How Proxycurl Went from $0 to $1M ARR in 18 Months

Everyone says cold email is dead.

But Proxycurl proved otherwise—turning a desperate pivot into a $1M ARR SaaS.

In just 18 months, founder Steven took Proxycurl from an idea born out of desperation to $1M ARR, all without external funding. The secret? A relentless focus on cold outreach, SEO, and a data-driven growth strategy.

Let’s break down exactly how he did it.

The Problem They Solved

Steven didn’t just start Proxycurl for fun—he built it because he had to.

After a series of failed startups, he was running out of money while funding six employees. He needed a profitable idea and he needed it fast.

Then he had two realizations:

• LinkedIn data is hard to scrape
• It’s highly valuable for companies building data-driven applications

What if he could provide fresh, structured LinkedIn data via an API?

That’s how Proxycurl was born. With zero marketing budget, Steven had to hustle hard to find his first customers.

The Strategy

Proxycurl’s early days were all about survival. With no runway left and a team to support, Steven had one option—find customers fast. Instead of waiting for inbound traffic, he took a direct approach: cold email.

He identified his ideal customers using Crunchbase Pro, exported their contacts, and launched a highly targeted cold email campaign. The response? Hundreds of replies, a fully booked calendar, and paying customers from day one.

It wasn’t glamorous, but it worked. 🎯

Once revenue started coming in, he needed a scalable way to grow. That’s when he shifted to SEO, optimizing his blog posts for high-intent keywords related to LinkedIn data. This fueled consistent inbound traffic, reducing dependency on outbound sales.

Cold Email and SEO

Cold email worked because it was methodical, not spammy. Steven ensured deliverability by using tools like Sendy to control email reputation, mail-tester to avoid spam filters, and alternate domains to maximize success.

• Hyper-targeted outreach: Focused only on recently funded companies in sales, recruitment, and web scraping.
• SEO-backed authority: Transitioned from general startup writing to data-driven, keyword-rich content.
• Scaling beyond outbound: Once SEO kicked in, organic leads outpaced cold outreach.

By combining direct outbound sales with SEO, Proxycurl built a sustainable customer acquisition pipeline. Cold email created fast traction, while SEO turned into a long-term growth machine—ensuring the business wouldn’t rely on just one channel.

Metrics & Milestones

Here are the key numbers defining the journey of Proxycurl:

• $1M ARR in 18 months
• First paying customers from cold emails
• SEO scaled the business beyond outbound sales
• Now marching toward $5M ARR

Takeaways & Practical Tips

Proxycurl’s journey proves that you don’t need funding to scale fast—you just need a smart, scrappy strategy:

✅ Cold email works. Research your audience, personalize your messaging, and ensure deliverability.
✅ SEO is a long-term growth engine. Once early traction is in place, optimize for high-intent keywords.
✅ Leverage storytelling. Building in public increases brand awareness and trust.

Proxycurl’s story is a masterclass in bootstrapped SaaS growth. From cold emailing strangers to becoming a profitable, high-growth company, Steven proved that with the right strategy, you don’t need VC money to win.

I have a programmer’s disease. I like to build, which is why I created the prototype of Proxycurl before I talked to any customers. Building products is the easiest thing to do. The hard work comes after launching Proxycurl.

Steven Goh, Founder @ Proxycurl

With $5M ARR in sight, Proxycurl is expanding its data services beyond LinkedIn and refining its inbound marketing efforts.

If you’re an early-stage SaaS founder, take notes—this is how you build a business from nothing.

In the meantime, you can also discover a story of another business that went from $0 to $1M ARR even faster. Beehiiv built an email marketing platform that achieved exactly that.