How We Grew Our Gift Sending SaaS Over 250% [Update]
This is a follow up story for Giftsenda. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published over 2 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
My name is Dmitriy Peregudov, and I am the CEO and Founder of Giftsenda. Our top-rated international gifting platform enables you to send personalized gifts to employees, clients and leads worldwide in just a few clicks. Simply create your campaign online and we’ll deliver gifts in over 200 countries.
You can learn more about our origins in the first Starter Story article.
To cater for all the corporate gifting use-cases, our marketplace offers a wide variety of corporate gifts, including gourmet gift baskets, tech gifts, e-gifts, swag items, donation gifts, and much more.
We also provide our customers with digital delivery methods such as email gift invites and gift links - these collect recipient delivery details and give the option to choose gifts.
In 2023 we increased our revenue by 263.43% in comparison to the previous year, and our team processed and delivered 1000s of gift orders worldwide.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to. Has the business been growing?
Over the past year we have been working on refining our products to cater more specifically to the needs of our customers. This includes developing the international gift catalog, creating and refining platform features and adjusting our offer. Instead of purely relying on a subscription model - we now provide customers with the option to create gifting projects without any subscription fees.
Our first priority is to provide customers with a seamless experience when gifting. It has been very helpful to get feedback from customers on their experience using the platform, as this allowed us to take that information and make the necessary improvements.
This has shown to be a fruitful approach - as we saw more customers coming back for repeat gifting projects, companies signing up for subscriptions - as well as receiving good reviews. I am also proud to say that we have worked with companies like Amazon and Google.
As an entrepreneur I have also been featured on Inc.com - where I have been publishing thought-leadership pieces on gifting with a specific focus on its use in business. As this is still a relatively new approach for some businesses - education on the matter is integral to its increased adoption.
Our podcast, The Gifting Game, also focuses on providing listeners with all the information they might need when sending gifts for business in easy-to-digest formats.
We have been testing out various marketing channels - but so far it appears that using various PPC channels and optimizing landing pages to create a low-friction sales funnel has been providing us with a good number of conversions. We also focus on improving our organic presence as this is especially important in the B2B and SaaS sector.
What have been your biggest challenges in the last year?
As a startup - balancing your expenses relevant to the revenue that is being generated is always a challenge, especially if you are running without external funding. This means that business decisions are not made lightly - and management is always encouraged to do ample research to ensure that the risks involved with any tactics that are being utilized have been considered to provide the best possible results.
We also need to manage time effectively to ensure that we are spending energy on tasks that will provide us with ROI and provide our customers with a good experience. At times this can be challenging - but so far we have been managing this effectively without any impact on our customers.
I believe that automation will probably be one of the things that we will invest in when the time comes - but its application will have to be strategically placed to ensure that we do not lose the personal touch that we pride ourselves on.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
Many of the lessons that we have learned have been around the operational aspect of our business. Even though the main product that we sell is loaded with tools to streamline gifting through technology - some of the activities that take place behind the scenes are still done manually as they require input from real people.
Over the past year we have learned that we also need to focus on streamlining these internal processes to enable us to provide even better levels of service.
My biggest focus is to not be afraid to move faster and to make mistakes quicker. The sooner we fail, the sooner we can get up and keep going in the right direction.
Don’t make the mistake of only hiring for skill. You should first and foremost hire for fit. People can always learn new skills, but it is not that easy to change someone’s personality.
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
Our goal is to continue building market awareness around our gifting platform while supporting the strong customer demand we are experiencing.
Currently, Giftsenda integrates with HubSpot, BambooHR, Zapier and Salesforce. The next stage of our development is to add many additional integrations with CRM, leading marketing platforms, and sales enablement tools such as Outreach, Salesloft, Marketo, and many others.
We are also developing a new feature called “Company Stores” which will enable businesses to create online stores with a variety of gifts that can be used internally and externally. This is especially useful for any company initiatives where swag is involved.
We are actively looking for reseller partnerships with Marketing Agencies and other platforms to integrate with. Our partner reseller program offers superb revenue-sharing options for the right partner.
What’s the best thing you read in the last year?
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
Whether you're a product manager, designer, marketer, startup founder, or just someone fascinated by the intricate dance between products and human behavior, this book is a must-read.
Eyal delivers more than just theories; he offers practical insights that empower you to craft user habits that stand the test of time. With actionable steps at your fingertips, you learn how to build products that not only capture attention but also foster genuine love and loyalty from your audience.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
Don’t make the mistake of only hiring for skill - you should first and foremost hire for fit. For companies that are remote - this is especially important - as you need to make sure that the team is able to function in the remote environment. People can always learn new skills - but it is not that easy to change someone’s personality.
Don’t become a victim of the sunken cost fallacy. This is a phenomenon whereby one is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because you have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial. You have to make mistakes to move forward in business.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Yes - we are looking to expand our Sales Team with more Sales Representatives to help build the customer base and manage accounts.
We are also looking to expand the team with Customer Success / Partner Coordinators to develop this side of the business in the near future.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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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.
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