[SaaS Club] From frustrations & doubts to 8-figure SaaS

Hey Reader

I hope you're doing well.

Here's a quick round up of what's been going on at SaaS Club:

🎧 Podcast

Duda: From Frustrations and Doubts to 8-Figure SaaS

In 2009, Itai and Amir, both at SAP, were eager to start their own venture, always on the lookout for a winning business idea.

Noticing that many small businesses struggled with mobile website creation, they dedicated their spare time to developing a solution.

Eventually, they shipped basic software for building mobile websites. 

But they struggled to find customers because they had full-time jobs and not enough time to dedicate to their business.

Getting investors on board was tough, too. Nearly every investor they spoke to wanted to see more customers and traction. 

And many investors were skeptical about the business idea.

The first year was full of frustrations and doubts.

The founders questioned if they were even on the right track. But the pair kept going, relentlessly improving their product and looking for customers.

Eventually, they caught a lucky break...

Their product caught the attention of someone at AT&T., who reached out to learn more about what they were building.

Three months later, they had signed a significant contract with AT&T.

Today, Duda is an 8-figure ARR company used by 22,000 agencies to manage over 1 million websites. The team's grown to 180 and they've raised $96 million in funding.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How the founders overcame significant challenges, struggling to acquire customers and hearing constant no's from investors.

• What the founders did to eventually land a big fish like AT&T and how that helped build credibility and validation with investors.

• What strategies they used to acquire customers and establish a foothold in the competitive website-building industry.

• How focusing on one specific customer persona helped the Duda founders to get better traction and align the entire organization.

• Why the founders chose to pivot and rebuild their core product during a very successful time with their mobile website builder, and why that decision was crucial to their long-term success.

I hope you enjoy it.

Listen to the full podcast episode

💰 Payroll & Benefits for Small Business/Startups

Gusto have built an easy and more affordable way to manage payroll, benefits, and more. They help over 300,000 businesses by taking the pain out of tasks like automated payroll tax filing, direct deposit, health insurance administration, 401(k), onboarding tools—you name it, Gusto makes it easy.

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🕸️ Web Accessibility. Solved.

Digital accessibility is a must for every startup. UserWay’s popular accessibility solution fixes your code while you work, and is trusted by millions of sites, including brands like Nespresso, Kodak, and Payoneer. 

Get started free today!

📗 Book of the Week

This week's book recommendations come from Itai:

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

🌐 Around the Web

YouTube Channel

Here's a link to the full video episode.

😍 Let's Get Social

Want to get more social? Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Have a great week!

- Omer

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P.S. whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:

1. SaaS Club Plus: We're re-launching a brand new paid community for SaaS founders with an exciting new offering. Join the waitlist!

2. SaaS Club Launch: This 3-month coaching program that gives you the tools, knowledge, and support to fast track your journey to $10K+ MRR.

3. SaaS Club Clarity:  Book a 1-hour consulting session with Omer to get unstuck and gain clarity about your SaaS business.