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Jun 21, 2016 · 18m · top-founders

EP 309: Ad Tech Company Hits $500k in 2015 Revenue with 26 Year Old At Helm

Nicholas Haas · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m 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, host Nathan Latka interviews 26-year-old founder Nicholas Haas, who shares how he bootstrapped his ad-tech micro-influencer platform Loot to $500,000 in revenue while scaling an e-commerce side venture and integrating augmented reality.

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 45.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 3.3
05100:0010:002:13–4:43 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Private Equity Background and Augmented Reality Bull Case Latka poses a hypothetical scenario of starting a private equity firm with Haas, inquiring about fee structures like 'two and twenty' and target acquisitions in the augmented reality space.4:44–7:49 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Loot's Micro-Influencer Platform and Monetization Model Latka aggressively presses Haas on his funding history when Haas vaguely claims to have 'kind of bootstrapped', forcing him to clearly differentiate between initial founder funds and subsequent outside capital.7:50–12:37 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Ad Tech Valuation Dynamics and Future AR Integrations Latka challenges the company's valuation fundamentals by highlighting the lack of recurring revenue in their ad tech model, while Haas explains how ad tech multiples depend heavily on long-term contract commitments versus pure SaaS models.12:38–17:22 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Mid-Roll Sponsor Break: HostGator and Cash Giveaway Latka conducts an ad break and moves into the standard rapid-fire Famous Five format with Haas providing concise answers regarding his tools, sleeping habits, and reflections.2:13–4:43 · Guest teaching 3/10 Private Equity Background and Augmented Reality Bull Case Latka poses a hypothetical scenario of starting a private equity firm with Haas, inquiring about fee structures like 'two and twenty' and target acquisitions in the augmented reality space.4:44–7:49 · Guest teaching 2/10 Loot's Micro-Influencer Platform and Monetization Model Latka aggressively presses Haas on his funding history when Haas vaguely claims to have 'kind of bootstrapped', forcing him to clearly differentiate between initial founder funds and subsequent outside capital.7:50–12:37 · Guest teaching 4/10 Ad Tech Valuation Dynamics and Future AR Integrations Latka challenges the company's valuation fundamentals by highlighting the lack of recurring revenue in their ad tech model, while Haas explains how ad tech multiples depend heavily on long-term contract commitments versus pure SaaS models.12:38–17:22 · Guest teaching 1/10 Mid-Roll Sponsor Break: HostGator and Cash Giveaway Latka conducts an ad break and moves into the standard rapid-fire Famous Five format with Haas providing concise answers regarding his tools, sleeping habits, and reflections.2:13–4:43 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Private Equity Background and Augmented Reality Bull Case Latka poses a hypothetical scenario of starting a private equity firm with Haas, inquiring about fee structures like 'two and twenty' and target acquisitions in the augmented reality space.4:44–7:49 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Loot's Micro-Influencer Platform and Monetization Model Latka aggressively presses Haas on his funding history when Haas vaguely claims to have 'kind of bootstrapped', forcing him to clearly differentiate between initial founder funds and subsequent outside capital.7:50–12:37 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Ad Tech Valuation Dynamics and Future AR Integrations Latka challenges the company's valuation fundamentals by highlighting the lack of recurring revenue in their ad tech model, while Haas explains how ad tech multiples depend heavily on long-term contract commitments versus pure SaaS models.12:38–17:22 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Mid-Roll Sponsor Break: HostGator and Cash Giveaway Latka conducts an ad break and moves into the standard rapid-fire Famous Five format with Haas providing concise answers regarding his tools, sleeping habits, and reflections.2:13–4:43 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Private Equity Background and Augmented Reality Bull Case Latka poses a hypothetical scenario of starting a private equity firm with Haas, inquiring about fee structures like 'two and twenty' and target acquisitions in the augmented reality space.4:44–7:49 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Loot's Micro-Influencer Platform and Monetization Model Latka aggressively presses Haas on his funding history when Haas vaguely claims to have 'kind of bootstrapped', forcing him to clearly differentiate between initial founder funds and subsequent outside capital.7:50–12:37 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Ad Tech Valuation Dynamics and Future AR Integrations Latka challenges the company's valuation fundamentals by highlighting the lack of recurring revenue in their ad tech model, while Haas explains how ad tech multiples depend heavily on long-term contract commitments versus pure SaaS models.12:38–17:22 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Mid-Roll Sponsor Break: HostGator and Cash Giveaway Latka conducts an ad break and moves into the standard rapid-fire Famous Five format with Haas providing concise answers regarding his tools, sleeping habits, and reflections.

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

0:00 · Nathan 76.9% · guest 23.1%0:00 · Nathan 76.9% · guest 23.1%3:00 · Nathan 27.4% · guest 72.6%3:00 · Nathan 27.4% · guest 72.6%6:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%6:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%9:00 · Nathan 14.5% · guest 85.5%9:00 · Nathan 14.5% · guest 85.5%12:00 · Nathan 68.1% · guest 31.9%12:00 · Nathan 68.1% · guest 31.9%15:00 · Nathan 44.8% · guest 55.2%15:00 · Nathan 44.8% · guest 55.2%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 1:46 Banter Regarding NFL Teams

Haas playfully pushes back against Latka's trash talk about the Cowboys by predicting a rough season for Latka's Redskins.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:07 Demand for Funding Clarity

Latka interrupts Haas to reject the premise of 'kind of bootstrapped', insisting that a founder either takes outside money or does not.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:55 Ad Tech Valuation Realities

Haas educates Latka on the specific valuation challenges ad tech companies face without SaaS recurring revenue, explaining how multi-year brand commitments serve as the alternative valuation metric.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 8:50 Recurring Revenue Pushback

Latka demonstrates financial acumen by immediately pointing out that Loot cannot command SaaS multiples because it lacks a recurring revenue model.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Private Equity Background and Augmented Reality Bull Case 5313 Latka poses a hypothetical scenario of starting a private equity firm with Haas, inquiring about fee structures like 'two and twenty' and target acquisitions in the augmented reality space.
Loot's Micro-Influencer Platform and Monetization Model 5225 Latka aggressively presses Haas on his funding history when Haas vaguely claims to have 'kind of bootstrapped', forcing him to clearly differentiate between initial founder funds and subsequent outside capital.
Ad Tech Valuation Dynamics and Future AR Integrations 6414 Latka challenges the company's valuation fundamentals by highlighting the lack of recurring revenue in their ad tech model, while Haas explains how ad tech multiples depend heavily on long-term contract commitments versus pure SaaS models.
Mid-Roll Sponsor Break: HostGator and Cash Giveaway 3111 Latka conducts an ad break and moves into the standard rapid-fire Famous Five format with Haas providing concise answers regarding his tools, sleeping habits, and reflections.

Statements from this episode (4)

Disclosure
Loot charges brands a volume-based markup on user rewards
“We you know, for instance, the brand we worked with was charging 50 cents or rewarding somebody with 50 cents. We would typically charge them a multiple of that depending on the volume. So if we had, you know, a thousand offers which is, would be a low amount,…”
Nicholas Haas Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 5:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Loot generated mid-six-figure revenue in 2015
“We passed six figures, mid six figures on that, and we were looking for a little lower. That was overall revenue.”
Nicholas Haas Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 6:48
Insight
Non-SaaS ad tech valuations rely on contract count and duration
“If we don't do a SAS model is they would value us by the number of contracts we get in the length of time. So if we could get a company to say, commit to a two year contract where they'd spend extra year, that would be material to valuations.”
Nicholas Haas Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 9:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Startup Drugs' top markets were outside major tech hubs
“Our highest performing markets actually are nowhere near the startup hotbeds. It's actually people, you know, we have a lot of business in Midwest, a lot of business in Florida, a lot of business coming out of areas that don't, you wouldn't traditionally assoc…”
Nicholas Haas Jun 21, 2016 ▶ 10:52
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