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Jul 30, 2020 · 20m · top-founders

Qebot Raising $1.5m With $1.2m in ARR Helping 1500 SMB's Be More Productive

Matthew White · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 6m spoken Eric Yuan · 4s spoken Vivek Bhaskaran · 2s spoken
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Nathan Latka interviews Matthew White, CEO of Qebot, to examine the company's SaaS management hub, unit economics, and churn dynamics as they target a $1.5 million funding round at $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue.

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 37.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.2 Guest teaching 1.8 Guest disagreement 2.5 Nathan pushing back 5.7
05100:0010:0020:001:33–3:37 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Introducing Matthew White and Qebot's Value Proposition Nathan mispronounces the company name and questions whether Qebot is just a glorified affiliate reseller like JVZoo. Matthew corrects the pronunciation and explains the proprietary unified data flow and backend automation that differentiates them from basic affiliate aggregators.3:37–7:08 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Unit Economics, Customer Scale, and Due Diligence Hesitation Matthew hesitates to confirm revenue numbers, citing active investor due diligence. Nathan aggressively challenges this rationale, arguing that genuine investors appreciate public visibility and that secrecy only hides discrepancies.7:08–10:58 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Company History, Team Structure, and Fundraising Objectives Nathan probes Qebot's history and lean structure of 6 employees at breakeven. He pushes back on the fundraising logic, asking why Matthew wants to raise capital to copy and cannibalize agency partners rather than letting them sell for free.10:58–14:46 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Scrutinizing Agency Churn and Revenue Volatility Matthew claims near-zero churn among SMBs, which Nathan immediately rejects given macroeconomic small business failure rates. Nathan presses until Matthew reveals that 1,100 of the 1,500 SMBs belong to 16 agencies and admits he does not know his revenue churn figure.14:47–18:57 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Customer Acquisition Strategy and Aggressive Growth Goals Nathan scrutinizes Matthew's target to turn a $1.5M raise into $2M in MRR, labeling it pie-in-the-sky given that Qebot has never handled agency accounts of that magnitude before.18:57–20:16 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Episode Recap Nathan walks through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions and delivers a concise summary of Qebot's revenue, customer distribution, and fundraising metrics.1:33–3:37 · Guest teaching 5/10 Introducing Matthew White and Qebot's Value Proposition Nathan mispronounces the company name and questions whether Qebot is just a glorified affiliate reseller like JVZoo. Matthew corrects the pronunciation and explains the proprietary unified data flow and backend automation that differentiates them from basic affiliate aggregators.3:37–7:08 · Guest teaching 2/10 Unit Economics, Customer Scale, and Due Diligence Hesitation Matthew hesitates to confirm revenue numbers, citing active investor due diligence. Nathan aggressively challenges this rationale, arguing that genuine investors appreciate public visibility and that secrecy only hides discrepancies.7:08–10:58 · Guest teaching 2/10 Company History, Team Structure, and Fundraising Objectives Nathan probes Qebot's history and lean structure of 6 employees at breakeven. He pushes back on the fundraising logic, asking why Matthew wants to raise capital to copy and cannibalize agency partners rather than letting them sell for free.10:58–14:46 · Guest teaching 1/10 Scrutinizing Agency Churn and Revenue Volatility Matthew claims near-zero churn among SMBs, which Nathan immediately rejects given macroeconomic small business failure rates. Nathan presses until Matthew reveals that 1,100 of the 1,500 SMBs belong to 16 agencies and admits he does not know his revenue churn figure.14:47–18:57 · Guest teaching 1/10 Customer Acquisition Strategy and Aggressive Growth Goals Nathan scrutinizes Matthew's target to turn a $1.5M raise into $2M in MRR, labeling it pie-in-the-sky given that Qebot has never handled agency accounts of that magnitude before.18:57–20:16 · Guest teaching 0/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Episode Recap Nathan walks through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions and delivers a concise summary of Qebot's revenue, customer distribution, and fundraising metrics.1:33–3:37 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Introducing Matthew White and Qebot's Value Proposition Nathan mispronounces the company name and questions whether Qebot is just a glorified affiliate reseller like JVZoo. Matthew corrects the pronunciation and explains the proprietary unified data flow and backend automation that differentiates them from basic affiliate aggregators.3:37–7:08 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Unit Economics, Customer Scale, and Due Diligence Hesitation Matthew hesitates to confirm revenue numbers, citing active investor due diligence. Nathan aggressively challenges this rationale, arguing that genuine investors appreciate public visibility and that secrecy only hides discrepancies.7:08–10:58 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Company History, Team Structure, and Fundraising Objectives Nathan probes Qebot's history and lean structure of 6 employees at breakeven. He pushes back on the fundraising logic, asking why Matthew wants to raise capital to copy and cannibalize agency partners rather than letting them sell for free.10:58–14:46 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Scrutinizing Agency Churn and Revenue Volatility Matthew claims near-zero churn among SMBs, which Nathan immediately rejects given macroeconomic small business failure rates. Nathan presses until Matthew reveals that 1,100 of the 1,500 SMBs belong to 16 agencies and admits he does not know his revenue churn figure.14:47–18:57 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Customer Acquisition Strategy and Aggressive Growth Goals Nathan scrutinizes Matthew's target to turn a $1.5M raise into $2M in MRR, labeling it pie-in-the-sky given that Qebot has never handled agency accounts of that magnitude before.18:57–20:16 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Episode Recap Nathan walks through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions and delivers a concise summary of Qebot's revenue, customer distribution, and fundraising metrics.1:33–3:37 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Matthew White and Qebot's Value Proposition Nathan mispronounces the company name and questions whether Qebot is just a glorified affiliate reseller like JVZoo. Matthew corrects the pronunciation and explains the proprietary unified data flow and backend automation that differentiates them from basic affiliate aggregators.3:37–7:08 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Unit Economics, Customer Scale, and Due Diligence Hesitation Matthew hesitates to confirm revenue numbers, citing active investor due diligence. Nathan aggressively challenges this rationale, arguing that genuine investors appreciate public visibility and that secrecy only hides discrepancies.7:08–10:58 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Company History, Team Structure, and Fundraising Objectives Nathan probes Qebot's history and lean structure of 6 employees at breakeven. He pushes back on the fundraising logic, asking why Matthew wants to raise capital to copy and cannibalize agency partners rather than letting them sell for free.10:58–14:46 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Scrutinizing Agency Churn and Revenue Volatility Matthew claims near-zero churn among SMBs, which Nathan immediately rejects given macroeconomic small business failure rates. Nathan presses until Matthew reveals that 1,100 of the 1,500 SMBs belong to 16 agencies and admits he does not know his revenue churn figure.14:47–18:57 · Nathan pushing back 8/10 Customer Acquisition Strategy and Aggressive Growth Goals Nathan scrutinizes Matthew's target to turn a $1.5M raise into $2M in MRR, labeling it pie-in-the-sky given that Qebot has never handled agency accounts of that magnitude before.18:57–20:16 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Episode Recap Nathan walks through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions and delivers a concise summary of Qebot's revenue, customer distribution, and fundraising metrics.

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

0:00 · Nathan 71.4% · guest 28.6%0:00 · Nathan 71.4% · guest 28.6%3:00 · Nathan 17.1% · guest 82.9%3:00 · Nathan 17.1% · guest 82.9%6:00 · Nathan 35.9% · guest 64.1%6:00 · Nathan 35.9% · guest 64.1%9:00 · Nathan 20.6% · guest 79.4%9:00 · Nathan 20.6% · guest 79.4%12:00 · Nathan 43.7% · guest 56.3%12:00 · Nathan 43.7% · guest 56.3%15:00 · Nathan 22.6% · guest 77.4%15:00 · Nathan 22.6% · guest 77.4%18:00 · Nathan 56.2% · guest 43.8%18:00 · Nathan 56.2% · guest 43.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 6:07 Matthew refuses to disclose exact figures

Matthew repeatedly deflects confirming MRR numbers, insisting his advisors told him to keep metrics close to his chest during active investor diligence.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:20 Nathan rejects claim of zero SMB churn

Nathan directly refuses to believe Matthew's claim that direct SMB churn is basically zero, pointing out standard SMB failure statistics.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:00 Matthew explains backend integration beyond affiliate model

Matthew educates Nathan on why Qebot is not a simple affiliate site by explaining the deep backend integrations, unified SSO, and data automation between tools.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 14:08 Nathan demonstrates why logo churn is useless compared to revenue churn

Nathan dismantles Matthew's reliance on logo churn, demonstrating that varying tool packages make revenue churn the only metric investors will care about.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Matthew White and Qebot's Value Proposition 5534 Nathan mispronounces the company name and questions whether Qebot is just a glorified affiliate reseller like JVZoo. Matthew corrects the pronunciation and explains the proprietary unified data flow and backend automation that differentiates them from basic affiliate aggregators.
Unit Economics, Customer Scale, and Due Diligence Hesitation 7248 Matthew hesitates to confirm revenue numbers, citing active investor due diligence. Nathan aggressively challenges this rationale, arguing that genuine investors appreciate public visibility and that secrecy only hides discrepancies.
Company History, Team Structure, and Fundraising Objectives 6225 Nathan probes Qebot's history and lean structure of 6 employees at breakeven. He pushes back on the fundraising logic, asking why Matthew wants to raise capital to copy and cannibalize agency partners rather than letting them sell for free.
Scrutinizing Agency Churn and Revenue Volatility 8138 Matthew claims near-zero churn among SMBs, which Nathan immediately rejects given macroeconomic small business failure rates. Nathan presses until Matthew reveals that 1,100 of the 1,500 SMBs belong to 16 agencies and admits he does not know his revenue churn figure.
Customer Acquisition Strategy and Aggressive Growth Goals 7138 Nathan scrutinizes Matthew's target to turn a $1.5M raise into $2M in MRR, labeling it pie-in-the-sky given that Qebot has never handled agency accounts of that magnitude before.
Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions and Episode Recap 4001 Nathan walks through the Famous Five rapid-fire questions and delivers a concise summary of Qebot's revenue, customer distribution, and fundraising metrics.

Statements from this episode (12)

Disclosure
White: Qebot generates revenue by taking margins on resold SaaS tools
“We make money by integrating all these different applications into one single platform makes it just a lot more simple for our clients to manage all their SaaS tools, and then we make money by reselling those tools and taking a margin of the revenue off of eac…”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 2:25
Assertion Not checkable as stated
White: Qebot generates an average of $65 monthly per small business
“Most of the average per like small business right now is sitting right about 65 dollars a month because it's all the card you can pick and choose.”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 4:07
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Qebot has 1,500 to 2,000 SMB locations on its platform
“Altogether, though, from the S&B model, what we're looking at, and this is going to vary quite a bit, we're sitting right around the 1500 to 2000 mark.”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 5:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Latka: No founder has ever lost a term sheet by sharing data
“Never has there been a case where there's been data shared and someone has lost a term sheet.”
Nathan Latka Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 6:28
Disclosure
Qebot has raised only $50,000 in outside capital to date
“Only 50,000 dollars.”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 8:04
Disclosure
Qebot is operating at cash flow break-even
“We're right at about break even. no, we're actually right at about zero.”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 9:34
Disclosure
Qebot operates with a team of six employees
“Yeah, we only have six right now. So we're able to run very lean as an organization”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 9:55
Assertion Not checkable as stated
White: Qebot has near-zero churn among direct SMB clients
“So we do have some churn when it comes from the marketing agencies, just because the marketing agency has a regular churn, but from our direct clients, SMBs, our churn is basically zero. We really don't lose anything from the franchises, from the small, medium…”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 11:07
Disclosure
White: 1,100 of Qebot's 1,500 accounts come from partner agencies
“Yeah, so I'd say probably, I want to say like probably 1100 of those are from agencies.”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 12:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
White: Qebot spends roughly $120 to acquire each marketing agency
“We're seeing right now for an agency, it's typically costing us about a hundred, a 120 dollars to bring on an agency. That is including, like, what we calculated in the sales cost of, you know, myself or one of the other people doing the demos, running through…”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 15:02
Prediction Not checkable as stated
White: $1.5M raise will fund 22-month runway to reach $2M MRR
“That's kind of what it looks like we should need to take us for a 22 months and grow our revenues to what we think could be an average of about two million MRR.”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 16:57
Assertion Not checkable as stated
White: Qebot signed three new 1,000-client agency accounts
“From what we're seeing with these new agencies that we've signed three new agencies, just three of those five or a thousand location agencies, a thousand client agencies that are going live this month or next month.”
Matthew White Jul 30, 2020 ▶ 17:19
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