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Jan 30, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

Weird Way To Capture 25m Leads Free with Taylor Peck of iSideWith.com

Taylor Peck · 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 Taylor Peck, co-founder of iSideWith.com, detailing how a bootstrapped two-person team captured 25 million users through viral interactive political quizzes and transformed voter engagement data into a lean, high-margin digital advertising platform.

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 43.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.7 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 2.7
05100:0010:0020:001:28–3:39 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 The Origin and Viral Quiz Model of iSideWith Nathan demonstrates marketing expertise by citing Ryan Levesque's book Ask and explaining the psychological and conversion advantages of quiz funnels over traditional email opt-in forms. Taylor agrees and shares the viral growth story of the platform.3:39–6:07 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 User Engagement Metrics and High Quiz Conversion Rates Nathan drills into user acquisition metrics, calculating the exact quiz completion conversion rate and contrasting it against standard SaaS opt-in benchmarks. Taylor provides precise user figures and question completion statistics.6:08–8:51 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Revenue Models, Infrastructure Costs, and Lean Business Philosophy Nathan pushes on the lean margin between $10k AdSense revenue and $5-6k hosting costs, inquiring how the founders sustain themselves personally. Taylor shares the dot-com bust philosophy that motivates their ultra-lean cost structure.8:51–12:37 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Email Acquisition Strategy and Shift to Digital Political Ads Nathan references his prior interview with Rand Paul's digital strategist to question email list monetization strategies and presses on sponsorship pricing. Taylor declines to share specific rates due to NDAs but explains their CPA structure and user privacy boundaries.12:38–15:17 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Self-Serve Candidate Tools and Global Platform Expansion Nathan presses repeatedly on Taylor's personal take-home pay and side income given the company's modest top-line revenue. Taylor acknowledges his minimal salary and explains their focus on self-serve candidate tooling and international translation.15:19–19:39 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Mid-Show Announcements, Listener Contest, and Sponsor Spotlight Nathan conducts mid-show housekeeping and leads Taylor through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, sleep, and advice.1:28–3:39 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Origin and Viral Quiz Model of iSideWith Nathan demonstrates marketing expertise by citing Ryan Levesque's book Ask and explaining the psychological and conversion advantages of quiz funnels over traditional email opt-in forms. Taylor agrees and shares the viral growth story of the platform.3:39–6:07 · Guest teaching 3/10 User Engagement Metrics and High Quiz Conversion Rates Nathan drills into user acquisition metrics, calculating the exact quiz completion conversion rate and contrasting it against standard SaaS opt-in benchmarks. Taylor provides precise user figures and question completion statistics.6:08–8:51 · Guest teaching 4/10 Revenue Models, Infrastructure Costs, and Lean Business Philosophy Nathan pushes on the lean margin between $10k AdSense revenue and $5-6k hosting costs, inquiring how the founders sustain themselves personally. Taylor shares the dot-com bust philosophy that motivates their ultra-lean cost structure.8:51–12:37 · Guest teaching 3/10 Email Acquisition Strategy and Shift to Digital Political Ads Nathan references his prior interview with Rand Paul's digital strategist to question email list monetization strategies and presses on sponsorship pricing. Taylor declines to share specific rates due to NDAs but explains their CPA structure and user privacy boundaries.12:38–15:17 · Guest teaching 2/10 Self-Serve Candidate Tools and Global Platform Expansion Nathan presses repeatedly on Taylor's personal take-home pay and side income given the company's modest top-line revenue. Taylor acknowledges his minimal salary and explains their focus on self-serve candidate tooling and international translation.15:19–19:39 · Guest teaching 1/10 Mid-Show Announcements, Listener Contest, and Sponsor Spotlight Nathan conducts mid-show housekeeping and leads Taylor through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, sleep, and advice.1:28–3:39 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Origin and Viral Quiz Model of iSideWith Nathan demonstrates marketing expertise by citing Ryan Levesque's book Ask and explaining the psychological and conversion advantages of quiz funnels over traditional email opt-in forms. Taylor agrees and shares the viral growth story of the platform.3:39–6:07 · Guest disagreement 0/10 User Engagement Metrics and High Quiz Conversion Rates Nathan drills into user acquisition metrics, calculating the exact quiz completion conversion rate and contrasting it against standard SaaS opt-in benchmarks. Taylor provides precise user figures and question completion statistics.6:08–8:51 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Revenue Models, Infrastructure Costs, and Lean Business Philosophy Nathan pushes on the lean margin between $10k AdSense revenue and $5-6k hosting costs, inquiring how the founders sustain themselves personally. Taylor shares the dot-com bust philosophy that motivates their ultra-lean cost structure.8:51–12:37 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Email Acquisition Strategy and Shift to Digital Political Ads Nathan references his prior interview with Rand Paul's digital strategist to question email list monetization strategies and presses on sponsorship pricing. Taylor declines to share specific rates due to NDAs but explains their CPA structure and user privacy boundaries.12:38–15:17 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Self-Serve Candidate Tools and Global Platform Expansion Nathan presses repeatedly on Taylor's personal take-home pay and side income given the company's modest top-line revenue. Taylor acknowledges his minimal salary and explains their focus on self-serve candidate tooling and international translation.15:19–19:39 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Show Announcements, Listener Contest, and Sponsor Spotlight Nathan conducts mid-show housekeeping and leads Taylor through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, sleep, and advice.1:28–3:39 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Origin and Viral Quiz Model of iSideWith Nathan demonstrates marketing expertise by citing Ryan Levesque's book Ask and explaining the psychological and conversion advantages of quiz funnels over traditional email opt-in forms. Taylor agrees and shares the viral growth story of the platform.3:39–6:07 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 User Engagement Metrics and High Quiz Conversion Rates Nathan drills into user acquisition metrics, calculating the exact quiz completion conversion rate and contrasting it against standard SaaS opt-in benchmarks. Taylor provides precise user figures and question completion statistics.6:08–8:51 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Revenue Models, Infrastructure Costs, and Lean Business Philosophy Nathan pushes on the lean margin between $10k AdSense revenue and $5-6k hosting costs, inquiring how the founders sustain themselves personally. Taylor shares the dot-com bust philosophy that motivates their ultra-lean cost structure.8:51–12:37 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Email Acquisition Strategy and Shift to Digital Political Ads Nathan references his prior interview with Rand Paul's digital strategist to question email list monetization strategies and presses on sponsorship pricing. Taylor declines to share specific rates due to NDAs but explains their CPA structure and user privacy boundaries.12:38–15:17 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Self-Serve Candidate Tools and Global Platform Expansion Nathan presses repeatedly on Taylor's personal take-home pay and side income given the company's modest top-line revenue. Taylor acknowledges his minimal salary and explains their focus on self-serve candidate tooling and international translation.15:19–19:39 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Mid-Show Announcements, Listener Contest, and Sponsor Spotlight Nathan conducts mid-show housekeeping and leads Taylor through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, sleep, and advice.

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

0:00 · Nathan 72.4% · guest 27.6%0:00 · Nathan 72.4% · guest 27.6%3:00 · Nathan 39.2% · guest 60.8%3:00 · Nathan 39.2% · guest 60.8%6:00 · Nathan 27.5% · guest 72.5%6:00 · Nathan 27.5% · guest 72.5%9:00 · Nathan 36.4% · guest 63.6%9:00 · Nathan 36.4% · guest 63.6%12:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%12:00 · Nathan 23.6% · guest 76.4%15:00 · Nathan 57.6% · guest 42.4%15:00 · Nathan 57.6% · guest 42.4%18:00 · Nathan 49.5% · guest 50.5%18:00 · Nathan 49.5% · guest 50.5%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:51 Refusing to disclose campaign pricing terms

Taylor firmly pushes back against disclosing sponsorship rates by citing non-disclosure agreements with political campaigns.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:08 Pressing on personal viability under tight margins

Nathan refuses to gloss over the thin $4k gross margin remaining after hosting costs, directly demanding to know how Taylor pays himself.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:26 Modern cloud infrastructure economics

Taylor educates Nathan on modern scaling economics, pointing out that logging 100,000 answers per minute today via AWS costs pennies compared to millions ten years ago.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 2:28 Connecting viral quizzes to marketing frameworks

Nathan takes control of the dialogue to cite Ryan Levesque's framework and break down the psychology of quiz-based conversion funnels for his audience.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
The Origin and Viral Quiz Model of iSideWith 6211 Nathan demonstrates marketing expertise by citing Ryan Levesque's book Ask and explaining the psychological and conversion advantages of quiz funnels over traditional email opt-in forms. Taylor agrees and shares the viral growth story of the platform.
User Engagement Metrics and High Quiz Conversion Rates 6302 Nathan drills into user acquisition metrics, calculating the exact quiz completion conversion rate and contrasting it against standard SaaS opt-in benchmarks. Taylor provides precise user figures and question completion statistics.
Revenue Models, Infrastructure Costs, and Lean Business Philosophy 5414 Nathan pushes on the lean margin between $10k AdSense revenue and $5-6k hosting costs, inquiring how the founders sustain themselves personally. Taylor shares the dot-com bust philosophy that motivates their ultra-lean cost structure.
Email Acquisition Strategy and Shift to Digital Political Ads 6324 Nathan references his prior interview with Rand Paul's digital strategist to question email list monetization strategies and presses on sponsorship pricing. Taylor declines to share specific rates due to NDAs but explains their CPA structure and user privacy boundaries.
Self-Serve Candidate Tools and Global Platform Expansion 4225 Nathan presses repeatedly on Taylor's personal take-home pay and side income given the company's modest top-line revenue. Taylor acknowledges his minimal salary and explains their focus on self-serve candidate tooling and international translation.
Mid-Show Announcements, Listener Contest, and Sponsor Spotlight 1100 Nathan conducts mid-show housekeeping and leads Taylor through the standard Famous Five rapid-fire questions covering books, CEOs, sleep, and advice.

Statements from this episode (12)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
iSideWith gained six million organic quiz takers in six months on Facebook
“We then put that on Facebook, added a few more questions, and then within about six months, we had over six million people who'd organically taken the quiz and shared it with their friends.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 2:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
iSideWith collected nearly 1 billion answers from 25 million quiz takers
“And right now, each of our twenty five million people who've taken the quiz has given us An average of 35.8 questions each. so we almost have one billion answers collected over the past four years.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 4:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peck: iSideWith Averages 3M to 5M Monthly Uniques During Election Season
“So right now during the political season we're averaging about three to five million unique visitors a month.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 4:49
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peck: iSideWith Added 12M Quiz Takers in 12 Months After 14M in Prior Three Years
“So in the past year, we've doubled last year in the past, the first three years, we had about fourteen million people take the quiz. And in the past year, we've had twelve million. So we've doubled the amount of people who have taken the quiz in the past 12 mo…”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 5:38
Disclosure
iSideWith generates $10,000 per month from Google AdSense
“We have Google AdSense making about 10,000 a month.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 6:52
Disclosure
iSideWith spends $5,000 to $6,000 per month on hosting
“It's around five, five to six per month.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 7:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
iSideWith converts 10% to 12% of quiz takers into email subscribers
“We get about a 10 to 12% sign up rate.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 9:01
Disclosure
Peck: iSideWith refuses to serve ads to its own email list
“We don't use our own email list to serve ads. What we do use our own email list for is to send out an alert to say we, you, we noticed that you're passionate about gun control or about second member rights. If this is a new issue popped up, do you want to lear…”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 10:59
Disclosure
Political campaigns pay iSideWith on a CPA basis per email collected
“The campaigns pay on a CPA basis. So they say, I have a budget and we'd like to collect X amount of email addresses. And this is kind of the rate that we'd like to pay per email. So per email.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 11:45
Disclosure
iSideWith prioritizes self-serve campaign tools over direct ad sales
“We're going to build out tools for candidates like Hillary or Bernie or Rand or Marco Rubio to log on and kind of run that themselves. So that's, we've been, we kind of focused more on that as opposed to focusing more on the kind of getting Ad sales right now.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 13:05
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Future political campaigns will target voters on granular policy issues
“I think that's the future of political ads is that you're going to see candidates instead of doing blanket ad buys, they're going to say, this is a candidate who is passionate about you know, stopping the NSA from snooping on cell phones or this candidate's pa…”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 13:44
Disclosure
iSideWith expands voter guide platform to Brazil, France, and Spain
“We're rolling out into some other countries too right now into Brazil, France, and Spain. So we have a, we have like a little bit of a research team we use for that.”
Taylor Peck Jan 30, 2016 ▶ 14:17
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