StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Mar 31, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

Female Led SaaS Company $3m ARR Goal By EOY 2016 with Ishveen Anand of OpenSponsorship EP 213

Ishvin Anand · 8m 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 this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Ishveen Anand, founder and CEO of OpenSponsorship, to discuss her company's hybrid SaaS marketplace connecting brands with sports sponsorships. Anand details their customer unit economics, 500 Startups acceleration, and outbound sales strategy designed to reach an ambitious $3 million ARR goal.

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 49% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 3.8
05100:0010:0020:001:08–5:02 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Ishveen Anand and OpenSponsorship Nathan introduces Ishvin and quickly computes OpenSponsorship's monthly recurring revenue based on her pricing numbers. Ishvin explains the nuance of sports sponsorships, noting how non-cash product gifting and royalty deals are common alternatives to direct cash payments.5:02–11:16 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pivoting to SaaS and 2016 Financial Goals Nathan interrogates Ishvin's ambitious goal of reaching a 3 million dollar run rate from 10k MRR within a single year. He digs into her SaaS unit economics, CAC, and LTV, while Ishvin clarifies that their 3-month initial contracts mean they have not yet seen customer churn.11:16–14:56 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Sales Strategy, Buyout Rejection, and Seed Funding Nathan stages a mock acquisition offer of 500k dollars to probe Ishvin's valuation expectations and commitment. Ishvin easily turns it down, revealing they just signed a convertible note seed round term sheet.14:57–18:58 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Giveaway Details and HostGator Sponsorship After an ad break, Nathan takes Ishvin through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering software tools, role models, and sleep habits. The tone is lighthearted and cooperative throughout.1:08–5:02 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Ishveen Anand and OpenSponsorship Nathan introduces Ishvin and quickly computes OpenSponsorship's monthly recurring revenue based on her pricing numbers. Ishvin explains the nuance of sports sponsorships, noting how non-cash product gifting and royalty deals are common alternatives to direct cash payments.5:02–11:16 · Guest teaching 3/10 Pivoting to SaaS and 2016 Financial Goals Nathan interrogates Ishvin's ambitious goal of reaching a 3 million dollar run rate from 10k MRR within a single year. He digs into her SaaS unit economics, CAC, and LTV, while Ishvin clarifies that their 3-month initial contracts mean they have not yet seen customer churn.11:16–14:56 · Guest teaching 2/10 Sales Strategy, Buyout Rejection, and Seed Funding Nathan stages a mock acquisition offer of 500k dollars to probe Ishvin's valuation expectations and commitment. Ishvin easily turns it down, revealing they just signed a convertible note seed round term sheet.14:57–18:58 · Guest teaching 1/10 Giveaway Details and HostGator Sponsorship After an ad break, Nathan takes Ishvin through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering software tools, role models, and sleep habits. The tone is lighthearted and cooperative throughout.1:08–5:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Ishveen Anand and OpenSponsorship Nathan introduces Ishvin and quickly computes OpenSponsorship's monthly recurring revenue based on her pricing numbers. Ishvin explains the nuance of sports sponsorships, noting how non-cash product gifting and royalty deals are common alternatives to direct cash payments.5:02–11:16 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Pivoting to SaaS and 2016 Financial Goals Nathan interrogates Ishvin's ambitious goal of reaching a 3 million dollar run rate from 10k MRR within a single year. He digs into her SaaS unit economics, CAC, and LTV, while Ishvin clarifies that their 3-month initial contracts mean they have not yet seen customer churn.11:16–14:56 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Sales Strategy, Buyout Rejection, and Seed Funding Nathan stages a mock acquisition offer of 500k dollars to probe Ishvin's valuation expectations and commitment. Ishvin easily turns it down, revealing they just signed a convertible note seed round term sheet.14:57–18:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Giveaway Details and HostGator Sponsorship After an ad break, Nathan takes Ishvin through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering software tools, role models, and sleep habits. The tone is lighthearted and cooperative throughout.1:08–5:02 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Ishveen Anand and OpenSponsorship Nathan introduces Ishvin and quickly computes OpenSponsorship's monthly recurring revenue based on her pricing numbers. Ishvin explains the nuance of sports sponsorships, noting how non-cash product gifting and royalty deals are common alternatives to direct cash payments.5:02–11:16 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Pivoting to SaaS and 2016 Financial Goals Nathan interrogates Ishvin's ambitious goal of reaching a 3 million dollar run rate from 10k MRR within a single year. He digs into her SaaS unit economics, CAC, and LTV, while Ishvin clarifies that their 3-month initial contracts mean they have not yet seen customer churn.11:16–14:56 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Sales Strategy, Buyout Rejection, and Seed Funding Nathan stages a mock acquisition offer of 500k dollars to probe Ishvin's valuation expectations and commitment. Ishvin easily turns it down, revealing they just signed a convertible note seed round term sheet.14:57–18:58 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Giveaway Details and HostGator Sponsorship After an ad break, Nathan takes Ishvin through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering software tools, role models, and sleep habits. The tone is lighthearted and cooperative throughout.

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

0:00 · Nathan 71.1% · guest 28.9%0:00 · Nathan 71.1% · guest 28.9%3:00 · Nathan 23.1% · guest 76.9%3:00 · Nathan 23.1% · guest 76.9%6:00 · Nathan 17.6% · guest 82.4%6:00 · Nathan 17.6% · guest 82.4%9:00 · Nathan 47.3% · guest 52.7%9:00 · Nathan 47.3% · guest 52.7%12:00 · Nathan 45.7% · guest 54.3%12:00 · Nathan 45.7% · guest 54.3%15:00 · Nathan 66.8% · guest 33.2%15:00 · Nathan 66.8% · guest 33.2%18:00 · Nathan 80.4% · guest 19.6%18:00 · Nathan 80.4% · guest 19.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:08 Instant rejection of buyout offer

Ishvin immediately dismisses Nathan's hypothetical 500k dollar purchase check without hesitation, declining to name a low buyout price.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:53 Pressing on 10k to 240k MRR growth jump

Nathan bluntly challenges Ishvin's target of reaching 240k per month by year-end when the company is currently only pulling in 10k per month.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:15 Correcting Nathan on contract renewal structure

When Nathan attempts to probe month-one to month-two retention rates, Ishvin informs him that all customers sign minimum 3-month agreements, correcting his assumption about their data cycle.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:55 Nathan explains SaaS CAC to LTV economics

Nathan demonstrates SaaS fluency by articulating why companies should only limit acquisition spend if they lack confidence in underlying unit economics.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Ishveen Anand and OpenSponsorship 4312 Nathan introduces Ishvin and quickly computes OpenSponsorship's monthly recurring revenue based on her pricing numbers. Ishvin explains the nuance of sports sponsorships, noting how non-cash product gifting and royalty deals are common alternatives to direct cash payments.
Pivoting to SaaS and 2016 Financial Goals 6326 Nathan interrogates Ishvin's ambitious goal of reaching a 3 million dollar run rate from 10k MRR within a single year. He digs into her SaaS unit economics, CAC, and LTV, while Ishvin clarifies that their 3-month initial contracts mean they have not yet seen customer churn.
Sales Strategy, Buyout Rejection, and Seed Funding 5225 Nathan stages a mock acquisition offer of 500k dollars to probe Ishvin's valuation expectations and commitment. Ishvin easily turns it down, revealing they just signed a convertible note seed round term sheet.
Giveaway Details and HostGator Sponsorship 3112 After an ad break, Nathan takes Ishvin through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering software tools, role models, and sleep habits. The tone is lighthearted and cooperative throughout.

Statements from this episode (9)

Disclosure
OpenSponsorship charges brands $400 monthly plus commission on cash deals
“We charge it around 400 dollars a month. So it's not a kind of huge barrier to entry. And then when a deal is done, that is a cash deal because you can do product deals where you just gift product, you can do a royalty, like an affiliate marketing deal. But if…”
Ishvin Anand Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 3:28
Assertion Not checkable as stated
OpenSponsorship has around 25 paying brand customers
“Around 25.”
Ishvin Anand Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 3:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
OpenSponsorship has over 700 brands signed up for its free tier
“So we actually have over 700 brands signed up to the platform, but we launched with a free marketplace, a bit like an Airbnb.”
Ishvin Anand Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 5:38
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Anand: OpenSponsorship generated around $40,000 in revenue in 2015
“Around 40 K.”
Ishvin Anand Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 6:19
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Anand aims for OpenSponsorship to hit $2M to $3M revenue in 2016
“And, you know I would like to say that we should be at Kind of two, three million by the end of the year.”
Ishvin Anand Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 6:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
OpenSponsorship claims its customer acquisition cost is around $30
“It's around 30 dollars.”
Ishvin Anand Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 7:41
Disclosure
OpenSponsorship pegs minimum customer lifetime value at $1,200
“So we think that people will sign up for between three and six months ago. So we kind of peg it at the low end at 1200.”
Ishvin Anand Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 8:47
Disclosure
Anand reveals receiving a signed term sheet live on the podcast
“While you speak to us, we actually just got a, like a signed term sheet today from someone, so it kind of changes the game.”
Ishvin Anand Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 13:48
Opinion
Latka asserts Ashu Dubey's pre-revenue fitness app isn't worth $8M
“There's no way his fitness app is worth eight million bucks with no revenue.”
Nathan Latka Mar 31, 2016 ▶ 19:11
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more