Zaarly’s founder on how he got 100,000 subscribers in 3.5 months

This guide is based on Mixergy’s interview with Bo Fishback.

After serving as the vice president of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation, Bo Fishback started his own company and got 100,000 subscribers in just three and a half months. It was all done by building on his goodwill, so we invited him to teach you how to do it.

Bo is the cofounder of Zaarly, a marketplace that changes the way people buy goods and services locally.

His experience is unique (like all the interviewees on Mixergy) and it can’t be duplicated step for step, but there’s a lot you can learn from this interview, so we created this cheat sheet.

Here are the actionable highlights from the interview.

1. Form relationships to get contacts who can help with funding and promotion

One of Bo’s cofounders volunteered to set up Startup Weekend as a nonprofit, and he gained contacts who later helped Zaarly raise seed funding.

Take Action:

Offer to work on projects for other startups, even if they can’t give you a monetary reward.

2. Publicize your company before you launch so you’ll have customers on day one

Two days before his site went live, Bo hired a team of 30 people to walk around the South by Southwest conference and tell attendees about Zaarly’s upcoming marketplace service.

Take Action:

Hire people to talk about your company and explain your product’s features to others.

3. Get social media attention to get more potential customers to preregister

Bo gave away an iPad to the Twitter user who got the most friends to sign up for Zaarly.

Take Action:

Offer a prize or early access to your website to contacts with a large social network who convince their friends to preregister.

4. Communicate with customers so they’ll return to use your service

Bo sends subscribers text alerts when new tasks are posted to Zaarly in their city.

Take Action:

Send an email or text message whenever there’s a new deal or offer that’s relevant for your customers.

5. Thank everyone who preregisters to build goodwill with prospects

Bo sent out personalized videos expressing gratitude and asking people to try out the Zaarly app on launch day.

Take Action:

Email the people who signed up, thank them for their support, and invite them to participate in your launch.

6. Promote with targeted messages instead of spam to hook more people

Bo has over 1,000 Twitter accounts for Zaarly, and each account tweets location-specific information rather than “Sign up here!” spam.

Take Action:

Create multiple social media accounts to target different demographics.

Want to make sure you get results?

Watch the full interview now
Written by Sarah Brodsky, based on production notes by Jeremy Weisz