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Jun 7, 2016 · 19m · top-founders

Technical Co-Founder Hits $35k in MRR, Won't Sell for $10m Today, EP 264: Gil Allouche

Gil Allouche · 9m 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 episode 264 of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Metadata.io founder Gil Allouche to uncover how his engineering background helped him build an automated B2B demand generation platform generating $35k in MRR with an 85% gross margin. The discussion delves into Metadata's data enrichment capabilities, enterprise pilot pricing, unit economics, seed fundraising plans, and why the founder is currently declining eight-figure acquisition offers.

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 46.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 2.0 Nathan pushing back 3.8
05100:0010:001:07–3:27 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Gil Allouche's Background and Path to Digital Marketing Nathan guides the interview through Gil's career history and technical background. Gil explains his transition from software engineering and robotics into data-driven marketing in a cooperative manner.3:27–8:05 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Metadata.io Financial Metrics and Seed Fundraising Strategy Nathan drills into valuation mechanics and questions how Metadata's offering differs from a basic Facebook lookalike audience. Gil educates Nathan on the 100 to 150 B2B data signals his platform uses beyond standard social cookies.8:05–13:34 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Model, Campaign Management, and Enterprise ROI Nathan probes Gil on pilot pricing guarantees and founder equity splits. When Gil attempts to dodge the equity split details, Nathan pushes back to extract the framework used to divide company ownership.13:35–17:56 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Guest Contact Information, Giveaway, and HostGator Sponsorship Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor read and runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, gently prodding Gil on potential acquisition prices from Salesforce.1:07–3:27 · Guest teaching 2/10 Gil Allouche's Background and Path to Digital Marketing Nathan guides the interview through Gil's career history and technical background. Gil explains his transition from software engineering and robotics into data-driven marketing in a cooperative manner.3:27–8:05 · Guest teaching 5/10 Metadata.io Financial Metrics and Seed Fundraising Strategy Nathan drills into valuation mechanics and questions how Metadata's offering differs from a basic Facebook lookalike audience. Gil educates Nathan on the 100 to 150 B2B data signals his platform uses beyond standard social cookies.8:05–13:34 · Guest teaching 4/10 Pricing Model, Campaign Management, and Enterprise ROI Nathan probes Gil on pilot pricing guarantees and founder equity splits. When Gil attempts to dodge the equity split details, Nathan pushes back to extract the framework used to divide company ownership.13:35–17:56 · Guest teaching 1/10 Guest Contact Information, Giveaway, and HostGator Sponsorship Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor read and runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, gently prodding Gil on potential acquisition prices from Salesforce.1:07–3:27 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Gil Allouche's Background and Path to Digital Marketing Nathan guides the interview through Gil's career history and technical background. Gil explains his transition from software engineering and robotics into data-driven marketing in a cooperative manner.3:27–8:05 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Metadata.io Financial Metrics and Seed Fundraising Strategy Nathan drills into valuation mechanics and questions how Metadata's offering differs from a basic Facebook lookalike audience. Gil educates Nathan on the 100 to 150 B2B data signals his platform uses beyond standard social cookies.8:05–13:34 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Pricing Model, Campaign Management, and Enterprise ROI Nathan probes Gil on pilot pricing guarantees and founder equity splits. When Gil attempts to dodge the equity split details, Nathan pushes back to extract the framework used to divide company ownership.13:35–17:56 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Guest Contact Information, Giveaway, and HostGator Sponsorship Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor read and runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, gently prodding Gil on potential acquisition prices from Salesforce.1:07–3:27 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Gil Allouche's Background and Path to Digital Marketing Nathan guides the interview through Gil's career history and technical background. Gil explains his transition from software engineering and robotics into data-driven marketing in a cooperative manner.3:27–8:05 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Metadata.io Financial Metrics and Seed Fundraising Strategy Nathan drills into valuation mechanics and questions how Metadata's offering differs from a basic Facebook lookalike audience. Gil educates Nathan on the 100 to 150 B2B data signals his platform uses beyond standard social cookies.8:05–13:34 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Pricing Model, Campaign Management, and Enterprise ROI Nathan probes Gil on pilot pricing guarantees and founder equity splits. When Gil attempts to dodge the equity split details, Nathan pushes back to extract the framework used to divide company ownership.13:35–17:56 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Guest Contact Information, Giveaway, and HostGator Sponsorship Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor read and runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, gently prodding Gil on potential acquisition prices from Salesforce.

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

0:00 · Nathan 60.2% · guest 39.8%0:00 · Nathan 60.2% · guest 39.8%3:00 · Nathan 27.2% · guest 72.8%3:00 · Nathan 27.2% · guest 72.8%6:00 · Nathan 18% · guest 82%6:00 · Nathan 18% · guest 82%9:00 · Nathan 33.6% · guest 66.4%9:00 · Nathan 33.6% · guest 66.4%12:00 · Nathan 71% · guest 29%12:00 · Nathan 71% · guest 29%15:00 · Nathan 40.4% · guest 59.6%15:00 · Nathan 40.4% · guest 59.6%18:00 · Nathan 98.7% · guest 1.3%18:00 · Nathan 98.7% · guest 1.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:20 Gil declines to share founder equity split

Gil directly shuts down Nathan's inquiry regarding founder equity shares by stating the topic is not up for discussion.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:24 Nathan insists on discussing tough equity allocations

Nathan refuses to accept Gil's stonewall and insists on dissecting how the founders structured their difficult equity conversations for the audience's benefit.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:24 Gil differentiates B2B signal enrichment from Facebook pixels

Gil clearly educates Nathan on why basic social network lookalike models fall short for enterprise B2B by detailing the 100 to 150 demographic and firmographic signals Metadata uses.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 4:54 Nathan challenges Gil's dilution and valuation math

Nathan rapidly calculates the implied dilution of raising two million on a five million pre-money valuation to test Gil's grasp of his capitalization table.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Gil Allouche's Background and Path to Digital Marketing 3211 Nathan guides the interview through Gil's career history and technical background. Gil explains his transition from software engineering and robotics into data-driven marketing in a cooperative manner.
Metadata.io Financial Metrics and Seed Fundraising Strategy 6525 Nathan drills into valuation mechanics and questions how Metadata's offering differs from a basic Facebook lookalike audience. Gil educates Nathan on the 100 to 150 B2B data signals his platform uses beyond standard social cookies.
Pricing Model, Campaign Management, and Enterprise ROI 6436 Nathan probes Gil on pilot pricing guarantees and founder equity splits. When Gil attempts to dodge the equity split details, Nathan pushes back to extract the framework used to divide company ownership.
Guest Contact Information, Giveaway, and HostGator Sponsorship 3123 Nathan delivers a mid-roll sponsor read and runs through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions, gently prodding Gil on potential acquisition prices from Salesforce.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Metadata.io Generated $35k MRR at 85% Gross Margin in February 2016
“In February, 2016, we are at 35 K monthly recurring revenue with around the 85% margin.”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 3:35
Disclosure
Allouche: Metadata.io Raised $300k from 500 Startups and Right Side Capital
“In December, I just raised 300,000 dollars to form angels, 500 startups, and right side capital, just to make sure that whatever happens, we have about one year to live.”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 4:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Allouche: Metadata.io Extracts 100–150 Data Signals from an Email Address
“What we do is that we connect to many more data sources, not only cookies, but we connect to, and we specialize in B to B, so we can find out just by an email what's that person, you know, job, what was the previous job they ever worked for, their education le…”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 7:28
Disclosure
Allouche: Metadata.io pricing starts at $10,000 for a three-month pilot
“Our pricing starts at 10,000 dollars for a three-month pilot, and on the third month of that pilot, we essentially, our goal is to reach at least 150% ROI than what you were able to achieve previously.”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 8:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Allouche: A Metadata customer generated $2M in pipeline in month one
“One of our customers generated two million dollars in opportunities in the first month, which is not even Supposed to be, it's supposed to be completely sunk cost at that point. They signed up with on for a year”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 9:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Metadata.io reaches over a dozen active customers
“Currently we have about a little bit more than a dozen customers.”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 11:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Metadata.io averages $3,000 per customer per month
“It's about a 3000 dollars per month.”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 11:20
Disclosure
Metadata.io targets $2,000 to $3,000 customer acquisition cost
“I'm going to spend, you know, anything about two, 3000 dollars to acquire a customer.”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 12:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Allouche: Metadata.io can easily reach $20k-$24k annual value per customer
“Even here, I would say it's easy, easy, relatively easy for us to get them to about 20, 24 ATV.”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 13:05
Disclosure
Allouche would reject a $15M all-cash acquisition offer for Metadata.io
“No, 15, no.”
Gil Allouche Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 16:15
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