Startups are overwhelming. You’re constantly juggling a million priorities—validating ideas, building products, planning strategies, calculating costs, and somehow keeping track of it all. It’s chaotic, and it’s easy to lose focus on what really matters. That’s why we’re doing something different.
The Helply Public Growth Dashboard is a place for us to set goals and track progress.
We created the Growth Dashboard to document everything about Helply’s journey from $0 to $10M ARR. You’ll get a front-row seat to every step we take, from validating the product to scaling revenue. No fluff, no filtered wins, just the raw, real journey of building a SaaS company.
Honestly, this is the kind of thing I wish founders would have shared with me when I was just getting started, and my hope is that it will be helpful for you.
What Is the Public Growth Dashboard?
The Helply Growth Dashboard is a “living document” where we track key growth metrics, strategic goals, and progress across every growth stage. Whether you’re a SaaS founder, investor, or just curious about how startups scale, this dashboard gives you an inside look at our playbook.
Why We’re Doing This
Most companies keep their numbers behind closed doors. We’re doing the opposite. Sharing our journey isn’t just marketing—it’s accountability. Transparency builds trust with our audience and customers, and it’s a chance to contribute back to the startup community by sharing what works and what doesn’t.
Launching The Helply Growth Dashboard
As part of our launch of the Growth Dashboard, we wanted to take you behind the scenes of what we’re building and why:
In this episode of The Alex & Tom Show, we break down why transparency matters, how the dashboard keeps us focused, and the early wins and challenges we’re facing. Sharing this growth dashboard isn’t just for accountability—it’s to create something useful for other founders and to show what it really takes to scale a startup.
What You’ll Find on the Dashboard
We’ve mapped out six key stages of growth, from validating the idea to scaling and optimizing. Each stage includes the primary goal (e.g., building the MVP, achieving product-market fit), metrics we’re tracking (e.g., MRR, demos booked, churn rate), and progress updates (what’s working and what’s not).
1. Idea Validation Stage (Completed)
Goal: Validate the problem and solution concept.
Focus: Confirm there’s a real market need for what we’re building.
This stage is all about talking to potential customers and getting proof that the pain we’re solving is worth solving. For Helply, we conducted 127 customer interviews and confirmed a market size of 500M to 1B. It took two months to validate our ideas and lay the groundwork.
2. Development and MVP Stage (Present Stage)
Goal: Build and validate the Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Focus: Test the MVP with early adopters, gather feedback, and iterate.
Right now, we’re heads-down in this stage. The goal is to book 100 demos and use that feedback to improve Helply before our public launch in 2025. We’re tracking metrics like demos booked, completed, and closed. Progress so far: 46 demos booked in October (148% to goal) and $1,855 in pre-launch estimated MRR (35% to goal).
3. Early Traction Stage (Coming Soon)
Goal: Achieve product-market fit and generate revenue.
Focus: Refine the product, reduce churn, and validate revenue streams.
This stage is all about making sure the product works for the customers we’re targeting. Metrics like churn rate, customer acquisition cost (CAC), and trial-to-paid conversion rate will take center stage as we fine-tune Helply and start scaling revenue.
4. Growth Stage (Coming Soon)
Goal: Scale revenue and grow the customer base.
Focus: Optimize acquisition and retention, expand the team, and fine-tune sales processes.
Once we’ve hit product-market fit, the focus shifts to scaling. This means driving consistent monthly recurring revenue (MRR) growth, shortening the CAC payback period, and increasing customer retention.
5. Scaling Stage (Coming Soon)
Goal: Accelerate growth and expand into new markets.
Focus: Increase customer value, improve cost structures, and grow market share.
This stage is about reaching the next level—moving beyond core markets and growing revenue streams through upsells, cross-sells, and product expansion. Metrics like net revenue retention (NRR) and average revenue per user (ARPU) will measure success.
6. Maturity and Optimization Stage (Coming Soon)
Goal: Maximize profitability and solidify market leadership.
Focus: Improve operational efficiency and expand customer lifetime value.
The final stage focuses on optimizing everything: driving higher profit margins, retaining existing customers, and building a sustainable business model that ensures long-term success.
Join the Journey
Want to see how we’re turning Helply into a $10M ARR company? Explore the Growth Dashboard. Watch the Alex and Tom Show for weekly updates. Sign up for a demo to experience Helply’s AI-powered support platform firsthand. This is just the beginning. Let’s build something great together.