ProductLed Podcast How Missive Scaled to $7.5M ARR with Just 15 People
Jul 17, 2025
Philippe-Antoine Lehoux, co-founder of Missive, discusses building a $7.5M ARR email platform with just 15 people. He shares insights on ignoring traditional startup playbooks and focusing on core product fundamentals. Discover how they positioned themselves against well-funded competitors and turned challenges into growth opportunities, like addressing minor design issues for user satisfaction. Philippe reflects on the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship and the importance of scaling both the product and the founders themselves.
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Founder Bottleneck in Scaling
- Founders scaling themselves is the biggest business bottleneck, not just the product.
- Evolving communication and delegation is key to scaling beyond the initial small team.
Focus on Early Fundamentals
- Ignore the full startup playbook and focus deeply on perfecting the first five pages.
- Avoid busy work; prioritize core product fundamentals for sustained growth.
Leveraging Competitors' Market Creation
- Front is a blessing as it creates market awareness and grows the category.
- Missive positions itself as an email-centric alternative to customer service-centric competitors.
