Growing a SaaS company from $15K to $100K MRR in 3 years – Ryan Kulp – Founder of Fomo (GMT053)

Ryan has grown Fomo, a SaaS social proof tool, from $15K to $100K MRR in just 3 years, all the while traveling over 45 countries and launching several side projects including books, courses, and YouTube videos.

In episode 53, you’ll learn:

  1. How Ryan grew Fomo from $15K to $100K, from pricing strategy, competitive strategy and more
  2. Why fanatical support was the best growth tactic that grew Fomo
  3. Why you should never “launch” a product or campaign

Please support this podcast by:

  1. Tweeting a quote from this podcast below👇
  2. Joining the Growth Today Tribe for free
  3. Supporting me on Patreon for as little as $2 per episode
Join the Growth Today Tribe

Get the actionable growth cheat sheets from the latest podcast episodes. Ask questions to upcoming guests. 👇

Tweet Some Quotes from This Episode
Forget all the growth hacks. Just do support after midnight. When someone emails you and you get back to them 37 seconds later, their heads gonna explode – @ryanckulp from @GrowthToday podcast. Get the full podcast episode 👇 Click To Tweet What's a better growth tactic – sending people obnoxious emails or just giving existing customers really good support. - @ryanckulp from @GrowthToday podcast. Get the full episode 👇 Click To Tweet Stop worrying about launching. Just ship often and learn fast. – @ryanckulp from the @GrowthToday podcast. Get the full episode 👇 Click To Tweet
My Takeaways from This Episode
  1. Listen and innovate. One thing that Ryan did really well is listening to his customers and stayed ahead of the product innovation curve. This way, Fomo was always one step ahead of the competitors. So, when competitors were spending a lot of money on educating customers on social proof automation, they were driving customers to Fomo since they have more features than their competitors. Ryan doodled the following to explain how the competition pays to “educate” the market, leaving the best products in a good position to capture new demand:
  2. Be fanatical about your support. Ryan said that this is the best growth tactic that grew Fomo. He made sure that there was always someone in the support team available to respond to issues right away. This resulted in customers who not only were delighted by the fantastic support and as a result increased customer lifetime value, but it also helped turn customers into advocates.
  3. Stop “launching.” Instead, always be shipping. The problem with big launches is that they’re risky. It’s better to ship often and adapt to the ever-changing tech landscape. Ryan takes this to heart with any new project he has. So, if you have a project, podcast, startup, idea that you’ve been waiting to launch, just do it.
Become a Patreon Supporter

I want to give my podcast fans even more exclusive access to me and my guests. Check out the Growth Today Patreon page for more details.

For as little as $2 per episode get perks like:

  • Growth Today thank you note and stickers mailed to you
  • Access to the private Growth Today Slack community
  • Get podcast episodes at least one day earlier than the public release
  • Unlimited access to all the growth cheat sheets
  • Listen LIVE to select podcast recording sessions (at least once a month)
  • And more..

Please consider becoming a Growth Today patron today. This is a one-man show; I record, edit and create all the marketing materials for each episode. My goal is to raise $200 per podcast episode so I can focus on finding more amazing guests and giving you more value.

Thank you 🙏

The first 20 supporters will get all the perks for 75% off. Plus, I’ll mention you in every episode for the rest of the year and podcast episodes.

Thank you to my first Patreon – Jamie from Las Vegas and Veronika from London, UK 🎉

About Ryan Kulp

A self-taught developer, Ryan specializes in combining high-converting user acquisition channels with engineering to scale sales ops for growing companies. He is currently the founder of Fomo, a conversion rate optimization tool that increases website conversions by showing off recent customer behaviors. Ryan has grown dozens of venture-backed startups including alumni from Ycombinator and Techstars.

Before moving into technology, Ryan spent 6 years managing more than 150 events for global brands like Coca-Cola, NBC, Audi, and Microsoft and performed on-stage as a musician over 300 times. In the midst of the “growth hacking” era, Ryan’s background in experiential marketing and a keen eye at owning impressions (versus making them) has served him well in the resource-strapped startup ecosystem.

In his free time, Ryan writes and records music, volunteers at inner-city basketball courts, and helps idea-stage founders methodically forge their own path to entrepreneurship.

Show Notes
  • 3:28

    The number of countries Ryan has visited (Hint: it’s over 45+)

  • 8:14

    Why Ryan despise Silicon Valley

  • 14:34

    The Fomo story 

  • 20:30

    What is Fomo’s MRR before Ryan acquired it to what it is now 

  • 21:44

    How Ryan and his team grew Fomo’s MRR from $15K to $100K in 3 years

  • 28:10

    What are things Ryan would do differently in growing Fomo if he had to do it again 

  • 30:40

    How was Fomo able to increase their prices and at the same time minimizing churn because of the price increase

  • 34:01

    What’s next for Fomo

  • 36:21

    Why support was the best growth hack at Fomo

  • 41:40

    What projects are coming up for Ryan

  • 43:38

    What’s Ryan’s one advice to marketers and founders

     

Links

Get the actionable growth cheat sheets from the latest podcast episodes. Ask questions to upcoming guests. 👇

Music By The Passion HiFi www.thepassionhifi.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *