StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Jun 22, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

He's 36 Year Old SaaS Dad of 2, Gets 8+ Hours of Sleep, Business Did $640k in 2015, EP 312: Dave Nevogt

Nathan Latka · 9m spoken Dave Nevogt · 9m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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

Host Nathan Latka interviews Hubstaff co-founder Dave Nevogt, exploring the company's bootstrapped path to a $1M ARR run rate, unit economics, remote team operations, and sustainable founder work-life balance.

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 49.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.8 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.0 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:0020:001:26–4:12 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Hubstaff Origin, Capitalization, and Shotgun Partnership Clause Nathan rejects Dave's initial polite claim that 50/50 co-founders never disagree, pressing on how deadlocks are resolved. Dave explains their contractual shotgun clause, and Nathan promptly walks through the buyout math.4:12–7:55 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Subscription Pricing, Product Features, and Remote Team Management Nathan drills into the customer pricing tiers, ARR run-rate milestone, and tests Dave's payroll figures, noting that $46k/month across 20 people implies part-time contractor arrangements.7:55–10:36 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Growth Metrics, Churn, LTV, and Indianapolis Ecosystem Nathan detects an inconsistency between Dave's reported churn rate and customer lifetime value ($660 LTV vs $850 implied). Dave politely schools Nathan on the Indianapolis tech scene after Nathan assumes Hubstaff is the biggest player there.10:37–14:44 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Customer Acquisition Funnel, Viral Loops, and Traffic Nathan breaks down the conversion funnel from web visitors to trials to paid customers. Dave clarifies that Hubstaff's high Alexa rank is largely driven by daily active user check-ins rather than pure top-of-funnel inbound marketing.14:44–16:48 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship and HostGator Website Builder Promotion Mid-roll segment dedicated to show housekeeping, a HostGator sponsor read, and a brief check on 2015 revenue ($675k).16:48–19:25 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions With Dave Standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Nathan adds color about guest Hiten Shah and highlights Dave's healthy work-life balance and sleep schedule.1:26–4:12 · Guest teaching 3/10 Hubstaff Origin, Capitalization, and Shotgun Partnership Clause Nathan rejects Dave's initial polite claim that 50/50 co-founders never disagree, pressing on how deadlocks are resolved. Dave explains their contractual shotgun clause, and Nathan promptly walks through the buyout math.4:12–7:55 · Guest teaching 2/10 Subscription Pricing, Product Features, and Remote Team Management Nathan drills into the customer pricing tiers, ARR run-rate milestone, and tests Dave's payroll figures, noting that $46k/month across 20 people implies part-time contractor arrangements.7:55–10:36 · Guest teaching 5/10 Growth Metrics, Churn, LTV, and Indianapolis Ecosystem Nathan detects an inconsistency between Dave's reported churn rate and customer lifetime value ($660 LTV vs $850 implied). Dave politely schools Nathan on the Indianapolis tech scene after Nathan assumes Hubstaff is the biggest player there.10:37–14:44 · Guest teaching 4/10 Customer Acquisition Funnel, Viral Loops, and Traffic Nathan breaks down the conversion funnel from web visitors to trials to paid customers. Dave clarifies that Hubstaff's high Alexa rank is largely driven by daily active user check-ins rather than pure top-of-funnel inbound marketing.14:44–16:48 · Guest teaching 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship and HostGator Website Builder Promotion Mid-roll segment dedicated to show housekeeping, a HostGator sponsor read, and a brief check on 2015 revenue ($675k).16:48–19:25 · Guest teaching 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions With Dave Standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Nathan adds color about guest Hiten Shah and highlights Dave's healthy work-life balance and sleep schedule.1:26–4:12 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Hubstaff Origin, Capitalization, and Shotgun Partnership Clause Nathan rejects Dave's initial polite claim that 50/50 co-founders never disagree, pressing on how deadlocks are resolved. Dave explains their contractual shotgun clause, and Nathan promptly walks through the buyout math.4:12–7:55 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Subscription Pricing, Product Features, and Remote Team Management Nathan drills into the customer pricing tiers, ARR run-rate milestone, and tests Dave's payroll figures, noting that $46k/month across 20 people implies part-time contractor arrangements.7:55–10:36 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Growth Metrics, Churn, LTV, and Indianapolis Ecosystem Nathan detects an inconsistency between Dave's reported churn rate and customer lifetime value ($660 LTV vs $850 implied). Dave politely schools Nathan on the Indianapolis tech scene after Nathan assumes Hubstaff is the biggest player there.10:37–14:44 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Customer Acquisition Funnel, Viral Loops, and Traffic Nathan breaks down the conversion funnel from web visitors to trials to paid customers. Dave clarifies that Hubstaff's high Alexa rank is largely driven by daily active user check-ins rather than pure top-of-funnel inbound marketing.14:44–16:48 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship and HostGator Website Builder Promotion Mid-roll segment dedicated to show housekeeping, a HostGator sponsor read, and a brief check on 2015 revenue ($675k).16:48–19:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions With Dave Standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Nathan adds color about guest Hiten Shah and highlights Dave's healthy work-life balance and sleep schedule.1:26–4:12 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Hubstaff Origin, Capitalization, and Shotgun Partnership Clause Nathan rejects Dave's initial polite claim that 50/50 co-founders never disagree, pressing on how deadlocks are resolved. Dave explains their contractual shotgun clause, and Nathan promptly walks through the buyout math.4:12–7:55 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Subscription Pricing, Product Features, and Remote Team Management Nathan drills into the customer pricing tiers, ARR run-rate milestone, and tests Dave's payroll figures, noting that $46k/month across 20 people implies part-time contractor arrangements.7:55–10:36 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Growth Metrics, Churn, LTV, and Indianapolis Ecosystem Nathan detects an inconsistency between Dave's reported churn rate and customer lifetime value ($660 LTV vs $850 implied). Dave politely schools Nathan on the Indianapolis tech scene after Nathan assumes Hubstaff is the biggest player there.10:37–14:44 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Customer Acquisition Funnel, Viral Loops, and Traffic Nathan breaks down the conversion funnel from web visitors to trials to paid customers. Dave clarifies that Hubstaff's high Alexa rank is largely driven by daily active user check-ins rather than pure top-of-funnel inbound marketing.14:44–16:48 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Mid-Roll Sponsorship and HostGator Website Builder Promotion Mid-roll segment dedicated to show housekeeping, a HostGator sponsor read, and a brief check on 2015 revenue ($675k).16:48–19:25 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions With Dave Standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Nathan adds color about guest Hiten Shah and highlights Dave's healthy work-life balance and sleep schedule.

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

0:00 · Nathan 69.5% · guest 30.5%0:00 · Nathan 69.5% · guest 30.5%3:00 · Nathan 27.4% · guest 72.6%3:00 · Nathan 27.4% · guest 72.6%6:00 · Nathan 33.8% · guest 66.2%6:00 · Nathan 33.8% · guest 66.2%9:00 · Nathan 39% · guest 61%9:00 · Nathan 39% · guest 61%12:00 · Nathan 41.3% · guest 58.7%12:00 · Nathan 41.3% · guest 58.7%15:00 · Nathan 69.7% · guest 30.3%15:00 · Nathan 69.7% · guest 30.3%18:00 · Nathan 71.2% · guest 28.8%18:00 · Nathan 71.2% · guest 28.8%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 10:15 Dave rejects small fish in small sea premise

Dave directly refutes Nathan's suggestion that Hubstaff dominates a small Indianapolis pond, pointing out multi-billion dollar tech incumbents like ExactTarget/Salesforce in the city.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 2:23 Nathan refuses idealised co-founder harmony answer

Nathan pushes back against Dave's initial claim that the 50/50 partners never disagree, demanding the legal mechanism used for breaking business stalemates.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 11:58 Dave clarifies Alexa ranking inflated by app users

When Nathan praises Hubstaff for massive content marketing success based on Alexa ranking, Dave explains the traffic actually comes from thousands of active remote workers logging into the web app.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:25 Nathan catches LTV calculation discrepancy

Nathan immediately performs mental arithmetic multiplying 25 months average lifespan by the $34 ARPU to point out the mismatch with Dave's quoted $660 LTV.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Hubstaff Origin, Capitalization, and Shotgun Partnership Clause 6326 Nathan rejects Dave's initial polite claim that 50/50 co-founders never disagree, pressing on how deadlocks are resolved. Dave explains their contractual shotgun clause, and Nathan promptly walks through the buyout math.
Subscription Pricing, Product Features, and Remote Team Management 6214 Nathan drills into the customer pricing tiers, ARR run-rate milestone, and tests Dave's payroll figures, noting that $46k/month across 20 people implies part-time contractor arrangements.
Growth Metrics, Churn, LTV, and Indianapolis Ecosystem 7525 Nathan detects an inconsistency between Dave's reported churn rate and customer lifetime value ($660 LTV vs $850 implied). Dave politely schools Nathan on the Indianapolis tech scene after Nathan assumes Hubstaff is the biggest player there.
Customer Acquisition Funnel, Viral Loops, and Traffic 6413 Nathan breaks down the conversion funnel from web visitors to trials to paid customers. Dave clarifies that Hubstaff's high Alexa rank is largely driven by daily active user check-ins rather than pure top-of-funnel inbound marketing.
Mid-Roll Sponsorship and HostGator Website Builder Promotion 1000 Mid-roll segment dedicated to show housekeeping, a HostGator sponsor read, and a brief check on 2015 revenue ($675k).
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions With Dave 3001 Standard Famous Five rapid-fire format. Nathan adds color about guest Hiten Shah and highlights Dave's healthy work-life balance and sleep schedule.

Statements from this episode (13)

Disclosure
Nevogt: Hubstaff Founders Invested $26k Each in 50/50 Partnership
“26,000. So my partner and I are in 50 50 partners. So he put, you know, the same amount.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 2:05
Disclosure
Hubstaff Uses Shotgun Clause to Resolve 50/50 Founder Deadlocks
“I think that, you know, to make a long answer short, we have the shotgun clause in our contracts.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 2:52
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hubstaff reached 2,600 paying customers by March 2016
“Man, we have, I think, you know, 2600.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 4:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nevogt: Average Hubstaff customer pays $34 per month
“Average customers paying us 34 dollars a month.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 5:32
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nevogt: 33% of Hubstaff customers choose the $9 premium plan
“So right now, like 33% choose the premium plan, nine dollar a month.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 5:51
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nevogt: Hubstaff monthly contractor payroll is about $46,000 excluding founders
“So we're at like 40, I think we're like 46,000, but that doesn't include Jared and I.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 7:17
Assertion Partly supported
Nevogt: Hubstaff adds $5k-$6k in MRR and 270 customers monthly
“We're adding about five or 6000 a month in MRR. So number of customers, like, 270.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 8:04
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Nevogt: Hubstaff customer churn rate is approximately 3.9%
“Churn right now is we're happy with churn right now. It's like 3.9%.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 8:44
Assertion Supported
Nevogt: Hubstaff customer lifetime value is around $660
“So like lifetime value, I think is around like, it jumps around a little bit on their metrics, but I think it's around 660 right now.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 9:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nevogt: Hubstaff customer acquisition cost is approximately $90
“We're lucky right now. It's like at like 90.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 10:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Nevogt: Hubstaff homepage converts about 7% of visitors into free trials
“So well, I do know that we are converting, the homepage is converting about like, seven percent right now.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 12:58
Assertion Supported
Dave Nevogt: Hubstaff generated approximately $675K in 2015 revenue
“20 15 revenue. If I remember right, we were at about like 675, something like that.”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 15:58
Disclosure
Dave Nevogt: Hubstaff founders intend to stay bootstrapped to $4M-$5M revenue
“Oh, well, Jared and I, luckily we're on the same page here again, but we want to stay bootstrapped. We want to stay, we believe that like, if we can build this business up to like, you know, four or five million annual, And, you know, just live our lives the w…”
Dave Nevogt Jun 22, 2016 ▶ 16:14
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 2,600 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more