The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship 449: Fathom: Why Fixing Retention First Was the Key to Hitting $1M ARR - with Richard White
Jul 10, 2025
Richard White, founder and CEO of Fathom, shares insights from his journey developing an AI note-taking app that transforms meeting experiences. He emphasizes the crucial role of user retention over initial acquisition for sustainable growth. Richard discusses innovative strategies to enhance user engagement, including simulating meetings and leveraging AI for revenue growth. He also reflects on his entrepreneurial path from UserVoice to Fathom, revealing how past challenges shape current success and the importance of a skilled team.
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Fix Retention First
- Prioritize fixing retention before tackling monetization or customer acquisition.
- Focus first on building a product people use daily to create a growth foundation.
Fake Meeting Bot Builds Trust
- Early users hesitated to use Fathom in real meetings due to trust issues.
- Richard's team built a bot that plays a prerecorded video as a fake meeting to help users build confidence.
Automate Activation For Adoption
- Automate product activation by integrating deeply with users' workflows.
- Richard's team built a desktop app that prompts users to bring Fathom into meetings, increasing activation to 60%.
