How to reach $5K MRR // growth insights from 3 solo founders
Being a solo founder is a crazy hustle. You need to wear many hats and do it as you go along; no time to stop & learn is ongoing learning by doing.
We're going to look at the following:
- Boei - $6,300 MRR
- No Code MBA - $6,000 MRR
- Session - $5,500 MRR
Growth Story #1: Boei
MRR: $6300
Business type: SaaS
Description:
Chat with customers via their favorite channels to offer stellar support and increase conversions.
Growth channels & tactics:
- Appsumo and Dealify
- Social Media: Twitter
- SEO content
- Google ads started working to generate free users
- WordPress plugin
- Positive Reviews on Capterra, Trustpilot, etc.
What didn't work:
Reddit ads, Facebook ads, Linkedin ads
My insights:
This is an excellent story with a clear and immediate USP.
His biggest win for generating income and paying users was Appsumo. In just ten months, he made a gross profit of over $20,000! With over 2,088 customers and growing, this is just the start of the growth of Boei.
But Appsumo wasn't where he validated the idea; it was IndieHackers. So he posted on IH, where he got some traction; there were even people willing to pay for it.
Besides AppSumo, he also promoted an LTD offer on Dealify.
Another driver of traffic and users is his WordPress plugin.
To track the product metrics properly, he made some custom-made tracking software.
Getting positive reviews on Capterra, Appsumo, Google, and TrustPilot is another way to boost credibility and increase conversions.
His dream is to become the Zapier of front-end communication.
These days, his primary acquisition strategy is building in public on Twitter and writing SEO content that ranks well.
Growth Story #2: No Code MBA
MRR: $6000
Business type: Learning/course/community
Description:
No Code MBA consists of over 150 (and growing) real-world video lessons building apps like Tinder, Zillow, and Product Hunt. The site offers both free and paid courses. The paid courses are all under the No Code MBA Unlimited membership - so when a customer signs up, they get access to all courses on the site.
Growth channels & tactics:
- Publish free content and generate traffic (blog posts, interviews, guides)
- Newsletter ads
- Twitter & Facebook ads but low ROI
My insights:
He took advantage of the WOM (word of mouth) regarding low-code / no-code movement and started recording tutorials without a systematic process.
The primary way of generating traffic and increasing his reach is by publishing free and paid content around no-code - blog posts, interviews, and guides.
What he noticed recently that is working - is newsletter advertising.
Growth Story #3: Session
MRR: $5500
Business type: SaaS
Description:
An app that helps you to stay focused by blocking distracting web, apps, and Slack and be more reflective of what you've worked on.
Growth channels & tactics:
- Product Hunt
- Marketplaces - like SetApp and AppStore
- ASO - App Store Optimization
My insights:
Although he did get some signups from the PH launch, he didn't pay much attention to the screenshot, nor did he promote the launch.
He set the pricing based on the other productivity apps like Evernote and Todoist - a $5 ballpark.
The day after PH launch, he got an email from SetApp - a Netflix but for Mac and iOS apps.
The main action is happening on SetApp and AppStore, where he gets most of his users.
His main challenge is the churn rate - of 20% and some problems with product-market fit. However, conversion is excellent, with 2% from install to paid.
Key takeaways:
- Lifetime deals (LTDs) are a great 1st acquisition strategy to generate revenue fast and build an audience
- Building in public on Twitter is listed more often by startups doing at least $1K in MRR, and that can also tweet about business growth
- Content is the 3rd acquisition strategy and most often comes into play later when you already have some traction.
