What do a denied student loan, a door-to-door research campaign, and an obsession with efficiency have in common? They’re all part of how Louis Retief, co-founder and former CEO of Hubly, built one of the most respected vertical SaaS platforms in WealthTech—and led it to a strategic acquisition by Docupace.
In this episode of Ignite Exits, we dive deep into Louis’s unexpected journey and the tactical, emotional, and strategic decisions that shaped Hubly’s path. Here’s what you need to know—even if you don’t tune in.
🎯 From Peer-to-Peer Lending to Financial Advisor Workflows
Louis didn’t set out to build a SaaS platform for financial advisors. His startup journey began with a very personal pain point: being denied a student line of credit due to a parking violation. That sparked a peer-to-peer lending idea, which quickly pivoted after he and his co-founder knocked on 150 doors and realized consumers didn’t need another lending app—they needed trusted financial advice.
Their second round of interviews—this time with 150 financial advisors—revealed a much bigger problem: advisors were overwhelmed, under-resourced, and unable to scale. The culprit? Workflow inefficiency.
That’s when Hubly was born: a vertical SaaS platform purpose-built to automate and streamline the back-office operations of independent financial advisors.
🧠 Why Hubly Worked: Three Core Differentiators
Compliance-First Integrations
Hubly wasn’t just another Trello board. Built with industry-specific audit trails and CRM syncs, it gave advisors the compliance support required by regulation-heavy environments.
Purpose-Built Templates
Hubly offered plug-and-play workflows tailored to advisor needs—think tax planning, account opening, or estate management. No more building from scratch.
Smart Automation
Custom logic and triggers built specifically for the advisor use case gave Hubly an edge over horizontal project management tools.
Together, these created a tool that advisors were willing to pay 6–8x more for compared to generic alternatives.
💡 Founder Lessons: The Hard-Won Truths
Louis was remarkably candid about what he’d do differently:
Raise Less, Later
Hubly raised ~$3M over its lifetime. In hindsight, Louis believes they raised too much, too fast—especially for a niche TAM. Slower growth could have preserved equity and reduced pressure.
Understand the TAM Early
Hubly’s targetable market was around 1.1 million users globally, with a U.S. TAM of roughly $1B. Louis emphasized the importance of aligning capital strategy with market size.
Be Ruthless About Focus
In early-stage startups, every “yes” comes at the cost of focus. Louis reflected on how saying no earlier—to distractions, events, even investors—might’ve sharpened their trajectory.
🧱 The Exit: Why Timing (and PE Relationships) Mattered
Hubly was acquired by Docupace, but the relationship started years earlier with Genstar Capital, a private equity firm focused on WealthTech. Louis had spent time with them discussing workflow trends—and when they invested in Docupace, they remembered Hubly.
This wasn’t luck—it was founder discipline: building relationships with the right acquirers early, even if no deal was on the table.
🪞The Emotional Side of the Journey
Louis opened up about the mental and emotional toll of running a startup:
The pressure of layoffs (he cut 60% of staff in 2023 to go cashflow positive)
The mirror a startup holds to your personal growth and limitations
The shift from “soul in the game” to “skin in the game” post-acquisition
He also shared his favorite framework for personal development: Internal Family Systems (IFS), a method of understanding the “parts” within us—perfectionist, visionary, critic—and managing them consciously as a founder.
🔮 The Future of WealthTech
Louis believes the real untapped market isn’t just the advisors—it’s their back office. There are 800,000 support staff in the U.S. alone handling compliance, paperwork, and client operations. AI and automation are coming for that manual work, and Hubly (now with Docupace) is aiming to lead the charge.
Final Takeaway:
Louis’s story is a masterclass in founder resilience, vertical SaaS execution, and knowing when to scale—and when to slow down. Whether you’re building a niche product, raising capital, or thinking about exit strategy, his lessons offer rare clarity in an often chaotic ecosystem.
👂🎧 Watch, listen, and follow on your favorite platform: https://tr.ee/S2ayrbx_fL
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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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