Jon Ferrara of Nimble #189

Click here to stream the audio version of this episode.
Click here to stream the video version of this episode.

Join our new mailing list and be the first to learn about upcoming guests!

If you were in sales or customer relations in the 90s, GoldMine was probably indispensible to you. So what's the founder Jon Ferrara been doing in the eight years since his massive exit? You'll have to watch to find out but we'll give you one hint--he's back and he's building a bigger, better or more robust CRM platform than ever before.

0:00-1:00 Welcome to TWiST everyone!
1:00-3:00 We make be taking this show on the road to London and Paris, right Tyler?
3:00-4:00 If you want all the TWiST insidery goodness, join the TWiST Backchannel! Go to twistlist.co to join right now.
4:00-6:00 Thank you to GoToMeeting for sponsoring the show.
6:00-7:30 We’re here today with Jon Ferrara, CEO of Nimble and former founder of GoldMine.
7:30-10:30 What was it like back in the day at Banyan?
10:30-11:30 How did you fund the company when you were just 27?
11:30-13:00 Life was simpler in the 90s, wasn’t it? People were actually willing to pay for software.
13:00-15:15 So you got the VARs (value added retailers) to manage their own sales people and then the clients used it too?
15:15-16:15 The CRM software put a hand around the neck of the sales people? So it’s babysitting them?
16:15-18:30 How do you separate the relationships that the employees have with their clients from those that the company has with the clients?
18:30-19:30 Let’s take a tour of Nimble.
19:30-20:30 Jon shares the premise behind Nimble: platform unity.
20:30-23:30 How long have you been working on this project?
23:30-25:00 Explain how you came up with that golden feature.
25:00-26:30 What if I start dating someone and it pulls that info it? Is it buyer beware?
26:30-28:00 What are you charging for this?
28:00-32:30 Thank you to Hiscox for sponsoring the show. Let’s take a look at a Q&A session I had with Jim Whetstone from Hiscox about how they help protect small businesses.
32:30-35:00 So during your break, Salesforce.com really took out. When you think about it, what do you think?
35:00-35:45 If someone won’t tell you the price of something, don’t you think it’s a good indication that you’re about to get ripped off?
35:45-37:30 Insight from Tyler: It’s like being a graveyard security guard at a mattress shop.
37:30-39:15 What hasn’t changed about running a company today?
39:15-41:30 So you get the person who doesn’t have a lot of experience and train them up?
41:30-43:15 Jon: I’m curious how much it costs Salesforce to maintain each user.
43:15-46:00 Are you a single founder this go-around? Are you funding this yourself?
46:00-47:45 Jason recounts his experience with seeking funding when he founded Mahalo.
47:45-50:00 Jon recounts when he met a VC at Sequoia who went above and beyond to connect.
50:00-52:15 Question from the chat: How did Jon get Nimble.com and how much did it cost?
52:15-53:30 What was the hardest moment in the history of GoldMine?
53:30-56:00 Jon tells a story about when he was 90 days into GoldMine and his future wife moved in with him and his co-founder.
56:00-57:30 What do you do when there’s tension between you and a co-founder?
57:30-58:00 Jason: I’m asking everyone to go try Nimble.com.
58:00-58:15 If you’re a developer who wants to work at Nimble, email jon@nimble.com.
58:15-01:01:15 Thank you to GoToMeeting and Hiscox for sponsoring the show.
01:01:15-01:04:30 If your kid asks for money for either college or to start a business, would you give him the choice?
01:04:30-01:04:45 Jon: We’re going to announce the MailChimp and Nimble integration soon.

Support This Week in Startups and independent media by joining the TWiST Producer Program at TwistList.co!

Multilingual? Translate this episode of TWiST into another language and email the transcript to translate@thisweekin.com

FOLLOW ON TWITTER
Jason: @jason
Tyler: @steepdecline
Jon: @jon_ferrara
Nimble: @nimble

Keep up with the latest from our sister company LAUNCH:

• The 50+ Startups TechCrunch Didn't Cover--But We Did
• Facebook News Ticker Provides Live Account of Friends' Activity
• Klout Finally Integrates Google+
• Vimeo Rumored to Launch Music Store Tomorrow
• Very Meta: Kickstarter Project for "KickStarter the Movie"

Special thanks to the members of the TWiST Backchannel Program!

Executive Producers

• Louis-Eric Simard
• Benjamin Gifford
• Jacek Artymiak
• Octavian Mihai
• Will Paoletto
• Geoffrey Clapp
• Eien Hyett
• Jeff Hoffer
• Kyle Lonzo
• Austin Miller
• Rashaun Sourles
• Robb Kunz
• Greg Berry
• Sean Lynch
• Mary Ann Halford
• Jim Joyce
• Morgan Howard
• Margaret Johns
• Kyle M. Brown
• Paul Cole
• Nick Duncan
• Magnus Ingvarsson
• Amir Ayalon
• Carlos Zaidenweber
• Avery Keitt
• Joshua Shipsey

Producers

• Eli Coler
• Ted Inoue
• Radek Rybicki
• Hunter Owens
• Ben Altieri
• Cam Collins
• Ildar Khakimov
• Matti Hallanoro
• Rodrigo Dauster
• Rodrigo Fuentes
• Anthony Ortenzi
• Daniel de la Cruz
• Michael Hofmann
• John Meneses
• Mike Sunyich
• Sami Rageb
• Michael Lustig
• Alex Deli
• Ethan Jones
• John Davies
• Mark Burcher
• Preston Haley

Associate Producers

• Brad Pineau
• Kat Ganesan
• Nicholas Christian
• Mau Frontier
• Kyle Braatz
• Serena Ehrlich
• Nathan Hangen
• Lauri Hahne
• JD
• Trudy Baidoo
• Ian Gerstel
• Julian Hearn
• Alex Lotoczko
• James Kennedy
• Benoit Curdy
• Asher Nevins
• Mike Kaltschnee
• Paul Higgins
• William Doom
• David Lee
• Jake Kerber
• Sarp Coskun
• Giuseppe Taibi
• Tyrone Rubin
• Keno Vigil
• Paul Peters
• Jamal Waring
• Nick Ostroff
• Alex Binkley
• Tom Altman
• John MP Knox
• Zon Petilla
• Bryan McCormick
• Marcos Trinidad
• Allen Cordrey
• Daniel Mich
• Joshua Rosen
• Grant Carlile

Supporters

• Ryan Hoover
• Michael Cranston
• Josiah Thomas
• João Fernandes
• Petrus Theron
• Michael Wild
• Adrian Grant
• Dale Emmons
• Kieran McGrady
• Tim de Jardine
• Alejandro Vasquez
• C. Dain Miller
• Joshua Opatz
• Milan Babuskov
• Chris Rowe
• Nelson Melo
• James Dawson
• Toddy Mladenov
• Daniel Torres
• Chris Macke
• Piotr Zuralski
• Armand Konan
• Brian Vogel
• Paul D
• Jennifer Sun
• David Kolb
• George Gecewicz
• Sue Marrone
• Eugene Granovksy
• Matt Caporella
• Will Blackton
• Ryan Dodds
• Brett Arp
• Jason Cresswell
• Edwin Orange
• Daniel Bradley
• Shawn Daniel
• Priidu Kull
• Marc Kohlbrugge
• Patrick Desroches
• Alex Lam
• Dario Dulic
• Paul Secor
• Ryan Urabe
• Madhu R.
• Paul Ardeleanu

Superfans

• Carmen Harvey

Fans

• Juston Brommel
• Michael Gnanakone
• Gary Stetler
• Chris Weitzel
• Kyle Taylor
• Michael Puhala
• Joshua Randal
• Alexander Hektor
• Christopher Klingler
• Rob Morgan
• Nehemiah Wyant
• Will Mason
• Bobby Rivera
• Severan Johnson
• Abhishek Pillai
• Kevin Donovan
• Shiv Rajendran
• James Parkin
• Brice C.
• Dan Ruswick
• Climate Amante De La Vida