How Adam Robinson Bootstrapped Retention.com to $21M ARR
Who is Adam Robinson?
Adam Robinson, the founder of Retention.com, previously worked as a credit default swap trader at Lehman Brothers. He later transitioned to entrepreneurship in the email marketing space, bootstrapping his initial ventures successfully from scratch, which laid the groundwork for Retention.com.
What problem does Retention solve?
Retention.com resolves the pain of losing potential customers who visit a website but don't convert, by identifying these anonymous visitors and capturing their emails, providing businesses with a vital means to follow up and convert lost opportunities, which is essential for maintaining and expanding their customer base.
How did Adam come up with the idea for Retention?
Adam Robinson, the founder of Retention, found inspiration for his business while grappling with challenges from his previous startup. He initially struggled to compete in the highly saturated email marketing space, dominated by giants like MailChimp and Klaviyo, which left him searching for a unique angle. One day, he learned about the possibility of identifying email addresses of website visitors who hadn't filled out a form, sparking an idea that set him on a year-and-a-half journey to figure out how to implement this technology effectively.
Adam conducted extensive research and development to create a feature that could capture these anonymous email addresses through a method that combined AdTech and MarTech. When users of the initial feature in his email app gave positive feedback despite the cumbersome process, he recognized a strong product-market fit and decided to spin out the feature into its own product. This product eventually evolved into Retention.com, a tool designed to help businesses retain customers by capturing unidentified potential leads.
Throughout the ideation phase, Adam faced numerous challenges, including technical barriers and market apprehension about data privacy. However, through continuous experimentation, customer feedback, and refining his concept, he found a scalable solution that addressed a significant pain point for his target audience. His key lesson was the importance of identifying a unique and valuable proposition within a competitive space by listening closely to early user feedback and being willing to pivot based on those insights.
How did Adam build the initial version of Retention?
To build the initial product at Retention.com, the team relied on a blend of AdTech and MarTech technologies to achieve their core functionality. They aimed to identify anonymous website visitors and convert them into actionable email addresses, leveraging implicit consent data for this process. The first prototype was developed rapidly, taking just eight weeks from conception to execution. It involved utilizing tools like Snagit for capturing elements and using freelance talent from Upwork to convert those elements into HTML and CSS, while the backend was built by their CTO.
The initial launch used a video made with basic tools and a script from the Digital Marketer format. The first month yielded significant results, spending $5,000 on Facebook ads to create $10,000 in MRR. Despite facing challenges around balancing low-cost operations and refining product-market fit, the pivot was seen as essential due to new GDPR regulations and user feedback demanding integration flexibility. The build phase was intense and high-paced, but paid off with rapid validation through successful early sales and user traction.
What were the initial startup costs for Retention?
Here's a breakdown of the costs and some early funding details for Retention:
- Initial Campaigns: They spent $5,000 on Facebook ads and saw a return of $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) in the first month.
- Hiring: They had a lean team early on, including one salesperson, one sales assistant, and one customer success person, alongside the founder and CTO.
- Product Development: The initial build for the GetEmails product took eight weeks, completed by their CTO, with additional support from freelancers on Upwork.
How did Adam launch Retention and get initial traction?
Cold Email Strategy
To get the initial word out about Retention, Adam Robinson and his team employed a "spray and pray" cold email strategy. They utilized a team in the Philippines who manually sent emails using Gmail inboxes. This grassroots approach was surprisingly effective, securing their initial wave of customers. In their early months, they spent relatively minimal resources—just enough to keep the operation lean but effective. The cold email strategy resulted in achieving 6 million ARR with just six people on their team.
Facebook Ads
The company also experimented with Facebook ads shortly after launching their product. Adam and his team invested $5,000 in Facebook ads, resulting in 10K in MRR (monthly recurring revenue) during their first month. This effectively doubled their initial investment, validating the product-market fit early on. The compelling message of their product—being able to get email addresses of people who did not fill out a form—resonated strongly with potential customers, accelerating their initial growth.
Personal Branding and Organic Social Media
Adam heavily invested in building his personal brand on LinkedIn, working with consultants to refine his messaging. By posting thought leadership content and leveraging LinkedIn's low-content-creator base, he quickly garnered attention. His posts about BDR (Business Development Representative) challenges, sales strategies, and his transparency about company success and failure drew tens of thousands of impressions. This personal branding and organic social media strategy created a significant inbound demand, boosting their pipeline with quality leads.
Direct Outreach and Customer Success
Understanding early that their best customers were likely Shopify Plus stores, the company took a hybrid approach of direct outreach and customer success. They personally onboarded new customers to ensure they hit the magic moment of sending their first campaign. This meticulous onboarding resulted in extremely low churn and high satisfaction among customers, especially their power users. They also organized various small in-person events, documented well to create FOMO, and engaged users through influencer marketing in the DTC (Direct-To-Consumer) space.
Through these combined tactics, Retention not only garnered initial customer traction but effectively scaled up to 20 million ARR in two and a half years.
What was the growth strategy for Retention and how did they scale?
LinkedIn Thought Leadership
Adam Robinson, the founder and CEO of Retention.com, has leaned heavily into building his personal brand on LinkedIn. He found success by sharing insights and being authentic about his journey, particularly around the challenges and changes he faced in sales and marketing strategies. This engagement has not only garnered him a significant following but also attracted key industry leaders who contribute to meaningful discussions on his posts. His posts often touch on timely topics such as the changing efficacy of outbound sales tactics. This approach works because LinkedIn has a relatively low percentage of active content creators compared to its user base, allowing standout posts to gain significant traction.
Cold Email Campaigns
In the early days, Adam’s team used cold email to reach potential customers, focusing on a volume-based approach. Despite the inherent challenges, this method proved crucial in growing the customer base initially. For email delivery, they utilized Gmail and had a team in the Philippines manually sending emails. This manual approach was driven by the belief that automated tools like Outreach or Apollo, which many competitors used, would not be as effective. This method, although somewhat precarious due to frequent spam block issues, allowed them to reach a significant number of potential users cost-effectively. Given the high churn rate inherent to their offering, this method helped in quickly building initial traction.
Facebook Ads
Retention.com also leveraged Facebook ads early in their journey. Adam created a basic yet compelling video ad that explained the unique value proposition of their product—collecting email addresses from website visitors who don't fill out a form. His initial spend of $5,000 on Facebook ads resulted in $10,000 in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). This indicated a strong Product-Market Fit, as spending five grand for his previous company wouldn't have yielded more than $50 in MRR. This efficient return on ad spend was a clear signal to double down on this channel.
Personalized Small Events
Most recently, Adam has started focusing on hosting intimate, high-value events targeting their ideal customers. For example, events like exclusive New York City pizza tours or similar experiences are designed to attract high-value clients and influencers within their target industry. The goal is to create FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and leverage the social channels of these influencers to amplify their brand reach. These events not only provide value to attendees but also give the company a chance to create engaging content that is authentic and appealing.
Adam’s approach to leveraging multiple, complementary channels optimizes both outbound and inbound strategies. By building a strong personal brand, executing effective cold email campaigns, investing in targeted Facebook ads, and hosting personalized events, Retention.com has been able to scale efficiently.
What's the pricing strategy for Retention?
Retention.com scales by integrating advanced B2B and D2C solutions using proprietary data enrichment technologies to provide high-value leads, with prices starting at $350-$500/month, focusing on customers like high-traffic Shopify Plus stores and B2B SaaS companies needing comprehensive lead insights.
What were the biggest lessons learned from building Retention?
- Lean Operations Can Scale Fast: At Retention, the team bootstrapped from zero to $20 million ARR in two-and-a-half years by staying lean. This shows that with effective strategies, even a small team can achieve rapid growth.
- Test Different Marketing Strategies: Initially, they used humorous videos and Facebook ads, realizing their potential when $5,000 in ad spend made $10,000 MRR. Finding what works early can create a strong foundation for growth.
- Adapt and Pivot Based on Feedback: They spun off GetEmails into a standalone product after seeing users favor the identity feature over the email app. This pivot was driven by user feedback and usage patterns, highlighting the importance of adapting to customer needs.
- Prioritize High-Value Customers: Focusing on Shopify Plus stores and high-value users dramatically increased retention and revenue stability. Identifying and focusing on the best customer segments can improve growth metrics.
- Embrace Vulnerability and Transparency: Adam's open sharing of company progress and challenges on LinkedIn built significant trust and engagement. Authentic storytelling can enhance brand loyalty and foster a supportive community.
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More about Retention:
Who is the owner of Retention?
Adam Robinson is the founder of Retention.
When did Adam Robinson start Retention?
2019
What is Adam Robinson's net worth?
Adam Robinson's business makes an average of $1.78M/month.
How much money has Adam Robinson made from Retention?
Adam Robinson started the business in 2019, and currently makes an average of $21.4M/year.
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