In 2018, I started SparkToro after leaving Moz, the company I'd built to $30M/year revenue. I wrote a book about what went wrong called "Lost and Founder."

The VC Lesson

At Moz, we raised venture capital and it almost destroyed us. The pressure to grow at all costs led to bad decisions. With SparkToro, I wanted to do things differently.

Bootstrapping on Purpose

Casey and I raised $1.3M in what we call "alternative funding" - essentially patient capital with no board seats and no pressure to exit. We own 85% of the company.

Building in Public

I've always been transparent. I share our revenue, our struggles, our wins. People follow the journey. My SparkToro blog has become one of the most-read marketing blogs on the internet.

The Audience Research Problem

SparkToro helps marketers understand their audience - what they read, watch, follow, and where they spend time online. It's the research that used to require expensive surveys or focus groups.

1,000+ Paying Customers

We've grown to over 1,000 paying customers. The business is profitable. We work reasonable hours. It's the antithesis of my Moz experience.

• Founded: 2018
• Launched: April 2020
• Paying customers: 1,000+
• Outside funding: $1.3M (patient capital)
• Founders' equity: 85%