Converting Unsustainable Growth

Ankur Nagpal shares how Teachable achieved significant growth by embracing what seemed like unsustainable practices, turning them into a repeatable growth engine. Despite initial skepticism, this approach led to consistent month-over-month growth and ultimately built what Teachable is today.

Key Points:

• Growth Journey:

  • Started slow with only $10k MRR after first year despite having raised $1M
  • Reached $1.5M in monthly revenue, with 80% from recurring revenue ($1.1M MRR)
  • Creators now earn over $20M monthly on the platform

• Growth Strategy Philosophy:

  • What seems unsustainable can become sustainable if done repeatedly
  • Local optimization month after month creates long-term success
  • Don't leave growth to chance - reverse engineer it

• Key Growth Metrics:

  • Current LTV around $900, trending toward $1,000
  • Free-to-paid conversion rate at 5%
  • Traditional paid acquisition hasn't worked (CAC around $5,000)

• Successful Growth Channels:

  • Free plan as main acquisition tool
  • Partner promotions and events
  • Affiliate programs
  • Organic "powered by Teachable" referrals
  • No successful paid advertising (yet)

• Benefits of Rapid Growth:

  • Built momentum and excitement
  • Helped raise money
  • Created strong company morale
  • People overlooked operational issues during 30-40% monthly growth

• Current Challenges:

  • Need to learn paid acquisition for future growth
  • Enterprise plan being discontinued due to lack of product-market fit
  • Must maintain doubling year-over-year while finding new growth channels

• Growth Model Approach:

  • Monthly targets with backward planning
  • Regular testing and adjustment of strategies
  • Willingness to kill unsuccessful initiatives
  • Focus on organic growth at scale