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May 28, 2019 · 20m · top-founders

1403 This Direct Mailing SaaS Company Went From $0 to $135k in MRR Using Hubspot Partner Ecosystem

Dennis Kelly · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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Postalytics CEO Dennis Kelly explains how he bootstrapped his direct mail automation SaaS platform from zero to $135,000 in monthly recurring revenue by partnering with HubSpot's ecosystem and maintaining a lean, capital-efficient remote team.

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 47.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.3 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 2.0 Nathan pushing back 3.9
05100:0010:0020:000:01–2:08 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Promotion of Nathan Latka's Book How to Be a Capitalist Introductory monologue, book promotion, and podcast teaser clips. No interactive interview dynamics occur.2:09–4:38 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Introduction to Postalytics and Hitting $135k Monthly Recurring Revenue Nathan quickly runs the mental SaaS math on Dennis's customer count and average contract value to pinpoint the $135k MRR figure. The interaction is smooth, collaborative, and fact-finding.4:39–6:45 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Leveraging HubSpot's Partner Ecosystem and Mail Margins Nathan digs into the pricing model and software margins versus direct physical mailing costs. Dennis details how their partnership with HubSpot drives low-friction customer acquisition.6:45–10:55 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Raising a Seed Round and Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital Nathan challenges Dennis's fundraising logic, questioning why a cashflow-positive team of four doing $135k/mo needs $500k at a $7-10M valuation. Dennis defends his strategy of taking small sips of capital to avoid VC misalignment.10:56–13:52 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Navigating Revenue Churn, Seasonality, and Attribution Tracking Nathan points out that a 4% monthly revenue churn equates to roughly 48% annualized attrition and asks what value the platform provides during non-sending months. Dennis explains their patent-pending attribution tracking infrastructure.13:52–16:17 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Overcoming User Tracking Friction and Mobile Scanning Tech Nathan forcefully challenges the friction in physical mail attribution, arguing that real consumers rarely type long URLs or scan mail on their kitchen counter. Dennis counters by citing native camera QR tech like Google Lens and multi-channel response mechanisms.16:17–18:31 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Analyzing Early Unit Economics and Strategic Investor Outreach Nathan probes Dennis on his lack of CAC and payback cohort data ahead of angel pitches. Dennis pushes back by asserting that early-stage unit economics with tiny sample sizes are inherently unreliable.18:31–20:31 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Dennis Kelly During the Famous Five, Nathan challenges Dennis on why he would decline a hypothetical $7M acquisition offer from HubSpot when he is pitching angels at a $7M pre-money valuation. Dennis sticks to his guns.0:01–2:08 · Guest teaching 0/10 Promotion of Nathan Latka's Book How to Be a Capitalist Introductory monologue, book promotion, and podcast teaser clips. No interactive interview dynamics occur.2:09–4:38 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introduction to Postalytics and Hitting $135k Monthly Recurring Revenue Nathan quickly runs the mental SaaS math on Dennis's customer count and average contract value to pinpoint the $135k MRR figure. The interaction is smooth, collaborative, and fact-finding.4:39–6:45 · Guest teaching 3/10 Leveraging HubSpot's Partner Ecosystem and Mail Margins Nathan digs into the pricing model and software margins versus direct physical mailing costs. Dennis details how their partnership with HubSpot drives low-friction customer acquisition.6:45–10:55 · Guest teaching 3/10 Raising a Seed Round and Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital Nathan challenges Dennis's fundraising logic, questioning why a cashflow-positive team of four doing $135k/mo needs $500k at a $7-10M valuation. Dennis defends his strategy of taking small sips of capital to avoid VC misalignment.10:56–13:52 · Guest teaching 5/10 Navigating Revenue Churn, Seasonality, and Attribution Tracking Nathan points out that a 4% monthly revenue churn equates to roughly 48% annualized attrition and asks what value the platform provides during non-sending months. Dennis explains their patent-pending attribution tracking infrastructure.13:52–16:17 · Guest teaching 5/10 Overcoming User Tracking Friction and Mobile Scanning Tech Nathan forcefully challenges the friction in physical mail attribution, arguing that real consumers rarely type long URLs or scan mail on their kitchen counter. Dennis counters by citing native camera QR tech like Google Lens and multi-channel response mechanisms.16:17–18:31 · Guest teaching 4/10 Analyzing Early Unit Economics and Strategic Investor Outreach Nathan probes Dennis on his lack of CAC and payback cohort data ahead of angel pitches. Dennis pushes back by asserting that early-stage unit economics with tiny sample sizes are inherently unreliable.18:31–20:31 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Dennis Kelly During the Famous Five, Nathan challenges Dennis on why he would decline a hypothetical $7M acquisition offer from HubSpot when he is pitching angels at a $7M pre-money valuation. Dennis sticks to his guns.0:01–2:08 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Promotion of Nathan Latka's Book How to Be a Capitalist Introductory monologue, book promotion, and podcast teaser clips. No interactive interview dynamics occur.2:09–4:38 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Introduction to Postalytics and Hitting $135k Monthly Recurring Revenue Nathan quickly runs the mental SaaS math on Dennis's customer count and average contract value to pinpoint the $135k MRR figure. The interaction is smooth, collaborative, and fact-finding.4:39–6:45 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Leveraging HubSpot's Partner Ecosystem and Mail Margins Nathan digs into the pricing model and software margins versus direct physical mailing costs. Dennis details how their partnership with HubSpot drives low-friction customer acquisition.6:45–10:55 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Raising a Seed Round and Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital Nathan challenges Dennis's fundraising logic, questioning why a cashflow-positive team of four doing $135k/mo needs $500k at a $7-10M valuation. Dennis defends his strategy of taking small sips of capital to avoid VC misalignment.10:56–13:52 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Navigating Revenue Churn, Seasonality, and Attribution Tracking Nathan points out that a 4% monthly revenue churn equates to roughly 48% annualized attrition and asks what value the platform provides during non-sending months. Dennis explains their patent-pending attribution tracking infrastructure.13:52–16:17 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Overcoming User Tracking Friction and Mobile Scanning Tech Nathan forcefully challenges the friction in physical mail attribution, arguing that real consumers rarely type long URLs or scan mail on their kitchen counter. Dennis counters by citing native camera QR tech like Google Lens and multi-channel response mechanisms.16:17–18:31 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Analyzing Early Unit Economics and Strategic Investor Outreach Nathan probes Dennis on his lack of CAC and payback cohort data ahead of angel pitches. Dennis pushes back by asserting that early-stage unit economics with tiny sample sizes are inherently unreliable.18:31–20:31 · Guest disagreement 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Dennis Kelly During the Famous Five, Nathan challenges Dennis on why he would decline a hypothetical $7M acquisition offer from HubSpot when he is pitching angels at a $7M pre-money valuation. Dennis sticks to his guns.0:01–2:08 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Promotion of Nathan Latka's Book How to Be a Capitalist Introductory monologue, book promotion, and podcast teaser clips. No interactive interview dynamics occur.2:09–4:38 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Introduction to Postalytics and Hitting $135k Monthly Recurring Revenue Nathan quickly runs the mental SaaS math on Dennis's customer count and average contract value to pinpoint the $135k MRR figure. The interaction is smooth, collaborative, and fact-finding.4:39–6:45 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Leveraging HubSpot's Partner Ecosystem and Mail Margins Nathan digs into the pricing model and software margins versus direct physical mailing costs. Dennis details how their partnership with HubSpot drives low-friction customer acquisition.6:45–10:55 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Raising a Seed Round and Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital Nathan challenges Dennis's fundraising logic, questioning why a cashflow-positive team of four doing $135k/mo needs $500k at a $7-10M valuation. Dennis defends his strategy of taking small sips of capital to avoid VC misalignment.10:56–13:52 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Navigating Revenue Churn, Seasonality, and Attribution Tracking Nathan points out that a 4% monthly revenue churn equates to roughly 48% annualized attrition and asks what value the platform provides during non-sending months. Dennis explains their patent-pending attribution tracking infrastructure.13:52–16:17 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Overcoming User Tracking Friction and Mobile Scanning Tech Nathan forcefully challenges the friction in physical mail attribution, arguing that real consumers rarely type long URLs or scan mail on their kitchen counter. Dennis counters by citing native camera QR tech like Google Lens and multi-channel response mechanisms.16:17–18:31 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Analyzing Early Unit Economics and Strategic Investor Outreach Nathan probes Dennis on his lack of CAC and payback cohort data ahead of angel pitches. Dennis pushes back by asserting that early-stage unit economics with tiny sample sizes are inherently unreliable.18:31–20:31 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Dennis Kelly During the Famous Five, Nathan challenges Dennis on why he would decline a hypothetical $7M acquisition offer from HubSpot when he is pitching angels at a $7M pre-money valuation. Dennis sticks to his guns.

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

0:00 · Nathan 90.4% · guest 9.6%0:00 · Nathan 90.4% · guest 9.6%3:00 · Nathan 34.7% · guest 65.3%3:00 · Nathan 34.7% · guest 65.3%6:00 · Nathan 33.2% · guest 66.8%6:00 · Nathan 33.2% · guest 66.8%9:00 · Nathan 41.9% · guest 58.1%9:00 · Nathan 41.9% · guest 58.1%12:00 · Nathan 38.4% · guest 61.6%12:00 · Nathan 38.4% · guest 61.6%15:00 · Nathan 41.3% · guest 58.7%15:00 · Nathan 41.3% · guest 58.7%18:00 · Nathan 52.6% · guest 47.4%18:00 · Nathan 52.6% · guest 47.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 16:58 Dennis dismisses relevance of early unit economics

Dennis flatly rejects Nathan's line of questioning regarding angel investor expectations, stating early unit economics are not worth much at this stage.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 15:18 Nathan challenges real-world URL attribution friction

Nathan refuses to accept that consumers will change their habits to scan or type personalized URLs from direct mail at their kitchen counter.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:30 Dennis educates on emerging camera scanning tech

Dennis informs Nathan about native operating system level camera AI like Google Lens that eliminates manual QR and URL typing friction on printed mail.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:27 Nathan exposes the math on Dennis's burn plan

Nathan demonstrates financial mastery by calculating that Dennis would have to increase burn by an unlikely amount to burn through a $500k seed round given his current cashflow.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Promotion of Nathan Latka's Book How to Be a Capitalist 0000 Introductory monologue, book promotion, and podcast teaser clips. No interactive interview dynamics occur.
Introduction to Postalytics and Hitting $135k Monthly Recurring Revenue 6201 Nathan quickly runs the mental SaaS math on Dennis's customer count and average contract value to pinpoint the $135k MRR figure. The interaction is smooth, collaborative, and fact-finding.
Leveraging HubSpot's Partner Ecosystem and Mail Margins 6302 Nathan digs into the pricing model and software margins versus direct physical mailing costs. Dennis details how their partnership with HubSpot drives low-friction customer acquisition.
Raising a Seed Round and Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital 7336 Nathan challenges Dennis's fundraising logic, questioning why a cashflow-positive team of four doing $135k/mo needs $500k at a $7-10M valuation. Dennis defends his strategy of taking small sips of capital to avoid VC misalignment.
Navigating Revenue Churn, Seasonality, and Attribution Tracking 6514 Nathan points out that a 4% monthly revenue churn equates to roughly 48% annualized attrition and asks what value the platform provides during non-sending months. Dennis explains their patent-pending attribution tracking infrastructure.
Overcoming User Tracking Friction and Mobile Scanning Tech 6557 Nathan forcefully challenges the friction in physical mail attribution, arguing that real consumers rarely type long URLs or scan mail on their kitchen counter. Dennis counters by citing native camera QR tech like Google Lens and multi-channel response mechanisms.
Analyzing Early Unit Economics and Strategic Investor Outreach 6446 Nathan probes Dennis on his lack of CAC and payback cohort data ahead of angel pitches. Dennis pushes back by asserting that early-stage unit economics with tiny sample sizes are inherently unreliable.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Dennis Kelly 5235 During the Famous Five, Nathan challenges Dennis on why he would decline a hypothetical $7M acquisition offer from HubSpot when he is pitching angels at a $7M pre-money valuation. Dennis sticks to his guns.

Statements from this episode (14)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Postalytics Has Signed Up 450 Paying Customers Since Launch
“We've, ah, signed up over 450 customers.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 3:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Postalytics Customers Average $300 SaaS and $1,000 Usage Fees Monthly
“The average customer is paying us about 300 dollars per month on a subscription basis. And we're pulling in about a thousand dollars a month for paying customers on per piece fees.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 3:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Most Postalytics Customers Are Acquired via HubSpot Partner Ecosystem
“The vast majority of them are HubSpot customers and they have found us through both of our content marketing, As well as our investment in the HubSpot Connect partner program.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 4:40
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Postalytics Sent Two Million Pieces of Direct Mail in Eight Months
“We've sent about two million pieces of mail in the last eight months.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 5:41
Assertion Supported
The US Direct Mail Industry Generates $45 Billion Annually
“The workflow and the sales process, the onboarding process really hasn't changed since the 19 nineties. And so we're really trying to apply a SAS business model. And a SAF software model to this industry that still is about forty-five billion dollars a year in…”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 7:14
Disclosure
Postalytics Aims to Raise a $500k to $600k Equity Seed Round
“We're gonna raise between 506 100,000 dollars. Here to start.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 7:41
Disclosure
Postalytics Targets a High Seven-Figure Valuation for Seed Round
“In the high seven figures.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 8:17
Disclosure
Postalytics Operates With a Core Full-Time Team of Four
“There are four of us.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 9:07
Insight
Traditional VC and LP Demands Distort Early Startup Progress
“We are interested in taking small sips of capital and small sips of outside leverage to grow the business rather than, Kind of take the traditional venture capital approach. And we want to build a business that is aligned around disrupting this business and bu…”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 10:06
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Postalytics Sees About 4% Monthly Revenue Churn
“About four percent per month. [662] Nathan Latka: Okay, and that's a logo churn per month? [664] Dennis Kelly: I'm sorry? [664] Nathan Latka: That's logo churn or revenue churn? [667] Dennis Kelly: that's revenue churn.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 11:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Over Half of Postalytics Clients Are First-Time Direct Mailers
“Over 50% of our clients are new to direct mail.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 11:26
Assertion Supported
Postalytics Has a Patent Pending to Track Personalized Direct Mail URLs
“We actually have a patent pending method of delivering a unique URL for each piece of mail that is sent in a campaign.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 13:30
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Direct Mail With Strong Offers Can Reach 60% Code Activation
“Well, if there's a very strong offer, we see 50, 60% sometimes.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 15:53
Disclosure
Dennis Kelly Would Reject a $7 Million Acquisition Offer From HubSpot
“No.”
Dennis Kelly May 28, 2019 ▶ 18:54
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