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How ConvertKit scaled to $100k ARR in 12 months

How ConvertKit scaled to $100k ARR in 12 months

Sheldon Bishop
April 23, 2024

Good morning! This is The Zero to One. Today’s newsletter is a bit different. There is no deep dive - just a collection of links. I got sick before I could write any deep-dive for this email and really needed to rest. Thursday’s edition will go ahead as per usual as I wrote it last week - It’s a very special edition where I got some exclusive behind-the-scenes insights to share with you!

Here’s what’s in store for you today:

ICYMI: $300M ARR helping 80% of the Fortune 500.
How ConvertKit went from $2k to $98k in 12 months, using one key sales flywheel.
Videos and articles to take your business to the moon.
Opportunities for you and your business to take advantage of.
Top tools for your business.
Cool jobs currently open in the startup world.

ICYMI ⏮️

Last week I deep-dived Airtable. The do-it-all low-code tool that over 80% of the Fortune 500 use.

In just over 10 years, Airtable went from a 20k person, two-year beta test, to an $11.7B valuation while doing ~$300M in ARR.

Click below to see how Airtable launched, raised over $1B, and how you can replicate their growth.

Tweet of the week: How ConvertKit scaled to $98k using one flywheel

This is the exact flywheel that I used to scale ConvertKit from $2k to $98k in MRR in 12 months with direct sales.
— Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry)
11:21 PM • Apr 10, 2024

Videos or articles to help your startup go from Zero to One 📽️

The only strategy framework you need (link)
Why X ads are an untapped opportunity and how to take advantage of them (link)
20-email sequence to turn leads into customers (link)
TLDR on Wiz’s growth from 0 to $100M ARR in 18 months (link)

Founder Opportunities 🛎️

Darrel Frater is looking to make $500k investments into pre-seed or seed companies (link)
Nate O’Brien is looking to invest $50k - $100k checks in Q2 (link)
Techstars Anywhere Remote Accelerator: Since 2017, Techstars’ original remote-first accelerator program has supported companies innovating across any industry. The program runs from Sep-Dec with three in-person meetups in various cities. The deadline to apply is 22 May (link)
Techstars Boston Accelerator: The program leverages the experience of the Boston ecosystem to accelerate the growth of disruptive innovations in the areas of health tech, sustainability/climate/AgTech, and AI. The program runs from Sep-Dec. The deadline to apply is 22 May (link)
Founders Inc: Investing the first check (up to $150k) into founders building emerging tech. The program is aimed at helping you transition from builder to founder (link)

Tools of the week 🔨

RightMessage: Segment your email list and increase conversions.
Founder Resources: 500+ curated resources to help your startup.
VC Stack: All the tools you need to run your own VC fund.
Marketing Examples: Newsletter helping you grow your business through awesome marketing.