EP 357: He Quit His Job, Lost His Life Savings, Then Hit it Big With SaaS Business

Hank Leber, founder and CEO of Vytamin. Vytamin is a marketing technology software that provides an end-to-end marketing solution. The business made $460,000 the first year and is excelling in its industry. Hank will share his insights from failing with his first business to succeeding with the next. He is a great example of an entrepreneur who has persevered to create a service that works.

Famous 5:

• Favorite Business Book? – The Lean Startup
• What CEO do you follow? —Jason Lemkin
• Favorite online tool? — Google Apps

• Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No way
• If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Cheat a little

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:28 – Nathan introduces Hank Leber, founder and CEO of Vytamin
• 01:55 – Hank worked with Travelocity before Vytamin
• 02:16 – Vytamin is marketing technology software for an end-to-end marketing solution
• 02:47 – The service starts at $1000/month
• 03:24 – Vytamin is a SAS company
• 03:54 – Hank's first business was founded at the beginning of 2015, because Hank wanted to move to greater things beyond his original goals
• 05:14 – You can get out of the corporate world, but it is a leap of faith
• 06:45 – Hank quickly exhausted his life savings with his first startup, Gonnabe, and the company failed
• 09:14 – His cofounders found outlets at other successful companies.
• 09:52 – Hank then took a year in the agency world to make back the money he lost and get on his feet again.
• 11:05 – First year revenue for Vytamin was $460,000
• 11:30 – They now have 85 paying customers, with $102,000/month coming in.
• 12:41 – Gross churn is about 4% per month, but at first it was over 20%.
• 13:48 – Their goal is 4% annual churn
• 14:49 – They don't have to spend on marketing because they use their own software. There is no real inside sales team.
• 16:08 – There are nine on the team now, with $650,000 revenue last year.
• 18:26 – Monthly headcount is about $10k
• 18:53 – Revenue is 18%
• 19:30 – Hank does the Famous Five

3 Key Points:

• Even if a business idea fails, use your new knowledge to continue seeking a concept that works.
• Starting a business will require savings or funding as well as a big leap into the unknown.
• Give appropriate value to your employees and they will work harder and stick around.

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.

• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives