Building a Successful SaaS Business with a Focus on Lifestyle over Growth with Jesse Hanley [The Opportunity Ep.139]

Jul 25, 2023

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The entrepreneurial journey is an adventure filled with twists and turns. It's normal to try different paths before discovering what brings out the best in you – be it the right niche, a lucrative business model, or a monetization strategy.

Yet, the allure of rapid growth can tempt entrepreneurs to abandon their hard-earned lessons and happiness for the sake of expansion.

Aware of this common pitfall, Jesse Hanley has prioritized calm over growth when building his new business, Bento.

Bento was born out of Jesse’s desire to learn how to code and to solve common problems he saw firsthand through his marketing agency. What began as analytics and ad tracking software soon morphed into an email automation platform as Jesse pulled threads, experimented, and refined his vision.

As the business grew, Jesse sold his agency so that he could devote all of his time and energy to Bento.

In this episode, we explore the organic growth of Bento and dive deeper into Jesse’s desire to keep his business small. Jesse explains the dangers of a growth-at-all-costs mentality and walks us through how he has structured Bento to remain small but powerful in a competitive niche.

Lastly, Jesse explains that his “keep it simple” philosophy also extends to email marketing. According to Jesse,

“If you want to grow your business, send more emails. The people who make the most money are those who are sending emails every single day with simple, well-communicated offers. Just send more emails, run your ads, and keep it simple.”

This episode goes beyond the usual business and marketing techniques, taking a closer look at the entrepreneurial mindset and how goals and ideologies shift over the course of your business journey.

This no holds barred, honest discussion is one for the books. Enjoy!

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

Jesse’s background and entrepreneurial journey so far (02:40)
How the sale of Jesse’s agency spurred on the growth of Bento (03:17)
Building a “calm” business that doesn’t chase growth at all costs (10:20)
The origins of Bento and how it stands out from the crowd (21:09)
How Jesse structured Bento’s pricing as the company grew (33:55)
The marketing techniques Jesse uses to brow Bento’s brand awareness (43:17)
Why Jesse wants to keep Bento small (45:17)
How to get better at email marketing (57:14)
Jesse’s advice to aspiring digital entrepreneurs (59:44)

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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn the benefits of growing your business at a sustainable and steady pace.