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Jul 17, 2016 · 23m · top-founders

EP 358: This SaaS Did $10MM In 2015, Helps Sales People Win, Raising Capital

Karam Hussein · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 10m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of 'The Top,' host Nathan Latka interviews serial entrepreneur Karam Hussein, exploring his previous exit with Inbox Two and the rapid revenue scaling, unit economics, and team structure of his sales SaaS company, Fileboard.

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 50.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 1.7 Guest disagreement 2.3 Nathan pushing back 4.3
05100:0010:0020:000:28–6:47 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Subscription CTA Nathan repeatedly prods Karam to clarify what Inbox Two actually did after an ambiguous explanation. He also pushes Karam past his initial refusal to disclose the acquisition price range.6:49–11:56 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Fileboard Origin and Co-Founder Dynamics Nathan challenges Karam's 50/50 co-founder split as a cop-out for avoiding difficult leadership conversations. Karam pushes back by explaining how equity naturally sorted out when other initial founders left.11:56–15:52 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Pricing Strategy, Unit Economics, and Funding Nathan demonstrates strong SaaS domain knowledge by instantly converting customer retention duration into gross monthly churn and estimated lifetime customer value.15:52–18:03 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Monthly Recurring Revenue and Operational Structure Karam declines to share current MRR due to fundraising prep, prompting Nathan to refuse the deflection, calculate estimated MRR on air, and press Karam on being unnecessarily vague.18:04–20:42 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Promotions: Austin Live Show and HostGator Deal A low-intensity segment covering mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question sequence.20:42–21:04 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Key Takeaways A host monologue concluding the interview, summarizing Fileboard's key metrics, and teasing the next episode.0:28–6:47 · Guest teaching 2/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Subscription CTA Nathan repeatedly prods Karam to clarify what Inbox Two actually did after an ambiguous explanation. He also pushes Karam past his initial refusal to disclose the acquisition price range.6:49–11:56 · Guest teaching 3/10 Fileboard Origin and Co-Founder Dynamics Nathan challenges Karam's 50/50 co-founder split as a cop-out for avoiding difficult leadership conversations. Karam pushes back by explaining how equity naturally sorted out when other initial founders left.11:56–15:52 · Guest teaching 2/10 Pricing Strategy, Unit Economics, and Funding Nathan demonstrates strong SaaS domain knowledge by instantly converting customer retention duration into gross monthly churn and estimated lifetime customer value.15:52–18:03 · Guest teaching 2/10 Monthly Recurring Revenue and Operational Structure Karam declines to share current MRR due to fundraising prep, prompting Nathan to refuse the deflection, calculate estimated MRR on air, and press Karam on being unnecessarily vague.18:04–20:42 · Guest teaching 1/10 Promotions: Austin Live Show and HostGator Deal A low-intensity segment covering mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question sequence.20:42–21:04 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Key Takeaways A host monologue concluding the interview, summarizing Fileboard's key metrics, and teasing the next episode.0:28–6:47 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Subscription CTA Nathan repeatedly prods Karam to clarify what Inbox Two actually did after an ambiguous explanation. He also pushes Karam past his initial refusal to disclose the acquisition price range.6:49–11:56 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Fileboard Origin and Co-Founder Dynamics Nathan challenges Karam's 50/50 co-founder split as a cop-out for avoiding difficult leadership conversations. Karam pushes back by explaining how equity naturally sorted out when other initial founders left.11:56–15:52 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Pricing Strategy, Unit Economics, and Funding Nathan demonstrates strong SaaS domain knowledge by instantly converting customer retention duration into gross monthly churn and estimated lifetime customer value.15:52–18:03 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Monthly Recurring Revenue and Operational Structure Karam declines to share current MRR due to fundraising prep, prompting Nathan to refuse the deflection, calculate estimated MRR on air, and press Karam on being unnecessarily vague.18:04–20:42 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Promotions: Austin Live Show and HostGator Deal A low-intensity segment covering mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question sequence.20:42–21:04 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Key Takeaways A host monologue concluding the interview, summarizing Fileboard's key metrics, and teasing the next episode.0:28–6:47 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Subscription CTA Nathan repeatedly prods Karam to clarify what Inbox Two actually did after an ambiguous explanation. He also pushes Karam past his initial refusal to disclose the acquisition price range.6:49–11:56 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Fileboard Origin and Co-Founder Dynamics Nathan challenges Karam's 50/50 co-founder split as a cop-out for avoiding difficult leadership conversations. Karam pushes back by explaining how equity naturally sorted out when other initial founders left.11:56–15:52 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Pricing Strategy, Unit Economics, and Funding Nathan demonstrates strong SaaS domain knowledge by instantly converting customer retention duration into gross monthly churn and estimated lifetime customer value.15:52–18:03 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Monthly Recurring Revenue and Operational Structure Karam declines to share current MRR due to fundraising prep, prompting Nathan to refuse the deflection, calculate estimated MRR on air, and press Karam on being unnecessarily vague.18:04–20:42 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Promotions: Austin Live Show and HostGator Deal A low-intensity segment covering mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question sequence.20:42–21:04 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Key Takeaways A host monologue concluding the interview, summarizing Fileboard's key metrics, and teasing the next episode.

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

0:00 · Nathan 70.8% · guest 29.2%0:00 · Nathan 70.8% · guest 29.2%3:00 · Nathan 14.6% · guest 85.4%3:00 · Nathan 14.6% · guest 85.4%6:00 · Nathan 26.7% · guest 73.3%6:00 · Nathan 26.7% · guest 73.3%9:00 · Nathan 30.6% · guest 69.4%9:00 · Nathan 30.6% · guest 69.4%12:00 · Nathan 47.5% · guest 52.5%12:00 · Nathan 47.5% · guest 52.5%15:00 · Nathan 42.2% · guest 57.8%15:00 · Nathan 42.2% · guest 57.8%18:00 · Nathan 85.3% · guest 14.7%18:00 · Nathan 85.3% · guest 14.7%21:00 · Nathan 99.3% · guest 0.7%21:00 · Nathan 99.3% · guest 0.7%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 16:06 Guest deflects MRR disclosure

Karam pushes back against giving a straight MRR figure, telling Nathan that he should just piece together the data from previous answers.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 16:25 Host challenges vagueness and calculates MRR

Nathan rejects Karam's refusal to share revenue numbers and publicly performs the ARR-to-MRR division to pin down the business's run rate.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:50 Guest explains cofounder equity dynamics

Karam educates Nathan on why their 50/50 split worked, explaining that previous co-founders dropped out without unearned equity before settling into clear roles.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 14:28 Host calculates gross churn from retention time

Nathan demonstrates quick SaaS financial acumen by immediately translating a 2-3 year customer lifespan into a 3% monthly gross churn figure and estimated lifetime contract value.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Contest Winner and Subscription CTA 4236 Nathan repeatedly prods Karam to clarify what Inbox Two actually did after an ambiguous explanation. He also pushes Karam past his initial refusal to disclose the acquisition price range.
Fileboard Origin and Co-Founder Dynamics 5346 Nathan challenges Karam's 50/50 co-founder split as a cop-out for avoiding difficult leadership conversations. Karam pushes back by explaining how equity naturally sorted out when other initial founders left.
Pricing Strategy, Unit Economics, and Funding 7214 Nathan demonstrates strong SaaS domain knowledge by instantly converting customer retention duration into gross monthly churn and estimated lifetime customer value.
Monthly Recurring Revenue and Operational Structure 7258 Karam declines to share current MRR due to fundraising prep, prompting Nathan to refuse the deflection, calculate estimated MRR on air, and press Karam on being unnecessarily vague.
Promotions: Austin Live Show and HostGator Deal 2112 A low-intensity segment covering mid-roll sponsor reads followed by the rapid-fire Famous Five question sequence.
Episode Conclusion and Key Takeaways 0000 A host monologue concluding the interview, summarizing Fileboard's key metrics, and teasing the next episode.

Statements from this episode (12)

Disclosure
Fileboard founders split equity exactly 50/50
“Yeah, everything is fifty-fifty, you know, so no doubt about it.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 7:37
Opinion
Latka: 50/50 founder equity splits reveal a lack of guts
“I, whenever I hear that, I just go, okay, the founders just didn't, they didn't have the guts to sit down and have the hard conversation about who was going to do more, who was going to lead, so they just put it down the middle.”
Nathan Latka Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 7:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard entered the 500 Startups accelerator without a finished product
“We went into the 500 startup accelerator with the, without a product”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 9:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard generated just $20,000 in revenue in 2013
“That might have been in about a range of like, I think, 20 K or something.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 10:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard reached $10 million in revenue in 2015
“Like, so I, you know, about 10 ten million.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 10:47
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard serves over 800 business customers
“We have over 800 customers.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 11:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard's average annual contract value is between $20,000 and $30,000
“So, you know, that an average that can, the range is between 20 to 30 K. Okay, 20 to 30 K contracts.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 12:52
Disclosure
Fileboard built an eight-figure business on $700,000 in angel funding
“Yeah, I think we've raised about 700 K.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 13:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard maintains a gross monthly customer churn of 2% to 3%
“It's between two and three percent.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 14:37
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard's inbound customer acquisition cost is roughly $300 to $400
“That, you know, I would say for inbound, that's around, you know, three to 400 dollars.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 15:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard's monthly recurring revenue is approaching $2 million
“Not yet. Yeah, pretty close though.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 17:25
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fileboard achieved eight-figure revenue with a team of 25 people
“We're about 25 people.”
Karam Hussein Jul 17, 2016 ▶ 17:48
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