SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders
Ep 364: $300,000 Per Year Worth $15 Million?
23 Jul 2016
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is The Top, where I interview entrepreneurs who are number one or number two in their industry in terms of revenue or customer base.
Chapter 2: What is Roost and how does it operate?
You'll learn how much revenue they're making, what their marketing funnel looks like, and how many customers they have. I'm now at $20,000 per top. Five and six million. He is hell-bent on global domination. We just broke our 100,000 unit sold mark. And I'm your host, Nathan Latka. Okay, Top Tribe, this week's winner of the $100 is Daniel Al-Soudini. He's based overseas.
He's an employee at a current company and can't wait to break free.
Chapter 3: How does Roost generate revenue from storage and parking?
For your chance to win $100, Top Tribe, simply subscribe to the podcast now and then text the word NATHAN to 33444 to prove that you did it. Again, text the word NATHAN to 33444 to prove that you did it. I give away $100 every Monday. Today's episode is 364 Top Tribe, and coming up tomorrow morning, you're gonna hear from Amit. He went from consultant to $300,000 SaaS business very fast.
Top Tribe, good morning. Our guest today is Jonathan Gillen. He's the founder of RoostDropertyTax.com, Double Tap Ventures. He's had over four failures. He's a relentless hustler, advisor, troublemaker, optimist, and freestyle rapper.
Chapter 4: What challenges did Jonathan face in Roost's early days?
Jonathan, are you ready to take us to the top? Ready to go to the top, Nathan. Nice, man. Okay, tell us about Roost. What is it and how do you make money?
So Roost is a peer-to-peer marketplace for storage and parking spaces. Basically, we take any empty space you have, like a garage, attic, basement, closet, driveway, give you the tools, the trust and safety. uh, to monetize it to neighbors who want to store stuff or park cars with you.
Okay. Very interesting.
Chapter 5: How does Jonathan view the potential for Roost's growth?
So what is the, uh, like how do you make money? Like who's the seller? Who's the buyer? Where's your cut?
So, uh, the transaction happens and, uh, we take 15%, uh, and, uh, it comes from both parties. It's just, uh, Actually, you know, one side can see the transaction fee coming from the other. And it's actually kind of a funny paradigm with transaction fees because to the renter, we have hosts and renters, right? So the renter sees $100 per month and the $115, the host gets $100 or the host gets
wants to get $100 and the renter will pay $115.
Chapter 6: What is the current financial standing of Roost?
So it's all perspective, which side you look at it. But anyway, money goes through, we take 15%.
So I am right now looking at a unit you have listed in San Francisco, California. Its title is Indoor Garage Parking, Lower Pack, Pacific Heights. It's $295 per month. That's what I see. You're saying the person listed this for 15% less than that, but you've built in your 15%. That's right. OK, got it. You're doing this for just storage and also for parking spaces.
Chapter 7: How does Jonathan plan to expand Roost into new markets?
Yeah. So we look at parking as car storage. So we focus on long term residential parking and storage.
Got it. That makes sense. Give us a sense. So the seller is really anyone with an open garage.
That's right. An open garage, a driveway, a closet, an attic, just any unused space.
Okay.
Chapter 8: What is the significance of Roost's low churn rate?
Okay. Any unused space. So what is your most kind of listed kind of space? I'd say garages for sure. Okay.
And garages are versatile. You know, they can be parking and storage or both.
Okay, it makes good sense. And then the buyer, quote unquote, is the person who really wants to rent the space, right? Yes. Okay. So you don't take really, again, you build that 15% kind of into the price. Walk us through some kind of economics around the business, starting with a timeline. What was your business founded in?
So we started in November 2013 was when I came up with the idea.
And what was your one revenue? I was like asking that.
what was year one revenue was nothing like $2, right?
Yeah.
$2. It was, it was me running around with a spreadsheet, uh, knocking on people's doors. You know, I once sat outside. So, so here's how I felt. It was kind of funny. I went knocking on people's doors, which is something I did with my last business, property tax, asking if they had any extra space and, um, getting their info on a, just a spreadsheet.
And then, um, I found there was a storage facility that was shutting down in San Francisco, um, and, uh, is on 7th and Townsend Townsend. And I actually.
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