1st-time AI founder grows from $0 to $1.3M ARR in 8 months. Here's exactly how he did it. | Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, Founder of Artisan

A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

Jaspar graduated YC & closed a $11.5M seed round this week. He launched Artisan just 8 months ago. And this is the first venture-backed startup he's ever ran.
He started with product-led-growth but struggled. In May, he moved to a sales-first go-to-market & scaled from $200K ARR to $1.3M ARR by September.
We go deep and tactical to figure out exactly what he did to grow so fast: from hiring a Chief of Staff as one of his first hires, to living in the same house as his employees, to meeting 50-100 Account Executives for each AE he hires. He shares specific numbers, specific tactics, and specific mistakes he made along the way.
Why you should listen
- How solving a #1 priority problem is the single biggest reason for fast growth.
- How to use LinkedIn, Reddit, and SEO to generate so many leads your AE's are drowning. (Jaspar's AEs do 20 demo calls per day).
- How to close yourself by hiring a Chief of Staff early on.
- How to find 10/10 Account Executives that closes $300K ARR in their first month.
Keywords
startup growth, sales strategy, marketing tactics, customer success, hiring AEs, product-led growth, sales-led growth, founder insights, business scaling, ARR, product-market fit
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:03:44) Getting leads from Reddit
(00:06:00) Launching V1 quickly
(00:12:28) Getting leads from blogs & SEO
(00:15:33) Getting leads from LinkedIn
(00:17:10) Why you should hire a Chief of Staff Early
(00:21:30) How to hire the best Account Executives
(00:24:46) How to get to $1M ARR
(00:26:10) Making Customers Successful
(00:29:43) One Piece of Advice
Send me a message to let me know what you think!

Capitole

1. 1st-time AI founder grows from $0 to $1.3M ARR in 8 months. Here's exactly how he did it. | Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, Founder of Artisan (00:00:00)

2. Getting leads from Reddit (00:03:44)

3. Launching Quickly (00:06:00)

4. Getting leads from blogs & SEO (00:12:28)

5. Getting leads from LinkedIn (00:15:33)

6. Why a Chief of Staff is a key first hire (00:17:10)

7. How to hire the best Account Executives (00:21:30)

8. How to get to $1M ARR (00:24:46)

9. Making Customers Successful (00:26:10)

10. One Piece of Advice (00:29:43)