Podcast Summary

Podcast: SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders

Episode: How He Scaled a Niche SaaS to $14M/Year With No Funding
Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Nathan Latka
Guest: Scott Davis, President and Co-founder of Volley

Episode Overview

This episode features Scott Davis, president and co-founder of Volley, a niche SaaS company specializing in communication platforms for automotive Business Development Centers (BDCs). Volley has scaled to $14M in annual recurring revenue (ARR) without external funding, operating profitably while maintaining founder and family majority ownership. The conversation details Scott’s bootstrapped journey, pricing strategies, the niche automotive SaaS landscape, team building, and their approach to AI.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Business & Product Foundations

• Volley’s Focus:
  Volley is a SaaS platform built for automotive BDCs (Business Development Centers) to streamline customer communications for dealerships (sales, service, recalls, etc.)

  “If you've ever submitted a lead for a vehicle and gotten a call back or you're due for service or you've got a recall and the dealership's called you, that's what we do. Our software does it.” – Scott (00:12)

• Market Presence:

  • Serves ~2,000 individual dealer locations ("rooftops") out of the 18,000 franchise auto dealers in the U.S.
  • Most customers are service departments inside dealerships, replacing desk-based, manual processes with digitized workflows.
  • Integrates industry data sources, processes 244 million deduped customer records. (03:00)

2. Revenue, Pricing & Customer Segments

• Revenue Scale:

  • $1.2M Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), equating to $14M+ ARR. (00:00, 06:10)
  • 300 invoices sent monthly; most customers are multi-rooftop dealer groups.

• Pricing Models:

  • Single dealership: $1,500–$2,000/month. Average rooftop: ~$1,000/month.
  • Dealer groups: Ranges from $6,000–$13,000/month, depending on store size and volume.
  • AI “Pulse” and identity/spam labeling modules sold as add-ons ($300–$400/mo). (05:06)

• Profitability and Bootstrapped Growth:

  • Maintains ~16% profit margin.
  • Scott: “We bootstrapped it. I love what we do... We need to do a lot better, but it’s a great year.” (06:19)

3. Growth Story & Team Building

• Growth Timeline:

  • Founded: 2017; product iterated for several years with 4 pilot customers.
  • Broke $1M ARR in 2020 (mainly via 40 vendor clients).
  • Direct-to-dealer sales began in 2021; rapid growth followed.
  • Revenue milestones: 2021 ($2.4M), 2022 ($4.8M), 2023 ($6.7M), 2024 ($9.6M). Now $14M. (17:12)

• Team Size:

  • 2020: 10 FTEs.
  • 2023: 19 employees; now: 63 (58 FTEs).

• Sales Org Structure:

  • 12-person sales team: 7 Account Executives (AEs) with $8,500 in new MRR/mo quota, supported by 4 SDRs and a manager.
  • On target earnings for AEs: $75-100k base + $150k commission for hitting $1M in new ARR. (13:29)
  • Sales efficiency: $230k revenue/employee.
  • “It’s honestly harder to spend the cash we’re sitting on than you think because… it’s a precious commodity.” – Scott (08:50)

4. Go-to-Market & Growth Tactics

• Go-to-Market Focus:

  • Aggressively targets a defined TAM: 18,000 franchise dealers in the U.S.
  • Relies on direct outreach, content marketing (weekly customer videos, LinkedIn).
  • Minimal reliance on outside partners, but exploring additional resellers for new modules.

• Unique Challenges in Automotive:

  • “It’s a stock pond. … We know who they are so we’re very aggressive in going to get them directly.” (14:51)

• No Major Ad Spend or Affiliate Programs

  • Focused on ABM (Account-Based Marketing), direct sales, and reseller pilots.

5. Product, AI & Strategic Positioning

• Product Vision and AI:

  • Pulse: AI-powered call intelligence module, fully integrated by early 2026.
  • “We just learned that we’re the perfect layer for the dealer in between the robots and the humans.” (18:17)
  • Platform aim: Full dealer communications hub with an open strategy to plug in other AI and services.

• M&A and Future Growth:

  • Open to M&A strategies, potentially buying complementary businesses.
  • Open, but cautious, to outside investment; nothing to date.

6. Ownership, Exit, and Personal Philosophy

• Ownership:

  • 85% owned by Scott’s family and a co-founder; remaining by employees.
  • No external investors to date; maintains optionality.

• Exit Philosophy & Personal Drive:

  • “It’s perverse to build a company to sell it. You need to build a company to provide good value… I’m going to try to run these like I’m going to own them forever.” (20:14)
  • Not ruling out growth equity if strategically valuable, but not building to flip.
  • Would consider a $70M cash offer for 60%—depends on partner, not just the price. (21:10)
  • At 57, sees himself working 3–5 more years, loves building and operating businesses.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Bootstrap Mentality:

  “We bootstrapped it. I love what we do. I wish I didn’t feel like I had to learn every lesson the hard way, but… We need to do a lot better, but it’s going to be a great year.” – Scott (06:19)

• On Team and Family Ownership:

  “It’s not always easier working for your kids but so I’ve done some estate [planning]… My family plus one of our co-founders owns about 85%.” – Scott (16:14)

• On AI and Product Vision:

  “We just learned that we’re the perfect layer for the dealer in between the robots and the humans.” – Scott (18:17)

• On Building to Last:

  “It’s perverse to build a company to sell it. You need to build a company to provide good value… I’m going to try to run these like I’m going to own them forever.” – Scott (20:14)

• On Exit Offers:

  “If someone offered you $70 million, all cash today for 60% of the business, do you take the deal?”
  “It depends on the strategic partner. … I still want to work and I’m always going to work, for sure.” – Scott (21:10)

• On Future Ambition:

  “When this journey is done, I’m gonna do something else. I’m excited for the next chapter, but this is three to five more years for sure for me.” – Scott (21:44)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• $1.2M MRR / High-level metrics: 00:00–00:12
• What Volley’s BDC software does: 00:12–01:02
• Customer base and pricing per dealership: 01:02–06:04
• Growth trajectory and milestones: 06:33–07:49, 17:12–17:56
• Team size and hiring philosophy: 08:19–09:24
• Profit margin and reinvestment strategy: 09:38–09:59
• Sales team structure and comp: 10:23–14:18
• Go-to-market strategies: 14:35–15:57
• Ownership and external investment: 16:01–16:38
• AI, product strategy, and TAM: 18:17–19:06
• Exit strategy, philosophy, and hypothetical sale: 20:54–21:32
• Scott’s personal journey and future ambitions: 21:32–22:49

Conclusion

Scott Davis and Volley exemplify the power of bootstrapping, clear market focus, and disciplined scaling in a niche SaaS vertical. With strong fundamentals, family-majority ownership, efficient growth, and customer-centric product development, Volley stands as a leading communication platform for automotive dealerships. Scott’s mix of humility, strategic vision, and operational rigor offer instructive lessons for SaaS founders on building sustainable, value-driven businesses.

Contact Info:
Scott: scott@alli.com | Company: volley.com