Hitting 9 figures after 20 years of bootstrapping

Just after the dot-com bubble burst, Gergo Vari started bootstrapping software products. His first try resulted in a sale for the equivalent of $10 million. Since then he's built and sold multiple businesses and his most recent is currently making nine figures.

I caught up with him to learn from his experience. We talked about bootstrapping, growth, machine learning, and why silly questions are the key to success. 👇

Bootstrapping (and 9-figure vs 0-figure businesses)

James: Lensa is a 9-figure business with 130 employees, but that isn't where you started.

Gergo: I started working on my first product, profession.hu, with three friends. We had minimal coding experience and no funds. We only had two computers so we had to take turns coding, it took us almost 4 months and all of our very small budget.

James: Pretty different from what you're doing now, I imagine. How do they compare?

Gergo: One of the benefits of bootstrapping is the agility of small-scale operations. You can quickly adapt to market feedback and iterate efficiently.

When you have a 9-figure company, responding to market changes requires much more resources and much more time. Also, when you work with a smaller team, it's much easier to work together. You make decisions faster and easier.

James: That's a pretty solid advantage.

Gergo: Yes, bootstrappers should take advantage of this to maintain a close connection between your products and your customers.

James: So do you ever miss those days?

Gergo: I occasionally reminisce about the early days of working closely with friends to build Profession.hu, but there’s a unique excitement in leading larger operations now. The scope of influence and learning from a diverse team in this stage is deeply fulfilling. Each phase, whether it’s the hands-on approach of the start-up days or the strategic impact of larger operations, has its own distinct kind of excitement and valuable learning experiences.

James: Is Lensa bootstrapped too?

Gergo: Lensa is entirely bootstrapped. We started the company with our own capital and built our revenue streams from the ground up.

James: By the time you started Lensa, you were at a stage in your career where you probably could have easily gotten investment. Why is bootstrapping your go-to?

Gergo: It gives you and your entire team more independence and freedom of thought when it comes to scaling up.

While it is good to have the funding necessary to grow your business faster, you’ll eventually feel like you have less control over your own business.

9-figure growth

James: Ok, let's go back to the beginning. You started Profession.hu back in 2001.

Gergo: Yes, I saw that the hiring process was broken. Within four years, we reached an extraordinary market share of 75%.

James: Did you exit?

Gergo: SanomaMedia purchased the company in 2005, the transaction was the largest of its kind in Hungary up to that time.

James: How much?

Gergo: We sold it for 2 billion Hungarian Forints. At the time, this was worth around 10 million USD.

James: What then?

Gergo: My passion for startups led me on to found and head e-Ventures, and later, in 2008, to the launch and sale of AffilateMedia, Network.hu, and Replise.

James: Did you fund these with money from the profession.hu sale?

Gergo: Yes. And we also invested a portion of that into Lensa when we started it in 2015.

James: What happened with Lensa after launch - did it grow quickly?

Gergo: We had 10 million users by 2017 and 20 million by 2021.

James: How did you grow it so quickly?

Gergo: It was a blend of innovative technology, marketing tactics, and a deep understanding of the job market.

Our AI and machine learning technology also helped. It allowed us to provide personalized job recommendations for an enhanced user experience.

And we strongly emphasized user-centric design too.

James: What were these marketing strategies that you mentioned?

Gergo: Our marketing strategies for Lensa were focused on personalization. We utilized data-driven insights to create job alerts that resonated with our job seekers.

Additionally, we developed a strong content strategy, including articles and blogs. And we engaged in targeted thought leadership and digital PR to build brand awareness and educate users about the platform.

Lastly, building a community around the job search process and establishing strategic partnerships also helped grow Lensa’s reach and credibility.

Leveraging AI and ML

James: You mentioned AI.

Gergo: Yes, through our machine learning processes, we help allocate the right candidate with the right recruiter.

On top of that, we’re merging AI technologies to help job seekers write resumes and cover letters tailored to their skills and to help employers tailor advertisements. It can also guide the job seeker to more rewarding career paths that they may not have thought of themselves.

James: What technologies are you using?

Gergo: As a job search engine, we rely heavily on AWS for data storage, infrastructure, and ML models.

To be more specific, we’re using several open-source software libraries called Tenorflow, Spacy, and NLP. There is a great deal of complexity when it comes to serving millions of job seekers with millions of different jobs. With Tenorflow, for example, we focus on training and inferencing deep neural networks for our systems to provide the right jobs based on our customer’s skills and needs.

James: How can indie hackers successfully integrate AI like you did?

Gergo: Successfully integrating AI and machine learning into Lensa involved defining clear objectives, such as improving search accuracy or optimizing the hiring process amidst a ton of data.

And behind the AI scenes, the more data we gather the more user-centric and intuitive our system becomes, tailored to users' needs.

For this reason, it is crucial to ensure clear accuracy by investing in preprocessing techniques that maintain data cleanliness and organization.

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Ask silly questions (plus other advice)

James: You've had a very successful career as a founder. What tips would you share with indie hackers?

Gergo: Here are a few things:

• Building strong relationships within your industry is essential, regardless of the size of your company. Networks and partnerships provide valuable resources, ideas, opportunities, and support.
• Financial management is crucial—it’s essential to understand and plan your finances carefully.
• A strong team that shares your vision can make a big difference.
• Resilience is key. Expect challenges and learn from them, balancing perseverance with your personal wellbeing.

James: Solid advice. How about some weird advice?

Gergo: Experience has taught me that asking silly questions is essential to success. So don't be afraid to implement an idea just because it isn't in your area of expertise. Do it, be curious, and ask questions. Innovation and creativity grow by asking questions that may seem "silly" at first glance.

Honestly, I believe that asking questions is the key to unlocking your full potential as an entrepreneur.

James: Speaking of keys, if you had to tell me the three most important things that all founders need, what would they be?

Gergo: You need:

• Clarity of vision. This will drive all your efforts and decisions.
• Adaptability. This allows you to effectively navigate changes and challenges.
• Persistence and resilience. You've got to persevere through obstacles and achieve your long-term goals.

Your failures are just an A/B test

James: Any other advice you'd like to offer?

Gergo: When it comes to the keys to success, we must bring up the subject of failure. Trying multiple times and failing is okay.

It's A/B testing. And while not all experiments succeed, they are necessary. Those who do not resort to A/B testing will not see growth in their business.

James: Success and failure in life and business as A/B testing — I like that. What did you A/B test when getting Lensa off the ground?

Gergo: In laying the foundation for Lensa's success, my team and I leveraged our shared expertise and experience and focused on a user-centric approach. We engaged in extensive focus groups as well as A/B testing to fully understand the needs and expectations of our potential users.

This approach allowed us to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement in our service, ensuring that Lensa not only meets but exceeds our users' expectations.

James: And you didn't always do this with your products?

Gergo: No. In fact, my biggest mistake as an entrepreneur was being too ambitious in the beginning. I focused on expanding every area of the business without doing enough research.

Since then, I've learned that the only way to achieve your goals is to reframe your ambitions. Ambition should be a thoughtful, step-by-step process.

Don't follow this advice

James: What advice wouldn't you give?

Gergo: The worst advice I ever received was: “Don't quit your company”.

I heard a lot from experienced professionals that when you start a business, you have to stick with it — particularly because they didn't think I would be able to sell profession.hu for its true value.

Fortunately, I was able to read the signs and follow my strong intuition.

James: So indie hackers should quit?

Gergo: Not necessarily. But don’t be afraid to jump ship. If you've maxed out your business and you aspire to run bigger projects, your business can actually hold you back.

James: How can indie hackers get acquired when they're ready to jump ship?

Gergo: My advice is to cultivate strategic partnerships and alliances within your industry to enhance your product's value proposition.

Prioritize a scalable and sustainable business model, showcasing financial viability and potential for long-term success.

And when engaging with potential acquirers, emphasize the unique strengths and synergies your product brings to their portfolio.

Excellence > innovation

James: Let's wrap up with one more gem. What have you got?

Gergo: You don’t have to be the “category creator” or the one who conceives of and executes an idea from start to finish to be a true – and successful – entrepreneur.

You just have to keep a sharp eye open for opportunities and be curious (as well as brave) about exploring unexpected or untrodden paths.

And it’s just as valid to find a good idea that’s already out there and make it better than anyone has before. Excellence will never fail you.

James: Where can people find you?

Gergo: I'm on LinkedIn. And you can check out Lensa on G2 or Trustpilot

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