Typefully

How Two Friends Grew a Twitter SaaS to $1.4M ARR

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About
Business

Francesco Di Lorenzo

Founder, Typefully

$113K

revenue/mo

Founders

Typefully

typefully.com

from

started January 2021

$113,000

revenue/mo

Founders

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Who are you and what business did you start?

I'm Francesco Di Lorenzo (also known as Frank) and, together with Fabrizio Rinaldi, I co-founded Typefully. We are both Italian 🇮🇹 but met through Twitter in 2011. We both have a background in technology and app development, having previously collaborated on various projects including Mailbrew.

What problem does your business solve?

Typefully solves the problem of cluttered and inefficient Twitter content creation by providing a simple, distraction-free platform that helps users write, schedule, and analyze engaging threads. This is crucial for content creators who want to enhance their Twitter presence without the hassle of juggling multiple tools, making Typefully a go-to option for those who value streamlined, creative efficiency.

How do you come up with the idea for Typefully?

Before Typefully, we first built Mailbrew together (now acquired) - a product to help people create beautiful and automated personal email newsletters based on content from the sites and apps they love.

Typefully was born as a marketing side project to promote Mailbrew because we noticed there wasn't a good writing tool for Twitter threads (at the time, the format was exploding). We wanted to write and schedule amazing threads but couldn't, so we built something for it.

The “aha” moment happened when the side project tool we built (Typefully) became more popular than the main project we were trying to promote (Mailbrew). It was crystal clear from our analytics that the traction for Typefully was much higher.

Proceeding with Typefully made a lot of sense not only due to the market pull we felt but also because we were both long-time Twitter users. We were very much inside the bubble and could see the trend shifting towards Twitter threads, so we hopped on it.

Other startup founders were the initial niche of users first using Typefully which gave us a perfect founder-product fit because we are both also founders/makers building in public. This dogfooding process helped us a lot in the beginning and it still does to this day as we continue to use our own product.

How did you build the initial version of Typefully?

Typefully was built using a modern tech stack, including Next.js and Django, which enabled us to develop and iterate on the product quickly. This approach facilitated the rapid deployment of an Minimum Viable Product (MVP) within just a few months.

To get started, as we were both developers, it didn’t require too much funding as we coded everything ourselves. The main costs were server costs and, to save on them, we co-hosted the project together with our other project (Mailbrew), avoiding having to spin up separate costly infrastructure.

It took 3-4 weeks to build a fully functioning MVP. We constrained ourselves on purpose because we didn’t want to invest too much in a non-validated idea.

The initial prototype was designed to enhance the Twitter thread writing experience, focusing on a distraction-free interface. We first launched Typefully as a free tool (much like the ones we now have) which made it explode due to how crazy word of mouth got. Everyone was telling their friends about it!

The process of refining the product involved incorporating user feedback and updating features as the user base expanded, which helped to iterate on features like analytics and cross-posting abilities to LinkedIn. Twitter analytics was our first paid feature which we only introduced 6 months after the launch.

This was us working in Vietnam together while nomading.

And our first office.

How did you launch Typefully and get initial traction?

Product Hunt Launch

We used Product Hunt as a platform to introduce the product to a broader audience. At the time, we partnered with a friend who had significant followers on Product Hunt, and together, we promoted the launch. This collaboration helped us achieve a significant presence on PH's front page, which contributed to early visibility and interest in the product.

Why it worked: Product Hunt is a popular platform for makers and tech enthusiasts to discover new products. The exposure from being on the front page drove a meaningful number of signups and created initial momentum for Typefully.

Hacker News Promotion

We managed to get Typefully featured on the front page of Hacker News multiple times. We crafted engaging posts that fit the interests of the Hacker News community, which is largely made up of entrepreneurial hackers and tech-savvy individuals. This strategy generated thousands of visits to our site and over 1,400 signups on the launch day alone.

Why it worked: Hacker News is known for its active community of early adopters who love to try out new technologies. The honest and straightforward approach in our posts appealed to this audience, resulting in high engagement and signups.

Leveraging Twitter

Both of us had previously built and sold a product called Mailbrew, which we had been building in public on Twitter, fueling the growth of our own audiences. When launching Typefully, we utilized our existing Twitter followers to spread the word about it. We published timely and well-crafted tweets that caught the attention of their audience, generating over 2,000 visitors from Twitter alone.

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Why it worked: Twitter was not just a marketing tool but also a platform Typefully was built to enhance. Our understanding of the platform and existing presence helped in effectively communicating our value proposition, leading to word-of-mouth growth.

What was the growth strategy for Typefully and how did you scale?

Product Hunt & Hacker News

Typefully capitalized on Product Hunt and Hacker News to capture the attention of a tech-savvy audience. Launching on these platforms resulted in substantial traffic and adoption, bringing thousands of signups on our launch day. We perfected our Hacker News strategy by submitting topics that resonated with the community, such as entrepreneurial insights and technical showcases, which consistently made it to the front page.

Why it worked: Both platforms are ideal for introducing new tech tools to an audience eager for innovation. On Product Hunt, partnering with an established user who could "hunt" our product was key to gaining visibility. Hacker News provided a platform where tech enthusiasts could discuss and explore Typefully’s offering, increasing organic reach without costly advertising.

Twitter

As a tool designed specifically for Twitter thread creation, we effectively leveraged our established presence on Twitter to market Typefully. We had built significant followers over the years due to our involvement in tech communities and previous projects like Mailbrew. Engaging tweets about Typefully’s features and updates tapped into this network, encouraging retweets and discussions.

Why it worked: By utilizing a platform that was central to our product, we managed to reach a pre-engaged audience who immediately understood the tool’s value. Our existing reputation and active engagement on Twitter created trust and drove adoption from followers who were already interested in maximizing their Twitter experience.

Word-of-Mouth and Community Engagement

Word-of-mouth promotion within creator communities played a significant role in Typefully's growth. The simplicity and effectiveness of the tool prompted users to recommend it organically, further enhanced by engaging frequently with the community for feedback and refinements. This approach of treating users as partners and advocates helped foster an enthusiastic user base that supports product development and dissemination.

Why it worked: Our focus on active community engagement created a loyal user base that willingly shared praise and feedback, fueling organic growth. Honest communication and quickly implementing suggested improvements helped solidify user trust and advocacy, making it more than just a tool but a user-endorsed product.

What's the pricing strategy for Typefully?

Typefully offers a freemium pricing model with a free basic plan, while advanced features are unlocked through paid plans like the Creator Plan and Team Plan, which include enhanced scheduling and analytics tools.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building Typefully?

Build a product for yourself: Building a product that solves a problem you personally have is one of the greatest hacks. It helps tremendously in delivering something of quality that actually works and resonates because you know what is and what is not.
Consider ideas with network effects: Typefully has mainly grown via word of mouth because it's a social media tool people love to share with others. My advice is to build something people want to brag about using or that is so good people need to tell others about it.
Leverage Existing Networks: Typefully gained rapid traction by utilizing its founders' existing Twitter network and launching on Product Hunt and Hacker News. This strategy highlights the importance of leveraging existing networks and platforms for visibility.
Focus on Core Features First: In a competitive market of social media management tools, Typefully succeeded by focusing on specialized features like thread creation and scheduling. This emphasis on a core function allowed us to stand out and build a dedicated user base before expanding feature sets.
Rapid Iteration with User Feedback: Typefully’s development heavily relied on user feedback, allowing for quick iterations and improvements. This approach ensured the product remained aligned with user needs, exemplifying the importance of an iterative development process.
Building a Strong Founding Partnership: The collaboration between the founders was vital to Typefully’s success. Our history of previous projects gave us a strong foundation, emphasizing the importance of a good team dynamic and complementary skills in building a business.
Adapt and Expand Thoughtfully: Initially focused on Twitter, Typefully expanded to LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and other platforms, demonstrating adaptability based on market demands and user feedback. This strategic expansion highlights the need for businesses to be flexible and responsive to opportunities for growth.

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