CAKE

How This Founder Grew CAKE.com to a $25M ARR SaaS Success

Q: Who is the owner of CAKE?

Nenad Milanović is the founder of CAKE.

Q: What is Nenad Milanović's net worth?

Nenad Milanović's business makes an average of $8.33M/month.

Q: How much money has Nenad Milanović made from CAKE?

Nenad Milanović started the business in 2009, and currently makes an average of $100M/year.

March 13th, 2025

Founded By

Nenad Milanović

Monthly Revenue

$8.33M

Founders

Profitable

Yes

Year Started

2009

Customer

B2B & B2C

Founded By
Nenad Milanović: Monthly Revenue
$8.33M

Founders
1: Profitable
Yes

Year Started
2009: Customer
B2B & B2C

Who is Nenad Milanović?

Nenad Milanović, the founder of CAKE.com, hails from Serbia and spent a decade building side hustles while running a consulting business before creating successful software products like Clockify, Pumble, and Plaky.

What problem does CAKE solve?

CAKE helps businesses streamline work with tools for time tracking, communication, and project management, saving them from the chaos of juggling multiple apps.

Cake.com

How did Nenad come up with the idea for CAKE?

Nenad Milanović came up with the idea for CAKE.com by leveraging his own company's needs and experiences. He wanted to build a SaaS company on his terms, so he ran a consulting business to fund his side projects. Nenad observed that the existing productivity tools his team used lacked features they needed and were often overpriced, leading him to create alternatives like Clockify, Pumble, and Plaky.

To validate his ideas, he assessed the tools his team used and identified what improvements were needed. Nenad's approach was to "eat his own dogfood" by developing products his team would use internally. With limited resources, they had to be cost-effective, so they researched competitor products to identify features that could be offered for free or improved upon.

Feedback from his team about these tools helped refine the ideas. One challenge was scaling the initial success quickly as Clockify grew in popularity, requiring Nenad to address technical issues like infrastructure and deployment. The key takeaway from his journey is the importance of creating products that solve specific pain points you understand intimately, allowing for smarter development and scaling based on real user needs and feedback.

How did Nenad Milanović build the initial version of CAKE?

CAKE.com, led by Nenad Milanović, built their product suite by creating tools that addressed their own internal needs and were practical solutions for remote work challenges. The development journey began with Clockify, a time-tracking software, which took about three months to develop by a team of eight using Java Spring Boot, MongoDB for the backend, and Angular for the frontend. CAKE.com relied on research from existing time trackers to build a feature set that met their specific needs, avoiding features they found annoying in competitors' products. The lack of external funding required the use of internal cash flow, posing a challenge during the build phase, particularly when it came to scaling and deployment once Clockify rapidly gained popularity. Subsequent products, Pumble and Plaky, benefited from the lessons learned during Clockify’s launch, which smoothed out the development and scaling processes for these projects.

What was the growth strategy for CAKE and how did they scale?

Transparency-Based Marketing

CAKE.com, especially through its Clockify tool, leveraged transparency as a core component of its marketing strategy. By offering features for free that competitors charged for, CAKE attracted a large user base. The company maintained honesty in pricing and communication, which built trust and encouraged word-of-mouth recommendations. Transparency helped CAKE stand out in a crowded market, leading to stable growth over time, as users appreciated the straightforward and cost-effective approach.

Why it worked: By clearly presenting what they offered without hidden fees and by allowing users to access valuable features for free, CAKE built a loyal customer base. This approach highlighted their commitment to customer interests, differentiating them from competitors who monetized essential features.

SEO and Content Marketing

Before aggressive marketing campaigns, CAKE.com focused on SEO-driven organic growth with content marketing. They created valuable content that could be easily indexed and found through search engines. This content targeted specific keywords, improving the site's search rankings. They utilized business blogs and active social media presence, especially on platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube, to further enhance their visibility.

Why it worked: By focusing on SEO and providing quality content from the start, CAKE attracted users who were actively searching for solutions to their tasks and productivity challenges. This method ensured a steady flow of interested visitors who were more likely to convert into users.

Leveraging Networks

Founder Nenad Milanović asked personal and professional contacts to try out Clockify during its initial release. As a result, initial traction was primarily driven by existing networks and word of mouth, serving as a launchpad before any substantial marketing spend.

Why it worked: Leveraging existing networks provided a credible and immediate user base that facilitated initial traction and early feedback. This grassroots approach helped in securing a necessary foundation upon which further organic and paid growth could be built.

Organic Growth and Timing

CAKE's growth was significantly boosted by the surge in remote work during the pandemic, which increased demand for its suite of productivity tools. While the timing was fortuitous rather than a product of strategic planning, it played a crucial role in scaling quickly during this period of unique market conditions.

Why it worked: The remote work trends created by the pandemic drove businesses to seek digital solutions for productivity, project management, and communication—all of which CAKE's products offered. This alignment with market needs bolstered their growth without the need for heavy initial advertising expenditures.

What's the pricing strategy for CAKE?

CAKE offers a freemium model for its software suite, providing essential features for free while charging for advanced functionalities in tiered plans starting from $5 per user per month.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building CAKE?

Leverage Internal Needs: CAKE developed products based on their team's actual needs, ensuring immediate feedback and relevance, which led to practical solutions that resonated with users.
Utilize Slow Periods Wisely: The team used downtime to build Clockify, a product born from their own requirements, turning a lull into a launching pad for future success.
Value Transparency: Transparent pricing and no hidden fees built trust with users, fostering organic growth through honesty and open communication.
Choose the Right Distribution: Align your sales strategy with your strengths; CAKE succeeded by favoring product-led growth over outbound sales, which suited their approach and capabilities.
Embrace Resilience: The founder experienced ten years of trial and error before hitting success, showing that perseverance and adapting based on past lessons can eventually lead to triumph.

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