How to Bootstrap a Software Business to $30M in Revenue

“I think, if you’re doing business right, you’re evolving every two or three years,” says Bryan Clayton Co-Founder and CEO of GreenPal, an app that works like an Uber for lawn services, which bootstrapped $30 million. And that includes growing alongside your customer. The early days of GreenPal were spent putting brochures on door handles around Nashville until they eventually grew into a nationwide business in 180 cities. Bryan still spends an hour a day on customer service as that is the heart of his business, and, ideally, everyone else’s.  

Too many startups become enamored with innovation or bells and whistles. Meanwhile, the customer is simply concerned with the product or service, fixing the problem in a timely manner, even more than they’re concerned about the best price. Many tech startups forget that their business is not just the app, but the business the app addresses and all the problems that go with it. 

In today’s discussion Bryan shares what he learned about business and life from his 3-month faux retirement in Costa Rica and what it means to lead from stewardship versus abdication. 

Quotes:

“It wasn't like people were throwing capital at us. And so we kind of had to self fund it. And that was a lucky thing for us, because funding the business off of its own revenues, has always course-corrected us to focus on one thing, and that's customers. Are we making people happy? Or are people coming back to us? The products we need to make, we need to grow sales by 50% next month. So that's been a nice course correcting mechanism. That's kind of gotten us where we are today. (8:07-8:32 | Bryan)

“There's nothing wrong with raising capital, so long as you know what you're signing up for. And I think for most entrepreneurs getting the rocket fuel is a bad bet. It's like putting that rocket fuel in your Toyota Camry and wondering why the engine blew up.” (9:35-9:52 | Bryan)

“That's why I got back in. And I'm glad I did, you know, because looking back 10 years, you know, I'm a completely different person, and know all sorts of different skills and things I didn't know, then, then the business required me to learn those things. If I had not done it, I'd be the same, you know, person I was 10 years ago, and what a tragedy that'd be, you know, you want to be growing and evolving. The business requires that of you. And that's one of the cool things about it.” (13:36-13:59 | Bryan) 

“There's a reason why it's broken. And when you develop an app in that space, all of those problems now become your problems. And they become your problems to solve.” (17:54-18:07 | Bryan)

“We thought we were building a cheaper solution. Why? Because it's the competitive dynamics, you get multiple quotes, and you can compare and read reviews and hire the cheapest contractor if you want. But as time went on, and as customers were interacting with what we built, we became to understand that no, actually the price almost needs to be market, it doesn't need to be cheaper. What matters is reliability and speed. That's what people care about, do they get it done on the day they're supposed to, and then can they get it done quickly.” (23:07-23:42 | Bryan)

“When you raise capital, it really, it changes the goalposts, you know, it moves the goalposts out further for whatever those are, a lot of times you're building a product that investors like, and not necessarily one that customers like.” (41:27-41:41 | Bryan) 

“And I think that's what holds up a lot of new founders. They aren’t willing to do the crappy work.” (46:43-46:49 | Bryan)

Connect with Brendan Dell:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendandell/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendanDell
Instagram: @thebrendandell
TikTok: @brendandell39


Buy a copy of Brendan’s Book, The 12 Immutable Laws of High-Impact Messaging: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780578210926 

 

Connect with Bryan Clayton:
https://www.yourgreenpal.com/

Check out Bryan Clayton’s recommended books:

My Life in Advertising by Claude Hopkins

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781434117052

 

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307887894

 

The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Great Company by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf

https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=The+Startup+Owners+Manual

 

The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects by Andrew Chen

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062969743

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