
How to Build a SaaS Unicorn: The Outreach Story - tomhuntio
https://blog.getlatka.com/outreach-saas-revenue-sales-customers/
======
qwertzy
Not to be dramatic, but it would be nice if this domain/"enterprise" were not
allowed here based on the reporting from Vox[0].

[0] - [https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/11/26/20930374/nathan-
latka-...](https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/11/26/20930374/nathan-latka-
podcast-saas-data-top-entrepreneurs)

~~~
jjeaff
After reading that article, I have got to say that it's so ironic that many of
these SV founders are mad that Latka is selling their company data. One
actually said when I provided that information for the podcast, "I didn't
intend for that data to be sold."

Latka's argument is that he is clear in the podcast and many other places that
is what he does.

It sounds like he is playing startup founders with their own game. Provide a
service that the founder/company wants for free or little cost. Then turn
around and sell their data to 3rd parties.

I would be willing to bet that is the business model of many of the companies
that have appeared on the podcast and are mad at having their data packaged
and sold.

And Latka's response is the same as all the founders of those types of
companies.

"It's in the fine print, bro!"

~~~
anon1m0us
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Here is a human person doing
to corporate persons what they have been doing to human persons.

It drives a stake in the heart of their hypocrisy.

They take your private info and sell it for marketing and he takes their
marketing and sells their private info. The desire for HN'ers to silence this
publication of private data speaks to the nature of the community being blind
to their own wrongs.

------
jakozaur
Congratulations! Some key take aways:

1\. Postpone investment in marketing for the first few years and focus on the
product. No need to spend time on social media.

2\. Bid on competitors brand names in Google Ads.

3\. When you buy other SaaS, give them testimonials with back links to boost
your SEO.

~~~
troydavis
The article omits arguably the highest-impact element:

    
    
      4. Be comfortable selling a product that almost all customers use to send spam to strangers.
    

That's the ingredient many, hopefully most, entrepreneurs don't have. Outreach
got popular by letting salespeople send the same template to more strangers,
faster. That was its whole business for the first few years.

Even today, the leftovers exist on their Web site.
[https://support.outreach.io/hc/en-
us/articles/216288348-Avoi...](https://support.outreach.io/hc/en-
us/articles/216288348-Avoiding-Spam-Filters) is one example: "When using
Outreach, it is up to the individual to follow these requirements. Remember,
being marked as spam can have a detrimental impact on your organization's
deliverability rates."

If there's a universal lesson, it might be to find a market, customer, or
delivery method that you are uniquely suited for. Outreach's founders cared
less than average about enforcing policies or making a positive overall
impact, and they found a field where caring about paying customers at the
expense of all other stakeholders (like recipients) was rewarded. While I sure
wouldn't encourage differentiating that way, the concept works.

~~~
creaghpatr
>Outreach's founders cared less than average about enforcing policies or
making a positive overall impact

Didn't realize you were privy to the founders' nefarious intentions, do you
have evidence to back this claim up? That's a huge story if you're telling the
truth.

~~~
troydavis
There’s nothing nefarious about it. These are 2 of many relative priorities.
For example, at one extreme, some people care only about impact and don’t care
at all about money; that usually leads to a not-for-profit. At the other
extreme is barely-legal greyhat malware/adware, where a lot of collateral
damage is accepted as long as it’s profitable.

I wouldn’t personally be comfortable with the tradeoffs that Outreach made,
but it’s legal and making them doesn’t make them evil. One might describe it
as greedy.

(I don’t think greed is newsworthy and I’m far from the only person to see it
here. Regarding evidence of Outreach’s spot on the continuum,
[https://twitter.com/annepmitchell/status/671386007850192896](https://twitter.com/annepmitchell/status/671386007850192896),
[https://twitter.com/dswiese/status/713039678287405056](https://twitter.com/dswiese/status/713039678287405056),
and
[https://twitter.com/troyd/status/753721604081799168](https://twitter.com/troyd/status/753721604081799168)
are 3 of many examples.)

~~~
lmeyerov
Making legal trade-offs can be evil, and setting & enforcing social norms is a
basic responsibility of every adult.

