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Sep 1, 2021 · 19m · top-founders

Local Marketing SaaS 2x Last 4 Months, Breaks $3m ARR and 1200 Customers

Andre Svizovich · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this interview with Nathan Latka, Referizer founder Andre Svizovich breaks down how his local marketing software company scaled to $229,000 in monthly recurring revenue and 1,240 paying customers. He explains his unconventional zero-churn crisis playbook, ecosystem web-scraping tactics, commission-only remote sales operations, and long-term vision of an employee-empowering IPO.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 37.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 2.0
05100:0010:000:48–4:36 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Andre Svizovich and Referizer Latka explores Referizer's growth metrics, calculating month-over-month increases and asking about pricing tier changes. Andre explains his COVID retention strategy of offering free service instead of allowing cancellations.4:36–8:12 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Scraping Infrastructure and Outbound Lead Generation Latka drills into the technical mechanics of scraping customer directories from MindBody and Booker. Andre explains their proprietary three-stage scraping sequence to extract verified contact information.8:14–12:44 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Sponsor Message: Flatfile Data Onboarding Platform Following an ad break, Latka questions the quality control and compensation structure for 30 remote cold callers. Andre breaks down their commission-only model per attended demo and sale.12:44–15:28 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Outbound Tech Stack and Call Center Economics Latka rapidly calculates that outbound sales accounts for 25% of total company expenses based on $50k monthly payroll. Andre confirms this and outlines their monthly net burn rate of $22k.15:28–18:08 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Freemium Funnel and Free-to-Paid Conversion Mechanics Latka conducts instant valuation math when Andre mentions raising $500k for 4% equity, asserting that a ~$12.5M valuation undervalues the company. Andre explains his vision for equity crowdfunding via Republic to enrich early employees.18:09–19:25 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, tools, books, and founder advice, which Andre answers smoothly.0:48–4:36 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Andre Svizovich and Referizer Latka explores Referizer's growth metrics, calculating month-over-month increases and asking about pricing tier changes. Andre explains his COVID retention strategy of offering free service instead of allowing cancellations.4:36–8:12 · Guest teaching 4/10 Scraping Infrastructure and Outbound Lead Generation Latka drills into the technical mechanics of scraping customer directories from MindBody and Booker. Andre explains their proprietary three-stage scraping sequence to extract verified contact information.8:14–12:44 · Guest teaching 3/10 Sponsor Message: Flatfile Data Onboarding Platform Following an ad break, Latka questions the quality control and compensation structure for 30 remote cold callers. Andre breaks down their commission-only model per attended demo and sale.12:44–15:28 · Guest teaching 2/10 Outbound Tech Stack and Call Center Economics Latka rapidly calculates that outbound sales accounts for 25% of total company expenses based on $50k monthly payroll. Andre confirms this and outlines their monthly net burn rate of $22k.15:28–18:08 · Guest teaching 2/10 Freemium Funnel and Free-to-Paid Conversion Mechanics Latka conducts instant valuation math when Andre mentions raising $500k for 4% equity, asserting that a ~$12.5M valuation undervalues the company. Andre explains his vision for equity crowdfunding via Republic to enrich early employees.18:09–19:25 · Guest teaching 1/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, tools, books, and founder advice, which Andre answers smoothly.0:48–4:36 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Andre Svizovich and Referizer Latka explores Referizer's growth metrics, calculating month-over-month increases and asking about pricing tier changes. Andre explains his COVID retention strategy of offering free service instead of allowing cancellations.4:36–8:12 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Scraping Infrastructure and Outbound Lead Generation Latka drills into the technical mechanics of scraping customer directories from MindBody and Booker. Andre explains their proprietary three-stage scraping sequence to extract verified contact information.8:14–12:44 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Message: Flatfile Data Onboarding Platform Following an ad break, Latka questions the quality control and compensation structure for 30 remote cold callers. Andre breaks down their commission-only model per attended demo and sale.12:44–15:28 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Outbound Tech Stack and Call Center Economics Latka rapidly calculates that outbound sales accounts for 25% of total company expenses based on $50k monthly payroll. Andre confirms this and outlines their monthly net burn rate of $22k.15:28–18:08 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Freemium Funnel and Free-to-Paid Conversion Mechanics Latka conducts instant valuation math when Andre mentions raising $500k for 4% equity, asserting that a ~$12.5M valuation undervalues the company. Andre explains his vision for equity crowdfunding via Republic to enrich early employees.18:09–19:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, tools, books, and founder advice, which Andre answers smoothly.0:48–4:36 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Introducing Andre Svizovich and Referizer Latka explores Referizer's growth metrics, calculating month-over-month increases and asking about pricing tier changes. Andre explains his COVID retention strategy of offering free service instead of allowing cancellations.4:36–8:12 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Scraping Infrastructure and Outbound Lead Generation Latka drills into the technical mechanics of scraping customer directories from MindBody and Booker. Andre explains their proprietary three-stage scraping sequence to extract verified contact information.8:14–12:44 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Sponsor Message: Flatfile Data Onboarding Platform Following an ad break, Latka questions the quality control and compensation structure for 30 remote cold callers. Andre breaks down their commission-only model per attended demo and sale.12:44–15:28 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Outbound Tech Stack and Call Center Economics Latka rapidly calculates that outbound sales accounts for 25% of total company expenses based on $50k monthly payroll. Andre confirms this and outlines their monthly net burn rate of $22k.15:28–18:08 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Freemium Funnel and Free-to-Paid Conversion Mechanics Latka conducts instant valuation math when Andre mentions raising $500k for 4% equity, asserting that a ~$12.5M valuation undervalues the company. Andre explains his vision for equity crowdfunding via Republic to enrich early employees.18:09–19:25 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, tools, books, and founder advice, which Andre answers smoothly.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 50.2% · guest 49.8%0:00 · Nathan 50.2% · guest 49.8%3:00 · Nathan 29.9% · guest 70.1%3:00 · Nathan 29.9% · guest 70.1%6:00 · Nathan 49.8% · guest 50.2%6:00 · Nathan 49.8% · guest 50.2%9:00 · Nathan 41.7% · guest 58.3%9:00 · Nathan 41.7% · guest 58.3%12:00 · Nathan 27.1% · guest 72.9%12:00 · Nathan 27.1% · guest 72.9%15:00 · Nathan 19% · guest 81%15:00 · Nathan 19% · guest 81%18:00 · Nathan 49.7% · guest 50.3%18:00 · Nathan 49.7% · guest 50.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:04 Andre dismisses off-the-shelf scraping tools

When Latka assumes they use existing commercial tools to track backlinks, Andre dismisses the premise and explains they had to build custom scrapers from scratch.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 16:52 Latka challenges valuation terms

Latka does real-time equity math on the proposed $500k for 4% deal and directly challenges Andre's pricing, asserting the business is significantly undervalued.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:48 Andre details web-scraping lead pipeline

Andre educates Latka on how public booking platform ecosystems like MindBody expose customer listings and how to extract emails and phone numbers via multi-step web scraping.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 13:50 Latka breaks down SDR cost structure

Latka instantly computes the exact proportion of company operational spend allocated to cold calling based on Andre's rough payroll numbers.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Andre Svizovich and Referizer 5211 Latka explores Referizer's growth metrics, calculating month-over-month increases and asking about pricing tier changes. Andre explains his COVID retention strategy of offering free service instead of allowing cancellations.
Scraping Infrastructure and Outbound Lead Generation 6424 Latka drills into the technical mechanics of scraping customer directories from MindBody and Booker. Andre explains their proprietary three-stage scraping sequence to extract verified contact information.
Sponsor Message: Flatfile Data Onboarding Platform 4313 Following an ad break, Latka questions the quality control and compensation structure for 30 remote cold callers. Andre breaks down their commission-only model per attended demo and sale.
Outbound Tech Stack and Call Center Economics 6211 Latka rapidly calculates that outbound sales accounts for 25% of total company expenses based on $50k monthly payroll. Andre confirms this and outlines their monthly net burn rate of $22k.
Freemium Funnel and Free-to-Paid Conversion Mechanics 6223 Latka conducts instant valuation math when Andre mentions raising $500k for 4% equity, asserting that a ~$12.5M valuation undervalues the company. Andre explains his vision for equity crowdfunding via Republic to enrich early employees.
Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3100 Latka runs through the standard rapid-fire questions covering sleep, tools, books, and founder advice, which Andre answers smoothly.

Statements from this episode (17)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Svizovich: Referizer Reduced Churn and Rebounded to Record Revenue in Four Months
“Quite frankly, we didn't have any additional churn quite. We reduced the churn and the revenue came back to all that high four months later.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 2:33
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Referizer Reaches 1,240 Paying Customers and 13,000 Freemium Users
“Currently, we just passed 1200 paying clients. We have over, over 13,000 freemium clients. They're using our system and free features, but about 1240 paying clients.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 2:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Referizer Generates $229,000 in Monthly Recurring Revenue
“229,000.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 3:34
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Referizer Adds $25K Monthly From $20 Price Increase With Zero Churn
“We first increase our monthly By 20 bucks. So that brought another 25,000 dollars without any additional churn.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 3:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Referizer Adds $20K Upselling $1,200 White-Glove Agency Services
“Second we added services, agency services, their premium white gloves services that people are buying, and it's about 1200 dollars per customer instead of 200 dollars per customer. So we added about another 20,000 dollars there.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 4:05
Disclosure
Referizer Hires Eight Support Reps for Instant, Unscheduled Customer Calls
“And then we reduced the churn. We literally hired eight more people in customer support to make sure that we are available At the moment, they need us without scheduling upfront.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 4:21
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Referizer Employs 46 Full-Time Staff Excluding Outsourced Call Center Dialers
“In Referizer, we, if we exclude the call center and dialers, we have 46 people full-time.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 4:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Referizer Uses an Outsourced Remote Call Center of Around 30 People
“It's outsourced call center working from home. We have about 30 people. Now in it.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 4:55
Assertion Supported
Svizovich: MindBody Has 60,000 to 80,000 Clients
“MindBody, he has 60 to 80,000 clients.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 5:22
Disclosure
Svizovich: Referizer Bypasses Resumes for Weekly Group Orientation Webinars
“We don't accept the resumes or forms. We just set company orientation once a week. And 50, sometimes 200 people join that orientation.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 10:24
Disclosure
Svizovich: Referizer Pays Setters $40–$50 Per Demo Plus $50–$100 Per Sale
“You'll make 50 dollars per attended demo. If you become master appointment setter, you'll make, ah, sorry, start for 40 and get to go to 50. And then when the sale happen, you'll start with 50 dollars per sale, go to hundred dollars per sale.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 11:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Svizovich: Referizer Pays Roughly $50,000 Monthly for 30 Call Center Reps
“That's tough questions. I don't do payroll anymore, but I can give you a close estimate. It's about 48, nine, about 50,000 dollars.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 13:57
Assertion Partly supported
Svizovich: Referizer Bootstrapped Until Taking SBA Funding
“We bootstrapped all the way until the last five months when we started getting money from SBA, started getting money from free money from government, like everybody does, right?”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 14:23
Disclosure
Svizovich: Referizer Is Burning About $22,000 Per Month
“So we are burning about 22,000 a month.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 14:45
Disclosure
Svizovich: Referizer Pays Support Reps Incentives to Refer Leads to Closers
“Plus there's incentive for our A support team where we give them a financial incentive to introduce this to the closer who's going to sell them on a full feature.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 16:00
Opinion
Latka: Referizer Is Undervalued by a Lot at an $11M Valuation
“I think that's undervalued by a lot.”
Nathan Latka Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 16:59
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Svizovich: Referizer Will Go Public Within Five Years
“A hundred employees to get a rich financial freedom in five years when you go public.”
Andre Svizovich Sep 1, 2021 ▶ 17:22
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