He grew his product to $200k+ MRR, here's how

BuildingNow Podcast

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Video Summary

Nevo, founder of Posties, reveals how he achieved 200,000 MRR in a crowded social media scheduling market by prioritizing distribution and leveraging open-source strategies. Initially, his product 'Groom' targeted a niche market of open-source companies, but it struggled. Pivoting, he transformed it into Posties, a social media scheduler, and crucially, open-sourced it. This move allowed him to tap into an underserved audience and utilize platforms like Reddit for organic, high-visibility marketing, bypassing the usual self-promotion pitfalls.

Nevo emphasizes the importance of reverse-engineering virality by identifying and capitalizing on emerging trends and platform shifts. He highlights how platforms now push content to interested users, making it easier for new accounts to gain traction. Strategies like user-generated content campaigns and leveraging new AI tool releases for content creation are key. For B2B SaaS, he stresses the need to be an early adopter of new marketplaces and platforms, like being the first social media scheduler on Corser, to gain significant traction and stand out in a competitive landscape.

Short Highlights

Posties' Viral Strategy: Nevo achieved significant growth by open-sourcing his social media scheduler and leveraging platforms like Reddit for organic marketing.
From Niche to Mass Market: His initial product, 'Groom,' failed in a niche market, prompting a pivot to Posties with a broader appeal.
Open Source Advantage: Open-sourcing Posties allowed access to an underserved audience and legitimate marketing on platforms like Reddit.
Reverse-Engineering Virality: Nevo focuses on identifying and capitalizing on trends, platform shifts, and user-generated content for consistent visibility.
B2B SaaS Differentiation: Success in B2B SaaS requires early adoption of new platforms and marketplaces, like being the first on Corser.
The Power of Trends: Spotting and acting on trends early, such as AI tool releases or new platform features, is crucial for gaining traction.
Building a Persona: Establishing and sticking to a clear persona provides value and attracts a dedicated audience, unlike generic 'build in public' content.

Key Details

The Crowded Market and a Surprising Success [00:52]

Posties operates in a highly competitive social media scheduling market, with established giants like Hootsuite and Buffer.
Founder Nevo achieved remarkable growth, reaching 200,000 MRR, by focusing on distribution strategies rather than solely on product quality.

"So you talked about like reverse engineering virality, right? So like how do you usually go about doing that?"

From 'Groom' to Posties: A Strategic Pivot [02:12]

Nevo's first product, 'Groom,' was an SaaS for launching open-source products, targeting a very niche market.
He realized this niche had a hard limit on potential users, unlike Posties, which has a much larger addressable market.

"So actually the first um the first even like thing that I built was not posties it called groom so it was a totally different thing"

Open Sourcing as a Marketing Engine [05:00]

Nevo decided to open-source Posties, a move that tapped into an audience previously unserved by existing social media schedulers.
This strategy allowed him to leverage platforms like Reddit, where posting about open-source projects garners significant views and engagement.

"So I just open sourced everything and made it open source and just started to market it as a open-source social media scheduler."

Reddit Marketing: Bypassing Self-Promotion Hurdles [06:15]

Posting open-source projects on Reddit is viewed differently than direct self-promotion; users actively seek and engage with new open-source releases.
This approach legitimizes frequent updates and builds anticipation within the community, leading to substantial visibility.

"But when you are building in open source and you you share your open source stuff, everybody just like waiting for the next version of the open source."

The Nuance of Messaging: 'Marketing' vs. 'Scheduling' [08:02]

Nevo found that framing his tool as a 'marketing tool for developers' on platforms like X led to negative reactions.
However, rebranding it simply as a 'social media scheduling tool' without the word 'marketing' resonated positively with the same audience.

"I wrote this is a tool that will help you to promote your open source project, do marketing for your open source project, get stars and and you know get attention for your stuff"

Reverse-Engineering Virality: Identifying Outcomes [11:16]

The primary goal is to achieve viral growth, as relying solely on ads or SEO is less effective in crowded markets.
Nevo emphasizes understanding the desired 'outcome' for users, such as making money by clipping videos or leveraging TikTok's boost for slideshows.

"Usually you want to find and this is like how I think about every product now that I I get it out. I know it sounds weird because people not even talking about this but like how can I go viral all the time with a product?"

User-Generated Content and Trend Riding [13:13]

Platforms are now pushing content to users seeking it, benefiting new accounts.
Strategies include user-generated content (UGC) campaigns, where creators make daily posts about an app, often at low cost, increasing the chance of viral hits.

"So what people do, they go to a platform like Sideshift and they start to book a lot of people to do for them um like posts talking about their app and they do like one post a day."

Capitalizing on AI and Platform Trends [16:36]

Nevo actively monitors trends, especially in AI, and quickly integrates his product or creates content around new releases (e.g., Muse AI, Claude).
This proactive approach ensures Posties is visible when users are actively searching for solutions related to new technologies.

"So for example let's say uh now there was this uh guy released Jev which let you to classify posts. So you know already that everybody now going to make post around this"

Strategic Distribution: Early Adopter Advantage [22:09]

Successful B2B SaaS companies need to be agile and adapt to new platforms and marketplaces.
Being the first to integrate with new services, like Posties on Corser, can drive significant user acquisition.

"So you always have to like spot trends all the time and really iterate on them."

Gamification and Future-Proofing [23:14]

Nevo is exploring gamification and advanced content creation (like full movies with AI) for Posties to stay ahead.
The key to survival and growth lies in consistently seeking virality and smart distribution.

"Fine gamify your SAS like put put something on your SAS with games you know maybe people you know you can travel in your SAS or something walk inside do this sedence 2.5 became crazy good"

Building a Valuable Persona for Engagement [25:37]

Growing a personal brand by providing consistent value is more effective than simply asking for follows.
Focusing on expertise within a niche (e.g., distribution, SEO) attracts and retains an engaged audience, unlike unfocused 'build in public' content.

"So you want to be like this kind of person. It's not easy. But instead of like and this is what I tell people instead of doing like building on public like general like talking about what you've done and stuff like that"