The journey to $10M ARR is messy. It’s a mix of wins, losses, and “oh sh*t” moments. And for most founders, the journey from zero to $10M ARR feels like a black box. You hear about the successes after they’ve happened, but not the messy middle where the real work gets done.
We’re here to change that.
Introducing The Alex and Tom Show, a brand-new weekly series where Alex Turnbull (founder of Groove and Helply) and I pull back the curtain on building Helply from scratch. Every week, we’re sharing the real story—warts and all.
Watch the playlist to catch every episode:
Why We’re Doing This
We’re not here to polish the narrative or cherry-pick highlights. This show is about full transparency:
- The growth experiments we're running (the ones that work and the ones that flop)
- The hurdles we're facing as we scale
- The lessons we're learning in real-time
- For anyone growing a SaaS business—or just curious about what it takes to scale a company in 2024—this is for you
What to Expect
Each episode, we’ll dive deep into specific challenges and strategies. We’re talking:
- Real numbers and behind-the-scenes decisions.
- Customer insights shaping Helply’s features.
- Experiments in marketing, sales, and product.
The goal: to document our path to $10M ARR so you can learn from what’s working (and what’s not).
Episode 1: The Alex & Tom Show - 300 Customer Calls And The Path To Our First $1M ARR
In the kickoff episode, we dive into the origins of Helply and our mission to revolutionize customer support with AI. Highlights include:
- The Helply Knowledge Bridge: Tackles knowledge base chaos by analyzing support tickets, exposing gaps, and automating solutions.
- AI CX Agent v1: A widget designed to handle 70%+ of tier one support from day one.
- "Our Journey" Page: Transparency in action, showcasing our build-in-public approach with weekly updates on Helply's evolution.
Episode 2: The Alex & Tom Show - Early Prototypes, Rapid Validation and Our First 6 Demo Calls
Outbound isn’t dead if you lead with value. In this episode, we break down our strategy and early wins. Key takeaways:
- Outbound Wins: Offering free knowledge base optimizations created instant interest and booked demos.
- Rapid Prototyping: A surprise demo of Helply’s AI agent during a Groove call led to multiple client "Aha" moments.
- Knowledge Bridge as a Game-Changer: Identifying and filling support gaps made this feature the hero of our demos.
Episode 3: The Alex & Tom Show - AI-driven CX Agents, Knowledge Bridge, and The Future of Customer Support
We pull back the curtain on how Helply integrates with Groove and why the Knowledge Bridge is becoming the backbone of our platform. Highlights:
- Integration with Groove: Syncs seamlessly with Groove's knowledge base while standing alone as its own powerhouse.
- The Knowledge Bridge: Automatically fills gaps in knowledge bases, solving “unknown unknowns” for businesses.
- AI-Driven CX Agent: Trained on multiple data sources to deliver more accurate and contextual responses, aiming to tackle 70%+ of tier one tickets.
What’s Next?
We’re just getting started. Future episodes will feature interviews with SaaS founders who’ve gone from zero to $10M ARR. We’ll dive deep into their growth stories and strategies while continuing to pull back the curtain on Helply’s evolution.
Want to follow along in real-time?
- Subscribe to the newsletter for weekly updates on our journey, straight to your inbox.
- Book a demo to see Helply in action and learn how Knowledge Bridge and our CX Agent can transform your support.
The Alex and Tom Show isn’t just about what we’re building—it’s about how we’re building it. Raw, unfiltered, and 100% transparent.
Let’s build something incredible together.