867 SaaS: 80% yoy Growth, Badger Maps Passes $180k MRR

SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders

Nathan Latka

Ceo, Entrepreneurs, Founders, Software, Business, Entrepreneurship, Saas, Startups

4.6 • 683 Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2017

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After receiving his MBA from Stanford, Steven Benson worked in Sales at IBM, HP and Google where he was Google Enterprise's Top Sales Executive in 2009. In 2012 Steven founded Badger Maps, the #1 Sales App in the Apple App Store, which helps Field Sales People be more successful.

How do you put touch on such a low price point?

The sales cycle is quick, about 3 weeks, so we're able to put touch on most free trials even though starting price point is $35 a seat.

Marketing, Sales, and customer success all tied together but manage themselves in pods. There is no variable comp, including the sales roles. Everyone is on salary and everyone owns equity so they can take part in upside.

What is revenue growth?

Back in December 2016 we were doing $130k, now in August 2017 we're at about $180k in MRR so about 80% yoy growth rate.

We're using bank debt, 19% interest rate with LighterCapital, to fund growth because its non dilutive.

In July 2017 spent about $15k on paid marketing. Has sales team of 30 that works those leads and makes up larger part of cost structure.

Are you cash flow positive? (Minute 17)

Yes because we're pulling cash forward in the form of multi year deals. We incentivize this by giving customers a 20% discount.

Favorite business book is Predictable Revenue.

I'm following Jason Lempkin at SaaStr.

My favorite online tool is gmail.

Steven has no kids, gets 7 hours of sleep and is currently 39. He wishes his 20 year old self would choose a career path that he enjoyed, that their are jobs in, and that he was good at.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the top entrepreneurs podcast where founders share how they started their companies and got
0:06.9	filthy rich or crash and burn. Each episode features revenue numbers, customer counts, and other
0:16.1	insider information that creates business news headlines. We went from a couple hundred thousand dollars to two point seven million.
0:23.6	I had no money when I started the company.
0:25.6	It was $160 million, which is the size of any IPOs.
0:29.6	We're a bit strapped.
0:30.6	We have like 22,000 customers.
0:33.6	With over 5 million downloads in a very short amount of time,
0:38.6	major outlets like Inc are calling us the fastest growing business show on iTunes.
0:43.6	I'm your host, Nathan Latka, and here's today's episode.
0:48.9	Hello, everyone.
0:49.9	My guest today is Stephen Bollender.
0:52.5	After receiving his MBA from Stanford, he worked in sales at IBM, HPN Google
0:57.1	where he was Google Enterprise's top sales executive in 2009.
1:00.7	In 2012, he founded Badger Maps, the number one sales app in the Apple App Store,
1:05.0	which helps field salespeople be more successful.
1:08.4	Stephen, are you ready to take us to the top?
1:10.3	I am.
1:10.7	Let's do it.
1:11.4	All right. So we had you on back in episode. Okay, I don't know. I remember what the episode was,
1:17.0	but we had you on about a little less than a year ago. So about nine or ten months ago,
1:21.4	the company was healthy. You told us it was founded in 2012. For those not familiar,
	...

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