Flowmapp - My $600k ARR Bootstrapped SEO Crush

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Sup Hustlers 👊🏼,

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” - Isaac Newton

I used to shoot by the hip.

I’d hop into meetings without prepping, speak openly and instinctively, and dive right into projects with enthusiasm to get me through. I was proud of this.

But, I’ve changed. I’m embarrassed of that version of me - even though some of him is still in me.

I’ve reset my personal operating system. Plan & prep, seek insight before taking action, and play chess with words. I’m not perfect at this but it’s become my preferred MO.

As part of this transformation I love playbooks Whether it’s a framework, a model, or even a best practice I’ve become so greedy about playbooks — steeling them from articles, YouTube videos, and - most valuably - mentors.

The whole reason I’m interviewing other founders is to selfishly improve myself based on their learnings. It’s why I love the quote by Newton above and why I’m so excited to share this week’s guest, Andrey Severin, the Founder and CEO of Flowmapp.

🚫 No outside funding
👥 Knowing your Audience
🆓 No paid advertising
🏃🏽‍➡️ Shipping Fast
🤯 Advice for bootstrappers

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Flowmapp.com has become one of the most powerful tools in lowercase’s SEO playbook. It’s the solution to the part of SEO that I think most companies fatally overlook - strategic site architecture.

Flowmapp has helped lowercase:

• Audit our competitor’s SEO strategy

• Visualize our client’s SEO strategy

• Wireframe the UX of pages

• Save a ton of time on rounds of revision with designers & developers

Most companies think SEO is about writing a bunch of articles and shoving them in the /blog section of their site. It’s analogous to building a house without a blueprint.

Flowmapp is a sitemap and wireframing tool that might not help you come up with the strategy but will help you design the strategy with clarity and share it in a way that your team/clients will immediately understand.Flowmapp, like many products was born out of an agency that began creating tools for themselves. Andrey and his co-founder Paul Mit have bootstrapped Flowmapp all the way to 300k users and $600k in ARR.

Ok enough - let’s hear from Andrey.

You bootstrapped Flowmapp 7 years ago. What did the early days look like?

Andrey: In the early days of FlowMapp, things were pretty chaotic and intense. We didn't have big resources or investors, so we worked with what we had. The focus was on creating a product that solved real problems for designers and developers. We experimented a lot, often working nights and weekends to move faster. Our team was small but very dedicated and motivated. We heavily relied on user feedback to quickly improve the product. It was a time of great challenges but also tremendous growth and learning.

At the same time, we ran a web studio that built websites for clients. The income from these projects funded FlowMapp's development. This was a double challenge: managing client projects while developing our own product. However, it allowed us to stay independent and move at our own pace.

Did you consider raising from VCs or get feedback from VCs early on?

Andrey: Yes, we did consider raising funds from VCs and even got some early feedback from them. However, we decided to bootstrap instead. We wanted to maintain control over the direction of FlowMapp and build it according to our vision. The feedback from VCs was valuable, but we felt that bootstrapping gave us the freedom to move at our own pace and make decisions that were best for our users and product.

It’s impressive the scale and the speed at which you ship. What does the flowmapp team look like today and could you share some insight into your product process?

Andrey: Thank you for the feedback! Indeed, after releasing version 3.0, we significantly increased the speed of shipping new features to production. This was achieved by building a simpler and more robust application architecture. Additionally, we redesigned and rewrote the entire frontend from scratch. Now, implementing new ideas, such as the Project Estimation Cost or the Figma plugin, takes us from just a few days to a couple of weeks.

Our team remains small, just 11 people, but we see this as an advantage. Each team member feels responsible and understands their contribution to the development, which is highly motivating!

As for our product process, it's pretty standard for most startups. My co-founder Paul and I develop the product strategy and backlog. Based on this, tasks are created for design and development. Once developed, new features are hidden under a feature flag, tested, and then gradually rolled out to all or some users. Using Sentry and feedback from our users, we collect feedback and fix bugs that we might have missed. We also monitor the performance of the released features using Google Analytics.

That's a brief overview of our process.

You’ve shared in various posts and articles that you’ve spent $0 in advertising and have a multi-channel approach to growth. What are the top channels for growth for Flowmapp today?

Andrey: Thanks for noticing! Indeed, we've spent $0 on advertising and used a multi-channel approach to grow Flowmapp. Our top channels for growth today include:

• SEO: We started optimizing our site before launch, making it a significant source of our initial traffic.

• Content Marketing: We run a blog on our website and publish on Medium, which has helped us build a strong brand voice and reach a wider audience.

• Social Media: Engaging with users on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

• Landing Page: Our award-winning landing page plays a crucial role in user acquisition and conversion.

• Community Engagement: Being active in relevant communities like Reddit, Indie Hackers, various Telegram groups, etc.

• Product Hunt: We've launched on Product Hunt multiple times, which has been a major driver for initial user acquisition. We are currently preparing for another launch on Product Hunt — come support us!

• Partnerships: Collaborating with similar startups for co-promotions and mutual growth.

These strategies help us grow organically without spending on ads.

Are there any channels you’d like to try but haven’t been able to yet?

Andrey: I think in the future, it would be interesting to work with PR agencies and see the impact of such collaboration.

Additionally, channels like paid advertising and affiliate marketing are on our radar.

However, these require more resources than what we currently have.

Can you share the 6 minute rule and where it came from?

Andrey: The 6-minute rule is a productivity trick we use at FlowMapp. It came from the idea that many tasks can be started and often finished within six minutes. Since our team is small, we handle a mix of small and big tasks. I always try to knock out the little tasks first, so I can focus on the bigger ones without distractions. This helps keep us moving and productive throughout the day.

As you think about the future of the product, how big do you hope Flowmapp will be?

Andrey: Right now, we’re forming a new product strategy. Most of our clients are small business owners, sales managers, project and product managers, and consultants. We want to provide more tools to make their work easier. Our goal is to help them sell more websites faster using FlowMapp. We aim to help them "win more clients and save days of work." As for the future, we hope FlowMapp will become an essential tool for these professionals, making their jobs smoother and more efficient.

Any advice (or even a favorite quote) to share with someone starting, especially bootstrapping, now?

Andrey: My advice for someone starting out, especially if you're bootstrapping, is to start small and deliver quickly. Avoid hiring a large team for as long as possible to save on costs. Stay resilient and resourceful. Focus on solving real problems for your users and be open to feedback. Believe in yourself and don't give up. If you face setbacks, pivot and look for an idea that will succeed. You’ve got this!

A favorite quote that resonates with me is from Richard Branson: "Screw it, let's do it."

Shoutouts! Any favorite software/SaaS that Flowmapp uses to run/build/grow the business?

Andrey: Absolutely! Here are some of our favorite software and SaaS tools that help us run, build, and grow FlowMapp:

• Flowmapp (of course): We use our own tool to design content and wireframes for new site pages, blog, user flows, and new tools, then export results to Figma.

• Figma: For further design and prototyping.

• Notion: For all company and technical documentation.

• Slack: For team communication.

• Zoom: For calls and team meetings.

• Loom: For recording video tutorials and explainers.

• Google Analytics: To analyze product performance.Working in their interface is a complete pain. We need to look for an alternative.

• Webflow: For developing our website and blog.

• Typeform: For conducting user surveys.

These are the essential tools that keep our startup running and growing.

If you enjoyed this and want to stay updated follow us at: https://x.com/severin_pro and https://x.com/FlowMapp

What’s going on with your stealth startup Rikin?

We’re building! The early days feel slow and a bit grueling but we’re laying down some of the most formative parts of our code and making the hard strategic decisions on our GTM and v1 features.

I’m so lucky that I found a coach. Someone with a ton of startup experience building a tool that I’m sure you’ve all heard of. But more importantly someone I trust and who has been unafraid to show me the flaws in my thinking while being equally encouraging.

It’s kind of wild but I have known both my co-founder and my coach for nearly 20 years each. Feels good to have that kind of relationship with people in these early days.

I’ve spent alot of time thinking about our pitch as I’ve concluded that raising is the best path forward as our ambition continues to reveal its true size as we continue.

Until next week!

Rikin

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