Bootstrap an AI Startup First, Raise Money Later: Sean Minter, Founder CEO of AmplifAI (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: What were the highlights of that journey? How long did you do it for? How big did it get and what happened to it?

Sean Minter: That company got to about $5 million in revenue. We actually sold it to a larger telecom entity called Birch Telecom.

Bootstrap an AI Startup First, Raise Money Later: Sean Minter, Founder CEO of AmplifAI (Part 1)

Sean has bootstrapped AmplifAI to $1M, and then raised over $15M in two rounds of financing. Read on to learn the nuances of his strategy and execution.

Building a $100M+ FinTech Venture from Michigan: Ryan Rosett, Founder and Co-CEO of Credibly (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: Is your whole team in Michigan? Are you doing this out of Michigan?

Ryan Rosett: We have three offices in the United States. Our Ops team is mostly in Southfield, Michigan including our Head of Strategies, our Chief Financial Officers, and CTO. Then, we have an office in New York city where our Head of Data Science works. Then, we have a bigger office out in Tempe, Arizona, where our Chief Credit Officer works and manages underwriting and the collection side of our business.

Building a $100M+ FinTech Venture from Michigan: Ryan Rosett, Founder and Co-CEO of Credibly (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: Now, just explain the core business model.

Ryan Rosett: We have three channels: our renewal department, wholesale channel, and the direct sales channel. We have risk-based pricing with a lot of automation. We have prequalification models. A quick no is fine too. We’re very much about the customer experience. Obviously a customer doesn’t want to hear that they’re rejected, but I think they’d rather hear that they’re rejected in one second than, wait four hours, two days, or a month to hear that.

1Mby1M Udemy Courses with Sramana Mitra: Methodology

Developed as an integral part of the esteemed core 1Mby1M curriculum, these courses impart knowledge honed over 15 years. They dissect the mechanics and methodology of building startups with the help of lectures and case studies.

Building a $100M+ FinTech Venture from Michigan: Ryan Rosett, Founder and Co-CEO of Credibly (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: What was your go-to-market strategy? And what is your go-to-market strategy today? It sounded like you got access to customers through First Data. Or did I get that wrong?

Building a $100M+ FinTech Venture from Michigan: Ryan Rosett, Founder and Co-CEO of Credibly (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: At that point in the year of 2010, what was going on in the market? Why did you choose to do this business? There are several other companies that are doing this business. What was the landscape then? Why Credibly in 2010?

Building a $100M+ FinTech Venture from Michigan: Ryan Rosett, Founder and Co-CEO of Credibly (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: So what happens after this beer thing closes?

Ryan Rosett: Then I went into real estate development. I was probably 25 or 26 at this time.