SaaS Partnerships: $230K MRR With Zero Paid Marketing

Ian Brodie and his co-founder quit their jobs in March 2020, got laughed out of every VC meeting, and built a services business instead. After selling it for a mid-7-figure deal, they launched Levanta and hit $230K MRR in 9 months through SaaS partnerships with affiliate agencies - without a dollar in paid marketing. Learn how SaaS partnerships drove 650 brands and 2,500 affiliates to one platform, why validating on Fiverr works, and how partner-led growth replaced traditional acquisition channels entirely. 🔑 Key Lessons 🤝 SaaS partnerships can replace paid acquisition entirely: Levanta hit $230K MRR in 9 months without spending on paid marketing by partnering with affiliate agencies who brought sellers and affiliates to the platform. 🎯 Validate demand on Fiverr before building any SaaS partnerships product: Ian posted affiliate recruitment services on Fiverr and got 100+ inquiries within days, proving market demand without a product or website. 📉 A failed SaaS product can be a lucky escape: Grovia's self-service tool flopped because customers wanted managed service. Raising VC to build it would have wasted millions. 🏢 Close aggregators to load your SaaS partnerships marketplace: Levanta partnered with Amazon aggregators owning 100+ brands each, loading the two-sided marketplace quickly through channel partners. 🚀 Co-create content with SaaS partnerships to scale awareness: Levanta co-authored ebooks and case studies with agency partnerships, then partners distributed content to their own networks. Chapters Introduction Ian's favorite quote from Rand Fishkin What Levanta does and who it serves Current metrics: $230K MRR, 650 brands, 2,500 affiliates The backstory begins: wanting to build a SaaS company How Ian and Rob met and quit their jobs in March 2020 Using Fiverr to validate the agency business idea Why Fiverr works for demand validation Moving upmarket from SMB clients Building SaaS partnerships with affiliate tracking platforms Funding the SaaS dream from services revenue Why the first SaaS product failed as self-service Realizing Grovia was a services company, not SaaS Selling Grovia: acquisition offers and the mid-7-figure deal Bootstrapping Grovia with almost no outside capital Transitioning out of Grovia after the acquisition The genesis of Levanta and Amazon's Attribution API Validating Levanta through months of customer calls Building the product with a technical co-founder Raising a $430K pre-seed round in two weeks From incorporation to beta in three months First customers: targeting Amazon aggregators Selling to affiliate agencies as channel partners Scaling content through co-marketing with agency partners Why the partner-led growth model worked for both sides Challenges of finding the right level of funding Choosing a boutique VC over traditional growth rounds Lightning round Wrap up Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/387 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email