Pre-Revenue to a $33 Million Cash Exit for HR SaaS
cash exit achieved
position 1 keyword rankings in US
social shares on PR content
The Challenge
The client was a brand-new HR SaaS business with a freshly launched website, no revenue, and almost no digital visibility. Their category was also unfamiliar to the market, with very low search demand for its core product.
That meant a standard search-led campaign would not cut it. They needed a smarter strategy to build awareness, attract the right audience, and turn interest into software demos and sales.
The Business
Our client was a UK-based cloud-based Continuous Performance Management Software (CPMS) company. The company provides an HR platform for performance reviews, goal setting, and employee feedback, aiming to improve employee engagement, productivity, and overall business performance.
The Goal
The goal was to generate demand and qualified leads for a new software category before the brand had market traction. We needed to grow visibility, build authority, and turn HR professionals into engaged prospects and customers.
The Strategy
Step 1: Target Problems, Not Product Labels
Search demand for “Continuous Performance Management Software” was low, and there was little sign of commercial intent. So rather than market the product category directly, we tactically decided to target SEO terms related to the problems HR professionals actually cared about, such as reducing employee churn, improving team performance, and fixing poor appraisals. This let us align the software with urgent, recognised pain points instead of pushing a term no one was searching for.
Step 2: Dominate the Audience Across Search and PR
We mapped out the publications, websites, and platforms HR professionals already paid attention to, then got the founder featured there through digital PR. At the same time, we built a content hub on the client’s site that targets the questions HR leaders search for every day. This helped the brand show up wherever the audience was looking, whether in Google, LinkedIn, or trusted industry publications.
Step 3: Build Term Ownership and Trend Visibility Over Time
While we did not lead with the category term early on, we still wanted the client to own it as awareness grew. We used thought leadership, backlinks, and strategic mentions in external publications to increase recognition of the term while keeping the client ranked prominently for it. We also used trend content updated annually to capture repeat traffic, generate email leads, and keep the brand visible year after year.
The Results
Result 1:
By 2020, the website was attracting tens of thousands of organic visitors and converting them into customers at a healthy rate. That consistent digital visibility and lead flow helped turn the business from pre-revenue into a valuable acquisition target. The result was a $33 million cash exit, proof that the right strategy can create serious commercial value.
Result 2:
By focusing on problem-aware searches, we attracted HR professionals before the market fully understood the software category itself. The campaign secured position 1 rankings for 32 keywords in the UK and 111 informational keywords in the US. This gave the client strong search visibility across the topics their target buyers cared about most.
Result 3:
We secured placements in trusted publications such as Entrepreneur and The Guardian, putting the brand in front of a highly relevant HR audience. The Entrepreneur article generated 500+ social media shares, amplifying reach and engagement among potential buyers. These features also delivered high-quality backlinks, strengthening domain authority, improving rankings, and positioning the business as a credible industry voice.
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