Bootstrapping a Vertical CRM Product using Services: Cleverping CEO Haysam Ali (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Do you charge the brands? Haysam Ali: No, they charge me. They invest resources and we invest resources on our side to make sure that we can accomplish the integration. At the end of the day, both sides generate revenue by using the CRM. Sramana Mitra: How many of these mom-and-pops are out

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565th Roundtable For Entrepreneurs Starting NOW: Live Tweeting By @1Mby1M

Today’s 565th FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable For Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, February 24, at 8 a.m. PST/11 a.m. EST/5 p.m. CET/9:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup  All are welcome!

Bootstrapping Using Services from Helsinki: Juha Lehtonen, CEO of FA Solutions (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: Where did the inbound interest come from? What countries? Juha Lehtonen: We currently have clients in 17 countries. We get contacts from the Baltics, UK, Switzerland, and the Middle East. Sramana Mitra: They come to you and you sell through online touchpoints. You don’t have to go visit people. Juha Lehtonen: Yes.

Bootstrapping a Vertical CRM Product using Services: Cleverping CEO Haysam Ali (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: Was there any technology element to what you were providing? Haysam Ali: Not at first. While providing consulting services, we were able to build a CRM that provides intelligence into the data that we collect for them. That was then used to get other clients. Telefonica was the main case that opened the

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Bootstrapping Using Services from Helsinki: Juha Lehtonen, CEO of FA Solutions (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: All your early customers were in Finland? Juha Lehtonen: Yes, the early customers were local. Once we were up and running, it took us about a year and a half to launch the product. We did it very gradually. Around 2008, we heard that there was a couple of Swedish guys in sales

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Bootstrapping a Vertical CRM Product using Services: Cleverping CEO Haysam Ali (Part 1)

Haysam has built a $10M services business and alongside, he has bootstrapped a vertical CRM product for the telecom industry. Read on to understand the nuances. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start with the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised, and in what kind of background?

Bootstrapping Using Services from Helsinki: Juha Lehtonen, CEO of FA Solutions (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: What were the deal sizes? Juha Lehtonen: It was very little – annual fees of €20,000. It was more like an advertisement for us. In addition to developing the platform, we did quite a lot of projects. We needed to self-finance. After the initial investment, we didn’t raise any other capital. That was

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Bootstrapping Using Services from Helsinki: Juha Lehtonen, CEO of FA Solutions (Part 1)

European companies often follow a methodical, deliberate approach to business building as opposed to mindlessly chasing venture capital. Juha has used the principles of bootstrapping using services to build his venture from Finland. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised and in

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