Nathan Latka: Bootstrapping to $2M ARR, Turning Down $6.5M, and Funding 500+ Startups

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/61/e7/a1/61e7a157-ca74-6c38-c204-e36e991f5f0a/mza_2224468599835198823.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

Startup Growth Podcast

Fondo

25 episodes

1 week ago

Fondo is an all-in-one accounting platform for startups. Get your books closed, taxes filed, and cash back from the IRS.

All content for Startup Growth Podcast is the property of Fondo and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Fondo is an all-in-one accounting platform for startups. Get your books closed, taxes filed, and cash back from the IRS.

Marketing

Business,

Entrepreneurship

Nathan Latka: Bootstrapping to $2M ARR, Turning Down $6.5M, and Funding 500+ Startups

Startup Growth Podcast

18 minutes

5 months ago

Nathan Latka: Bootstrapping to $2M ARR, Turning Down $6.5M, and Funding 500+ Startups

Nathan Latka is the founder and CEO of Founderpath, a fintech platform that has deployed nearly $200 million in non-dilutive capital to 500+ software companies. He’s also the creator of GetLatka, a massive SaaS database built off the back of his top-ranked Latka podcast, where he’s interviewed thousands of founders. Nathan’s entrepreneurial journey began at 18 with the launch of Heyo, a Facebook fan page SaaS tool he bootstrapped to $2M in ARR before raising venture capital and eventually exiting.

In this conversation, Nathan shares hard-earned lessons from building and exiting companies, explains why most founders don’t understand the true cost of raising VC, and offers a compelling case for why debt and secondaries can be a smarter option. We also explore:

How he bootstrapped Heyo to $2M ARR before raising VC
The $6.5M exit offer he had to turn down (and regrets)
What most founders misunderstand about venture capital
How GetLatka became the #1 ranked SaaS benchmarking database
Why the future belongs to tiny teams with huge revenue
The three AI trends shaping SaaS company formation
How FounderPath prices startup equity daily—instantly enabling secondaries
Why hooks and attention matter more than ever
And much more

Brought to you by:

Fondo — Automate your accounting and unlock up to $500k from the IRS: https://TryFondo.com

Where to Find Nathan Latka

X: https://x.com/NathanLatka
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanlatka/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlatka/
Podcast: Latka Podcast
SaaS Database: https://getlatka.com
Book: How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital

Where to Find David Phillips

X: https://x.com/davj
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davjphillips/

In This Episode, We Cover

(00:00) Intro to Nathan and FounderPath
(01:30) The story behind Heyo and bootstrapping to $2M ARR
(03:50) Raising venture and losing optionality
(05:30) The $6.5M offer and why his board said no
(07:10) Lessons from a slow death and how to move on
(08:15) Why Nathan started the Latka podcast
(09:30) Building GetLatka to 3,000+ daily organic clicks
(11:00) The power of hooks and attention in modern SaaS
(12:45) Inside FounderPath: non-dilutive capital for SaaS
(14:30) How venture debt differs from traditional VC
(16:15) Why secondaries are healthy, not harmful
(18:00) How FounderPath prices startup equity daily
(20:10) Big trends: tiny teams, chat-based dashboards, attention > tech

Referenced

GetLatka – https://getlatka.com
FounderPath – https://founderpath.com
Heyo (archived) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heyo
How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital (Book) – https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Capitalist-Without-Capital/dp/0525534440
ZoomInfo – https://www.zoominfo.com
Techstars – https://www.techstars.com
G2 Crowd – https://www.g2.com