These days, more and more people are working from home and having meetings online. Companies are searching for new tools to make these virtual meetings better and more effective.
One such tool is Bluedot, a Chrome extension for Google Meet created by Russ Halilov and his team in 2023. Bluedot automates the note-taking process during meetings by using artificial intelligence to transcribe discussions, identify action items, and organize information in a user-friendly manner. Bluedot has really taken off, with over 200 business customers and $3,000 in monthly revenue.
In this article, we will look at the story of Bluedot, from how it started to its current success, and learn from the experiences of its founders.
Russ Halilov
The problem and the solution
Russ Halilov was an experienced entrepreneur who had successfully grown a recruitment agency to over $500,000 in annual revenue. However, during his time running the agency, he encountered a common problem that many professionals face - taking accurate and comprehensive meeting notes.
As Russ's recruitment agency expanded to a team of 15 consultants, this note-taking issue became even more pronounced. Each client the agency worked with had unique needs, and it was crucial for the team to maintain up-to-date information about these clients. But manually taking notes during fast-paced meetings was challenging and prone to errors or missing important details.
This realization led Russ and his team to the idea of creating their own solution - one that could seamlessly integrate with the virtual meeting platform they were already using, Google Meet. They set out to develop Bluedot, an AI-powered Chrome extension that could automate the note-taking process during Google Meet sessions.
The key innovation of Bluedot was its ability to leverage artificial intelligence to transcribe meetings, identify action items, and organize the information in a user-friendly way, all without the need for intrusive recording devices. This allowed meeting participants to stay focused on the conversation, while Bluedot handled the note-taking and organizational tasks in the background.
By addressing this common pain point faced by remote workers and distributed teams, Russ and his team at Bluedot saw an opportunity to develop a valuable tool that could significantly improve productivity and collaboration in the new era of virtual work.
Validation and pivoting
To validate their idea for Bluedot, the team conducted numerous interviews with potential customers. This approach provided them with valuable insights into the needs and pain points of their target market.
However, during the initial stages of product development, the Bluedot team made the mistake of prioritizing an integration with Zoom, another popular video conferencing platform. This decision turned out to be a misstep, as they soon discovered that potential users were hesitant to connect their company-wide Zoom accounts for testing purposes.
This decision proved to be a turning point in Bluedot's journey. By focusing on creating a seamless integration with Google Meet, the team was able to address the concerns of their potential customers. Users were more comfortable connecting their individual Google Meet accounts for testing and evaluation, rather than having to involve their entire organization's Zoom setup.
The pivot to a Google Meet-centric solution paved the way for wider adoption of Bluedot. Customers appreciated the user-friendly approach and the ability to use the tool without disrupting their existing virtual meeting workflows. This pivot demonstrated the Bluedot team's flexibility and willingness to adapt based on customer feedback, which ultimately contributed to the product's growing success.
Some of the customer feedback
Launching and gaining traction
With a product that delivered about 80% of the desired functionality, the Bluedot team felt confident in launching a private beta to their waiting list of interested users. They adopted a strategic approach, asking users to pay for the tool only once they had observed repeated usage and recorded more videos, indicating the true value that Bluedot was providing.
After securing their first two paying customers, the Bluedot team knew it was time to launch their product publicly. They spent a week carefully preparing for their launch on Product Hunt, a popular platform for showcasing new products.
Bluedot launch on product hunt.
However, the results from the Product Hunt launch were somewhat underwhelming. Bluedot secured the fifth spot on the platform, but this only generated a few hundred website visits. Despite the modest initial response, the Bluedot team's fortunes soon changed.
Four prominent newsletters in their industry mentioned Bluedot, generating ten times the traffic they had received from the Product Hunt launch. Remarkably, some of these newsletter mentions continued to convert users into paying customers even five months later, demonstrating the lasting impact of this earned media exposure.
The Bluedot team's willingness to launch with a minimum viable product, followed by their strategic approach to gaining initial customers and securing media mentions, proved to be a successful formula for building momentum and gaining traction in the market.
Acquiring early customers
The Bluedot team employed three key strategies to acquire their first customers:
- LinkedIn outreach: Russ and his team reached out to 200 people weekly, inviting them to participate in research calls. By being specific about what they aimed to validate, they secured 4-7 calls per week, converting 2-3 participants into product testers. Although time-consuming, this approach proved effective from the start.
- Newsletters: While some newsletters featured Bluedot for free after the Product Hunt launch, the team also invested $100-200 in paid placements, generating valuable traffic to their website.
- Reddit: Russ made around 40 posts on Reddit, which generated an impressive 1.5 million views and over 5,000 upvotes, driving free traffic to the Bluedot website.
Bluedot's current performance and growth
Right now, Bluedot has over 2,000 people using their Chrome extension, and more than 100 customers. It's important to note that the product can only be used by people with company email addresses, so Bluedot is focusing on business customers, not individual users.
The Bluedot team has found that Reddit has been a great way for them to grow. Several of their posts on Reddit have gone viral, which has led to a lot more people searching for and visiting the Bluedot website. This organic growth has been helpful, and the team has also focused on improving their website's SEO (search engine optimization) and creating helpful content. Russ, the founder, recommends that other founders invest in these areas early on, as they can be very effective for growing a business.
Examples of blogs found on the website
Bluedot youtube channel
Lessons learned
One of the biggest lessons the Bluedot team learned was the importance of investing in search engine optimization (SEO) from the very beginning. By creating helpful articles and blog posts that attract potential customers, and incorporating YouTube videos to generate additional traffic to their website, they have seen a positive impact on their long-term growth.
The team realized that SEO and content creation are crucial tools for building a successful SaaS business. By producing high-quality, informative content that addresses the needs and pain points of their target audience, they were able to increase their visibility and attract more potential customers to their product.
Additionally, the Bluedot team found that leveraging platforms like Reddit was an effective way to drive organic growth. By sharing valuable insights and engaging with the online community, they were able to generate a significant increase in brand awareness and direct website traffic.
For aspiring SaaS founders, the Bluedot example serves as a valuable lesson in the power of patience, adaptability, and a relentless focus on delivering value to customers. By investing in the right tools and strategies, entrepreneurs can position their products for long-term success and make a meaningful impact in their respective industries.
When it comes to the tools they rely on most, the Bluedot team highlights five key resources:
- Bluedot: They use their own tool to record meetings and tutorials.
- Pirsh Analytics: A top-notch alternative to Google Analytics.
- Apollo: An outreach tool for connecting with potential customers.
- Slack: The primary platform for client communication.
- Notion: The hub for all documentation and information.
Advice for aspiring founders
Drawing from his own experiences, Russ recommends "The Lean Startup" as a must-read book for fellow founders. He emphasizes the importance of not overthinking ideas and instead focusing on shipping products and iterating based on customer feedback.
Conclusion
Bluedot's success shows how identifying real problems, creating user-friendly solutions, and constantly improving based on customer feedback can build a thriving business. The team used outreach, content marketing, and organic growth strategies effectively.
As remote work continues to grow, productivity tools like Bluedot will become even more valuable. Aspiring SaaS founders can follow Bluedot's example of being lean and customer-focused to overcome challenges and build successful companies.
