What’s worth knowing in the Squarespace world.
For designers, developers, and people building businesses around Squarespace.
From Squarespace Agency to Saas Success: The Rise of MemberSpace
This month is our 8th year business anniversary and we're celebrating with a series called Into the SQSP Metaverse: 33 Portals Through Web Design And Entrepreneurship. This is Portal #2.
"The key is to start as simple as you can with as few variables as you can. Get some people to give you their credit card and pay you."
- Ward Sandler
Ward and Ryan were running a small but successful Squarespace design and development agency, 320NY. They had a steady flow of clients, but a recurring issue kept cropping up - their clients were desperate for membership functionality on their Squarespace sites.
"We were software developers. We knew how to build things," Ward recalls. "So, we did a little research."
They headed to the Squarespace Q&A forum, where they found a post about adding membership functionality to Squarespace, which had received tens of thousands of views. The demand was clear.
“The less variables possible, start there. Then you can always add on new things. You can always make things more complicated and you can do that based on feedback from people paying you, not just random thoughts in your head or friends or family who just want to see you do well, but aren’t actually your customers.”
Ward and Ryan saw an opportunity. They began developing a product, MemberSpace, that would allow Squarespace users to add membership functionality to their sites.
The transition from agency to product business was not without its challenges. "Building sites for people doing support requires a lot of time," Ward says. "But with software, you can help a lot more people with the same amount of time."
MemberSpace was an instant success. The product was profitable, and the team of nine full-time employees began to grow. The founders had a relentless focus on supporting their customers and community, which earned them a reputation for world-class support.
The founders also made a commitment to fair long-term pricing. "We all know the story by now," Ward says. "A platform that creators and entrepreneurs rely on raises a giant pile of venture capital, tries to grow too fast, and eventually is forced to massively hike prices to their customers’ dismay or implode. MemberSpace is optimizing their company to never do that to their customers."
Despite the success of MemberSpace, the founders are not resting on their laurels. They have made a strategic decision to extend their technology beyond Squarespace.
They've cleverly built their technology in a way that is decoupled from the underlying content management system (CMS). This means they can extend their services to basically any other web platform out there.
With this expansion, MemberSpace is not just about Squarespace anymore. They are now empowering entrepreneurs across all platforms to build their membership businesses seamlessly. This commitment to their customers, coupled with their fair pricing and world-class support, continues to drive their growth and success. For Ward, Ryan, and their team, the journey is just beginning.
As for their own plans, the founders intend to stay focused on building a profitable, sustainable company. "We're optimizing for retention," Ward says. "We want every customer that walks through the door to stay with us forever."
For Ward, the key was always to start small, to learn from real customers who are actively using the product, and to be agile in their approach. With this mindset, they built a thriving business that caters to entrepreneurs and businesses seeking a powerful, user-friendly membership solution on the Squarespace platform.
Through their creativity and adaptability, the 320NY team successfully transformed their software development expertise into a flourishing subscription-based business. Their story serves as a beacon of inspiration for Saas entrepreneurs navigating their own journey in the SQSP Metaverse.
Listen to Ward’s story here.
From Myspace to Squarespace: Empowering Entrepreneurs Through Web Design
This month is our 8th year business anniversary and we're celebrating with a series called Into the SQSP Metaverse: 33 Portals Through Web Design And Entrepreneurship. This is Portal #1.
"I became passionate about helping other people launch their websites—individuals who weren't necessarily designers but were entrepreneurs eager to share what they love with the world."
-Promise Tangeman (CEO and Creative Director GoLive)
The sound of laughter and excited chatter filled the room as Promise Tangeman, CEO and Creative Director of GoLive, welcomed a group of eager entrepreneurs to her live workshop. The atmosphere was electric, as these small business owners had traveled from all over to learn how to build and launch their websites in just two days.
Promise's journey to this point had been an interesting one. It all began with her love for customizing MySpace profiles back in 2007, which eventually led her to start her own design agency, Promise Tangeman Creative. As demand for her unique design aesthetic grew, she found herself maxed out with projects and searching for a way to scale her business.
The solution came in the form of website templates, which allowed Promise to help more people launch their businesses online at a lower cost. She started with the web design platform Showit and eventually moved on to Squarespace, embracing the challenge of creating templates for the popular platform.
As her business continued to grow, Promise rebranded to GoLiveHQ and focused on building a team of designers who shared her vision and aesthetic. This allowed her to step back from micromanaging and trust her team to create beautiful designs for their clients.
Throughout her journey, Promise learned valuable lessons about the importance of niching down and clearly stating what a business offers on its website.
Lesson 1: The Importance of Niching Down
One of the first lessons Promise learned was the importance of niching down and focusing on a specific target audience. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, she discovered that honing in on a particular niche allowed her to become known for her unique style and attract more clients who were looking for that specific aesthetic.
Lesson 2: Clearly Communicate What You Offer
Another crucial lesson Promise learned was the importance of clearly communicating what her business offered on its website. She realized that many entrepreneurs, including herself, often struggled to plainly state what they did or what made them different. By crafting a concise, one-sentence statement that clearly explained her services, Promise was able to attract more clients and grow her business.
The solution to scaling her business came in the form of website templates, which allowed Promise to help more people launch their businesses online at a lower cost. She started with the web design platform Showit and eventually moved on to Squarespace, embracing the challenge of creating templates for the popular platform.
Lesson 3: Utilize Byproducts from Your Service-Based Business
As her business continued to grow, Promise rebranded to GoLiveHQ and focused on building a team of designers who shared her vision and aesthetic. During this process, she learned the value of utilizing byproducts from her service-based business to create additional income streams. For example, she turned scrapped website designs into templates, allowing her to generate more revenue without additional effort.
"When your business focuses on serving others, you'll consistently have ample work."
-Promise Tangeman
With these lessons in mind, Promise was able to successfully scale her business and empower entrepreneurs through GoLiveHQ. As the workshop attendees eagerly began working on their websites, Promise couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in how far she had come. From her humble beginnings customizing MySpace profiles to empowering entrepreneurs through GoLiveHQ, her journey was a testament to the power of passion, hard work, and a willingness to adapt and grow.
Key Takeaways
1. Niching down: Focus on one specific area or service to become known and stand out in the online space.
2. Clear website messaging: Create a one-sentence statement on your website explaining your unique offerings and target audience.
3. Utilize byproducts: Identify byproducts of your service-based business and find ways to package and utilize them for additional income.
4. Create sustainability: Turn byproducts into digital products to create a consistent and scalable income source.
5. Serve others: Make your business about serving others to ensure long-term success and ongoing work.
6. Turn competition into clients: Share your knowledge and processes to potentially serve peers within your industry.
7. Be adaptable: Continually refine and adjust your approach to your business based on the lessons you learn and the market's needs.
In the chapters to come, we'll dive deeper into these lessons from the perspectives of other SQSP entrepreneurs. Join us as we journey further into the SQSP Metaverse and uncover the secrets to success in the world of web design and entrepreneurship.
Listen to Promise’s story here.
Into the SQSP Metaverse: 33 Portals Through Web Design and Entrepreneurship
Welcome to the SQSP Metaverse, a realm where creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship collide to create a thriving ecosystem of web design and online businesses. Over the next 30 days, we will delve into the stories of passionate entrepreneurs who have harnessed the power of Squarespace to bring their visions to life and empower others to do the same.
1. From Myspace to Squarespace - Empowering Entrepreneurs through web design with Promise Tangeman