How Graphite Hit $1M ARR After a Pivot

Resilience is key in navigating startup challenges. Meryl shares experiences of overcoming unexpected obstacles. "

We've now survived... both internally and macro events... some of the highlight reels of pretty difficult times for us.

" Takeaways:

• Be prepared to face and overcome unexpected challenges.
• Resilience helps sustain startups through tough times.

Building on unstable foundations can hinder progress. Meryl advises against taking on unnecessary technical risks. "

Don't build on an unstable technical foundation, especially as a startup... it's just not really worth it as a startup to build that.

" Takeaways:

• Avoid significant technical risks without strong expertise.
• Choose stable foundations to build your product upon.

Adjusting pricing aligned with customer buying patterns accelerated revenue. Meryl shares how a pricing change doubled revenue. "

We made a change in pricing that better aligned with how companies wanted to buy... in a matter of a couple weeks, more than doubled our revenue.

" Takeaways:

• Align pricing with customer purchasing behavior.
• Pricing modifications can significantly impact growth.

User feedback directed Graphite's development. Meryl describes collecting feedback from early adopters. "

We started getting a lot of inbound... constant stream of feedback of feature asks, bug reports... indicated to us like, okay, we're really onto something.

" Takeaways:

• Engage closely with early users for feedback.
• Use feedback to validate and refine your product.

Addressing a critical problem ensures product adoption. Meryl reflects on their initial product's shortcomings. "

It wasn't solving a burning pain... nobody was really losing their job or losing sleep... vs. something like code review.

" Takeaways:

• Focus on solutions to pressing problems users are eager to solve.
• Products addressing core business needs are more likely to succeed.

Frequent user engagement enables rapid iteration and improvement. Meryl explains how daily usage helped Graphite refine their product. "

Having daily usage... is really important... for iteration speed, it's critical... helps you to learn what's broken with it.

" Takeaways:

• Aim for products that users interact with daily.
• Daily engagement facilitates faster product development.

A strong founding team built on trust is crucial for startup success. Meryl emphasizes its significance. "

Having a founding team that you deeply trust... I can't emphasize enough how important that is.

" Takeaways:

• Build a team with co-founders you know and trust.
• Strong relationships help navigate challenging times.

Fundraising was critical for Graphite's survival during pivotal moments. Meryl discusses challenges faced while raising capital amid uncertainties. "

We raised our seed round right at the start of the company... It was like the week that COVID really hit the states... trying to somehow pull a round together at that point.

" Takeaways:

• Be prepared to face unexpected challenges during fundraising.
• Persistence is key when securing funding in difficult times.

Building anticipation with a viral waitlist can boost product adoption. Meryl explains how Graphite leveraged this strategy for their launch. "

We did a kind of a viral waitlist mechanism where if you convinced, like, you know, four teammates to sign up as well, then we'd bump you to the top of the waitlist.

" Takeaways:

• Use viral mechanisms to encourage team sign-ups.
• Create incentives for users to share the product.

Pivoting can be crucial in finding product-market fit. Meryl shares how listening to user feedback led Graphite to shift focus and succeed. "

We decided to... the critical moment for us was deciding to pivot to code review... It quickly became apparent that this was something that engineers wanted to use.

" Takeaways:

• Pivot based on strong user feedback.
• Listen to user needs to shape product direction.