Founder stories
$100K ARRin 15 years
4 milestones
Started 2008 with 2 tools, grew organically for decade without VC to NYSE
Founder
Oleg Shchegolev
Co-Founders•Technical•USA
Commitment
Full-timeExperience
First-timeProduct
Online visibility and marketing analytics platform.
Type
SaaSIndustry
MarketingModel
SubscriptionMarketing Strategy
How Oleg acquired customers
Primary Channel
SEO / Content
Also Used
CommunitiesWord of Mouth
Tech Stack
Tools used to build Semrush
PHPMySQLAWSCustom Analytics
The Full Story
We started Semrush in 2008 with just 2 tools. Grew organically for a decade without VC money. Now public on NYSE with 7M+ users.
Bootstrap to IPO
We bootstrapped for over a decade before going public. Grew entirely through SEO and word-of-mouth.
Build Tools for Yourself
We built the tools we needed ourselves. Eating your own dog food ensures product quality.
Educational Focus
Our blog became an educational resource. Teaching built authority and trust.
- Started with: 2 tools
- Years bootstrapped: 10+
- Users: 7M+
- Status: NYSE public
Key Takeaways
1
Build tools for yourself first
2
Growing without VC is possible with SEO expertise
3
Decade of patience can lead to IPO
4
Educational content builds lasting authority
Originally published onSemrush Blog
Inspired by Oleg's journey? Generate a business idea in the Marketing space using AI and real founder data.
Milestone Journey
Oleg achieved 4 milestones on the path to $100K ARR
First Customer
6 months
July 2008
Avg: 3 months
+6 months to next milestone
$1K MRR
$1,000
1 year
January 2009
Avg: 11 months
+1 year to next milestone
$10K MRR
$10,000
2 years
January 2010
Avg: 1 year
+13 years to next milestone
$100K ARR
$500,000,000
15 years
January 2023
Avg: 3 years
15 years
Total journey time
4
Milestones achieved
Oleg's Path to $100K ARRPremium
The journey, decisions, and context behind this milestone
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