AppSumo

$200k in 60 days: My Honest Take on AppSumo Select for an AI B2B SaaS. We grossed $200k in 60 days on AppSumo with my AI-powered B2B SaaS, @Octolens. But before you picture champagne bottles, here’s a fuller picture: Why I Gave AppSumo a Shot: I first learned about @AppSumo from a podcast where @noahkagan was a guest. At the time, I had just started working on Octolens and really enjoyed his strong focus on distribution. Initially, I was hesitant though—lifetime deals, hefty revenue split, and a potential support spike. But after AppSumo reached out to us, I reconsidered. A few reasons: 1. Great team: I enjoyed every interaction with the AppSumo team - they are informed, helpful, and I learned from them (shout out to Paul Munguia). 2. Inactivity Clause: We can pause long-dormant accounts, protecting us from indefinite recurring costs - especially with our AI features. 3. Maturity & Cost Clarity: By then, I understood our costs better as we had already had over 100 customers, AI got cheaper, and we felt more confident pricing a deal that wouldn’t sink us long-term. 4. Reframe goals: I went into it less for short term revenue, but for learning about our ICP and improving SEO. The Results: 💰 $200k Gross in 60 Days: Sounds huge, right? After AppSumo’s cut (around 70%) and inevitable refunds (60-day guarantee), we’re netting closer to $40k. A welcome boost (in the medium term). 🙋‍♀️ 1,000+ New Users: A wave of feedback—some ICP-perfect customers who “got it,” some not so much. But the feedback was gold: We learned what features clicked, which workflows mattered, and where we needed to improve. 📈 Post-Campaign Momentum: More traffic, better backlink profile, and an improved domain rating. We’re even seeing some of those lifetime customers upgrade for recurring add-ons. That’s new MRR. The Downsides: 💬 Support influx: The first weeks? Tough. We had to handle many questions and the frequent “Can you give us more?” demands. Stressful, yes—but also a crash course for me in tightening onboarding, product messaging, and support docs. ❌ Not Everyone’s Your Target Customer: Some buyers just weren’t a fit. That’s normal on a marketplace as broad as AppSumo. The challenge is to focus on the feedback from the ones that are and not get distracted. Would I Do It Again? Yes, but with tweaks: - Negotiate terms more assertively. - Ignore the noisiest “feature-demanders” who are not our ICP. - Be clearer in the listing about who the product is really for. Who Should Consider AppSumo IMO? If you’re a founder who knows your costs, can handle a support spike, and wants rapid feedback plus a promotional boost, AppSumo can be great. It’s not a guaranteed home run, but for us it was a substantial learning experience and has made Octolens stronger.