Holly Cardew, a member of the Forbes 30 under 30 list and the founder of Pixc - an online image optimization service. Holly dropped out of college to grow an image editing empire that’s making just short of $1 million in revenue each year. Listen as Holly and Nathan talk about Pixc’s bootstrapping ethic, the importance of revenue over investment, and how to get the most from an affiliate program.

Famous 5
Favorite Book? – The Lean Startup
What CEO do you follow? — Ben Chestnut, though he’s kind of hard to track
What is your favorite online tool? — Intercom
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — I wish my parents had told me to go to Silicon Valley. I should have learnt how to code.

Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:15 – Nathan’s introduction
01:56 – Welcoming Holly to the show
02:03 – Holly took a corporate job in London after university
02:20 – Tried multiple online businesses before Pixc
02:40 – Pixc is an online image optimization service
02:50 – Sells credit image packages
03:05 – Launched a landing page in 2013; started properly in 2014
03:20 – Largely self-funded; raised $150k in capital
03:55 – ‘At the end of the day, you need to have a business - not just capital’
04:15 – 16 team members
04:30 – Revenue in the range of $200k - $1 million per year
05:10 – What are the running costs?
05:20 – Semi-automated process with some human input
05:35 – Currently breaking even and re-investing in the business
05:50 – Holly is 28; she dropped out of college to start her business
06:20 – Working with over 7,000 clients
06:40 – Acquisitions through referrals, integration, content marketing and affiliates
07:10 – Affiliate program is very effective. One article brought in 70+ customers in 3 weeks
09:20 – Affiliates make 20% commission on referrals
10:40 – What’s the competition? Largely freelancers.
11:03 – What’s Pixc’s growth strategy?
11:40 – Planning to expand the affiliate program and build partnerships
11:50 – Thinking about what other services they can offer in this niche
12:20 – Connect with Holly on Linkedin, Twitter and at her blog
14:58 – Famous Five

3 Key Points:
Focus on revenue, not on investment. You have to know that your idea can make money.
Learn how to code - it’s a basic skill that will pay you back a hundred times over.
If you’re looking at expanding, consider what other services fit in your niche. What else do your customers need that you can provide?

Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

28 Year Old Female Entrepreneur Making 100k's Product Images Better for $2 Each, EP 270: Holly Cardew

SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders