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Jan 27, 2016 · 17m · top-founders

Would You Sell Your Business to WP Engine for $1m With Troy Dean

Troy Dean · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 5m 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 entrepreneur Troy Dean to discuss his journey from voiceover artist to generating over 1.2 million dollars through his WordPress plugin, Video User Manuals, and his cohort-based coaching program, WP Elevation.

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 37.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.4 Guest teaching 2.4 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:001:02–4:05 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Introducing Troy Dean and the Cadbury Jingle Nathan inquires about Troy's past work voicing and singing commercial jingles, playfully pushing him to sing on air. Troy educates Nathan on industry buyout economics and sonic brand triggers.4:06–8:10 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Video User Manuals Plugin and Potential Acquisition Nathan probes the unit economics of the Video User Manuals plugin, assuming high churn once users finish tutorials. Troy clarifies the B2B2C model where developers retain subscriptions indefinitely for their clients, and Nathan proposes a hypothetical buyout multiple.8:10–12:26 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Transitioning WP Elevation to a Cohort-Based Model Nathan presses on churn vulnerabilities in online course memberships. Troy explains the shift to intake cohorts, six-week drip education, and upfront six-month billing cycles to protect retention.12:26–15:08 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Course Revenue, Funnel Strategy, and Team Operations Nathan drills directly into 12-month revenue figures, customer acquisition costs, ad spend efficiency, and remote team headcount.15:09–17:23 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the Famous Five standard questions, extracting concise responses about software tools, co-working costs, and lifestyle.1:02–4:05 · Guest teaching 3/10 Introducing Troy Dean and the Cadbury Jingle Nathan inquires about Troy's past work voicing and singing commercial jingles, playfully pushing him to sing on air. Troy educates Nathan on industry buyout economics and sonic brand triggers.4:06–8:10 · Guest teaching 4/10 Video User Manuals Plugin and Potential Acquisition Nathan probes the unit economics of the Video User Manuals plugin, assuming high churn once users finish tutorials. Troy clarifies the B2B2C model where developers retain subscriptions indefinitely for their clients, and Nathan proposes a hypothetical buyout multiple.8:10–12:26 · Guest teaching 3/10 Transitioning WP Elevation to a Cohort-Based Model Nathan presses on churn vulnerabilities in online course memberships. Troy explains the shift to intake cohorts, six-week drip education, and upfront six-month billing cycles to protect retention.12:26–15:08 · Guest teaching 1/10 Course Revenue, Funnel Strategy, and Team Operations Nathan drills directly into 12-month revenue figures, customer acquisition costs, ad spend efficiency, and remote team headcount.15:09–17:23 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the Famous Five standard questions, extracting concise responses about software tools, co-working costs, and lifestyle.1:02–4:05 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Troy Dean and the Cadbury Jingle Nathan inquires about Troy's past work voicing and singing commercial jingles, playfully pushing him to sing on air. Troy educates Nathan on industry buyout economics and sonic brand triggers.4:06–8:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Video User Manuals Plugin and Potential Acquisition Nathan probes the unit economics of the Video User Manuals plugin, assuming high churn once users finish tutorials. Troy clarifies the B2B2C model where developers retain subscriptions indefinitely for their clients, and Nathan proposes a hypothetical buyout multiple.8:10–12:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Transitioning WP Elevation to a Cohort-Based Model Nathan presses on churn vulnerabilities in online course memberships. Troy explains the shift to intake cohorts, six-week drip education, and upfront six-month billing cycles to protect retention.12:26–15:08 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Course Revenue, Funnel Strategy, and Team Operations Nathan drills directly into 12-month revenue figures, customer acquisition costs, ad spend efficiency, and remote team headcount.15:09–17:23 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the Famous Five standard questions, extracting concise responses about software tools, co-working costs, and lifestyle.1:02–4:05 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Introducing Troy Dean and the Cadbury Jingle Nathan inquires about Troy's past work voicing and singing commercial jingles, playfully pushing him to sing on air. Troy educates Nathan on industry buyout economics and sonic brand triggers.4:06–8:10 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Video User Manuals Plugin and Potential Acquisition Nathan probes the unit economics of the Video User Manuals plugin, assuming high churn once users finish tutorials. Troy clarifies the B2B2C model where developers retain subscriptions indefinitely for their clients, and Nathan proposes a hypothetical buyout multiple.8:10–12:26 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Transitioning WP Elevation to a Cohort-Based Model Nathan presses on churn vulnerabilities in online course memberships. Troy explains the shift to intake cohorts, six-week drip education, and upfront six-month billing cycles to protect retention.12:26–15:08 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Course Revenue, Funnel Strategy, and Team Operations Nathan drills directly into 12-month revenue figures, customer acquisition costs, ad spend efficiency, and remote team headcount.15:09–17:23 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the Famous Five standard questions, extracting concise responses about software tools, co-working costs, and lifestyle.

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

0:00 · Nathan 66.3% · guest 33.7%0:00 · Nathan 66.3% · guest 33.7%3:00 · Nathan 9.2% · guest 90.8%3:00 · Nathan 9.2% · guest 90.8%6:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%6:00 · Nathan 22.8% · guest 77.2%9:00 · Nathan 11.4% · guest 88.6%9:00 · Nathan 11.4% · guest 88.6%12:00 · Nathan 54.3% · guest 45.7%12:00 · Nathan 54.3% · guest 45.7%15:00 · Nathan 65.7% · guest 34.3%15:00 · Nathan 65.7% · guest 34.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 2:09 Troy playfully refuses to sing on air

Troy flatly states there is no chance he will sing early in the morning before Nathan badgers him into delivering a single line.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 10:58 Nathan challenges membership course retention

Nathan refuses to take high engagement for granted, emphasizing that membership products universally suffer severe drop-off.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:14 Troy explains plugin stickiness and developer utility

Troy corrects Nathan's premise that customers cancel after viewing videos by explaining that web agencies keep paying so their own end clients maintain access.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:59 Nathan proposes a $1M buyout valuation

Nathan instantly converts the $25k monthly recurring revenue metric into a concrete buyout target for an industry acquirer like WP Engine.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Troy Dean and the Cadbury Jingle 2322 Nathan inquires about Troy's past work voicing and singing commercial jingles, playfully pushing him to sing on air. Troy educates Nathan on industry buyout economics and sonic brand triggers.
Video User Manuals Plugin and Potential Acquisition 5413 Nathan probes the unit economics of the Video User Manuals plugin, assuming high churn once users finish tutorials. Troy clarifies the B2B2C model where developers retain subscriptions indefinitely for their clients, and Nathan proposes a hypothetical buyout multiple.
Transitioning WP Elevation to a Cohort-Based Model 4313 Nathan presses on churn vulnerabilities in online course memberships. Troy explains the shift to intake cohorts, six-week drip education, and upfront six-month billing cycles to protect retention.
Course Revenue, Funnel Strategy, and Team Operations 4101 Nathan drills directly into 12-month revenue figures, customer acquisition costs, ad spend efficiency, and remote team headcount.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 2101 Nathan runs through the Famous Five standard questions, extracting concise responses about software tools, co-working costs, and lifestyle.

Statements from this episode (7)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Dean: Video User Manuals has around 1,200 paying customers
“We have probably about 1200 at the moment, and we have them split across different licenses. So some are paying 24 a month, some pay two 40 a year, depending on whether they, you know, take the monthly or the annual license.”
Troy Dean Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 6:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Dean: Video User Manuals generates roughly $25k per month
“It would have been about yeah, look, it would have been probably about 25 grand or roughly around about there.”
Troy Dean Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 6:56
Disclosure
Troy Dean would sell Video User Manuals to WP Engine for $1M
“Probably.”
Troy Dean Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 8:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
WP Elevation has 390 active members and 202 new enrollments
“At the moment we have about 390 active members in the program. We did we did 202 students in the intake in, in September.”
Troy Dean Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 10:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
WP Elevation achieved a 50% completion rate for its 202-student cohort
“Out of those 202, a 102 have actually completed the course and printed out their certificate. We've had three people refund and cancel”
Troy Dean Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 11:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Dean: WP Elevation course generated $500,000 to $600,000 in past year
“The course would have done probably somewhere between 506 hundred.”
Troy Dean Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 12:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Dean: WP Elevation email list reaches about 27,000 subscribers
“Our email list currently is about 27,000.”
Troy Dean Jan 27, 2016 ▶ 13:16
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