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Jun 20, 2020 · 19m · top-founders

VisitorQueue Hits $270k Revenue, Powers Your Sales Team ABM

Nick Hollinger · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken Eric Yuan · 4s spoken Vivek Bhaskaran · 2s spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

Visitor Queue founder and CEO Nick Hollinger breaks down how his bootstrapped B2B SaaS startup scaled to $22,000 in monthly recurring revenue by de-anonymizing website traffic through Google Analytics integrations. He shares key operational metrics, customer acquisition economics, and the financial implications of utilizing revenue-based financing to scale marketing without equity dilution.

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 42.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 6.5 Guest teaching 1.3 Guest disagreement 1.3 Nathan pushing back 2.5
05100:0010:004:06–8:39 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Team Composition, Pricing Model, and Bootstrapping Roots Nathan quickly runs SaaS math to calculate MRR from customer counts and ARPU while probing Nick's early acquisition channels. Nick is open, transparent, and collaborative throughout.8:39–14:18 · Nathan as informed peer 8/10 Paid Acquisition Economics and ClearBank Funding Nathan demonstrates deep knowledge of alternative venture debt and revenue-based financing, dissecting ClearBank's effective APR and fee structure. Nick is receptive and shares details about their financing terms.14:19–16:38 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Capital Utilization, Retention Rates, and Growth Plans Nathan drills into capital spending restrictions, gross versus net churn, and net burn rate. The exchange is straightforward and focused on standard SaaS unit economics.16:39–19:08 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nick playfully questions why Nathan asks about payment platforms, prompting Nathan to outline his thesis on treating ARR as an lendable asset class before delivering a sharp outro synthesis.4:06–8:39 · Guest teaching 1/10 Team Composition, Pricing Model, and Bootstrapping Roots Nathan quickly runs SaaS math to calculate MRR from customer counts and ARPU while probing Nick's early acquisition channels. Nick is open, transparent, and collaborative throughout.8:39–14:18 · Guest teaching 2/10 Paid Acquisition Economics and ClearBank Funding Nathan demonstrates deep knowledge of alternative venture debt and revenue-based financing, dissecting ClearBank's effective APR and fee structure. Nick is receptive and shares details about their financing terms.14:19–16:38 · Guest teaching 1/10 Capital Utilization, Retention Rates, and Growth Plans Nathan drills into capital spending restrictions, gross versus net churn, and net burn rate. The exchange is straightforward and focused on standard SaaS unit economics.16:39–19:08 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nick playfully questions why Nathan asks about payment platforms, prompting Nathan to outline his thesis on treating ARR as an lendable asset class before delivering a sharp outro synthesis.4:06–8:39 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Team Composition, Pricing Model, and Bootstrapping Roots Nathan quickly runs SaaS math to calculate MRR from customer counts and ARPU while probing Nick's early acquisition channels. Nick is open, transparent, and collaborative throughout.8:39–14:18 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Paid Acquisition Economics and ClearBank Funding Nathan demonstrates deep knowledge of alternative venture debt and revenue-based financing, dissecting ClearBank's effective APR and fee structure. Nick is receptive and shares details about their financing terms.14:19–16:38 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Capital Utilization, Retention Rates, and Growth Plans Nathan drills into capital spending restrictions, gross versus net churn, and net burn rate. The exchange is straightforward and focused on standard SaaS unit economics.16:39–19:08 · Guest disagreement 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nick playfully questions why Nathan asks about payment platforms, prompting Nathan to outline his thesis on treating ARR as an lendable asset class before delivering a sharp outro synthesis.4:06–8:39 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Team Composition, Pricing Model, and Bootstrapping Roots Nathan quickly runs SaaS math to calculate MRR from customer counts and ARPU while probing Nick's early acquisition channels. Nick is open, transparent, and collaborative throughout.8:39–14:18 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Paid Acquisition Economics and ClearBank Funding Nathan demonstrates deep knowledge of alternative venture debt and revenue-based financing, dissecting ClearBank's effective APR and fee structure. Nick is receptive and shares details about their financing terms.14:19–16:38 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Capital Utilization, Retention Rates, and Growth Plans Nathan drills into capital spending restrictions, gross versus net churn, and net burn rate. The exchange is straightforward and focused on standard SaaS unit economics.16:39–19:08 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions Nick playfully questions why Nathan asks about payment platforms, prompting Nathan to outline his thesis on treating ARR as an lendable asset class before delivering a sharp outro synthesis.

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

0:00 · Nathan 65.2% · guest 34.8%0:00 · Nathan 65.2% · guest 34.8%3:00 · Nathan 34.4% · guest 65.6%3:00 · Nathan 34.4% · guest 65.6%6:00 · Nathan 28.5% · guest 71.5%6:00 · Nathan 28.5% · guest 71.5%9:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%9:00 · Nathan 32.1% · guest 67.9%12:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%12:00 · Nathan 40.6% · guest 59.4%15:00 · Nathan 41.1% · guest 58.9%15:00 · Nathan 41.1% · guest 58.9%18:00 · Nathan 76.2% · guest 23.8%18:00 · Nathan 76.2% · guest 23.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 16:51 Nick turns the tables on Nathan's fintech questions

Nick playfully interrupts the rapid-fire format to ask Nathan why he's inquiring about payment processors and whether he has an ulterior play.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:26 Pushback on ClearBank's advertised fee structure

Nathan rejects the nominal fee presentation of ClearBank, arguing that a 12.5% fee on a six-month payback translates to an effective APR closer to 25%.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:38 Nick explains ClearBank's cash-back mechanism

Nick educates Nathan on the exact mechanics of ClearBank's loan, explaining the 12.5% fee coupled with a 6.5% rebate upon full deployment.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 13:15 Nathan details SaaS debt alternatives and term structures

Nathan showcases comprehensive market knowledge by naming specific debt funds and contrasting revenue-share models against multi-year amortizing term loans.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Team Composition, Pricing Model, and Bootstrapping Roots 5112 Nathan quickly runs SaaS math to calculate MRR from customer counts and ARPU while probing Nick's early acquisition channels. Nick is open, transparent, and collaborative throughout.
Paid Acquisition Economics and ClearBank Funding 8214 Nathan demonstrates deep knowledge of alternative venture debt and revenue-based financing, dissecting ClearBank's effective APR and fee structure. Nick is receptive and shares details about their financing terms.
Capital Utilization, Retention Rates, and Growth Plans 6112 Nathan drills into capital spending restrictions, gross versus net churn, and net burn rate. The exchange is straightforward and focused on standard SaaS unit economics.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions 7122 Nick playfully questions why Nathan asks about payment platforms, prompting Nathan to outline his thesis on treating ARR as an lendable asset class before delivering a sharp outro synthesis.

Statements from this episode (12)

Insight
Hollinger: B2B Firmographic Data Enrichment Vendors Source Primarily From Each Other
“Full contact is our number one source there, but we use another, we like most data is commodity at this point. So we're pretty much sourcing it off of each other.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 3:39
Insight
Hollinger: Outbound Sales Teams Do Not Make Sense at $75 ARPU
“No, most of our, so our ARPU is at a level where it doesn't really make sense to have an outbound team.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 4:22
Disclosure
Hollinger: Visitor Queue's MVP Cost Roughly $15,000 to $20,000 to Build
“Oh, that was probably all of my money that went into that and burned a bit of money there, but probably closer to 15, 20 grand.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 4:54
Disclosure
Hollinger: Visitor Queue Bootstrapped Entirely With Personal Finances and Loans
“Nothing outside of my finances or a personal guarantee that I put on a loan has gone into the company.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 5:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hollinger: Visitor Queue Converts Trials to Paid Accounts in 45 Days
“So we about 250 last month. And then we added about 30 new customers last month like actually paying ones. The big thing there is we don't see our average conversions about 45 days for an account to convert.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 8:00
Disclosure
Hollinger: Visitor Queue Has a Customer Acquisition Cost Around $500
“We have a CAC of about 500 and AdWords plays, plays nicely into that, and so does Facebook and our current channels.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 9:16
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hollinger: LinkedIn Paid Acquisition CAC Was Too Expensive at Over $500
“LinkedIn was well above that 500 dollar per month price.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 9:25
Disclosure
Hollinger: Clearbanc Charged a 12.5% Fee on a $14,000 Revenue Advance
“It's a 12.5% fee with a 6.5% cash back that you get once you fully spent the full 14 grand.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 10:41
Disclosure
Hollinger: Clearbanc Capped Financing at $30,000 for 20% of Top-Line Revenue
“They capped us at 30 grand for their options, but they would be taking 20% off top line at that point in regards to how quickly they're recovering.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 12:41
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hollinger: Canadian Debt Lenders Typically Require at Least $500,000 in ARR
“But what we found was there isn't many lenders that for the capital we were looking for at our MRR. Usually it's about 500 in ARR or more. That's where we could start going to these other lenders, especially within Canada. But below 500, we didn't find many, a…”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 13:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hollinger: Visitor Queue Maintained 12% Annual Net Revenue Churn
“I have net for the last 12 months was about 12 12%. We haven't cracked that hundred percent mark, but given that we're within small to medium business, we we're comfortable, but still looking at ways to optimize.”
Nick Hollinger Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 15:22
Opinion
Latka: Existing Revenue-Based Financing Options Take Advantage of Founders
“I think ARR is a real asset. And I think that it should be valued like an asset. And I think you can lend against that as an asset. And I think right now, most of the options in the marketplace are taking advantage of entrepreneurs and they're way too expensiv…”
Nathan Latka Jun 20, 2020 ▶ 17:03
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