How do you raise $3.2m with a 68X multiple in today’s tightened VC marketplace? To answer that burning question and more about his journey, the GetLatka team sat down with Jonathan Fishbeck, founder and CEO of EstateSpace.
EstateSpace is an estate planning tool that helps manage and maintain real property assets. “It’s estate management simplified,” explained Fishbeck. The serial founder revealed to Latka how he pivoted from services to SaaS, what factors influenced his recent investment deal, and why he turned down a $20m acquisition deal in 2021.
- Team of 18, 3X over last 18 months
- 65 customers paying $300 per month
- $250,000 ARR in past 5 months
- $3.2m seed round at $17m valuation
Launched services in 2017, pivoted to pure SaaS in April 2022
Fishbeck’s service-based estate management company launched in 2017. It grew to 50 customers and $2.2m in revenue in 2021 as it began to pivot to a purposely SaaS-based model that answers the question of “who’s managing all my stuff.” “We help people better manage and maintain the things they own. We help slow down the depreciation of assets and extend the life of the things people own,” explained the CEO. As an estate management service business, he recognized the lack of a SaaS solution in this emerging space, so he and his company seized the opportunity to develop EstateSpace.
Sunsetting services, migrating to 100% SaaS with $20K MRR in 5 months
Fishbeck admitted that moving from a service-based business to pure SaaS was difficult for some customers: “It’s hard to break the mindset. But we sunsetted our services and are now all SaaS, subscription-based.”
B2B2C with 65 family offices on the platform
According to the founder, EstateSpace serves family offices that oversee multiple properties. “Our platform is helping families and offices scale,” noted Fishbeck. With EstateSpace, his B2B customers can add to their customer base by optimizing many aspects of the time-consuming property management services. The platform relies on specific and flexible roles and permissions so, for instance, families can track and manage multiple vendor activities securely and efficiently.
Functionality in platform version 3.5 attracts bigger customers; largest pays $7,000 per month
Although the current average MRR for EstateSpace customers is $300, its largest customer pays $7,000 monthly. Founder Fishbeck attributes this increase to the new feature sets added in the 3.5 platform release. “We are reaching maturity level on the platform. We have feature sets like property maintenance and project management that are attractive to more customers,” he explained. Customers pay per user per month.
Bootstrapped SaaS raised $3.2m in a Seed round from close network
As other SaaS companies struggle to raise capital, Fishbeck’s SaaS raised $3.2m at a $17m valuation based on a paltry $20,000 MRR. How? The founder revealed, “I managed the storyline by being honest and transparent. At this point, they are investing in me, the company, and the vision. It’s not about the multiple.” He added that the EstateSpace story resonates with his staff, investors, shareholders, and potential buyers.
2 inches wide, 2 miles deep
Fishbeck believes his company story resonates because they’ve established traction in a new space, creating a distinct marketplace. “We are purpose-built; 2 inches wide, 2 miles deep,” noted the founder. “Our $17m valuation was appropriate as we expect to add significant value over the next 18 months, plus we have a 90% retention rate with customers,” Fishbeck added.
Founder turned down $20m acquisition offer in 2021
Latka queried the CEO about whether he regrets not taking the $20m offer in 2921, given that his current valuation sits at $17m. “Not at all,” replied Fishbeck. “This company is much more valuable than $20m.”
Famous 5
Favorite Book: Jonathan Fishbeck chose The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber as his favorite book.
CEO he’s following: Jonathan said he continues to follow “the usuals” like Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Tim Cook of Apple.
Favorite online tool: Although it’s imperfect, Fishbeck chose Atlassian as his go-to tool, noting that he still sees it as a critical part of their development.
Balance: The forty-year-old sleeps a solid 7 hours each night and is married with 3 kids, 2 dogs, and 4 birds.
What does he wish he had known at 20? “I wish I would have known that I needed to find someone who’s already done what I’m doing. It took me 18 years in business to learn that one.”
