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Mar 14, 2016 · 23m · top-founders

She's Built a $500k/year Company in Bali Looking for $8m Pre-Money Valuation with Andrea Loubier of MailBird EP 205

Andrea Loubier · 12m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Mailbird CEO Andrea Loubier about scaling a Windows desktop email client to $500,000 in ARR from Bali, analyzing her conversion funnels, high churn metrics, and $8 million pre-money fundraising round.

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 41.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 1.8 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:0020:001:12–3:51 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Andrea Loubier and Mailbird's Product Overview Nathan introduces Andrea and immediately probes into Mailbird's business model, clarifying ARR numbers and asking whether it operates as a predictable SaaS company.3:51–7:22 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pricing Tier Structure and Flash Sale Conversion Dynamics Nathan examines the live website pricing funnel and drills into the mechanics of Andrea's flash sale banner, pressing for exact conversion rate metrics before and after the tactic.7:22–12:56 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Evaluating Lifetime Value, Churn Rates, and Subscription Economics Nathan digs deep into subscription economics, pushing Andrea on monthly retention numbers until she reveals a 93 percent churn rate. Nathan then educates on standard SaaS benchmarks and validates why Mailbird offers lifetime pricing.12:56–17:25 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Fundraising Strategy, Valuation Justification, and Distributed Operations Nathan challenges Andrea to justify an 8 million dollar pre-money valuation on 500k ARR, prompting her to explain market dynamics, Windows operating system market share, and AngelList valuation criteria.17:25–23:02 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Guest Contact Information, HostGator Ad, and Episode Notes The interview transitions through contact information, a sponsor ad, and the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions in a cordial and collaborative tone.23:02–23:39 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Episode Recap, Final Thoughts, and Next Show Preview Solo host outro summarizing Andrea's metrics and teasing upcoming guest episodes.1:12–3:51 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Andrea Loubier and Mailbird's Product Overview Nathan introduces Andrea and immediately probes into Mailbird's business model, clarifying ARR numbers and asking whether it operates as a predictable SaaS company.3:51–7:22 · Guest teaching 2/10 Pricing Tier Structure and Flash Sale Conversion Dynamics Nathan examines the live website pricing funnel and drills into the mechanics of Andrea's flash sale banner, pressing for exact conversion rate metrics before and after the tactic.7:22–12:56 · Guest teaching 3/10 Evaluating Lifetime Value, Churn Rates, and Subscription Economics Nathan digs deep into subscription economics, pushing Andrea on monthly retention numbers until she reveals a 93 percent churn rate. Nathan then educates on standard SaaS benchmarks and validates why Mailbird offers lifetime pricing.12:56–17:25 · Guest teaching 3/10 Fundraising Strategy, Valuation Justification, and Distributed Operations Nathan challenges Andrea to justify an 8 million dollar pre-money valuation on 500k ARR, prompting her to explain market dynamics, Windows operating system market share, and AngelList valuation criteria.17:25–23:02 · Guest teaching 1/10 Guest Contact Information, HostGator Ad, and Episode Notes The interview transitions through contact information, a sponsor ad, and the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions in a cordial and collaborative tone.23:02–23:39 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Recap, Final Thoughts, and Next Show Preview Solo host outro summarizing Andrea's metrics and teasing upcoming guest episodes.1:12–3:51 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Andrea Loubier and Mailbird's Product Overview Nathan introduces Andrea and immediately probes into Mailbird's business model, clarifying ARR numbers and asking whether it operates as a predictable SaaS company.3:51–7:22 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Pricing Tier Structure and Flash Sale Conversion Dynamics Nathan examines the live website pricing funnel and drills into the mechanics of Andrea's flash sale banner, pressing for exact conversion rate metrics before and after the tactic.7:22–12:56 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Evaluating Lifetime Value, Churn Rates, and Subscription Economics Nathan digs deep into subscription economics, pushing Andrea on monthly retention numbers until she reveals a 93 percent churn rate. Nathan then educates on standard SaaS benchmarks and validates why Mailbird offers lifetime pricing.12:56–17:25 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Fundraising Strategy, Valuation Justification, and Distributed Operations Nathan challenges Andrea to justify an 8 million dollar pre-money valuation on 500k ARR, prompting her to explain market dynamics, Windows operating system market share, and AngelList valuation criteria.17:25–23:02 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Guest Contact Information, HostGator Ad, and Episode Notes The interview transitions through contact information, a sponsor ad, and the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions in a cordial and collaborative tone.23:02–23:39 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Recap, Final Thoughts, and Next Show Preview Solo host outro summarizing Andrea's metrics and teasing upcoming guest episodes.1:12–3:51 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Andrea Loubier and Mailbird's Product Overview Nathan introduces Andrea and immediately probes into Mailbird's business model, clarifying ARR numbers and asking whether it operates as a predictable SaaS company.3:51–7:22 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Pricing Tier Structure and Flash Sale Conversion Dynamics Nathan examines the live website pricing funnel and drills into the mechanics of Andrea's flash sale banner, pressing for exact conversion rate metrics before and after the tactic.7:22–12:56 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Evaluating Lifetime Value, Churn Rates, and Subscription Economics Nathan digs deep into subscription economics, pushing Andrea on monthly retention numbers until she reveals a 93 percent churn rate. Nathan then educates on standard SaaS benchmarks and validates why Mailbird offers lifetime pricing.12:56–17:25 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Fundraising Strategy, Valuation Justification, and Distributed Operations Nathan challenges Andrea to justify an 8 million dollar pre-money valuation on 500k ARR, prompting her to explain market dynamics, Windows operating system market share, and AngelList valuation criteria.17:25–23:02 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Guest Contact Information, HostGator Ad, and Episode Notes The interview transitions through contact information, a sponsor ad, and the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions in a cordial and collaborative tone.23:02–23:39 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Episode Recap, Final Thoughts, and Next Show Preview Solo host outro summarizing Andrea's metrics and teasing upcoming guest episodes.

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

0:00 · Nathan 70.9% · guest 29.1%0:00 · Nathan 70.9% · guest 29.1%3:00 · Nathan 41.5% · guest 58.5%3:00 · Nathan 41.5% · guest 58.5%6:00 · Nathan 36.8% · guest 63.2%6:00 · Nathan 36.8% · guest 63.2%9:00 · Nathan 44.3% · guest 55.7%9:00 · Nathan 44.3% · guest 55.7%12:00 · Nathan 34.4% · guest 65.6%12:00 · Nathan 34.4% · guest 65.6%15:00 · Nathan 22.2% · guest 77.8%15:00 · Nathan 22.2% · guest 77.8%18:00 · Nathan 48.7% · guest 51.3%18:00 · Nathan 48.7% · guest 51.3%21:00 · Nathan 35% · guest 65%21:00 · Nathan 35% · guest 65%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:25 Handling acquisition price pushback

When Nathan abruptly asks if Andrea would take a hypothetical five million dollar acquisition offer right now, she quickly pushes back and deflects with 'Negotiable.'

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 13:45 Challenging valuation multiples

Nathan role-plays as a venture capitalist and directly challenges Andrea to defend backing into an 8 million pre-money valuation on only 500k in annual recurring revenue.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:50 Windows market share reality check

Andrea highlights that despite Mac popular perception among tech circles, Windows still holds an overwhelming 83 percent of the world operating system market share.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 11:43 Benchmarking SaaS churn dynamics

Nathan demonstrates SaaS expertise by contextualizing standard public SaaS 4-5 percent churn against Mailbird's 93 percent churn, explaining the economic necessity of lifetime pricing.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Andrea Loubier and Mailbird's Product Overview 5212 Nathan introduces Andrea and immediately probes into Mailbird's business model, clarifying ARR numbers and asking whether it operates as a predictable SaaS company.
Pricing Tier Structure and Flash Sale Conversion Dynamics 6213 Nathan examines the live website pricing funnel and drills into the mechanics of Andrea's flash sale banner, pressing for exact conversion rate metrics before and after the tactic.
Evaluating Lifetime Value, Churn Rates, and Subscription Economics 8326 Nathan digs deep into subscription economics, pushing Andrea on monthly retention numbers until she reveals a 93 percent churn rate. Nathan then educates on standard SaaS benchmarks and validates why Mailbird offers lifetime pricing.
Fundraising Strategy, Valuation Justification, and Distributed Operations 7325 Nathan challenges Andrea to justify an 8 million dollar pre-money valuation on 500k ARR, prompting her to explain market dynamics, Windows operating system market share, and AngelList valuation criteria.
Guest Contact Information, HostGator Ad, and Episode Notes 4111 The interview transitions through contact information, a sponsor ad, and the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions in a cordial and collaborative tone.
Episode Recap, Final Thoughts, and Next Show Preview 0000 Solo host outro summarizing Andrea's metrics and teasing upcoming guest episodes.

Statements from this episode (9)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Loubier: Mailbird has reached one million managed email accounts
“We actually just hit one million email accounts that are being managed from Mailbird.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 2:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Loubier: Mailbird is approaching $500,000 in annual recurring revenue
“Now we're getting close to being over half a million dollar company since the end of 2015, and it continues to grow.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 3:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mailbird achieves ~20% immediate visitor-to-paid conversion with flash sale banner
“For people that immediately, when they get to the website, they see that little, you know, 50% off limited deal yeah, it's about 20% is what we see.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 6:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mailbird converted ~10% of visitors before introducing flash sale banner
“Before the banner, that number was about 10%, and that fluctuated, obviously, day to day, but around 10%, so.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 6:44
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Loubier: Roughly 50% of Mailbird's 1M accounts are paying customers
“So if you look at the one million accounts that we have, about 50% of that roughly are paying.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 7:04
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Loubier: Mailbird paying users split 50/50 between subscriptions and lifetime plans
“It's definitely, that's actually pretty easy because it's actually split right down the middle.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 7:46
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Loubier: Mailbird lifetime purchase plan yields higher LTV than subscriptions
“So the lifetime plan actually performs much better, I guess, in terms of the LTV.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 8:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Loubier: Mailbird retains only 7% to 8% of monthly subscribers month-over-month
“Okay, so out of a hundred, it would be roughly about, I would say, seven to eight percent of those.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 10:50
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mailbird gained 20,000 unique visitors on day of Product Hunt feature
“I remember the first day we saw about 20,000 unique visitors come to our website.”
Andrea Loubier Mar 14, 2016 ▶ 20:43
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