Ross Paquette

Founder and CEO, Maropost · 2 appearances on the record.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

founderexecutiveinvestorLinkedIn ↗rosspaquette.com ↗

Ross Paquette is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Maropost. He founded the company in 2011 and bootstrapped it into a global commerce and customer engagement platform without institutional venture backing.

29statements → 18claims → 1claims resolved → 3.86/5average certainty → 1.28/5average debate potential → ≈4.0/5argument clarity, estimated →

1 supported 0 partly supported 0 contradicted 1 not yet assessed 16 not checkable as stated how the 18 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

2 predictions · 16 assertions · 2 opinions · 9 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 18 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 1 is resolved, 1 is not yet assessed, and 16 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 Ross 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
Maropost completed a $37M all-secondary funding round in 2016
“That was 2016 and we did an all secondary round for thirty seven million US, fifty million Canadian if it was relevant.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 3:29 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now

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 Ross Paquette on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

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

Disclosure
Maropost is executing a secondary round at a $1.7B valuation
“So I'm not even sure if I should share this, but we're doing a secondary round at a 1.7 billion dollar valuation.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 17:20 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Maropost's net dollar retention will exceed 150% this year
“Yeah, well this year will be well above a 150%.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 19:11 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Opinion
Ross Paquette Is Strongly Against Raising Venture Capital
“It wasn't like we had to go out and raise capital. I'm very much against that process. The focus has always been to just, you know, kind of grow by a customer acquisition, not acquisition.”
Ross Paquette Jan 11, 2018 ▶ 4:06 901 SaaS: Bootstrapped Enterprise Marketing Maropost Passes $36m ARR
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Maropost will likely finish 2022 just shy of $100M ARR
“Just shy of it actually. Sorry. Yeah, just shy of it most likely.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 3:02 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost's growth dropped to single digits after its 2016 secondary round
“The business had gone from triple digit growth to single digit growth.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 5:51 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Disclosure
Maropost bought Neto in an all-cash deal to protect its cap table
“No, no, it was all cash. So we, yeah, our cap table is still myself and the employees.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 10:40 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost generated approximately 52% EBITDA margins last year
“Yeah, about 52, yeah.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 14:42 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Disclosure
Paquette plans to retain 80% equity and avoid becoming a public CEO
“I'm not interested in that either. And that's not my goal. That's the difference. My goal is more to retain 80% of the business and be able to operate from a product perspective or a vision perspective and really be supportive to somebody like that. I don't as…”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 16:15 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Disclosure
Maropost Has Never Raised Primary Capital, Only Secondary
“We've never raised any money to date. Yeah. so last summer was merely or purely a secondary round that's public.”
Ross Paquette Jan 11, 2018 ▶ 5:14 901 SaaS: Bootstrapped Enterprise Marketing Maropost Passes $36m ARR
Opinion
Secondary Buyers Seek Growth Exposure, Not Full Company Buyouts
“Most of those individuals do not want to purchase an entire company of our size. They're really just looking for that, that growth potential, excuse me. So that option isn't even on the table, I guess you could say, in most of those situations.”
Ross Paquette Jan 11, 2018 ▶ 9:31 901 SaaS: Bootstrapped Enterprise Marketing Maropost Passes $36m ARR
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost Accounts Expand by 152% Over Two Years
“So I would say it's not year over year, but it's about a 152% growth over a two year span.”
Ross Paquette Jan 11, 2018 ▶ 14:00 901 SaaS: Bootstrapped Enterprise Marketing Maropost Passes $36m ARR
Disclosure
Maropost Relies Entirely on Direct Sales Rather Than Marketing
“Everything we do is, is direct sales. So we're not you know, acquiring customers, say for the most part through partnerships or even any kind of active marketing programs.”
Ross Paquette Jan 11, 2018 ▶ 14:36 901 SaaS: Bootstrapped Enterprise Marketing Maropost Passes $36m ARR
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost grew revenue from $300k in 2013 to $26M in 2017
“So we very quickly went from 300,000 in revenue in 20, I guess that would have been 2013, actually. And then 2014, 3.3 million. 2016, if I'm not mistaken, was 13.3 million and then twenty six million in 20 17, if I'm not mistaken.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 2:05 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost approaches 5,000 active customer organizations
“Just shy of 5000, actually. We're about to, we should hit 5000 in a couple months.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 2:33 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost average revenue per user is roughly $1,800 monthly
“Probably about 1800 dollars per month.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 2:42 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Supported
Maropost completed a $37M all-secondary funding round in 2016
“That was 2016 and we did an all secondary round for thirty seven million US, fifty million Canadian if it was relevant.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 3:29 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Disclosure
Maropost acquired Neto in 2020 and Retail Express in 2021
“So we acquired a company out of Australia called Neato back at the end of. 20 20. So right in the thick of COVID. And then acquired another coincidentally Australian business as well at the end of 2021. Clearly we have an affinity for Christmas deals. And that…”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 7:43 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Neto generated over $10M ARR when acquired by Maropost
“They were around just over ten million USD.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 9:26 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost acquired Neto at roughly a 4x ARR multiple
“Sorry, that was in USD. So it's a little less than that. It was closer to a four X multiple.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 10:55 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Disclosure
Paquette takes zero salary, relying entirely on Maropost equity ownership
“So I don't have a salary. I don't have a bonus. I don't have anything. I have my ownership in the business. And if the business does well, I do well.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 13:54 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ross Paquette is the sole shareholder of Maropost
“No, we don't have any shareholders except for myself. So we have option holders like everybody else.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 15:18 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost generates over $200,000 in revenue per employee
“Revenue per employee is just over 200 right now, but it'll be significantly higher.”
Ross Paquette Apr 17, 2022 ▶ 19:20 Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Maropost Reached $160M Valuation With PE and Family Offices
“That was our last valuation that we did. I brought in a couple of partners last summer two private equity firms and two family offices. So that was really what they came up with.”
Ross Paquette Jan 11, 2018 ▶ 1:18 901 SaaS: Bootstrapped Enterprise Marketing Maropost Passes $36m ARR
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Maropost's Average Customer Pays Roughly $90,000 Annually
“It's about 90,000. So, you know, 8000 or just under 8000 or so us dollars.”
Ross Paquette Jan 11, 2018 ▶ 2:10 901 SaaS: Bootstrapped Enterprise Marketing Maropost Passes $36m ARR

Show 5statements(5 left)

Appearances (2)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
Bootstrapped Maropost Hits $60m Revenue, 52% Profits, Doing $1.7b Secondary Right Now Apr 17, 2022 11m
901 SaaS: Bootstrapped Enterprise Marketing Maropost Passes $36m ARR Jan 11, 2018 9m
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.