Bootstrapping to $10k MRR with 2 employees: Here is StageTimer's
story
Before sharing the interview with StageTimer's co-founder Lukas Hermann, I want to say that I started a newsletter where I will share;
- 5 news that you don't want to miss about bootstrappers,
- 1-1 Interviews with each.
If you want to get more details about the newsletter, here is the link to it:
https://saastrappers.beehiiv.com/
Stagetimer.io is a remote-controlled countdown time mainly for video productioners and Lukas Hermann has been focusing on this project with his wife for a couple of years.
Q: How did you start that project, and why did you start doing your own?
I started my journey as a software developer in a startup. Before that, I had experience in freelancing, where I realized the limitations of trading time for money. I aspired to create something more scalable. That's when the idea for a timer tool came to me.
The spark for this tool came while working with a friend who operated a video recording studio. I noticed a recurring issue: the need for a timer to synchronize recordings. I searched online for a web-based timer solution, but I couldn't find one that suited our needs.
This realization prompted me to take action. I decided to create a simple, one-page timer tool. Once it was up and running, I shared it on Reddit, specifically within the "commercial AV" subreddit, as I believed it could address the needs of that community.
The response was positive. People not only found it useful but also provided valuable feedback. This feedback encouraged me to keep refining and enhancing the tool. I incorporated additional features suggested by the community.
It wasn't until eight months later that I introduced a paid feature to monetize the tool. Surprisingly, someone made a purchase, despite my relatively small - 200 - online following. This marked a pivotal moment in the project's journey and its path to success.
Q: How long did it take for you to leave your job and focus on this project full time?
It took 18 months to go from zero to 5,000€ per month. After that, I was laid off during the pandemic, which provided an opportunity to go full-time with Stage Timer. Thanks to my wife for her support! 🤗🤗
Q: How did you get that 5,000€ MRR, and which channels did you focus on?
As for the channels we focused on, our initial strategy included sharing the project on Twitter, which is a common approach. But we quickly realized that our target customers weren't primarily on Twitter. So, we shifted our strategy towards communities and forums where professionals and enthusiasts discussed video recording and live video recording. These communities became valuable platforms for engagement.
Furthermore, we leveraged our application itself for promotion. By allowing users to share a link to their timer, we not only simplified the sharing process but also ensured our product's visibility. This tactic was particularly effective in contexts like churches and small meetups, where the Stage Timer branding became a part of the shared experience.
It's worth noting that we took inspiration from successful referral strategies like Dropbox's, where users invite others to gain more features or space. This referral approach also contributed to our early growth and brand exposure.
Additionally, we benefited from the organic word of mouth. Within the community, some video professionals started creating videos about our tool without us even asking. These videos were professionally made and added significant credibility to our project.
Later on, we invested time in creating highly targeted landing pages with the help of Demand Curve’s playbooks. To ensure our landing pages resonated with our audience, we conducted in-depth interviews with our potential customers to understand their specific needs and concerns. This allowed us to craft messaging that truly resonated with our audience, making our landing pages more effective.
On the free version, they have stagetimer.io logo top-right which leads to PLG.
And then I thought, we don't really know our industry. We don't know because we have never been part of it. So we didn't know what words they use and, and what things they think about and worry about every day. So we talked to them.
In summary, our path to 5,000€ MRR involved a combination of product improvement, community engagement, referral strategies, organic word of mouth, customer interviews and well-crafted landing pages tailored to our audience's needs. All of these factors played a role in our journey to success.
For more details, check the interview.
https://saastrappers.beehiiv.com/p/1-saas-bootstrappers-interviews-lukas-hermann
Wow, awe-inspiring story, this is similar to a project that I'm working, on https://duchoftime.streamlit.app/
thanks for the post. I appreciate
Thank you so much
woo.... interesting ......
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Truly a great example of indie hacking. I will be featuring this story in my newsletter. Thanks for sharing your story @lhermann!
hmmmm!!!! interesting..
Been following Lukas' story and it's part of the ones that I love the most... onto the the $100m arr project and the moonshot ;-)
Congrats on the new bootstrappers' newsletter! Lukas Hermann's Stagetimer journey is inspiring. Identified video production needs, shifted from Twitter to niche communities, leveraged the product for promotion, and employed effective referral strategies. Their success is rooted in customer understanding, organic word of mouth, and targeted landing pages. Exciting insights for fellow bootstrappers! 🚀👏
Your story is very relatable, The tips, especially on finding targeted not on twitter but professional board and word of mouth, are useful and pragmatic. Thank you, and please keep us updated. :)
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It is an inspiring story. I am working on a project, Point Chronos, also related to cowntdowns but for martial arts events. The main obstacle I find is how to reach the right audience, so as not to depend only on word of mouth. Thanks for sharing!
We also depend a lot on word-of-mouth. It's a great channel if your product makes a good impression 👍
I love this product. Simple and good revenue. This is what indie hacking is about!
This is what I call a small big winner. Remote-controlled countdown time is something that I used to think as a commodity where I never can build a business. You showed me I'm wrong. Thanks for sharing and congrats for all you're getting
nice work. thank you
Bootstrapping is a power!
Loved reading the journey. I would love to know more about the communities, like is it on Reddit, Linkedin or Fb Group or Indie hackers?
How are you reaching/finding those communities?
Plus, if you have to build a service based subscription business rather than SaaS, how will you approach?
In the live video production world it's mainly Discord communities. I found them by stumbling upon people in Twitter, or having people straight up reach out to us recommending we should check out this or that group.
I'm the wrong person to ask about "service based subscription", I have no experience with that.
@lhermann this is for you.
Thanks for the nice interview @leventaskan!
Leo agreed to give me marketing advice in exchange for the interview and the advice was worth it! 😄
thanks for your time again, Lukas!
Great sharing, the demand is very precise, and there have been some valuable takeaways. Thank you.
Very nice，benefit a lot to me！
That's great you took the time to interview and understand your audience's needs, and were able to reap the rewards! Well done!
Getting customer feedback is much more crucial for the product updates.
Wonderful voyage! The clever combination of landing pages, referral tactics, and community involvement demonstrates the comprehensive strategy that drove StageTimer's success.
The freemium model leads to word-of-mouth success for Lukas's team.
The transition from employment to entrepreneurship, supported by a true understanding of your audience, is a journey that many in the SaaS space aspire to replicate. Your newsletter featuring these insights is sure to be a valuable resource for bootstrappers everywhere.
Looking forward to reading more about such inspiring stories.
Thanks a lot Karan, I will continue to share more stories of SaaS bootstrappers to inspire other people in that space.