Earning $2M per year by focusing on freedom over exits.

Read time: 3 minutes

FEATURE

Earning $2M per year by focusing on freedom over exits.

Alex sold his first company for $15M. After everyone got their cut (4 co-founders, VCs, taxes, etc) he was left with ~$500k. 

This experience led him to rethink his approach to building businesses. Instead of chasing rapid growth and exits, Alex focused on ownership and profitability with his next venture: GrooveHQ,

• Overview: Helpdesk software for SMB’s.

• Current ARR: $5M

• Profit Margin: 47%

• Team Size: 5 (1 founder, 2 full-stack devs, 1 designer, 1 growth marketer)

• Annual Profit: ~$2.5M per year

It wasn’t a perfectly straight path, but over time he developed some core operating principles:

1) Generate Real Profit: Instead of rapid growth at all costs, he’s prioritized generating a profit…to the tune of $2-2.5M per year. How? There’s a few key levers:

• Choose The Right Business Model: The GrooveHQ SaaS business model is scalable with low marginal costs.

• Keep It Lean: Alex suggests keeping your team lean through $1M ARR and beyond…he has a total of 5 employees.

2) A Focus On Sustainability: You may think that his lean team of 5 prevents him from innovating in this AI economy…not true. Given he’s so profitable, he’s just acquired Bangalore india based AI company Kroto for $300,000 in cash.

3) Freedom & Control: With 92% ownership, Alex maintains control of his business, giving him the freedom to build…or take a 3 year hiatus because he wanted to spend time with his newborn.

Takeaway: Alex’s story highlights the power of bootstrapping and focusing on profitability rather than chasing funding or exits. By keeping operations lean and prioritizing sustainable growth, he has built a wildly profitable business that provides both financial success and personal freedom.

MY TAKE

Alex Is Building With A Global Team

It won’t surprise you to learn that according to Linkedin, the bulk of Alex’s team at Groove is not based in the US, but resides all over the world - India, South Africa, Poland, etc.

We don’t know the exact compensation structure at Groove, but we’ve placed hundreds of roles globally, so here are some ranges we’ve placed talent at:

Interested in learning more? Feel free to book a time with us here.