We’ve quadrupled our MRR, thanks to Techstars

“Since joining Techstars, we’ve quadrupled our MRR by increasing our customer base from 15 to 66 companies, including big names like BCG.”

I was able to read the attention of the audience when I said this on the stage.

The 12-week Techstars program concluded with a demo day on May 30, where 24 cohort companies pitched successfully in front of over 300 people. Walking onto the stage, I knew this was a moment I would never forget.

I can’t believe 12 weeks have already passed. After the demo day, we are now in New York to attend NY Tech Week. Sitting in Union Square, I’m documenting our achievements, lessons learned, and future plans before my memories fade.

What We Do

PlugBear (made by Runbear) helps customers integrate custom AI built on OpenAI or Anthropic into their daily tools like Slack, MS Teams, Discord, Zendesk, HubSpot, and more! You can utilize your GPT in your tools in 10 minutes without coding.

What We Expected When We Applied to Techstars

Our goal was clear and simple: to become a true US company. When Liam and I started Runbear, we aimed to create a global service. Although I love South Korea, starting a global business there is challenging due to its unique environment. To focus on the global market, we incorporated Runbear in Delaware and aimed to grow from the US.

However, incorporating in Delaware didn’t automatically make us a US company. Many doubted if we could acquire US customers. We faced a chicken-and-egg problem: we needed US customers to be seen as a US company, but we needed to be seen as a US company to get US customers. We believed Techstars could help us achieve this, and it turned out to be much more than we expected.

What We’ve Achieved

Within 12 weeks, we reached $6k MRR by increasing our customer base from 15 to 66 companies, mostly in the US, including BCG, LaserAway, and Peek. We interviewed our customers, redefined our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), improved our product, and made continuous progress.

Through the program, we met many great mentors and fellow founders. Personally, I got approval for my O-1 visa and moved to the Bay Area.

What We Learned

I can’t list all the valuable lessons here, but key points include:

• Customer-Centric Approach: We learned to understand the ‘why’ behind our customers’ needs through JTBD interviews.
• Learning from People: We met amazing mentors and fellow founders and learned the importance of the “give first” mindset.
• KPIs Matter: We made crucial decisions based on KPIs, which helped us improve.
• Communicating with Investors: We learned how to manage a data room, financial modeling, investor updates, and more.

Critical Moments

One key decision was choosing MRR as our primary KPI instead of active subscribers. This change led us to eliminate the trial period and starter subscription plan, allowing us to focus on a smaller number of very happy customers. This approach helped us grow even faster.

Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. Thanks to Techstars, we learned to focus on critical levers. We will continue to ask critical questions and challenge ourselves to make progress.

What’s Next

Demo day is not the end; it’s the start of our next journey. We aim to become the standard for integrating AI into workflows, improving and expanding service integrations to help companies use AI without hassle.

What We’re Looking For

Although we have more than a 15-month runway, we want to boost our growth through investment and partnerships. Please reach out if you’re interested in working together!

Special Thanks To

I can’t express enough gratitude to the Techstars team: Neal, Lilliana, Chloe, Sophie, Naji, Ferrona, Kate, Ciera, Diego, Nina, and Sylvia. Thank you, Karen, Max, Don, and Mert, for your great advice. Special thanks to Becky and Omid, our lead mentors. We received tremendous help from all Techstars mentors. Liana, we appreciate your support. Jina, we couldn’t have done this without you. To all Techstars Oakland ’24 fellow founders, my friends, thank you for going through this together.

Runbear team, Liam, Isac, and Joel, we did it! Let’s make our effort count.

Summer, Haesoo, and all our friends and families, thank you, and I love you.

Thank you all.