For Startups

How We Reached $10K MRR: One Year, Countless Lessons

November 27, 2024

Welcome back to our blog series! In our last post, we shared how we got our first 10 customers for BugBattle (now Gleap). This time, we’re diving into the next milestone in our journey: reaching $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR). Spoiler alert—it took us a full year to get there, much longer than we initially thought.

First yearly growth at Gleap

Balancing Two Worlds

When we launched BugBattle, we had high hopes for rapid growth. But progress was slower than expected, and one of the biggest reasons was that we were running our software agency at the same time. While our agency gave us financial stability, it also meant that client work always came first. This left limited time to focus on growing BugBattle, resulting in slower progress than we had envisioned.

In hindsight, this divided focus was a major bottleneck. A startup needs dedicated time and energy, and splitting our priorities between the agency and BugBattle made it harder to gain the momentum we needed.

Cracking the Onboarding Challenge

Another key challenge we faced was onboarding. BugBattle wasn’t a tool you could simply sign up for and start using—it required direct integration into a user’s software, even if it was just one line of code. This integration step was the biggest barrier for potential customers. If a developer didn’t install BugBattle, they couldn’t see its value.

We realized that our onboarding process needed to be as seamless and persuasive as possible. To tackle this, we focused on in-product marketing. Every step of the onboarding journey was designed to show the value of BugBattle, from highlighting real-world use cases to providing clear, step-by-step instructions for integration.

We also added features within the tool to help developers see the benefits as quickly as possible. For example, we implemented demo modes and pre-filled configurations that allowed users to experience how BugBattle worked, even before full integration. These improvements were game-changers for reducing friction and converting trial users into paying customers.

Word of Mouth and Steady Growth

Despite the hurdles, we slowly gained traction. Word of mouth continued to bring in new customers, and our efforts to improve onboarding paid off. Each small win added to our momentum, and by November 2021—exactly one year after launching—we finally hit $10K MRR.

Reaching this milestone was a proud moment, but it also made us realize that if we wanted to scale faster, we needed to make bold changes. BugBattle had potential, but it needed a fresh approach to reach the next level.

A Big Change Ahead

In November 2021, we made two game-changing decisions: launching a major marketing initiative and completely rebranding BugBattle. These moves marked a turning point in our journey, setting the stage for what came next. But that’s a story for another day. Stay tuned! 🚀

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