Finding product-market fit through call blocking
Alex explains how customer behavior revealed that a voicemail feature was solving a different problem: blocking unwanted robocalls.
Summary ·Watch at 06:48
Founder conversationGuru $10m+
Service vs. Solution: How YouMail Broke $10M ARR Stopping Bots
Customer behavior showed a voicemail feature was really solving robocalls, which reshaped where the paywall sits
Alex Quilici · YouMail
Published September 6, 2024About this resource
- Format
- SaaSOpen 2024 NYC
- Length
- 18 min video
- Inside
- 9 key moments
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What you’ll learn
Alex explains how customer behavior revealed that a voicemail feature was solving a different problem: blocking unwanted robocalls. Alex describes the difference between YouMail’s free spam blocking and its paid caller screening, and how unwanted calls create an upgrade moment.
Read the source passagesKey moments
Find the ideas you need and go straight to the source.
Placing the paywall where the need appears
Alex describes the difference between YouMail’s free spam blocking and its paid caller screening, and how unwanted calls create an upgrade moment.
Summary ·Watch at 11:36
Turning consumer call data into a B2B service
Alex explains how YouMail uses call data to help carriers identify misuse and clean up their networks.
Summary ·Watch at 13:29
Expanding into Europe through an acquisition
Alex discusses buying a small European business to add local data, team members, and a subscription service.
Summary ·Watch at 16:23
YouMail growth story
“SaaSOpen, September 2024 Service vs. Solution: How YouMail Broke $10M ARR Stopping Bots Alex Quilici CEO, YouMail”
YouMail protection
“Get Protected with YouMail”
Revenue growth
“Our Revenue Growth”
Funding history
“Funding History”
Current protection product
“Today Get Protected with YouMail”
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Video
Service vs. Solution: How YouMail Broke $10M ARR Stopping Bots - Slide Deck
CEO of YouMail, a company providing robocall protection and visual voicemail services to mobile users.
- Company revenue
- $10M
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Slide by slide
Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.
10 passages
YouMail and the bot-protection topic
Slide text
SaaSOpen, September 2024 Service vs. Solution: How YouMail Broke $10M ARR Stopping Bots Alex Quilici CEO, YouMail
The protection product
YouMail's pitch today: stop spam calls
YouMail now sells protection from unwanted contact rather than a voicemail service. Its homepage leads with one promise, stopping spam calls, texts, and voicemail, with a single Get Started button. A strip of national media logos sits below as social proof.
Slide text
Get Protected with YouMail
Revenue growth
Revenue grew from $7.1M to an estimated $18.5M
Total revenue rose from 7.1 in 2019 to 18.5 estimated for 2025 (millions), with a flat stretch at 10.9 in 2022 and 10.8 in 2023. B2C stays between 5.7 and 8.8 each year while B2B drives the later growth, reaching 5.1 in 2024 and 8.2 estimated for 2025.
Slide text
Our Revenue Growth
2007: a free voicemail product in beta
YouMail started as a beta voicemail service for cell phones, sold on custom greetings per caller. The page offers a three-step signup that takes minutes and asks users to send feature suggestions.
Slide text
2007
Funding history
Eight venture rounds between 2007 and 2015
YouMail raised eight rounds over eight years, from a $1.9M Series A in April 2007 to a $5M Series B in June 2015. Round sizes range from $355K to $5.5M, with the largest in March 2015. The valuation column is empty for every round.
Slide text
Funding History
2011: pitched as a missed-call app
By 2011 YouMail positioned itself as a smartphone app for handling missed calls. The page promotes visual voicemail on a BlackBerry, shows support for iPhone and Android, and pushes a free signup.
Slide text
2011
2019: robocall blocking as a free offer
In 2019 the message turned to blocking robocalls, offered free. The page asks only for a phone number to start, and the app screenshot shows blocked IRS, debt collector, and solar telemarketer calls. This is the shift from a voicemail service to a solution to a specific problem.
Slide text
2019
Current growth context
Revenue chart again, with B2B growth in focus
The same revenue chart returns after the product timeline. B2C holds roughly flat between 5.7 and 8.8 million while the B2B share expands from 2022 on. Total revenue climbs to 14.5 in 2024 and an estimated 18.5 in 2025.
Slide text
Our Revenue Growth
Today's homepage sells protection, not voicemail
The current homepage closes the story: the headline is stopping spam calls, texts, and voicemail, with one Get Started action. Compared with 2007 and 2011, the product is described by the problem it removes. A Labor Day discount banner runs above the navigation.
Slide text
Today Get Protected with YouMail
Thank you and speaker contact
Closing slide that thanks the audience and invites them to email Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail, directly. It shows his photo, the YouMail logo, and the SaaSOpen September 2024 branding.
Slide text
SaaSOpen, September 2024 Thank you! [redacted email] Alex Quilici CEO, YouMail