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Friday

by LukeLaunched 2016-01via The SaaS Podcast

Friday is a SaaS tool that helps distributed teams share regular updates and communication through automated standup and check-in processes. Luke bootstrapped the product from $45/month to $10K MRR over three years while working a full-time job, using content marketing and SEO as his primary growth channels. After raising ~$100K in seed funding and launching a rebuilt product in February 2020, the company has grown significantly as remote work adoption accelerated during the COVID-19 crisis.

Key Takeaways

  • Used content marketing as primary growth channel
  • Reached product-market fit in 3 years
  • Got first customer via Direct email outreach to friends and acquaintances
  • Most effective channel: Content marketing and SEO (blog posts about weekly check-ins, one-on-ones, and leadership topics)
  • Monetizes with subscription pricing
  • Grew from $45 to $10k/mo
  • Built initial product in 2 months for initial product, 3 months to first customer

Revenue

Current MRR$10k
First Month Revenue$45
Initial Investment$100k
Pricing Modelsubscription

Traction

First Customer ChannelDirect email outreach to friends and acquaintances
Most Effective ChannelContent marketing and SEO (blog posts about weekly check-ins, one-on-ones, and leadership topics)
Outreach MethodEmail outreach to friends, blog content, Harvard Business Review article comments
Time to PMF3 years
Traction Patterncontent-marketing

Tech

Dev Duration2 months for initial product, 3 months to first customer
Tools Used
WufooSlackZoomHubSpotProduct Hunt

Why They Built It

Luke wanted to break down barriers to employee feedback and regular communication after experiencing poor management support at a previous job. He realized that technology could help create repeatable communication habits, especially for remote teams.

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