Shalin Jain

We've achieved $10M ARR, 100% Bootstrapped It took us 7 years to go from 100k to $10M. Been an incredible journey and here are the highlights. linkedin.com/posts/shalinja…

@vxanand @clay Congratulations! Q: How much has been spent on performance marketing to the build the brand?

Today we hit $100M ARR at @clay. It took us six years to go from $0-1m, then two years to go from $1-100m. I’m going to walk you through the 6 biggest GTM bets that got us here. $100M ARR may be the headline, but I’m most proud of how we accomplished it: we’ve never churned an enterprise customer, have >200% enterprise NRR, every dollar we invest grows 15x (a ratio that has tripled in recent years), and we’ve created a culture of creativity and belonging (with a perfect Glassdoor score to match). Note: -We are a product-driven company. Without that foundation and a unique POV on the market, none of this would work. -Our GTM approach is authentic to us. This isn't a plug-and-play framework. Greatness comes from doing what only you can do. Here are the big bets that worked for us: 1. Building a self-serve motion through reverse demos We originally had a product that nobody could use. It took us 8 calls to sell a $200/mo product! Reverse demos were key to bringing that to zero. Customers would share their screen, and we’d use Zoom annotations to solve their problem in 30mins. They accomplished something real, learned how to use Clay, and we got so much UI feedback that we immediately applied to the product. 2. An irrational investment in brand Most B2B startups treat brand as a post-PMF investment. We flipped that. We bought Clay(.)com and hired a claymation artist before we had revenue. Our Head of Brand was employee #18. These choices felt irrational but they’re authentic to us and reflect our identity. Now it’s a moat. 3. Switching to usage-based pricing We were the first GTM company to offer usage-based pricing. Our customers were shocked we didn't charge per seat and our investors thought we were leaving money on the table. But we're a product built for efficiency. Usage-based pricing helped us target more technical users and enabled our land-and-expand motion. 4. Building an agency motion to generate UGC on LinkedIn Cold email agencies were our first customers. They posted about Clay organically to position themselves as experts and attract clients. We pounced on this and enabled them. This sparked a self-perpetuating cycle: new people discover Clay through that content, join, create their own, and earn recognition too. 5. Unconventional hiring 50% of our GTM and G&A teams are doing their job for the first time. This is how we bring creativity into our company and think differently. We’ve hired farmers, physicists, archaeologists, magicians in new roles. We look for product passion, customer empathy and technical curiosity, then teach the mechanics. 6. We created a new career path & economy: GTM Engineering There are now thousands of open GTME jobs and hundreds of agencies built around it. Many first-time entrepreneurs have already built 7-figure businesses on top of Clay. Our community, with clubs in more than 70 cities, is our force multiplier, and tells us more about impact than any metric ever could. - All of these bets show we’re not racing anyone. We spent six years figuring out what and how we wanted to build. In an era of overnight successes and growth at all costs, it turns out that taking time to build something authentic can create a business with bigger impact & more growth than you'd think. Our creativity remains our greatest alpha. That will continue to show up in how we do our work, who we hire, and in our boldest bets coming up next year.

I am Speaking at @saastr AI London 🇬🇧 We bootstrapped @HappyFoxApp to $20M ARR with under 100 people. Now we're rebuilding to go fully AI-native. I'll share the frameworks we're using and the questions every founder should ask to go AI-Native. If you are attending SaaStr London, please use this link to register for the session: saastrlondon.com/agenda?agendaP… #SaaS #ai

Thrilled to welcome @HappyFoxApp as a Super Gold Sponsor at SaaStr AI Summit AND SaaStr AI London! 🚀 HappyFox is transforming support with AI-powered solutions that actually work—cutting ticket volumes by 50%, boosting agent productivity 10x, and bringing AI assistance directly where teams work (Slack, Teams, help desk). Their AI Copilot, AI Insights, and AI Agents are helping 2,000+ companies deliver exceptional support at scale. Can’t wait to see what they’re showcasing at SaaStr AI London and SaaStr Annual. If you’re scaling support operations, don’t miss them! See you Dec 1-2 in London! 🇬🇧 and May 13-15 ‘26 in SF Bay.

@vasuman What do you not like the most about GCP?

I like AWS and I hate GCP. But can we take a second to thank Google Cloud for naming their services in a normal way. Cloud Storage Cloud SQL Cloud Function Those same services in AWS are called AWS S3 AWS RDS AWS Lambda There is even AWS Elastic Beanstalk Imagine it’s 3AM and your cofounder wakes you up in a cold sweat explaining how your elastic beanstalk is down. I’m still sticking with AWS though.

@gregisenberg We built a $20M+ business without any targets or goals to chase. We enjoy work, our team doesn’t face burnout or unrealistic deadlines. We’re ambitious but prioritize a sustainable process for everyone.

The idea that you need to grow from $1M ARR to $15M ARR to $100M ARR is VC propaganda You do not need those numbers to live an extraordinary life and build a big company You do not need them to give your kids security or to build real wealth for you and your team. The truth is you can build a sustainable, huge business by compounding steadily and playing the long game.

This would go down in history as one of the most amazing moments in AI Tech. Just like the original iPhone launch most mainstream and tech media is clueless. #ai #tech

@skanwar My setup is 2 LG ultra fine 4K (bought at launch) and one Apple Studio 5k display bought in Dec. Great display. If you don’t care for good built-in webcam and can do vesa or default stand I feel it is worth it. They will last forever.

Is the Apple Studio Display worth it? I have the LG UltraFine 5K on a desk mount.

Ordered my foundation edition @tesla Cybertruck!

⁦@HappyFoxApp⁩ featured in AWS CEO keynote as one of the first companies to take Bedrock AI capabilities to customers. Excellent work by our team. More AI announcements coming next week. #cx #ai #genai #aws #reinvent linkedin.com/posts/shalinja…

@nodesman @elonmusk @flyjsx

Starlink Wi-Fi speed on a plane! Just wow! #startlink @elonmusk

@pyconindia We are excited to support the conference. #PyConIndia

Great news! After a long wait of 3 years, PyCon India is finally returning as in-person conference! 🙌 Join us for insightful talks, workshops, and networking opportunities with fellow Pythonistas. We can't wait to see you there! #PyConIndia #pythonprogramming #InPersonConference

@jeetnirnejak @HappyFoxApp Good to know. By the way, checked out your portfolio. Good stuff! Also, very neat desk setup. ✨

@Shalin10 @HappyFoxApp Would have recommended HSR Layout(currently live here), but it's almost impossible to find an apartment in the area now

Hey #Bengaluru! @happyfoxapp can't wait to open a new engineering center in your city. Help me select the perfect location! Which tech-centric neighborhood would you recommend for our first office space?📍🌐 #startuphub #techzone #python #hiring

@pyconindia We'd love to sponsor and support PyCon 2023!

🚨 Exciting news! PyCon India 2023 is coming to #Hyderabad from Sep 29 to Oct 2! 🐍 Save the date and Join the premier conference for #Python enthusiasts, learn from industry experts, and discover the latest trends in the world of #Python. #PyConIndia2023 #PyConIndia

We are hiring! Apply online: happyfox.com/jobs/ #saas #jobs #chennai #irvine

@elonmusk No to oil for cars and say no to processed oil in your body. Whole food plant based diet is the most sustainable and rewarding diet. #wfpb

Please share some things in this thread which are working for you in life & that others may find helpful!

From time to time, I will share some things that seem to be working for me, in case you find it helpful

My mum, Mrs. Renu Shashikant Singhi becomes the only Indian lady to finish #lel2022 in time. That too at the age of 57. #oneinbillion