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Nov 12, 2020 · 22m · top-founders

MyWifiNetworks Turned Down $5.4m All Cash Offer Last Month, Despite Loosing 30% Due to COVID

Kevin Zickerman · 13m 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, MyWiFi Networks founder Kevin Zickerman discusses managing a 30% revenue drop during COVID-19 lockdowns, maintaining 100% bootstrapped ownership, and turning down a $5.4 million all-cash acquisition offer to pursue a $20 million valuation.

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 30.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.0 Guest teaching 4.2 Guest disagreement 3.2 Nathan pushing back 4.5
05100:0010:0020:002:19–4:54 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 COVID-19 Traffic Collapse and Medical Pivot Nathan invites Kevin to recap his performance since his 2019 appearance. Kevin details the brutal 86% collapse in foot traffic when lockdowns began and explains their tactical pivot into contact tracing and healthcare environments.4:54–9:41 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Reseller Metrics, Device Economics, and Team Restructuring Nathan drills deep into MyWiFi Networks' metrics, questioning Kevin on why he charges a markup on hardware and leaves 50 million captured contact profiles unmonetized. Kevin explains his deliberate focus on reseller enablement over immediate data monetization.9:46–12:36 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Channel Conflict Debate and Direct Product Strategy Nathan presses Kevin on the risk of alienating 300 reseller partners by introducing a direct-to-consumer software tier. Kevin defends the strategy by distinguishing simple turnkey tools from high-margin custom agency integrations.12:37–17:42 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Agency Sales Positioning in Reopening Markets Nathan challenges the agency sales narrative, arguing that pitching foot-traffic capture during COVID is counterintuitive and difficult. Kevin strongly pushes back, arguing that high-intent reopening foot traffic is hyper-valuable to surviving businesses.17:42–21:02 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Turned Down $5.4M All-Cash Acquisition Offer Nathan bluntly challenges Kevin's optimistic growth claims after a 30% contraction, interrogating his decision to reject a clean $5.4M all-cash acquisition offer. Kevin maintains that impending Tier-1 ISP deals and untouched outbound sales justify holding out.21:02–22:34 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions and summarizes MyWiFi Networks' revenue metrics and bootstrapping status in the episode wrap-up.2:19–4:54 · Guest teaching 5/10 COVID-19 Traffic Collapse and Medical Pivot Nathan invites Kevin to recap his performance since his 2019 appearance. Kevin details the brutal 86% collapse in foot traffic when lockdowns began and explains their tactical pivot into contact tracing and healthcare environments.4:54–9:41 · Guest teaching 3/10 Reseller Metrics, Device Economics, and Team Restructuring Nathan drills deep into MyWiFi Networks' metrics, questioning Kevin on why he charges a markup on hardware and leaves 50 million captured contact profiles unmonetized. Kevin explains his deliberate focus on reseller enablement over immediate data monetization.9:46–12:36 · Guest teaching 5/10 Channel Conflict Debate and Direct Product Strategy Nathan presses Kevin on the risk of alienating 300 reseller partners by introducing a direct-to-consumer software tier. Kevin defends the strategy by distinguishing simple turnkey tools from high-margin custom agency integrations.12:37–17:42 · Guest teaching 7/10 Agency Sales Positioning in Reopening Markets Nathan challenges the agency sales narrative, arguing that pitching foot-traffic capture during COVID is counterintuitive and difficult. Kevin strongly pushes back, arguing that high-intent reopening foot traffic is hyper-valuable to surviving businesses.17:42–21:02 · Guest teaching 4/10 Turned Down $5.4M All-Cash Acquisition Offer Nathan bluntly challenges Kevin's optimistic growth claims after a 30% contraction, interrogating his decision to reject a clean $5.4M all-cash acquisition offer. Kevin maintains that impending Tier-1 ISP deals and untouched outbound sales justify holding out.21:02–22:34 · Guest teaching 1/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions and summarizes MyWiFi Networks' revenue metrics and bootstrapping status in the episode wrap-up.2:19–4:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 COVID-19 Traffic Collapse and Medical Pivot Nathan invites Kevin to recap his performance since his 2019 appearance. Kevin details the brutal 86% collapse in foot traffic when lockdowns began and explains their tactical pivot into contact tracing and healthcare environments.4:54–9:41 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Reseller Metrics, Device Economics, and Team Restructuring Nathan drills deep into MyWiFi Networks' metrics, questioning Kevin on why he charges a markup on hardware and leaves 50 million captured contact profiles unmonetized. Kevin explains his deliberate focus on reseller enablement over immediate data monetization.9:46–12:36 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Channel Conflict Debate and Direct Product Strategy Nathan presses Kevin on the risk of alienating 300 reseller partners by introducing a direct-to-consumer software tier. Kevin defends the strategy by distinguishing simple turnkey tools from high-margin custom agency integrations.12:37–17:42 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Agency Sales Positioning in Reopening Markets Nathan challenges the agency sales narrative, arguing that pitching foot-traffic capture during COVID is counterintuitive and difficult. Kevin strongly pushes back, arguing that high-intent reopening foot traffic is hyper-valuable to surviving businesses.17:42–21:02 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Turned Down $5.4M All-Cash Acquisition Offer Nathan bluntly challenges Kevin's optimistic growth claims after a 30% contraction, interrogating his decision to reject a clean $5.4M all-cash acquisition offer. Kevin maintains that impending Tier-1 ISP deals and untouched outbound sales justify holding out.21:02–22:34 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions and summarizes MyWiFi Networks' revenue metrics and bootstrapping status in the episode wrap-up.2:19–4:54 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 COVID-19 Traffic Collapse and Medical Pivot Nathan invites Kevin to recap his performance since his 2019 appearance. Kevin details the brutal 86% collapse in foot traffic when lockdowns began and explains their tactical pivot into contact tracing and healthcare environments.4:54–9:41 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Reseller Metrics, Device Economics, and Team Restructuring Nathan drills deep into MyWiFi Networks' metrics, questioning Kevin on why he charges a markup on hardware and leaves 50 million captured contact profiles unmonetized. Kevin explains his deliberate focus on reseller enablement over immediate data monetization.9:46–12:36 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Channel Conflict Debate and Direct Product Strategy Nathan presses Kevin on the risk of alienating 300 reseller partners by introducing a direct-to-consumer software tier. Kevin defends the strategy by distinguishing simple turnkey tools from high-margin custom agency integrations.12:37–17:42 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Agency Sales Positioning in Reopening Markets Nathan challenges the agency sales narrative, arguing that pitching foot-traffic capture during COVID is counterintuitive and difficult. Kevin strongly pushes back, arguing that high-intent reopening foot traffic is hyper-valuable to surviving businesses.17:42–21:02 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Turned Down $5.4M All-Cash Acquisition Offer Nathan bluntly challenges Kevin's optimistic growth claims after a 30% contraction, interrogating his decision to reject a clean $5.4M all-cash acquisition offer. Kevin maintains that impending Tier-1 ISP deals and untouched outbound sales justify holding out.21:02–22:34 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions and summarizes MyWiFi Networks' revenue metrics and bootstrapping status in the episode wrap-up.

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

0:00 · Nathan 70.8% · guest 29.2%0:00 · Nathan 70.8% · guest 29.2%3:00 · Nathan 16.8% · guest 83.2%3:00 · Nathan 16.8% · guest 83.2%6:00 · Nathan 20.2% · guest 79.8%6:00 · Nathan 20.2% · guest 79.8%9:00 · Nathan 24.3% · guest 75.7%9:00 · Nathan 24.3% · guest 75.7%12:00 · Nathan 26.8% · guest 73.2%12:00 · Nathan 26.8% · guest 73.2%15:00 · Nathan 20.8% · guest 79.2%15:00 · Nathan 20.8% · guest 79.2%18:00 · Nathan 20.4% · guest 79.6%18:00 · Nathan 20.4% · guest 79.6%21:00 · Nathan 66.7% · guest 33.3%21:00 · Nathan 66.7% · guest 33.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 15:51 Direct rejection of host's sales skepticism

Kevin directly rejects Nathan's premise that Wi-Fi marketing is the hardest possible sale during a pandemic, forcefully defending the business model.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 19:12 Nathan cuts off 'growing fast' narrative

Nathan bluntly cuts Kevin off mid-sentence to point out that the business has contracted 30% rather than growing quickly.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 11:15 Kevin explains agency product differentiation

Kevin clarifies SaaS market positioning, explaining how basic direct solutions compete with Yelp Wi-Fi without cannibalizing complex custom agency services.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 18:26 Nathan challenges the rejected $5.4M valuation

Nathan calculates the exact $5.4M valuation implied by a 7.5x multiple and challenges Kevin's decision to walk away from guaranteed cash during a downturn.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
COVID-19 Traffic Collapse and Medical Pivot 4511 Nathan invites Kevin to recap his performance since his 2019 appearance. Kevin details the brutal 86% collapse in foot traffic when lockdowns began and explains their tactical pivot into contact tracing and healthcare environments.
Reseller Metrics, Device Economics, and Team Restructuring 7324 Nathan drills deep into MyWiFi Networks' metrics, questioning Kevin on why he charges a markup on hardware and leaves 50 million captured contact profiles unmonetized. Kevin explains his deliberate focus on reseller enablement over immediate data monetization.
Channel Conflict Debate and Direct Product Strategy 7546 Nathan presses Kevin on the risk of alienating 300 reseller partners by introducing a direct-to-consumer software tier. Kevin defends the strategy by distinguishing simple turnkey tools from high-margin custom agency integrations.
Agency Sales Positioning in Reopening Markets 7767 Nathan challenges the agency sales narrative, arguing that pitching foot-traffic capture during COVID is counterintuitive and difficult. Kevin strongly pushes back, arguing that high-intent reopening foot traffic is hyper-valuable to surviving businesses.
Turned Down $5.4M All-Cash Acquisition Offer 8458 Nathan bluntly challenges Kevin's optimistic growth claims after a 30% contraction, interrogating his decision to reject a clean $5.4M all-cash acquisition offer. Kevin maintains that impending Tier-1 ISP deals and untouched outbound sales justify holding out.
Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 3111 Nathan runs through the standard rapid-fire Famous Five questions and summarizes MyWiFi Networks' revenue metrics and bootstrapping status in the episode wrap-up.

Statements from this episode (14)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zickerman: MyWiFi Networks was on track for $1.4M in 2020 revenue
“And we were on track to do about 1.4.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 3:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zickerman: MyWiFi Networks saw Wi-Fi traffic plunge 86% during COVID-19 lockdowns
“Like it literally, like all the traffic went down 86%.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 3:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zickerman: MyWiFi Networks lost approximately 30% of revenue due to COVID-19
“Our churn shot up to about 20, like, we lost about 30% of our revenue alongside our everything else.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 4:14
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zickerman: MyWiFi retained 300 resellers after losing 25% of customer base
“So we have about 300 resellers. We lost about 25, you know, 25% of our overall base”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 4:57
Disclosure
Zickerman: MyWiFi Networks sells its $20 hardware device for $39
“So our cost of this is 20 landed. And we sell it for 39, so we don't really make a big margin on this”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 7:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zickerman: MyWiFi has 15,000 proprietary devices deployed in the field
“We have about 15,000 of our own devices in the wild and we layer on top of, I would say that our network of other devices is greater than that.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 8:09
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Zickerman: MyWiFi captured 50M records in a year without monetizing them
“Over fifty million. Five zero. And that's not only email, it's sorry to interrupt, but it's MAC address of the device itself, it's gender, birthday you know, a lot of other demographic information, specifically MAC address, because that's trackable and, Assign…”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 8:23
Opinion
Latka: Wi-Fi marketing is the hardest sell for agencies during pandemic
“I'm just saying of all the things that they could pitch the restaurant owner, my wife, like this wifi solution would be in my opinion, the last thing that they would try and sell them. Consider it's the hardest sale right now, considering all the other digital…”
Nathan Latka Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 15:38
Disclosure
MyWiFi Networks received four acquisition offers during the COVID-19 pandemic
“We've had about four different takeout offers during COVID as well, I should mention.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 17:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
MyWiFi Networks generates $700K in revenue without a dedicated sales team
“We're doing about 700 now on the hit with no sales team.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 18:18
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Zickerman claims upcoming ISP deal will reach 300,000 businesses next year
“We're about to launch, I can't really talk about the deal, but a major hardware deal that's slated to have us in about 300,000 businesses next year, tier one ISP style.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 18:51
Prediction Open · timeframe Nov 2023
Zickerman predicts MyWiFi Networks will reach at least a $20M valuation
“We don't do very much marketing. We don't do any sales, and I think that once we do that, I will I'll be back on your show and telling you that I got at least 20.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 19:45
Disclosure
Rejected $5.4M buyout offer allowed Zickerman to walk away in 60 days
“It was clean. I could walk in 60 days.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 19:55
Disclosure
Kevin Zickerman owns 100% of MyWiFi Networks
“I own a hundred percent of it.”
Kevin Zickerman Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 20:07
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