If you’re a software founder, the fastest way to grow isn’t doing everything. It’s picking the right growth levers for your current stage.
At Founderpath, we’ve worked with more than 550 SaaS founders and studied how each scaled from $0 to $10M ARR. The takeaway: what works at $300K ARR won’t work at $3M.
Below are 33 proven tactics, sorted by revenue stage and owner (CEO, Head of Paid, Head of Partnerships, or Head of Community and Content). Each links to a full Founderpath playbook.
Stage 1: Bootstrap to $1m Revenue in 90 Days
When you’re under $1M in revenue, you need momentum. That means tactics that are cheap, fast to execute, and directly tied to cash flow.
1. Virality
Leverage built-in sharing loops. Add “Powered by” tags, referral bonuses, or shared dashboards. Dropbox’s viral loop drove $2B in value with zero ad spend.
Click here to see 29 virality examples you can copy and paste to grow faster.
2. Webinars
Host short, niche sessions (“How to Automate Onboarding with Zapier”). Use live Q&A to convert. Great for solo founders who can sell directly.
Click here to see how Box, Mulesoft, and Twilio used webinars to drive billions in revenue.
3. Powered By
Embed a branded link or badge in your product. Typeform and Airtable both grew through “Powered by” signatures.
Click here to explore 31 Powered-By templates CEOs used to get 2M leads.
4. Product Hunt Launch
Ship, learn, and re-launch. One high-quality Product Hunt day can land 1,000+ users.
Click here to see 29 Product Hunt playbooks founders used to get 20K signups.
5. Cold Outreach
Use personal Loom videos instead of templates. Even 100 laser-targeted cold emails can generate your first $10K MRR.
Click here to explore 26 outreach playbooks founders used to add $5M in pipeline.
6. Influencer Marketing
Partner with micro-creators (1–10K followers) in your niche. Think “bottom-up trust,” not celebrity reach.
Click here to explore 23 influencer-marketing secrets CEOs used to reach $31B in revenue.
7. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Manually identify 20 dream customers. Customize outbound for each. It’s not scalable yet—and that’s fine.
Click here to see 30 ABM playbooks CEOs used to land $1M+ customers.
8. Free Reports
Publish data your audience craves (“2025 SaaS Benchmarks”). Collect emails and follow up with demos.
Click here to discover 29 ways to use free reports to get 1,582 no-cost leads.
Who owns it: CEO or Head of Community
Goal: Validate product-market fit fast and convert attention into cash.
Stage 2: Grow 300% Using These Growth Tactics
Once you’re past $1M ARR, speed alone won’t cut it. You need repeatable, scalable systems that grow inbound and partnerships in parallel.
9. Free Tools
Offer calculators, audits, or templates. Shopify’s free tools generated $7B in revenue.
Click here to explore 23 free-tool examples CEOs used to hit $5M+ revenue.
10. Newsletter
Turn users into subscribers. Consistency compounds over time.
Click here to copy 30 newsletter tactics that helped founders reach 10K+ subscribers.
11. Partner Co-Marketing
Run joint webinars and case studies with complementary tools. HubSpot scaled this to 500K graduates.
Click here to explore 34 co-marketing tactics CEOs used to get massive partner leads.
12. Affiliate Marketing
Create a “founder army.” Offer recurring commissions for new signups. Stripe and Zapier both nailed this early.
Click here to explore 31 affiliate tactics to build an army that sells $1M for you.
13. Blog Content
Publish thought leadership. Rank for mid-funnel queries like “Best ABM Tools for B2B SaaS.”
Click here to see 20 blog content playbooks CEOs used to get 2M website hits.
14. Compare Pages
Build “X vs Y” pages that rank fast. Pendo used this to reach $200M ARR.
Click here to explore 23 compare-page templates CEOs used to dominate SEO.
15. Facebook Groups
Engage power users and create advocates through discussion and community.
Click here to see 36 Facebook group playbooks CEOs used to add 30K members.
16. Glossary, Directory, Dictionary
Create searchable libraries of key terms and examples. Each post becomes a mini SEO magnet. Use programmatic SEO to scale content efficiently.
Click here to explore 24 programmatic SEO templates CEOs used to add 50K leads.
17. Founder Brand
You are the differentiator. Post wins, losses, and metrics in public. It builds trust faster than ads.
Click here to see 40 founder-brand secrets CEOs used to become famous.
Who owns it: Head of Content, Head of Partnerships, or CEO
Goal: Automate inbound and partner distribution loops.
Stage 3: Hit $5m Revenue By Copying These Founders
At this stage, you’re scaling a team and can test paid acquisition. Focus on ROI-positive spend and attribution discipline.
18. Retargeting Advertising
Target warm traffic—free trial abandoners, demo visitors, and LinkedIn lurkers.
Click here to explore 21 retargeting ad templates CEOs used to print money.
19. Lookalike Advertising
Feed your best 500 customers into ad platforms to find more like them.
Click here to see 37 lookalike ad examples founders used to add $1M ARR in 30 days.
20. LinkedIn Advertising
Test creative around revenue triggers, not vanity metrics.
Click here to explore 23 LinkedIn ad tactics that produced $1M in revenue.
21. TikTok and Snap Ads
Even for B2B, creative storytelling and emotion outperform corporate messaging.
Use your paid content team’s short-form expertise to test channels fast.
22. Sponsorships
Sponsor newsletters, events, or creators with overlapping audiences.
Click here to see 37 sponsorship strategies CEOs used to get $10K+ per mention.
23. Acquisitions
Acquire small tools or Chrome extensions to accelerate roadmap and revenue. HubSpot used M&A to build entire product lines.
Click here to see 28 acquisition playbooks CEOs used to add $1M ARR fast.
Who owns it: Head of Paid, Head of Growth, or CEO (for acquisitions)
Goal: Scale efficiently, measure LTV:CAC, and reduce payback time.
Stage 4: Defend Your Startup with These Revenue Moats
At scale, growth means durability. These plays are expensive and slow but build massive brand equity and category dominance.
24. Value-Added Resellers
Build channel programs that resell your product into verticals you don’t yet serve.
Click here to explore 22 reseller co-marketing playbooks CEOs used to reach $1M sales.
25. App Exchanges
Integrate into marketplaces like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zapier. Beehiiv grew this way to more than 2M subscribers.
Click here to explore 30 app-exchange playbooks CEOs used to get free traffic.
26. Magazine
Print or digital, deep storytelling builds trust. Zendesk’s magazine drove $1.6B in ARR.
Click here to see 35 magazine examples SaaS companies used to scale.
27. Review Sites
Dominate G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius. Social proof drives enterprise buyers.
Click here to explore 26 review-site playbooks CEOs used to rank #1.
28. Book
A book is a scalable credibility asset. It opens doors and defines your category.
Click here to see 21 tactics to write a WSJ-bestselling book and boost your brand.
29. Podcast
Podcasting drives long-term awareness, relationships, and SEO compounding.
Click here to see 10 steps to launch a podcast and get 1M downloads in one month.
30. Live Events
Host summits, user conferences, or retreats. Relationships outperform reach at this scale.
Click here to explore 31 event templates CEOs used to sell out their events.
31. Organic SEO
Continue compounding content. It becomes your most reliable growth moat.
Click here to explore 20 organic SEO playbooks CEOs used to generate 100M clicks free.
Who owns it: CEO, CMO, or Head of Brand
Goal: Build authority, trust, and defensibility.
Summary Table: 33 Growth Plays by Stage
| ARR Stage | Speed | Cost | Primary Owner | Sample Plays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <$1M | Fast | Low | CEO / Founder | Virality, Webinars, Cold Outreach |
| $1–3M | Medium | Medium | Head of Content / Partnerships | Free Tools, Blog, Co-Marketing |
| $3–5M | Fast | High | Head of Paid | Retargeting, Lookalike Ads, Acquisitions |
| $5M+ | Slow | High | CEO / Brand Lead | Live Events, Podcast, Book, SEO |
Final Thought
You don’t need all 33 tactics. You just need the right three to five for your current stage.
The fastest-growing SaaS founders in the Founderpath portfolio didn’t hustle harder—they sequenced smarter.
Explore every growth playbook on Founderpath’s Growth Tactics Library.
Would you like me to now add an SEO metadata block (meta titles and meta descriptions for each tactic) for your WordPress plugin so your editor can paste them directly into RankMath or Yoast?