Nathan Barry

He nearly shut down the product that later became Kit

Nathan Barry had to choose between giving ConvertKit everything or letting it go

September 06, 2026 2 min read 28 verified figures

He nearly shut down the product that later became Kit

Nathan Barry came from blogging, writing books, and user experience design. He wanted to move from digital products into software, partly because he wanted recurring revenue and a new challenge. According to his own account, he started ConvertKit on January 1, 2013, as an email marketing platform for professional bloggers. The first six months did not deliver the result he expected: ConvertKit reached about $2,100 in monthly recurring revenue and then stayed flat. Its recurring revenue later declined to $1,300 per month, and Barry was told to either shut the company down or finally give it the time, money, and attention it needed. He chose to double down, investing his savings according to his own account and hiring David Wheeler as founding engineer. Direct sales, personal outreach, Skype demos, and hands-on migrations helped ConvertKit reach $5,000 in monthly revenue by March 2015, although the company ran out of money in May 2015 according to Barry's account. The later material reports that ConvertKit reached $36.4 million in revenue and 49,000 customers in 2023, but the important decision came much earlier: whether the product had truly failed, or whether it had never received a full chance.

The path

January 1, 2013ConvertKit was started.
December 31, 2012Nathan Barry began the public Web App Challenge, aiming to create a SaaS application and reach $5,000 in monthly recurring revenue within six months.
First six monthsConvertKit reached approximately $2,100 in monthly recurring revenue.
Following year and a halfConvertKit remained flat at approximately $2,100 per month.
September 2014The material reports revenue declining to $1,330 per month.
October 2014After doubling down, direct sales increased monthly recurring revenue from $1,300 to $1,600 and then to $2,000.
March 2015Monthly revenue reached $5,000 in the interview and $5,020 in the later article.
May 2015ConvertKit ran out of money while generating approximately $8,000 to $9,000 in monthly revenue.
2016The later article reports monthly recurring revenue reaching $625,000 and more than 150 webinars being hosted.
2020The later article reports annual recurring revenue reaching $25 million.
2022The later article reports revenue of $33.5 million and customers increasing from 38,000 to 44,939.
2023The later article reports $36.4 million in revenue and 49,000 customers.

The numbers and where they come from

Every figure comes with the source it was taken from.

Independently reported

Founder

Nathan Barry founded ConvertKit.

„Founder of ConvertKit"

Self-reported

Email marketing platform

ConvertKit is an email marketing platform for professional bloggers.

„ConvertKit is an email marketing platform for professional bloggers."

Self-reported

January 1, 2013

ConvertKit was started on January 1, 2013.

„That was started January 1st, 2013."

Self-reported

70%

Nathan Barry wanted recurring revenue as a primary reason to start a SaaS company.

„Mainly for the recurring revenue. Call it 70%"

Self-reported

$5,000 per month

The Web App Challenge aimed to reach $5,000 in recurring monthly revenue within six months.

„six months from now having a SaaS app, making five thousand month in recurring revenue."

Self-reported

$5,000

Nathan Barry limited his personal investment during the challenge to $5,000.

„I could only put in 5,000 dollars of my own money"

Self-reported

$2,100 MRR

ConvertKit reached about $2,100 in monthly recurring revenue after the initial six months.

„we got to about 2,100 dollars in MRR."

Estimate

$250,000 per year

Nathan Barry earned approximately $250,000 per year from books and courses at that time.

„I d pull in about 250,000 a year total from those."

Self-reported

$1,300 per month

ConvertKit's recurring revenue declined to $1,300 per month.

„It declined down to 1,300 a month"

Self-reported

$50,000

Nathan Barry decided to invest his savings into ConvertKit.

„All of our savings, which was 50,000 dollars, and put that into the company."

Self-reported

David Wheeler

David Wheeler was hired as ConvertKit's founding engineer.

„David Wheeler to come on as our founding engineer."

Estimate

$10,000 to $13,000 per month

ConvertKit's expenses increased to approximately $10,000 per month and later $13,000 per month.

„to about I think they went up to about 10,000 a month"

Self-reported

$300 MRR

Direct sales generated $300 of MRR in the first month after doubling down.

„I sold 300 dollars worth of MRR from direct sales that first month"

Self-reported

$5,000 per month

ConvertKit reached $5,000 in monthly revenue by March 2015.

„by March 2015, we were at 5,000 a month in revenue"

Self-reported

May 2015

ConvertKit ran out of money in May 2015.

„that was a couple months later in May 2015."

Estimate

$15,000 MRR

ConvertKit relied almost entirely on direct sales up to $15,000 MRR.

„We probably relied entirely on direct sales up to 15,000 MRR."

Independently reported

$36.4 million

The later article reports that ConvertKit reached $36.4 million in revenue in 2023.

„Revenue Hits $36.4M with 49,000 customers."

Independently reported

49,000 customers

The later article reports that ConvertKit had 49,000 customers in 2023.

„Revenue Hits $36.4M with 49,000 customers."

Independently reported

$625,000 MRR

The later article reports that ConvertKit reached $625,000 in MRR in 2016.

„MRR finally hit $625,000."

Independently reported

150+ webinars

The later article reports that ConvertKit hosted more than 150 webinars.

„Hosted 150+ Webinars"

Independently reported

30%

The later article reports that ConvertKit offered affiliates 30% recurring commissions.

„30% recurring commissions attracted creators and influencers."

Independently reported

$25 million ARR

The later article reports that ConvertKit's revenue reached $25 million ARR in 2020.

„ARR Jumped 2x to $25M"

Independently reported

$33.5 million

The later article reports that revenue reached $33.5 million by 2022.

„Revenue increased to $33.5M by 2022."

Independently reported

Personal outreach and hands-on onboarding

ConvertKit's early growth involved personal outreach, Skype demos, and concierge migrations.

„Skype Demos: Barry conducted live product demos over Skype"

Self-reported

Sales and research

Nathan Barry viewed direct sales and product research as the same activity.

„I think research and sales are the same thing."

Self-reported

Double down sooner

Nathan Barry said his main lesson was to double down sooner.

„To double down sooner."

Self-reported

Two decision questions

Nathan Barry recommended asking whether he still wanted the project and whether he had given it every possible chance to succeed.

„have I given this every possible chance to succeed?"

Independently reported

Creators

The company operates in a specific niche focused on creators.

„ConvertKit stayed creator-centric."

What to take from it

Separate a weak market signal from a lack of sustained attention.
Use direct customer conversations as both sales and product research.
Choose a specific audience so the product can solve a clearer problem.
Ask whether you still want the project and whether you have truly given it a fair chance.
Add scalable channels only after hands-on work shows what customers value.

Where things stand today

The latest material reports $36.4 million in revenue and 49,000 customers for 2023. It also identifies the company as ConvertKit, now Kit.

The full guide as a PDF

Every step, the numbers with their sources, the mistakes and the lessons — as a document to keep.

Guide als PDF laden

Sources

All the material this story rests on.

Transparency: every figure in this article was checked against its original source. Anything stated only by the person described is labelled as self-reported. Claims that could not be verified do not appear here at all.