#25: Bootstrapped a global SaaS business in Scotland for a “massive niche” market

Craig Letton quit his corporate sales job in 2011 to take over his parents’ small printing business in Scotland. It was his first time running a business and he learned hard business lessons quickly. Eventually, he discovered a huge need for custom-printed promotional materials by frontline salespeople in the global drinks and beverage industry. He sold their printing equipment to focus just on the software to solve this tricky problem for those salespeople, marketing departments, and regional printers. 

Running the business for revenue and profit with no outside funding, Craig grew the MRM Global business slowly with big brands in the alcoholic beverage industry all over Europe. They worked hard and stayed frugal and started to grow. Then COVID hit and revenues evaporated. Their survival tactics helped them keep going and even grow faster when restrictions were lifted. They raised some practical funding from BGF Capital in the UK to stay alive during COVID lockdowns and expand quickly after that.

MRM Global is now a fast-growing marketing technology software company serving many of the largest global beverage brands in 20 different countries. This is a great example of a “small niche vertical market” with a very specific problem presenting a massive opportunity to create a large and valuable company. It’s also the story of grit, perseverance, frugality, and intense customer focus creating a huge opportunity for growth.

In this episode, Craig explains:

• Why he took over his parents’ small printing business in Scotland after he left a corporate sales job
• How he uncovered a major opportunity in the global drinks (beer and liquor) industry for salespeople to easily create custom, branded promotional materials for their customers using software
• How the small company grew profitably and steadily until COVID shut down restaurants and hotels, taking their revenue to zero
• What they did to survive the COVID shutdown and  how he defines entrepreneurial resilience
• Why he decided to take some practical funding to survive the downturn and prepare for growth
• Why he thinks this business will be a £100 million business someday

Read the text transcript of this interview and find other Practical Founder Podcast episodes at practicalfounders.com.