EP 398: 5 Million Users, $250k in MRR, SaaS Founder Michael Hollauf of MindMiester.com

Published: Aug. 26, 2016, 9 a.m.

Michael Hollauf, cofounder and CEO of MeisterLabs. The company works to provide resources to collaborate across digital platforms. Now they are introducing a new service, MeisterTask, which focuses on better task management and a fun user experience. Hear about how MeisterLabs has hit the ground running and is continuing to introduce new tools to help businesses and entrepreneurs succeed.

Famous Five:

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  • Favorite Book? \u2013 Rich Dad Poor Dad
  • What CEO do you follow? \u2014 Stewart Butterfield
  • Favorite online tool? \u2014 Slack
  • Do you get 8 hours of sleep?\u2014Yes
  • If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? \u2014 Buy a flat in London. Be bold. Do it earlier.

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Time Stamped Show Notes:

  • 01:05 \u2013 Nathan introduces Michael
  • 01:35 \u2013 Managing director of MeisterLabs
  • 02:20 \u2013 MeisterTask
  • 03:10 \u2013 Trello was their inspiration
    • 03:40 \u2013 Better task management
    • 04:00 \u2013 Something more fun to use and focused on tasks
  • 04:15 \u2013 550000 users
  • 05:10 \u2013 60% of the downloads are through the app store
  • 05:30 \u2013 Some features only available in the premium model
  • 06:00 \u2013 5000 paying customers
  • 06:50 \u2013 Why people upgrade
    • 07:00 \u2013 Better integration
  • 07:20 \u2013 Funding
  • 08:00 \u2013 MeisterTask revenue for 2015 was $20k
  • 08:20 \u2013 MindMeister was $2.5 M
    • 08:35 \u2013 Monthly recurring was $220k
    • 09:00 \u2013 5 million users
    • 09:15 \u2013 30000 paying customers
    • Collaboration for mind maps
  • 10:10 \u2013 Cost to acquire a new customer is about $30
  • 10:30 \u2013 27% annual churn
  • 11:50 \u2013 Average customer stays for about 20 months
    • 12:05 \u2013 Monthly plan was changed to a longer plan, which increased retention
  • 12:30 \u2013 How MindMeister is growing
    • 12:40 \u2013 about $25k/month on Google Ads
    • 13:00 \u2013 best keyword is \u201cmind mapping\u201d
  • 13:30 \u2013 Competitors
  • 14:00 \u2013 Goal for the business is to create a suite of products
  • 14:50 \u2013 MeisterTask valuation
  • 16:00 \u2013 Michael Hollauf on LinkedIn
  • 16:22 \u2013 michael@meisterlabs.com
  • 28:35 -- The Famous Five

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3 Key Points:

  • Don\u2019t be afraid to draw from ideas of existing companies.
  • Establish your end goal for your business.
  • Be bold. Start your business early.

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Resources Mentioned:

  • Host Gator \u2013 The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
  • Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
  • Leadpages\xa0 \u2013 The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
  • Audible \u2013 Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
  • Trello \u2013 A similar service to MeisterTask that inspired Michael
  • Slack -- Another online tool that inspires Michael and his team
  • Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives