⚡ How this Start-Up has Turned B2B SaaS Companies into Affiliate Marketing Machines

Morning Innovators ⚡ In less than 5 minutes, we’ll cover…

🥳 The best funding opportunities, events and jobs in the Start-Up world this week
📰 This week’s biggest news stories in the Start-Up world
🛒 How this Start-Up has turned B2B SaaS companies into affiliate marketing machines
📸 How you can get your product in EVERYONE’s selfies
📱 A tool that enables you to see your competitors best performing Instagram reels

✨ Last weeks most clicked link was this link taking you through to PiLabs are looking to back early-stage game changers looking to go global with up to £3m in funding.

🥳 BIG NEWS! Our first 2025 event in Cardiff has gone LIVE. We’ll be hosting another awesome Start-Up Social with Richard Theo, the exited Founder of Wealthify and ActiveQuote. It’ll be a night of awesome stories, 150+ Founders, with Pizza and Drinks. Get your free ticket here. Keep your eyes peeled for our upcoming Bristol + Birmingham events too.

Happy hustling,

Rich

🎤 Events/Opportunities

🧫 The UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund has a £40m fund to invest in early stage tech companies stemming from the UK’s research base. Find out more here.

🚀 Founders are able to apply for a share of the £25m Innovate UK Smart grant pot to fund game changing commercially viable R&D innovations. Find out more here.

🚴 Google for Start-Ups are running their female Founder accelerator for Seed - Series A Start-Ups based in Europe. You can apply here.

💼 Start-Up Jobs

🥞 Full Stack Developer, Octanise
✍️ Product Designer, Flick
🧠 Community Growth Manager, Reedsy

🚕 Insolvent flying taxi Start-Up Lilium has found a buyer. Sifted

🚀 Blue Origin looks to take on SpaceX dominance with New Glenn launch days away. TechCrunch

✋ Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition. TechCrunch

🪐 Space tech consortium secures government funding for in-orbit sandbox. UKTN

Carta is a platform that helps people manage equity, build businesses and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Our mission is to unlock the power of equity ownership for more people in more places. Carta is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 8,000 investment funds and a million employees for cap table management, venture capital solutions and more. In the UK, we support founders who are raising money through SEIS/EIS, helping with Advance Assurance, round modelling and more. To find out more, take a look at their website, or get in touch with [email protected].

Hailey Bieber’s Rhode has been absolutely flying off the shelves, but this one trick single-handedly sky-rocketed their sales.

Rhode’s lip tint is a frequently applied product, so when people have to go rummaging around in their bag for it every 5 minutes, it’s an absolute nightmare. So, Hailey Bieber created an entirely new product that Rhode customers went crazy for.

The Rhode team released a phone case that holds your lip tint, meaning you no longer have to rummage to find it. Not only is it easier to find now, it also provides a unique twist to your selfies. Before long, everyone was taking selfies with their Rhode case and lip tint for everyone to see. People who didn’t know what it was, were asking why everyone was taking selfies with their lip product, which then enabled them to find out exactly who Rhode are.

How can you create a complimentary product or offering that puts you in the public eye and gets everyone talking, purely from organic user generated social media content?

Each week we highlight our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our innovator community have recommended.

ViralSort is a Chrome extension that lets you sort Instagram Reels based on likes, comments, and views. It helps you discover trending content effortlessly for better content planning and engagement strategies.

Reditus: Opening Affiliate Management to B2B SaaS Companies

The Mission: Simplifying Affiliate Management
Reditus is an affiliate management platform tailored specifically for B2B SaaS companies. It empowers businesses to establish and manage affiliate programs, while enabling them to grow their reach beyond their existing networks. With a focus on simplifying operations and maximising growth, Reditus is redefining how B2B SaaS companies approach affiliate partnerships.

Founding Story: From Contractor to Co-Founder
The Reditus co-founder story is one of collaboration and adaptability. The founder initially hired a contractor through a project-based hiring platform. Their working relationship was so productive that, even when the founder’s resources were stretched thin, they found a creative solution to keep the collaboration going.

Equity was offered in place of a salary, creating long-term incentives and deepening the co-founder’s commitment to the project. This pivotal decision not only preserved their partnership but also laid the foundation for the success of Reditus.

Acquiring the First Customers: A Strategic Blend of AppSumo and Networking
Reditus’ first customers were acquired through AppSumo, a platform offering lifetime deals on software. Joran, the Founder, has a love/hate relationship with the platform as you’re selling your software for a one-time cost at a highly discounted price, which kills the SaaS model.

These initial customers identified bugs, tested the product thoroughly, and shaped its development. For recurring revenue clients, the founder leveraged their personal network, persistently reaching out and building relationships to secure a customer base.

Building the Product: Iterative and Resourceful
The journey of building Reditus’ first product is a perfect example of mitigating as much risk as possible. While working full-time at another SaaS company, the founder funded the initial development from their salary.

By hiring a developer to bring the idea to life, they managed to create a minimum viable product that was ready for early users without taking on unnecessary financial risks. This cautious and iterative approach proved effective, allowing the founder to gather feedback and refine the product before fully committing to the venture. Joran didn’t need to quit his job and go all in straight away, he was able to do that once the market had shown him that they wanted the product.

Scaling the Team: Trust Through Referrals
Reditus’s first hire was made through a referral from the co-founder’s network. Trust and reliability are crucial in the early stages of a Start-Up, making this connection an ideal fit.

The founding team wanted to work with people that they knew they could trust, so leaning on existing relationships to make early hires was key in building a functioning, early-stage team.

Funding the Vision: A Bootstrapping Journey
Reditus has been entirely bootstrapped, with funding coming from a combination of personal savings, salary income, and stock options. The founder strategically used these resources to finance the initial product development and operations.

As soon as the MVP was ready, the focus shifted to generating revenue through sales. This self-sustaining approach not only kept the company lean but also provided valuable lessons and growth opportunities along the way.

Next week I’ll be highlighting another awesome Start-Up, as well as sharing all the usuals including funding opportunities, Start-Up news, plus plenty of awesome tips, tricks and tools.

P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn…