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vertical response
Best of Bootstrapping: From Friends and Family Funding to $30M Exit
If you haven’t already, please study our free Bootstrapping course and the Investor Introductions page. It is important not to lose sight of the capital-efficient, bootstrapped or minimally capitalized companies that have achieved success, provided significant return on investment to their stakeholders, and built value for their customers. VerticalResponse Founder Janine Popick shares her wonderful story. Sramana Mitra: Let’s
From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 7)
Sramana Mitra: Very nice story. What are you up to now? Janine Popick: I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do next. I’m a marketer but I am also into product management and technology to grow small businesses. Maybe, something along those lines in a consultative fashion. It’s been 14 years so
From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 6)
Sramana Mitra: Interesting. In 2007, you said you were at about $5 million in revenue? Janine Popick: Around that time, yes. Sramana Mitra: You have just raised that $1.2 million friends and family round. You haven’t raised any more money beyond that? Are you profitable at this point? Janine Popick: Yes, we’re profitable at this
From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 5)
Sramana Mitra: What was the competitive landscape when it came to keywords in AdWords. It sounds like that was a major channel and that did become very competitive. Janine Popick: Brutal. Sramana Mitra: Absolutely, brutal is the word. Janine Popick: You’re competing with people who can spend a lot more money. That’s what it comes
From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 4)
Sramana Mitra: That’s perfectly fine. Let’s double-click down on some of the strategic moves as you were building the company. You talked about your financing strategy. You kept raising money till about $1.3 million at the same valuation for almost a year and a half. What about customer acquisition? What about the team? What strategies
From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 3)
Sramana Mitra: 2001 was a very difficult time. Janine Popick: Over two developers that I’d worked with previously asked me if I wanted to start this company. I agreed. My husband agreed not to start the company with me, which was actually a great thing because he came on later on and helped us kick-start our marketing
From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 2)
Sramana Mitra: What did you do for Xoom.com? Janine Popick: I was in charge of all of the direct marketing and e-commerce. We did a lot of email marketing and a lot of marketing out to millions of people that would sign for their free webpage. We would try to upsell them clipart and all the
From Friends and Family Funding to $30 Million Exit: Vertical Response Founder Janine Popick (Part 1)
While we’re spending a great deal of time analyzing billion dollar Unicorn companies, it is important not to lose sight of the capital-efficient, bootstrapped or minimally capitalized companies that have achieved success, provided significant return on investment to their stakeholders, and built value for their customers. Read Janine Popick’s wonderful story! Sramana Mitra: Let’s start
