EP 414: $70M Raised, $30k ACV, SaaS Success VidYard
Michael Litt started his first video company, Redwoods Media, as his undergraduate thesis project. He then evolved with his partner to create another successful video software company, Vidyard. He has learned the value of supportive family and friends throughout his life as an entrepreneur. Famous Five: Favorite Book? – Behind the Cloud What CEO do you follow? — Mark Benioff Favorite online tool? — Gmail Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — I try to. If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? – If you want to be an entrepreneur, surround yourself with people who love and support you. Focus on those relationships. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:40 – Nathan introduces Michael 02:15 – He started at the University of Waterloo and Research in Motion 03:00 – He graduated at 25, and the Redwoods Media was built as his undergraduate thesis project 03:50 – He contracted businesses to sponsor their company 04:50 – They were passionate about the video company, and turned down jobs at places like Google 05:30 – Vidyard is a video platform for business 05:50 – They sell that technology to businesses on a monthly basis 06:10 – Average revenue per customer is about $30k 06:35 – They have an inside sales team 07:25 – Four categories of businesses and sales teams 07:50 – 132 people on their team, and they have almost doubled in the last year 08:15 – Growth pains are opportunities to learn 08:55 – Looking at retention instead of churn 09:25 – Gross retention is 95% 09:45 – Net retention is 135% 10:47 – They have raised $70 million in funding 11:00 – Customer acquisition cost is paid back in 1.5 years 11:15 – Average customer acquisition is $40000 11:45 – Customers stay for quite a long time, according to the numbers 13:27 – Why lifetime value is tricky 13:45 – They focus on payback period for their customers 14:25 – Being honest about their business and their numbers for customer acquisition costs 15:10 – They include hard costs, like any work supplies 15:40 – Total customers is private 16:05 – They are looking to triple the business for two years, and then double the business for the next three years 16:40 – It would show their potential to go public 17:00 – Building a fast growing, high-value business 17:25 – Tom Tunguz’s Blog 17:45 – Revenue is private. 18:15 – They broke through $1 million for their first full year of sales 18:45 – Michael has a holiday party every year at his office. 19:00 – Project Christmas has carried throughout their business 19:28 – The Fall is a great time to raise money 19:55 – Connect with Michael at Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn 22:20 – The Famous Five 3 Key Points: Your first business ideas will develop into bigger, better projects. Be honest about your company and spending. Surround yourself with people who love and support you as you pursue your entrepreneurial dreams. Resources Mentioned: Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Toptal – Great for business people to start building their app Behind the Cloud - Michael’s favorite business book Gmail – His favorite tool, besides his own Tom Tunguz’s Blog – Learn about the best models that public companies use Connect with Michael at Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
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