Zero to $20k MRR in 20 “Easy” Steps: The Story of Rubberstamp.io – James Kennedy – MicroConf Europe 2016

The MicroConf Europe 2016 Talk Recaps can be found on the central hub page.

Website: rubberstamp.io
Twitter: @JamesKennedy
Slides:

• Launched multiple products over the course of 7 years. Had to resort to consulting each and every time to stay afloat
• “Find out what people want. Go and get it. Give it to them – in that order”
• I suddenly knew what I did wrong all that time

Piehole

• Piehole was the first time I headed that advice
• Piehole is a marketplace for voice overs
• We started to travel the world, starting with Argentina
• Only $20,000 revenue –> essentially trapped in Argentina. Couldn’t return to Dublin if we wanted
• Read “Instant Cashflow” by Bradley J. Sugars
• Implemented weekly schedule
  • Monday: increase # of leads
  • Tuesday: focus on conversions
  • Wednesday: increase average $ per sale
  • Thursday: increase # of transactions
  • Friday: increase margins
• Problem: 50% churn was killing the business
• Steps 1-5
  • Find out what people want
• Attended MicroConf Las Vegas 2013 and heard Jason Cohen’s talk about the ideal bootstrapped business
  • B2B
  • recurring pain point
  • non business critical
  • big market
  • finance dudes pay more
  • No marketplaces!
  • $45/$99/$249
  • CPC = MRR / 25
• Meanwhile in Dublin my co-founder-to-be had two customers with identical pain points
  • Idea for rubberstamp.io was born
• Did sell only one copy at $49/mo in the first 12 months – almost gave up
• Found one customer who cut us a $20,000 check
• We used the Tesla approach to marketing:
  • embraced customization first
• Steps 6-10
  • Watched Jason Cohen’s Talk
  • Found a partner I could trust
  • Used the Tesla Model
  • Picked up the phone
  • Did a Brexit
• Had links from app directories link directly to signup page (App directory IS the landing page)
• Offered a $20 Amazon voucher in return for a review of our software
• Steps 16-20
  • Financial planning for maximum motivation
  • Ordinary things, done consistently…
  • TechHub in South Africa
  • Got funded
  • Went to Barcelona

-Christoph