How Sharath Kuruganty Bootstrapped Shoutout to $30K Exit in Months
Who is Sharath Kuruganty?
Sharath Kuruganty is a product-oriented entrepreneur from India with a background in product management and community building, who has successfully launched numerous projects using no-code tools, including founding the startup Shoutout. He has a history of working with major startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, and is known for his approach of building communities before products.
What problem does Shoutout solve?
Shoutout solves the problem of effectively capturing and showcasing social proof from social media, allowing creators and startups to build trust and attract new customers without manually managing scattered positive feedback.
How did Sharath come up with the idea for Shoutout?
The idea for Shoutout emerged from a personal challenge Sharath Kuruganty faced while trying to manage all the positive mentions he received on Twitter. He realized that organizing these "shoutouts" would not only streamline his personal accolades but also serve as a powerful tool for creators who often miss out on leveraging social proof. Observing this gap, Sharath decided to build a solution that could benefit others like him, providing a centralized place to gather and showcase social affirmations.
After noticing strong early interest—evidenced by hundreds signing up when he launched a simple landing page—Sharath validated the initial demand for his concept. He began by developing a minimum viable product (MVP) himself using no-code tools to further test its viability. Feedback from early users helped refine Shoutout's offerings, emphasizing its potential as an essential tool for creators seeking to harness social endorsements for business growth.
During the ideation phase, Sharath faced the challenge of building something technical as a non-developer. To tackle this, he reached out to the community to find a technical co-founder, which led him to partner with Curtis Cummings. Aligning his vision with community feedback and expertise from Curtis, they enhanced the idea, expanding its applicability beyond individual use, addressing a broader market for personal and professional brand building.
How did Sharath build the initial version of Shoutout?
Sharath Kuruganty initially built an MVP for Shoutout using a no-code tool called Bubble, which allowed him to quickly develop a functional prototype without needing a technical co-founder. The MVP was crafted to test the core idea of aggregating positive social media "shoutouts" into a single, manageable place. This initial version, created in a matter of weeks, enabled quick validation of user interest, with 500 signups in the first couple of months. After recognizing the product's potential, Kuruganty sought out a technical co-founder to refine and expand Shoutout beyond its no-code roots, which led to a more robust, coded platform. The process involved iterations based on early user feedback, which identified necessary features that people were willing to pay for, thereby navigating a challenging development phase through community-driven feedback and persistent iteration.
What was the growth strategy for Shoutout and how did they scale?
Social Media and Twitter Engagement
Shoutout effectively utilized social media, particularly Twitter, as a powerful strategy for growth. By being very active on Twitter, the founder, Sharath, capitalized on the platform's dynamic community of creators and creators' appreciation posts, known as "shout outs." Twitter served as a resource-rich environment, where Sharath actively shared insights, engaged with influencers, and built a network that consistently promoted his projects. The public building approach and sharing real-time developments helped in establishing trust and visibility within creator communities.
Why it worked: Twitter was instrumental because of its fast-paced and community-driven environment, ideal for building in public. This strategy allowed Shoutout to quickly gather feedback, iterate on features, and attract early adopters who were key opinion leaders in the tech and startup space.
Building in Public
Shoutout adopted a 'Building in Public' approach, where Sharath openly shared the progress, ups and downs, and updates about the product on platforms like Twitter. This transparency not only fostered trust but also engaged the community in the development process, generating buzz and word-of-mouth marketing. It helped in rapidly iterating the product based on real-time public feedback.
Why it worked: Building in public creates a sense of community ownership over the product, encourages participation from potential users, and increases visibility without massive marketing spend. The transparency draws in customers who are interested in supporting a product they have had a hand in shaping through feedback and discussion.
Product Hunt
Shoutout leveraged Product Hunt as a key channel for product launches. The founder's deep involvement in the Product Hunt community facilitated exposure to a large audience of tech-savvy users and early adopters. Such users are always on the lookout for innovative products, contributing to significant traction and validation from a global audience right from the launch.
Why it worked: Product Hunt is a strong launch platform for new tech products, owing to its community of engaged early adopters and influencers. It provided Shoutout with the kind of exposure needed to gain quick traction and validation, which is essential for an early-stage product.
User Generated Content and Social Proof
Shoutout focused on capturing user-generated content in the form of testimonials and positive tweets, and aggregating them into a 'Wall of Love.’ This not only helped build social proof but also made it easier for new customers to see positive feedback and recommendations from current users. The ease of sharing and accessing these testimonials contributed to organically growing trust in the product.
Why it worked: Social proof is a powerful driver of consumer behavior as people trust recommendations from their peers. Shoutout made it effortless for satisfied users to leave testimonials, which in turn attracted new users by validating the product’s effectiveness through genuine feedback.
What's the pricing strategy for Shoutout?
Shoutout prices its service based on a subscription model, offering a range from $15 to $50 per month, aimed at content creators and startups to effectively display social proof and enhance credibility with customizable "walls of love."
What were the biggest lessons learned from building Shoutout?
- Build in Public: Shoutout benefited from building in public, engaging with their community openly and frequently. Sharing both success and failure created trust and encouraged valuable feedback.
- Start Simple, Evolve: The journey began with a simple idea of collecting social proof. As feedback poured in, Shoutout adapted and expanded its features to better serve its users.
- Find the Right Co-Founder: Choosing a technical co-founder wasn't just about skills, but passion and energy for the project. This chemistry was crucial in pushing through the ups and downs of startup life.
- Community Over Marketing: Instead of relying on paid marketing, Shoutout focused on community-driven growth strategies, leveraging platforms like Product Hunt to build relationships and trust.
- Sell When It Feels Right: Initial offers to sell Shoutout didn't match its perceived value. Holding out for the right buyer and trusting community support led to a better acquisition deal.
Shoutout Acquisition: How much did Shoutout sell for and what was the acquisition price?
Shoutout was sold in November 2022 to Ramy Khuffash for a 3.5x multiple, amounting to $30k ARR with over 150 customers.
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More about Shoutout:
Who is the owner of Shoutout?
Sharath Kuruganty is the founder of Shoutout.
When did Sharath Kuruganty start Shoutout?
2021
What is Sharath Kuruganty's net worth?
Sharath Kuruganty's business makes an average of $1.4K/month.
How much money has Sharath Kuruganty made from Shoutout?
Sharath Kuruganty started the business in 2021, and currently makes an average of $16.8K/year.
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