Matthew Hager

Co-Founder and CEO, Clutch · 1 appearance on the record.

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founderexecutiveengineerLinkedIn ↗clutch.io ↗

Hager founded Poetic, a Houston-based technology and product agency that he grew over a decade before negotiating an exit to spin out software. He subsequently co-founded Clutch, a frontend-as-a-service and low-code developer platform.

11statements → 4claims → 0claims resolved → 3.82/5average certainty → 1.45/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated →

4 not checkable as stated how the 4 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

4 assertions · 1 insight · 6 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 4 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 0 are resolved, 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 Matthew argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

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 Matthew Hager on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

What they said11 Episodes1

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

Disclosure

Hager: Clutch aims to build a Webflow alternative for enterprise-level applications

“So our goal was basically to build Squarespace or a Webflow or a Wix or one of those products, but that could actually build enterprise level applications.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 3:23 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Insight

Hager: To exit an agency, founders must make themselves entirely dispensable

“First thing is you spend all this time making yourself indispensable. Then if you want to do this, you need to make yourself dispensable. You have to do the opposite.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 6:14 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Hager: Agency Poetic received acquisition offers at roughly 1x annual revenue

“I actually was able to get right around one times revenue.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 7:05 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Disclosure

Hager: Clutch has no hiring page, relying exclusively on inbound talent

“So we don't have a hiring page on our website at all. Everybody who has joined has had to reach out to me via LinkedIn or something else.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 10:35 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Disclosure

Hager: Clutch partners with backend platforms like Shopify for ecosystem distribution

“So instead of doing what Webflow and Wix and Squarespace did, where they give you both a front end to backend and then pit themselves against WordPress and Drupal and Shopify, We reached out to the Shopify's, the Drupal's, the WordPress's, the Contentful's of …”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 12:05 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Hager: Digital agency Poetic generated over $5 million in 2019 revenue

“So, in the 2019 we did over five million in revenue.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 4:15 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Disclosure

Hager: Invested $600,000 to build Clutch before spinning it out

“In total about 600,000.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 7:36 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Disclosure

Hager: Plans to self-fund Clutch up to $1 million before raising

“I've been funding everything myself. And I'll probably fund it. Up through a million or so get, we need to get some initial metrics and then after that we'll, we'll go raise funds.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 14:50 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Hager: Clutch operates with a monthly burn rate of around $50,000

“Yeah, that's let's just say it's in that range.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 19:18 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Disclosure

Hager: Clutch has zero signed paying customers prior to official launch

“We've got an agreement in the works and hopefully we'll get ink next week, but you are correct. No ink yet. That's right.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 13:17 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Hager: A single enterprise contract extended Clutch's runway by several months

“Just that one enterprise contract alone extended our runway, you know, a few months.”

Matthew Hager Nov 28, 2020 ▶ 15:44 Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years

Appearances (1)

Episode	Date	Speaking time
Front End As a Service, I Predict They'll Be $100m Within 3 Years	Nov 28, 2020	10m

Matthew Hager

The record, in short

How they sound: not measured why? →

Appearances (1)

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