PubLoft
Mat Sherman's journey to PubLoft started unconventionally. After graduating college and working briefly as a sales development rep at an event production company, he quit impulsively and stumbled into freelance writing. He began charging $20 per article, gradually raising rates to $100 as he secured more clients. Over 11 months, he built a modest writing business, but health issues forced him to shut down.
Months later, Mat revived the idea with co-founder Jeremy, implementing crucial changes: raising article prices to $500 and structuring it as a marketplace. Instead of Mat freelancing individually, PubLoft would hire writers and sell managed blog services to startups at $2,000/month. Each client got four blog posts monthly, a dedicated team of 1-2 writers, and an Account Executive. Mat focused on sales while Jeremy handled operations and customer support.
Mat's breakthrough came through cold email. He targeted 300 startups from YCList (YCombinator's directory) using Mailshake and his personal sales pitch. While only two customers came directly from that campaign, the strategy led to a connection with Jeremy Cai, who became their first major customer and introduced them to 500 Startups. Mat also kept Y Combinator founder Jason Calacanis updated via cold emails about progress, eventually getting invited to his podcast. This led to a $100K investment from Jason in 2019.
PubLoft's success formula was clear: cold email + personal sales + premium pricing on writer services. Mat grew the business from $0 to $5K MRR in 11 months solo, then to $24K MRR within seven months after raising prices and adding Jeremy. However, post-funding, everything unraveled. Mat and Jeremy shifted focus to fundraising, hiring a full-time salesperson instead of continuing the cold email playbook that had worked. They spent recklessly—$5K on LinkedIn automation, $4K/month on accelerator housing, overpaid writers at $200-400 per post. When their biggest client got acquired and dropped services, the business had no sustainable growth engine. Tension between the co-founders and cash burn meant payroll ended within months of receiving funding.
PubLoft shut down after losing the $100K investment entirely. Mat later founded Seedscout, a platform helping founders grow their professional networks and connect with investors, motivated by his realization that fundraising success depends more on network than merit.
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