If you’re a software installer, the fastest way to get ahead is not to do everything. This is choosing the right growth lever for your current stage.
At FounderPath, we’ve worked with over 550 SaaS founders and studied how each grew from $0 to $10M ARR. Takeaway: What works at $300K ARR won’t work at $3M.
Below are 33 proven tips, sorted by revenue level and owner (CEO, Head of Payments, Head of Partnerships, or Head of Community and Content). Each links to the full FounderPath playbook.
Step 1: Reaching $1 Million in Revenue in 90 Days
When your revenue is less than $1 million, you need speed. This means strategies that are affordable, quick to implement and directly tied to cash flow.
1. Virility
Take advantage of the built-in sharing loop. Add “Powered by” tags, referral bonuses, or shared dashboards. Dropbox’s viral loop generated $2B valuation with zero ad spend.
Click here to see 29 virality examples you can copy and paste to grow faster.
2. Webinar
Host short, specific sessions (“How to Automate Onboarding with Zapier”). Use Live Q&A to convert. Great for solo founders who can sell direct.
Click here to see how Box, Mulesoft and Twilio used webinars to generate billions in revenue.
3. Powered by
Embed a branded link or badge in your product. Typeform and Airtable both evolved through “powered by” signatures.
Click here to explore 31 powered-by templates used by CEOs to drive 2M leads.
4. Launch Product Hunt
Ship, learn, and relaunch. A high-quality product may attract more than 1,000 users on a search day.
Click here to see 29 Product Hunt Playbooks Whose Founders Got 20K Signups.
5. Cold Outreach
Use individual Loom videos instead of templates. Even 100 laser-targeted cold emails can generate your first $10K MRR.
Click here to explore the 26 Outreach Playbooks Founders Used to Add $5 Million to their Pipeline.
6. Influencer Marketing
Partner with micro-creators (1-10K followers) in your area. Think about “trust from the bottom up”, not just access to celebrity.
Click here to discover 23 influencer-marketing secrets CEOs used to reach $31B in revenue.
7. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Manually identify 20 dream customers. Customize outbound for each. It’s not scalable yet—and that’s okay.
Click here to see 30 ABM Playbooks CEOs Used to Land $1M+ Customers.
8. Free Report
Publish the data your audience wants (“2025 SaaS Benchmarks”). Collect emails and follow up with a demo.
Click here to discover 29 ways to use free reports to get 1,582 free leads.
Who owns it: CEO or head of community
Target: Validate product-to-market fast and convert attention into cash.
Step 2: Grow 300% Using These Growth Tips
Once you cross $1 million ARR, speed alone won’t cut it. You need repeatable, scalable systems that grow inbound and partnerships in parallel.
9. Free Tools
Offer a calculator, audit, or template. Shopify’s free tools generated $7B in revenue.
Click here to see 23 free-tool examples that CEOs used to drive over $5 million in revenue.
10. Newsletter
Convert users into customers. Consistency compounds over time.
Click here to copy 30 newsletter tips that helped founders reach over 10 thousand subscribers.
11. Partner Co-Marketing
Run joint webinars and case studies with complementary tools. HubSpot expanded this to 500K graduates.
Click here to explore 34 co-marketing tactics that CEOs used to get partner leads at scale.
12. Affiliate Marketing
Create a “Founder’s Army”. Offer recurring commissions for new signups. Both Stripe and Zapier accomplished this quickly.
Click here to find out 31 affiliate tips to build your $1M selling army.
13. Blog Content
Publish thought leadership. Rank for mid-funnel queries like “best ABM tools for B2B SaaS.”
Click here to see 20 Blog Content Playbooks CEOs Used to Get 2M Website Hits.
14. Compare Pages
Create “X vs. Y” pages that rank faster. Pendo used it to reach $200M ARR.
Click here to explore 23 comparison-page templates used by CEOs to dominate SEO.
15. Facebook Group
Engage power users and cultivate supporters through discussion and community.
Click here to see the 36 Facebook Groups Playbook CEOs Used to Add 30K Members.
16. Terminology, Directory, Dictionary
Create a searchable library of key terms and examples. Every post becomes a mini SEO magnet. Use programmatic SEO to measure content efficiently.
Click here to explore 24 programmatic SEO templates used by CEOs to drive 50K leads.
17. Founder Brand
You are the differentiator. Publicly post wins, losses and metrics. It builds trust faster than ads.
Click here to see 40 Founder-Brand Secrets CEOs used to be famous.
Who owns it: Head of Content, Head of Partnerships, or CEO
Target: Automate the inbound and partner distribution loop.
Step 3: Get to $5M in Revenue by Copying These Founders
At this stage, you are expanding a team and testing paid acquisitions. Focus on ROI-positive spend and attribution discipline.
18. Retargeting Ads
Target hot traffic—free trial leavers, demo visitors, and LinkedIn lurkers.
Click here to explore 21 retargeting ad templates used by CEOs to print money.
19. Lookalike Advertisement
Feed your best 500 customers to the advertising platform to get more customers like them.
Click here to see 37 similar ad examples Founders used to add $1M ARR in 30 days.
20. LinkedIn Ads
Test creative based on revenue triggers, not vanity metrics.
Click here to explore 23 LinkedIn advertising tactics that generate $1M in revenue.
21. TikTok and Snap Ads
Even for B2B, creative storytelling and emotion outperform corporate messaging.
Use the short-form expertise of your paid content team to rapidly test channels.
22. Sponsorship
Sponsor newsletters, events or creators with overlapping audiences.
Click here to see 37 Sponsorship Strategies CEOs used to get $10K+ per mention.
23. Acquisition
Get small tools or Chrome extensions to accelerate roadmap and revenue. HubSpot used M&A to build an entire product line.
Click here to see 28 Acquisition Playbooks CEOs Used to Add $1M ARR Fast.
Who owns it: Head of Payments, Head of Development, or CEO (for acquisitions)
Target: Scale efficiently, measure LTV:CAC, and reduce payback time.
Step 4: Defend Your Startup with These Revenue Ideas
At scale, growth means sustainability. These plays are expensive and slow but build massive brand equity and category dominance.
24. Value Added Reseller
Create channel programs that resell your product in verticals you don’t yet serve.
Click here to explore the 22 Reseller Co-Marketing Playbooks that CEOs Used to Reach $1 Million in Sales.
25. App Exchange
Integrate into marketplaces like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zapier. In this way the number of customers of Beehiiv exceeded 2M.
Click here to find out the 30 app-exchange playbooks CEOs use to get free traffic.
26. Magazine
Whether print or digital, deep storytelling builds trust. Zendesk’s Magazine generated ARR of $1.6B.
Click here to see 35 magazine examples SaaS companies used to scale.
27. Review Sites
Dominate G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius. Social proof drives enterprise buyers.
Click here to see the 26 review-site playbooks CEOs used to rank #1.
28. book
The book is a scalable reliability asset. It opens doors and defines your category.
Click here to see 21 tips from the WSJ-bestselling book on writing and promoting your brand.
29. Podcast
Podcasting drives long-term awareness, relationships, and SEO compounding.
Click here to see 10 Steps to Launch a Podcast and Get 1M Downloads in a Month.
30. Live Event
Host a summit, user conference or retreat. Relationships perform better than access on this scale.
Click here to see 31 event templates that CEOs used to sell their events.
31. Organic SEO
Continue adding ingredients. This becomes your most reliable growth moat.
Click here to find out the 20 Organic SEO Playbooks that CEOs Used to Generate 100 Million Clicks for Free.
Who owns it: CEO, CMO, or Brand Head
Target: Build authority, trust and defensiveness.
Summary table: 33 development plays stage wise
| arr stage | pace | Cost | primary owner | sample play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <$1M | Fast | Less | CEO/Founder | Virality, Webinar, Cold Outreach |
| $1-3M | medium | medium | Head of Content/Partnerships | Free Tools, Blog, Co-Marketing |
| $3-5M | Fast | High | head of payment | Retargeting, lookalikes, acquisitions |
| $5M+ | slow | High | CEO/Brand Lead | Live Event, Podcast, Book, SEO |
final thoughts
You don’t need all 33 tips. You need just the right three to five for your current stage.
The fastest-growing SaaS founders in the FounderPath portfolio didn’t work harder – they sequenced smarter.
Explore every Growth Playbook on FounderPath’s Growth Tactics Library.
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