💰 From Zero to $2M ARR: How This Power Couple Built a Profitable SaaS Without Funding

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🛠️ Building a SaaS in a Crowded Market? No Problem!

How many times have you ditched a business idea because someone else already did it? 🤔

Well, meet Marie Martens and Filip Minev—the couple who didn’t care about that at all and bootstrapped their startup, Tally Forms, to a jaw-dropping $2M ARR 💸…in a space dominated by giants like Google Forms and Typeform.

This is their story. And trust me, you’ll want to read this. 👇

💡 The Lightbulb Moment

Back in 2019, Marie and Filip—startup veterans and life partners—were working remotely and brainstorming ideas. One thing they constantly needed? A good form builder.

The problem? Most existing tools were either:
🚧 Too restrictive ❌
💰 Or too expensive (hello, paywalls) ❌

So instead of settling, they thought: Why not build our own? 🤯

That’s when the idea for Tally Forms was born—a Notion-style form builder with a freemium-first model (because who doesn’t love free stuff?).

🚀 The Launch (aka The Hustle Begins)

By September 2020, they were ready to unleash Tally into the world. But launching wasn’t enough—they needed users.

Here’s how they made it happen:
📢 Built in public—They shared their journey transparently on Twitter & their blog, attracting curious onlookers.
🧑‍🚀 Launched on Product Hunt & Indie Hackers—These platforms helped early adopters discover Tally.
🗣️ Word-of-mouth marketing—When users love a product, they talk about it. And that’s exactly what happened.

📈 The $2M ARR Breakthrough

By 2021, Tally’s optional pro plan ($29/month) started stacking revenue. Here’s what happened next:
✅ 10,000+ users & $10k MRR 🤑
✅ More features = More value 📈
✅ Businesses started ditching Typeform & Google Forms for Tally 🔥

Fast forward to 2023, and guess what?
💥 100,000+ users
💥 $2M ARR
💥 A lean team of just 5 people 🤯

And they did all this with ZERO outside investment.

💡 The Lesson? Competition = Opportunity

Too many founders think: “If someone else already built it, I’m too late.” ❌ WRONG.

What Marie & Filip proved is simple:
✅ A great product beats the competition
✅ Markets always have room for better solutions
✅ You only need a tiny sliver of the market to win big

So next time you stumble on a business idea and think “It’s already been done”—ask yourself:

🔥 How can I do it BETTER? 🔥

Because that could be your ticket to a multi-million dollar SaaS. 🚀

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