He got his first SaaS customers without spending a dollar on sales or marketing - and converted every single one to paid. Jared Siegal built a consulting business with 30 clients at $2M revenue, then deployed a strategy that made his first SaaS customers completely dependent on his technology before charging them a cent.
Jared reveals how getting first SaaS customers meant giving the product away free for six months while billing for consulting, why 100% of early customers converted to first paying users when he flipped the switch, and how a referral-only customer acquisition engine grew Aditude to $5M ARR with zero sales team.
Jared previously built two companies that sold for massive valuations but walked away with almost nothing. Aditude now serves digital publishers and bootstrapped to $5M ARR with six employees before raising a $15M Series A on his own terms.
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🔑 Key Lessons
- 🎯 Get first SaaS customers by giving your product away free: Jared gave his SaaS away for six months, making 30 clients completely dependent on his tech. When he started charging, 100% converted.
- 💰 Use consulting revenue to fund your first SaaS customers: Jared used $2M/year in consulting revenue as his own VC fund - no investors, no dilution while building a sticky product.
- 🛠️ Borrow resources from early customers who benefit: Jared got a client's engineer for free for six weeks by aligning incentives: "If this works, you save money."
- 🚀 Build a referral engine instead of hiring a sales team: Three free consulting hours per successful referral meant every new customer arrived pre-sold through word of mouth.
- 📈 Raise capital only when you do not need it: At $5M ARR with six employees, Jared told every VC "I don't need your money" and raised a $15M Series A on his terms.
Chapters
- Introduction and The "Luke Bryan" Quote
- From Employee to Scrappy Consultant
- Three Acquisition Offers in One Month
- Borrowing a Client's Engineer to Build the MVP
- Converting First SaaS Customers From Free to Paid
- Hitting $1M ARR in Four Months
- The Pain of Bootstrapping and Personal Financial Risk
- Why You Should Be Profitable Before Raising VC
- Cold Emailing VCs - 100% Response Rate Strategy
- Growing Without Sales or Marketing
- The "Disney World" Client Retention Strategy
- Lightning Round
Resources
