How David Hsu Scaled Retool To $93M ARR
Retool is a low-code development platform that allows developers to create custom interfaces for their internal data sources and APIs without the need to write code from scratch.
Retool Revenue
About The Retool Founder
Who is David Hsu ?
David Hsu is the founder and CEO of Retool, a software development platform that assists developers in creating internal software tools. Hsu established Retool in June 2017, shortly after working on a UK-based Venmo competitor called Cashew.
David holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in Philosophy and Computer Science from the University of Oxford.
About The Business
What problem is Retool solving?
Developing software or apps can be time-consuming and require investment in technical expertise. Low-code solutions ease the experience, allowing developers to complete projects in a timely manner.
Idea
How did David Hsu get the idea for Retool?
After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy and computer science, David Hsu founded Retool six months later.
During his time at university, he developed Cashew, a payment app for the UK market. While building his startup, David encountered the difficulties of creating and expanding internal tools for tasks such as KYC and fraud management.
He observed that engineers often had to develop admin dashboards from the ground up, and he found this process to be undesirable. This experience inspired him to create Retool, a low-code tool designed for both technical and non-technical developers.
Build
How did David Hsu build the initial version of Retool?
Retool techstack features:
- Deployment in Kubernetes
- Frontend: Typescript/React
- Backend: Typescript/Node
- Postgres at the persistence layer
A snapshot of retool landing page from 2019
Growth
What is the growth strategy for Retool?
David posted on several LinkedIn groups and did extensive outreach through word of mouth.
He sent out a few hundred cold emails and posted updates on Hacker News, intending to get interested developers to try and share feedback about his tool.
David’s post on Hacker News updating the community on retool
Pricing
How does Retool price their products?
Retool offers four pricing tiers aimed at different user requirements and budget ranges. Here is an overview:
- Free Plan:
- Team Plan: $10 / month per standard user Plus $5 / month per end user
- Business Plan: $50 / month per standard user Plus $15 / month per end user
- Enterprise Plan: Flexible pricing that scales with your business
Retool Pricing as of May 2024
Similar Ideas
Discover similar business ideas like Retool:
This case study explores the journey of building Recall, an AI-powered browser extension, and how the founder experienced initial struggles with user retention, sought feedback, made product improvements, and secured VC funding after a viral HackerNews post, leading to a successful launch and continued growth.
More about Retool
Who is the owner of Retool?
David Hsu is the founder of Retool.
When did David Hsu start Retool?
2017
What is David Hsu 's net worth?
David Hsu 's business makes an average of $7.5M/month.
How much money has David Hsu made from Retool?
David Hsu started the business in 2017, and currently makes an average of $90M/year.
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.
