Had fun on this interview w/ Neil Berman. This guy knows SaaS and launched his company called Delivra, in 1999, in the email marketing space. Listen as Neil shares how Delivra has grown exponentially in 17 years, without the need to raise funds and get into debt.
Hunters will like that Neil committed to growth over the long term (been building for 17+ years), and proves you can run a tech company at any age - he's 64!
Famous Five:
Favorite Book? – Great CEOs are Lazy
What CEO do you follow? – Mark Zuckerberg
Favorite online tool? — Twitter and LinkedIn
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— “At least”
If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “Patience and determination will win the game”
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:59 – Delivra is an email marketing software tool that helps clients “sell more stuff”
02:10 – They are a high break-even business with a low variable cost, so the more customers the better
02:15 – Delivra is a SaaS business
02:25 – Delivra currently has 500 direct paying clients, and a couple thousand resellers
02:33 – Average customer pays $800-900 per month
03:21 – Total revenue in 2016 about $4.8M
03:33 – Total revenue in 2015 is $4.2M
03:45 – Delivra has 3 marketing buckets
04:00 – Total team size is over 40+
04:12 – Main team location in Indianapolis
04:23 – Gross customer churn per month is 1.5%
04:45 – A customer stays with Delivra for 42 months
05:00 – LTV
05:10 – CAC is $1.08
06:33 – Delivra hasn’t raised yet and they have no debt, but are looking at options
06:45 – Neil’s target for their first round
07:43 – Delivra has grown organically over the years
08:17 – Neil is meeting with a capital markets team to learn about how to take Delivra to the next level
08:50 – Neil would think seriously about an offer
09:40 – Neil shares how their customers are using Delivra
10:25 – Connect with Neil through his website Delivra
12:20 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Before you do your first round of raising, get advice from an expert.
It’s incredible growing through organic traffic, but always aim to know what is the next level for your company.
Patience and determination will win the game.