Are you a skilled technical co-founder looking for an exciting opportunity in the B2B email service provider space? Look no further! A stealth B2B Email Service Provider startup is searching for a talented individual (or two) to join their team. With over 10 years of experience in B2B SaaS, the founder brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table. The startup aims to fill a gap in the market by offering a service dedicated to B2B cold emails, targeting small businesses, solopreneurs, and startups. While not seeking hyper-growth, the business has the potential to achieve significant success, offering the opportunity for a lifestyle business or a higher-performing venture. The founder envisions scaling the business profitably without requiring outside funding, which means more equity and independence for the team. If you're interested in taking on a role that involves creating and maintaining the email infrastructure and developing a user-facing web application, this could be the perfect opportunity for you. Joining this startup will allow you to have a meaningful impact, work with a kind and transparent founder, and enjoy time and location freedom. Don't miss out on this exciting chance, apply now!
The Team
Founder’s background in B2B SaaS
The founder of our startup has over 10 years of experience in B2B SaaS. They have worked in various roles in product and revenue, gaining valuable knowledge and skills in the industry.
Key contribution at an early-stage startup
The founder was a key contributor as the first non-founder hire at an early-stage startup. They played a crucial role in leading product and revenue, helping the company reach a successful exit valued at approximately $20 million.
Experience in product and revenue roles
With extensive experience in product and revenue roles, the founder brings a deep understanding of how to drive business growth and create successful products. This experience will be invaluable in shaping our email service provider startup.
Experience leading a company to exit
The founder's previous experience includes leading a company to a successful exit. This demonstrates their ability to navigate the challenges of growing a business and positioning it for long-term success. Their experience will be essential in leading our startup to achieve its goals.
The Opportunity
Building an email service provider focused on B2B cold emails
Our startup aims to build an email service provider that specifically caters to B2B cold emails. This niche market offers potential for growth and success, as there is currently a lack of established providers focusing on this specific area.
Ideal Customer Profile
Our target customers are small businesses, solopreneurs, and startups. By understanding the specific needs and pain points of these customers, we can develop a tailored solution that meets their requirements and drives value for their businesses.
Lack of established providers focused on B2B cold emails
While there are transactional email providers and email providers that focus on business customers, there is a noticeable gap in the market for dedicated email service providers focused on B2B cold emails. This presents a significant opportunity for our startup to fill this gap and establish ourselves as a leading provider in this space.
Expected range of outcomes
The potential outcomes for our startup vary, depending on the level of growth and success achieved. Our base case scenario involves building a lifestyle business with an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $500k, which could potentially sell for $3 million. The upside case scenario involves reaching an ARR of $5 million and selling for $30 million. These outcomes are based on historical B2B SaaS EV/Revenue multiples.
Opportunity for market research
One advantage of building a customer base in the B2B email service provider space is the opportunity to conduct market research and gather valuable insights. By understanding our customers' needs, pain points, and demand for other products, we can effectively validate new product ideas and expand our offerings.
Plan to not raise outside funding
Our startup's plan is to avoid raising outside funding, except for potential friends and family investments. By not relying on institutional money, we can retain our equity and independence, make decisions that align with our vision, and ensure that profits are maximized when exiting the business. This approach allows us to prioritize the needs of our customers and maintain control over our direction and growth.
Why Invest?
Founder’s experience in B2B SaaS
With over a decade of experience in B2B SaaS, our founder brings valuable expertise and insights to our startup. Their previous roles in product and revenue, as well as their experience leading a company to exit, demonstrate their ability to drive growth and deliver successful outcomes.
Large market with little direct competition
The market for our email service provider is substantial, with ample opportunities for growth. What sets us apart is the focus on B2B cold emails, a niche that currently lacks established providers. By addressing this gap in the market, we have the potential to tap into a large customer base that is seeking tailored solutions for their email needs.
Well-defined product category and feature-set
Our startup's product category and feature-set are well-defined, enabling us to develop a focused and targeted solution. This clarity allows us to create a product that meets the specific needs of our target customers, ensuring maximum value and satisfaction.
Clear vision and validated new products/features
Our founder has a clear vision for the business and product, backed by their experience in developing and validating new products and features. This expertise ensures that our startup will be able to deliver solutions that address real customer pain points and generate excitement in the market.
Opportunity to validate demand for other products
By leveraging our customer base, we have the opportunity to validate demand for other products and services. This strategic approach allows us to expand our offerings based on the needs and preferences of our customers, providing additional revenue streams and growth opportunities.
Plan to scale profitably and maximize equity
Our startup's plan is to scale profitably by prioritizing customer needs and maintaining control over our decision-making process. By avoiding extensive fundraising and retaining equity, we can ensure that the business remains focused on creating value for customers and maximizing profits when exiting.
Responsibilities
Technical aspects of the business
As a technical co-founder, your primary responsibility will be overseeing all technical aspects of the business. This includes the creation and maintenance of the email hosting, sending, and receiving infrastructure, as well as the development and maintenance of the user-facing web application.
Creation and maintenance of email infrastructure
You will play a crucial role in building and maintaining the email infrastructure, ensuring its scalability and efficiency. This involves handling thousands of domains and addresses, as well as managing the high volume of emails sent monthly.
Development of user-facing web application
You will be responsible for the end-to-end development of the user-facing web application, from mockups to MVP and beyond. This includes translating design mockups into a fully functional and user-friendly application.
End-to-end development from mockups to production
From the initial design mockups to the final production-ready product, you will oversee the entire development process. This includes coding, testing, and deploying the application, ensuring that it meets the highest standards of quality and performance.
Delivering responsive and high-performance UI
A key aspect of your role will be delivering a responsive and high-performance user interface. This involves optimizing the application for speed and responsiveness, providing users with a seamless and enjoyable experience.
Leading technical development and implementation
As a technical co-founder, you will be responsible for leading the technical development and implementation of our startup. This includes making key decisions regarding the architecture, technologies, and tools used to build and maintain our email service provider.
Technical Requirements
Proven experience in software development
To be an ideal candidate for this role, you should have proven experience in software development. This includes a strong understanding of software engineering principles, as well as experience in building and deploying web applications.
Web application development from mockups to working product
You should have experience in developing web applications from initial mockups to fully functional products. This includes expertise in frontend and backend development, as well as knowledge of modern web development frameworks and technologies.
Experience with building and maintaining email infrastructure at scale
Building and maintaining email infrastructure at scale is a critical requirement for this role. You should have experience in handling thousands of domains and addresses, as well as managing the high volume of emails sent monthly.
Building and maintaining production email service provider
Experience in building and maintaining a production email service provider is highly desired. This involves managing the hosting, sending, and receiving of emails on a large scale, ensuring reliability, security, and performance.
Experience in building B2B SaaS products
Experience in building B2B SaaS products is valuable for this role. This includes familiarity with the unique challenges and requirements of B2B software, as well as knowledge of industry best practices and trends.
Working with architectures that support multiple APIs
An understanding of architectures that support multiple APIs is essential for this role. This includes experience in integrating and working with various APIs, allowing our email service provider to seamlessly connect with other systems and services.
High-volume email sync and storage
Experience in working with high-volume email sync and storage is crucial. You should be familiar with technologies and strategies for efficiently handling and storing a large volume of emails, ensuring optimal performance and reliability.
Character and Values
Importance of character
Character is highly valued in our startup. We believe in building a team of individuals who are not only skilled and knowledgeable but also possess strong character traits. This includes qualities such as integrity, honesty, and professionalism.
Ability to listen, empathize, and navigate disagreements
As a technical co-founder, your ability to listen, empathize, and navigate disagreements productively and with kindness is essential. We value open and respectful communication, allowing us to collaborate effectively and create a positive work environment.
Empathy for the customer and startup challenges
Having empathy for our customers and understanding the challenges faced by startups is crucial. This allows us to develop solutions that truly meet customer needs and navigate the ups and downs of building a successful startup.
Sense of business acumen
While your main focus will be on technical aspects, a sense of business acumen is important. Understanding the broader context of our startup and being able to contribute to strategic decisions and product roadmap discussions is highly valued.
Alignment of values such as kindness, fairness, transparency
Our values as a startup revolve around kindness, fairness, and transparency. We believe in treating others with respect, being fair in our dealings, and maintaining transparency in our actions and decision-making processes.
Meaningful work and personal freedom
We believe in the importance of meaningful work and personal freedom. By joining our startup, you will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on a business that offers time and location freedom. We value the importance of work-life balance and believe in giving our team members the autonomy and freedom to make decisions that align with their personal and professional goals.
Work Arrangements
Flexible work location and schedule
We offer flexible work arrangements, allowing you to choose your work location and schedule. We recognize that individuals work best under different conditions, and we want to support your productivity and well-being by providing a flexible and accommodating work environment.
Importance of responsiveness and meeting attendance
While we value flexibility, responsiveness and meeting attendance are important to ensure effective collaboration and communication within our team. Timely responses and active participation in team meetings are crucial for maintaining a productive work environment.
Trust in individual decision-making
We trust our team members to make the best decisions for their work and the overall success of our startup. As a technical co-founder, you will have the autonomy and authority to make key technical decisions and drive the implementation of our product.
Significant impact and meaningful work
By joining our startup, you will have the opportunity to make a significant impact and contribute to meaningful work. As a co-founder, your contributions will directly shape the growth and success of our business, allowing you to leave a lasting legacy.
Equity and no salary at the start
As a startup, we are in the early stages and, therefore, cannot offer a salary initially. However, equity will be assumed at an equal split and adjusted accordingly. This offers you the opportunity to share in the success and financial rewards of our startup when we achieve our goals.
Application Process
To apply for the technical co-founder role, please fill out our application form. We appreciate your interest in our startup and look forward to reviewing your application.
Thank you for reading this comprehensive article about our B2B email service provider startup. We are excited about the potential to build a successful and impactful business, and we appreciate your consideration in joining our team.
To apply, please click on the following link: Link to Application Form
