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How did some top SaaS companies get from 0 to 1000 users?
Summary:
Grammarly -> Reverse Monetisation
Dropbox -> Referrals
Gainsight -> Finding Blue Ocean
Notion -> Community
Roam Research -> Power Users
Summary:
Grammarly -> Reverse Monetisation
Dropbox -> Referrals
Gainsight -> Finding Blue Ocean
Notion -> Community
Roam Research -> Power Users
Of course these companies got other things right too. Build a great product, understand the customer, get feedback, iterate quickly.
Not everything works for everyone. Figure out what might work for you!
Not everything works for everyone. Figure out what might work for you!
1. EXCLUSIVITY
Human psychology
works in interesting ways. Exclusivity creates scarcity, & most people have an innate view that scarcity increases value.
Scarcity also increases fear of loss. Fear of loss has been shown to be a more powerful motivator than desire for gain.
Human psychology
works in interesting ways. Exclusivity creates scarcity, & most people have an innate view that scarcity increases value.Scarcity also increases fear of loss. Fear of loss has been shown to be a more powerful motivator than desire for gain.
For a long time, @ProductHunt was an invite only platform with exclusive powers to hunters and moderators. This involves the ability to comment and DM.
Another example is @Superhuman.They created huge exclusivity with 'invite only' and 'apply for waitlist'.
Some were proudly sharing invites on social media, while others quickly pouncing on these invites just to see what the hype was all about.
Same with @joinClubhouse in B2C
Some were proudly sharing invites on social media, while others quickly pouncing on these invites just to see what the hype was all about.
Same with @joinClubhouse in B2C
2. MONETISING BACKWARDS
This is like Freemium, but backwards. Start with a paid plan and over time launch free features.
@wistia said "It’s counterintuitive, but constraining growth by not making our product free from the start has been one of the best decisions we’ve made".
This is like Freemium, but backwards. Start with a paid plan and over time launch free features.
@wistia said "It’s counterintuitive, but constraining growth by not making our product free from the start has been one of the best decisions we’ve made".
@Grammarly began by selling to the enterprise. They used revenue from universities to improve the core product, before expanding into the consumer market.
By the time Grammarly transitioned to freemium, it was already profitable with millions of users!
By the time Grammarly transitioned to freemium, it was already profitable with millions of users!
3. ONLY TARGETING POWER USERS
Power users are those who need the most advanced features of your product. Build only for them, then release to everyone else.
They can become your most passionate advocates.
Power users are those who need the most advanced features of your product. Build only for them, then release to everyone else.
They can become your most passionate advocates.
@RoamResearch went after users with a problem that is so complex that they were willing to learn and adopt new tools and workflows.
Their first 1000 or so users came exclusively from enterprise license deals, working directly with power users.
Their first 1000 or so users came exclusively from enterprise license deals, working directly with power users.
@CrazyEgg's founder @hnshah got their power users from the community 9 Rules Network.
"The community was full of design-minded folks who were eager to give feedback on Crazy Egg. This community was instrumental in getting early feedback to make Crazy Egg a must-have product.”
"The community was full of design-minded folks who were eager to give feedback on Crazy Egg. This community was instrumental in getting early feedback to make Crazy Egg a must-have product.”
4. NETWORK EFFECTS
A product has network effects when every new user makes the product more valuable to every other user.
It's a fundamental part of all marketplaces - the more users on the demand side, the more value for users on supply side (and vice versa).
A product has network effects when every new user makes the product more valuable to every other user.
It's a fundamental part of all marketplaces - the more users on the demand side, the more value for users on supply side (and vice versa).
A great example is @cartainc. Their first product was a cap table software that connected startups to their shareholders.
But investors and employees can also have holdings in multiple startups and this is where the network effects kick in.
But investors and employees can also have holdings in multiple startups and this is where the network effects kick in.
Carta evolved from just a cap table SaaS to a SaaS with ownership management for investors, founders and employees.
5. REFERRALS
Incentivise your users to bring in more users. A good referral strategy can work wonders for you.
Incentivise your users to bring in more users. A good referral strategy can work wonders for you.
@Dropbox introduced many milestones during the referral process such as opening an account, inviting a friend etc.
They made referrals a part of the on-boarding, and each step felt rewarding to the user.
They made referrals a part of the on-boarding, and each step felt rewarding to the user.
6. FINDING THE BLUE OCEAN
Why disrupt a category when you can create one! @HubSpot is almost synonymous with the category of 'Inbound Marketing'. Now every SaaS company has a person/team for inbound marketing.
Heck, they even have a conference called INBOUND!
Why disrupt a category when you can create one! @HubSpot is almost synonymous with the category of 'Inbound Marketing'. Now every SaaS company has a person/team for inbound marketing.
Heck, they even have a conference called INBOUND!
@GainsightHQ did the same thing with 'Customer Success'. Their former CMO @akennada even wrote a book called Category Creation.
It starts with 'Is this approach right for you', and goes on to explain how you can create your own category.
It starts with 'Is this approach right for you', and goes on to explain how you can create your own category.
7. BUILDING A COMMUNITY
Communities are an incredible competitive moat. While products can be copied, communities cannot. They are like-minded folks who may not all be your users, but are interested in your space.
Communities are an incredible competitive moat. While products can be copied, communities cannot. They are like-minded folks who may not all be your users, but are interested in your space.
They can be in the form of a slack/discord channel where members engage in discussion and organise events, or a podcast/newsletter where the members are primarily interested in consuming the information being shared.
@NotionHQ is a fantastic example of a thriving community. They've made it super easy for people to engage with them.
@paraschopra and @sparshgupta from @VWO created a massive community focussed solely on AB Testing. They did it primarily through content.
8. BUILDING VIRALITY IN YOUR PRODUCT
Imagine sending a @Calendly link to someone to book a meeting.They might not have heard of Calendly. Now because of you,they have discovered a new tool, understood the problem it solves and how easy it is to use.
Calendly now has a new user!
Imagine sending a @Calendly link to someone to book a meeting.They might not have heard of Calendly. Now because of you,they have discovered a new tool, understood the problem it solves and how easy it is to use.
Calendly now has a new user!
@ConnorPM is doing something similar with Bridge
. Every intro made through it can potentially get them 2 new users.
. Every intro made through it can potentially get them 2 new users.
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