Andrew Guttormsen, Co-Founder of Circle.so, discusses how Circle became successful in a world dominated by Facebook Groups. Topics include revenue and value of Circle, acquiring the first hundred customers, insights into the creator economy, qualities of a good leader, online growth experience, using marketing strategies from outside industries, and focusing on efficient growth and profitability.
Circle.so stands out in the community-based software market by offering a dedicated space for course creators to interact with their students and foster a sense of community.
Strategic partnerships, influencer collaborations, webinars, and virtual summits have played a crucial role in Circle's rapid growth and market penetration.
Deep dives
Circle's Unique Approach to Community Software
Circle stands out by offering community software that can be hosted on users' domains and subdomains. Unlike other platforms, Circle's community software has gained traction and success by fulfilling the need for a dedicated space where course creators can interact with their students and foster a sense of community. Circle's founders, Andy Batormson and his co-founders, identified the gap in the market and built a platform that caters specifically to course creators and their unique requirements. By focusing on this niche and offering features like discussions, posting, commenting, and private messaging, Circle has successfully carved out its space in the community-based software market.
The Origin and Growth of Circle
Circle's journey began as an idea that sprung from the insights gained while working at Teachable, an education software platform. The founders realized that successful course creators who built thriving communities were seeing a significant boost in revenue, student engagement, and brand recognition. They observed that existing course platforms lacked a comprehensive community component and decided to build a separate community software solution that seamlessly integrated with other course platforms. Through strategic partnerships, webinars, and summits, Circle rapidly acquired its first customers and experienced exponential growth, reaching 10,000 customers and generating $16 million in annual recurring revenue within a few years.
The Power of Partnerships and Influencer Collaborations
Circle's growth was accelerated through strategic partnerships and influencer collaborations. By partnering with influential figures like Pat Flynn and Brendan Burchard, Circle leveraged their existing audiences and reputations to increase brand visibility and acquire new customers. Webinars and virtual summits were key marketing strategies that allowed Circle to showcase its platform to a wide audience while offering valuable content and insights. The social proof and endorsement from these influencers significantly contributed to Circle's rapid growth and market penetration.
Building and Evolving the Circle Platform
Circle's founders recognized the need to continuously improve and adapt the platform to meet customers' evolving expectations. The product and engineering teams closely listened to user feedback and iteratively built features that enhanced the community experience. By focusing on the holistic integration of features, Circle differentiated itself from competitors. The founders' deep understanding of their target audience's requirements and aspirations enabled them to prioritize and build a product with a clear trajectory of growth. This commitment to product excellence and the ability to identify and act on small differentiating details have allowed Circle to outpace competitors and quickly become a market leader in community-based software.
When I interviewed founders of online courses and asked about their communities, they often said they host them on Facebook. “That’s where everyone is” was the answer. Sometimes they’d use Slack, but FB was dominant. So how did Circle break through? That’s what founder Andrew Guttormsen & I breakdown.
Andrew Guttormsen is the Co-Founder of Circle.so, a modern community platform for creators. Prior to founding Circle, he spent nearly five years at Teachable, where he joined as the seventh employee and led a 15-person growth and marketing team, helping to grow the company’s monthly recurring revenue from $10K to over $25MM in annual recurring revenue.
Sponsored by
Gusto – The easy payroll and benefits software the Mixergy interviewees love.