How I Reverse Engineered A $100 Million Exit - Jason Lemkin
About This Episode
Sam Parr interviews SaaS veteran Jason Lemkin on the specific metrics and strategies required to build and exit a $100 million company. The conversation covers the evolution of software efficiency, the 'second product' trap, and the economic realities of the conference business.
Episode Description
Show Notes
- 0:00Jason Lemkin’s first million
- 4:19The rules of getting to a 9-figure exit
- 5:32Rule 1: New minimum is $400K per employee
- 7:58Rule 2: Go multi-product
- 9:40Rule 3: Your second product must be bigger than your first product
- 11:05Cheat code: Double your prices
- 13:48Rule 4: 30% of your revenue is international
- 15:43Rule 5: Localize your product
- 19:05Cheat code: Remove friction
- 22:42Rule 6: 100% net revenue retention
- 29:01Business models that won’t get you there
- 33:38$100M conferences
- 39:35Rule 7: Don’t raise double digit millions
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Key Takeaways
Aim for $300,000 to $400,000 in revenue per employee to ensure your business model has real economies of scale and remains viable in the current market.
When expanding, your second product must have the potential to be larger than your first to avoid being weighed down by the growth requirements of the original business.
Avoid raising more than $10 million in venture capital if your goal is a $10 million to $50 million exit, as raising double-digit millions forces a 'billion-or-bust' outcome.