Spring Leap

Iran Ayel, a serial entrepreneur with three previous exits, identified a significant gap in the market research industry. Traditional consumer testing and market research companies were slow and expensive. Ayel recognized that advertising agency experts possessed the latest consumer data and sophisticated insights that could deliver research 10-30 times faster than major market research firms. The insight was simple but powerful: tap into the wisdom of professionals already immersed in understanding consumer behavior.

In January 2015, Spring Leap launched an MVP from scratch. The core business model was straightforward and transparent: charge clients $50 to $150 per expert per hour, depending on expertise level and location, then mark up the rate. Never taking money directly from experts ensured marketplace trust and attracted quality supply. This pricing flexibility allowed the company to tap into global talent—from experts in Nigeria and Cameroon to senior professionals in New York with 15+ years of experience—while maintaining fair compensation across regions.

The marketplace model required building both sides of the market simultaneously. By the time of the interview, Spring Leap had assembled 180,000 experts in the marketplace, with 5,000 having been paid and 1,500 repeat earners, demonstrating genuine engagement and repeatability on the supply side. On the demand side, major enterprise clients like Unilever and Sony validated the product, with Sony signing 400 seats on one product and using multiple custom offerings, and Unilever repeating projects four times in a short period.

A pivotal growth tactic was the white paper strategy. Spring Leap began publishing 96-140 page monthly crowdsourced reports on meaningful brand and agency activity across different markets. Initially expected to be a loss leader for customer acquisition, the company tested gating it behind requests to increase perceived value. Even more surprisingly, they began charging $24 per person per month for annual subscriptions with bulk discounts. This seemingly modest offering attracted clients like Sony who signed 100 seats at $12,000 annually. The key insight: small recurring charges don't scare enterprise procurement but create psychological obligation to use the product and increase perceived value.

By the interview date (early 2016), Spring Leap had achieved $20,000 in January 2015 revenue growing to highs of $100,000 per month. The company was transitioning to a hybrid model: a self-service platform for small to medium businesses and SaaS contracts ($1,000-$10,000 monthly base fee) for enterprise clients, with usage-based fees on top. Ayel was actively raising a $2.5M seed round at an $8M pre-money valuation ($10.5M post-money) with multiple investor interest and expected close by the end of the month. With strong unit economics evident in enterprise repeatability and a scalable marketplace model, Spring Leap was positioned for significant growth in the expert marketplace space.