Table of Contents
- Tell us about your product and what inspired you to start it?
- How long did it take you to acquire your first 50 customers, and what was your growth strategy?
- Which technology stack are you using and what challenges and limitations does it pose?
- What are some of the most essential tools that you use for your business?
- What have been some of the biggest insights you've gained since starting your entrepreneurial journey?
- Your recommended books/podcasts/newsletters etc.:
Aymane Sennoussi is the founder of Emailgurus.xyz - Flag emails from unknown senders
Tell us about your product and what inspired you to start it?
As an executive, I get many emails from people like salesmen, job seekers, and many people I don't know. This crowds my inbox, and I often lose sight of important emails. When I tried creating a filter on Gmail that deals with emails from outsiders. To my surprise, Gmail didn't offer this offer, so I had to build it. Once I built it, I realized that it was a so much-needed feature, and I decided to commercialize it.
Worth noting that the code is open source for data transparency. You can clearly see from the code that all your sensitive information is either hashed or encrypted with rotational keys. So only you own your data. Emailgurus works as follows:
1- We pull your Google contacts list and we hash it
2- We create a new label called "EG:OUTSIDERS" and start listening to your inbox
3- When there is a new email, we compare the sender's email to your hashed list of contacts.
If the email is coming from an unknown sender, we label the email and archive it (You can choose not to archive it.)
4- Enjoy 50% less emails on your inbox (Mine is 79%)
How long did it take you to acquire your first 50 customers, and what was your growth strategy?
It was pretty fast acquiring my first 50 paying users once I realized my persona: Busy entrepreneurs and C-level professionals. My growth strategy was word of mouth, some Reddit topics, and Linkedin.
Which technology stack are you using and what challenges and limitations does it pose?
Django. I don't want an over-JS-scripted framework like the existing JS frameworks because you don't have to use Emailgurus daily. It's a one-time configuration, and you don't even have to revisit the site in your life.
The main challenge with Emailgurus is the approval from Google and the mandatory security audit you need to run before your app goes live. It was expensive, but hopefully, it will pay off.
What are some of the most essential tools that you use for your business?
- Gmail API Metabase for dashboards
What have been some of the biggest insights you've gained since starting your entrepreneurial journey?
1- Until today, more than 100K emails have been processed, which tells me that emails are still a prevalent means of communication.
2- Fun fact: I have 2 famous Billionaires using Emailgurus today.
Your recommended books/podcasts/newsletters etc.:
Recommended Book: Lean Analytics
Podcast: I'm not really into podcasts.
Newsletters: MorningBrew but my opening rates are dropping
