From Consulting to SaaS: How Meet Alfred Changed the Game

From Consulting to SaaS: How Meet Alfred Changed the Game

In 2015, I was running a consulting firm and exploring various marketing strategies, including paid advertising, to promote our services. Around this time, a friend with experience in LinkedIn marketing suggested we try leveraging the platform for outreach. Taking his advice, we allowed him to manage my LinkedIn profile and initiate outreach campaigns. The results were remarkably successful. However, when I considered scaling this approach by hiring virtual assistants (VAs) to perform the tasks manually, we quickly hit a capacity constraint due to the time-consuming nature of the work.

Realizing the need for a more efficient solution, I began researching tools available in the market. Despite finding several impressive options, none were simple enough for someone lacking technical expertise, like myself, to use with ease. This led me to consider the possibility of building our own tool. Thinking, "How hard could it be?" I posted a job on Upwork, seeking development help.

This decision marked the beginning of an exciting journey. After successfully developing the tool and realizing its potential, we started using it internally for our outreach campaigns. Encouraged by its effectiveness, we extended the tool to our clients. By February 2018, the product known as Meet Alfred had grown to 6,000 users, revolutionizing the way businesses approached LinkedIn marketing automation.

Keywords

• Consulting firm
• Marketing strategies
• LinkedIn marketing
• Outreach campaigns
• Virtual assistants (VAs)
• Capacity constraint
• Market research
• Non-technical users
• Upwork development
• LinkedIn automation

FAQ

Q: What challenges led to the creation of Meet Alfred? A: The main challenges were the inefficiency and time-consuming nature of manual LinkedIn outreach, along with the capacity constraints faced when using virtual assistants (VAs) for the task.

Q: Why did you decide to build your own tool instead of using existing ones? A: Existing tools were not user-friendly for someone without technical knowledge. This prompted the decision to create a simple and effective solution tailored to my needs.

Q: How did the development of Meet Alfred start? A: The development began by posting a job on Upwork to find developers capable of creating the tool, leading to the creation of Meet Alfred.

Q: How was the initial performance of Meet Alfred? A: The tool performed very well internally, leading to its successful deployment among clients. By February 2018, it had gained 6,000 users.

Q: What was the primary market need Meet Alfred addressed? A: Meet Alfred addressed the need for efficient LinkedIn outreach automation, particularly for users lacking technical expertise, by providing a simple and effective tool.