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Graph of Plan

SMB Founders & Operators

Small and medium business founders and operators run companies with 1-50 employees. They wear multiple hats, lack specialist staff, and make decisions based on immediate ROI.

Segment Profile

Size & Distribution

  • UK Market: ~5.5 million SMBs
  • US Market: ~33 million SMBs
  • Growth: Relatively stable, 2-3% annual churn/creation
  • Addressable: Tech-forward SMBs with £100k-£5M revenue

Pain Points

Time is the scarcest resource. SMB founders work 50-70 hour weeks. Every hour spent on operations is an hour not spent on revenue generation.

No specialist staff. Large companies have procurement teams, IT departments, and project managers. SMBs have founders doing everything.

Software overwhelm. SMBs adopt tools reactively. The result is disconnected systems, duplicate data entry, and manual workarounds.

Cash flow sensitivity. SMBs can’t absorb unexpected costs. Surprise bills, missed renewals at higher rates, and scope creep hit hard.

Buying Behavior

  • Decision maker: Founder or Operations Manager
  • Budget sensitivity: High—must justify every £50/mo
  • Self-serve preference: Avoid sales calls, prefer trial + upgrade
  • Time to value: Must see benefit within first session
  • Churn risk: Will cancel if value isn’t immediately obvious

Success Metrics

SMB founders measure tool value by:

  • Time saved per week (hours)
  • Money saved per month (£)
  • Problems avoided (invoices caught, deadlines met)
  • Complexity reduced (fewer tools, less manual work)

Why Our Products

SmartBoxes

Strong fit. SMB founders need custom tools but can’t afford developers. SmartBoxes provide:

  • Natural language to working software
  • No infrastructure management
  • Pay-as-you-go pricing that scales with needs

Key use cases:

  • Internal tools (dashboards, calculators, workflows)
  • Client-facing microsites
  • Automated reporting

P4gent

Primary fit. P4gent directly addresses SMB founder pain around supplier management:

  • Tracks renewals before auto-renew catches them
  • Finds alternatives when costs rise
  • Maintains supplier relationships without calendar reminders

The £29/mo price point fits SMB budgets, and the ROI case is immediate: catch one forgotten subscription and it pays for itself.

Acquisition Strategy

Channels

  1. Content marketing: “How to audit your business subscriptions” style content
  2. Founder communities: Indie Hackers, founder Slack groups
  3. Accountant referrals: Bookkeepers see the pain directly
  4. Word of mouth: Founders talk to founders

Messaging

  • Lead with time and money savings (specific numbers)
  • Show “set and forget” automation
  • Emphasize simplicity over features
  • Use testimonials from similar-sized businesses
  • Avoid enterprise language (“digital transformation”, “AI-powered”)

Targeted By