Alex Turnball, founder and CEO of Groove
Alex Turnbull has a track record of building successful tech companies. His first startup sold for $15 million. After that, he created Groove, a customer support tool that now makes $5 million every year. These achievements are impressive, but Turnbull isn't stopping there.
His newest project is called Helpy. It's an AI-powered customer service tool that works across different platforms. Turnbull's goal for Helply is bold: he wants it to make $10 million a year, double what Groove is currently earning.
This journey from one successful company to potentially an even bigger one is worth examining. Turnbull's approach to business is different from many in the tech world. He doesn't take money from investors, preferring to build his companies with his own funds. This 'bootstrapping' method comes with challenges, especially when competing against well-funded rivals.
Turnbull's story also stands out because of how open he is about his business journey. He gained attention and customers for Groove by writing about the company's growth in detail. Now, he's planning to do the same with Helply, but using LinkedIn instead of a blog.
If you've ever thought about starting your own thing, or you're just curious about how these tech companies get off the ground, stick around. Let’s look at the business secrets Turnbull shared with us.
How Groove started
Back in 2009, Alex Turnbull was working at a different startup. His job involved talking to customers and fixing their problems. The company was using a tool called Zendesk to manage customer support, but Turnbull thought it could be better.
He had an idea: what if there was a tool that was easier for support staff to use? And what if customers didn't have to see all the behind-the-scenes stuff, like ticket numbers?
Turnbull couldn't code, but he knew how to design how a product should work. So he started drawing up plans for his idea. Around this time, his other startup sold for $15 million. Instead of taking it easy, Turnbull decided to use $350,000 of his own money to start building Groove.
"I wasn't even sure it would work," Turnbull says. "But I knew from my experience that it was needed. It was a risky move."
This was a big risk. He didn't know if anyone would want to buy his new tool. But he trusted his gut feeling. He knew from his own experience that businesses needed something like this.
It took time, but the risk paid off. Now, 12 years later, Groove makes $5 million every year. It turns out Turnbull was right - lots of businesses did want an easier way to do customer support.
What Helply is all about
Helply is Turnbull's new project. It's different from Groove in some important ways. While Groove is a complete customer support system, Helply is more focused. It's an AI helper for customer service that can work with different software systems.
Here's what that means: Helply uses artificial intelligence to help answer customer questions. But it's not tied to just one customer service system. It can work with many different ones.
Turnbull isn't just guessing that people want this. He's talking to lots of potential customers to make sure. His goal is to have 500 conversations with different businesses about Helply. So far, he's talked to 150.
Why is Turnbull starting Helply when Groove is doing well? He has three main reasons:
1. AI is changing customer support fast. Turnbull wants to be ahead of this change, not caught off guard by it.
2. Lots of businesses, even ones not using Groove, have told Turnbull they need something like Helply. He sees a big opportunity to help these businesses.
3. Turnbull loves the excitement of building something new from scratch. Even though Groove is successful, he misses the early days of creating a brand new product.
Why Turnbull doesn't take investor money
Many tech startups take money from investors to grow quickly. But Turnbull does things differently. He uses his own money to build his companies. This is called "bootstrapping."
Bootstrapping can be tough. When you use your own money, you usually have less to spend than companies that take investor cash. This can make it hard to hire lots of people or build new features quickly.
"Using my own money lets me focus on making a profit, not just growing fast," he says. "It also lets us really listen to what customers want."
So why does Turnbull choose this harder path? He believes it has some big advantages:
1. Freedom to focus on profits: When you take investor money, there's often pressure to grow as big as possible, as fast as possible. This can mean losing money for years. Turnbull prefers to build a business that makes money from the start.
2. Control over decisions: Investors often want a say in how the company is run. By using his own money, Turnbull can make decisions based on what he thinks is best, not what investors want.
3. Customer focus: Without investor pressure, Turnbull can focus on what customers want, even if it doesn't lead to explosive growth.
To make bootstrapping work, Turnbull says you need to be very organized and efficient. He uses a system called the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to help make good decisions and use resources wisely.
How Turnbull grows his companies
Turnbull has an unusual approach to marketing his companies. Instead of spending lots of money on ads, he shares the story of building his business openly with the public.
For Groove, Turnbull wrote a blog called "Journey to $100K." In this blog, he shared details about Groove's growth that most companies keep secret. He wrote about how much money the company was making, what strategies were working, and what mistakes they made.
This open approach got a lot of attention. Over 100 different publications wrote articles about Groove, all without Turnbull paying for advertising. People were interested in the real story behind building a startup, and they shared Groove's story with others.
For his new company, Helply, Turnbull is using a similar strategy, but with a twist. Instead of writing a blog, he's posting updates on LinkedIn every single day. He shares what he's working on, what he's learning, and the challenges he's facing.
Turnbull believes this open approach does more than just get attention. It builds trust with potential customers. When people see the real story behind a company, they're more likely to want to do business with it.
He advises other business owners to try this too. "Don't worry about looking perfect," he says. "Share your real experiences. You'd be surprised how many doors it can open."
This method takes time and effort. Turnbull has to create new content every day. But he believes it's worth it. It's a way to stand out in a crowded market without spending a fortune on advertising.
Turnbull's marketing approach
Alex Turnbull doesn't do marketing like most companies. He combines old-school methods with new tricks to get the word out about his products. Here's how he does it:
First, he creates lots of helpful content. This could be blog posts, videos, or social media updates. The key is to make stuff that people actually want to read or watch. It's not about selling directly, but about sharing useful information.
Then, he uses new tools to find people who might be interested in his product. There are programs that can look at who's visiting his website and find their contact info. Turnbull uses tools like Clay and Instantly to do this automatically.
Once he has a list of potential customers, he reaches out to them. But he doesn't just send the same message to everyone. He uses what he's learned about them to make his messages personal.
Turnbull says this method takes time to work. "You need to do it for a solid year," he says. It's about building relationships slowly, not just making quick sales.
He also warns that you can't just copy what worked for someone else.
"What works changes all the time," he says. "You have to keep trying new things and see what works for you."
Dealing with self-doubt
Even successful people like Turnbull sometimes doubt themselves. In fact, Turnbull once stopped writing his popular blog because he felt like a fraud. This feeling is called imposter syndrome, and it's common among entrepreneurs.
But Turnbull has found ways to deal with these feelings. His main advice? Do your homework.
"The cure for self-doubt is what I call 'proof of work'," he explains.
This means:
1. Really researching your ideas
2. Looking closely at your data
3. Talking to lots of customers
4. Thinking hard about arguments against your idea
5. Explaining your plans to others and getting their support
When you do all this work, it's harder to doubt yourself. You know you've done your best to make good decisions.
Turnbull also suggests:
- Remembering past successes
- Focusing on small improvements rather than being perfect
- Looking at facts and data when you start to doubt yourself
- Talking to mentors or friends when you're struggling
- Being kind to yourself - everyone makes mistakes sometimes
The most important thing, Turnbull says, is to keep going even when you're not sure of yourself.
Advice for new entrepreneurs
Turnbull's main advice for people who want to start a business is simple: just start. Here's what he suggests:
1. Find your people: Look for 100 people who might want what you're selling. These are your ideal customers.
2. Talk and listen: Have conversations with these people. Don't just tell them about your idea. Ask about their problems and really listen to what they say.
3. Test your idea: Based on what you learn, create a simple version of your product. It doesn't have to be perfect.
4. Get feedback: Let some people try your product. Pay attention to what they like and don't like.
5. Keep Improving: Use what you learn to make your product better.
Turnbull emphasizes that you don't need a finished product to start. "Even if you don't have anything built yet, go out and talk to people," he says. "Share your ideas and learn from their reactions."
He also advises new entrepreneurs to be patient. Success rarely happens overnight. It's about making small progress every day.
Balancing ambition and well-being
As Turnbull has grown older and more successful, his goals have changed. When he was younger, he dreamed of being rich and famous. Now, he's more interested in building good businesses while also having a happy life.
"My goal now is to feel peaceful while still building something that lasts," he says. This doesn't mean he's not working hard. In fact, Turnbull says he's working harder than ever. But he's doing it in a way that doesn't take over his whole life.
Here's how he balances work and life:
1. Set work boundaries: Turnbull works intensely for 4.5 days a week. But when Friday afternoon comes, he stops. He doesn't bring work into his weekends.
2. Define success differently: For Groove, Turnbull is happy with steady growth of 12% each year. He doesn't feel the need to turn it into a huge, world-dominating company.
3. Set ambitious goals wisely: While he's content with Groove's steady growth, Turnbull has set a big goal for Helply - to reach $10 million in yearly sales. But he's approaching this goal with less stress and more balance than he might have in the past.
4. Share the journey: Turnbull plans to openly share how he's building Helply. This includes his marketing strategies, his affiliate programs, and his content plans. By doing this, he's turning the business-building process itself into something meaningful and enjoyable.
Turnbull's approach shows that it's possible to be ambitious and successful without sacrificing your well-being. It's about finding the right balance for you and defining success on your own terms.
Conclusion
Alex Turnbull's approach to building tech companies stands out in today's business world. By using his own money and openly sharing his journey, he's grown Groove to $5 million in yearly sales. Now, he's applying these same methods to Helply, aiming for even bigger success. We can see that there's more than one way to build a successful tech company. Alex Turnbull proves that it's possible to grow a business without investor money, and that being open about your challenges can actually help you succeed.
As Turnbull works on Helply, he continues to balance ambition with personal well-being. His methods of dealing with self-doubt, marketing his products, and starting new ventures offer fresh ideas for both new and experienced entrepreneurs.
