K seed round from PV Ventures
“We started the company with a little bit of seed capital, about 200 and 50 K. Yeah. 250 K from PV ventures.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 3:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ricotta: BurstIQ is currently cash flow positive
“And really right now we're in self-sustainment mode. We're cashflow positive.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 3:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ricotta: BurstIQ generated about $150K in revenue in its first year
“Yeah. Yeah, sure. It was a partial year. It's about a 150 K.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 3:56
Prediction Not checkable as stated
BurstIQ Targets $1M Run Rate In 2016, $1M Monthly In 2017
“Yeah, we should have no problem hitting that this year, and it looks like next year we got to get a good shot in that high seven figures are getting pretty close to seven figures a month.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 7:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ricotta: BurstIQ cut healthcare integration times to under 60 days
“So we've cut it down from in, in my last iteration was 12 to 18 months, and we're down to less than 60 days now.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 8:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
BurstIQ Aims To Cut Its $150K-$200K CAC Under $20K
“Yeah. I think it's right now it's easy about a 150 to 200 K and with the target to get that down under 20.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 9:19
Prediction Not publicly verifiable
Ricotta: BurstIQ is targeting a $15M-$20M pre-money valuation for Series A
“I actually think that's going to be on the low end based on the contracts we have in process. I think we're going to be somewhere north of 15, hopefully pushing closer to 20 given what the backlog looks like for next year.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 12:26
Disclosure
BurstIQ is targeting a $5 million Series A raise
“Targeting five.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 12:42
Opinion
Ricotta: Leaning toward Gawker over Thiel on free speech grounds
“You know I, I'd probably fall down more on the free speech side, so I'd probably be more on the gawker side.”
Frank Ricotta Aug 4, 2016 ▶ 17:05
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