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Jul 6, 2016 · 21m · top-founders

EP 347: How Social Rank Hit $50k In MRR In Under 2 Years With CEO Alex Taub

Alex Taub · 12m spoken Nathan Latka · 3m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In episode 347 of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews SocialRank co-founder Alex Taub about building a social audience segmentation platform, deploying a freemium model to generate high-value enterprise leads, and scaling monthly recurring revenue to $50,000.

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 35.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.0 Guest teaching 4.0 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 1.8
05100:0010:0020:001:10–6:49 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Alex Taub and the Origins of SocialRank Nathan probes for hard metrics on SocialRank's revenue and user growth. Alex explains their non-standard focus on MRR and customer growth over raw active user numbers.6:50–9:40 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Conversion Strategy: Freemium as an Enterprise Lead Generator Nathan asks standard SaaS questions regarding freemium conversion and churn. Alex explains that the $50 tier is brand new and functions primarily as an enterprise lead generator.9:40–12:08 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Demystifying Core Metrics: Most Valuable, Engaged, and Best Followers Nathan admits he does not understand the difference between SocialRank's three core follower metrics. Alex educates him on the algorithm while clarifying that this is merely a sorting feature rather than the whole product.12:09–14:39 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Brand Use Cases, Seed Funding, and Contact Details Nathan frames SocialRank as an individual product promotion tool, but Alex reframes it as an audience curation tool for targeted brand campaigns. Alex also politely declines to disclose the company's valuation.14:40–19:24 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Mid-Show Sponsor Break: Austin Live Event and HostGator Nathan transitions through mid-roll ad reads into the Famous Five quickfire questions. Alex rejects standard business books and innocently questions Nathan's sponsor plug.1:10–6:49 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Alex Taub and the Origins of SocialRank Nathan probes for hard metrics on SocialRank's revenue and user growth. Alex explains their non-standard focus on MRR and customer growth over raw active user numbers.6:50–9:40 · Guest teaching 4/10 Conversion Strategy: Freemium as an Enterprise Lead Generator Nathan asks standard SaaS questions regarding freemium conversion and churn. Alex explains that the $50 tier is brand new and functions primarily as an enterprise lead generator.9:40–12:08 · Guest teaching 6/10 Demystifying Core Metrics: Most Valuable, Engaged, and Best Followers Nathan admits he does not understand the difference between SocialRank's three core follower metrics. Alex educates him on the algorithm while clarifying that this is merely a sorting feature rather than the whole product.12:09–14:39 · Guest teaching 5/10 Brand Use Cases, Seed Funding, and Contact Details Nathan frames SocialRank as an individual product promotion tool, but Alex reframes it as an audience curation tool for targeted brand campaigns. Alex also politely declines to disclose the company's valuation.14:40–19:24 · Guest teaching 2/10 Mid-Show Sponsor Break: Austin Live Event and HostGator Nathan transitions through mid-roll ad reads into the Famous Five quickfire questions. Alex rejects standard business books and innocently questions Nathan's sponsor plug.1:10–6:49 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Alex Taub and the Origins of SocialRank Nathan probes for hard metrics on SocialRank's revenue and user growth. Alex explains their non-standard focus on MRR and customer growth over raw active user numbers.6:50–9:40 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Conversion Strategy: Freemium as an Enterprise Lead Generator Nathan asks standard SaaS questions regarding freemium conversion and churn. Alex explains that the $50 tier is brand new and functions primarily as an enterprise lead generator.9:40–12:08 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Demystifying Core Metrics: Most Valuable, Engaged, and Best Followers Nathan admits he does not understand the difference between SocialRank's three core follower metrics. Alex educates him on the algorithm while clarifying that this is merely a sorting feature rather than the whole product.12:09–14:39 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Brand Use Cases, Seed Funding, and Contact Details Nathan frames SocialRank as an individual product promotion tool, but Alex reframes it as an audience curation tool for targeted brand campaigns. Alex also politely declines to disclose the company's valuation.14:40–19:24 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Mid-Show Sponsor Break: Austin Live Event and HostGator Nathan transitions through mid-roll ad reads into the Famous Five quickfire questions. Alex rejects standard business books and innocently questions Nathan's sponsor plug.1:10–6:49 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Introducing Alex Taub and the Origins of SocialRank Nathan probes for hard metrics on SocialRank's revenue and user growth. Alex explains their non-standard focus on MRR and customer growth over raw active user numbers.6:50–9:40 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Conversion Strategy: Freemium as an Enterprise Lead Generator Nathan asks standard SaaS questions regarding freemium conversion and churn. Alex explains that the $50 tier is brand new and functions primarily as an enterprise lead generator.9:40–12:08 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Demystifying Core Metrics: Most Valuable, Engaged, and Best Followers Nathan admits he does not understand the difference between SocialRank's three core follower metrics. Alex educates him on the algorithm while clarifying that this is merely a sorting feature rather than the whole product.12:09–14:39 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Brand Use Cases, Seed Funding, and Contact Details Nathan frames SocialRank as an individual product promotion tool, but Alex reframes it as an audience curation tool for targeted brand campaigns. Alex also politely declines to disclose the company's valuation.14:40–19:24 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Mid-Show Sponsor Break: Austin Live Event and HostGator Nathan transitions through mid-roll ad reads into the Famous Five quickfire questions. Alex rejects standard business books and innocently questions Nathan's sponsor plug.

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

0:00 · Nathan 65.8% · guest 34.2%0:00 · Nathan 65.8% · guest 34.2%3:00 · Nathan 14.6% · guest 85.4%3:00 · Nathan 14.6% · guest 85.4%6:00 · Nathan 23.2% · guest 76.8%6:00 · Nathan 23.2% · guest 76.8%9:00 · Nathan 9.8% · guest 90.2%9:00 · Nathan 9.8% · guest 90.2%12:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%12:00 · Nathan 30.7% · guest 69.3%15:00 · Nathan 37.2% · guest 62.8%15:00 · Nathan 37.2% · guest 62.8%18:00 · Nathan 57.7% · guest 42.3%18:00 · Nathan 57.7% · guest 42.3%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:59 Valuation inquiry deflection

Alex bluntly shuts down Nathan's question about SocialRank's round valuation by stating it has not been publicly disclosed.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 5:34 Insisting on ballpark revenue figures

Nathan pushes past general statements to demand specific 2014 versus current revenue figures for his audience.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:58 Educating on follower sorting algorithms

Alex explains in detail how audience influence and engagement algorithms operate after Nathan admits he does not understand them.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 6:55 Diagnosing SaaS freemium conversion friction

Nathan leverages SaaS industry domain knowledge to question how SocialRank overcomes the common hurdle of converting free users to paid tiers.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Alex Taub and the Origins of SocialRank 4313 Nathan probes for hard metrics on SocialRank's revenue and user growth. Alex explains their non-standard focus on MRR and customer growth over raw active user numbers.
Conversion Strategy: Freemium as an Enterprise Lead Generator 4422 Nathan asks standard SaaS questions regarding freemium conversion and churn. Alex explains that the $50 tier is brand new and functions primarily as an enterprise lead generator.
Demystifying Core Metrics: Most Valuable, Engaged, and Best Followers 2621 Nathan admits he does not understand the difference between SocialRank's three core follower metrics. Alex educates him on the algorithm while clarifying that this is merely a sorting feature rather than the whole product.
Brand Use Cases, Seed Funding, and Contact Details 3522 Nathan frames SocialRank as an individual product promotion tool, but Alex reframes it as an audience curation tool for targeted brand campaigns. Alex also politely declines to disclose the company's valuation.
Mid-Show Sponsor Break: Austin Live Event and HostGator 2221 Nathan transitions through mid-roll ad reads into the Famous Five quickfire questions. Alex rejects standard business books and innocently questions Nathan's sponsor plug.

Statements from this episode (5)

Disclosure
Taub: SocialRank has over 250k users and north of 50 paying customers
“We have over 250,000 people who have used the, and I don't know that we've shared how many paid customers we have, but it's north of 50.”
Alex Taub Jul 6, 2016 ▶ 4:12
Disclosure
Taub: SocialRank grew MRR by 30% each month in 2016
“So, in 2016, so far, we've grown revenue monthly recurring revenue each month by 30%.”
Alex Taub Jul 6, 2016 ▶ 5:26
Disclosure
SocialRank uses its $50 tier to qualify leads, not drive revenue
“I don't really even care that much about people who pay the 50 bucks, I just see it as a way of qualifying that they're willing to spend anything.”
Alex Taub Jul 6, 2016 ▶ 8:14
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Taub: Majority of SocialRank Premium signups actually want Market Intelligence
“Not every single one, but I'd say a majority of the people who've come in to get premium have actually We've spoken to them, and actually what they really want, at the end of the day, is market intel.”
Alex Taub Jul 6, 2016 ▶ 8:53
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Taub: SocialRank's Instagram Product Is More Popular Than Its Twitter Product
“I would actually say our Instagram products seem more popular than our Twitter product these days.”
Alex Taub Jul 6, 2016 ▶ 11:23
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