Two non-technical co-founders taught themselves Bubble, built a prototype that barely worked, and convinced 15 companies to pay for it. Paul Holder's journey building customer onboarding software shows that you don't need engineers to prove demand. Founders will hear how OnRamp went from a no-code MVP to nearly 100 customers and 7-figure ARR.
Paul reveals how customer onboarding software validated demand before any custom code was written, why Google Ads attracted wrong-fit leads while LinkedIn delivered the right buyers, and the "bear hug" outbound strategy combining Dripify connections, thought leadership posts, and targeted ads. His SaaS onboarding playbook shows how to move upmarket when enterprise ROI dwarfs SMB returns.
OnRamp serves nearly 100 customers including Cardinal Health, has raised over $14M in funding, and automates user onboarding orchestration for B2B companies with a team of 25 people.
š Key Lessons
- š ļø Build customer onboarding software with no-code before hiring engineers: Paul and Ross used Bubble to land 15 paying customers at $100/month without a technical co-founder, proving demand before writing any code.
- šÆ Go deep on one wedge instead of building three products: OnRamp built task management, workflow orchestration, and a customer portal simultaneously. Picking the highest-pain feature first would have been faster.
- š Replace cold email with LinkedIn for high-ticket deals: OnRamp found cold email ineffective as AI tools flood inboxes. LinkedIn warming and network outreach converted at significantly higher rates for their onboarding flow product.
- š° Move upmarket when enterprise ROI dwarfs SMB returns: Enterprise customers get million-dollar returns from 5-10% SaaS onboarding improvements. Picking a lane freed the team to build for one segment.
- š Use a multi-touch "bear hug" to warm prospects: OnRamp combines Dripify connections, organic LinkedIn content, targeted ads, and AE phone calls into one customer onboarding software sales strategy.
Chapters
- Introduction
- What OnRamp does and who it serves
- Revenue, customers, and team size
- Origin story and idea validation
- Building the Bubble no-code MVP
- Selling customer onboarding software to first customers
- LinkedIn as a growth engine
- Educating buyers in a new product category
- Transitioning from Bubble to custom code
- The MVP mistake - building too wide
- Getting to the first million ARR
- The bear hug outbound strategy
- Decision to move upmarket from SMB
- Lightning round
Resources
