The Story
Will Cannon built two SaaS companies doing over $30M in combined sales: UpLead (B2B data provider with real-time verified emails and phone numbers) and Signaturely (simple e-signature alternative to DocuSign). He did it all without raising funding, by copying already successful businesses and adding his own twist.
Will's journey started at 19 when he and his girlfriend (now wife) started a mortgage company during the subprime boom. They made incredible money in 2005-2007, then got crushed when the mortgage crisis hit.
While rebuilding, Will noticed they had been selling data lists on the side. He turned that into a 10-year agency business. But the constant problem was data quality - vendors were only 50-60% accurate. That's when the idea for UpLead hit: why isn't there a tool that verifies emails and phone numbers in real-time?
For Signaturely, Will saw DocuSign crushing it but noticed their product was complicated. He built a simpler version that "your grandmother could use."
Key Insights
The 4-Step Framework for Building $30M Businesses
Step 1: Find markets with proven product-market fit
- •Don't try to be Steve Jobs
- •Look for markets where companies are already making money
- •Easier to compete than to create a new category
Step 2: Find your unique twist
- •Can't just be "cheaper" - needs real differentiation
- •Read 1-star and 2-star reviews of competitors
- •What do people hate about the market leaders?
- •That's your twist and your easiest customers to acquire
Step 3: Acquire customers profitably
- •This is the hardest part
- •Need a skill: cold email, cold calling, SEO, or ads
- •Learn through books, YouTube, practice
Step 4: Execute relentlessly
- •Most people talk about building, few actually do it
- •You will fail - get back up
- •Will failed at 15-20 businesses before these two worked
The Cold Email That Made $1M ARR
Subject: "Hi, [First Name]"
Body: "I was checking out your LinkedIn profile and thought this could be of value to you. We built a tool called UpLead, which is like ZoomInfo but with real-time email verification, and we're really affordable. Are you open to trying it out at no cost?"
Why it works:
- •Subject looks like it came from a real person
- •Intro is neutral and direct
- •Value prop is clear and familiar (framed against market leader)
- •States the twist (real-time verification)
- •Ask is so easy it's hard to say no
SEO Strategy for Signaturely (0 to 1.6M users)
- •Built free tools (online signature generator)
- •Created templates (marketing agreements, construction contracts, landlord agreements)
- •Ranked for "[type] agreement template" keywords
- •Tools and templates drive traffic → convert to product users
Business Numbers
UpLead:
- •$30M+ in sales
- •4,000+ customers
- •100,000+ monthly website visits
Signaturely:
- •1.6M+ users
- •$1.5M+ in sales
- •800,000+ monthly website visits
Ideas Worth Building in 2025
- •Super simple CRM - Big market, fragmented, multiple billion-dollar players
- •Payroll software for small businesses - Copy FreshBooks' SEO strategy around templates/tools
- •Website analytics tool - Every business needs it, tie in AI/LLM mentions
Key Advice
- •Have big, hairy, audacious goals (moonshots)
- •Don't sweat the small stuff - think big picture
- •Keep going - you'll fail many times before success
- •The playbooks are already out there - most people just don't study them
Resources
- •Follow Will: https://x.com/iamwillcannon