Growth
From 0 to 10K MRR: Our SaaS Growth Playbook
The exact strategies, tactics, and tools we used to grow our SaaS from idea to $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue.
# From 0 to 10K MRR: Our SaaS Growth Playbook
Reaching $10K MRR is a crucial milestone for any SaaS. Here's our exact playbook—no fluff, just what actually worked.
## Month 0-2: Foundation
### Market Research
- Interviewed 100+ potential customers
- Analyzed 20 competitors
- Found our wedge: Better UX at 50% the price
### MVP Development
- 6 weeks to first version
- Core feature only: Automated reporting
- Built with: Next.js, Supabase, Stripe
## Month 3-4: Early Traction
### First 10 Customers
- **Source**: Personal network
- **Price**: $49/month (50% discount)
- **Feedback**: Weekly calls
- **MRR**: $490
### Product Iterations
```javascript
// Version 1.0: Manual everything
const generateReport = async (data) => {
// 45 minutes per report
return await manualProcess(data);
};
// Version 2.0: Automated workflows
const generateReport = async (data) => {
// 30 seconds per report
return await automatedPipeline(data);
};
```
## Month 5-6: Finding Product-Market Fit
### Metrics That Mattered
- **Activation Rate**: 15% → 45%
- **Churn**: 20% → 5%
- **NPS**: 20 → 65
### What We Changed
1. Improved onboarding flow
2. Added in-app chat support
3. Created video tutorials
4. Implemented usage-based pricing
## Month 7-8: Growth Channels
### Content Marketing
- 2 blog posts per week
- SEO-focused topics
- Results: 5,000 monthly visitors
### Cold Outreach
```
Subject: Quick question about [Company]'s reporting
Hi [Name],
Noticed you're using [Competitor].
We help similar companies save 10 hours/week on reporting.
15-min demo this week?
Best,
[Your name]
```
**Results**: 18% reply rate, 5% conversion
### Product Hunt Launch
- #3 Product of the Day
- 500 signups
- 50 paying customers
- **New MRR**: $2,450
## Month 9-10: Scaling What Works
### Paid Acquisition
- **Google Ads**: $2,000/month
- **CAC**: $150
- **LTV**: $1,200
- **Payback Period**: 3 months
### Referral Program
- 30% commission for 12 months
- 25% of new customers from referrals
- Created affiliate dashboard
### Strategic Partnerships
- Integration with Slack
- Partnership with consultancies
- White-label options
## The Numbers
### Revenue Breakdown at $10K MRR
- Direct sales: 40% ($4,000)
- Inbound marketing: 30% ($3,000)
- Referrals: 20% ($2,000)
- Partnerships: 10% ($1,000)
### Customer Segments
- Small businesses (1-10 employees): 60%
- Mid-market (11-100): 35%
- Enterprise (100+): 5%
### Pricing Tiers Performance
- Starter ($49): 50% of customers, 25% of revenue
- Professional ($99): 40% of customers, 50% of revenue
- Enterprise ($299): 10% of customers, 25% of revenue
## Key Learnings
### What Worked
1. **Talk to customers daily**: Best features came from users
2. **Focus on activation**: Better than acquiring new users
3. **Charge more**: We were underpriced by 50%
4. **Automate support**: Saved 20 hours/week with Intercom
5. **Content compounds**: Blog posts from month 3 still drive traffic
### What Didn't Work
1. **Facebook Ads**: CAC was 3x Google
2. **Freemium model**: Too much support burden
3. **Feature bloat**: Complexity killed conversion
4. **Hiring too early**: Burned $20K on wrong hires
## Tools That Powered Growth
### Analytics Stack
- **Mixpanel**: User behavior
- **Profitwell**: Revenue metrics
- **Hotjar**: Session recordings
- **Ahrefs**: SEO research
### Sales & Marketing
- **Apollo.io**: Lead generation
- **Lemlist**: Cold outreach
- **Calendly**: Demo scheduling
- **Loom**: Personalized videos
### Product & Support
- **Linear**: Issue tracking
- **Intercom**: Customer support
- **PostHog**: Feature flags
- **Sentry**: Error monitoring
## What's Next?
### Goal: $50K MRR in 6 months
1. **Hire Account Executive**: Close enterprise deals
2. **Launch API**: Enable integrations
3. **Expand internationally**: Multi-currency support
4. **Build mobile app**: 40% of users requested
5. **Acquire competitor**: In due diligence
## Your Turn
Every SaaS journey is different, but the fundamentals remain:
- Solve a real problem
- Talk to customers obsessively
- Focus on retention over acquisition
- Reinvest everything into growth
The path to $10K MRR isn't easy, but it's achievable. Start today, iterate quickly, and don't give up.
What's your biggest challenge in growing MRR? Let's discuss in the comments!
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