Growing a Startup Business: Insights, Tools & Milestones

Every startup business starts with a bold idea — but building a successful company takes more than just motivation. Whether you're still exploring startup ideas or scaling your first product or service, Gleam.io offers real-world lessons, frameworks, and growth strategies to guide your journey. From setting up your first landing page to building a loyal customer base, you'll find tactical insights on using Gleam to launch your early campaigns. Learn how to validate your business model, run cost-effective promotions, and start generating leads with Gleam tools built to support rapid and sustainable business growth.

Learn how Gleam reached 100 paying customers in 5 months with these growth tactics.

Startup Business Growth Strategies: +100 Customers in 5 Months

In just five months, Gleam grew from zero to 100 paying customers — without a marketing budget.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 15 min read
Discover the 7 key principles that helped Gleam build a 7-figure business from the ground up.

7 Principles That Helped Us Bootstrap a 7-Figure Business

7 Principles I've learned growing Gleam from humble beginnings to a 7+ figure business.

Co-founder of Gleam.
John Sherwood · 8 min read

How We Grew SaaS Inbound Traffic By 300% In 6 Months

We break down how we grew our inbound traffic by 300% in just 6 months.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 10 min read

The 5 Content Pillars That Drive 95% Of Our Inbound Leads

95% of our new customers come from inbound marketing. Here's the content playbook we use.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 10 min read

2015 Year in Review: Building A Fast Growing Bootstrapped Business

What's it like to run a growing bootstrapped business? Let's look back on 2015.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 20 min read

14 Upsides Of Being An Australian Startup

What are some of the benefits of running a remote startup down under?

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 8 min read
What we think of working from home.

The Pros & Cons Of Working From Home

Get these 20 tried and tested tips to make life easier when you work from home.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 10 min read

5 Things We Did In 2014 To Grow By 1059%

We managed to grow Gleam by 1059% in one year, lets take a look at how we did it.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 10 min read
Learn how to increase email opt-ins by 1000%

How We Increased Our Email Opt-ins By 1000%

Learn how we increased our email opt-ins by 1000% and turned more visitors into subscribers using targeted forms, smart incentives, and GDPR-compliant best practices.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 5 min read
Learn 15 proven pre-launch growth hacking strategies to build hype, grow your audience, and drive signups before your startup goes live.

15 Pre-Launch Growth Hacking Strategies For Startups

Explore 15 proven growth strategies to help your startup gain traction in the early stages — from building pre-launch pages to leveraging your network and boosting conversion rates.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 11 min read

Why Being an Australian Startup Sucks

We took some time to reflect on the state of startups in 2014 and what could be better.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 8 min read

Split Testing This Phrase Increased Our Signups By 484%

One simple phrase "Powered by" is used by startups everywhere. Can it be improved?

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 2 min read
How customer service helps grow your business.

18 Ways We Grow Our Product With Good Customer Experience

18 actionable tips & tricks on how you can grow your product by being responsive to customers.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 10 min read

16 Growth Hacks That Have Helped Grow Our Business By 200% Without Any Press

You don't need press to grow, learn some of the things we've implemented that have worked.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 8 min read
Boost team productivity by mastering effective workplace chat strategies and tools.

Getting The Most Out of Chat at Work Without Killing Your Productivity

See how we use chat at Gleam to automate our workflows and help us work faster.

Stuart McKeown, co-founder of Gleam.
Stuart McKeown · 6 min read

No two startups grow the same way — but every founder needs tools that help build momentum. Gleam gives business owners the power to grow smarter from day one: run giveaways to generate buzz, use popups to collect emails, and create campaigns that fuel both brand awareness and customer acquisition. Whether you're launching a design business, an app, or scaling a brick and mortar shop online, Gleam helps you stay lean and focused. Run referral campaigns, test incentives, and build your marketing strategy in a way that supports long-term growth — not just vanity metrics. These posts are built to help you move fast, learn fast, and make high-impact decisions as your business grows.

What Are The Best Tools to Grow A Startup Business?

Use tools that help you acquire users, capture leads, and test ideas fast—like Gleam, email platforms, and analytics tools.

How Can Startups Use Gleam to Build A Customer Base Quickly?

Startups can use Gleam to capture emails, run viral giveaways, and drive actions that build brand awareness fast.

What’s The Difference Between A Business Model And A Growth Plan?

A business model explains how your startup makes money. A growth plan outlines how you’ll acquire and retain customers.

How Can A Startup Increase Its Conversion Rate With Limited Resources?

Use low-cost tools like Gleam to create urgency, simplify actions, and personalize CTAs to convert more users.

What Are Effective Early-Stage Marketing Strategies For A Startup?

Use giveaways, referral campaigns, email capture, and community engagement to build traction early.