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Mark Smith

Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, CleanConnect.ai · 1 appearance on the record.

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founderexecutivehostLinkedIn ↗markhoustonsmith.com ↗

Mark Smith co-founded CleanConnect.ai, an AI computer vision and autonomous monitoring platform for oil and gas emissions compliance. He previously founded Windows NT Magazine and hosts the Digital Roughnecks energy podcast.

14statements → 8claims → 3claims resolved → 100%fully supported → 3.86/5average certainty → 1.43/5average debate potential → 5said about them ↓

3 supported 0 partly supported 0 contradicted 1 not yet assessed 4 not checkable as stated how the 8 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

1 prediction · 7 assertions · 1 insight · 4 disclosures · 1 what if · every statement was checked. The prediction and assertions are the 8 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 3 are resolved, 1 is not yet assessed, and 4 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Mark argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable supported claim

Assertion Supported
Mark Smith: CleanConnect.ai is completely funded by customers
“But let's put it this way. We're funded completely by our customers. Yes.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 9:13 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of Mark Smith on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

Everything Mark Smith said on Top Founders that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Prediction Open · timeframe Aug 2041
Smith: Fossil fuels will provide 80% of energy for 20 more years
“80% or more of our energy comes from fossil fuels and will in spite of all the focus on renewables for the next 20 years.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 2:06 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
CleanConnect.ai generates over $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue
“We're, no, we're six figures.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 6:52 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Disclosure
CleanConnect.ai receives 10-year upfront cash payments from oil and gas customers
“So when you're building a new pad, there's a thing called intangible drilling costs. So in that case, they want to accelerate CapEx. So they'll pay us for 10 years up front, everything. All hardware, all software.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 4:25 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
What-if
Smith: Delaying his September 2000 exit would have reduced value by two-thirds
“Honestly, if we had waited another year, probably would have got a third of that.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 15:31 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Disclosure
Mark Smith: CleanConnect.ai considers SPAC route to acquire engineering companies
“You know, we're talking about doing a SPAC and putting extra money and buying up because I was very successful near the last year prior to exit of buying great engineering companies who couldn't market their way out of a wet paper bag.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 17:31 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Disclosure
CleanConnect.ai charges $5,000 to $6,000 per month per site
“An oil and gas site per site will pay about five to 6000 a month.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 3:37 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smith: FLIR GF320 OGI cameras cost oil companies $120,000 CapEx
“Every one of the customers we have has bought a FLIR GF three, 20 camera. It's a handheld OGI camera. That's how they do. What's called LDAR inspections, leak detection and repair. Those are a 120,000 dollar CapEx item.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 4:56 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smith: CleanConnect.ai reached 11 customers across 20 sites since March 2020
“Across 10, 11 customers. So we have, so the companies started in March, 20, 20. And we have 11.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 5:35 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smith: CleanConnect.ai enterprise pilot contracts are priced in six figures
“The pilots are six figures. But it's a finite period of time. However, all the pilots, if we meet the pilot objectives, start to go to scale.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 6:23 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Assertion Supported
Mark Smith: CleanConnect.ai is completely funded by customers
“But let's put it this way. We're funded completely by our customers. Yes.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 9:13 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Assertion Supported
CleanConnect.ai seeks EPA approval via client submission
“There's some other regulations coming up where we're getting our system being approved by the EPA. And it's done through one of our clients actually who's presenting our stuff to the EPA.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 13:03 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Assertion Supported
Mark Smith: Windows NT Magazine was valued at $100M when sold
“It was valued at a hundred million.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 14:01 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Disclosure
Mark Smith: CleanConnect.ai plans to raise outside funding for ESG opportunity
“Yes, we're going to raise. And the main reason is because ESG is happening now and there's a big opportunity right now.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 16:55 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?
Insight
Smith gained oil and gas expertise by interviewing experts on his podcast
“I became an expert in the industry by interviewing experts in the industry.”
Mark Smith Aug 20, 2021 ▶ 18:40 Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next?

The other half of the tape: Mark Smith's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 5 times in 1 episode on Top Founders. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Neil DeSena 5

Every mention by year

tap a year for its mentions
0031512017episodesmentions
0112017episodes it came up in
002.50.5512017episodesmentions per episode
2017 5 mentions in 1 episode

Appearances (1)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
Oil and Gas ESG SaaS Hits $1.2m ARR in 12 Months, $5m Raise Next? Aug 20, 2021 9m
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