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Lemlist

by Guillaume Mubeshvia The SaaS Podcast

Lemlist is an email automation platform that uses advanced personalization (videos, dynamic images, personalized landing pages) to improve cold email reply rates. Guillaume Mubesh built a 'very ugly beta' in 2 weeks with 100 signups, then prepared for an AppSumo launch two months later where they generated $170,000 in two weeks. They've since grown to ~$650k ARR in under two years through Product Hunt (ranked #1 product of the day), community building, LinkedIn content, and their own cold email outreach using the product.

Key Takeaways

  • Used product hunt launch as primary growth channel
  • Got first customer via Facebook communities and online communities focused on cold email outreach, where Guillaume posted screenshots of results and asked interested people to join the beta.
  • Most effective channel: Product Hunt launch and AppSumo partnership, combined with community building and LinkedIn outreach
  • Monetizes with subscription pricing
  • Built initial product in 2 weeks

Revenue

Current ARR$650k
Pricing Modelsubscription

Traction

First Customer ChannelFacebook communities and online communities focused on cold email outreach, where Guillaume posted screenshots of results and asked interested people to join the beta.
Most Effective ChannelProduct Hunt launch and AppSumo partnership, combined with community building and LinkedIn outreach
Outreach MethodCold email using Lemlist itself, targeting head of growth at scale-ups with personalized videos and dynamic landing pages
Traction Patternproduct-hunt-launch

Tech

Dev Duration2 weeks
Tools Used
AppSumoProduct HuntCapterraLinkedInFacebook GroupsGmailGoogleFuntime BusterGoogle AnalyticsNotionAmazonStripe

Why They Built It

Guillaume was running a lead generation agency and realized that highly personalized emails got more replies, but existing automated solutions only did basic personalization like replacing names. He couldn't find a tool that enabled advanced personalization with images and videos at scale, so he decided to build one.

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