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Jun 10, 2016 · 19m · top-founders

Phone Cleaner Will Do $5m-$10m This Year, Launched in 2012 at CES, EP 274: Jason Greenspan

Jason Greenspan · 10m 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 Whoosh founder and CEO Jason Greenspan on pivoting an accidental automotive cleaner spill into a proprietary, multi-million-dollar screen care brand. Greenspan shares deep operational insights into bootstrapping, retail margin benchmarks, wholesale distribution, and scaling revenues toward $10 million.

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 43.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.2 Guest teaching 4.0 Guest disagreement 1.8 Nathan pushing back 3.6
05100:0010:001:36–3:42 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Whoosh Screen Shine Overview and Dragon's Den Traction Nathan introduces Whoosh and asks introductory questions about product mechanics and Dragon's Den sales. Jason explains the product's non-toxic formulation and consumer screen hygiene concept.3:43–6:43 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Pivot from Automotive Cleaners, CES Launch, and Revenue Metrics Nathan challenges Jason's claim of wiping 1.5 million screens and repeatedly presses him to disclose specific revenue numbers after initial deflections, eventually getting revenue ranges.6:43–9:25 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Proprietary Supply Chain and Retail Margin Economics Nathan attempts to pin down exact unit production costs for the ten dollar SKU. Jason deflects proprietary specifics and educates Nathan on standard retail margins and CPG net profitability benchmarks.9:25–14:18 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Wholesale Strategy, Consumer Brand Valuation, and Screen Hygiene Nathan and Jason explore physical product valuation multiples compared to SaaS, and Nathan connects Jason's market education challenges to historical consumer adoption campaigns like deodorant and toothpaste.14:18–18:15 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Mid-Roll Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship The segment includes mid-roll ad reads and the standard Famous Five lightning round, with friendly rapport and reflection on entrepreneurship.1:36–3:42 · Guest teaching 4/10 Whoosh Screen Shine Overview and Dragon's Den Traction Nathan introduces Whoosh and asks introductory questions about product mechanics and Dragon's Den sales. Jason explains the product's non-toxic formulation and consumer screen hygiene concept.3:43–6:43 · Guest teaching 3/10 Pivot from Automotive Cleaners, CES Launch, and Revenue Metrics Nathan challenges Jason's claim of wiping 1.5 million screens and repeatedly presses him to disclose specific revenue numbers after initial deflections, eventually getting revenue ranges.6:43–9:25 · Guest teaching 6/10 Proprietary Supply Chain and Retail Margin Economics Nathan attempts to pin down exact unit production costs for the ten dollar SKU. Jason deflects proprietary specifics and educates Nathan on standard retail margins and CPG net profitability benchmarks.9:25–14:18 · Guest teaching 5/10 Wholesale Strategy, Consumer Brand Valuation, and Screen Hygiene Nathan and Jason explore physical product valuation multiples compared to SaaS, and Nathan connects Jason's market education challenges to historical consumer adoption campaigns like deodorant and toothpaste.14:18–18:15 · Guest teaching 2/10 Mid-Roll Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship The segment includes mid-roll ad reads and the standard Famous Five lightning round, with friendly rapport and reflection on entrepreneurship.1:36–3:42 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Whoosh Screen Shine Overview and Dragon's Den Traction Nathan introduces Whoosh and asks introductory questions about product mechanics and Dragon's Den sales. Jason explains the product's non-toxic formulation and consumer screen hygiene concept.3:43–6:43 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Pivot from Automotive Cleaners, CES Launch, and Revenue Metrics Nathan challenges Jason's claim of wiping 1.5 million screens and repeatedly presses him to disclose specific revenue numbers after initial deflections, eventually getting revenue ranges.6:43–9:25 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Proprietary Supply Chain and Retail Margin Economics Nathan attempts to pin down exact unit production costs for the ten dollar SKU. Jason deflects proprietary specifics and educates Nathan on standard retail margins and CPG net profitability benchmarks.9:25–14:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Wholesale Strategy, Consumer Brand Valuation, and Screen Hygiene Nathan and Jason explore physical product valuation multiples compared to SaaS, and Nathan connects Jason's market education challenges to historical consumer adoption campaigns like deodorant and toothpaste.14:18–18:15 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Mid-Roll Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship The segment includes mid-roll ad reads and the standard Famous Five lightning round, with friendly rapport and reflection on entrepreneurship.1:36–3:42 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Whoosh Screen Shine Overview and Dragon's Den Traction Nathan introduces Whoosh and asks introductory questions about product mechanics and Dragon's Den sales. Jason explains the product's non-toxic formulation and consumer screen hygiene concept.3:43–6:43 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Pivot from Automotive Cleaners, CES Launch, and Revenue Metrics Nathan challenges Jason's claim of wiping 1.5 million screens and repeatedly presses him to disclose specific revenue numbers after initial deflections, eventually getting revenue ranges.6:43–9:25 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Proprietary Supply Chain and Retail Margin Economics Nathan attempts to pin down exact unit production costs for the ten dollar SKU. Jason deflects proprietary specifics and educates Nathan on standard retail margins and CPG net profitability benchmarks.9:25–14:18 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Wholesale Strategy, Consumer Brand Valuation, and Screen Hygiene Nathan and Jason explore physical product valuation multiples compared to SaaS, and Nathan connects Jason's market education challenges to historical consumer adoption campaigns like deodorant and toothpaste.14:18–18:15 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Mid-Roll Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship The segment includes mid-roll ad reads and the standard Famous Five lightning round, with friendly rapport and reflection on entrepreneurship.

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

0:00 · Nathan 65.6% · guest 34.4%0:00 · Nathan 65.6% · guest 34.4%3:00 · Nathan 22.4% · guest 77.6%3:00 · Nathan 22.4% · guest 77.6%6:00 · Nathan 39.2% · guest 60.8%6:00 · Nathan 39.2% · guest 60.8%9:00 · Nathan 23.2% · guest 76.8%9:00 · Nathan 23.2% · guest 76.8%12:00 · Nathan 36% · guest 64%12:00 · Nathan 36% · guest 64%15:00 · Nathan 47.6% · guest 52.4%15:00 · Nathan 47.6% · guest 52.4%18:00 · Nathan 98.9% · guest 1.1%18:00 · Nathan 98.9% · guest 1.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:12 Pushback on disclosing private revenue numbers

Jason repeatedly refuses to provide specific revenue or unit figures on a public podcast, forcing Nathan to negotiate for ranges.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:16 Host insists on revenue disclosure

Nathan refuses Jason's deflection regarding private company metrics, arguing that guests benefit from full transparency and demanding at least a range.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:49 Retail margin and CPG net profit breakdown

Jason educates Nathan on consumer packaged goods economics, detailing the 35 to 50 point retailer margin requirement and typical 5 percent net margins.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 13:01 Historical analysis of market education

Nathan demonstrates domain synthesis by comparing Whoosh's behavioral education challenge to Procter and Gamble's historic toothpaste and deodorant campaigns.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Whoosh Screen Shine Overview and Dragon's Den Traction 3413 Nathan introduces Whoosh and asks introductory questions about product mechanics and Dragon's Den sales. Jason explains the product's non-toxic formulation and consumer screen hygiene concept.
Pivot from Automotive Cleaners, CES Launch, and Revenue Metrics 5336 Nathan challenges Jason's claim of wiping 1.5 million screens and repeatedly presses him to disclose specific revenue numbers after initial deflections, eventually getting revenue ranges.
Proprietary Supply Chain and Retail Margin Economics 4635 Nathan attempts to pin down exact unit production costs for the ten dollar SKU. Jason deflects proprietary specifics and educates Nathan on standard retail margins and CPG net profitability benchmarks.
Wholesale Strategy, Consumer Brand Valuation, and Screen Hygiene 6513 Nathan and Jason explore physical product valuation multiples compared to SaaS, and Nathan connects Jason's market education challenges to historical consumer adoption campaigns like deodorant and toothpaste.
Mid-Roll Announcements and HostGator Sponsorship 3211 The segment includes mid-roll ad reads and the standard Famous Five lightning round, with friendly rapport and reflection on entrepreneurship.

Statements from this episode (8)

Assertion Partly supported
Greenspan claims Whoosh Screen Shine is non-toxic and resists fingerprints
“And our formulation, what's really cool about our stuff is it's completely non-toxic. So if you go online and see some of our videos on YouTube, whatever it is you know, we show it non-toxic. I do a demo where I sprayed it in my mouth to show how clean the pro…”
Jason Greenspan Jun 10, 2016 ▶ 2:11
Disclosure
Jason Greenspan is seeking a $5 million funding round for Whoosh
“Looking to raise around five million bucks.”
Jason Greenspan Jun 10, 2016 ▶ 5:06
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Greenspan says Whoosh is on track for $5M to $10M 2016 revenue
“Yeah, so our first year that we did this we were just under a million dollars. Our second year that we were doing this, we were just around over two and we're on track this year between, between five and 10.”
Jason Greenspan Jun 10, 2016 ▶ 6:26
Insight
Physical retailers require 35% to 50% gross margins, says Jason Greenspan
“Most retailers today are looking for, you know, roughly between a, I would say a 35 to, ah, 50 points of gross margin, so they can afford, you know, the rent, the store, the staff, all that kind of stuff.”
Jason Greenspan Jun 10, 2016 ▶ 7:54
Insight
Branded consumer products should target 40% to 50% gross margins, says Greenspan
“Yeah, I think they, Should be aiming for roughly, you know, between 40 and 50% gross margin, right? If you're building a branded product.”
Jason Greenspan Jun 10, 2016 ▶ 8:47
Insight
Jason Greenspan claims most CPG companies operate at roughly 5% net margin
“Yeah, net bottom line, most, if you look at most consumer product goods companies, they're netting around five percent, right? So, everybody's a bit different, but if you look at, you know, other companies like Cadbury's or electronics companies, you know, loo…”
Jason Greenspan Jun 10, 2016 ▶ 8:56
Disclosure
Whoosh grew primarily through wholesale channels rather than e-commerce, says Greenspan
“Our business has really grown through the wholesale business versus the e-commerce business”
Jason Greenspan Jun 10, 2016 ▶ 9:33
Insight
Traditional cleaners target inert glass and fail on modern electronics, says Greenspan
“Using standard over-the-counter cleaners just aren't up to snuff. Those technologies were developed, you know either in the, most of them were developed in the early night, early, early 20th century, and haven't changed since. And they were designed, you know,…”
Jason Greenspan Jun 10, 2016 ▶ 13:44
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