Ghiorghiu Shares How He Scaled Atlas To $350K Per Month In Recurring Revenue: 'I Decided To Push All Of My Chips In. I Had My Back Against The Wall.'

E-commerce expert Sebastian Ghiorghiu has a YouTube channel with almost 1 million subscribers and has monetized his name for several years, but he wanted to create a company that didn't depend on his name and could function without him. That goal turned into Atlas, a Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP) app that helps dropshippers build AI stores in a few clicks.

Ghiorghiu took viewers behind the scenes on how he scaled it to a $350,000 per month software-as-a-service company, but it required a significant commitment that would have broken most people.

"I decided to push all of my chips in," he said on his YouTube channel. "I had my back against the wall."

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Bet On Yourself

Ghiroghiu initially started Atlas as a minimum viable product. The product page and copy weren't the best, but he eventually focused more time on it and generated some revenue. The monthly recurring revenue snowballed to $10,000 before going up to $15,000 and $20,000 per month.

However, as the business grew, he knew that he and his co-founder had different visions and work routines. Ghiroghiu had to decide between walking away from Atlas or buying out his co-founder. He chose the latter and gave his co-founder roughly $250,000 in exchange for full ownership.

"The boats were burned," Ghiroghiu said. "It was either swim or drown. Everything was riding on this."

Ghiroghiu recounted that Atlas had zero guarantees and was in a new industry when he bought out his co-founder. It was a risky decision, but betting on himself ultimately paid off.

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Grind Hard But Not Forever

Ghiorghiu got up early to work on Atlas and worked deep into the night along with his team, especially when he bought out his co-founder. It was a stressful time for Ghiorghiu, but his journey reflects that you sometimes have to grind long hours and have a work-life balance that many would view as unhealthy.

"We locked in hard," Ghiorghiu said.

As his business grew, he gradually built out the team to 15 employees. Atlas also has more than 10,000 paying customers, and while the early days were stressful, Ghiorghiu has a business that can operate without him.

When he married and started a three-month Europe trip with his wife, Atlas was making $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue. After that trip, the company was bringing in more than $250,000 in monthly recurring revenue, demonstrating that he no longer had to be super active for the business to grow.

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Ghiorghiu's ability to grind hard in the early stage of Atlas allowed him to grow the business substantially while touring Europe and not working as hard.

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A Quality Product Makes It Easier To Build A Thriving Business

Ghiorghiu emphasized the importance of creating a quality product while discussing Atlas' success. While you can start with a minimum viable product, it is important to enhance the product over time, especially if it makes high recurring revenue.

"All we care about is making the product better…genuinely having the best product on the market," Ghiorghiu said.

Some of the business owners who used Atlas shared it on social media with their colleagues, which brought in additional customers. Word of mouth is one of the most effective marketing channels due to its social proof and the ability for a product to expand well beyond your reach.

A disciplined work ethic and a desire to create a top-tier product turned Atlas into a seven-figure business that has more than 10,000 customers.

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This article Ghiorghiu Shares How He Scaled Atlas To $350K Per Month In Recurring Revenue: 'I Decided To Push All Of My Chips In. I Had My Back Against The Wall.' originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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