Active Campaign Startups

Career Sidekick is a job search advice website founded by Biron Clark in 2013 that grew from a failed, unfocused blog into a multiple six-figure annual revenue business by niching down to focus exclusively on job search content and prioritizing organic search optimization. The business generates revenue through a mix of products (courses and e-books), affiliate marketing, and display advertising (via Mediavine), with 85%+ profit margins and over 1 million monthly visitors, 80% of which come from organic search. Biron bootstrapped the operation, remains the only full-time employee, and operates it as a fully remote, location-independent business while traveling.

The Sales Whisperer, founded by Wes Schaefer in 2006, is a sales and marketing agency that generates approximately $500k annually by helping entrepreneurs implement CRM systems and sales strategies. Wes has built a recurring revenue business through Infusionsoft affiliate partnerships, earning $30k-$40k monthly in passive commissions from 300+ active customers, while diversifying into HubSpot, Active Campaign, and done-for-you support services.

Systemized.ly is a boutique marketing automation and systems consulting agency founded by David Abrams in 2014. The agency builds custom high-end funnels and marketing systems, charging $5,000-$20,000 per project, and generated $35,000 in October with a mix of professional services and recurring consulting packages. David intentionally keeps the team small (8 people, mix of full-time and contractors) and operates at a 40% cost-to-revenue ratio to maintain profitability while reinvesting in building scalable software products like Demio, a webinar platform launching in beta.

Pursuit is a daily self-development email newsletter founded by Case Kenny with 172,000 subscribers that generates revenue through brand sponsorships at $30-40 per 1,000 opens. The company made approximately $100,000 in revenue last year and is projecting $800,000-$900,000 for 2019 through a diversified monetization strategy including sponsorships, events, and digital products. With just two team members in Chicago, Pursuit maintains a 39% open rate and 2% advertiser click-through rate by strategically managing advertiser frequency and only exposing subscribers to sponsors after 28 days of engagement.