Today Sabba and Charlie break down the Figma IPO and speculate on which company will be the next Figma. They question whether the chat interface for AI is outdated, and debate if DeepMind might be the greatest acquisition of all time, plus who’s most likely to win the AGI race. They also dig into the UK’s online safety act, why VPNs are booming, and wrap up with a very cheeky “recording blocker” startup idea. 00:00 Intro 01:21 Figma IPO 10:32 Who will be the next Figma 17:25 "Tea app", Uber for ...
Aug 15, 2025•49 min•Ep. 18
Sabba talks about how he uses ChatGPT, Charlie talks use cases for Claude Code and the duo debate whether the UK is an impossible place to bootstrap. Sabba also share lessons on hiring top talent early, and dissect Duolingo’s $1billion freemium play (with a 15% churn rate) before comparing it to VEED’s freemium vs free trial approach. 00:00 Intro 00:28 How a VC-backed founder uses ChatGPT 06:52 Use cases of Claude Code 13:25 Napkin Math AI Animation 16:14 Is the UK impossible to bootstrap? 20:34...
Aug 12, 2025•41 min•Ep. 17
The boys are back talking about Loveable's insane growth and $200m raise, the dangers of founder liquidity, plus more AI chat (of course). Charlie turns Sabba into BusinessGuruGPT prompting him with how he'd grow an eSIM business to $1m in a year. All this, and more, in this week's episode of NAPKIN MATH. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:30 Loveable raises $200m 05:58 Jason Lemkin's Replit disaster 09:38 Takeaways from Loveable's raise and the future of AI companies 15:53 Generative content opportuniti...
Jul 31, 2025•56 min•Ep. 16
Sabba and Charlie kick things off with some napkin math on how to make £26k per year in pure profit selling fans, then dive into a the real money maker; an AI automation consultancy. They talk about the rise of the “VEED (or Indie Beers) Mafia,” and discuss JB's Ahrefs-style tool for LLMs. 00:00 Intro 00:20 Portable fan Napkin Math 09:22 Startup idea: AI automation consultancy 15:28 AI for marketing 17:40 The VEED Mafia (Indie Beers Mafia) 19:41 Ahrefs for LLMs 25:16 Why in person events are so ...
Jul 22, 2025•41 min•Ep. 15
After a hiatus that included a weekend at Glastonbury and a failed recording, the boys are back, and they are on fire. They break down the business of the Glastonbury festival and some new startup ideas around it, they talk about the Figma S1 filing and the insane numbers behind the software platform and Charlie talks about the future of Ramen Space potentially becoming a nation state.
Jul 15, 2025•52 min•Ep. 14
On this episode of Napkin Math , Sabba and Charlie explain why “small bets” are a terrible idea for most founders. They unpack how VEED ranks #1 for “AI video generator” (and other competitive keywords), explore Ben’s idea for a dream analysis app, the surprising business case for astrology, and how AI agents could thrive in markets like Nigeria. Sabba also shares why he believes the global adoption of stablecoins is inevitable. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:51 Small bets vs single focus 11:03 How ...
Jun 17, 2025•44 min•Ep. 13
There’s been a major catfight on the internet this week: Trump vs. Elon. So, Charlie did what any good podcast host would do and distilled the best lessons SaaS founders can take from the drama. The guys also share feedback from listeners, chat about opportunities in TikTok Shop, discuss why companies need to reinvent themselves, and of course, Charlie gets Sabba into trouble. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:32 - B2B lessons from Trump x Musk fallout 03:41 - Napkin Math guest feedback 12:51 - When d...
Jun 10, 2025•50 min•Ep. 12
Fresh off the launch of VEEDs new AI, Sabba is excited about the company having built their own fully fledged AI model, so breaks down how much it cost to build it. Charlie, meanwhile has had some bad news about his SaaS app, Cosy, potentially being killed off by Slack's new restrictions. The chaps also fire off some "Loveable for X" business ideas, with the main opportunity in gaming. 00:00 Intro 00:30 VEED AI video launch 06:17 How much does it cost to build VEEDs AI video engine 13:05 Platfor...
Jun 04, 2025•45 min•Ep. 11
The boys have made it to 10 episodes, somehow. They are still talking about AI, this time after the impressive Google Gemini launch they discuss the possibilities (including getting a new podcast co-host). Sabba talks about the pastries he had at 10 Downing Street and if they think Jony Ive's $6bn Open AI deal is worth it. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:39 Google's new AI launch 09:12 Future challenges of AI video 16:29 AI powered podcasts 24:02 Claude 4 release 27:43 Jony Ive x Sam Altman 37:48 Sabb...
May 27, 2025•50 min•Ep. 10
Charlie is back from Dracula's castle and Sabba is back from running a marathon. They are both arriving inspired. They do some Napkin Math on the economics of the running industry and the opportunities there, and how long it will be before they can pump out daily Dracula movies. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 04:00 Marathon running breakdown and opportunties 12:35 Runna acquisition Napkin Math 25:18 Building interesting things vs networking 28:31 How to stick to ideas 40:08 How long before we can make ...
May 20, 2025•58 min•Ep. 9
After 7 beautiful episodes, the MRR show is dead. But fear not, Napkin Math is born from its ashes. Sabba and Charlie discuss the performance of the show, dig into where Sabba invests his angel money, do a business breakdown (some actual napkin math) before going on a tirade on founders why founders aren't working hard enough... Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:23 New podcast name 05:27 Podcast growth numbers 16:22 Listener Labs napkin math 23:49 Sabba's angel investing strategy 28:03 Sabba's lunch hac...
May 06, 2025•58 min•Ep. 8
Sabba is tired after being at a trade show all week for VEED, but was it worth it? Sabba and Charlie discuss the cost and results. But there's nothing better than a pick me up recording with BBQ crisp-eating Charlie Ward, who finally has some MRR for his SaaS app. The chaps talk all things AI, opportunities, SaaS drama and more. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 01:20 How much does a SaaS trade show cost? 05:56 What makes an entertaining video according to VEED 09:32 Rippling vs Deel drama update 11:29 AI ...
Apr 29, 2025•50 min•Ep. 7
Sabba went to Sri Lanka and came back with fire in his belly. He's ready to make money from the tariffs and so he discusses with Charlie how he'd do it. This got them thinking about the lack of energy in the US at the moment, and why they're bullish on the UK as a place to build. They wrap up talking about the biggest mega trend to make money with in 2025. Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:27 What Sabba learned about business in Sri Lanka 03:10 VEED's billboard ad cost and results 07:38 Tariffs chat 1...
Apr 18, 2025•48 min•Ep. 6
B2B SaaS drama has got spicy recently, with both 11x and Deel making headlines. Sabba and Charlie give their take on why the companies got in hot water and if it's justified. Sabba also gives his thoughts on the future of VEED as they storm towards their $100m ARR goal and what happens next for the company. Timestamps 00:00 MRR Show 005 01:06 Harry Dry's marketing course 08:02 The 11x drama 14:16 Deel drama 17:50 Do you need an audience? 24:55 Loom exit 31:55 The future of VEED 35:01 Studio Ghib...
Apr 09, 2025•44 min•Ep. 5
This week Sabba and Charlie still struggle to get their audio recorded properly* but the content is top notch. Dubbed the UK's answer to My First Million, the two kick off with debating if the UK is better than the US for building a startup. Sabba questions Charlie's sanity starting a coworking space in London, before explaining how much VEED spent on bright green advertising on the NYC subway. 00:00 Intro 00:04 Charlie almost gets robbed by a creative director 03:25 Is the UK a good place to bu...
Apr 02, 2025•52 min•Ep. 4
Charlie and Sabba are back three weeks later for their weekly podcast, bringing you some banger business ideas. The chaps dive into Exploding Topics and discuss opportunities in ADHD, creating a Third Space style martial arts gym and building a better dentist. They're also bullish on Project Europe. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:39 VC fund for consumer brands 05:23 Charlie's consumer trend idea 22:45 Innovating in the health space 24:48 High end martial arts gym 33:38 AI Agents 43:18 Model Context ...
Mar 27, 2025•57 min•Ep. 3
Charlie and Sabba are back, fighting through a challenging remote connection, bringing you a cracking set of business ideas. Charlie brings a few interesting product discoveries from Indie Beers in Lisbon and Sabba stumbled across a $5-10k MRR idea while in a Ford Fiesta. Timestamps 00:00 The MRR Show ep 2 01:28 D*ck measuring app 03:52 Funeral directory business 08:16 Feedback on episode 1 13:48 Car error code business idea 23:02 How to find new business ideas...
Mar 03, 2025•30 min•Ep. 2
Hello and welcome to the pilot episode of The MRR Show, with Charlie Ward and Sabba Keynejad. Charlie is the founder of Ramen Club and Sabba is the co-founder of VEED.io . The duo are coming together for this pilot episode, to share their thoughts on SaaS, tech and startups, from the perspective of two successful founders with Charlie being the heart of the london indie community and Sabba running an 8 figure VC backed SaaS. AI is a prominent feature in this first episode, talking about meetups,...
Feb 25, 2025•59 min•Ep. 1
