Pre launch / MVP
Rapid mvp build
Built a minimal form-builder integration for Notion in just 6 days, capitalizing on the timing of Notion releasing its public API. Launched immediately with no monetization to reduce friction.
→ Working MVP live within 6 days of starting
Launch
Reddit community posting
Posted in Notion-focused subreddits immediately after publishing the product. Positioned it as free and brand-new, which reduced community pushback against self-promotion links.
→ Large initial user influx described as 'quite a lot of users pretty fast'
Launch
Facebook groups
Posted in multiple Notion-related Facebook Groups alongside Reddit. Identified Facebook Groups as 'super alive' and particularly effective for niche tool audiences.
→ Significant early user acquisition alongside Reddit push
Early growth
Product Hunt launch
Launched on Product Hunt to broaden visibility. Julian did not heavily prepare for this — it was a relatively low-effort listing.
→ Some additional traffic and a backlink, but zero sales attributed to the launch
Early growth
Twitter community engagement
Started engaging genuinely with relevant Twitter accounts (inspirational founders, Notion community figures) to build a follower base organically over time, rather than broadcasting cold promotional tweets.
→ Gradual follower and awareness growth; no specific numbers stated
Scaling — viral loop
Product led viral loop
Built a 'powered by NoteForms' attribution link into every form shared by users. Since forms are inherently shared publicly (embedded on websites, sent to respondents), every form submission became a brand impression. This created a compounding viral loop: more users → more forms shared → more signups.
→ Core growth engine; contributed to scaling to ~100K registered users
Users 100k users
Monetization launch
Email to existing users
After accumulating a large free user base with Pro-tagged locked features (labeled 'free during beta, will be paid later'), Julian flipped the paywall switch and emailed all existing users with a 40% lifetime discount code as a reward for early adoption.
→ First sale was a $90 annual subscription on day one; grew steadily from there to $37K MRR
Revenue growth
Google Ads
Invested approximately $3K/month in Google Ads as the primary paid acquisition channel. Julian noted this was the only paid channel used because it was the one he understood.
→ Ongoing paid acquisition contributing to current $37K MRR
MRR $37k
Retention & expansion
In product feedback loops
Embedded multiple in-product touchpoints (bug report buttons, feature request buttons, feedback prompts, AI chatbot trained on docs and past conversations) to continuously surface user needs. Only built features explicitly requested by users.
→ Higher retention and product-market fit improvement; reduced churn by building what users actually wanted
Pricing optimization
Pricing experimentation
Started with below-market pricing (justified by having fewer features than competitors). Gradually increased prices incrementally, monitoring conversion impact. Added higher-tier plans over time to capture more revenue per customer.
→ Price increases had no meaningful negative impact on conversion; added incremental MRR
MRR $37k