In this episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS podcast, Joran interviews Ivana Todorovic, founder of AuthoredUp, a LinkedIn content creation and analytics tool. Ivana shares her journey from editing and blockchain roles to entrepreneurship. The conversation delves into founding and growing a SaaS company, covering challenges, strategies, and lessons learned.

Key Timecodes

• (0:52) - Joran introduces Ivana Todorovic
• (1:33) - When did AuthoredUp start?
• (1:46) - Is it funded or bootstrapped?
• (1:50) - ARR and customer numbers
• (2:04) - Service vs. product revenue
• (2:25) - Number of employees
• (2:33) - Description of AuthoredUp
• (3:33) - Ivana's goals for AuthoredUp
• (3:58) - Product and customer focus as motivation
• (5:02) - Origin of the idea for AuthoredUp
• (7:20) - Early product validation and customer feedback
• (8:21) - From 200 free users to 3,000 paying customers
• (9:28) - How to Transition from free beta to paid subscription
• (10:58) - Long development period and challenges
• (13:01) - Financial and personal challenges during development
• (15:24) - Rebuilding the product from scratch
• (16:34) - Personal reflections on the challenges faced
• (18:02) - The importance of having short-term goals
• (19:15) - Learning from mistakes in previous startups
• (20:36) - Positive customer feedback and its impact
• (22:08) - Importance of community management and support
• (26:35) - Insights on current acquisition channels
• (35:41) - Leveraging AI and machine learning in the product
• (37:14) - Advice for SaaS founders aiming for 10K MRR
• (38:03) - Strategy for scaling towards 10 million ARR