8 Years, 20x Growth

The Spreadsheet Startup That Played the Long Game—and Won

Hey — It’s Charlie.

Welcome to the latest edition of Great Startups! Here’s what’s in store:

  • From Zero to 1 Million Users: Find out how Rows cracked the code to startup growth, transforming their user base overnight with bold moves and a bit of AI magic.

  • How to Turn $0 into $5M ARR: Get the step-by-step guide to scaling your business fast.

  • First Customers, First Wins: Learn how one startup snagged their first 15 customers and built momentum from the ground up.

  • Eric Smith’s Solo AI Startup Success: Full transparency on his $90K MRR journey and how he's making it work, solo.

  • Big Acquisitions and Bolder Moves: Catch up on the latest with Sequoia’s Stripe share purchase and Progress' $875M acquisition of ShareFile.

Get ready to dive into these power-packed insights for founders and growth enthusiasts!

Resources

  • A breakdown on how to start an ambitious company. (LINK)

  • How this startup got its first 15 customers (LINK)

  • First time founder vs second time founder. (LINK)

  • The toughest parts of running a startup (LINK)

  • Step-by-step on how to go from $0 to $5M ARR (LINK)

ICYMI

  • Progress acquires file management software ShareFile for $875M. (LINK)

  • Bending Spoons to cut 75% of WeTransfer staff after acquisition. (LINK)

  • Sequoia Capital completes $861M Stripe share purchase. (LINK)

  • An idea to build in a boring industry. (LINK)

  • Pitfalls of strictly using LTV/CAC metrics. (LINK)

  • Eric Smith shares full transparency on his solo AI startup with $90K MRR

  • Elad Gil on how the best companies raise money

  • What to know if you’re building the next billion-dollar marketplace

  • A playbook to find startup ideas from Reddit

  • 3 startup failures and what we can learn from them.

Nurture, Engage & Convert Users into Customers

v01 is the tool every startup needs to simplify user management. Designed for SaaS founders and growth teams, it automates key tasks, drives growth, and ensures you never miss a revenue opportunity. If your startup has a product, v01 is your go-to for scaling faster and optimizing customer engagement.

No Overnight Success

I came across this story recently and found it super relatable for anyone grinding away at their startup. Rows, a spreadsheet tool competing with Excel and Google Sheets, spent eight years fine-tuning their product before they saw real success. They tried everything—building a waitlist, experimenting with growth strategies, and even bold moves like ditching their homepage. But when they finally launched their AI Analyst and instant access features, things took off, with their user base skyrocketing by 20x almost overnight.

What struck me was how much they leaned into testing and learning, even when things didn’t work out right away. Their journey highlights that for founders, success doesn’t always come easy or fast, but with persistence and daring strategies, it’s possible to break through—even when you're competing against industry titans. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on growth, this one’s worth diving into! (LINK)

Ok that’s it for this week, We keep refining our newsletter content, just hit reply to let us know what you think about this issue.