An ex-lawyers turned software engineer built a $1m+ Shopify SaaS business with no outside investment.
Here’s how he did it:
Here’s how he did it:
Gavin Ballard was done with the 60+ hour work weeks, so he left them behind to code full-time.
He founded @DiscoLabs, which eventually became a 7-figure income stream.
Disco Labs began as a digital agency but added a product development component as it grew.
He founded @DiscoLabs, which eventually became a 7-figure income stream.
Disco Labs began as a digital agency but added a product development component as it grew.
How did he do it? Detailed observation.
He freelanced his way up the Shopify food chain and took note of every engineering request.
When the work poured in, he hired help. @DiscoLabs was born.
He freelanced his way up the Shopify food chain and took note of every engineering request.
When the work poured in, he hired help. @DiscoLabs was born.
What happened next was all about spotting patterns – listening to what customers wanted and then finding the points of overlap.
Gavin wondered: Was there a product opportunity here?
Gavin wondered: Was there a product opportunity here?
“A lot of the work we do is building a one-off solution that’s also useful to other merchants,” Gavin said.
“We were essentially building the same stuff over and over again but customizing it to each merchant. Once I saw the demand, a subscription product made sense for us.”
“We were essentially building the same stuff over and over again but customizing it to each merchant. Once I saw the demand, a subscription product made sense for us.”
Gavin had a 12-person team to begin with, and funded the operation with agency clients.
With the agency revenues coming in, he was able to self-fund the product development projects without raising money.
With the agency revenues coming in, he was able to self-fund the product development projects without raising money.
@DiscoLabs built its flagship product, Submarine
Early versions, Gavin admits, were a bit rough. “Because we were building Submarine for different merchants, it turned into a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster”
Submarine is distributed mostly through agencies and does $50K in MRR
Early versions, Gavin admits, were a bit rough. “Because we were building Submarine for different merchants, it turned into a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster”
Submarine is distributed mostly through agencies and does $50K in MRR
Gavin is proud to have bootstrapped Disco Labs, but the struggle between client demands and product development forced him to rethink his priorities.
Recently, Gavin took a cash injection of $250K from @tractorventures in a revenue-based financing deal.
Recently, Gavin took a cash injection of $250K from @tractorventures in a revenue-based financing deal.
“With this money in the bank, we can afford to offboard some of our larger clients. Once we’ve transitioned them to a new agency, we can spend all the time we’d have spent on their projects on Submarine instead, which will accelerate things for us.”
Does this mean Gavin is open to raising money again in the future?
Not if it means burdening himself or his team with a mountain of new responsibilities.
Not if it means burdening himself or his team with a mountain of new responsibilities.
Sustainable growth and the work-life balance have long been at the heart of @DiscoLabs culture.
He wouldn’t give that up for the sake of a few million in the bank -- he remains a bootstrapper at heart!
He wouldn’t give that up for the sake of a few million in the bank -- he remains a bootstrapper at heart!
Want to read Gavin’s full story?
Read it on Bootstrappers, our publication that covers bootstrapped startups.
bootstrappers.com/how-this-ex-la…
Read it on Bootstrappers, our publication that covers bootstrapped startups.
bootstrappers.com/how-this-ex-la…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
