Ignite Exits: How Hubly Scaled Vertical SaaS for Advisors with Louis Retief | Ep157

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What if your biggest startup insight came not from a spreadsheet—but from knocking on 150 doors and listening?

Louis Retief is the co-founder and former CEO of Hubly, a vertical SaaS platform that reimagined how financial advisors manage compliance, capacity, and client service. What began as a peer-to-peer lending idea pivoted—through sheer grit and real-world curiosity—into a back-office automation engine used by hundreds of firms, eventually leading to an acquisition by Docupace as WealthTech entered its consolidation phase.

In this episode, we explore how Louis uncovered a niche hiding in plain sight, what it took to survive the capital crunch of 2023, and why founders should fear easy money more than empty bank accounts. He also shares what changes after an exit—and why the hardest lessons are the ones that hold up a mirror.

Key themes we cover:

🔹 Turning rejection into product-market fit through customer obsession

🔹 Building category-leading software in a niche, regulated market

🔹 The real math behind VC funding and why Louis would raise less today

🔹 What private equity buyers really care about in diligence

🔹 Moving from “soul in the game” to “skin in the game” after an acquisition

From getting denied a student loan over a parking ticket to architecting one of WealthTech’s most thoughtful exits, Louis proves that founders who listen hardest often build the most enduring systems.

Chapters:

Welcome & Guest Introduction (00:01 – 00:34)

From Denied Loan to Startup Idea (00:35 – 02:17)

Discovering the Advisor Efficiency Problem (02:18 – 04:32)

The Scale Challenge in Financial Advice (04:33 – 05:21)

Early Entrepreneurial Journey & High School Startups (05:22 – 07:12)

From South Africa to Vancouver to Hubly (07:13 – 08:18)

The Birth of Hubly as Vertical SaaS (08:19 – 10:58)

Differentiating Through Compliance & Templates (10:59 – 13:28)

Pricing and Why Customers Pay More (13:29 – 14:16)

WealthTech Market Timing and Tailwinds (14:17 – 17:19)

Building PE Relationships Before the Exit (17:20 – 20:30)

Navigating the Docupace Acquisition (20:31 – 23:06)

Culture Shift Post-Acquisition (23:07 – 25:30)

Fundraising Regrets and Capital Efficiency (25:31 – 30:28)

Market Size, TAM Realism & Go-to-Market Strategy (30:29 – 33:31)

Founder Psychology & Long-Term Commitment (33:32 – 36:00)

Therapy, Coaching & Internal Family Systems (36:01 – 38:55)

Hard Decisions: Layoffs & Co-founder Departure (38:56 – 43:09)

Back Office Automation & the Real Customer (43:10 – 46:26)

The Role of AI in Workflow Transformation (46:27 – 48:40)

Louis’s Favorite Book & Podcast Picks (48:41 – 49:23)

What Founders Miss About VC & Exit Math (49:24 – 50:55)

Startups Louis Is Watching in WealthTech (50:56 – 52:09)

Self-Awareness as a Superpower for Founders (52:10 – 53:01)

Productivity Hacks & Career Advice (53:02 – 53:53)

Chaos Can Be Beautiful (53:54 – 54:45)

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