Meet Groove,
The Perfectly Imperfect Startup

👋 Hey there, I’m Alex Turnbull.

I’m the founder and CEO of Groove, a simple yet powerful helpdesk software alternative to Zendesk.

I started Groove in 2012, after selling my previous company. I know I can’t have experienced it all, but I’ve experienced a lot — getting bought out, growing Groove from 0 to $100K in MRR, blogging about the journey, growing the company to $350K in MRR, navigating a stressful rebuild, turning down a handful of acquisition offers...and those are just some of the highlights.

It’s been a wild ride so far and now Groove has reached an epic new chapter in our growth story. We’re currently at $4 million ARR, but we have our sights set on $8 million in ARR and beyond.

You might think that with such a bold goal, we need to find some equally bold tactic that’s going to deliver exponential growth, overnight success.

But after more than ten years on this startup journey, I know that there’s no silver bullet for growth — at least not the sustainable, long-term growth we’re after.

The only way to grow a startup reliably and sustainably is: experiment > reflect > repeat. Simple as that.

Some experiments will be amazing successes. Some will totally bomb.

At The Imperfect Startup, we take you behind the scenes of our growth experiments, sharing all the details we probably shouldn’t — from revenue metrics to our growth experiment framework and our actual results.

No, we haven’t made a huge mistake in exposing our confidential information. We’re intentionally sharing EVERYTHING with you so that you have the full context of our company. Being a member of The Imperfect Startup is like having a seat on the board of Groove.

When we say radical transparency, we mean it.

In my posts on The Imperfect Startup Blog, I share my from-the-trenches experiences of leading my startup through our growth experiments. I’ll be completely honest about my disappointments and our triumphs. You can also expect my unfiltered opinions about the startup world and the challenges of being a startup founder.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being a founder, but there are times when it feels lonely and overwhelming. Part of my vision for The Imperfect Startup is that startup founders can learn together, grow together, and feel happier knowing that we’re on this epic journey with like-minded people.

Now if you’re thinking, “This dude is crazy, revealing all his company secrets!” You’re probably right.

And if you’re wondering, “Why is Alex doing this? What’s in it for him?”

I can give you four reasons:

• This kind of radical transparency is straight up good for Groove. If I look at our company history, the more we’ve shared, the more we’ve grown. Maybe it’s because of the accountability, the power of content marketing, or the thrill of a challenge… whatever the case, transparency is how Groove rolls.
• I love being a founder, but there are times when it feels lonely and overwhelming. Part of my vision for The Imperfect Startup is that startup founders can learn together, grow together, and feel happier knowing we’re on this epic journey with like-minded people.
• I genuinely want to help other startups with their growth. I figure that if we’re running these experiments, we might as well share our results with the hope that you can save a few bucks or avoid a few heartaches. Plus, the more thriving startups there are out there, the more need there is for our simple, powerful helpdesk (Get your free trial in the description!).
• And the last reason… I fucking love this shit.

So if you’d like a regular dose of our latest growth experiments, funnel metrics analysis, and some startup real-talk from me, then sign up to become a member of The Imperfect Startup. It’s totally free and you’ll get so much more than just another newsletter — it’s a community, a movement, a joint mission to grow each of our startups, imperfectly.