Episode Overview

Podcast: Startup Stories - Mixergy
Host: Andrew Warner
Guest: Vlada Latkina, founder of ClassTag
Episode Title: This listener got a Mixergy guest to invest in her startup (#2267)
Date: September 20, 2024

In this episode, Andrew Warner interviews Vlada Latkina, the founder of ClassTag—a parent-teacher communication platform with over five million users. Vlada, a longtime Mixergy listener, shares her journey from immigrant to corporate consultant to edtech founder, how she leveraged Mixergy connections to secure early investment, her unique bootstrapped-to-exit path, and her new focus on supporting founders and brand partnerships. The discussion digs deep into the challenges of edtech, scaling SaaS, leveraging cold outreach, and the real emotional and strategic contours of a successful exit.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life Changes, Post-COVID Reflection (00:00–00:24)

• Andrew and Vlada begin by reflecting on major life changes after COVID, with Vlada sharing her move from New York to Miami.
• Quote:

  "I actually moved from New York to Miami, so that was one of the post Covid decisions." — Vlada Latkina (00:15)

2. Founder Introduction & Quick Exit Details (00:24–01:53)

• Vlada’s ClassTag connects parents, teachers, and administrators (5M+ users)
• Andrew marvels at the difficulty of cracking the education sector.
• Vlada’s exit: confirms it was an “eight figure” deal (> $10M, < $100M); her personal take: between $2–5M.
• Memorable moment: Andrew drills into the numbers candidly.

3. The M&A Process, Emotional Fallout, and Post-Exit Feelings (01:53–03:48)

• Learned to run the business "as if it's not being sold" during M&A.
• Vlada describes a muted emotional response at closing—having to stifle all creative ideas until exit:

  "I felt like a cork went out of a champagne pie. I felt like I can burst these ideas, I can burst businesses." — Vlada Latkina (03:16)

4. Family Origins and Entrepreneurial Influence (04:11–05:09)

• Vlada grew up in the Soviet Union; her father turned to entrepreneurship post-USSR, inspiring her.

  “My dad ... became entrepreneur and started dozen of different businesses ... I had this entrepreneurial bug.” — Vlada Latkina (04:11)

5. Corporate Experience and Lessons from BCG & EMC (05:09–07:08)

• MBA at Wharton, then Boston Consulting Group, then EMC (Dell).
• Corporate roles taught her the value of asking the right questions over knowing all the answers.

  "...the most useful skill is asking the right questions." — Vlada Latkina (08:25)

• Confidence to “walk into any business ... not knowing anything and actually advise someone.” (06:08)

6. On the Difference Between Corporate and Startup Life (06:53–07:08)

• “Corporate is way, way easier than startups like by, I don't know, a factor of a thousand.” — Vlada Latkina

7. Customer Discovery & Problem Validation (10:13–14:34)

• As a parent, Vlada experienced firsthand how poor school-to-parent communication impacts families.
• She interviewed 100+ parents, confirming a massive pain point.
• Launched an initial “parent-facing” product—failed, as parents lacked authority to introduce new tools.

  "They didn't feel the authority to introduce it to their school ... so we pivoted almost immediately to teachers." — Vlada Latkina (14:53)

8. Pivot: Teachers as Core Users and Scaling via Word of Mouth (14:53–17:19)

• Focused product on teachers, leveraging their connectivity and influence.
• Growth via mommy groups, personal introductions, scaling via teacher word-of-mouth and social media.
• Hired early users (teachers) onto the team.

9. The Free, Brand-Sponsored Business Model (17:19–19:19)

• Chose not to charge parents (equity in education) or teachers (they lack budget).
• Monetized via brand sponsorships—unique access for brands to school audiences.
• Shared ad proceeds as classroom supplies.

  "It was the only platform that allows you as a brand ... to get in front of parents and teachers in a school context." — Vlada Latkina (18:30)

10. Hustle for First Sponsors and Go-To-Market (19:26–20:25)

• Cold-called camp providers/pediatricians via Yelp, sold out local ad inventory rapidly, then moved to national sponsors.
• Sold sponsorships before building the ad infrastructure.
• Technical co-founder met through preschool—their children were classmates.

11. Building the First Product & Team (20:37–24:33)

• Vlada’s CTO (and co-founder) had IPO experience and built out the tech team in Ukraine.
• Partnership succeeded via complementary skills and mutual respect.

12. Spreading Beyond New York: Testimonials and Social Ads (24:33–25:07)

• Used teacher testimonials as Facebook ad creative to reach educators nationwide.

13. Bootstrapping and First Investments (25:07–26:41)

• Initially bootstrapped using her corporate paycheck, then quit to raise funding.
• First investment came from a Mixergy guest: Vlada reached out via LinkedIn after hearing her interview, building genuine rapport and updating on progress:

  "I sent her a message on LinkedIn ... We had a drink in New York City ... and I got to share with her my deck ..." — Vlada Latkina (25:49)

14. Raising and Scaling: The Power of Direct Outreach (28:18–29:07)

• Early fundraising was tough; investors saw edtech as a 'graveyard.'
• Gained traction through profitability—$20K MRR from brand model—before investors got interested.

15. Introducing SaaS Model During COVID (29:35–34:56)

• COVID forced transition: schools sought structured communication solutions; teachers demanded district-wide access.
• Rolled out a paid, enterprise SaaS version; business steadily shifted from ad-based to SaaS (60% SaaS by the exit).
• Added commerce features (parents could buy or donate supplies).

16. Economics of Selling to Districts vs. Ad Sales (31:20–32:21)

• Tough district sales cycles; lower annual sales compared to ad sales—required scale and patience.

17. Why Sell? (34:56–35:54)

• Eight years in, war in Ukraine affected family—prompted desire for liquidity.
• At a crossroads: "raise more to double down on district sales, or exit with momentum and a strong outcome."

18. The Exit: Process and Acquirer Fit (36:03–38:24)

• Acquirer, SchoolStatus (PE-backed with adjacent products), approached multiple times.
• Used a boutique investment banker for reach and neutrality, especially with a large cap table.

19. What’s Next: Entrepreneurship After Exit (38:36–41:01)

• Took on the brand partnership team from ClassTag’s ad business and launched Class Media, helping other edtechs partner with brands.
• Launched Elevator Lab to coach startups—“help them get their first ten or hundred customers” with practical support, not broad acceleration.

  "The idea done is better than a brilliant idea just sitting there on a shelf." — Vlada Latkina (40:01)

20. Cold Outreach Playbook for Brand Deals (43:06–45:15)

• Recommends highly-personalized, large-scale cold email (using Apollo.io).

  "I did cold email. I developed a system with cold email that worked really well and I actually sold about a million of my first brand just by myself." — Vlada Latkina (43:32)

21. Motivation and Coaching Philosophy (42:12–43:06)

• Vlada finds coaching deeply rewarding, seeing tangible breakthroughs—draws contrast between corporate and startup “what really matters” (doing > planning).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On bootstrapping and early revenue:
  “We had a really hard time raising in the beginning ... until we became profitable ... So that was my message to her a year and a half later saying, hey Alison, how are you doing? We just crossed 20k mrr and we are profitable and looking to get funding to accelerate from here." — Vlada Latkina (28:18)

• On selling to schools:
  "If you are in this extraneous category of enablement software in a school system, it just tough. You need really big scale." — Vlada Latkina (31:49)

• On her superpower:
  "Going back to working with my dad ... the only way I sold him my ideas was by asking questions, because my ideas had to be his ideas in order for them to fly ... I can remove the ego ... and make it somebody else's idea." — Vlada Latkina (23:38)

Important Segments & Timestamps

• Intro and Life Moves Post-COVID – 00:00–00:24
• ClassTag Origin, Size, and Bureaucratic Challenge – 00:24–01:33
• Exit Details & Emotional Impact – 01:33–03:48
• Entrepreneurial Roots – 04:11–05:09
• Corporate Lessons & Confidence in Consulting – 05:09–07:08
• Customer Discovery, Pivot to Teachers – 10:13–14:53
• Business Model: Brand Sponsorships Explained – 17:19–19:19
• First Sponsors & Building the Team – 19:26–24:33
• Scaling & Funding – 24:50–26:41
• Investor Outreach & Updates – 25:49–29:07
• COVID & SaaS Transition – 29:35–34:56
• Decision to Sell & The M&A Process – 34:56–38:24
• Life/Work After Exit: New Ventures – 38:36–41:01
• Brand Partnership Cold Email Playbook – 43:06–45:15
• Closing & Contact – 46:19–46:34

Useful Resources and Contact

• ClassTag: classtag.com
• Class Media: classmedia.co
• Elevator Lab: elev8lab.com (Elevator: “ELEV + 8 + LAB”)
• Connect with Vlada on LinkedIn

This episode is a must-listen for those navigating edtech, B2B sales, the immigrant-founder journey, or solo bootstrapping—and for anyone needing inspiration on making audacious connections for investment and advice.