LogicBay

In 2003, John Panna Chone was a VP of Sales and Marketing at a company preparing for an acquisition. The company was being sold to an Indian offshore firm, but one major problem threatened the deal: a critical $3 million US government contract tied to Homeland Security funds couldn't legally transfer to the acquiring company. John saw an opportunity. He asked for and received permission to hand-pick a team working on that contract and spin out a new company. That single contract became the seed that would grow into LogicBay.

With early customers like John Deere demanding specific solutions that didn't exist in the market, LogicBay built its initial product through custom development and services work. This approach was highly unprofitable—the early years required heavy investment in engineering and custom implementations just to keep customers happy. John bootstrapped through a combination of debt and equity (raising $2.5M in equity and $3M in debt over 15 years), a lean approach he's proud of. The turning point came as the product matured from custom builds to configurable modules. Today, LogicBay can spin up a new customer in less than a day using its enterprise-grade, nine-language platform.

John tried traditional paid acquisition channels—Google Ads, Facebook Ads, conferences—but lost money. "I'm a big fan of inbound strategies," he said, which is "a coded way of saying no, we lost a lot of money on paid." Instead, LogicBay doubled down on inbound marketing through HubSpot, where they became power users. The company now balances inbound with a modest ABM (account-based marketing) strategy. What really worked was focus: 60 customers with 99% renewal rates and only 5% annual churn. The strategy shifted from chasing new logos to expanding revenue within existing accounts—customers paying $1k-$5k monthly (with some six-figure accounts) grow an average of 10% annually through expanded scope.

LogicBay generates $10-15M ARR with 65% gross margins and 10% EBITDA—healthy for a 15-year-old software company. The business follows a portfolio approach: newer customers are managed as loss leaders for 3-6 months before turning profitable. With 60 full-time equivalents spread globally (offices in Wilmington, NC; Canada; India; and remote across the US), the company serves manufacturers, dealers, and resellers worldwide. Net revenue retention sits north of 90%, meaning existing customers consistently buy more. John credits profitability to discipline—treating the business as a long-term asset rather than chasing growth for growth's sake.