The intersection of artificial intelligence and human talent is creating new opportunities in ways we’ve never seen before.
This is the story of how we built a “services as software” startup that hit $50K ARR in just 30 days by combining the best of both worlds.
Rapid Progress
A month ago, I posted about getting my first design partner at $10K ARR so things are progressing well as we now have 5 paying design partners.
The growth from one design partner to five shows the power of focused execution and a clear value proposition that resonates with the target market.
Services Software
I’m focused on a new category known as “services as software” in the marketing space and am using a combination of AI Agents plus Humans. This hybrid approach allows for the efficiency of automation while maintaining the quality and creativity that only humans can provide.
I was inspired by conversations with big company CMOs who spend millions of dollars in marketing headcount or external agencies providing this particular service and they still struggle. I figured that I could provide even better value for a fraction of the price but I’m not quite ready to work with those large companies yet.
Strategic Patience
I’ll need SOC2, case studies and a lot of patience to endure enterprise level sales cycles right now. My bias is to make revenue ASAP as a tiny startup with limited resources.
So I’m building a “wedge product” with an ICP that can move fast: B2B startups with $1M+ in funding or revenue (hence my profile banner). This allows for quicker decision making and shorter sales cycles while building the foundation for larger opportunities.
Learning Strategy
My theory is that if I can make 100 demanding SMBs happy, I’ll gain valuable knowledge which will help me later when I go after larger companies at higher price points. Each small business client becomes a testing ground for refining the service and proving the concept.
This approach builds credibility, case studies, and operational excellence before taking on the complexity of enterprise sales.
Conclusion
Hitting $50K ARR in 30 days by combining AI agents with human expertise proves that the “services as software” model has serious potential.
The strategy of starting with demanding SMBs rather than jumping straight to enterprise clients creates a foundation of knowledge and case studies that will be invaluable for future growth.
Ready to explore how AI and human talent can transform your service offerings? Follow me on LinkedIn for more content like this.