EP 398: 5 Million Users, $250k in MRR, SaaS Founder Michael Hollauf of MindMiester.com

Michael Hollauf, cofounder and CEO of MeisterLabs. The company works to provide resources to collaborate across digital platforms. Now they are introducing a new service, MeisterTask, which focuses on better task management and a fun user experience. Hear about how MeisterLabs has hit the ground running and is continuing to introduce new tools to help businesses and entrepreneurs succeed. Famous Five:   Favorite Book? – Rich Dad Poor Dad What CEO do you follow? — Stewart Butterfield Favorite online tool? — Slack Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Buy a flat in London. Be bold. Do it earlier.   Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:05 – Nathan introduces Michael 01:35 – Managing director of MeisterLabs 02:20 – MeisterTask 03:10 – Trello was their inspiration 03:40 – Better task management 04:00 – Something more fun to use and focused on tasks 04:15 – 550000 users 05:10 – 60% of the downloads are through the app store 05:30 – Some features only available in the premium model 06:00 – 5000 paying customers 06:50 – Why people upgrade 07:00 – Better integration 07:20 – Funding 08:00 – MeisterTask revenue for 2015 was $20k 08:20 – MindMeister was $2.5 M 08:35 – Monthly recurring was $220k 09:00 – 5 million users 09:15 – 30000 paying customers Collaboration for mind maps 10:10 – Cost to acquire a new customer is about $30 10:30 – 27% annual churn 11:50 – Average customer stays for about 20 months 12:05 – Monthly plan was changed to a longer plan, which increased retention 12:30 – How MindMeister is growing 12:40 – about $25k/month on Google Ads 13:00 – best keyword is “mind mapping” 13:30 – Competitors 14:00 – Goal for the business is to create a suite of products 14:50 – MeisterTask valuation 16:00 – Michael Hollauf on LinkedIn 16:22 – [email protected] 28:35 -- The Famous Five   3 Key Points: Don’t be afraid to draw from ideas of existing companies. Establish your end goal for your business. Be bold. Start your business early.   Resources Mentioned: Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Leadpages  – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Trello – A similar service to MeisterTask that inspired Michael Slack -- Another online tool that inspires Michael and his team Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives