How I Productized My Design Service And Created Logo Maker Tool For Startups
Note: This business is no longer running. It was started in 2020 and ended in 2022. Reason for closure: acquired by DesignBro.
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
G’day, folks! My name is Craig Barber, I’m the founder of Logobly.
Logobly is an impressive new logo maker for internet startups. It allows founders to design and download a logo in just 60 seconds.
Since launching in March 2020, Logobly has helped 100s of entrepreneurs brand their startups and side projects.
Right now Logobly does around $1,000 a month in sales.
My goal is to help as many entrepreneurs launch their business and make Logobly the #1 place for logo design.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
For most of my career, I’ve been a designer. I’ve done website and logo design for some of the best brands in the world. Sony, Samsung, PayPal, Qantas, Nestle, Apple - you name it.
If you’re gonna pour all of your hard-earned cash and time into something make sure it’s not some overnight trend. Make sure it’s a long-term bet.
I’ve always had a real urge to start my own business and live the dream of an entrepreneur.
I figured why not productize my skills and expertise as a logo designer into a startup of my own.
First up I did a bunch of research. I found most logo makers on the market created detailed and intricate designs.
They all seemed to be targeted at businesses with physical products like clothing and food brands. The logos they created wouldn’t work well on screens like websites and apps.
So I figured why not create a logo maker that made awesome, simple logos that work great on websites and apps?
Armed only with my design skills and a fresh credit card I got to work!
Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.
Okay, so the goal was to create a beautifully simple, yet powerful app that would guide founders through a step-by-step process.
A product that anyone can use to create their professional logo design without the need for a designer.
I got to work and created the user journeys and the screen designs myself.
After I created all of the screens I found an awesome development team on Upwork. We worked together and built the first version of Logobly. It was such an awesome feeling to see the product come to life and create my very first logo design with Logobly.
We worked together for around 3 months. Within that time I was constantly testing the logo maker with everyone willing to give feedback.
Eventually, we were ready to go to market!
Describe the process of launching the business.
Before launch, I set up a coming soon page.
I posted the link wherever my audience of founders and entrepreneurs were. Indiehackers, Hackernews and Landingfolio for example.
I built my list up to about 200 subscribers. I emailed them on launch day.
I also posted to Product Hunt and Indiehackers. Logobly was well-received getting 100’s of upvotes.
I also experimented with paid ads on Google which didn’t work well.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
Blogging mostly. I love to dig into the keywords my target audience is searching for. I then publish blog posts on the Logobly Blog. SEO is currently my main tactic and source of traffic.
I’ve also created lots of little side projects to help out my fellow entrepreneurs and side hustlers.
I created ‘Startup Colors’ which features hand-picked color combinations for new startups.
I’ve also created several free ebooks. One of which helps entrepreneurs come up with names for their new businesses.
These little side projects are great because they bring in traffic and help solve my customers' problems.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
I get a kick out of helping founders create a logo and get their business idea to market.
The future of Logobly is about helping as many founders as possible to make their startup dreams come true.
On the product side of things, I’m continuously improving Logobly. Adding new icons and fonts. Also talking to founders about what they want in their logo packages.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
I know everyone says this. But you learn so much starting your own business. When you’re working for someone else, you see a very small part of the picture.
When it’s your own business you see the big picture. You have to learn new things. That’s the beauty of it.
For example, since starting Logobly I’ve learned how to work with development teams, send email campaigns, and use tools to gather feedback from customers.
I would have never learned this stuff working for someone else!
The only way to learn is to get out and do it. So start doing it today.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
Logobly.com is powered by WordPress and Elementor which are fantastic tools that help me create and maintain a brilliant website.
Mailerlite is what I use for email campaigns and it’s awesome.
Hotjar is a tool that helps me improve my customers’ experience.
And lastly, Gist provides my top-notch customer service app.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
The podcast How I Built This is great for inspiring startup stories.
The Lean Startup book is great to get you excited about the process of testing and launching your own business.
And who could forget the classic The 4 Hour Work Week for the all-around entrepreneurial spirit?
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting?
For the love of Pete make sure the demand is there. Make sure you’re creating something people want!
Create something that ideally something people will continue to want for years to come.
If you’re gonna pour all of your hard-earned cash and time into something make sure it’s not some overnight trend. Make sure it’s a long-term bet.
For example, people will always need logos. There are currently 1 million people worldwide searching for ‘logos’ and a ‘logo maker’.
Fire up Google Trends and do your research.
Secondly, make sure it’s something that will make money. I know it’s cool to do things for fun. But at the end of the day, there’s got to be some cash involved. And hey, that’s the fun part, right?
Lastly make sure it’s something you’re either good at, or enjoy doing. Ideally, it should be both.
For example, I once created a Resume template site. There is a huge demand for resume templates online. About a year into the project I realized resume templates were just not something I was passionate about so I quit.
Now with Logobly, I’m focused on both something I’m good at and enjoy doing.
How do I know what I’m passionate about? That’s easy. What’s something you have consistently kept doing for a long period without having to be forced into it. Is it fitness? Is it cooking? Is it website design? That’s your thing.
Where can we go to learn more?
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
