Rant and Rave

Nigel Shanahan founded Repeat Communication in 2000 after leaving IBM, with an initial vision of broadcast messaging and customer journey communications. The company raised just over £2 million in VC funding and grew steadily, but not at the pace investors expected. By 2006, the VCs had grown restless, particularly around a key partnership with Vodafone that wasn't scaling globally as they'd hoped. Meanwhile, Nigel had been quietly developing a new concept—Rant and Rave—a fundamentally different approach to customer feedback that would transform how businesses listened to their customers.

Nigel's insight came from a simple observation: traditional surveys interrupt customer flow and ask companies' questions, not the other way around. He believed customers simply wanted to "get it off their chest in their own words in their own feelings." Rather than the dull, structured survey format, Rant and Rave would create a conversation that customers actually wanted to have. This concept had been growing in his mind, but the VCs weren't comfortable with the strategic pivot and the declining Vodafone partnership.

After his co-founder was removed from the business and he'd been diluted to just 5% ownership, Nigel considered walking away entirely. Instead, a mentor at Warwick Business School coached him through a negotiation script to buy out the VC's stake. Remarkably, he was able to acquire the £2 million investment for just over £1 million by remortgaging his house, borrowing from friends and family, and securing some bank financing—leveraging the company's historical P&L as collateral. After the 2006 buyout, he immediately pivoted: he negotiated an amicable withdrawal from the struggling Vodafone partnership (with Vodafone financially supporting the exit), then systematically approached the enterprise customers they'd previously reached through Vodafone and converted them into direct relationships.

The direct enterprise sales model proved highly effective. With typical deal sizes around £100,000 annually billed monthly in arrears, and a sales team of 18 people (8 new business hunters, 5 enterprise sales staff, 5 in inside sales support), Nigel backs into a CAC of approximately £18,000. At roughly 4-5 new enterprise customers per month, the payback period comes in under three months—sustainable economics for a bootstrapped company. The focus on LinkedIn and direct BD has driven growth without expensive paid advertising. By staying disciplined on cash flow (after a 2018 finance team overhaul), the company maintains healthy unit economics: 35% subscription growth, 95% logo retention, and revenue has more than doubled from approximately £1.7–1.8 million monthly in December 2016 to over £2.3 million by the time of this interview.

Rant and Rave now serves 285 enterprise customers including Barclays Bank (for over 14 years), Manchester United, Harrods, Marks & Spencer, DPD, and Premier Hotels. The team has grown to 105 people, all based in Coventry on the Warwick University Business Park. The business model has evolved to blend subscription SaaS with usage-based pricing: each pound of subscription typically generates 30 pence in usage revenue. Some customers have been with them for over a decade, indicating strong product-market fit and sticky economics. While pursuing potential international expansion and considering external investment, Nigel has maintained bootstrapped independence since 2006—a remarkable feat in SaaS—proving that disciplined execution, enterprise focus, and genuine customer insights can scale without dilution.