Frequent fundraising cycles force startups to prioritize paid acquisition over SEO
Yuriy Timen · How to grow a subscription business | Yuriy Timen (Grammarly, Canva, Airtable) · Sep 1, 2022 · at 43:13
Growth advisor Yuriy Timen discusses how fast-paced venture funding cycles historically disincentivized early-stage startups from investing in SEO.
0:00 / 0:27exact quote · 27.3s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“That's what's going to give you, especially if you're thinking you can, you want to go back to raising you know, less than 12 months later. That forces you to focus on very kind of short term tactics, short payoff tactics. And so things like SEO, there was no room for, to think about that for early stage companies. Cause like payoff is gonna come like, you know, maybe in like 12 months in terms of meaningful payoff.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Yuriy Timen
Freemium SaaS free-to-paid conversion must exceed 5% to survive
“I think anything under five percent It's not gonna work long-term, regardless of how big your top of funnel is. Like you may get the soft one, but like for you to remain an independent company, continuously growing you know, pre-IPO, like I don't think it's go…”
Most admired companies rely heavily on a single primary growth engine
“From the outside looking in, you oftentimes assume that it's a highly diversified growth engine. I have to say it's often not the case. Definitely the aim, 20 applies. There's usually some kind of strat, there's a kind of strategy that's working overwhelmingly…”
Early startups should scale a working channel rather than diversifying prematurely
“Put all of your energy. Like sure, this one tactic is accounting for say, 80 plus percent of your new user acquisition, but your user acquisition is still small, right? So like, don't get distracted with diversification. We'll get there. Lean more into this. H…”
Timen: The best practitioners rarely build public personal brands
“I do believe that some of the brightest minds, honestly, in any craft, Are people that you never hear because, you know, it takes a certain personality, energy and probably a lot of other circumstances, right? To invest more, invest in your personal brand, rig…”
Consumer subscriptions of $5 to $7 typically cap at $50-$60 LTV
“Most consumer subscription companies that are like five to seven dollars a month, their LTVs typically cap out at like 50 to 60 bucks.”
Converting 5% of free users enables paid growth loops
“If I'm seeing things like that, and I'm seeing that you're converting, you know, seven, like five plus percent of your free users to a paid subscriber, then there is a big opportunity to play paid, right? And lean into kind of paid Paid growth loops and paid a…”