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Jul 3, 2016 · 19m · top-founders

EP 344: Business Did $15M in 2015, Weird Way David Fortino Got Job at NetLine

David Fortino · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 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 344 of 'The Top,' host Nathan Latka interviews David Fortino, VP of Audience Development at NetLine, exploring how the company scaled its B2B content syndication network to over $15 million in annual revenue. Fortino details his transition from the dot-com bubble crash to joining NetLine, unpacking the platform's cost-per-lead unit economics, publisher ecosystem, and down-funnel sales qualification expansion.

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 45% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.0 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.5
05100:0010:000:59–3:38 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 David Fortino's Dot-Com Experience at VerticalNet Nathan asks David about his background at VerticalNet during the dot-com bubble and how he pitched NetLine's executive team. David is open and lighthearted, playfully deflecting on the exact millions lost in equity.3:38–7:52 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 NetLine's B2B Content Syndication and Publisher Ecosystem Nathan constructs a hypothetical finance ebook scenario to unpack NetLine's content syndication mechanics and interrupts when he needs clarity on user acquisition. David educates him on their 15,000-site performance-based publisher network.7:52–12:52 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Cost-Per-Lead Economics and Internal Operations Nathan drills into pricing models, financial metrics, and publisher payouts, challenging David on why he uses the term 'run rate' for a CPL business. David justifies the predictability via agency bookings while setting boundaries on proprietary payout percentages.12:53–17:53 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Mid-Roll Commercial: Austin Live Event and HostGator Promotion The segment opens with an ad read before transitioning to the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, where David shares his favorite business tools, habits, and advice on cadence.0:59–3:38 · Guest teaching 2/10 David Fortino's Dot-Com Experience at VerticalNet Nathan asks David about his background at VerticalNet during the dot-com bubble and how he pitched NetLine's executive team. David is open and lighthearted, playfully deflecting on the exact millions lost in equity.3:38–7:52 · Guest teaching 5/10 NetLine's B2B Content Syndication and Publisher Ecosystem Nathan constructs a hypothetical finance ebook scenario to unpack NetLine's content syndication mechanics and interrupts when he needs clarity on user acquisition. David educates him on their 15,000-site performance-based publisher network.7:52–12:52 · Guest teaching 4/10 Cost-Per-Lead Economics and Internal Operations Nathan drills into pricing models, financial metrics, and publisher payouts, challenging David on why he uses the term 'run rate' for a CPL business. David justifies the predictability via agency bookings while setting boundaries on proprietary payout percentages.12:53–17:53 · Guest teaching 1/10 Mid-Roll Commercial: Austin Live Event and HostGator Promotion The segment opens with an ad read before transitioning to the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, where David shares his favorite business tools, habits, and advice on cadence.0:59–3:38 · Guest disagreement 1/10 David Fortino's Dot-Com Experience at VerticalNet Nathan asks David about his background at VerticalNet during the dot-com bubble and how he pitched NetLine's executive team. David is open and lighthearted, playfully deflecting on the exact millions lost in equity.3:38–7:52 · Guest disagreement 1/10 NetLine's B2B Content Syndication and Publisher Ecosystem Nathan constructs a hypothetical finance ebook scenario to unpack NetLine's content syndication mechanics and interrupts when he needs clarity on user acquisition. David educates him on their 15,000-site performance-based publisher network.7:52–12:52 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Cost-Per-Lead Economics and Internal Operations Nathan drills into pricing models, financial metrics, and publisher payouts, challenging David on why he uses the term 'run rate' for a CPL business. David justifies the predictability via agency bookings while setting boundaries on proprietary payout percentages.12:53–17:53 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Roll Commercial: Austin Live Event and HostGator Promotion The segment opens with an ad read before transitioning to the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, where David shares his favorite business tools, habits, and advice on cadence.0:59–3:38 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 David Fortino's Dot-Com Experience at VerticalNet Nathan asks David about his background at VerticalNet during the dot-com bubble and how he pitched NetLine's executive team. David is open and lighthearted, playfully deflecting on the exact millions lost in equity.3:38–7:52 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 NetLine's B2B Content Syndication and Publisher Ecosystem Nathan constructs a hypothetical finance ebook scenario to unpack NetLine's content syndication mechanics and interrupts when he needs clarity on user acquisition. David educates him on their 15,000-site performance-based publisher network.7:52–12:52 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Cost-Per-Lead Economics and Internal Operations Nathan drills into pricing models, financial metrics, and publisher payouts, challenging David on why he uses the term 'run rate' for a CPL business. David justifies the predictability via agency bookings while setting boundaries on proprietary payout percentages.12:53–17:53 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Mid-Roll Commercial: Austin Live Event and HostGator Promotion The segment opens with an ad read before transitioning to the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, where David shares his favorite business tools, habits, and advice on cadence.

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

0:00 · Nathan 64.2% · guest 35.8%0:00 · Nathan 64.2% · guest 35.8%3:00 · Nathan 21.8% · guest 78.2%3:00 · Nathan 21.8% · guest 78.2%6:00 · Nathan 18.8% · guest 81.2%6:00 · Nathan 18.8% · guest 81.2%9:00 · Nathan 31.1% · guest 68.9%9:00 · Nathan 31.1% · guest 68.9%12:00 · Nathan 65.6% · guest 34.4%12:00 · Nathan 65.6% · guest 34.4%15:00 · Nathan 33.9% · guest 66.1%15:00 · Nathan 33.9% · guest 66.1%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 11:08 David guards publisher payout margins

David politely declines Nathan's attempt to pin down exact publisher revenue-share margins, stating he does not share those numbers externally.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:04 Nathan challenges run rate terminology

Nathan pushes back on David's use of 'run rate,' noting that the term implies SaaS-like revenue predictability which requires justification in a CPL model.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:25 David explains publisher network mechanics

David clarifies NetLine's distribution architecture to Nathan, breaking down how 15,000 mid-market and niche B2B publishers syndicate content on pure performance.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 10:04 Nathan demonstrates financial literacy on revenue models

Nathan demonstrates deep SaaS and revenue model knowledge by analyzing why David's run-rate claim must be underpinned by contracted agency bookings rather than ad hoc conversions.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
David Fortino's Dot-Com Experience at VerticalNet 3211 Nathan asks David about his background at VerticalNet during the dot-com bubble and how he pitched NetLine's executive team. David is open and lighthearted, playfully deflecting on the exact millions lost in equity.
NetLine's B2B Content Syndication and Publisher Ecosystem 5513 Nathan constructs a hypothetical finance ebook scenario to unpack NetLine's content syndication mechanics and interrupts when he needs clarity on user acquisition. David educates him on their 15,000-site performance-based publisher network.
Cost-Per-Lead Economics and Internal Operations 6425 Nathan drills into pricing models, financial metrics, and publisher payouts, challenging David on why he uses the term 'run rate' for a CPL business. David justifies the predictability via agency bookings while setting boundaries on proprietary payout percentages.
Mid-Roll Commercial: Austin Live Event and HostGator Promotion 2101 The segment opens with an ad read before transitioning to the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions, where David shares his favorite business tools, habits, and advice on cadence.

Statements from this episode (8)

Disclosure
Fortino lost millions in paper equity during the dot-com crash
“Easily millions.”
David Fortino Jul 3, 2016 ▶ 1:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fortino: NetLine operates the web's largest B2B lead generation platform
“So, we are operating the largest B to B specific content syndication and lead gen platform on the web.”
David Fortino Jul 3, 2016 ▶ 3:43
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fortino: NetLine distributes content across 15,000+ B2B publisher websites
“So we operate as part of the platform. We operate a publisher platform of over 15,000 B to B specific websites.”
David Fortino Jul 3, 2016 ▶ 5:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
NetLine rejects over 90% of publisher websites that apply to join
“On the publisher side of our business, we're commonly rejecting in excess of 90% of websites that are applying to be part of the platform.”
David Fortino Jul 3, 2016 ▶ 7:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
NetLine typically charges $30 to $50 per generated B2B lead
“It's probably common to see a price point of around 30 to 40, 50 dollars per lead.”
David Fortino Jul 3, 2016 ▶ 8:20
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fortino: NetLine employs around 100 people
“We're just around a hundred, actually.”
David Fortino Jul 3, 2016 ▶ 9:02
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fortino: NetLine manages 300 to 400 active client campaigns at any given time
“There's typically around 300 to 400 active client campaigns at any given time.”
David Fortino Jul 3, 2016 ▶ 9:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
NetLine generated $15M in 2015, pacing toward $20M in 2016
“They hit fifteen million in twenty-fifteen revenue on track to break twenty million this year, working with several hundred clients.”
Nathan Latka Jul 3, 2016 ▶ 17:44
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