From broke to building a $150M company in just 4 years.
Last year, he earned more than the CEOs of LinkedIn, Zoom, Hubspot and Shopify combined.
In the next 5 years, he plans to create 100 millionaires.
The wild story of Guillaume Moubeche 🧵
Last year, he earned more than the CEOs of LinkedIn, Zoom, Hubspot and Shopify combined.
In the next 5 years, he plans to create 100 millionaires.
The wild story of Guillaume Moubeche 🧵
But back in 2018, Guillaume was a newbie.
He had no network, no capital, just the hunger to be an entrepreneur.
4 years later, he has co-founded 2 startups.
1) lempod, grew to $600k ARR & was sold.
2) lemlist, currently does $15M+ ARR and is valued at $150M+
He had no network, no capital, just the hunger to be an entrepreneur.
4 years later, he has co-founded 2 startups.
1) lempod, grew to $600k ARR & was sold.
2) lemlist, currently does $15M+ ARR and is valued at $150M+
He is 30 years old - & still no one can pronounce his name correctly. So we call him "G".
How did it all start for him? 👇
How did it all start for him? 👇
Guillaume grew up in a family that didn't have a lot of money.
So, the idea of becoming an entrepreneur never crossed his mind.
His parents didn't have the opportunity to pursue higher education, so they worked hard to provide him and his brother with a good education.
So, the idea of becoming an entrepreneur never crossed his mind.
His parents didn't have the opportunity to pursue higher education, so they worked hard to provide him and his brother with a good education.
They believed that becoming an engineer was the key to success.
So G followed their advice and got a master's degree in chemical engineering.
He worked for big companies like Procter & Gamble and Hermes,
So G followed their advice and got a master's degree in chemical engineering.
He worked for big companies like Procter & Gamble and Hermes,
But after graduating, he felt the need to do something different.
For himself.
So he took a break to travel the world for a year. (my kinda guy!)
For himself.
So he took a break to travel the world for a year. (my kinda guy!)
On the trip, he & his best friend turned to social media for free accommodations and exchanged work for longer stays.
He did it all:
- taught English in Bolivia
- worked at a coffee farm in Colombia
- learned permaculture in Costa Rica.
He did it all:
- taught English in Bolivia
- worked at a coffee farm in Colombia
- learned permaculture in Costa Rica.
Experiencing the generosity of people from all over the world was a liberating and fulfilling experience for him.
He felt truly free.
And came back stronger.
He felt truly free.
And came back stronger.
After returning to Paris, he decided to launch a business to create the same freedom he experienced while traveling.
With his dad's expertise in graphic design and fabric printing, they launched a t-shirt brand, "Paris reste un rêve".
With his dad's expertise in graphic design and fabric printing, they launched a t-shirt brand, "Paris reste un rêve".
He was a chemical engineer & didn't know anything about business
So he decided to study business while his dad handled production
He was confident that they'd receive 1000s of orders
But, the launch was a failure - they only received 6 orders. Yet it wasn't that big a failure
So he decided to study business while his dad handled production
He was confident that they'd receive 1000s of orders
But, the launch was a failure - they only received 6 orders. Yet it wasn't that big a failure
He got to know that they were not the only business that started and failed to get customers.
Now, that was the problem he solved with his next business.
"Customer Acquisition"
He started a lead generation agency with a friend.
Now, that was the problem he solved with his next business.
"Customer Acquisition"
He started a lead generation agency with a friend.
As soon as it took off, he decided to sell his shares to start a SaaS.
As G was frustrated with the tools they were using at the agency and believed he could create a better platform.
As G was frustrated with the tools they were using at the agency and believed he could create a better platform.
He pitched this idea to 2 other friends, and they loved it.
In Jan 2018, they launched @lemlist - a platform that helps people worldwide connect with their customers.
In Jan 2018, they launched @lemlist - a platform that helps people worldwide connect with their customers.
@lemlist • They validated their ideas in 2 ways:
1. Product Hunt
Launching on Product Hunt is a real test to see whether or not your product brings something different to the table.
For Lemlist, it was a success as they ended up #1 product of the day which means MORE SIGNUPS.
1. Product Hunt
Launching on Product Hunt is a real test to see whether or not your product brings something different to the table.
For Lemlist, it was a success as they ended up #1 product of the day which means MORE SIGNUPS.
@lemlist 2. AppSumo Lifetime Deal
Someone from Appsumo reached out to G to promote lemlist in their community.
After weighing the pros and cons of the deal, G decided to go ahead with it.
Someone from Appsumo reached out to G to promote lemlist in their community.
After weighing the pros and cons of the deal, G decided to go ahead with it.
@lemlist At the end of the 14-day campaign with AppSumo:
• 3304 new users
• $161,896 in Sales
Even though Appsumo took 70% of the revenue, the campaign was enough proof that people wanted Lemlist.
• 3304 new users
• $161,896 in Sales
Even though Appsumo took 70% of the revenue, the campaign was enough proof that people wanted Lemlist.
@lemlist • How did they build a Growth Engine?
They say focus on one acquisition channel, but for G - that's boring.
From the early days, he tried multiple channels that didn't require money.
The more channels he tested, the better the growth. A wild way to go!
They say focus on one acquisition channel, but for G - that's boring.
From the early days, he tried multiple channels that didn't require money.
The more channels he tested, the better the growth. A wild way to go!
@lemlist 1. G started with cold emails
2. Then built a community to help customers at scale and gather feedback and ideas.
3. Wrote articles based on the community's topics and mentioned the community in them.
2. Then built a community to help customers at scale and gather feedback and ideas.
3. Wrote articles based on the community's topics and mentioned the community in them.
@lemlist 4. Shared the articles with the community, boosting traffic and shares which took them on the 1st page on Google.
@lemlist 6. Built in public on LinkedIn
@lemlist 7. Hire the right people to continue working on each acquisition channel once mastered.
This strategy is so dialed in that Lemlist's flagship feature - The Email Warmup was suggested by a community member @VaibhavSisinty
This strategy is so dialed in that Lemlist's flagship feature - The Email Warmup was suggested by a community member @VaibhavSisinty
@lemlist @VaibhavSisinty G and the team at Lemlist invested in building their personal brands.
They chose LinkedIn and consistently posted content for the last 2 years.
And all of them use Taplio to create and publish content since the beginning. (a humble brag :)
They chose LinkedIn and consistently posted content for the last 2 years.
And all of them use Taplio to create and publish content since the beginning. (a humble brag :)
@lemlist @VaibhavSisinty After 2 years of hacking and building Tweethunter and Taplio, we sold it to them.
Why?
@tomjacquesson and I always wanted to build something useful, sell it and start over.
Fun fact: I knew Guillaume from middle school.
Why?
@tomjacquesson and I always wanted to build something useful, sell it and start over.
Fun fact: I knew Guillaume from middle school.
@lemlist @VaibhavSisinty @tomjacquesson Truth is, now that we're onboard, we may stay long term!
Why?
Because @lempirehq is actually changing the game for thousands of entrepreneurs building their business
Why?
Because @lempirehq is actually changing the game for thousands of entrepreneurs building their business
@lemlist @VaibhavSisinty @tomjacquesson @lempirehq In 2021, Lemlist sold 20% of their shares for $30M
G and the team got to cash out a bunch of their shares with this money.
G and the team got to cash out a bunch of their shares with this money.
@lemlist @VaibhavSisinty @tomjacquesson @lempirehq In the next 4 years, G plans to make every employee at Lempire a millionaire.
Audacious goal - but what's life without some crazy goals to achieve with some insane people!
Audacious goal - but what's life without some crazy goals to achieve with some insane people!
@lemlist @VaibhavSisinty @tomjacquesson @lempirehq If you found this story interesting, retweet the first tweet below ❤️
And follow @tibo_maker for more
And follow @tibo_maker for more
@lemlist @VaibhavSisinty @tomjacquesson @lempirehq From 2018 - 2022, Lempire experimented a lot.
They sold lempod which was at $600k ARR within 18 months.
Kept building awesome features for lemlist, kept growing the community while still having fun.
That's what I love about him and this company.
They sold lempod which was at $600k ARR within 18 months.
Kept building awesome features for lemlist, kept growing the community while still having fun.
That's what I love about him and this company.
Loading suggestions...