ConvertKit

Profile: Nathan Barry Built A $25M/Year Newsletter Platform (Started As Solopreneur)

Nathan Barry
Founder, ConvertKit
$2.08M
revenue/mo
1
Founders
82
Employees
ConvertKit
from Batha, Chad
started May 2013
$2,083,333
revenue/mo
1
Founders
82
Employees
Discover what tools Nathan recommends to grow your business!
Discover what books Nathan recommends to grow your business!
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ConvertKit is an email marketing platform designed for online creators offering them tools to collect leads, send emails, automate email marketing, and sell digital products.

Monthly Revenue
$2.08M
Starting Costs
$5K
Score
98 🔥
Founders
1
Employees
82
Monthly Traffic
7,499,999
Profitable
Yes
Year Started
2013
Growth Rate (CAGR)
15%
Customer
B2B
Revenue Per Visitor
$0.28

ConvertKit Revenue

ConvertKit Growth Timeline
  1. ConvertKit hits $13.2M in revenue
  2. ConvertKit hits $13.2M in revenue
  3. ConvertKit hits $19.8M in revenue
  4. ConvertKit hits $19.8M in revenue
  5. ConvertKit hits $25M in revenue
  6. ConvertKit hits $25M in revenue
  7. ConvertKit hits $28M in revenue
  8. ConvertKit hits $28M in revenue
  9. ConvertKit hits $30M in revenue
  10. ConvertKit hits $30M in revenue
  11. ConvertKit hits $36.4M in revenue
  12. ConvertKit hits $36.4M in revenue

About The ConvertKit Founder

Who is Nathan Barry?

Nathan Barry is the founder and CEO of ConvertKit. He has always been passionate about creating visually stunning designs. Initially, he started working as a web and software designer but later developed a keen interest in audience building. This passion drove him to establish ConvertKit, which he currently heads.

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About The Business

What problem is ConvertKit solving?

Creators need email automation, and monetization tools that work together to drive continuous growth.

Idea

How did Nathan Barry get the idea for ConvertKit?

In 2013, Nathan set a challenge for himself: build a $5K/mo SaaS in 6 months with just $5,000. He got the idea after reading people's complaints about Mailchimp online, and decided to build a product that addressed those.

Build

How did Nathan Barry build the initial version of ConvertKit?

ConvertKit initially struggled to grow, stalling at $2,000 MRR. Hiten Shah advised Nathan to either shut down or invest heavily. Nathan focused sharply on professional bloggers, investing $50,000 and building a dedicated team.

This pivot, coupled with direct sales and an emphasis on customer care through concierge migrations, sparked growth.

By leveraging customer referrals and launching an affiliate program, ConvertKit rapidly scaled, reaching $500,000 MRR by 2016.

Continuously innovating, such as with the 2017 redesign for visual automation, ConvertKit remains committed to serving creators independently, focusing on aiding them to earn a living.

Growth

What is the growth strategy for ConvertKit?

Initially, Nathan directly outreached to online creators and bloggers, offering to manually help them migrate from their previous email marketing platform to address the main objection.

Affiliate programs then became a core part of how ConvertKit made money and scaled beyond a 1000 customers, with a forever ongoing 30% revenue share on each month a referral is using ConvertKit.

Pricing

How does ConvertKit price their products?

Convertkit has 3 plans: Free, Creator ($9/mo), and Creator Pro ($29/mo).

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More about ConvertKit

Who is the owner of ConvertKit?

Nathan Barry is the founder of ConvertKit.

When did Nathan Barry start ConvertKit?

2013

What is Nathan Barry's net worth?

Nathan Barry's business makes an average of $2.08M/month.

How much money has Nathan Barry made from ConvertKit?

Nathan Barry started the business in 2013, and currently makes an average of $25M/year.