In 2022, Our Product Agency Did $2.1M In Revenue [30% YoY Growth]
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
Hello! My name is Andrew, and I am Co-Founder and Managing Director at Limeup. I have over 7 years of experience managing IT businesses, and 12 years of experience in IT, working with clients worldwide.
Limeup is a Product Design Agency. We empower businesses with a full range of expertly crafted digital products and experiences.
What we do:
- Product design
- UX design
- Web apps design
- Mobile apps design
- Product development
We design and develop powerful digital products that exceed our client's expectations and bring value to their customers. We believe in the high quality of every detail from conception to completion, which defines a product’s success.
Our accumulated experience helps us deliver flawless products and experiences where functionality meets aesthetics. We seek long-term relationships with our partners as a tight-knit team of creatives and thinkers.
By the end of 2022, the company's workforce comprised 40+ professionals, encompassing roles such as UX/UI designers, UX researchers, project managers, analysts, developers, and more.
In 2022, the company generated a revenue of $2.1 million, experiencing an annual growth rate of around 30%. For the current year, we have set ambitious targets and aspire to attain a growth rate of 50%.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
During my tenure at a comprehensive development company, we received valuable feedback from our clients praising the excellence of our product design and UX design in comparison to other companies. This positive recognition played a crucial role in their decision to choose our services.
To fully capitalize on this competitive advantage, we thoroughly studied our industry peers:
- identified the top 5 companies developing software products in related sectors: real estate, fintech, blockchain, edtech, igaming.
- conducted an analysis of these companies' websites in terms of user experience
- evaluated their products from a user experience perspective
Thanks to this research, we've come to the conclusion that our key strength lies in our unique design experience, which is our competitive advantage.
Consequently, a decision was made to establish a specialized company that would exclusively focus on providing top-notch product design and UX design services.
Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.
After deciding to start a new company, we immediately got down to business. Before developing the website, several key issues needed to be addressed first:
- defining the target audience of our service
- selecting the jurisdiction for providing services
- coming up with a memorable name associated with growth
Identifying our target audience turned out to be the simplest task, as we knew that the majority of product design orders come from startups at the beginning of their journey, while UX design is required by product companies seeking to enhance user experience to boost sales of their products.
To determine the jurisdiction, we decided to use the ahrefs.com service to understand in which countries our services are most sought after based on keywords such as "ux agency", "product design", etc. As a result, we concluded that the company would be registered in the United Kingdom with its head office in London, and delivery offices in Berlin, Germany, and Warsaw, Poland.
Choosing a name for the company took about two weeks and several brainstorming sessions. We immediately agreed that it should be a combination of two words, either in full or abbreviated. We had no solid ideas until the suggestion came to use a combination of a fruit name and something associated with growth.
Out of many options, we settled on one as soon as it was proposed, as it sounded very good, was just six characters long, and was easy to remember. The first thing we did was to check if such a domain was available, and yes, it was.
Explore various methods to attract customers and subsequently focus on one particular approach to scale it up.
Describe the process of launching the business.
Based on our extensive experience in building a software development company, UX and product design, as well as successful implementation of a variety of products across many sectors, we decided to create a website. This website will effectively highlight our unique offering to the target audience and distinguish us from competitors.
We started by defining the website structure, which included the following sections:
- Home page
- Services
- Industries
- Team Information (About Us)
- Case studies
- Contact form
Next, we developed the UX structure for each page, chose a dark theme, and began the design process. The design phase for such a website takes about 3-4 weeks. Our partner, who is also the chief design director, was responsible for creating all the designs.
After completing the design, we moved on to the next stage - developing the website. We chose WordPress technology, despite the widespread criticism of this platform, due to our experience working with it and the opportunity for SEO optimization.
A month after completing the website, we developed a comprehensive marketing strategy, which included:
- Using various industry platforms such as clutch.co and goodfirms.co. On these sites, you can post information about the company, ask clients to leave reviews, and by sponsoring, you can get to the top of the ratings. We participated in the ranking of the best companies in the field of UX, which cost us $8000 per month but helped to attract new clients.
- Launching Google advertising with a monthly budget of $3000 for keyword advertising, targeting the UK market.
- SEO optimization and content management. It took a lot of time but paid off with a steady stream of clients, which contributed to consistent growth.
As a result of these efforts, we began to receive our first inquiries within a few weeks. Within a month, we secured our first contract for the development of a meditation mobile app, targeting the US market.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
After a few months, we came to the conclusion that our marketing strategy needed to be adjusted. Consequently, we decided to allocate our entire budget and efforts toward SEO optimization and website content, which had already been generating a few leads per week.
As a result, we formed a marketing team that includes content creators, an SEO specialist, a content manager, and a marketer. We spent approximately two months on this process. We posted job vacancies on well-known job search platforms, such as Indeed.
However, our greatest efforts were aimed at finding authors of top articles on Google in our subject area via LinkedIn and offering them collaboration. Thanks to this team, we can constantly create high-quality content, including useful articles and guides for our potential customers.
Recognizing the significance of customer recommendations, we actively encourage our clients to provide feedback on our services, aiming to enhance the quality of our offerings.
Additionally, we kindly request them to recommend us to their acquaintances or colleagues. Remarkably, 15% of our current clients have joined us through such recommendations, which is a testament to our success.
For novice entrepreneurs, I suggest exploring various methods to attract customers and subsequently focusing on one particular approach to scale it up. The specific strategies to adopt depend on the nature of your business. It is essential to analyze your target audience's online presence, their social media interactions, and other relevant factors to determine the most effective approach.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Currently, the majority of our clients, exceeding 80%, come from the United Kingdom and Europe. Our strategic focus for the upcoming years involves expanding our presence in the local market and establishing ourselves as the leading company in UX and product design. Additionally, we have plans to enter the highly competitive US market.
In the previous year, our company achieved a notable growth rate of 30%. However, this year we have set even more ambitious targets, aiming for a growth rate of 50%.
Given our status as a young company, we believe this goal is highly attainable at this stage. Encouragingly, the data from the first quarter of 2023 supports the realization of our objectives, affirming that we are progressing in the right direction.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
We have incorporated a valuable skill from our previous company, which we pass on to our managers: the ability to confidently communicate to clients when their proposed ideas or solutions may not be effective. By engaging in such conversations, we can provide the clients with superior alternatives and ensure their satisfaction with our collaboration.
Our work is greatly facilitated by our commitment to staying up-to-date with the latest trends, fostering team development, and actively sharing our experiences while supporting each other's growth. We view mistakes as opportunities for problem-solving rather than dwelling on them as issues. This mindset significantly propels everyone forward.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
I believe that we utilize conventional tools in our workflow.
Sales: Hubspot.
Communication: G Suite, Slack, Google Meet.
Work process: Figma, Jira, Confluence.
Marketing: Ahrefs, Google search console, Google Analytics.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
I wouldn't attribute my influence in business to any specific podcast or book. Rather, it is the cumulative effect of gathering information, analyzing it, and selectively adopting relevant points and implementing them. However, I can recall two books that have left a lasting impression on me: "ReWork" and "Good to Great."
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Before launching a new company, whether it's a service or product company, it's important to assemble a team. This can be two, three, or four people, each complementing each other and having their area of responsibility. In today's world, this approach increases the chances of success compared to trying to do everything alone.
There are several important aspects to consider when interacting with clients.
Firstly, let's focus on the matter of contracts. It is crucial to always start your work with a contract and upfront payment. Make sure that the contract terms are favorable to you, such as the payment being split into several stages, and the final delivery of work being made only after full payment.
Clients can be diverse and without a proper contract, you risk not getting paid for your work. I've had a case when taking legal action was more expensive than the potential payment from the client.
As for relationships with the client, consider them not just as a customer, but as a partner. It's important to educate and involve them in your work process, so the client derives satisfaction not only from the result but also from the process of cooperation itself.
I hope these, perhaps seemingly obvious at first glance, tips will help you avoid mistakes and achieve success!
Where can we go to learn more?
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.
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.
