Built as a Side Project. Sold After $50K MRR

Key Concepts:

• Softgen: A software product.
• MRR: Monthly Recurring Revenue.
• Influencer Marketing: Utilizing influencers to promote a product.
• Organic Content: Unpaid content posted on social media.
• Acquisition: The purchase of a company by another.
• Month-over-Month Growth Rate: The percentage change in a specific metric from one month to the next.

Softgen's Launch and Initial Challenges:

The speaker launched Softgen on Twitter with an initial promotional video. The launch was plagued with server issues, leading to sleepless nights spent fixing bugs. Softgen started as a side project alongside the speaker's primary work at Cortex, requiring a 50/50 time split.

Growth Strategy and Influencer Marketing:

The initial goal was to reach $10,000 MRR and then exit (sell) the company to recoup time and investment. The team initially tried building up LinkedIn accounts and posting organic content, which provided some growth. The major breakthrough came with influencer marketing, which propelled Softgen to $50,000 MRR in four to five months.

Acquisition and Renegotiation:

By the time the speaker was in final talks with the acquiring company, Softgen had reached $22,000 MRR. By the time the deal closed, MRR had grown to $50,000. The speaker had to renegotiate the deal multiple times due to a 90% month-over-month growth rate.

Conclusion:

Softgen's journey involved initial technical challenges, a shift in growth strategy towards influencer marketing, and a successful acquisition. The rapid growth necessitated renegotiating the acquisition deal to reflect the increased value of the company.