From YCombinator rejection to $7M ARR in less than 5 years: How Veed leveraged SEO to bootstrap a startup to success
In May 2019, Veed was rejected at Ycombinator.
Less than five years after, the startup now has over 25,000 paying customers, with an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $7 million.
So, how did this bootstrapped SaaS startup achieve tremendous success despite all odds?
The core of their growth strategy is simple.
Guess what that is?
SEO.
Here is the most interesting part…
Their SEO strategy focuses less on writing blog posts.
Yes, you read that right!
Which is entirely different from what most SaaS startups do.
Here’s what they did instead.
They paid a lot of attention to listening to their customers and prospects.
According to @Sabba, the company’s CEO and co-founder:
“We spent a lot of time and still do spend a lot of time talking to users and understanding their needs. This has helped us shape our product for them.”
The result…
An SEO strategy that powers over 73% of their entire organic traffic engine.
Want to know what that is?
I just published an in-depth teardown piece that delves into the exact growth strategy that helped Veed become a household name in the online video editing industry.
You’ll also learn how to apply some of the tactics to grow your SaaS startup.
Click the link below to check it out.
I remember when Veed had a side project where you could have them send your message in the mail to someone stuck to a clay pigeon.
Thanks for sharing.
It shows that the team cared so much about their target audience and what they actually want right from day one.
Startups must use SEO from day 1.
SEO is a really underrated marketing tactic.
SEO is really powerful for organically growing your startup.
It costs you nothing monetarily but gives you phenomenal returns forever.
Again, SEO takes time to show its effects but it's worth it.
Loved your SEO strategy Veed!
Exactly my point.
If you're a startup, you should invest in SEO.
Even if you don't see the results you expect immediately, it'll definitely happen in the long run.
This is amazing. So much of the time we focus differentiating from competitors on product or branding. Veed proved that it's possible to differentiate in SEO strategy as well.
Exactly, James.
You can differentiate with your SEO strategy as well.
Just think outside the box, and focus on the pain points and jobs to be done of your target audience.
Really great strategy. But I think it's the execution that should be applauded mostly.
The strategy itself has been used by many SEO tools already for many years, and probably in other SAAS categories.
Here they just went all in and nailed it big time.
Amazing execution! :)
Exactly!
The execution is amazing.
Thanks for sharing, very actionable, well structured advice.
Glad you found it helpful and valuable.
You're welcome!
Veed is also a great product. But their SEO strategy is brilliant. Really inspiring!
I agree with you!
Their SEO strategy is indeed inspiring and brilliant.
That's crazy. I literally have been using Veed every week for TikTok / IG video content instead of Final Cut Pro and other editing software.
Oh, I see!
I hope you enjoy using the software.