Back in 2017, three friends - Matthew, Ian, and Nick - decided to start an online community called "Traffic Think Tank" for professionals working in search engine optimization (SEO). They knew it wouldn't be easy to build an online community from scratch, as there was already a lot of competition out there. But they believed they could create something special if they focused on quality over quantity.
One of the tougher decisions they faced early on was whether to charge people a monthly fee to join the community. $99 per month is quite a lot of money, and the founders weren't sure if people would be willing to pay that much.
But they decided to go for the subscription model anyway. Their thinking was that by charging a fee, they could keep the community small and exclusive. This would allow them to provide really high-quality resources and support for the members.
It ended up being a great call. Over the next 6 years, Traffic Think Tank grew into a thriving, tight-knit community of SEO experts. The members loved the value they were getting for their $99 per month.
Then in 2023, Semrush proposed to acquire Traffic Think Tank. They offered the founders a huge $1.8 million payout, which was an amazing outcome for a project that started as a side gig just 6 years earlier.
This article is going to explore how Matthew, Ian, and Nick were able to build such a successful online community, the key lessons they learned along the way, and the strategic moves they made that ultimately led to their big payday.
Co-founders of Traffic Think Tank
The birth of Traffic Think Tank
It all started back in 2014 when one of the founders, Matthew, got invited to join a private Facebook group. This group was made up of some of the top SEO experts in the industry.
In this private group, the SEO experts would share their best, most effective strategies and techniques. But there was a strict rule that everything had to be kept confidential. The members knew that if their strategies became widely known, they would become less effective.
Being part of this exclusive, private community really opened Matthew's eyes. He saw how powerful and valuable it could be for SEO professionals to have a space where they could openly share their most successful tactics and learn from each other.
Matthew realized that if he could create a similar kind of community, but do it in a more structured, organized way, it could be incredibly beneficial for SEO experts. They would get access to a treasure trove of proven strategies, as long as they were willing to pay the membership fee and follow the confidentiality rules.
This was the spark that led Matthew and his two friends, Ian and Nick, to decide they wanted to build their own online community for SEO professionals. They named it Traffic Think Tank and structured it around three key pillars:
- A private Slack community accessible through a $99 monthly subscription.
- Weekly publication of new educational content.
- Direct access for members to ask questions to the founders.
- Monthly live Q&A sessions on Zoom.
The decision to charge for access was not made lightly. While offering the community for free would have attracted more members quickly, the founders understood that a paid model would filter out spam and ensure a higher quality of engagement. Despite initial skepticism, they limited their community to 100 members and quickly reached capacity.
Growing the community
As Traffic Think Tank grew, it became evident that the true value of the community lay in the personal connections it facilitated. The founders recognized this and focused their efforts on building a trusted brand that resonated with their members. They obsessed over creating an environment that fostered genuine connections and provided valuable insights to their community.
Over time, the Traffic Think Tank community kept growing. They ended up bringing on three part-time contractors to help out. And they built up over 750 active members. The community had a ton of great content - more than 300 hours of educational videos, plus online courses that members could access anytime. The members were also really active, posting tens of thousands of messages to each other every month.
All this growth meant the founders - Matthew, Ian, and Nick - were bringing in around $1 million in revenue each year from membership fees. This was a big accomplishment, but it also meant they had some big decisions to make. They could either bring on some additional business partners to help them manage everything. Or they could expand their team by hiring more full-time staff. The other option was to consider selling the whole company to another business that could help take Traffic Think Tank to the next level of growth.
The founders had to think carefully about which path would be best for the long-term future of the community they had built. They knew they had reached an important crossroads in the life of their company.
The road to acquisition
When larger companies began expressing interest in acquiring Traffic Think Tank, the founders were hesitant. They wanted to ensure that any potential buyer would be a good fit for the community they had poured their hearts into. It wasn't until SEO giant Semrush approached them that they found a match that felt right.
Semrush, a company that Howells-Barby had advised and that all the founders respected, had a track record of successful acquisitions, including the purchase of Backlinko, an SEO training website, and newsletter. The founders unanimously agreed that Semrush could be a buyer that would truly add value to their community.
In 2023, Semrush acquired Traffic Think Tank for $1.8 million. The acquisition allowed Semrush to expand its "Semrush Academy," providing marketers with access to communities focused on SEO, content marketing, social media, and digital PR.
Lessons learned and advice for entrepreneurs
Throughout their journey, the founders of Traffic Think Tank learned valuable lessons that they shared with aspiring entrepreneurs. Howells-Barby emphasized three key pieces of advice:
- Choose your co-founders carefully to minimize friction during the acquisition process.
- Prepare for extensive due diligence by doing administrative work early on.
- Prioritize customer experience over revenue expansion, especially for community-related businesses.
Howells-Barby stressed the importance of having the right user agreements, terms, and contracts in place to ensure that the business owns all the intellectual property created by its customers. He also highlighted the significance of having well-organized founder and employee equity agreements to avoid complications during the sale process.
For community-based businesses, Howells-Barby emphasized that customer satisfaction is paramount. He revealed that they had turned down opportunities to earn significant affiliate revenue by promoting software to their loyal following of digital marketers, prioritizing the integrity of their community over short-term financial gains.
The Semrush expansion
The acquisition of Traffic Think Tank was part of Semrush's larger expansion strategy. In addition to TTT, Semrush has acquired several other companies in recent years, including Backlinko, Kompyte, and Prowly.
Backlinko, acquired in 2022, was an SEO training website and newsletter with a substantial email list of nearly 175,000 subscribers, including marketers from prominent companies like Apple, Disney, IBM, and Amazon. Kompyte, also acquired in 2022, is an AI-driven competitive intelligence automation and sales enablement platform designed to simplify the tracking and analysis of competitor insights for various teams within an organization. In 2020, Semrush acquired Prowly, an all-in-one workflow automation solution for PR professionals.
These strategic acquisitions have allowed Semrush to strengthen its position as a leading provider of digital marketing tools and resources, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions for SEO, content marketing, social media, and public relations professionals.
Life after the exit
Following the acquisition, the co-founders of Traffic Think Tank embarked on new projects. Howells-Barby took a few months off to spend time with his family before joining Kraken Digital Asset Exchange as the Vice President for Growth. Ian Howells became the Head of SEO for The Grit Group, a digital marketing agency. Nick Eubanks assumed the role of Vice President of Owned Media for Semrush while also partnering in Super Limited Co., a venture studio that acquires, builds, and operates digital assets.
The success story of Traffic Think Tank serves as an inspiring example of how a side hustle can transform into a multi-million dollar acquisition. By prioritizing quality over quantity, building genuine connections, and consistently delivering value to their community, the founders built a thriving business that attracted the attention of industry giants like Semrush.
