Why Shorthand's CEO Has Zero Equity in $1.5M in ARR Business

Creating engaging content is no longer an option in today’s marketplace: it’s a necessity. Blogs, brands, and websites need to bring enthralling stories directly to their audience’s attention in an elegant manner, in order to win consistently.

This is why the world’s most successful digital storytelling teams use Shorthand to create beautiful stories. Their story editor makes it easy to captivate audiences across platforms with responsive designs and no coding required.

How much is Shorthand doing in ARR?

Shorthand is a pure-play SaaS company that charges its customers on an annual, upfront basis. Their plans range in price based on features and the ability to export, with the average customer paying them $6k annually today.

According to CEO Ricky Robinson, the company is now serving almost 250 customers and is doing $1.5M in ARR. Shorthand has more than doubled revenue year over year and is up from just $600k in ARR twelve months ago.

What is Shorthand’s churn?

Churn has been an issue for Shorthand as their first wave of annual plans come around for renewals. At this point in time, the company is exhibiting 2% gross revenue churn per month and is hoping to reduce that figure by changing their pricing model.

In terms of customer acquisition, a majority of Shorthand’s leads have come through organic traffic and link backs on their customer’s content. They pay approximately $3k to land a new customer today and receive payback immediately on a cash basis, while they model payback at 6 months on a deferred revenue basis.

How much has Shorthand raised?

Upon founding the company in 2013, Shorthand raised $3M from an angel investor who now currently owns 100% of the company after buying out the original founders. Robinson was brought in to operate as CEO after the founder’s exit and currently has no equity in the company. Shorthand is cash flow positive today and has mixed opinions about raising additional capital.

Shorthand’s team of 10 employees is distributed across the U.S., Europe, and Australia.