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How we went from zero to $1.2M ARR in 14 months (and what I'd do differently)
When I joined Axionray as Founding Head of Sales, there was no pipeline, no process, no playbook. Just a product with real potential in the manufacturing SaaS space.
Here's what the first 90 days looked like:
Week 1-3: ICP definition. Not "manufacturing companies" but specifically switchgear, automotive, and renewable energy verticals. The tighter the ICP, the faster deals moved.
Week 4-8: Built outbound from scratch. Cold sequences, LinkedIn, referrals. Every message tested and iterated.
Week 9-12: First 3 deals closed. Average deal size $45K. 60-90 day cycles.
By month 14: 27 deals closed. $1.2M in revenue. 98% customer retention. 120% of quota. Team grew to 15 people.
The biggest lesson? Pipeline quality beats pipeline quantity every time. We ran MEDDIC on every deal. Deals that didn't qualify got cut early, which freed us to go deep on the ones that mattered.
The HubSpot RevOps build was the second most important thing we did. When your forecast is 80% accurate, you stop guessing and start managing.
If you're a founder trying to get from 0 to your first $1M ARR, I've been there. Happy to talk.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
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