Podcasts Business SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders 661: How Unbounce Hit $12M/Year In Revenue, 14k Customers, Very Little $$ Raised with Co-Founder Oli Gardner

661: How Unbounce Hit $12M/Year In Revenue, 14k Customers, Very Little $$ Raised with Co-Founder Oli Gardner

Published: May 16, 2017, 9 a.m.

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Oli Gardner. He\\u2019s the co-founder of Unbounce. He\\u2019s seen more landing pages than anyone in the planet. He\\u2019s a prolific international speaker and he\\u2019s on the mission to rid the world of marketing mediocrity by using data-informed copywriting, design, interaction, and psychology to create a more delightful experience for marketers and customers alike.

Famous Five:

  • Favorite Book? \\u2013 How to Deliver a TED Talk
  • What CEO do you follow? \\u2013 N/A
  • Favorite online tool? \\u2014 UsabilityHub
  • How many hours of sleep do you get? \\u2014 Maybe 3 hours
  • If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? \\u2013 \\u201cLearn how to make decisions\\u201d

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Time Stamped Show Notes:

  • 01:10 \\u2013 Nathan introduces Oli to the show
  • 01:49 \\u2013 Unbounce is a SaaS business and a conversion platform for marketers which started as a landing page platform
    • 02:00 \\u2013 They just expanded to convertibles that have overlays that captures more leads and signups on the website
  • 02:17 \\u2013 Unbounce was launched in August 2009
  • 02:33 \\u2013 Unbounce has 6 co-founders
    • 03:11 \\u2013 Oli was broke and filed for bankruptcy
  • 03:26 \\u2013 Unbounce was initially funded by friends and family with $15K CAD
  • 03:38 \\u2013 Unbounce had a seed round and Angel round and has raised a total of less than 1 million CAD
  • 04:12 \\u2013 The 6 co-founders are all equal
    • 04:22 \\u2013 All are working full-time
    • 04:50 \\u2013 They\\u2019ve figured out a rough valuation
    • 05:25 \\u2013 5 of the 6 co-founders are still active
  • 05:41 \\u2013 Team size is 184
    • 05:49 \\u2013 Members are based all around Canada and some in South America
  • 06:14 \\u2013 RPU is $93 CAD a month
  • 07:05 \\u2013 Unbounce lets anyone in for at least 2 years
    • 07:11 \\u2013 Their plans have been restructured in a way that is most beneficial
    • 07:38 \\u2013 Their $10-plan has been removed
  • 07:57 \\u2013 Unbounce now has professional marketers
  • 08:10 \\u2013 As Unbounce continues to grow, they\\u2019re trying to scale with their customers
  • 08:33 \\u2013 Unbounce currently has 14K active users
  • 08:42 \\u2013 You can create a demo account but you can\\u2019t get your own domain with demo
  • 09:13 \\u2013 Average MRR is just under $1.4M
  • 09:47 \\u2013 Unbounce had a problem with churn, like what most SaaS businesses have encountered
  • 10:03 \\u2013 \\u201cWe know that you need landing pages for everything you do\\u201d
  • 10:55 \\u2013 5% is the problem churn with Unbounce
  • 11:30 \\u2013 If Salesforce or Marketo have been integrated, the company is a larger company
    • 11:47 \\u2013 Overlays have been successful and there\\u2019s so much traffic and data
    • 12:09 \\u2013 Overlays are called overlays because they are similar to popups
    • 12:20 \\u2013 \\u201cWe\\u2019re trying to be responsible with the technology because technology is not the problem, we are\\u201d
  • 12:52 \\u2013 Oli respects Bounce Exchange when it comes to the overlays world and they\\u2019re doing a lot with machine learning
  • 13:06 \\u2013 The biggest difference in using Unbounce is you will feel that you\\u2019re not using templated overlays
  • 13:40 \\u2013 Unbounce\\u2019s value is different from SumoMe and their targeting is getting smarter
  • 13:55 \\u2013 Most services like Unbounce charge $250-5K a month and Unbounce starts at $99
    • 14:06 \\u2013 There are cheaper ones in WordPress, but they\\u2019re not really good
  • 14:21 \\u2013 Oli is primarily a public speaker now and spends most of his time on the road
    • 14:25 \\u2013 Oli was actually scared to start public speaking years ago
    • 14:33 \\u2013 Nathan recommends watching Oli speak in public
    • 15:15 \\u2013 The rest of Oli\\u2019s time is spent with Unbounce\\u2019s marketing team and data scientists\\u2019 team
  • 15:48 \\u2013 Unbounce just got engaged with a new marketing agency
  • 16:03 \\u2013 LTV
  • 16:14 \\u2013 Unbounce had one marketing guy and he left, so they switch to a 5 digital local agency
  • 16:33 \\u2013 CAC
  • 16:43 \\u2013 The Famous Five

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3 Key Points:

  1. Being broke should NOT hinder you from starting a business.
  2. A great product with a reasonable price will always attract more customers.
  3. Learn how to make decisions and don\\u2019t hold back.

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Resources Mentioned:

  • The Top Inbox \\u2013 The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
  • Organifi \\u2013 The juice was Nathan\\u2019s life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
  • Klipfolio \\u2013 Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
  • Acuity Scheduling \\u2013 Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
  • Host Gator\\u2013 The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
  • Audible\\u2013 Nathan uses Audible when he\\u2019s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
  • Freshbooks \\u2013 Nathan doesn\\u2019t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

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