E161 – Successfully Shifting from Services to SaaS (Gary Gaspar, Marker.io)

08/31/21 • 57 min

In today’s episode, Joe talks to Gary Gaspar, the co-founder and CEO of Marker.io - a platform that encourages a simple way to report bugs on live websites and collect client feedback along the way. This 6-member team with over 2M feedback reported and 1,500 plus customers, continue to make it easier for people to report live website issues in real time.

Gary shares how he met his two co-founders at a totally unexpected place, shutting down the agency to focus on growing the business, the integrations they planned as they expand, and focusing more on conversion than website traffic.

Episode Resources:

Gary is on LinkedIn, Twitter
Marker.io
New MRR Merch, discount code: AUGUST31
Leave an Apple podcast review or binge-watch past episodes
Visit the WPMRR Community
The 2021 WPMRR Virtual Summit

What to Listen For:

00:00 Intro
06:35 Welcome to the pod, Gary!
07:25 Instead of a live chat, Marker.io utilizes capture screenshot with annotations
12:34 Why there are 3 co-founders
20:25 Shutting down the agency and going full-time
23:33 The value of owning your company despite having a low paycheck
26:57 It took a while to find the right product-market fit, future plans
30:18 Marker.io was built with integrations in mind
34:35 Original business structure attracted non-targeted customers
37:37 Build relationships with folks to reach more people in the community
41:58 It’s useless to do all the marketing channels
47:01 SEO and integration marketing works
49:24 Finding the right person to join the team
53:16 Giving the team a lot of creative freedom

Episode Resources:

Gary is on LinkedIn, Twitter
Marker.io
New MRR Merch, discount code: AUGUST31
Leave an Apple podcast review or binge-watch past episodes
Visit the WPMRR Community
The 2021 WPMRR Virtual Summit

What to Listen For:

00:00 Intro
06:35 Welcome to the pod, Gary!
07:25 Instead of a live chat, Marker.io utilizes capture screenshot with annotations
12:34 Why there are 3 co-founders
20:25 Shutting down the agency and going full-time
23:33 The value of owning your company despite having a low paycheck
26:57 It took a while to find the right product-market fit, future plans
30:18 Marker.io was built with integrations in mind
34:35 Original business structure attracted non-targeted customers
37:37 Build relationships with folks to reach more people in the community
41:58 It’s useless to do all the marketing channels
47:01 SEO and integration marketing works
49:24 Finding the right person to join the team
53:16 Giving the team a lot of creative freedom

Previous Episode

E160 – Taking Advantage of the Hot WordPress Acquisition Market (Iain Poulson & Alex Denning, FlipWP)

In today’s episode, Joe talks to Iain Poulson and Alex Denning of FlipWP, a private marketplace for buying and selling WordPress businesses. Buyers get vetted listings emailed directly to them, while sellers get access to quality buyers who understand their product and the opportunity they’re offering.

Iain and Alex explain how FlipWP offers a unique experience for both buyers and sellers, providing reasonable valuation for any business while ensuring that all deals remain exclusive to both parties, no middlemen. They aim to connect anyone to the right people to land a successful deal at 1% success fee.

Episode Resources:

Delicious Brains
WP Trends
Pressing Matters
Ellipsis
FlipWP
Alex is on Twitter
Iain is on Twitter
Leave an Apple podcast review or binge-watch past episodes
Visit the WPMRR Community
The 2021 WPMRR Virtual Summit
The 80/20 of Profits: Pricing and Margins in Subscriptions (Ben McAdam)

What to Listen For:

00:00 Intro
03:53 Welcome to the pod, Iain and Alex!
07:02 How did it start for FlipWP
10:29 What is FlipWP?
15:30 From a seller perspective, it's a combination of the maturity of the WordPress ecosystem
23:09 Finding a place where you can sell your business
26:42 Most FlipWP members are WordPress people
29:33 Utilizing leverage in the email lists and the newsletters after launch
35:59 Helping people with their business valuation
40:06 FlipWP tries to guide people to make sure what they are putting is reasonable
46:54 Some people are taking out competitors by buying similar business
48:42 FlipWP connects people, but buyers should their own research
51:41 The 1% success fee remains the same for now
54:17 Helping buyers get better access and sellers better prices

Next Episode

E162 - Proudly Staying Small Regardless of Popular Growth Norms (Tara Claeys, DesignTLC)

In today’s episode, we bring back Joe’s chat with the Founder and Director of Design TLC, Tara Claeys. As a seasoned website designer and developer with a marketing background going back over 25 years, she provides custom website and graphic design services, with a focus on creating effective, customized, user-friendly communication platforms for small schools, camps, and nonprofits.

Tara talks about the steady growth of her company, how she isn’t aiming for a 7-figure business anytime soon, keeping a happy outlook while working in several different projects, and choosing how to present yourself in social media.

Episode Resources: