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Oct 17, 2020 · 24m · top-founders

UBIweb Makes $1.7m/year Helping Plumbers Launch Websites

Dan DiLoreto · 8m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Patrick (Pat) · 3m spoken Frank Bien · 4s spoken
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In this interview with Nathan Latka, UBI Web co-founders Dan DiLoreto and Patrick share how they bootstrapped a turnkey website-as-a-service business to a $1.8 million annual run rate across 550 local trade contractors. They break down their proprietary fulfillment technology, 109 percent net revenue retention, outbound sales compensation framework, and scalable expansion strategy across Canadian markets.

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 38.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 1.5 Guest disagreement 1.6 Nathan pushing back 3.5
05100:0010:0020:000:17–3:40 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 GetLatka Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview The segment begins with Nathan's subscriber pitch before introducing the guests and establishing the founding backstory of UBI Web. The dynamic is collaborative and informational as the founders explain their equity split and initial validation.3:41–6:43 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Onboarding, ARPU, and Net Retention Performance Nathan catches Dan conflating churn and net retention, immediately correcting the terminology. Dan quickly accepts the correction while detailing ARPU and their Google Ads management add-on.6:44–10:53 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Analyzing Gross Revenue Churn, Expansion, and Tiered Packages Nathan drills into the mechanics of net versus gross churn, calculating the expansion percentage on the fly. He also challenges how they scale SEO deliverables, prompting Pat to clarify the distinction between traditional backlinks and local directory citations.10:54–13:01 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Non-Dilutive Government Financing and Operational Team Structure Dan details non-dilutive government financing through Investment Quebec and BDC. Nathan inquires into debt covenants and engineering headcount structure without significant conflict.13:01–16:40 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Margins, Monthly Cash Flow, and Sales Representative Quotas Nathan actively challenges Dan on sales rep quota economics, working through the ARR versus OTE ratios. Dan defends the math by explaining security deposit cash collection and annualized performance timelines.16:40–19:06 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Outbound Prospecting Strategy and Residual Incentives Nathan pushes Dan on why residual commissions are flat rather than percentage-based, arguing that churn disincentives already exist. Dan pushes back firmly, arguing flat fees prevent reps from overselling unnecessary gold tiers to small contractors.19:07–21:48 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Expansion Roadmap and Value Proposition for Local Contractors Nathan asks why clients maintain ongoing subscriptions after a website is built. Dan presents an analogy to car maintenance and digital presence management for local trades.21:50–24:15 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Famous Five Q&A and UBI Web Performance Summary Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five lightning round with both co-founders and closes with a comprehensive summary of UBI Web's operational metrics.0:17–3:40 · Guest teaching 1/10 GetLatka Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview The segment begins with Nathan's subscriber pitch before introducing the guests and establishing the founding backstory of UBI Web. The dynamic is collaborative and informational as the founders explain their equity split and initial validation.3:41–6:43 · Guest teaching 1/10 Customer Onboarding, ARPU, and Net Retention Performance Nathan catches Dan conflating churn and net retention, immediately correcting the terminology. Dan quickly accepts the correction while detailing ARPU and their Google Ads management add-on.6:44–10:53 · Guest teaching 3/10 Analyzing Gross Revenue Churn, Expansion, and Tiered Packages Nathan drills into the mechanics of net versus gross churn, calculating the expansion percentage on the fly. He also challenges how they scale SEO deliverables, prompting Pat to clarify the distinction between traditional backlinks and local directory citations.10:54–13:01 · Guest teaching 1/10 Non-Dilutive Government Financing and Operational Team Structure Dan details non-dilutive government financing through Investment Quebec and BDC. Nathan inquires into debt covenants and engineering headcount structure without significant conflict.13:01–16:40 · Guest teaching 2/10 Margins, Monthly Cash Flow, and Sales Representative Quotas Nathan actively challenges Dan on sales rep quota economics, working through the ARR versus OTE ratios. Dan defends the math by explaining security deposit cash collection and annualized performance timelines.16:40–19:06 · Guest teaching 2/10 Outbound Prospecting Strategy and Residual Incentives Nathan pushes Dan on why residual commissions are flat rather than percentage-based, arguing that churn disincentives already exist. Dan pushes back firmly, arguing flat fees prevent reps from overselling unnecessary gold tiers to small contractors.19:07–21:48 · Guest teaching 2/10 Expansion Roadmap and Value Proposition for Local Contractors Nathan asks why clients maintain ongoing subscriptions after a website is built. Dan presents an analogy to car maintenance and digital presence management for local trades.21:50–24:15 · Guest teaching 0/10 Famous Five Q&A and UBI Web Performance Summary Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five lightning round with both co-founders and closes with a comprehensive summary of UBI Web's operational metrics.0:17–3:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 GetLatka Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview The segment begins with Nathan's subscriber pitch before introducing the guests and establishing the founding backstory of UBI Web. The dynamic is collaborative and informational as the founders explain their equity split and initial validation.3:41–6:43 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Customer Onboarding, ARPU, and Net Retention Performance Nathan catches Dan conflating churn and net retention, immediately correcting the terminology. Dan quickly accepts the correction while detailing ARPU and their Google Ads management add-on.6:44–10:53 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Analyzing Gross Revenue Churn, Expansion, and Tiered Packages Nathan drills into the mechanics of net versus gross churn, calculating the expansion percentage on the fly. He also challenges how they scale SEO deliverables, prompting Pat to clarify the distinction between traditional backlinks and local directory citations.10:54–13:01 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Non-Dilutive Government Financing and Operational Team Structure Dan details non-dilutive government financing through Investment Quebec and BDC. Nathan inquires into debt covenants and engineering headcount structure without significant conflict.13:01–16:40 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Margins, Monthly Cash Flow, and Sales Representative Quotas Nathan actively challenges Dan on sales rep quota economics, working through the ARR versus OTE ratios. Dan defends the math by explaining security deposit cash collection and annualized performance timelines.16:40–19:06 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Outbound Prospecting Strategy and Residual Incentives Nathan pushes Dan on why residual commissions are flat rather than percentage-based, arguing that churn disincentives already exist. Dan pushes back firmly, arguing flat fees prevent reps from overselling unnecessary gold tiers to small contractors.19:07–21:48 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Expansion Roadmap and Value Proposition for Local Contractors Nathan asks why clients maintain ongoing subscriptions after a website is built. Dan presents an analogy to car maintenance and digital presence management for local trades.21:50–24:15 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Famous Five Q&A and UBI Web Performance Summary Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five lightning round with both co-founders and closes with a comprehensive summary of UBI Web's operational metrics.0:17–3:40 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 GetLatka Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview The segment begins with Nathan's subscriber pitch before introducing the guests and establishing the founding backstory of UBI Web. The dynamic is collaborative and informational as the founders explain their equity split and initial validation.3:41–6:43 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Customer Onboarding, ARPU, and Net Retention Performance Nathan catches Dan conflating churn and net retention, immediately correcting the terminology. Dan quickly accepts the correction while detailing ARPU and their Google Ads management add-on.6:44–10:53 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Analyzing Gross Revenue Churn, Expansion, and Tiered Packages Nathan drills into the mechanics of net versus gross churn, calculating the expansion percentage on the fly. He also challenges how they scale SEO deliverables, prompting Pat to clarify the distinction between traditional backlinks and local directory citations.10:54–13:01 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Non-Dilutive Government Financing and Operational Team Structure Dan details non-dilutive government financing through Investment Quebec and BDC. Nathan inquires into debt covenants and engineering headcount structure without significant conflict.13:01–16:40 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Margins, Monthly Cash Flow, and Sales Representative Quotas Nathan actively challenges Dan on sales rep quota economics, working through the ARR versus OTE ratios. Dan defends the math by explaining security deposit cash collection and annualized performance timelines.16:40–19:06 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Outbound Prospecting Strategy and Residual Incentives Nathan pushes Dan on why residual commissions are flat rather than percentage-based, arguing that churn disincentives already exist. Dan pushes back firmly, arguing flat fees prevent reps from overselling unnecessary gold tiers to small contractors.19:07–21:48 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Expansion Roadmap and Value Proposition for Local Contractors Nathan asks why clients maintain ongoing subscriptions after a website is built. Dan presents an analogy to car maintenance and digital presence management for local trades.21:50–24:15 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Famous Five Q&A and UBI Web Performance Summary Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five lightning round with both co-founders and closes with a comprehensive summary of UBI Web's operational metrics.

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

0:00 · Nathan 56.4% · guest 43.6%0:00 · Nathan 56.4% · guest 43.6%3:00 · Nathan 27.7% · guest 72.3%3:00 · Nathan 27.7% · guest 72.3%6:00 · Nathan 43.5% · guest 56.5%6:00 · Nathan 43.5% · guest 56.5%9:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%9:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%12:00 · Nathan 38.1% · guest 61.9%12:00 · Nathan 38.1% · guest 61.9%15:00 · Nathan 40.8% · guest 59.2%15:00 · Nathan 40.8% · guest 59.2%18:00 · Nathan 22.6% · guest 77.4%18:00 · Nathan 22.6% · guest 77.4%21:00 · Nathan 39.8% · guest 60.2%21:00 · Nathan 39.8% · guest 60.2%24:00 · Nathan 95.9% · guest 4.1%24:00 · Nathan 95.9% · guest 4.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 17:41 Dan pushes back on percentage-based commissions

Dan forcefully rejects Nathan's suggestion to use percentage commissions, asserting that aggressive upselling would ruin customer experience and cause churn among local trades.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 15:29 Nathan questions sales compensation economics

Nathan refuses to let the quota math slide, directly confronting Dan when the initial ARR additions don't appear to justify a $100k target salary.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:28 Pat distinguishes directory citations from backlinks

Pat corrects Nathan's assumption about scalable guest blogging, explaining that local SEO for trades relies on local directory citations rather than content outreach.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 4:57 Nathan corrects Dan on net retention versus churn

Nathan immediately steps in to correct Dan when he states their churn is 109%, demonstrating SaaS domain mastery by clarifying it as net revenue retention.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
GetLatka Subscription Announcement and Platform Overview 3111 The segment begins with Nathan's subscriber pitch before introducing the guests and establishing the founding backstory of UBI Web. The dynamic is collaborative and informational as the founders explain their equity split and initial validation.
Customer Onboarding, ARPU, and Net Retention Performance 6114 Nathan catches Dan conflating churn and net retention, immediately correcting the terminology. Dan quickly accepts the correction while detailing ARPU and their Google Ads management add-on.
Analyzing Gross Revenue Churn, Expansion, and Tiered Packages 6325 Nathan drills into the mechanics of net versus gross churn, calculating the expansion percentage on the fly. He also challenges how they scale SEO deliverables, prompting Pat to clarify the distinction between traditional backlinks and local directory citations.
Non-Dilutive Government Financing and Operational Team Structure 4112 Dan details non-dilutive government financing through Investment Quebec and BDC. Nathan inquires into debt covenants and engineering headcount structure without significant conflict.
Margins, Monthly Cash Flow, and Sales Representative Quotas 7236 Nathan actively challenges Dan on sales rep quota economics, working through the ARR versus OTE ratios. Dan defends the math by explaining security deposit cash collection and annualized performance timelines.
Outbound Prospecting Strategy and Residual Incentives 6236 Nathan pushes Dan on why residual commissions are flat rather than percentage-based, arguing that churn disincentives already exist. Dan pushes back firmly, arguing flat fees prevent reps from overselling unnecessary gold tiers to small contractors.
Expansion Roadmap and Value Proposition for Local Contractors 4213 Nathan asks why clients maintain ongoing subscriptions after a website is built. Dan presents an analogy to car maintenance and digital presence management for local trades.
Famous Five Q&A and UBI Web Performance Summary 4011 Nathan runs through the standard Famous Five lightning round with both co-founders and closes with a comprehensive summary of UBI Web's operational metrics.

Statements from this episode (18)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
DiLoreto: UBI Web Has 550 Live Customers and 150-200 Signed
“We're about 700. We have about five 50 live and one of the 150 to 200 signed that are going live in the next three or four months. Cause we're always signing three, six months ahead of time.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 3:31
Assertion Not checkable as stated
DiLoreto: UBI Web ARPA is about $265 per month
“The ARPA right now is at about two 65 months.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 4:23
Assertion Not checkable as stated
DiLoreto: UBI Web achieves 109% net revenue retention
“Our organic revenue grows nine percent.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 4:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
DiLoreto: UBI Web Earns $20K–$25K Monthly From 30% Ad Management Fees
“So we have about a 30% management fee on top. So we're making about 20, 25 K monthly on that.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 5:38
Insight
DiLoreto: High-Spending Ad Clients Are More Easily Poached by Competitors
“And the more they spend, the higher, they become a, they become more poachable. We're a very competitive industry. So we don't like the big spenders. I know that's interesting, but the least you spend, the harder it is to poach that person.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 6:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
UBI Web Co-Founder: Annual Gross Revenue Churn Is Roughly 5%
“It's about five percent.”
Patrick (Pat) Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 7:38
Insight
Patrick: Basic on-page SEO usually secures top-three rankings in rural markets
“H one tags, backlinks a good site structure, Google best practices when you build the site is going to go get you usually a top three.”
Patrick (Pat) Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 10:05
Disclosure
DiLoreto: UBI Web Raised Up to $300K From Canadian Agencies Plus Bank Debt
“We've gone maybe 250 K, 300 K of funding through these two, and then a couple of hundred grand through banks.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 11:11
Disclosure
DiLoreto: BDC Charges 8.5% Interest Rate With Zero Warrants
“Eight and a half points.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 11:26
Disclosure
Patrick: UBI Web Has About 20 Employees, Including 6 to 7 in Sales
“So we're about 20. That is comprised of, the sales is at the moment six, seven and the rest is on the operational side.”
Patrick (Pat) Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 11:38
Disclosure
DiLoreto: 10% Minority Shareholder Agency Handles UBI Web's Tech Development
“So the 10%, the minority shareholder, that's that other web agency, we tap into them when it comes to tech dev.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 12:47
Disclosure
DiLoreto: UBIweb is profitable with 60% to 65% gross margins
“Yes, we're profitable today. Our margins look, I'm going to roughly 60, 65 points.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 13:05
Disclosure
DiLoreto: UBIweb sets quota at two sales per week per rep
“Two sales a week per rep.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 14:17
Disclosure
UBIweb Funds Sales Commissions With a Two-Month Client Security Deposit
“So our secret sauce, I guess, for a commission is we take a two month security deposit when we sign an agreement. And that's the last two months of your last year with us. So that we use that, that is straight up used to pay the sales reps commissions. It basi…”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 14:56
Disclosure
UBI Web targets sales rep compensation between $90,000 and $110,000
“The average commission payout is 600 dollars a unit, and they have a base salary. So our target salary for a rep is between 90 and a 110.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 15:20
Disclosure
DiLoreto: UBI Web Relies Entirely on Outbound Leads
“All of our leads are outbound. There's no inbound leads here.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 16:40
Disclosure
DiLoreto: UBI Web Pays Flat Annual Residuals on Client Renewals
“We do a residual, we offer a residual program. So every unit that you bring in the next year that they renew, you get a flat commission per year.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 17:13
Insight
DiLoreto: Dollar-Based Commissions Incentivize Reps to Oversell Unneeded Packages
“If we remunerate them too much based on dollars sold, then they're going to force packages that clients don't need.”
Dan DiLoreto Oct 17, 2020 ▶ 17:51
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