Upvoty

Mike Slaats was running a $1M ARR SaaS company when he faced a familiar problem: as the user base grew, so did customer feedback—but there was no good way to organize it. They resorted to spreadsheets, which quickly became unmanageable. When he researched existing user feedback tools, he spotted a gap. More importantly, he realized he wasn't passionate about his current product or market anymore. "If you're not passionate enough about solving your customer's problems, it's not going to work in the long run," he would later reflect. He decided to pivot entirely.

Mike validated the idea Dropbox-style: a landing page with an explainer video and signup form. Within 2 months, over 300 people signed up—mostly from communities like Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, Makerlog, and BetaList. He also leaned on his existing audience on YouTube and Instagram, participated heavily in Facebook groups, and went all-in on content marketing with eBooks and interviews. In just 3 months, Mike and his team built a "very slim and basic version" of Upvoty, but it had enough to validate whether customers would actually pay. They launched the beta in August 2018.

Within 2 months of the public launch in February 2019, paying customers started arriving. That was the real validation. Mike immediately shifted focus to listening: he used Upvoty itself to track customer feedback and pain points, then built features based on what he heard. By 2021, the company had grown to over 500 paying customers with a fully remote team of 8.

Content marketing, eBooks, podcast sponsorships, and YouTube promotion all contributed, but the real secret was the product itself. Mike added a "Powered by Upvoty" link and mention in every customer's feedback portal. This turned each customer into a distribution channel—when they shared their feedback boards with their own users, those users saw Upvoty's branding. If they needed feedback software, they'd click through and sign up. This product-led referral loop became the most effective marketing strategy, delivering a steady stream of qualified leads without paid ads.

Upvoty hit $20,000 MRR by 2021 and was growing by over $1,000 per month. Mike's goal for the following year was $50,000 MRR, planned through expanded sales and advertising. He had learned several core lessons: passion for the problem is non-negotiable, and "dream big, start small"—dominate with a narrow audience first, then expand. He remained committed to his YouTube channel (still chasing that silver play button) while delegating almost everything else to his outsourced team of developers, marketers, and support staff.