Mike Cook. He founded XOR Data Exchange to bring privacy and accountability back to data management. Today, his organization works with the nation’s largest financial institutions to fight fraud and manage risk. You might have never seen Mike presenting the newest consumer tech, but rest assured every digital entity in America is safer under his watchful eye.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – How to Win Friends and Influence People
What CEO do you follow? – Sam Yagan
Favorite online tool? — Periscope
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “That you should go to anger management”

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:40 – Nathan introduces Mike to the show
02:10 – Mike mentions how XOR Data Exchange works
02:54 – Mike wanted to create a company where financial institutions can share their data with one another
03:16 – XOR Data Exchange is a B2B model
03:21 – XOR Data Exchange will eventually help consumers
04:04 – Mike shares how XOR Data Exchange will work in between companies
04:31 – Companies like AIG and JP Chase Morgan store data
05:32 – XOR Data Exchange changes the mentality of the pipe
06:25 – XOR Data Exchange generates revenue by building pre-exchanges
- 07:17 – XOR Data Exchange charges transaction fees based on return data
- 07:38 – XOR Data Exchange is a pay-as-you-go model
07:43 – XOR Data Exchange is building a new exchange focusing on financial services companies where companies can exchange fraud information
08:10 – XOR Data Exchange was launched in January 2014
08:20 – First year revenue is nothing
08:27 – Mike put in his own money in XOR Data Exchange
08:34 – Mike sold his company ID Analytics to fund XOR Data Exchange
- 08:40 – Mike sold ID Analytics in 2012, which he started in 2000
- 08:56 – Mike was 17 when he started ID Analytics
- 09:15 – Mike had 2 other co-founders
09:26 – Mike tried to work in a big company after his exit
09:56 – Mike has raised $6M and will close $2M, today
10:53 – The last round was in August 2015
11:22 – Most of the money from the current round is from the previous investors
11:36 – Mike shares about his Angel investors
12:40 – “Raising a Series B in this environment is not the easiest thing to do”
- 12:51 – Mike explains what he means by this
13:20 – XOR Data Exchange is working with big customers
13:45 – “If you work with the top 6, 7, 8 financial services companies, you’re really covering 90% of America”
14:05 – XOR Data Exchange has dozens of companies
14:23 – Team size
14:26 – XOR Data Exchange is not yet cashflow positive
15:05 – 2017 goal
15:25 – Most of the XOR Data Exchange employees are tech and based in Austin
17:30 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Reinvest your money in something that you believe in.
The financial service space isn’t the easiest environment to raise a Series B.
If you work with the top 6, 7, or 8 financial services companies, you’re really covering 90% of America.

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
Freshbooks – Nathan doesn’t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 593: XOR Data Announcing $2m Funding Round Live, Invested $800k Before Any Revenue with CEO Mike Cook

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