Muck Rack: From Podcast to $50M in Revenue

• 2005: Launched Venture Voice Podcast, interviewing other founders
• 2009: Launched Muck Rack, initially as a platform for journalists to showcase their social profiles and work.
• 2014: Reached $1M in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
• 2022: Achieved $50M ARR, secured a $180M Series A funding round
• 2023: Continued to expand and invest in new technology, such as PressPal AI

How Muck Rack Grew to $50M Revenue (ARR)

This is the story of Muck Rack’s journey from a podcast idea to a $50M revenue SaaS powerhouse. Starting with Greg Galant’s Venture Voice Podcast in 2005, the vision for Muck Rack quickly evolved into a vital platform for journalists and a successful SaaS company.

Curious about how Muck Rack achieved such impressive growth, secured major funding, and became a key player in the industry? Read on to discover the pivotal moments and strategies that propelled Muck Rack to the top.

The Journey to $1M ARR (From Podcast to SaaS Company)

In 2005, Greg Galant, armed with a degree in Philosophy, launched the Venture Voice Podcast, where he interviewed notable founders like Reed Hoffman of LinkedIn, Yelp, and the Vanguard Group.

By 2006-2007, he hosted Evan Williams, then running Odeo, a podcasting company that later pivoted to Twitter. Greg collaborated with Evan to launch the first voting system on social media, which went viral and led to the organization of the Shorty Awards, attracting numerous journalists.

To fill this gap, Greg and his team built Muck Rack in just two weeks on a limited budget, aiming to provide journalists with a place to showcase their social profiles and work. Within a year, 10,000 journalists had signed up, leading to the official launch of Muck Rack in 2009.

In 2011, they relaunched and pivoted to a SaaS model, focusing on solving customer pain points quickly and effectively. With less than $200k raised, they prioritized profitability over scaling, often having just 2-3 months of cash in the bank.

This approach paid off, and by 2014, Muck Rack reached $1M in annual recurring revenue (ARR). CEO Greg Galant’s hands-on involvement, even in customer support, played a critical role in this early success.

$1M to $50M ARR: Hiring Employees, Brand Building, & Attracting Investors

As Muck Rack progressed from $1M to $5M in annual recurring revenue (ARR), the team faced tough decisions about who to hire, balancing between salespeople, programmers, and even operational roles like servers and coffee makers.

However, approaching $10M ARR brought new challenges—finding the right talent, such as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The focus shifted from just filling positions to strategically hiring the best people for sustained growth.

Building a strong brand was crucial during this phase. Muck Rack invested in PR, hosted events, met with customers, and created valuable content.

“You can still get great talent without raising money, you just have to work a bit harder to do it.”

They launched a free academy to teach PR skills, understanding that the return on investment might take years but would eventually pay off by strengthening their reputation. Brand building efforts were more about making impactful, long-term bets rather than relying solely on analytical approaches. This strategy proved to be effective, making inbound leads much easier to secure than chasing every potential deal.

By 2022, Muck Rack attracted significant investor interest. Susquehanna Growth Equity approached them, leading to a $180M Series A funding round. Despite this influx of capital, the founders ensured they maintained control of the company.

Partnering with a growth investor opened up new possibilities for acquisitions and further expansion. These strategic moves helped Muck Rack reach $50M ARR in 2022.

$50M+ ARR: Hiring Talent & Executives

After surpassing $50M in ARR, Muck Rack’s primary focus was on hiring top talent and executives to drive further growth. In the past year, they added key positions such as a new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), AI lead, and many veteran employees. This influx of experienced professionals created a dynamic environment where executives and veteran employees could learn from each other and from their customers.

Recruiting these executives was initially challenging. As a bootstrapped company, Muck Rack had to work hard to convince potential hires of their growth potential and operational professionalism. However, the $180M Series A funding round in 2022 significantly boosted their credibility, making it easier to attract high-caliber talent without needing to prove their seriousness.

“Recruiting executives was more work. Executives wonder ‘If I join this company, are they serious? Will this look good on my resume? Will there be equity compensation? Will it be worth something?'”

Muck Rack operated out of a single office in New York and never mandated in-office attendance. When the pandemic hit, the company was already remote-friendly, which allowed them to grow substantially during this period. As their lease expired a year after the pandemic began, and with most employees now working remotely, they decided to go fully remote, resulting in a fourfold increase in team size.

The company believes in not limiting talent to just one or two cities and hosts quarterly executive offsites in different locations and an annual company-wide offsite, maintaining a cohesive and motivated team of over 250 employees.

In line with their commitment to innovation, Muck Rack launched PressPal AI shortly after the release of ChatGPT. This AI-driven press release generation tool suggests journalists to pitch to, setting new standards for AI applications in the PR industry.

If you’re interested in watching Greg Galant’s full keynote on Muck Rack, check out our video below: