EP 538: Nexd.io Raises $1m Pre-Rev, Aims $6M Series A For Smart Sales Automation with Founder James and CEO Larry

James and Larry of Nexd.io. James is the founder and the Chief Stratgey Officer of Next.io and has previously worked with IBM, Socialware, SailPoint Techologies. He has studied at Berkeley and now builds softwares that help people everyday. Larry is the President and CEO of Nexd and is highly experienced in leadership and operations. 

Famous Five:

• Favorite Book? – Peopleware (James)
• What CEO do you follow? –  Jeff Miller (Larry)
• Favorite online tool? — Clearbit (James)
• Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes (Larry)
• If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – James wished he built a network. Larry would tell himself that the most important thing is execution.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 01:42 – Nathan introduces James and Larry to the show
• 02:10 – Larry just joined Nexd and he’s the new CEO
• • 02:26 – Larry helps James build a business around the idea
  • 02:34 – Larry’s background is multiple CEO
• 03:35 – James shares why he brought Larry in
• 03:59 – Nexd was founded 14 months ago
• 05:23 – Nexd’s space is analytics
• • 05:45 – Nexd analyzes which emails are effective
• 05:55 – Nexd is currently on pre-revenue
• 06:00 – Nexd raised a million dollars on a seed round
• • 06:10 – It is a convertible note
  • 06:12 – Nexd did 2 convertible notes
• 07:10 – Larry discusses what he thinks about CEOs and founders not being on good terms in a company
• • 07:20 – Larry has been an advisor to VCs
  • 07:30 – Larry shares his advice to entrepreneurs
  • • 07:56 – Founders and CEOs should agree on who is going to drive the steering wheel
• 08:43 – Larry shares how he and James would represent the company in a sample article with TechCrunch
• 09:15 – Larry shares how they would resolve a possible disagreement in a seed round
• 10:17 – It was James’ own decision to get a CEO
• 10:48 – On the technical side, there is another co-founder
• 11:10 – “What Nexd is doing is going to be a game changer”
• 11:32 – Nexd targets sales manager and sales reps
• 12:58 – James and his co founder’s background is enterprise integration problems
• • 13:20 – “We’re trying to be a system of engagement for multiples systems of work”
• 13:43 – Target for Series A is $6-7M
• 14:08 – A minimal viable product is needed to step forward—a pilot that has been tested
• 15:50 – Nexd is not interested on a quick exit and they are going to be the next great company
• 17:50 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

• Choose someone who can do something you’re not good at and who you respect.
• Founders and CEOs should agree on who’s going to drive the steering wheel – if issues come up, own your mistakes and deal with it.
• You need a minimal viable product with validation from potential customers to move forward with your business. 

Resources Mentioned:

• Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
• Drip – Nathan uses Drip’s email automation platform and visual campaign builder to build his sales funnel
• Toptal – Nathan found his development team using Toptal for his new business Send Later. He was able to keep 100% equity and didn’t have to hire a co-founder due to the quality of Toptal
• Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible.
• Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books.
• The Top Inbox  – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
• Jamf – Jamf helped Nathan keep his Macbook Air 11” secure even when he left it in the airplane’s back seat pocket
• Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives