Founder stories
$100K ARRin 2 years
3 milestones
Corporate Marketer Quits Job, Pre-Sells Course, Reaches 7 Figures
Founder
Ellen Yin
Solo Founder•Non-technical•USA
Commitment
Full-timeExperience
First-timeProduct
Courses and community helping entrepreneurs transition from employee to business owner.
Type
Info ProductIndustry
EducationModel
HybridMarketing Strategy
How Ellen acquired customers
Primary Channel
Communities
Also Used
Twitter / X
Tech Stack
Tools used to build Cubicle to CEO
KajabiConvertKitInstagramZoom
The Full Story
TL;DR
Ellen pre-sold her first program with zero content, then built it based on customer feedback to reach 7-figure lifetime revenue.
Ellen Yin started her business after quitting her corporate marketing job. She initially took on small projects, but when a coworker became her first client, she realized she could monetize her marketing skills.
The Pivot
She pivoted from services to focus on creating and scaling digital products. Services were trading time for money; courses could scale infinitely.
The Pre-Sale Strategy
Her breakthrough came when she launched her first program with zero content - she pre-sold it to beta students before building anything. This validated demand and gave her cash flow to create the actual course.
The Growth
By listening to her students and iterating based on feedback, she grew her business. Today, Cubicle to CEO has reached seven figures in lifetime revenue, teaching entrepreneurs how to transition from employee to business owner.
- Time to $100K ARR: 2 years
- Strategy: Pre-sell before building
- First client: Former coworker
- Lifetime revenue: 7 figures
Key Takeaways
1
Pre-sell before you build - validate with real money, not surveys
2
Your first client can come from your existing network (coworker)
3
Launch with zero content and build based on paying customer feedback
4
Pivot from services to digital products for better scalability
Originally published onStarter Story
Inspired by Ellen's journey? Generate a business idea in the Education space using AI and real founder data.
Milestone Journey
Ellen achieved 3 milestones on the path to $100K ARR
First Customer
2 months
March 2018
38% faster
vs avg 3 months+10 months to next milestone
$1K MRR
$1,000
1 year
January 2019
Avg: 11 months
+1 year to next milestone
$100K ARR
$100,000
2 years
January 2020
38% faster
vs avg 3 years2 years
Total journey time
3
Milestones achieved
Ellen's Path to $100K ARRPremium
The journey, decisions, and context behind this milestone
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